Chapter 917: Seizing the Initiative and Hiding a Trump Card, Three Breaths to Form a Holy Array, The Unfathomable Dao of the Firmament

An arrow from the Xie Zui Gong, shot from the Zhongyu domain.

A demon sword erupting from the Sheng Di Long Lin.

In a flash of lightning and sparks, under the watchful eyes of thousands, the two clashed for the first time.

“Clang—”

The piercing clash of weapons echoed like a tear in the eardrums.

Even the Tai Xu present furrowed their brows, summoning their Ling Yuan to shield themselves from the splashing holy force waves.

“Boom, boom, boom…”

The majestic holy energy waves spread out, shattering the space for miles around.

The arrow, led by its tip, pulled back against the intense blast but was held at bay, unleashing a burst of black-red shockwaves.

The demon sword, as solid and unyielding as its form, bore the immense pressure without retreating an inch, forcing the overwhelming demonic energy to scatter endlessly backward.

They were evenly matched!

One side was the Mo Jian, Wan Bing Mo Zhu, limited by the spatial constraints of Xukong Dao, remotely controlled and exerting less than one in ten thousand of its full power.

The other was the arrow from Xie Zui Gong, launched with full force across two domains, determined to utterly crush the treacherous schemes of the ghost beasts.

The first remote clash between the Sheng Di and the Ban Sheng yielded an outcome no one could have predicted.

Yet, the upward and downward shockwaves of suppression and resistance shook the eyes of all the observing Tai Xu.

“What immense power…”

“What immense power?!”

The Tai Xu exclaimed in awe.

In the arena, lightning flashed wildly, golden stars scattered, and the two shockwaves collided unrelentingly, one from above and one from below.

One breath, two breaths, three breaths…

Still locked in stalemate!

The Tai Xu watched with envy.

This was a clash at the level of holy force.

Even just the residual waves made everyone feel the immense power, not daring to approach in the slightest.

For if an outsider got too close, even a single shockwave might shatter their physical body on the spot!

“The demon sword… it’s about to give way…”

Teng Shanhai stared intently and could clearly see that the shockwave from Xie Zui Gong pressing down from above was growing stronger.

Meanwhile, the demon sword below, struggling to hold on, was increasingly overwhelmed and being forced back step by step.

“Boom!”

Finally, after thirteen breaths of confrontation, the demon sword, Wan Bing Mo Zhu, couldn’t withstand the pressure and was sent flying backward by the Xie Zui Gong arrow.

“We’ve won!” Teng Shanhai rejoiced.

This arrow of love for all beings, with the geographical advantage of Sheng Shen Dalu, had indeed outmatched the restricted Mo Di Hei Long on Xukong Dao’s inner island!

Rao Yaoyao, however, looked grave and shook her head slightly. “I’m afraid you’ve underestimated the demon sword, Wan Bing Mo Zhu…”

Teng Shanhai’s smile froze, and he turned to ask, “What do you mean by that?”

Rao Yaoyao pointed to the flung demon sword and said solemnly, “Among the Ming Jian Er Shi Yi, Wan Bing Mo Zhu, as the demon sword, earned a spot on the famous sword rankings in ancient times. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be called ‘Wan Bing Mo Zhu’!”

“The demon sword has slumbered for too long, so you’ve all forgotten its greatest ability…” Rao Yaoyao sighed.

“What is it?” Teng Shanhai felt a twinge in his heart.

The thirteen Tai Xu around him also looked over, curious.

For the Ming Jian Er Shi Yi, aside from those still known in the world today, most of the lost famous swords are only remembered by name, with their abilities forgotten.

Rao Yaoyao explained, “The demon sword’s greatest ability is that with every weapon clash, it weakens the opponent’s weapon in essence, energy, and spirit—weakening once per clash. After ten clashes, it weakens ten times over.”

“In ancient times, there was a legend about the demon sword: ‘Wan Bing Mo Zhu, one sword for one grade’.”

