Chapter 422 – Heavenly Dao's Wound, Mortals' Fury—Heaven Was Heartless First, So Mortals…

Sword Intent—an intangible, elusive concept.

The Sword Path—an indescribable, enigmatic existence.

Yet, such metaphysical matters were now vividly materialized into tangible reality within the Sword Locking Abyss.

For within each Sword Domain, there lay an ancient Spirit Sword.

These ancient Spirit Swords varied in form, each embodying a unique Sword Intent.

With so many Sword Intents concentrated in one space, both Sword Cultivators and non-Sword Cultivators alike would be profoundly affected.

Especially for Sword Cultivators, under the relentless washing of such myriad Sword Intents, those with an unsteady Dao Heart could easily be swayed by these influences.

Gradually, under such distorted and frenzied wills, they would become enslaved by the swords in their hands, reduced to mere Sword Thralls driven solely by slaughter.

However, this meant little to Lu Chen.

Though the Sword Intents were numerous, their quality was lacking.

Or rather, Sword Intent devoid of a Sword Cultivator’s control was merely a meaningless manifestation of the Dao, incapable of unleashing its true power.

As for the Sword Domains assaulting Lu Chen, once shattered by him, the ancient Spirit Swords within would also crumble.

These shattered ancient Spirit Swords would leave behind fragments of Sword Intent.

Lu Chen had no need for these fragments, but the swords in his hands did.

For the four Spirit Swords composing the Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation required this vast sea of Sword Intent to catalyze the transformation of their artifact spirits.

Similar to Cultivators, for a Dao Artifact to evolve into a Celestial Artifact, it often required sufficient Opportunity.

Generally speaking, even with the support of the Azure Cloud Sect and the Immortal Alliance in reality, forging a Celestial Artifact was nearly impossible for Lu Chen at present.

After all, the emergence of a Celestial Artifact demanded three conditions:

First, the Dao essence of the Enlightenment Realm—what is known as Immortal Law.

Second, an artifact spirit capable of wielding this Dao essence, also called an Immortal Spirit.

Third, an artifact body capable of bearing this Dao essence.

Among these, the first two were undoubtedly the most challenging to fulfill.

While Materials capable of forging Celestial Artifacts were not scarce in this world, an Immortal Spirit capable of mastering such a body and the matching Dao essence could not be accumulated through resources alone.

Currently, Lu Chen had already met the first and third conditions.

The only thing lacking was the second—the Immortal Spirit.

Under normal circumstances, the only way would be for Lu Chen to achieve a Breakthrough to the Immortal realm and use his own supreme Dao to nurture the four Immortal Swords, gradually fostering the birth of their Immortal Spirits.

Yet, the emergence of the Sword Locking Abyss presented Lu Chen with an alternative: using vast amounts of Sword Intent to temper and catalyze the birth of Immortal Spirits through relentless honing.

However, this method also carried immense risks.

If Lu Chen’s Immortal Swords could not withstand such ferocious assaults, they might shatter, reducing everything to nothing.

But Lu Chen held absolute confidence in his four Immortal Swords, just as he firmly believed he would achieve Immortal Ascension.

In the boundless Void Realm, four Immortal Swords hovered around Lu Chen: the Fiend-Slaying Sword, the Fiend-Slaughter Sword, the Fiend-Trapping Sword, and the Fiend-Severing Sword.

Within the unique space of the Sword Locking Abyss, the potency of sword momentum was compressed to its extreme.As a result, the manifested power of Sword Intent here had also diminished considerably.

What was taking place between them was the purest collision of Sword Intent.

And the purer the Sword Intent, the higher the level of the Sword Path, the stronger its power would be.

Therefore, even when facing nearly endless assaults of Sword Intent,

the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords not only showed no signs of fatigue but even fought with increasing ferocity.

Numerous ancient Spirit Swords were shattered by them, transforming into points of light that merged into the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords, becoming part of them.

Gradually, the Sword Intent in the upper layer decreased at a visible rate.

And the strength of the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords reached a considerable level.

Seeing that there was little Sword Intent left to refine his swords,

Lu Chen began to venture deeper into the Sword Locking Abyss.

Upon reaching the next layer, the originally chaotic space began to become orderly.

A Myriad Sword Tomb under a bloody sunset appeared before Lu Chen.

Below, in the endless Barren desert, lay one Broken Sword after another.

These swords were covered in cracks and severely decayed, clearly having endured brutal battles and the erosion of time.

Most of the Broken Swords had lost their original power, reduced to mere mundane objects.

But some Broken Swords, by absorbing the weapon spirits and Sword Intent of other Broken Swords around them, had evolved into terrifying sword-like abominations.

Massive, hill-sized figures roamed the boundless desert of the Sword Tomb.

These abominations took various forms—some resembling goats, others like Flood Dragons, pythons, or tigers.

