C612 Road to Void!
Sword beams streaked across the sky like ribbons of rainbow lightning, shooting forth from cloud-wrapped sheaths with a whistling "whoosh."
The sword intent that could cleave the heavens and earth, causing a hundred races to shudder and ten thousand demons to despair, exuded an invincible sharpness all too familiar to them.
As the sword beams cascaded downward, they morphed into myriad profound secrets, forming a dazzling river of light.
Against this backdrop, the full moon and the myriad stars above suddenly lost their luster.
To Zhongli, the old dragon, Xi Quan, and the rest, the gaping rift before them was filled with a flowing river of sword light, its emanating aura piercing their very souls.
Zhongli, having cast the Desolate True Spell, had created a small world that now fractured like shattered glass.
Boom!
Zhongli's formidable physique erupted in a spray of blood, as if riddled with a dense pattern of beehive holes.
With a muffled groan and a shrug of his shoulders, he snapped back to his original form and descended with poise.
Before his feet even touched the ground, Zhongli's wounds had miraculously healed.
His robust constitution allowed him to return to this realm unscathed, swiftly recovering from the sword beam's injuries as if they were mere trifles.
This was the undeniable superiority of those who mastered the art of body forging over those who focused solely on soul cultivation while neglecting physical endurance.
Loong Jie's dragon roar took on a sudden mournful timbre.
The colossal Five-clawed Golden Dragon, thousands of feet in length, battered the sword beams with its mighty claws, which now dripped with a blinding golden radiance.
Loong Jie's golden claws contorted unnaturally, curling like chicken feet.
His newly regrown dragon scales, large as palm-leaf fans, were riddled with cracks, resembling a hastily glued-together porcelain.
The old dragon let out a sigh, flicked his tail, and dove down as if plunging into the abyssal depths.
Having taken a heavy toll, the old dragon caught sight of the aloof Lee Yuchan wandering alone in a fog-shrouded area.
A mischievous thought crossed the old dragon's mind. He plucked a whisker and flung it toward Lee Yuchan.
In the blink of an eye, the whisker transformed into a golden whip, ensnaring Lee Yuchan's waist with no room for resistance, and yanked him forward.
Loong Jie soared low through the sky, the bound imperial female general tethered to the end of his tail.
Xi Quan, known as the "Withered Sword," and the formidable Demon Lord Lvliu, soared into the sky following Zhongli and Loong Jie. When the sword light struck Zhongli and Loong Jie, Xi Quan and Lvliu made a split-second decision to retreat, darting back to the earth below with speed that rivaled that of specters.
In the mist-enshrouded land beneath them, Lvliu transformed into a slender, strikingly handsome young man. As he assumed his human form, Zhan Tianxiang and Zhao Yafu touched down gracefully.
"Lord Lvliu!" they exclaimed.
With the proper Demon Palace reverence, Zhao Yafu and Zhan Tianxiang bowed before him. Lvliu, now in human guise, had distinctive triangular eyes that glinted a deep, oily green—a clear sign of his true, non-human demonic nature.
He could have easily altered his appearance to be even more handsome and less demon-like, but he chose not to. It seemed he preferred to make it known to all that he was indeed Lvliu, the esteemed Great Commander of the Demon Palace.
"That young man named Yu Yuan, someone you're acquainted with, has had his soul tainted by the vile magic of the evil statue," Lvliu declared, his voice resonating with the ancient language of the demons—an indication of his disdain for using human speech with those who hailed from the Demon Palace.
He was aware that Zhan Tianxiang and Zhao Yafu, having trained within the Demon Palace, were versed in the old demonic tongue and could understand him perfectly.
"You and you," he addressed them with a stern countenance, "I will ensure your survival and lead you out of here."
"I was confined to the Sword Prison because of the Demon Phoenix! Sky Tiger and Golden Elephant are old acquaintances of mine. It's out of respect for them that I'm escorting you," Lvliu stated, his voice tinged with a barely contained rage that seemed to manifest as the sound of rushing water within him.
"One day, I will make my way back to the Demon Palace to confront the Demon Phoenix face-to-face! I intend to clear my name before all the Demon Gods, with every prominent demon of the palace present to bear witness and pass judgment on whether I have truly erred."
With those words, Lvliu gestured grandly, enveloping Zhao Yafu and Zhan Tianxiang in his power, and they ascended, whisked away by his command.
With a swift motion, Xi Quan pierced the earth, carving out a deep cavern, and then burst forth from within, as if propelled by an unseen force.
"That Yu Yuan, he's not himself anymore," Xi Quan remarked after emerging, releasing Chen Qingyan from the sword case. "It's quite peculiar. Despite being under the thrall of the evil statue's spiritual sorcery, he, who has been acknowledged by the sword's intent, managed to wield the sword light within the sheath."
