Embers of Sword

Chapter 540 Half-Step Yang God
"Master Dao."

Deep within the pure white cave, white paper fluttered in the air. A man lay on a bench with his eyes closed, his cloak pulled tight around his waist, as if in a deep sleep.

The fire in the furnace flickered.

The souls within the [Chenglu] swayed with the flames.

Lu Yuzhen slowly opened her eyes.

Beside him, Jing San knelt on one knee and reported softly, "The matter is now complete... Zen Master He Yi and Daoist Bai have offered their life souls. The sects of these two major sects have been moved into the white paper barrier."

"……Um."

Lu Yuzhen gave a soft "hmm," her expression unchanged, though a hint of weariness lingered in the depths of her eyes.

"grown ups."

Jing San was somewhat puzzled: "The life soul of a half-step Yang God is of great benefit to the [Chenglu]. Do we really not need to ask Chi Xian and Qing Xiao?"

This major battle in southern Xinjiang.

As a key figure in the Daoist Master's plans, Jing San was involved in almost the entire process.

He knew perfectly well what the Dao Lord was planning... After this battle, the various holy lands of Da Chu were severely weakened, and the three major sects of the Southern Frontier had all surrendered. From this day forward, the Paper Doll Sect would be the sole overlord of the 100,000 mountains of the Southern Frontier. But he couldn't understand why the Dao Lord was so "disdainful" of Yin Mountain. After the Secret Tomb appeared, the Dao Lord arranged for him to go to the Heavenly Puppet Sect and the Joyful Union Sect, taking away the "life souls" of the Unity Zen Master and the White Daoist, bringing these two sects into the Paper Doll Sect. But he completely ignored Yin Mountain... In terms of sect foundation and strength, Yin Mountain was superior to these two sects.

"No need to waste your time."

Lu Yuzhen shook her head and said softly, "I won't take Qingxiao and Chixian's life souls... it would be a waste of time."

Even if I accept it... it's all for nothing?
Jing San paused for a moment.

He looked at the flickering fire in the furnace and vaguely understood the meaning behind Master Lu's words.

A while ago, Daoist Qianyuan's soul fell into the [Chenglu], and Dao Jiu put on this body... But after Dao Jiu "perished," Daoist Qianyuan's soul shattered. This soul is closely related to its master; if the soul shatters, the master dies. Conversely, if the master dies, the soul will naturally dissipate as well.

There's only one possibility why the Dao Lord doesn't want the life souls of Chi Xian and Qing Xiao.

Chi Xian and Qing Xiao... won't live much longer.

This way.

The reason why the Paper Doll Path does not accept Yinshan disciples is now clear...

"People always have to pay the price for their mistakes."

Lu Yuzhen gazed at the most dazzling flame of life essence in the furnace fire and sighed softly.

"...Who told them to provoke that guy?"

The Dao Lord flicked his sleeves, closed his eyes again, and said wearily, "This farce in the Southern Frontier is about to end... Let's send those guys from Yinshan to appease Xie Xuanyi's anger. I need to rest for a while; the real battle is yet to come."

……

……

Rumble, rumble!

Thunder rumbled through the void, and from the sanctuary shrouded in a veil of tranquility came fragmented sounds.

"retreat!"

In the Da Chu camp, Zhou Shen took a deep breath, enduring the discomfort, and activated his Martial Arts Divine Embryo to stand in front of everyone.

The old man on the throne of red leaves frowned.

An hour had passed since Xie Xuanyi stepped into the sanctuary.

This hour...

The sanctuary remained peaceful and serene.

What's going on here?
The critically injured and dying Master Baihe was no match for Xie Xuanyi.

Where everyone's gaze fell, the Holy Temple's Dao Domain exploded, countless sword energies tearing the domain apart, revealing a scene ten feet around the pure white Dao Stele—

"Rinzuka?!"

"No, what kind of monster is this?"

someone exclaimed.

Where the Daoist stele hangs, a withered figure draped in the robes of the White Crane Immortal is crawling in the shadows. This figure has transcended the realm of humanity, with a ferocious face, a scarlet body, and skin covered in dense scales.

"It's an earth dragon..."

Ye Zu spoke in a heavy voice.

In the battle of the White Paper Barrier, he personally watched the earth dragon retreat. He thought that the beast had hidden in the Pure White Mountain to rest, but he never expected that the White Ghost had left such a trick up its sleeve.

The dark, crawling monster had one hand almost touching the Dao stele.

The two are only a stone's throw apart.

just.

