C1583 The Sword Sect Lord!
Lin Daoke!
Upon hearing that the Sword Sect Lord might be in the vicinity, the expressions of the three formidable beings from beyond the heavens shifted noticeably.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Diggs of the Dark Elfkind radiated a verdant glow beneath his feet, transforming the Gloom Star River he occupied into a vast forest in the blink of an eye.
Gigantic ancient trees, thousands of meters tall and mountainous in stature, sprouted from nowhere, their branches and leaves densely filling the air.
Diggs's form was ensnared by serpentine brown vines, morphing into an odd wooden shield armor, readying himself for a staunch defense.
His body, bloodline, and soul could commune with the multitude of ancient trees within the forest. He could merge with any tree and harness their power for combat.
"Lin Daoke!"
With the air of facing a formidable foe, Diggs scanned the surroundings while the trees of the forest branched out, swaying towards other locations in search of the Sword Sect Lord.
The Void Spirit Succubus, who had just assumed the appearance of Benin, then transformed into a dazzling, seven-colored Divine Butterfly following Diggs.
Yet, she had noticeably diminished her presence.
In an instant, she shrank to a mere fraction of her size, now comparable to that of an average person.
It was as if she understood that flaunting her true form would only make her a prime target.
Even Asura King Sabonis, who had forged numerous golden blades from his bloodline, paused in the deep space after Zhong Chichen uttered the name Lin Daoke.
He did not rush towards the iron-like star.
"This Lin Daoke..."
The Space-time Dragon, having been reborn, stroked his chin thoughtfully atop a steep mountain peak.
During his time dominating the starry rivers, the Sword Sect was yet to emerge in the vast cosmos.
After the Naga's decline, when he had joined the Lunar Scourge in battles beyond the heavens, there was no mention of a figure like Lin Daoke.
Zhong Chichen's recollection of Lin Daoke was somewhat hazy.
He was more familiar with the exploits of Nie Qingtian, believing that the might of the "Optimus Sword" was the pinnacle of the Sword Sect's strength, even outshining Lin Daoke.
Yet, the reactions of Diggs, the Void Spirit Succubus, and the Asura King served as a constant reminder that the Sword Sect Lord, despite his lack of renown, was an exceedingly formidable adversary.
"Loong Jie, when you confront Sabonis later, I'll assist Lin Daoke by engaging Diggs..."
Zhong Chichen began to strategize.
He had anticipated the emergence of Asura King Sabonis and had considered the possibility of the Origin Realm God deploying the Void Spirit Succubus. However, he hadn't foreseen them joining forces.
With the arrival of three supreme beings from beyond the heavens, he knew that even with Lin Daoke's help, the challenge would be formidable.
"Colorful Patriarch, you worry too much."
Loong Jie remained sprawled across the star, its surface as dark as iron, continuing to draw upon his bloodline talent to extract the essence of black metal from beneath the earth.
The moment Zhong Chichen mentioned Lin Daoke's proximity, Loong Jie's tension eased.
"Ancestor, your recent awakening and the brevity of your life have left you unaware of the significance behind the name Lin Daoke," Loong Jie said with a menacing grin. "With him here, neither of us needs to exert any effort."
Zhong Chichen was taken aback.
But in the next instant, he grasped the implication in Loong Jie's words.
Whoosh!
A sword light, breathtakingly brilliant and resembling a radiant river composed of innumerable crystals, appeared out of nowhere and descended upon the forest where Diggs was located.
Diggs, possessing a Tenth Level bloodline, had conjured a vast sea of trees using his blood and innate divine powers. As the sword light struck...
Giant ancient trees, towering millions of feet high, were sliced as easily as if they were withered branches, bursting into a myriad of green sparkles.
Within the river of sword light, minuscule crystals transformed into finer beams of light, relentlessly pursuing Diggs's green essence and grinding it to dust.
Puchi!
Diggs, clad in his wooden shield armor, was unable to flee before his essence was obliterated. Suddenly, a gaping hole appeared in his chest.
A sword light had pierced Diggs's heart, shattering all the Bloodline Crystal Chains and erasing his soul in the process.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
After annihilating Diggs's essence, the countless delicate beams of crystal light swiftly reintegrated into the sword light river.
It was then that Lin Daoke, empty-handed and with a furrowed brow, emerged from the shadows, his clothes wrinkled and stained with dark green blood. It seemed that when Diggs's blood had been crushed and sprayed in all directions, Lin Daoke couldn't be bothered to dodge or shield himself with his spiritual energy, allowing the blood to splatter over him.
By the time he arrived, Diggs had already breathed his last.
The air was filled with countless blood pearls, rich with the essence of flora, cascading down like a gentle rain, yet he paid them no heed, utterly unmoved.
Diggs, with a gaping hole in his chest where the Bloodline Crystal Chain had shattered, had his soul crushed, severing his lifeline completely.
"What a waste," Loong Jie grumbled, his massive golden dragon form abruptly taking flight.
The moment Lin Daoke made his move, the spatial binding formed by the Void Spirit Succubus between him and Zhong Chichen's star silently crumbled.
Diggs, a Tenth Rank warrior of the Dark Elfkind, had blood that was saturated with the essence of plant life.
Loong Jie, a true Dragon God, did not possess an infinite lifespan or boundless vitality to squander.
The blood of Diggs was an excellent replenishment for him, a potent restorative.
Lin Daoke might have been indifferent, but Loong Jie certainly valued it.
With a whoosh, as Loong Jie gathered Diggs's vital blood, Lin Daoke's hand opened and then closed around something unseen.