It was an enigma.
Xi Quan, along with Zhongli, Loong Jie, and Lvliu, had taken the bold step to soar into the heavens and flee through the opening because they believed that Yu Yuan, whose soul was steeped in the statue's malevolent magic, couldn't possibly use his sword to stop them.
The sword light that had confined them within the Sword Prison for centuries was their greater fear.
The evil statue, formidable as it once was, had been incarcerated in the Sword Prison for many years and should have been stripped of most of its strength, making it unlikely to halt their collective escape.
They had assumed that Yu Yuan, having lost his self-awareness and with his low cultivation level, couldn't harness the power within the sword sheath, prompting their joint escape attempt.
Yet, Yu Yuan, under the control of the evil statue, unexpectedly unleashed the contained sword light from the sheath.
It defied all reason!
The proud Chopping Moon cultivator, who deemed himself supreme above all, shouldn't be susceptible to manipulation by a puppet of spiritual sorcery, not even by the residual sword light and intent.
Only the true Yu Yuan, with the sword soul within and a sufficient level of cultivation, could possibly do so.
The legacy of the Chopping Moon cultivator's power should have been at odds with the evil statue, even rebelling against it.
After all, it was he who had confined the statue within the Sword Prison!
Xi Quan was baffled, and Zhongli, Loong Jie, and Lvliu were equally perplexed.
As they watched Yu Yuan, controlled by the evil statue, wielding the sword sheath and standing guard at the hole like a sentinel, they were left with no choice but to seek alternative strategies.
They each sprang into action once more.
Beneath the starry sky, Yan Qiling, following in the footsteps of the Ice Concubine, was another who managed to burst through the opening and break free from below.
He observed Yu Yuan from a distance, his expression a mix of emotions.
"Create a spatial corridor, and let it return to its rightful place."
Yu Yuan, standing over the cavernous opening, turned to face Yan Qiling with his usual deep, dark eyes and an indifferent expression. Yet, he made a demand of Yan Qiling in a tone that brooked no argument.
Yan Qiling grimaced. "But this is the Desolate Swamp!"
"It's passable," Yu Yuan stated simply.
Yan Qiling's eyes sparkled with excitement. "The Desolate God?"
Yu Yuan gave a confirming nod.
"Excellent!"
Beneath the night sky, within the billowing white clouds, a brilliant light burst forth.
The chessboard, traced by the fabric of space, with its interwoven nodes, ignited with blinding brilliance!
Like a constellation, each node shone in succession, casting a mesmerizing glow that dazzled the onlooker.
Yan Qiling, secretly employing his arcane arts, was visibly thrilled. He sensed the vanished spiritual energy of the Desolate Swamp rushing into him as he conjured a pathway through the void.
Forging a spatial corridor within the vast expanse of the Boundless Land, connecting points not too distant from each other, was a formidable challenge that typically presented numerous obstacles.
Yet now, as he attempted the feat, he felt the entire universe attuning to his will, aiding his endeavor.
With every adjustment of the spatial ripples, his intentions materialized effortlessly.
The creation of each spatial node, calling for a harmony of spiritual power and intent, came to fruition with ease.
To perceive the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area through the Desolate Swamp, he needed to tap into his soul. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than he felt the distance between them shrink in an instant.
His eyes, his very soul, seemed to pierce into the heart of the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area.
His desires were perceived instantly, the world around him in perfect sync, responding to his every whim, bending to his will. This...
Yan Qiling realized in a flash that within this vast swamp, only the Desolate God could wield such power to aid him, to alter the heavens and earth, to stretch and twist space itself.
Only with the Desolate God's clandestine support could he open a spatial conduit as Yu Yuan had commanded.
And so, the malevolent statue was transported in a mere moment from the Desolate Swamp into the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area!
"The Heaven Sealing Soul Transformation Formation within the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area has been reactivated in its full glory! The Desolate Swamp, too, has been sealed, forbidding any outsiders from prying."
Upon sensing the forbidden area, Yan Qiling's heart trembled with a profound shock, as he pieced together a series of revelations that filled him with dread.
He was acutely aware that if the evil statue were to ever leave the protective shroud of the Desolate Swamp, its mere presence in the world beyond would spark an uproar of catastrophic proportions.
The notion of the Divine Statue entering the forbidden area through conventional means was utterly inconceivable. The moment it stepped out of the Desolate Swamp, the three Upper Sects, along with the Devil Palace and Demon Palace, would converge upon the location to either obliterate the statue or ensnare it once more.
The only viable option was to employ spatial displacement, orchestrated by those adept in the manipulation of space, to forge a transient corridor between the Desolate Swamp and the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area, thereby facilitating safe passage for the Divine Statue.