“Here, ‘one grade’ means that with each clash, the opponent’s weapon drops a grade, while the demon sword devours its energy to enhance itself and rise a grade!”

As Rao Yaoyao spoke, her eyes showed surprise.

She knew the legends of the demon sword, but this was her first time witnessing its ability firsthand.

Clearly, in her view, the legend was somewhat exaggerated—it wasn’t that every clash dropped the opponent’s grade and raised her own by that much.

But the ability was real!

Rao Yaoyao paused, gazing at the Xie Zui Gong arrow pressing forward relentlessly toward the Long Lin, her face now worried.

“Look, the power of the Xie Zui Gong arrow has already weakened.”

Everyone followed her words to look at the Xie Zui Gong arrow, but they couldn’t see any obvious change.

The arrow’s power had indeed weakened, but only slightly—not to the exaggerated extent she suggested.

Rao Yaoyao said it was weaker because of the clash.

The others, however, thought that some loss of power was normal in a mutual exchange between a Ban Sheng arrow and a Sheng Di sword.

How could it be as drastic as dropping a whole grade?

Just as they were thinking this, everyone saw the demon sword, Wan Bing Mo Zhu, which had been blasted away, pause briefly after embedding in the ground, then erupt with a fierce hum.

“Clang—”

In this sound, everyone could hear the demon sword’s emotion.

Exhilaration!

Excitement!

Euphoria!

“It’s back…” Huang Yang Zhen Ren said with disbelief in his eyes, watching the demon sword rise again, blocking the Xie Zui Gong arrow from hitting the Long Lin.

“It really has grown stronger!” Teng Shanhai could keenly sense that this resurgent demon sword was even more formidable than before.

The Xie Zui Gong arrow had no intention of engaging the demon sword; it was solely focused on shattering the Sheng Di Long Lin.

But just as it was about to make contact, the demon sword arrived in time, flipping through the air to boldly position itself between the arrow and the Long Lin.

“Clang—”

The arrowhead struck the sword body again, the weapon’s resonance piercing souls and making scalps tingle.

This time, it was arrow against sword body, not tip against edge.

Everyone could see that the demon sword, on the defensive, was at a disadvantage.

Yet, in the previous clash, they had held out for thirteen breaths.

This time, it lasted a full twenty-six breaths before the demon sword was blasted away.

The Xie Zui Gong arrow, intercepted by the demon sword, was deflected sideways but looped around in a wide arc, still targeting the Long Lin relentlessly.

“The demon sword is truly getting stronger!”

This visible devouring and evolution left all the Tai Xu in the arena stunned, their eyes on Rao Yaoyao filled with disbelief.

If the demon sword really had this ability, it would be the supreme sword in the world.

Any weapon clashing with it a few times would be reduced to ordinary junk, as worthless as rotten wood.

Rao Yaoyao remained silent.

She lowered her head to look at the Xuan Cang in her hand, feeling its clear vibrations.

Even the divine sword Xuan Cang, one of the five great Chaos artifacts, was unwilling to clash or compete with the demon sword?

That ancient legend must be true, then.

“It’s going to lose…”

Rao Yaoyao watched as the speed of the Xie Zui Gong arrow had dropped by more than three times, her heart growing heavy.

“In the ancient legends, the demon sword’s peak was when it topped the Ming Jian rankings, and its most glorious feat was turning another famous sword into ordinary scrap through seventy-two clashes!”

Rao Yaoyao’s words shocked everyone.

There was a sharp intake of breath.

Teng Shanhai said in astonishment, “If it really has that ability, a few clashes would drop the other sword’s grade enough for it to shatter easily. How could it take seventy-two clashes? That legend must be false!”

Rao Yaoyao sighed deeply. “The demon sword is too arrogant. What it loves most is to torment without killing, devouring another famous sword’s reputation entirely and wearing it down to nothing. That’s the true nature of the demon sword!”

Everyone fell silent at her words.

They say famous swords have spirits, and now they truly understood that in their peak eras, these swords’ spirits were as fully developed as those of humans.

