Fantasy: I, the Great Celestial Venerable of the Dao

"Senior Brother Xiao, it's been a long time."

"Amitabha Buddha, Brother Xu, it's been a long time."

The disciples of the five major sects, numbering in the dozens, and the other righteous sects, numbering in the hundreds, exchanged polite greetings.

After some initial refusals, regardless of their true feelings, Xu Changqing and the others successively nominated Xiao Yicai as their leader, and led the group to explore the Death Swamp.

Xiao Yicai politely declined, but did not refuse again.

After all, no one on the scene was more suitable for this position than him.

Who told him to have a master who was the most powerful and prestigious person in the world?

Therefore, Xiao Yicai decided to set up camp first and wait for the cultivators from Tianyong City to arrive.

Two days later, the people from Tianyong City arrived, led by Baili Tusu and his group.

After another round of polite exchanges, the group headed towards the Death Swamp.

Meanwhile, after the disciples of Qingyun Sect descended the mountain,

On Tongtian Peak

They saw off the disciples who were going to the Death Swamp for training.

Without Li Xiaoyao and Zhao Ling'er, Tongtian Peak seemed much more empty and quiet.

Dao Xuan Zhenren stood with his hands behind his back in front of the Yuqing Hall, his dark green Daoist robe fluttering gently in the breeze.

These younger generations are the future of his promising career and the torchbearer of the righteous path.

Then he turned around, his steps were unhurried, and his figure disappeared at the end of the mountain path leading to the Illusion Moon Cave in a few flashes.

Illusion Moon Cave.

The stone door slowly closed, completely isolating it from all light and sound.

The cave was not completely dark; instead, it had a hazy, clear glow.

The Bagua diagram originated from the cave walls themselves.

Time seems to flow differently here than outside; the air feels stagnant.

It exudes a tranquility and awe-inspiring presence, a feeling that has settled with the passage of time.

Dao Xuan sat cross-legged in the eye of the Bagua formation, his eyes slightly closed.

He had just broken through to the Void Returning Realm, and his true essence surged within him like the Yangtze River.

However, it is necessary to use supreme mental techniques to carefully sort it out and guide it back to the Dantian Purple Palace, thus stabilizing this hard-won foundation.

The Realm of Returning to Emptiness is a height that is difficult for the cultivation world to reach in this era, but he knows in his heart that this is far from the end.

The Qingyun Sect has stood for a thousand years, and its success is not solely due to the emergence of talented individuals.

It is also the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, powerful enough to slay immortals and destroy demons.

The core of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation is that infamous ancient sword.

With a slight thought, Dao Xuan's consciousness sank into his sea of ​​consciousness, and he began to continue to deduce and comprehend the "Sword Technique of Immortal Slaying".

This sword technique, perfected by countless predecessors, is profound and unparalleled in its killing power.

As his cultivation reached the Void Returning stage, many things that were previously obscure and difficult to understand suddenly became clear, like ice melting and snow melting away.

The trajectory of sword techniques and the methods of condensing true essence seem to have new and broader possibilities.

Just as his mind was completely immersed in the profound mystery of the sword technique, a spark of inspiration suddenly shone brightly from the depths of his consciousness.

It wasn't about the sword technique itself, but rather something that came from something he hadn't done recently.

An insight gained from the deepest part of this Illusionary Moon Cave.

At that time, with his newly broken through cultivation level, he finally reached the fifth volume of the Heavenly Book!

The Heavenly Book is mysterious and unpredictable, and it is said to contain the ultimate principles of heaven and earth and the origin of cultivation.

The Taiji Xuanqing Dao of the Qingyun Sect and many strange techniques of the Demonic Sect are said to have their origins traced back to the scattered volumes of the Heavenly Book.

But at this moment, we re-examine it with the spiritual awareness of the Returning to Emptiness Realm.

Combined with an increasingly profound understanding of the Zhuxian Sword, a thought arose that I had never thought of before, or rather, dared not think of.

Like a flash of lightning in the darkness, it appeared in my mind!

This fifth volume of the Heavenly Book...

Their location within this Illusionary Moon Cave.

It's more like... suppression!

An extremely ingenious seal!

