Daqin Zhentiansi

But in the instant before his consciousness was completely extinguished, he seemed to see that indifferent white-clad phantom, and for the first time, a faint hint of approval flashed in its eyes.

In the boundless darkness and ruin, a gentle yet magnificent power descends.

It's that white-robed sword ancestor!

A crystal, translucent and shaped like a small sword, fell from the top of the mausoleum, ignoring the destructive energy, and entered the core of Zhang Yuan's soon-to-dissipate remains.

It is the original sword spirit transformed from the sword that the Sword Ancestor once wore!

"good."

A clear thought resonated deep within Zhang Yuan's shattered soul.

A gentle yet vast sword intent enveloped every inch of his shattered bones, blood, and soul.

A wonderful change began to happen.

Although the Chaos Furnace shattered, the Mingwang Zhenshi Golden Wheel Imprint merged with the origin of that small sword.

The shattered dantian was reshaped by the purest and most refined sword intent, transforming into a jade-colored skeleton covered with ancient Dao patterns.

Chaos Sword Bone!

After destruction comes nirvana, and the mind becomes clear and enlightened!

A mighty torrent of thoughts surged into my heart. It was not a sword technique or move, but a control of a grand "momentum"—the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin Technique"!
This method does not wield a fierce sword or a domineering weapon; it cultivates the power to inspire, gather, and support the will of countless living beings to strive for self-improvement, protect their homeland, and yearn for peace!
Guided by aspirations, let all thoughts be the spearhead!
This is the supreme and righteous path of the sword, surpassing all weapons and evil tools that are forcibly seized and plundered!

Beneath the mausoleum, on the edge of the battlefield.

Cheng Yue witnessed all of this and burst into tears.

He felt the immense compassion of the Sword Tomb's will and the recognition of its new life.

He staggered forward and, with the remaining power of his guardian sword spirit, carved an eternal inscription on a huge broken stele that had fallen from the Ten Thousand Sword Tomb.

Zhang Yuan of Yongzhou used his body as a lock to eternally imprison the thirteen vicious swords here.

—Cheng Yueli, Protector of Zhao Zhou Liuyun Sword Washing Pavilion
Once the inscription was completed, the stone tablet was embedded into the base of the sword mound with a resounding crash, becoming the pivot of the seal.

Countless silent ancient swords hummed softly, and wisps of pure and peaceful ancient sword intent emanated from the base of the sword mound, slowly merging into the bodies of the heavily injured Cheng Yue and all the surviving disciples of Zhao Zhou.

The shattered foundations of the Daoist tradition were quietly nourished, mended, and reborn by this gift from the source of the Sword Tomb...

Zhao Zhou inherited the sword and thus regained the recognition of the Sword Tomb's will, his mission changing to protect this sealed land.

Above the void, the white-robed phantom looked at the Chaos Sword Bone that Zhang Yuan was reshaping, and there seemed to be a trace of relief on its indifferent face.

Finally, the phantom scattered into starlight, some of which merged into Zhang Yuan's sword bone, and some scattered into the entire mausoleum space, reinforcing the seal that had become slightly unstable due to the broken key.

The mausoleum of the Sword Ancestor has returned to eternal silence.

At the edge of the shattered void, Wu Daoling supported the remaining thousand or so Yongtian Xuanjia warriors, while Xuan Chengzi stood silently, both witnessing this earth-shattering scene.

Zhang Yuan sat cross-legged on the reshaped Chaos Sword Bone, feeling the nascent power of the people's wishes flowing through his body and the ancient tranquility of the Sword Tomb.

The original sword spirit transformed from the sword of the Sword Ancestor has become the core of his new Dao embryo and the foundation for carrying the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin Technique".

The path paved with blood and fire, in the moment the key shattered, transcended slaughter and pointed to the true "guardianship" and "the heart's desire".

His physical body was reshaped based on the Chaos Sword Bone, and every inch of his muscles and bones flowed with a warm, jade-like luster and a silent sword intent.

Zhang Yuan slowly opened his eyes. His shattered dantian was now history, and inside it seemed to contain an ancient sword tomb, vast and profound.

All around, the thirteen ferocious swords that once threatened to overturn the universe now seemed to be pierced through to their very core by an invisible giant lock. Their sword hums were low, and they transformed into silent giant pillars supporting this ultimate mausoleum.

Gone is the manic energy of the past; only the imposing majesty of the protective array remains.

