Primordial Era: Cultivation level equals the sum of the Jie Sect's total; the Three Pure Ones a

Tongtian's gaze fell upon Taixu, but there was no condescending scrutiny in his eyes, only the peacefulness between fellow sword cultivators:

"Fellow Daoist, I sensed a crack in your body from that sword strike just now."

Upon hearing this, Taixu raised an eyebrow slightly:

"crack?"

Tongtian nodded, his voice not loud, but clear as metal striking the ground:

"Your sword heart has a crack."

"The crack isn't deep, but it's enough to cause you to fail at the last moment in your attempt to break through to Hunyuan Taiji."

"Because within that crack lies your obsession."

Taixu fell silent.

He gazed at Tongtian, a flickering light deep within his sharp eyes.

No one had ever said such a thing to him before, even though he was a multi-millionaire.

Everyone says his swordsmanship is extremely powerful and sharp, unparalleled in the world.

No one ever mentioned that there was a crack in his sword heart.

Taixu spoke slowly, his voice carrying a hoarseness that even a billionaire would never have heard of:

"What...is that crack?"

Tongtian looked at him and said, slowly and deliberately:

"You're too eager to break through."

"You are too eager to enter the realm of Hunyuan Taiji, and too eager to become the strongest person in the Xuanji Heaven Domain."

"Your obsession has clouded your sword heart, preventing you from seeing the true way of the sword."

"The moment you pick up the sword, you're not thinking about the sword itself, but about that threshold."

"So your sword will always be just a hair's breadth off."

"That 'thin line' is not a difference in cultivation level, but a difference in heart."

Taixu was stunned.

He gazed at Tongtian, at that lean and composed face, and listened to those words, feeling as if his heart had been struck by a heavy hammer.

He spent tens of thousands of yuan in seclusion, practicing his sword diligently every day, striving to break through that threshold.

But each time, they failed at the last hurdle.

He always thought it was because he lacked strength and foundation.

But only now did he realize that what he lacked was never power, but purity.

The moment he picked up the sword, his thought was, "I need to break through."

Instead of "I'm going to swing my sword."

He couldn't understand this difference even after spending tens of thousands of yuan.

But in front of Tongtian, he revealed the truth in just a few words.

Taixu stood there, silent for a long time.

The chaotic energy flowed slowly around him, and the sharp sword intent trembled slightly, as if some unprecedented fluctuation was surging in his heart.

After a moment, he spoke slowly, his voice carrying a sense of relief he had never felt before, not even at a billion-dollar event:

"Tongtian, your sword strike is greater than the gains I made during my secluded cultivation, which cost tens of thousands of yuan."

"You're right, what I lack isn't power, it's purity."

"I always thought I was practicing the way of the sword when I was spending tens of thousands of yuan, but in reality I was practicing the path of breakthrough."

"The sword is merely a tool, not the end goal."

He paused, and a slight light gathered in the depths of his sharp eyes:

"If I let go of that obsession and only judge swordsmanship by the sword itself, will my sword... be able to cross that threshold?"

Tongtian looked at him but did not answer directly.

He simply raised his hand slightly, and a sword light shone again from his fingertips.

The sword light was even fainter than before, so faint that it was almost invisible.

But Taixu shuddered.

Because he sensed something even more intense in that sword light than before.

That's a state of mind.

A state of mind that is pure to the extreme.

The billions of dollars will never waver, will never deviate, and will never be disturbed by any external factors.

Taixu closed his eyes.

He stood there, his sharp sword intent surging slowly around him, as if he were digesting what he had just said, or as if he were re-examining his own Dao heart.

It took him a full half-incense stick's time to slowly open his eyes.

In those sharp eyes, the obsession that had never disappeared even after billions of dollars seemed to loosen slightly at this moment.

"Tongtian, thank you very much."

The four words fell, carrying the weight of hundreds of millions of yuan.

Tongtian shook his head slightly, the smile on his lips remaining calm:

"Fellow Daoist, there's no need to be so polite."

"We both practice the way of the sword, and discussing it together is also beneficial to me."

Taixu did not speak again.

He simply stood there, his gray robe hanging down, his face cold and stern, yet a light was slowly gathering in his sharp eyes.

