2575

Zhang Ruochen stood at the top of Mount Sword, high-spirited and full of energy. He raised his voice and said, “A swordsman should show his sharpness, break the clouds, and split the Moon. One shall not sleep here and turn into rust. Seniors, are you willing to leave with me? I will pick the fated ones among the new civilization in Swordsphere to inherit your Swordsmanship.”

Clang!

Thousands of swords chimed in unison, their voices lasting for a long time.

“Okay!”

Zhang Ruochen pressed his hands on his temples and activated Shenwu Mark of Time and Dimension between his eyebrows. He collected all the thousands of swords on Mount Sword and placed them in Qiankun Realm.

Then, a sword domain enveloped by a strong sword comprehension appeared in Qiankun Realm.

Most of these swords had lost their spirituality and were like scrap metal. However, there were still some famous swords that would last forever. They were genuinely divine weapons.

Zhang Ruochen’s words weren’t nonsense. He truly wanted to revive Swordsphere.

On Battlefield of Celestial-Hunting, Zhang Ruochen had promised Southern Sword Realm’s Supreme Lord to protect Southern Sword Realm for ten thousand years and pass down his teachings to Southern Sword Realm. At the time, he had only treated this as a deal.

Later, he competed with Dishastan, Hall of Permanence, and Roopkund Sea. That was only because he had wanted to fulfill his promise.

However, when he came to the tomb forest of the Swordsmanship, he had obtained 0.01% of Canon of Swordsmanship, received the purification of myriad swords, and the sword soul of Ancestral Swordmaster. He had also seen the glory and destruction of Swordsphere. He was deeply moved. It was as if he had become a part of Swordsphere.

Therefore, reviving Swordsphere and promoting Swordsmanship was neither a deal nor a promise. It was something he wanted to do from the bottom of his heart.

Zhang Ruochen walked in the desolate tomb forest. His footprints were deep. He looked at the mottled tombstones and the scabbard in front of the gravestones.

There was a tomb, but no one was there.

There was a scabbard, but the sword did not return.

He could not help but feel emotional. He chanted,

“The 3,000 divine swords left the scabbard, but no one returned to the hundred-mile sky tomb.

“The people who buried the swords lost their courage, but we will win in the future generations.”

…

Zhang Ruochen and Le set out on their way back.

Zhang Ruochen had obtained the Canon of the Swordsmanship, the sword spirit, and condensed Heaven Sword Soul in Hundred-Shackle Realm. The trip to Fane of Origin had been completed.

Two more things needed to be done.

First, he had to see if Bai Qing’er had lured cultivators from the major forces to Fane of Origin.

For her, this was the final test to steel herself before she became a god. Thus, she would definitely come. Moreover, the bigger the matter, the better it is. The more chaotic it was, the more she could retreat successfully.

This was precisely what Zhang Ruochen wanted too.

Second, Zhang Ruochen had to think of a way to protect Southern Sword Realm as much as possible.

This was a change of attitude after going to the tomb forest of Swordsmanship.

Before this, he just wanted to save more creatures of the Southern Sword Realm. He did not have such a strong sense of responsibility.

The more he got, the heavier the responsibility.

There were only two ways to save Southern Sword Realm.

Either he kept Southern Sword Realm away or lure the gods elsewhere.

Southern Sword Realm was vast. With Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation, he could barely bear the growing Qiankun Realm. Obviously, he could not take it into his Sea of Qi.

Ordinary gods wouldn’t be able to carry a macroworld like Southern Sword Realm. Only Gods that had to survive the Yuanhui tribulation could.

However, since Fane of Origin was also in Southern Sword Realm, it was likely that only a deity would be able to keep Southern Sword Realm in his own Divine Plane.

If Zhang Ruochen wanted to protect Southern Sword Realm, he could only think of ways to lure the gods elsewhere.

However, he was only a Hundred-Shackle Realm Supreme Saint. Let alone lure the gods away. One strike from the gods, and he’ll be dead.

Just as Zhang Ruochen was thinking hard, Intergold Tiger’s voice rang out. “My Intergold Divine Plane could hold it for a short time if Fane of Origin is taken away, and only Southern Sword Realm is left.”

“You can release divine power and take over Southern Sword Realm?” Zhang Ruochen asked in surprise.

Intergold Tiger said, “Of course, I can’t release too much divine power. I can only release the Divine Plane. Moreover, you will have to bear the Divine Plane. Only then can we hide from the heavenly’s perception. Otherwise, when the heavenly punishment comes, we will all die.”