Demon sword, demon…

Wan Bing Mo Zhu, master…

This sword was deeply embodying its own name!

“It’s lost!”

“This time, it’s truly lost!”

The Tai Xu in the arena watched as the demon sword excitedly leaped up again, fiercely slashing down from the sky toward the Xie Zui Gong arrow, and they could already see the outcome.

Yes, this time, it was truly “slashing”!

After two clashes, the Xie Zui Gong arrow had been weakened by more than one level, while Wan Bing Mo Zhu seemed like a ravenous beast that had feasted to its limit, bursting with inexhaustible energy.

In its frenzy, it no longer wanted to toy with its opponent—it aimed to finish it off, severing all vitality of the Xie Zui Gong arrow with a merciless downward strike.

“Boom!”

The mended space was cleaved open again.

Without any suspense, the Xie Zui Gong arrow was split in two by the demon sword before it could even touch the Sheng Di Long Lin, shattering into nothingness.

“This is too fierce…”

Huang Yang Zhen Ren and the others turned pale with fright.

If that sword had fallen on them…

Ugh, unthinkable!

So, in the end, a Ban Sheng arrow couldn’t match the power of the Sheng Di?

This world truly hid such terrifying forces, undiscovered by the masses?

Merely witnessing a remote clash between saints left the Tai Xu feeling like frogs at the bottom of a well. The moment they glimpsed the vast sky, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness washed over them.

“Total defeat!”

Teng Shanhai clenched his fists.

He didn’t want to accept this outcome, but he had to face the fact that the Xie Zui Gong arrow had been vanquished by Wan Bing Mo Zhu after just three clashes.

“No!”

Rao Yaoyao suddenly smiled slightly and said confidently.

Teng Shanhai couldn’t help but glare at her, thinking, Are you really going to contradict me just to show off your insight?

Rao Yaoyao smiled faintly at Teng Shanhai and said, “Do you think those on Sheng Shan wouldn’t see the outcome you can see?”

Teng Shanhai was stunned.

This battle spanned two domains and two realms, after all.

Besides Ai Cangsheng, with his Dao Zhi Yan able to see the Yunlun Shanmai battlefield and fire an arrow, who else could witness it?

Moreover, Ai Cangsheng hadn’t known that a demon sword capable of weakening his Xie Zui Gong arrow’s spirit would erupt from the Sheng Di Long Lin before shooting.

Achieving this much was already the limit for the great powers on Sheng Shan, right?

Rao Yaoyao pointed to the shattered Xie Zui Gong arrow ahead and said calmly, “Don’t forget, Sheng Shan isn’t just home to Ai Cangsheng, who can observe the five domains—there’s also the enigmatic Dao Dian Zhu, who divines the secrets of heaven!”

No sooner had she spoken than the shattered Xie Zui Gong arrow suddenly hatched a Tian Ji pattern from within.

“One!”

This was a simple “one-character pattern,” the first Tian Ji dao pattern that all Tian Ji sorcerers learn when starting out.

It had no practical use, only serving to connect with the secrets of heaven for further study.

Everyone watched in confusion, as none of them understood Tian Ji techniques.

Far away in the main position of Yunjing World, Yu Zhiwen felt anxious but didn’t dare leave her post.

At that moment, she seemed to sense something, tilting her head toward the distant, invisible one-character pattern, her star-like pupils trembling.

“This is…”

Deep beneath the Yunlun Shanmai.

Surrounded by three hundred and sixty-five Tian Ji array disks, Situ Yongren, still setting up his array, also felt a stir and looked up brightly.

“This Tian Ji fluctuation feels familiar—is it my master?”

“Has my master made a move?”

On the fourth dragon vein.

Xu Xiaoshou, transformed as Mu Zixi, pretended like the other spirit refiners on the mountain to be pressed to the ground by the holy force, unable to move an inch.

Others couldn’t see what was happening above.

But Xu Xiaoshou’s “perception” was constantly observing the battle in the sky.