While this sword duel was underway, it wasn't just the Heavenly Court in the primordial world that sensed that sharp aura.

On the shore of the East China Sea, the Martial Arts Monument stands majestically.

On the monument, the character "武" (martial) shimmers with a crimson-gold light, like a sleeping dragon breathing slowly.

Beneath the Heavenly Stele, a figure sat cross-legged.

He was tall and strong, with a resolute face, and his martial arts laws surged like a tide around him.

It was Yu.

His cultivation level remains at the peak of Quasi-Saint. Over the years, he has guarded the coast of the East Sea, never leaving the Martial Dao Heavenly Stele.

But at that moment, he suddenly opened his eyes.

A sudden burst of light shone in those eyes.

He sensed it.

That extremely sharp aura was slowly spreading at the edge of the primordial wilderness.

The power of that aura far surpassed anything he had ever seen.

Even when the Dao Ancestor Hongjun descended back then, his aura was not as sharp as it is now.

Yu suddenly stood up, his martial will erupting like a long-dormant beast suddenly awakening.

"What is that aura?!"

His voice was low and shocked, carrying a tension he had never felt before, even at a multi-million dollar event.

Around the Heavenly Stele, dozens of figures simultaneously opened their eyes.

Those were the human cultivators left behind by Xuandu in the prehistoric world; they were all inheritors of martial arts.

There are dozens of Primordial Golden Immortals and countless Daluo Golden Immortals.

They all looked toward the edge of the primordial wilderness, their eyes filled with horror.

That aura, like an invisible sword hanging between heaven and earth, made all of them feel an instinctive tremor.

Yu took a deep breath and was about to step out of the Heavenly Stele to investigate when he suddenly stopped.

Because he sensed another aura.

He recognized that aura; it belonged to the Tongtian Sect Leader.

The two auras at the edge of the primordial world have already made contact.

A moment later, a message shot out from the direction of Jin'ao Island and landed in Yu's palm.

Yu looked down and his expression changed slightly.

"Tai Xu?"

"From the Xuanji Heavenly Realm?"

"By order of my master, to engage in a sword duel with the Master of Tongtian?"

Yu was stunned.

He stood there, the communication jade slip in his hand slightly warm, but he seemed completely oblivious to it.

He simply gazed towards the edge of the primordial wilderness, his resolute eyes flashing with an uncertain light.

He followed Xuandu in cultivation, took on disciples, spread the Dao, and protected the human race.

He knew that his master had gone to the depths of chaos, to a place called "Xuanji Heavenly Domain".

But he never expected that his master would not only go there himself, but also bring back such a powerful being from there.

Moreover, that being was actually there to challenge the Tongtian Sect Leader to a duel on swordsmanship.

This means that Master already holds considerable influence in the Xuanji Heavenly Domain.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked someone else to make this trip for him.

"Master... has actually gained a foothold in the depths of chaos."

"That aura of the Great Void is even more fierce than that of the Dao Ancestor Hongjun back then."

"He actually managed to get someone like that to run errands for him?"

"What exactly did Master do in the Xuanji Heavenly Domain?"

He stood beneath the Martial Dao Heavenly Stele, gazing towards the edge of the primordial wilderness, unable to calm down for a long time.

The martial arts practitioners behind him also surrounded him, their faces filled with shock.

"That aura... was it summoned by Master?"

Yu nodded, his voice low but carrying a hint of barely suppressed excitement:

"Exactly."

"That's someone Master invited from the Xuanji Heaven Domain; they're currently debating swordsmanship with the Tongtian Sect Master."

"You each guard the Heavenly Stele, I'll go take a look."

"Don't panic, that aura is not an enemy."

Upon hearing this, the tension in everyone's hearts slowly dissipated, replaced by an indescribable sense of pride.

The master went to the depths of chaos, not only establishing a firm foothold for himself, but also enabling such a powerful being to handle matters for him in the prehistoric world.

This means that the name of the Jie Sect has already spread deep into the chaos.

What an honor this is!

Yu took a step forward, transforming into a streak of crimson-gold light that shot towards the edge of the primordial world.