Chapter 433 – One Sword Enters Spirit Transformation, Slaying Fiends and Gods, Reaching Heaven

For a great divine power practitioner at the Transformation Soul Stage to injure a Mortal Realm Immortal at the Great Vehicle Stage was no different from a mortal attempting to contend against heaven and earth.

This was not alarmist talk but a tangible reality.

In fact, the disparity between the two was far greater than that.

Because, in a certain sense, the Transformation Dao Realm merely made one a guest in the “house of the Heavenly Dao,” while an Immortal in the Enlightenment Realm made themselves the master of this house.

On the surface, there seemed to be only a single Realm separating them.

Yet this one Realm represented the chasm between heaven and earth.

Thus, from the very beginning, the Netherworld Ancestor had not taken Lu Chen seriously.

He was only wary of the Heavenly Tribulation power Lu Chen brought with him.

But now, the Sword Intent emanating from Lu Chen made him vaguely sense a trace of danger.

Feeling threatened by someone at the Transformation Soul Stage left the Netherworld Ancestor both astonished and covetous.

If he was not mistaken, Lu Chen’s Sword Intent was no ordinary great divine power of the Transformation Dao Realm but had reached a level comparable to the Enlightenment Realm of an Immortal.

The Enlightenment Realm was not only exceedingly rare among Cultivators but even among Immortals, Enlightenment Realm techniques were few and far between.

Here, “few” referred to those who simultaneously mastered multiple Enlightenment Realm techniques.

After all, upon reaching the Immortal stage, one’s cultivation and True Spirit had essentially transcended ordinary limits.

What truly distinguished ordinary Immortals from True Immortals was the number of Great Dao they comprehended.

Mastering a single Great Dao, possessing an Immortal Spirit and a flawless Immortal Body—this was the minimum requirement to achieve Immortal Ascension.

But to advance from Immortal to Golden Immortal, and further to True Immortal or even Great Luo True Immortals, it was no longer a matter of simply increasing one’s spiritual power or strengthening one’s True Spirit.

Instead, it required comprehending more of the Heavenly Dao.

However, even a single Heavenly Dao was enough to consume a lifetime for many.

To comprehend additional Heavenly Dao—how could such a feat be easily accomplished?

This was not something that could be achieved through time and Opportunity alone.

It required the perfect alignment of timing, geographical advantage, and human effort—a monumental achievement attained only with great difficulty.

Thus, upon realizing that Lu Chen’s Sword Intent seemed to have reached the Enlightenment Realm, the Netherworld Ancestor could not help but feel greedy.

He had already mastered two Great Dao.

If he could devour Lu Chen’s Enlightenment Realm Sword Intent, he would effectively command three Great Dao.

By fusing these three Great Dao, he would Breakthrough the Celestial Being stage and attain the level of a Golden Celestial.

Although fully integrating three Great Dao was no small challenge, Celestial Beings lacked many things—but time was not one of them.

With this thought in mind, the Netherworld Ancestor even ceased to worry about attracting the attention of this world’s Heavenly Dao.

A Transformation Soul Stage Cultivator who had mastered the Enlightenment Realm—such fine Materials were hard to come by.

Therefore, as Lu Chen’s Sword Intent surged, the Netherworld Ancestor began to get serious.

On his massive Dragon body, countless fissures began to open.

Then, endless purple smoke billowed forth.

Not only did the color of this smoke appear eerie, but anything it touched—even lifeless seawater—gradually gained vitality.

This was undoubtedly a bizarre phenomenon.

After all, how could seawater… possess life of its own?

Though it sounded absurd, it was truly happening.Before long, the ten-thousand-mile sea area above the Underwater Dragon Palace had transformed into a vast expanse of violet. The dark purple sea surface evoked an indescribable dread, as if entering it would lead to being devoured by some unknown entity. At this moment, every being within this sea area, except for Lu Chen, fell victim. The most unfortunate were undoubtedly the Corpse Fiend Cave cultivators who remained in the Underwater Dragon Palace. After all, the Netherworld Ancestor’s “Netherworld Power” showed no regard for allies or foes.

Below the Immortal realm, all are but ants—even fellow Sect cultivators were no exception. Thus, under the influence of this Netherworld Power, all living beings within the ten-thousand-mile radius of the Underwater Dragon Palace became part of its Dao power. Having devoured so many lives, the Netherworld Ancestor’s Celestial Corpse Immortal transformed into a flesh-and-blood True Dragon. Such power to revive the dead and regenerate flesh was undeniably a divine Immortal technique.

However, once the Netherworld Ancestor went all out, the Lightning Tribulation originally focused on Lu Chen immediately trembled. It was as if a higher-priority target had suddenly appeared beside the original one. In this situation, the Heavenly Tribulation meant for Lu Chen now shifted its power to confront the Netherworld Ancestor, attempting to either guide this Immortal lingering in the mortal realm upward or, failing that, eliminate him on the spot.