“Okay, that’s decided for now.”

With Intergold Tiger’s help, Zhang Ruochen felt the burden on his shoulders lighten. He also felt more confident.

…

Fane of Origin had long been reduced to ruins. There were broken walls everywhere.

There were broken walls that were hundreds of feet high. Colossal Kylin stone carvings were standing in the rubble. There were sword tablets that fell under the ravine. They were so broken yet so magnificent.

There were also broken arrays and ancient Divine Marks of slaughter scattered everywhere.

Even if a Supreme Saint barges in, one could trigger the formation and invite death.

However, Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger could not care less. Their robes were tattered, and their mouths were full of blood as they fled through the ruins.

Every time they triggered the formation, Sword Qi would fly out and strike them, causing the two monks to scream in pain.

Yet, they did not dare to stop. Behind them, the sound of water breaking could be heard. There were dozens of Supreme Saints chasing after them.

“Master, you should go first. We will stop them.”

Zhen Sha, Zhen Tan, and Zhen Wang’s bodies released powerful Death Qi and Precept Domain. They turned into three bright light beams and charged toward the pursuers behind them.

The three of them were all in Banshi Isshou stage.

With the power of the three of them, they were able to defeat dozens of Supreme Saints without using any weapons. If they weren’t merciful and didn’t have any killing intent, a Supreme Saint might have already died.

A loud shout came from afar, “You are the White Reapers from Fane of Death, not a Buddhist cultivator. Get it straight.”

The voice contained a mighty spiritual power and death telekinesis.

Zhen Sha, Zhen Tan, Zhen Wang’s spiritual power, and saint soul were stunned and stood rooted to the ground.

Nan Sheng and the four Supreme Saints of Fane of Death flew over quickly. Their bodies cut through the thick water, leaving behind five streaks of white water ripples.

When they saw Nan Sheng, the dozens of Supreme Saints around them looked at each other in dismay. They revealed fear and frightened expressions as they retreated quickly.

They all knew that Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger had a lot of origin sacred medicine on them, so they were unwilling to give up. They continued to wander far away, waiting for an opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

Nan Sheng stood on the shoulder of a broken stone sculpture more than 30 meters tall. He glanced at Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger, who was running away. He laughed mockingly. “Two mere Neverwilt Realm Supreme Saints want to escape after seeing me.”

“Nan Sheng, don’t kill them. Since they call Zhang Ruochen senior uncle, they might be useful to capture him,” said a Fane of Death Supreme Saint with a crocodile head.

Nan Sheng nodded. He released his spiritual power and formed two gray chains.

The gray chains were formed by heavenly and earthly precepts. Like two spiritual snakes, they wrapped around Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger.

“Don’t hurt my two masters.”

Zhen Sha neutralized Nan Sheng’s spiritual power. Buddhist light appeared in his eyes. He pressed his palms together, and a giant sword a hundred feet long appeared above his head.

He slashed down with his hands, and the huge sword followed suit.

Boom!

The two spiritual power chains broke.

“Well done, Zhen Sha.” Sikong the Elder turned around and could not help but praise.

Nan Sheng was at a loss at first. Then, he turned furious. He could faintly hear the laughter of the Supreme Saints from afar.

It was unknown whether they were mocking him or Fane of Death.

Fane of Death’s White Reaper had turned into a Buddhist cultivator. In turn, they became the enemy of Fane of Death. Was there anything funnier than this?

Zhen Tan and Zhen Wang also neutralized Nan Sheng’s mental suppression. They each formed a Buddha seal. A sword of slaughter condensed above their heads and attacked Nan Sheng.

“You two go and capture those two monks. I’ll suppress these three detestable things.”

Nan Sheng’s expression was dark. He took out a green rune fan and fanned it forward. Dense runes flew out and turned into hundreds and thousands of lightning bolts. They struck Zhen Sha, Zhen Tan, and Zhen Wang and sent them flying.

The four Supreme Saints of Fane of Death went around and chased after Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger.

“Nan Sheng is too terrifying. He is also at Banshi Isshou Realm but can fight against three of them.”

“He is fighting against three of them? With a wave of his hand, he can defeat three of them. His battle prowess is comparable to that of a Paramount Realm Supreme Saint.”

“The disciples of the Seven Elders are legendary figures of Deathkin. Do you think they are ordinary people? Let’s go. With Nan Sheng here, we can forget about taking advantage of them.”