A sword of blinding brilliance, its true form obscured, materialized in his grasp.
Upon seeing the sword, Zhong Chichen was profoundly shaken.
As a connoisseur of the universe's wonders, with a deep understanding of the Hundred Clans' secrets and their relics, he was visibly astonished.
It was as though he had encountered something inconceivable and illogical.
"God, the God Throne..."
Even someone as worldly as he was left stuttering in awe.
He could never have imagined that the Sword Sect, millennia later, would produce a sword fanatic like Lin Daoke, who had transformed his own God Throne into a blade!
The crystalline, transparent God Throne, etched with Dao Laws and merged with the Primordial Spirit, had become a sword—the mark of a transcendent being!
Zhong Chichen had never even dared to dream that someone would turn the most treasured and fiercely guarded God Throne into a sword...
And then, wielding his own God Throne, engage in life-or-death combat.
Should the God Throne shatter or even crack slightly, Lin Daoke would face a demotion in rank, or worse, total annihilation of body and spirit.
Yet there he stood, wielding the sword forged from his own God Throne, having just slain Diggs with a single stroke.
How could such a person exist in this world?
How could there be someone who regards neither their divine status nor their own life with any seriousness?
Swoosh!
Holding the God Throne, a fusion of the Primordial Spirit, the vast Origin, and the Sword Dao Laws, Lin Daoke suddenly appeared beside the miniature colorful butterfly and unleashed another sword strike.
The eyes of the Void Spirit Succubus, resembling seven-colored Divine Stones, betrayed her palpable terror as her splendid butterfly wings beat vigorously.
On each of her wings, two "Origin Realm Gates" emerged, crafted from swirling circles of colorful light, resembling abyssal creatures slowly opening their maws.
Lin Daoke, gripping his Divine Throne, remained stoic, his eyes betraying not a single ripple of emotion.
His blade emitted a dazzling sword light, aimed straight at the butterfly wings.
The sword light, once as broad as a river, refined and contracted as the Void Spirit Succubus diminished, becoming as slender and shimmering as a strand of hair.
Upon closer inspection, magnified a million times, the sword light was still brimming with billions of minuscule crystals.
Each crystal contained a mesmerizing array of intricate sword Dao laws!
Boom!
The "Origin Realm Gate" atop the butterfly wings, penetrated by the delicate sword light, shattered explosively.
The wild, disordered energy, mingled with the Space Light Blade, tore through the butterfly's wings.
The filamentous crystal sword light, part of it delving into the "Origin Realm Gate," seemed to churn madly, swiftly shredding the embedded Dao laws, soul secrets, and numerous spatial coordinates.
The "Origin Realm Gate" burst violently, causing one of the Void Spirit Succubus's wings to also rupture and explode.
Lin Daoke had obliterated one "Origin Realm Gate" and a wing of the Void Spirit Succubus with a single sword strike.
"The Origin Realm Gate at the Ascension Mountain Range, since it's already linked to the Vast Ocean Dao Law, I refrained from drawing my sword to avoid affecting the Vast Ocean," Lin Daoke said with a frown. "Yet here, beyond the heavens, you still dare to obstruct my view with an Origin Realm Gate."
He grumbled in displeasure and readied his sword for another strike, determined to annihilate the remaining Origin Realm Gate.
In doing so, he would also sever another wing of the Divine Butterfly.
"Sabonis!"
The Void Spirit Succubus let out a harrowing scream. Amidst her excruciating pain, what remained of her colorful butterfly form desperately squeezed toward another Origin Realm Gate.
The second Origin Realm Gate manifested a relentless suction, like a fully powered pump, drawing in the remnants of her butterfly essence.
She had seen that when Lin Daoke destroyed one of the Origin Realm Gates along with one of her butterfly wings, the Asura King had already made his retreat to the Frost Well he carried with him.
The Asura King had fled.
"Loong Jie!"
Zhong Chichen, equally startled by Lin Daoke, bellowed as he saw the Asura King attempting to escape. He instructed Loong Jie to lock onto the target before he himself took to the air, calling out, "Wait, Asura King!"
He yelled, eyes fixed on the Frost Well, his vibrant sleeves flailing wildly in its direction. "Just wait. Loong Jie hasn't returned to his peak strength, and he's not fully confident. Why don't you settle this here, once and for all?"
"And you, don't even think about returning to the Dark Domain just yet."
As he spoke, the frost crystals forming the Frost Well in the Dark Domain came to a sudden halt.
The Golden Chariot, driven by the Asura King, landed in the well but failed to make the transition smoothly into the Dark Domain.
The reason being, the Frost Well's raw materials were the cold crystals that had slowly solidified within the Cold Abyss Entrance of the Firefly Starfield.
These crystals contained not only the power of the ice dragon but also Zhong Chichen's own spatial energy.
He was confident enough to suggest that Loong Jie could take down Sabonis if he believed he had the requisite power, because he knew the exact location of the Frost Well constructed by the Asura Clan at the Cold Abyss Entrance.
He could activate it and accompany Loong Jie directly into the Dark Domain to pursue Sabonis.
In a flash, the second Origin Realm Gate and the lingering form of the Void Spirit Succubus vanished without a trace.
Lin Daoke, holding his divine seat and unable to swing his sword again, appeared somewhat disgruntled and unfulfilled.
Lacking an understanding of spatial powers and standing in the vast emptiness of space, he looked around but found no further targets for his blade.
Thus, the sword in his hand once again submerged into the depths of his soul consciousness, reverting to its divine seat form.
The sword hilt, devoid of its blade, was securely fastened in the sheath upon his back.
...