There were also some with no discernible prototype, purely twisted entities.

Though their forms differed, when Lu Chen broke through the shackles of the upper layer and arrived here,

these monsters unanimously exhibited the same behavior:

they fiercely charged at Lu Chen.

Without exception, these creatures contained terrifying Sword Intent of the Transformation Dao Realm.

If Lu Chen had encountered them before his breakthrough to the Transformation Dao Realm,

he could have won, but the outcome would hardly have been favorable.

After all, under the washing of so many Transformation Dao Realm Sword Intents, even Lu Chen would have struggled to gain an advantage.

But after breaking through to the Transformation Dao Realm, everything changed completely.

Using Transformation Dao Realm Sword Intent at the Nascent Soul Stage could unleash its power,

but that was all—it couldn’t achieve a qualitative transformation.

However, with the cultivation of the Deity Transformation Stage, the power of Sword Intent could be multiplied.

The two were simply incomparable.

Before long, the long-silent Myriad Sword Tomb grew noisy once again.

Lu Chen, empowered by his Three Lives Grand Path and wielding the Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation, continuously engaged one ancient Sword Intent after another.

As he defeated more and more powerful foes, the power of the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords visibly strengthened.

After half a month of relentless battle,

Lu Chen noticed that some subtle changes seemed to be occurring within the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords.

But when he perceived the situation inside the four swords, he couldn’t help but frown.

Because the changes in the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords were not what he had expected.

Originally, he thought that with the tempering of so much Sword Intent,

the four swords would quickly give birth to immortal weapon spirits.

In reality, while the weapon spirits of the four swords had improved significantly, they were still far from becoming immortal weapon spirits.

Yet Lu Chen could distinctly sense that this current level was the limit the four swords could reach.

So… what exactly was restricting the birth of their weapon spirits?Without rushing to continue exploring the Sword Abyss, Lu Chen immediately sat cross-legged on the spot, beginning to contemplate the key aspects.

Around him, more Sword Intent monsters, towering like mountain ranges, had already been intimidated by his slaughter and dared not approach.

In a sense, these Sword Intent monsters were immortal and indestructible, impossible to eradicate completely.

Because their Sword Intent Origin had long been completely integrated into the Myriad Sword Tomb beneath Lu Chen’s feet.

Those ancient Spirit Swords were like names inscribed on the Register of Deities.

Forever bound within the confines of the Myriad Sword Tomb.

The Myriad Sword Tomb was their Register of Deities.

However, being able to resurrect infinitely was one thing.

Being repeatedly slaughtered was entirely another.

After half a month of battle, these creatures had long realized that Lu Chen was no prey that had delivered himself to their doorstep.

Before Lu Chen, they were nothing but helpless lambs with no power to resist.

Utterly outmatched.

Having been slaughtered enough times, fear naturally set in.

Lu Chen paid no mind to the presence of these Sword Intent monsters around him.

He focused solely on pondering how to enable the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords to complete their transformation.

Another month passed.

Lu Chen finally emerged from his deep contemplation.

This time, he had finally identified the bottleneck imposed upon the four swords.

It was none other than the Primordial Violet Qi.

Currently, the sword spirits of the four swords had reached the limit of the ‘mortal realm’.

To advance further, they needed to undergo a certain ‘transformation’.

Yet this transformation could hardly be broken through by their own power alone—it required external assistance.

The Primordial Violet Qi was that external force.

Although Lu Chen still retained some Primordial Violet Qi.

He had a feeling that this amount wouldn’t be sufficient for all four swords to complete their transformation.

Completing one or two would already be quite an achievement.

With this in mind, Lu Chen decided not to waste any more time.

Since the Myriad Sword Tomb could no longer provide him with further gains.

It was time to move on to the next location.

This time, Lu Chen’s destination was the deepest part of the Sword Locking Abyss.

Having made up his mind, Lu Chen immediately flew toward the source of the Sword Intent within the Myriad Sword Tomb.

If the Sword Intent within the Myriad Sword Tomb could be compared to individual rivers.

Then this source was a vast ocean.

Even from a great distance, Lu Chen could sense the immensity of this Sword Intent.

After flying for a full three months, Lu Chen finally reached the end of the Myriad Sword Tomb.

There, a massive stone stele stood towering in the distance.

Surrounding the stele was a hazy barrier, shimmering like the surface of water.

On the stele was inscribed a single ancient character: ‘Sword’.

Though just one character, the Sword Intent contained within it surpassed the combined Sword Intent of all the ancient swords in the Myriad Sword Tomb.

A single character, suppressing tens of thousands of ancient swords.

One could only imagine how powerful the person who left this character must have been.

Without a doubt, the one who inscribed this character was none other than the former Nine Realms Sword Ancestor.