…

The weakest of the four Supreme Saints of Fane of Death was in Hundred-Shackle Realm.

However, this was Fane of Origin. They were worried that they would trigger the array formation and the Divine Marks of slaughter. Hence, they chased them for a long time but failed to capture Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger.

They had launched long-range attacks and spiritual attacks before and managed to hit the two monks.

Strangely, Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger seemed to have an indestructible body. They would spit out two mouthfuls of blood every hit and immediately get up to continue fleeing.

“The Golden Body of the Buddhist Bodhisattva is actually so powerful?” The Deathkin Supreme Saint with the head of a crocodile asked in astonishment.

His attack from across space could have killed a peak stage Neverwilt Realm Supreme Saint. However, after the fat monk was hit, he only rolled around on the ground like a rubber ball, immediately got up, and continued to flee.

“Perhaps they are not only at Neverwilt Realm,” a Deathkin Supreme Saint guessed.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s suppress them first. They entered Fane of Origin before us. They must have picked a lot of sacred medicines.”

The crocodile-headed Deathkin Supreme Saint was speedy. In an instant, he had caught up to Sikong the Elder. The hammer-shaped weapon in his hand glowed with the Light of Death. He suddenly raised it and smashed it at Sikong the Elder’s head.

The power of this hammer was not weaker than a full-powered strike from a Supreme Saint in the Great Perfection stage of Hundred-Shackle Realm. He did not believe that the fat monk could still withstand it.

“Senior Uncle, you are finally here. Save me.” Sikong the Elder looked ahead and was overjoyed.

The crocodile-headed Deathkin Supreme Saint smiled coldly. He was not moved at all.

This fat monk had already used this move twice. Does he actually want to use it a third time?

Just as the war hammer was about to land on Sikong the Elder’s head, the sound of a sword rang out.

Whoosh!

Ancient Abyssal Blade turned into a streak of black sword radiance and slashed at the crocodile-headed Deathkin Supreme Saint’s body. His hand’s war hammer and body were broken into two as he was thrown backward.

The blood of the Deathkin Supreme Saint dyed this area of water red.

…

Zhang Ruochen stood at the top of Mount Sword, high-spirited and full of energy. He raised his voice and said, “A swordsman should show his sharpness, break the clouds, and split the Moon. One shall not sleep here and turn into rust. Seniors, are you willing to leave with me? I will pick the fated ones among the new civilization in Swordsphere to inherit your Swordsmanship.”

Clang!

Thousands of swords chimed in unison, their voices lasting for a long time.

“Okay!”

Zhang Ruochen pressed his hands on his temples and activated Shenwu Mark of Time and Dimension between his eyebrows. He collected all the thousands of swords on Mount Sword and placed them in Qiankun Realm.

Then, a sword domain enveloped by a strong sword comprehension appeared in Qiankun Realm.

Most of these swords had lost their spirituality and were like scrap metal. However, there were still some famous swords that would last forever. They were genuinely divine weapons.

Zhang Ruochen’s words weren’t nonsense. He truly wanted to revive Swordsphere.

On Battlefield of Celestial-Hunting, Zhang Ruochen had promised Southern Sword Realm’s Supreme Lord to protect Southern Sword Realm for ten thousand years and pass down his teachings to Southern Sword Realm. At the time, he had only treated this as a deal.

Later, he competed with Dishastan, Hall of Permanence, and Roopkund Sea. That was only because he had wanted to fulfill his promise.

However, when he came to the tomb forest of the Swordsmanship, he had obtained 0.01% of Canon of Swordsmanship, received the purification of myriad swords, and the sword soul of Ancestral Swordmaster. He had also seen the glory and destruction of Swordsphere. He was deeply moved. It was as if he had become a part of Swordsphere.

Therefore, reviving Swordsphere and promoting Swordsmanship was neither a deal nor a promise. It was something he wanted to do from the bottom of his heart.

Zhang Ruochen walked in the desolate tomb forest. His footprints were deep. He looked at the mottled tombstones and the scabbard in front of the gravestones.

There was a tomb, but no one was there.

There was a scabbard, but the sword did not return.

He could not help but feel emotional. He chanted,

“The 3,000 divine swords left the scabbard, but no one returned to the hundred-mile sky tomb.

“The people who buried the swords lost their courage, but we will win in the future generations.”

…

Zhang Ruochen and Le set out on their way back.