Light and shadow shift and change, the void transforms.

Zhang Yuan found himself in a quiet and quaint courtyard.

Stone table and bamboo chairs, with dappled sunlight and shadows cast by an unnamed ancient tree.

The Sword Ancestor was still that blurry white-robed phantom, but there was another figure beside him.

The figure was no longer the terrifying half-human, half-skeletal form, but had reverted to the image of a robust and resolute middle-aged man dressed in ancient, tattered black armor.

This is the true face of Lord Wu'an, Bai Qi!

His aura was like a vast, deep ocean; though he still appeared tired, there was no trace of the malevolent spirit of the Bone Demon.

"Lord Wu'an?" Zhang Yuan's gaze narrowed slightly.

Bai Qi looked at Zhang Yuan, and his weathered and resolute face revealed a rare deep emotion and a hint of gratified smile.

"Lord Qingyang," Bai Qi's voice was deep and resonant, carrying the lingering echoes of battle, "when I transformed into white bones and fell into the backlash of the Cold Bone Fierce Sword, it was not entirely out of control."

Zhang Yuan's gaze sharpened.

Bai Qi continued, "The backlash from the core of the Sword Tomb is vast and boundless. Even with my abilities, suppressing it alone is gradually reaching the limit that my soul and body can bear. The Cold Bone Sword Marrow has almost permeated my spine, making it difficult to continue."

"Let the power of that malevolent sword erode me, causing me to reveal my skeletal form. Firstly, this is indeed a sign of the intensified backlash. Secondly, it is also the final test I have set to provoke your final decision!"

His eyes were sharp as knives as he stared directly at Zhang Yuan: "I manifested myself before you in the form of white bones, pushing the temptation of wielding the murderous sword and paving the way for the 'Eternal Hegemony of Qin' to its extreme!"

"I want to see for myself whether you can guard your heart and not be swayed by such overwhelming power when faced with such power, the authority to wield the thirteen fierce swords in one step, and the 'Lord Wu'an' intimidating presence beside you!"

"For hundreds of thousands of years, countless people have coveted this power and entered the Sword Tomb for it, including many outstanding talents and powerful figures."

“However,” Bai Qi paused, his tone containing utmost solemnity and a hint of barely perceptible admiration, “to be truly unmoved by the temptation of wielding the evil sword and changing the world, and to be like you—using your body as a lock, shattering the key to suppress all living beings…”

"Looking at this boundless river of time, not much is left!"

His words were firm and powerful, carrying the approval that comes from scrutiny and decisiveness on the battlefield: "Only those who can pass this test are qualified to assume this great responsibility and take charge of the future! Fortunately, you have not failed my expectations, nor have you failed the people and the land here!"

The phantom of the Sword Ancestor seemed to nod slightly.

Immediately, the Sword Ancestor's gentle yet weighty voice rang out: "The power of the fierce sword should be used to suppress the cracks in the boundary barrier, not to fight within."

Ripples spread through the void, transforming into a vast and boundless curtain of light.

On the screen of light, a battlefield far beyond the imagination of ordinary people is reflected!
It was an endless void with no clear direction, yet it was a thousand times more devastating than the scene inside the Sword Tomb.

Colossal figures battled amidst the fragments of the galaxy, their forms twisted and contorted, some resembling multi-eyed celestial beasts, extinguishing galaxies with each breath.

Some resembled flowing annihilation energy bodies; wherever they passed, rules collapsed, and stars silently turned to dust.

Beams of light, radiating a powerful aura, struggled to resist, while sword energy, Dao patterns, and the immense power of gods and demons crisscrossed.

The sword ancestor's white-robed phantom, identical to that inside the mausoleum but incredibly solid and enormous, was stirring up a vortex of nebulae spanning billions of miles with a wave of his sleeve, shredding several colossal demonic figures.

A colossal golden-armored god, bathed in blood and exuding the aura of countless battle spirits, was none other than Bai Qi in his true form. His spear transformed into a rift tearing through the void, piercing through another immortal troll, a being as vast as the abyss itself…

Each impact caused several stars, near or far, to be instantly illuminated by the aftershocks, then extinguished, and shattered into eternal cosmic dust!
"This is the battlefield beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens. Our true forms, along with many fellow cultivators, are engaged in a fierce battle here against the extraterrestrial 'Void Demons' who covet this world."