This short distance feels farther than an insurmountable chasm.

Because one person was already standing next to the road stele.

It was Xie Xuanyi, dressed in black. Xie Xuanyi gently placed his palm on the Dao stele, looking down at the beast lying on the ground.

"..."

The black Taoist robe was torn apart by the ferocious scales, revealing the true form of the earth dragon. At this moment, his back was covered with even denser black sword energy than the scales, like thorns and spikes, piercing his back, making him look like a hedgehog.

The two looked at each other.

After touching the Dao Stele, Xie Xuanyi exuded boundless pressure. Just one glance was enough to fill Bai Gui with endless despair and fear.

He exerted all his strength, trying to touch the Dao Stele, making a final gamble to see if he could seize some fortune—

The next moment.

A wisp of sword energy slashed down.

The inch of skin that the white ghost "touched" on the stele was instantly sliced ​​off.

The golden sword was too fast.

So fast that it's impossible to see clearly.

No one present, except Ye Zu, could see the trajectory of the sword energy.

Including Zhou.

"This is... the aura of the Path of Annihilation."

Sitting on the throne of red leaves, Ye Zu watched this scene in silence, his heart filled with complex emotions.

"The Path of Annihilation?"

Zhou paused for a moment, slightly taken aback.

In this world, over the past hundred years, only three people have cultivated to the level of the Dao of Annihilation, but only one person has cultivated the Dao Realm into the Great Dao.

Ten years ago, everyone believed that Xie Xuanyi would surely become the new "Lord of the Path of Annihilation." However, no one expected that this exceptionally talented young swordsman would die in the North Sea at the very last moment. Some say that the Path of Annihilation is a path of misfortune and calamity, and that to advance to the Yang God realm through it, one must endure immense suffering and torment.

Venerable Lotus died on the battlefield in the Northern Region.

Although Luo Lie, the sect leader of the One Blade Sect, successfully advanced, he also paid a heavy price during the process.

This claim has not been verified.

But the “disparity” among the three over the past century is precisely a testament to this.

"Lord Ye Zu... Xie Xuanyi has attained enlightenment?"

Lu Yuan, who was guarding the throne of red leaves, asked cautiously.

"Do not……"

Ye Zu shook his head and explained, "For the Dao Realm to condense into the Great Dao, the Divine Soul Realm needs to be strong enough. If the comprehension is insufficient, the Dao Realm will never achieve the Dao... This is the 'Question of the Heart' in the secular sense. Only when the heart and soul are strong enough can the Dao Realm be perfected. After passing the 'Question of the Heart' tribulation, the Great Dao has a embryonic form. What is needed next is a large amount of primordial energy, which is the 'Question of the Dao' tribulation. These two tribulations are not sequential."

The disciples were completely bewildered.

"In the Yin God Realm, the strongest is the 'Great Perfection'."

Ye Zu paused for a moment, then said, "Tang Fengshu of Tianxiazhai, Chen Chong, the leader of the Iron Cavalry of Yuanzhou... are both Great Perfection beings who have survived two great tribulations and are ready to comprehend the embryonic form of the Great Dao at any time. Once such beings comprehend the embryonic form of the Great Dao, they are destined to become Yang Gods."

Speaking of which.

He looked at the white-clad warrior beside him.

Zhou, who proved his Dao through martial arts... can be considered to have achieved this level of existence.

But Xie Xuanyi is now even stronger than that.

The Dao of Annihilation has reached perfection... and is beginning its transformation into the Great Dao.

This is a sign that the embryonic form of the Great Dao is about to condense.

It can be said that Xie Xuanyi has already secured a place as the future Yang God at the summit of the mountain.

This embryonic form of the Great Dao only needs to absorb primordial energy to achieve the Great Dao and expand its grotto-heaven.

The white-robed warrior looked at the rain falling not far away, his expression a mixture of joy and melancholy.

"This battle is over..."

Zhou said succinctly, "Whether it is the White Crane Immortal or the Earth Dragon standing in front of the Dao Stele at this moment, it is all in vain."

Xie Xuanyi is now stronger than he was ten years ago.

Based on Zhou's understanding of Xie Xuanyi, even if the person standing in front of him right now was Bai Gui at his peak... it wouldn't matter.

What is a half-step Yang Shen?

This is the half-step Yang God!

……

……

(PS: Good heavens! I really didn't mean to delay the update. I started writing as soon as I woke up this morning, writing and deleting. Before I knew it, it was already midnight.)
(End of this chapter)