Lu Chen approached the Sword Stele and placed his hand upon it.

In the next moment, the world spun around him.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself in a tranquil and harmonious space.

Unlike the madness and chaos of the first two layers of the Sword Locking Abyss, the layout here was exceedingly simple.

Beneath his feet stretched an endless expanse of water.

Above him was a clear, azure sky.

In the distance stood a solitary island.

On the island, there was a thatched hut and a small bamboo forest, exuding an atmosphere of serene contentment.However, when Lu Chen saw the figure inside the thatched cottage in the distance, he froze.

Because the one appearing in the distant thatched cottage was none other than Gu Yue True Immortal, the only ancient True Immortal Lu Chen had ever encountered.

“I never expected you to reach this place so quickly, young friend. It is rather unexpected,” said Gu Yue Fangyuan, who was warming tea inside the cottage, smiling at Lu Chen as he entered.

Gazing at Gu Yue True Immortal, Lu Chen’s thoughts became tangled in an instant.

He couldn’t discern whether the person before him was the Nine Realms Sword Ancestor or the legendary Gu Yue True Immortal.

After all, until now, he had always believed that the Nine Realms and the Thirty-Three Heavens were two entirely separate worlds with no contact between them.

Yet if Gu Yue True Immortal and the Sword Ancestor were truly the same person…

The implications hidden within this were nothing short of earth-shattering.

Because it would mean that the interaction between these two realms had begun far earlier than Lu Chen had imagined.

Perhaps sensing Lu Chen’s inner turmoil, Gu Yue True Immortal smiled and said, “I know you have many questions, young friend, but do not rush to ask them. First, accompany this old man in witnessing events that once transpired here.”

As he spoke, Gu Yue True Immortal tipped his teacup, allowing a single drop of tea to fall onto the table.

Drip…

The tea droplet landed on the table as if falling onto a lake surface, unexpectedly stirring ripples out of thin air.

In the next moment, the surroundings of Lu Chen and Gu Yue True Immortal transformed.

Or rather, the space beneath them transformed.

Now, the two of them appeared to be seated high in the heavens.

Observing from a transcendent perspective, they watched the unfolding lives of the mortal beings below.

What appeared beneath them was a scene of a flood dragon wreaking havoc.

The foul aura of the flood dragon permeated the skies as it continuously brought calamity upon the mortal world.

Its cultivation was so profound that it had reached the Immortal Realm.

One sect after another turned to ashes under its overwhelming power.

Although many cultivators emerged during this chaos—some so powerful that even Lu Chen felt they were formidable, including Mortal Realm Immortals at the Great Vehicle Stage—the evil flood dragon effortlessly defeated them all and continued its rampage, leaving devastation in its wake.

Just then, a disheveled sword cultivator appeared.

This sword cultivator lay half-reclined on a yellow ox, his gaze dazed as he looked toward the distant evil flood dragon, downing a mouthful of fine wine from a gourd.

As the wine flowed down his throat, the sword cultivator’s aura underwent an instantaneous transformation.

“For years, I have heard tales of an evil flood dragon spreading chaos throughout the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths.”

“This old man has been in seclusion for many years, never finding that elusive opportunity for Immortal Ascension.”

“Yet today, upon witnessing this evil flood dragon, my heart feels stirred, as if I have grasped that profound sensation.”

“Perfect. Today, I shall test my sword upon you, vile beast.”

With these words, the sword cultivator leaped into the air, charging toward the evil flood dragon.

Soon, the skies darkened, and the earth quaked as mountains crumbled.

After a fierce battle, the flood dragon was ultimately slain by the sword cultivator.

Using the dragon’s blood, the sword cultivator tempered his sword.

Ultimately, this allowed his sword to undergo a metamorphosis, transforming into an Immortal artifact.

If this were all, it would merely be an ordinary legend or strange tale—hardly worth Gu Yue True Immortal specifically showing it to Lu Chen.

But then, after slaying the evil flood dragon, the sword cultivator believed he had resolved everything and departed with an air of nonchalance.

In reality, however, the remnants of the evil flood dragon’s corpse not only poisoned the land for thousands of miles around but also indirectly corrupted many living beings, giving birth to numerous demons.

The scale of this impact was immeasurable.

Countless people lost their homes and loved ones as a result.Standing from a higher vantage point, Lu Chen perceived many things previously invisible to him.

For instance, the countless living beings indirectly harmed by the tragic deaths caused by the evil flood dragon.

The terrifying resentment contained within these creatures after death gradually converged in one place, ultimately merging into the cycle of Reincarnation.

A single incident like this meant little to the Heavenly Dao.

But as such events accumulated over time—

Ten thousand years, twenty thousand years, thirty thousand years…

After an immeasurable span, polluted by endless grievances, the Heavenly Dao… went mad.

(End of Chapter)