The Sword Ancestor's voice carried a hint of ancient weariness.

"The rise of the Great Qin Dynasty, which used the dragon energy of humanity to recast the cycle of reincarnation and to govern and gather the power of the origin of the thirty-six continents, was all for the purpose of awakening the will of the Heavenly Dao of this world that had been dormant for countless epochs."

"Only when the complete Heavenly Dao awakens can it support the barrier and continuously draw upon the primordial chaos to nourish the front lines; otherwise... this world will eventually become nothingness."

The Sword Ancestor's illusory figure turned to Zhang Yuan, a glint of light flickering in his eyes: "That old fellow Zhuang Zhou, after countless reincarnations and transformations, once left behind a few words in the mortal world, mentioning that Yongzhou would have the 'key to breaking the deadlock'."

"It is fate that you can obtain the legacy he left behind. If it weren't for his obsessive reminder, I wouldn't have cast a glance at the Sword Tomb and happened to come to see you."

This is the origin of the "Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Source Technique". Zhuang Zhou's incarnation has long since departed, but his legacy has become the key catalyst.

As the Sword Ancestor spoke, the scene of the mausoleum outside the courtyard changed silently.

The massive sword mound base roared, and the thirteen silent, malevolent swords suddenly burst forth with an unprecedentedly dazzling light!
But this light was no longer one of destruction and killing intent; instead, it transformed into thirteen enormous pillars of light that stretched across all the heavens and myriad realms!

They pierced through the nine layers of barriers of the Sword Tomb, penetrated the boundless void, and finally converged above the mausoleum, forming a gigantic spatial gate flowing with various primordial sword intents.

"This passage will be based on the power of the Thirteen Ferocious Swords, with the Sword Tomb as the anchor point, and it is inevitable that it will connect to the outer battlefields of various continents."

"However, this channel is newly formed, and the energy needs to be channeled and stabilized. Its first node is located in the near-collapsed Zhao Zhou!"

Sword Ancestor waved his hand, and the light screen changed again, reflecting the hellish scene that Zhao Zhou was in at this moment.

The once sacred land of sword cultivators is now a scene of devastation.

A murky, demonic cloud, obscuring the sky, rolled and shrouded vast stretches of mountains and rivers.

The once magnificent mountain and ancient pavilion, where sword energy once soared into the sky, are now just ruins, with demonic vines coiling around the decaying structures like giant pythons, exuding a nauseating stench.

The last remaining sword-cultivation sects formed their final, dilapidated sword formation at the remnants of the Flowing Cloud Sword Washing Pavilion's mountain gate, desperately trying to hold back the ferocious demons surging in like a vast ocean of blood.

The "Flowing Cloud Sword Terrace" that Cheng Yue once mentioned with pride is now a demon's lair, filled with broken swords and flags corrupted by demonic energy.

In the scene, countless mortals struggled in the ruins of villages and cities in the Demon Realm, their cries of agony filling the air. In the entire Zhao Continent, seven or eight tenths of the Ten Pavilions had already fallen!
Bloodlust, resentment, and filth filled the air, and the brilliance of Zhao Zhou's sword spirit was as faint as a candle flickering in the wind, on the verge of being extinguished.

The phantom of the Sword Ancestor and the small courtyard slowly dissipated, and Zhang Yuan's soul and reconstructed body stood once again at the core of the ninth level of the Sword Tomb.

At this moment, his aura was as restrained as an abyss, yet it resonated in a mysterious way with the entire sword mound beneath his feet, with the thirteen fierce swords' origins that were being suppressed, and even with the intercontinental passage in the distance that was not yet fully stabilized.

He took a step forward, and the space beneath his feet folded up.

When he reappeared, he was already standing firmly in front of the huge light gate on the first floor of the Sword Tomb leading to the outside world!

Outside the door stood countless cultivators, each with a different expression, eagerly awaiting their arrival.

The elders of the Great River Sword Sect were overjoyed to see Zhang Yuan appear safely, whose aura was completely different yet unfathomable. They also felt the tremendous changes emanating from the depths of the Sword Tomb and the vast power of the passage. Their faces were instantly filled with immense joy, and their bodies trembled slightly with excitement.

"Marquis Qingyang!"

"Young Master Qingyang!"

Ling Hao and the disciples of the Great River Sword Sect behind him, having experienced the events of Treading Wave Plain and Melting Heart Prison, were now filled with a mixture of awe and ecstasy.