Zhang Ruochen had obtained the Canon of the Swordsmanship, the sword spirit, and condensed Heaven Sword Soul in Hundred-Shackle Realm. The trip to Fane of Origin had been completed.

Two more things needed to be done.

First, he had to see if Bai Qing’er had lured cultivators from the major forces to Fane of Origin.

For her, this was the final test to steel herself before she became a god. Thus, she would definitely come. Moreover, the bigger the matter, the better it is. The more chaotic it was, the more she could retreat successfully.

This was precisely what Zhang Ruochen wanted too.

Second, Zhang Ruochen had to think of a way to protect Southern Sword Realm as much as possible.

This was a change of attitude after going to the tomb forest of Swordsmanship.

Before this, he just wanted to save more creatures of the Southern Sword Realm. He did not have such a strong sense of responsibility.

The more he got, the heavier the responsibility.

There were only two ways to save Southern Sword Realm.

Either he kept Southern Sword Realm away or lure the gods elsewhere.

Southern Sword Realm was vast. With Zhang Ruochen’s current cultivation, he could barely bear the growing Qiankun Realm. Obviously, he could not take it into his Sea of Qi.

Ordinary gods wouldn’t be able to carry a macroworld like Southern Sword Realm. Only Gods that had to survive the Yuanhui tribulation could.

However, since Fane of Origin was also in Southern Sword Realm, it was likely that only a deity would be able to keep Southern Sword Realm in his own Divine Plane.

If Zhang Ruochen wanted to protect Southern Sword Realm, he could only think of ways to lure the gods elsewhere.

However, he was only a Hundred-Shackle Realm Supreme Saint. Let alone lure the gods away. One strike from the gods, and he’ll be dead.

Just as Zhang Ruochen was thinking hard, Intergold Tiger’s voice rang out. “My Intergold Divine Plane could hold it for a short time if Fane of Origin is taken away, and only Southern Sword Realm is left.”

“You can release divine power and take over Southern Sword Realm?” Zhang Ruochen asked in surprise.

Intergold Tiger said, “Of course, I can’t release too much divine power. I can only release the Divine Plane. Moreover, you will have to bear the Divine Plane. Only then can we hide from the heavenly’s perception. Otherwise, when the heavenly punishment comes, we will all die.”

“Okay, that’s decided for now.”

With Intergold Tiger’s help, Zhang Ruochen felt the burden on his shoulders lighten. He also felt more confident.

…

Fane of Origin had long been reduced to ruins. There were broken walls everywhere.

There were broken walls that were hundreds of feet high. Colossal Kylin stone carvings were standing in the rubble. There were sword tablets that fell under the ravine. They were so broken yet so magnificent.

There were also broken arrays and ancient Divine Marks of slaughter scattered everywhere.

Even if a Supreme Saint barges in, one could trigger the formation and invite death.

However, Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger could not care less. Their robes were tattered, and their mouths were full of blood as they fled through the ruins.

Every time they triggered the formation, Sword Qi would fly out and strike them, causing the two monks to scream in pain.

Yet, they did not dare to stop. Behind them, the sound of water breaking could be heard. There were dozens of Supreme Saints chasing after them.

“Master, you should go first. We will stop them.”

Zhen Sha, Zhen Tan, and Zhen Wang’s bodies released powerful Death Qi and Precept Domain. They turned into three bright light beams and charged toward the pursuers behind them.

The three of them were all in Banshi Isshou stage.

With the power of the three of them, they were able to defeat dozens of Supreme Saints without using any weapons. If they weren’t merciful and didn’t have any killing intent, a Supreme Saint might have already died.

A loud shout came from afar, “You are the White Reapers from Fane of Death, not a Buddhist cultivator. Get it straight.”

The voice contained a mighty spiritual power and death telekinesis.

Zhen Sha, Zhen Tan, Zhen Wang’s spiritual power, and saint soul were stunned and stood rooted to the ground.

Nan Sheng and the four Supreme Saints of Fane of Death flew over quickly. Their bodies cut through the thick water, leaving behind five streaks of white water ripples.

When they saw Nan Sheng, the dozens of Supreme Saints around them looked at each other in dismay. They revealed fear and frightened expressions as they retreated quickly.

They all knew that Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger had a lot of origin sacred medicine on them, so they were unwilling to give up. They continued to wander far away, waiting for an opportunity to fish in troubled waters.