This was the rule of the Heavenly Dao in the Azure Cloud World—or rather, in the Major Thousand Worlds. Immortals belong in the Immortal Realm, mortals in the mortal realm. Even in the highly distorted Nine Realms, this fundamental principle of heaven and earth still held true.

Sensing the Heavenly Tribulation meant for him approaching, the Netherworld Ancestor showed no panic. Instead, he laughed and said, “Though the Guiding Heavenly Tribulation is fearsome, with my current cultivation, the first one poses no fatal threat to me. Didn’t you want to use the Heavenly Tribulation against me? Then I shall grant your wish and draw it here myself. I only wonder if a mere Transformation Soul Stage cultivator like you can withstand the residual waves of my Guiding Heavenly Tribulation?”

Every word of the Netherworld Ancestor reached Lu Chen’s ears clearly. Contrary to his expectations, Lu Chen not only showed no trace of panic but also cast a profound glance at him. The meaning behind that gaze inexplicably stirred a sense of crisis in the Netherworld Ancestor’s heart, as if everything unfolding had been anticipated by Lu Chen, and he, a Celestial Being, was merely walking a path laid out by his opponent.

Though he sensed something amiss, the Netherworld Ancestor could not pinpoint what he had overlooked. Logically, Lu Chen, caught in the Guiding Heavenly Tribulation of a Celestial Being, should have been utterly defeated. After all, in the face of absolute power, all schemes appear futile. Yet Lu Chen’s current demeanor was nothing like that of trapped prey—it more resembled a hunter disguised as prey.

Strange, far too strange. Unless…

The Netherworld Ancestor seemed to recall something and immediately fixed his gaze on the four Immortal Swords surrounding Lu Chen. No, these four swords are not right!

Noticing the shift in the Netherworld Ancestor’s expression, Lu Chen knew his plan had finally been detected. But it was far too late for realization now.”The gap between Deity Transformation and a Celestial Being in the world is indeed like an insurmountable chasm, but with sufficient preparation, this chasm is not impossible to cross.”

“For example… allowing these four Celestial Artifacts to accumulate sufficient Sword Intent in advance.”

“This method is not profound, yet it is exceedingly ingenious—it is called… Hidden Edge.”

As he spoke, Lu Chen fully unleashed the Sword Intent from his body.

Though this Sword Intent was remarkable, it was not Lu Chen’s true trump card.

His real trump card was the immense Sword Intent that had been stored within the four Immortal Swords all along.

In truth, ever since his first entry into the Sword Abyss of the Imprisoned Sword Sect, Lu Chen had been preparing for his second Transformation Soul Stage Clone.

This preparation was for the scenario where he might fail to nurture the four Celestial Artifacts.

How could he ensure he would safely pass the Heavenly Tribulation of his second Transformation Soul Stage Clone?

To this end, Lu Chen devised a method: preemptively storing Sword Intent within the four swords.

And releasing it all at a critical moment.

Back in the Sword Abyss, Lu Chen had used the Sword Intent of the Evil Swords suppressed by the Sword Ancestor as whetstones to temper the Immortal Swords.

Simultaneously, he allowed the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords to continuously accumulate Sword Intent throughout this process.

The Evil Swords specifically suppressed by the Sword Ancestor within his own body were naturally no ordinary objects.

Even though their Sword Intent had been corrupted by the Nine Realms Heavenly Dao,

they still possessed formidable power.

Thus, Lu Chen amassed a vast amount of Sword Intent thereafter.

However, mobilizing this Sword Intent was no easy task either.

For this reason, Lu Chen had no choice but to begin accumulating Sword Intent continuously half a year ago.

His goal was to release the immense Sword Intent stored within the Four Fiend-Slaying Swords all at once at the crucial moment.

And what he had just done was precisely that.

As this immense Sword Intent, having absorbed countless ancient Sword Intents, was released in one burst,

the Netherworld Ancestor could no longer maintain his composure.

For Lu Chen’s Sword Intent this time had reached a level that even a Celestial Being would find staggering.

The Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation, Enlightenment Sword Intent, Eternal Sword Intent, and the Four Celestial Artifacts.

When these four elements combined,

a heaven-shaking sword formation emerged.

The Four Fiend-Slaying Swords, which had always been mere illusions until now, materialized completely under the support of this immense power.

Four towering Immortal Swords stood firmly in the East Sea,

their blades plunging into the sea and piercing the clouds,

so vast that their ends were beyond sight.

This spectacle was sensed even by people beyond the East Sea, who turned to look in this direction.

Among them, Sword Cultivators were the most perceptive.

