Under Li Yuanli and Jiang Qing's anxious and furious gazes, their figures twisted, space rippled, and they vanished from the spot.
"Bastard!"
Li Yuanli cursed, his face turning ashen with rage.
Jiang Qing clenched his fists, grinding his teeth, wanting to vent his fury but unable to find words.
No matter how extraordinary their talents or how peerless their gifts, they could never have imagined this deranged old man would make a direct move on Qin Yi's wife.
"He consumed the last breath of his life, reaching the state where one can attain enlightenment and die contentedly that very day."
"We are no match for him. Even if Chang Yi were here, the outcome would be no different!"
After a long silence, Jiang Qing sighed.
"Is An Yi dead or not?" Li Yuanli asked urgently.
Only he knew the true identity of that person. If they were provoked, this entire world might be overthrown. Mount Shu, the Heavenly Realm, all of it meant nothing to him.
"At the last moment, Chang Hao sheathed his sword but used his immense power to create a Boundary Seal."
"An Yi isn't dead, but that's even more troublesome than if she were!" Jiang Qing said, frowning.
He could vaguely discern that Chang Hao was using Mount Shu's sealing technique, and the highest level of it at that. He had taken An Yi to a place no one knew, even a mysterious world that everyone would be unable to find.
"Not dead? That's wonderful!" Li Yuanli exclaimed, his face lighting up with joy after a moment of stunned silence.
"I'm afraid it's even more troublesome than death. Based on my familiarity with Mount Shu's techniques, Chang Hao likely used himself as the seal to open a Suppression Realm and seal An Yi within it."
Jiang Qing shook his head, his expression grave. "The Suppression Realm."
Li Yuanli was bewildered, unable to grasp the meaning of these four words.
"Chang Hao used his physical body to create a realm, using his Essence, Energy, and Soul as seals to open an unknown realm."
"He didn't kill An Yi, but he imprisoned her soul and body."
"Moreover, this realm will likely only last for fifteen years at most. If we can't open it by then, An Yi will perish along with the realm."
Jiang Qing said in a deep voice.
"Perish?!" Li Yuanli was startled.
"Death! Her soul and spirit will be completely destroyed!" Jiang Qing explained.
Li Yuanli's face turned grim.
With Qin Yi absent, he was now in charge of the Magnificent Qin Faction. This crisis filled him with both anger and fear.
Over the past decade, that man's cultivation had grown increasingly profound. Now, as the Sect Lord of Mount Shu, it was difficult to imagine what heights he would reach in the coming years. A deep sense of dread filled their hearts.
"What can we do?"
"We must go to the Divine Demon Well, break through the Suppression Realm, and rescue Miss An Yi!" Jiang Qing said.
"But the Divine Demon Well is the passage to the other five realms, right? It's far more dangerous than the human world," Li Yuanli hesitated.
"I know that, but you must understand that with our current strength, we can't break through Chang Hao's personal Boundary Seal. To do so, we'd need at least the Thirteenth Realm, the level of cultivation he possessed before his death." Jiang Qing shook his head, feeling utterly troubled.
The Thirteenth Realm, known as the Human Dao Realm, is the stage where one condenses an Infant. Practitioners at this level can live for five to six hundred years and give birth to a Primordial Embryo within their bodies. Through the refinement of Essence, Energy, and Soul, they can even resonate with the cosmos, becoming immensely powerful.
Reaching this stage was also incredibly difficult.
The Ninth Layer was Forgetting the Dao, the Tenth Layer Abandoning the Dao, the Eleventh Layer Reaching the Dao, the Twelfth Layer Alchemy Dao, and only the Thirteenth Layer was the Human Dao!
Each subsequent realm was like climbing a mountain, and the journey for ordinary cultivators was long and arduous, taking who knows how long to scale a single peak. Even with Qin Yi's exceptional talent and endowment, it would likely take decades to ascend each mountain.
In essence, An Yi was practically as good as dead.
"We must keep this from him!" Jiang Qing said with a sigh after a moment's hesitation.