Nan Sheng stood on the shoulder of a broken stone sculpture more than 30 meters tall. He glanced at Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger, who was running away. He laughed mockingly. “Two mere Neverwilt Realm Supreme Saints want to escape after seeing me.”

“Nan Sheng, don’t kill them. Since they call Zhang Ruochen senior uncle, they might be useful to capture him,” said a Fane of Death Supreme Saint with a crocodile head.

Nan Sheng nodded. He released his spiritual power and formed two gray chains.

The gray chains were formed by heavenly and earthly precepts. Like two spiritual snakes, they wrapped around Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger.

“Don’t hurt my two masters.”

Zhen Sha neutralized Nan Sheng’s spiritual power. Buddhist light appeared in his eyes. He pressed his palms together, and a giant sword a hundred feet long appeared above his head.

He slashed down with his hands, and the huge sword followed suit.

Boom!

The two spiritual power chains broke.

“Well done, Zhen Sha.” Sikong the Elder turned around and could not help but praise.

Nan Sheng was at a loss at first. Then, he turned furious. He could faintly hear the laughter of the Supreme Saints from afar.

It was unknown whether they were mocking him or Fane of Death.

Fane of Death’s White Reaper had turned into a Buddhist cultivator. In turn, they became the enemy of Fane of Death. Was there anything funnier than this?

Zhen Tan and Zhen Wang also neutralized Nan Sheng’s mental suppression. They each formed a Buddha seal. A sword of slaughter condensed above their heads and attacked Nan Sheng.

“You two go and capture those two monks. I’ll suppress these three detestable things.”

Nan Sheng’s expression was dark. He took out a green rune fan and fanned it forward. Dense runes flew out and turned into hundreds and thousands of lightning bolts. They struck Zhen Sha, Zhen Tan, and Zhen Wang and sent them flying.

The four Supreme Saints of Fane of Death went around and chased after Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger.

“Nan Sheng is too terrifying. He is also at Banshi Isshou Realm but can fight against three of them.”

“He is fighting against three of them? With a wave of his hand, he can defeat three of them. His battle prowess is comparable to that of a Paramount Realm Supreme Saint.”

“The disciples of the Seven Elders are legendary figures of Deathkin. Do you think they are ordinary people? Let’s go. With Nan Sheng here, we can forget about taking advantage of them.”

…

The weakest of the four Supreme Saints of Fane of Death was in Hundred-Shackle Realm.

However, this was Fane of Origin. They were worried that they would trigger the array formation and the Divine Marks of slaughter. Hence, they chased them for a long time but failed to capture Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger.

They had launched long-range attacks and spiritual attacks before and managed to hit the two monks.

Strangely, Sikong the Elder and Sikong the Younger seemed to have an indestructible body. They would spit out two mouthfuls of blood every hit and immediately get up to continue fleeing.

“The Golden Body of the Buddhist Bodhisattva is actually so powerful?” The Deathkin Supreme Saint with the head of a crocodile asked in astonishment.

His attack from across space could have killed a peak stage Neverwilt Realm Supreme Saint. However, after the fat monk was hit, he only rolled around on the ground like a rubber ball, immediately got up, and continued to flee.

“Perhaps they are not only at Neverwilt Realm,” a Deathkin Supreme Saint guessed.

“Don’t worry about it. Let’s suppress them first. They entered Fane of Origin before us. They must have picked a lot of sacred medicines.”

The crocodile-headed Deathkin Supreme Saint was speedy. In an instant, he had caught up to Sikong the Elder. The hammer-shaped weapon in his hand glowed with the Light of Death. He suddenly raised it and smashed it at Sikong the Elder’s head.

The power of this hammer was not weaker than a full-powered strike from a Supreme Saint in the Great Perfection stage of Hundred-Shackle Realm. He did not believe that the fat monk could still withstand it.

“Senior Uncle, you are finally here. Save me.” Sikong the Elder looked ahead and was overjoyed.

The crocodile-headed Deathkin Supreme Saint smiled coldly. He was not moved at all.

This fat monk had already used this move twice. Does he actually want to use it a third time?

Just as the war hammer was about to land on Sikong the Elder’s head, the sound of a sword rang out.

Whoosh!

Ancient Abyssal Blade turned into a streak of black sword radiance and slashed at the crocodile-headed Deathkin Supreme Saint’s body. His hand’s war hammer and body were broken into two as he was thrown backward.

The blood of the Deathkin Supreme Saint dyed this area of water red.

…