“Gods fighting, gods fighting!”

“At a time like this, I must not reveal myself!”

“A Sheng Di battling a Ban Sheng—this Ba Zun An is trying to scare me to death…”

Xu Xiaoshou had anticipated that Ba Zun An’s move would exceed his expectations.

But he never imagined that instead of unleashing thousands of ghost beasts, Ba Zun An would use a Sheng Di Long Lin and summon the demon sword Wan Bing Mo Zhu to clash remotely with the saint from Sheng Shan.

Insane!

How can we mortals cooperate in a war like this?

Is it by throwing our lives away?

He thought that breaking through to Zongshi and upgrading his passive skills to Wangzuo level would let him keep up with the big shots.

Now, it seemed he was still nothing.

Xu Xiaoshou didn’t dare move a muscle. He just stared at the sky, praying for the battle to end soon.

However…

The accursed Xie Zui Gong arrow had indeed been cleaved by the demon sword.

But with the “one-character pattern” emerging, outsiders couldn’t sense the anomaly, yet Xu Xiaoshou was stunned.

In his eyes, as the pattern appeared, all the rules of the great dao in the world were drawn out, becoming clearly visible.

Fire system, ice system, space system…

Xu Xiaoshou could see the elemental rules he’d encountered most, as well as sword dao, blade dao, and other obscure minor paths.

Each dao rule seemed to have a tiny figure dancing upon it.

With every dance, it infused the observer’s mind with the clearest insights into that dao.

“Why?”

Xu Xiaoshou was surprised he could see all this.

But in the next second, he understood.

Textile Mastery!

The foundation of “Textile Mastery” was weaving the great dao as threads into a net of rules, manipulating all living and dead things.

Xu Xiaoshou rarely used this knowledge.

But not using it didn’t mean he didn’t know it—upon upgrading “Textile Mastery,” all the knowledge had settled in his mind.

Among it was even the basic principles of all dao systems.

Xu Xiaoshou hadn’t understood before why, despite his poor comprehension, he grasped space rules so quickly.

Now he knew.

“Textile Mastery” had already built and infused him with the entire basic knowledge framework of the daos.

The knowledge was just too vast; he couldn’t absorb it all at once, even if he could access it.

So, it had all sunk down.

When he sensed space source stones, his quick insights weren’t because his comprehension improved—they were because he was retrieving these simple foundational memories from the depths.

“Incredible!”

After fully realizing this, Xu Xiaoshou was even more amazed by the “one-character pattern” in the distance.

What kind of ability was this?

How could a mere simple “one-character pattern” pull on the rule net of Sheng Shen Dalu and make it all manifest before his eyes?

And who was behind this?

With almost no delay, Xu Xiaoshou found the answer.

Because after the “one-character pattern” appeared, in the blink of an eye, it began to evolve.

One gives birth to two, two to three, three to all things…

In three breaths.

The entire Yunlun Shanmai and its surrounding one hundred thousand li were sealed by dense Tian Ji dao patterns!

A massive Tian Ji array rose from the ground, enveloping even Dongtian Wangcheng and locking down the entire sky above.

“Ah…”

At that moment, everyone looking up lost themselves.

The Tian Ji array was too vast!

It replaced the blue sky and sea, becoming the true world in everyone’s hearts at that instant.

In this world, intricate and mysterious patterns intertwined, with clearly visible dao rule networks that entranced souls and induced ecstasy.

With just one glance, the spirit refiners in Dongtian Wangcheng and the Yunlun Shanmai region all fell into a state of sudden enlightenment.

Rao Yaoyao barely pulled herself away from the Ban Sheng’s power, her body covered in cold sweat, her inner voice filled with panic.

“Ten Epochs Holy Spirit Array!”

“In just three breaths, it evolved a saint-level Tian Ji array, across two domains of the continent, borrowing the residual force of Ai Cangsheng’s arrow.”

“Dao Qiong Cang, who was in the same generation as me, hasn’t been heard from in decades, and now he’s become… this terrifying?”