The remaining high-ranking members of the various factions in Yangtianzhou who were part of the Immortal-Demon Alliance, such as the Myriad Tribulations Talisman Sect and the Heavenly Illumination Palace, were now ashen-faced.

They witnessed the terrifying power when the passage was built.

They sensed that the spatial power emanating from the stable passage far surpassed that of any previous teleportation array, and they also saw the imposing aura emanating from Zhang Yuan, as if he were the embodiment of the Sword Tomb.

Their last reliance and plans crumbled completely in the face of absolute power and influence.

Zhang Yuan's gaze swept calmly over the crowd. His voice wasn't loud, but it resonated like thunder in everyone's hearts, carrying an undeniable will against the backdrop of the rumbling sword sounds throughout the Sword Tomb:

"I, the Marquis of Qingyang of the Great Qin Dynasty, have been ordered to act on behalf of the emperor and set foot on Yangtian Continent!"

Upon hearing this, the hearts of all the cultivators in Yangtianzhou, especially the high-ranking members of the alliance, clenched.

"All sects of Yangtianzhou, heed my command: within ten days, all shall submit to the Great Qin!"

"Those who fail to submit by the due date..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the enormous spatial passage behind him seemed to receive the highest command.

"Tsk-!"

Accompanied by a soul-chilling sword cry, thirteen thick sword lights of different colors, each containing a different origin of ferocity that transformed into a protective will, suddenly pierced through the void barrier from inside the passage like a giant axe that splits the heavens, and soared straight into the sky!

In an instant, the entire brilliant sky of Yangtian Continent was enveloped, divided, and suppressed by these thirteen towering and utterly malevolent sword lights.

Although the sword light did not directly deliver a destructive attack, the will it represented and the supreme ferocity it connected were enough to make anyone who had any thought of resistance feel as if they had fallen into an ice cave!
This is a silent deterrent, demonstrating that the will of the Great Qin can instantly descend upon every corner of this continent with the power of the Sword Tomb!
"Then, we will send troops to Yangtianzhou to wipe out the rebellious subjects!"

After speaking, Zhang Yuan stopped looking at the pale-faced cultivators from the Immortal Alliance.

He turned to Cheng Yue, Ling Hao, and the others, whose expressions were agitated, his gaze sharp as a sword, and gave the true direction of his attack:
"Wu Daoling! Prepare the Great Qin Sword Armor for Yangtianzhou!"

"Cheng Yue! Lead the way!"

"Ling Hao! Xuan Chengzi!"

"All elite disciples of your sect, assemble immediately! Join forces with Zhao Zhou to escort all of Zhao Zhou's legacies recovered from the Sword Tomb—"

Zhang Yuan raised his hand, pointing directly at the massive entrance to the passage that emitted stable spatial fluctuations:

"From this gate of the Sword Tomb, we will rush to aid Zhao Zhou! We will sweep away the demonic forces! We will restore our human race's land!"

"promise!!!"

Wu Daoling and the remaining thousand or so Qin Xuanjia warriors roared in unison, their iron-blooded aura soaring into the sky.

"I obey Your Excellency's command! Restore Zhao Zhou!"

With bloodshot eyes, Cheng Yue, leading the surviving sword cultivator Zhao Zhou who was too excited to contain himself, bowed deeply toward the life-saving passage.

Ling Hao, Xuan Chengzi, and the others no longer hesitated.

Zhang Yuan wields the power of the Thirteen Ferocious Swords, which can crush the entire Yangtian Continent. Anyone who dares to disobey him will face certain death!
"boom--"

The orders were like mountains, and the iron torrent surged forth.

The gate to the Sword Tomb shone brightly, carrying the lost and regained heritage of Zhao Zhou, the hope of aiding Zhao, and the will of the Qin iron hooves to truly step into an outer continent for the first time. Treasure ships and sword lights appeared like a torrent of stars bursting its banks.

Under the protection of Wu Daoling's Xuanjia armor, guided by Cheng Yue, and watched by Zhang Yuan's eyes that reflected the eternal starry sky and endless war, they surged into the Zhao Zhou gate, which was supported by thirteen fierce swords and led to the place of blood and fire tempering.

The curtain has been raised fiercely on the reconquest of Zhao Zhou, amidst the radiant light of the Sword Tomb Gate! (End of Chapter)