Throughout the Azure Cloud World at this moment, countless Sword Cultivators felt a sudden spiritual awakening, their hearts trembling involuntarily,

as if sensing that something momentous had occurred.

As the mastermind behind all this, Lu Chen himself was somewhat awed by the effect of the Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation.

Although he had anticipated that this sword strike would be terrifyingly powerful,

he had not expected it to reach such an extent.

The Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation, formed by the convergence of countless Sword Intents, seemed to have achieved a qualitative transformation.

Even if this sword strike could only be unleashed once,

and even after this one time, Lu Chen would find it difficult to replicate,

since the Sword Intent in the Sword Abyss had been nearly exhausted by Lu Chen.

That was the accumulation of countless Sword Intents the Sword Ancestor had amassed from the time of the Seal until now.

If Lu Chen wished to recreate this scene, he would have to wait another ten thousand years.

But given that much time, he would have long achieved Immortal Ascension.

Thus, this sword strike might very well become the most powerful one Lu Chen had ever wielded in his cultivation journey to date.At the same time, as the complete Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation manifested between heaven and earth.

Netherworld Ancestor immediately sensed the formidable power of this sword formation.

His Netherworld Power was now heavily suppressed by the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation.

His physical body and even his Divine Soul faintly felt a tearing sensation.

It was as if countless sharp blades were slicing through him, causing immense pain.

Yet this wasn’t the most terrifying aspect of the Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation.

The true power of this sword formation lay in its ability to destroy the ‘Dao’.

“The Great Dao is often formless” – this was a consensus among Immortals.

Although all Immortals knew that completely eradicating an opponent’s Dao was the only way to truly slay them,

Knowing was one thing, but accomplishing it was entirely another.

Because eradicating the Dao wasn’t as simple as eating or drinking.

It required specific methods.

But the complete Fiend-Slaying Sword Formation bypassed this requirement entirely.

Its Sword Intent had reached the level where nothing could withstand its cut –

including the Heavenly Dao itself.

“Slay.”

As Lu Chen uttered this sword command,

The four towering Fiend-Slaying Swords simultaneously released their sword light.

Under the illumination of the sword light, Netherworld Ancestor didn’t even have time to react properly.

Immediately, Netherworld Ancestor felt something within him… being severed.

And soon, he realized what had been cut off –

it was the Netherworld Dao he had mastered.

With his Dao severed, Netherworld Ancestor quickly suffered the backlash.

The first to be affected was the surrounding Netherworld Sea.

Deprived of Dao power,

Netherworld Ancestor instantly became the target of this very Netherworld Sea.

The seemingly sentient Netherworld Sea began voraciously devouring Netherworld Ancestor’s massive Dragon body.

This consumption affected not only his Physical Body but also his Soul.

For a time, Netherworld Ancestor’s agonized screams filled the air.

And as misfortunes never come singly,

Netherworld Ancestor’s crisis didn’t end there.

The Heavenly Tribulation he had summoned also launched its attack.

A single heavenly thunderbolt made Netherworld Ancestor vomit blood.

And he still had to endure numerous more Heavenly Tribulations.

Realizing his predicament, Netherworld Ancestor made a decision almost instantly.

A Yin Spirit flew out from Netherworld Ancestor’s Dragon corpse.

This Yin Spirit was Netherworld Ancestor’s true form.

The moment it emerged, it recklessly charged toward a specific direction in the Underwater Dragon Palace.

The Heavenly Tribulation above it pursued relentlessly throughout this process.

“Thinking of escaping now? That won’t be so easy.”

Though Lu Chen was bleeding from all seven orifices – clearly suffering backlash from overreaching with the sword formation –

his Aura had reached an unprecedented Peak.

He raised his hand, and a massive Dharma Idol immediately appeared behind him.

As Lu Chen swung his Sword downward,

The Dharma Idol followed suit, striking at Netherworld Ancestor’s Yin Spirit.

At the critical moment, Netherworld Ancestor’s Yin Spirit split in two.

One part defended against Lu Chen’s strike,

While the other completely vanished into the Dragon Palace.

Though Lu Chen wanted to pursue, his own Heavenly Tribulation had arrived.

However, after that final strike, Lu Chen suddenly comprehended something.

The Sword Intent within him reached complete Perfection, merging with his being – Embodying Dao.

This sensation of becoming the Dao itself made Lu Chen understand that his final strike hadn’t just targeted Netherworld Ancestor,

but had also severed the limitations of his own Realm.

With one sword strike, he entered the Deity Transformation Realm.After the Realm breakthrough, Lu Chen’s body, which had been riddled with countless holes due to backlash, began to rapidly recover.

As for the subsequent Heavenly Tribulation, it could no longer pose any threat to him.

This second Transformation Soul Stage Clone was complete.

(End of Chapter)