Dao Xuan suddenly opened his eyes, his eyes flashing with a sharp light that caused the clear light in the cave to ripple.

Without moving his body, his divine sense silently spread out, carefully touching the five volumes of heavenly books to form a seal.

And at its core, the handle is stuck in the rock.

The ancient sword, Zhuxian, is simple and unadorned, yet it strikes fear into the hearts of cultivators throughout the land.

Yes! There's no mistake!

Those five volumes of celestial books formed an enormous sealing formation.

The supreme righteous energy of the Xuanmen sect transformed into invisible shackles, imprisoning the Zhuxian Sword!

Its purpose... seems to be to isolate, or rather, to prevent the Zhuxian Sword from continuing to absorb the malevolent energy of heaven and earth?

He has wielded the Immortal Execution Sword for many years.

He knew that this sword was extremely fierce and its murderous aura was soaring to the sky, capable of corrupting the mind of the swordsman.

All the patriarchs of the past, including his own master Tianchengzi, had suffered backlash from it.

He had always believed that the sword's ferocious aura was a fixed and unchanging inheritance from ancient times.

But what if... what if this fierce aura is not fixed, but can increase?

Dao Xuan suddenly thought of the Beast God, who was also an embodiment of malevolence.

The Beast God's strength increases as its malevolent aura grows.

Dao Xuan carefully recalled every detail of his contact with and use of the Zhuxian Sword.

In recent years, although there have been conflicts among people and the evil cult has been stirring up trouble, large-scale bloody killings have not occurred.

He enshrined the Immortal Execution Sword in the Illusion Moon Cave and nurtured it with the supreme Qingyun cultivation method. Logically speaking...

Its inherent hostility should be mitigated to some extent, or at least kept in its original state.

But at this moment, under the insight of his divine sense at the Void Returning Realm.

He clearly sensed that the fierce energy within the Zhuxian Sword, as vast and boundless as an abyss, was not stagnant water.

Although they appeared "quiet" under the suppression of the five volumes of heavenly books.

But in essence, that "activity" that craves to devour and destroy has not diminished in the slightest!

It did not continue to grow stronger, not because it was incapable, but because of the seal formed by these five volumes of heavenly books.

It forcibly cut off its way of absorbing external malevolent energy!

This sword... it's in a sealed state.

They still maintain an almost instinctive "hunger"!

"This sword... is definitely not as simple as it appears!"

Dao Xuan muttered to himself, his voice echoing in the empty cave, carrying a hint of solemnity that he himself was unaware of.

"It's not an inanimate object; it's more like... a living embryo, imprisoned and feeding on malevolent energy?"

This idea is too horrifying.

If this gets out, it will be enough to overturn the entire cultivation world's understanding of the Qingyun Sect and the Zhuxian Sword.

Almost simultaneously, just as Dao Xuan's mind was shaken by this astonishing discovery...

"Buzz!"

A slight tremor did not come from his ears, but resounded directly within his primordial spirit's perception.

The source was not the Immortal Execution Sword within the cave, but rather... a direction tens of thousands of miles away!

He turned his head sharply, his gaze seemingly able to penetrate the thick mountain rocks and look towards the southwest horizon.

At the same time, the energy within his body circulated on its own, resonating with some unseen force.

That aura is currently emanating from the distant Death Swamp.

It carried a sense of unease, as if a sleeping giant was slowly awakening.

Death Swamp... Heavenly Emperor's Treasure Vault!

Dao Xuan's pupils suddenly contracted.

In his mind, the information about the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury connected with the strange phenomenon of the Immortal Execution Sword at this moment.

Who is the Heavenly Emperor...?

Why would the third volume of the Heavenly Book be hidden in the treasure trove left behind by the Heavenly Emperor?

The Zhuxian Sword requires the combined power of five volumes of Heavenly Books to suppress it, and one volume of Heavenly Books is also hidden in the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury.

Is there a connection between the Heavenly Emperor and this ferocious, all-powerful ancient sword, the Immortal-Slaying Sword?

Enemy? Friend? Or perhaps... from the same source but different paths?

A myriad of thoughts, like a tangled mess, surged forth.