"No!" Li Yuanli's expression immediately changed. "We can't hide it!"
"What are you talking about?" Jiang Qing asked.
"How can we hide it?" Li Yuanli retorted. "You may not know Qin Yi's true identity, but I do. Whatever we do, we can't keep it from him! If we conceal this, it will be a direct act of deceiving the emperor, a crime punishable by death!"
"Not only must we not conceal this, but we must tell him the entire truth."
"And, we must tell him that An Yi is dead!"
Li Yuanli's expression shifted as he clenched his fists and spoke fiercely.
"What are you thinking?" Jiang Qing asked, her brow furrowed.
"You don't understand. I'll handle this. I'll send disciples to Mount Shu immediately."
Li Yuanli gritted his teeth.
He knew in his heart that the old man Chang Hao was right. A Sect Lord, willing to sacrifice his life and go to such lengths, must have a purpose.
Having roughly grasped the cultivation system of this realm, Li Yuanli understood that all of Chang Hao's actions were inevitably tied to the Dao. He couldn't deceive his sovereign, yet he also couldn't let Chang Hao's efforts go to waste.
Concealment was impossible; full disclosure was the only way!
Jiang Qing, being sharp-witted, understood immediately.
"Your approach is correct. However, we must prevent him from falling into madness."
"Don't worry. Doesn't this realm have the Necropolis?" Li Yuanli said confidently.
Jiang Qing was taken aback for a moment, then nodded.
The next day, Magnificent Qin dispatched disciples to Mount Shu.
To Li Yuanli's dismay, Qin Yi had gone into seclusion and the Magnificent Qin disciples were unable to meet him.
This seclusion lasted for five years.
In the blink of an eye, five years had passed.
The gates of Mount Shu's Everlasting Pavilion remained closed for a full five years. During this time, a Sect named Magnificent Qin rose to prominence. They hunted demons and vanquished evil, and the cultivation of their disciples rivaled that of Mount Shu. Their growing fame gradually spread across the land.
One day, as the sun rose, disciples on the Sword Qi Platform were practicing their sword techniques.
Suddenly, an earth-shattering Sword Intent erupted from the Everlasting Pavilion, soaring beyond the clouds. Its sharpness was so intense it sent a chill down the spines of those who felt it.
"This... this is the Sect Lord's Sword Intent!"
"So powerful, so domineering! It's terrifying!"
"Five years... the Sect Lord has grown even stronger!"
The Mount Shu disciples instantly realized who wielded this Sword Intent, their hearts soaring with excitement.
Inside the True Martial Hall, Dugu Yuyun opened his eyes. His face had matured considerably, and his aura had condensed into his body, radiating both worldly experience and rational composure.
"As expected of the Senior Martial Uncle who has been hailed as the most talented in Mount Shu's thousand-year history."
"This terrifying Sword Intent, soaring straight to the heavens... could it already rival a divine weapon from the Heavenly Realm?" Dugu Yuyun mused with deep admiration.
Creak!
The gates of the Everlasting Pavilion suddenly swung open, and a figure stepped out.
"What is a sword?"
"A slash, a cut, a sweep, a thrust, a graze."
"All things in the world, grass, trees, mountains, stones, rivers, and lakes…"
"Can all become a sword!"
A faint chant, carrying boundless Sword Intent, permeated the entire Mount Shu.
At that moment, the disciples of Mount Shu were shocked to discover that not only were the long swords at their waists trembling, but even the flowers, trees, water, and mountains were violently shaking.
Qin Yi stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the heavens. His eyes contained the myriad living beings, the blue sky and white clouds, everything, yet ultimately, they transformed into a single sword.
"And this sword..."
"...is Cangsheng!"
He had attained enlightenment. After five years of comprehending the sword, he had subdued the swords of past Sect Lords of Mount Shu, merged them with the Magnificent Jasper sword, and then fused it with himself.
He had forged the ultimate sword, a blade without form, yet every strike it unleashed became a technique.
This sword...
Its name was Cangsheng!
(End Of This Chapter)
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