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The Xianzhou had dealt with vivified planets plenty of times. After all, if you asked what the Xianzhou people's natural enemies were, aside from the Abundance abominations, vivified planets were a perfect example.
Over these thousands of years, vivified planets had brought the Xianzhou far too much disaster. Even Cangcheng had been swallowed whole by Devourer-of-Worlds Rahu.
After Cangcheng fell, the Xianzhou Alliance wasn't unwilling to lock onto Rahu's location—yet every attempt ended in failure.
And now, through the enemy's manipulation, this demonic star that had lain dormant for a thousand years had revived once more.
High in the heavens, a gigantic rift yawned open. From the pitch-black void, an eerie blood-red glow rose slowly—more vivid than a sunset, deeper than any dusk, carrying an ancient, mysterious pressure. As it surfaced, that red light condensed, taking shape into a vast, grotesque outline.
A planet made entirely of flesh and blood—something Wei Yi had never seen before.
Even though he understood what vivified planets were, the first sight of this existence still made Wei Yi's face tighten.
This was a desecration of life far worse than Shuhu.
It was born from Abundance, the most precious creation in his eyes—yet its very existence was sin.
He could feel it: the world's wail, the pain.
The resentment of billions of lives trapped between living and dying.
The planet's surface wasn't stone or cloud. It was a layer of living, writhing flesh. Deep crimson faded into pale violet, like vessels and muscle woven together, exuding a baleful, staggering vitality.
The surface pulsed now and then—like a heartbeat. Like breathing. Like earthquakes that were also its sighs.
As the flesh-planet drew closer step by step, the endless howling grew clearer.
Those were the voices of Cangcheng's beings—swallowed long ago. Thousands of years had passed, and the lives it devoured hadn't died. They had fused into it completely. Yet under endless torment, they'd long since lost self and will, leaving only madness—praying, day after day, for deliverance.
That was the truth of a vivified planet.
Ordinary life, once consumed by Rahu, would be assimilated in moments into mindless flesh.
But Xianzhou people were different.
Seventeen hundred years had gone by, and they still weren't dead.
"So that's why the enemy never struck?" Feixiao stared at Devourer-of-Worlds Rahu advancing in the sky, her expression bleak. In all her decades of life, she had never felt killing intent as thick as she did today. "To think Rahu would awaken at a time like this…"
To most ordinary Xianzhou folk, it might look like nothing more than an enormous blood-colored planet. But no one in this room was ordinary. They could all see what it truly was.
"If we don't bring it down," Wei Yi said after a long silence, eyes fixed on the star above, "and it reaches the Luofu… then the Luofu will be caught and swallowed in an instant."
"I'll go knock it out of the sky." Feixiao rose to move.
"Not yet." Just as she was about to act, Hua stopped her with a slow shake of her head.
"Marshal…?" Feixiao looked at her, uncertain.
"The Sky-Strike General doesn't need to move." Hua's gaze stayed on the two figures in the air—on Jingliu. "She will handle it."
"You mean Jingliu? No. Even she—against something like that—it'll be hard, and besides—"
"Trust her." Wei Yi patted Feixiao's shoulder, urging calm. "If Hua says she can, then she can."
Feixiao met Hua's steadfast eyes, then finally nodded and sat back down.
But her stare stayed locked on the sky. If Jingliu truly couldn't hold, Feixiao would intervene in a heartbeat and minimize the damage.
Wei Yi, meanwhile, watched the vivified planet and fell into thought.
The instant Rahu appeared, the Luofu had already plunged into chaos.
That howling meant little to iron-willed powerhouses like Wei Yi and the rest. For ordinary people, it was another story entirely.
A Xianzhou person shrouded by a vivified planet suffered almost the same fate as a foxian under the Crimson Moon.
Those insane whispers were enough to trigger mara-struck corruption.
That was why, seventeen hundred years ago, when Rahu struck Cangcheng, the ship lost all resistance in an instant.
Back then, the Cangcheng people had already spiraled into madness under those whispers. Only a handful resisted to the end—yet it was like trying to hold back a flood with a cup.
Even when General Tengxiao intervened, all he managed was to drive Shuhu into a death-state to await rebirth. Rahu itself remained untouched.
Vivified planets had always been the Xianzhou's nightmare.
Thirty years ago, when Jidu Mirage pressured Fanghu, if not for the final arrow of light from the Reignbow Arbiter that destroyed Jidu Mirage, Fanghu's end might have been far worse than losing a third of its caverns.
"Vivified planets are just too great a threat to the Xianzhou." Wei Yi sighed, looking down at the suffering people. He stepped out of the room, stood upon the prow of the Jingfeng flagship, and drew a small knife across his wrist.
Thick blood spilled into the wind and fell to the deck. In the next moment, a flower sprouted.
Before everyone's eyes, it grew at insane speed—one meter, ten, a hundred, a thousand…
In less than a minute, a gigantic bud towered ten thousand meters high. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought the Ambrosial Arbor had revived again.
Then the blossom opened, and a sweet fragrance drifted outward, spreading into the distance.
"Steady your hearts. Don't be bewitched by those cries. This scent stabilizes the mind—it will shelter you and keep you from falling into mara."
At once, all Xianzhou people writhing in pain from Rahu's presence heard Wei Yi's gentle voice in their hearts. Right after, they realized the boiling darkness inside them was being crushed down at lightning speed.
At the same time, in every corner of the Luofu, Abundance abominations erupted as if receiving a signal.
Their goal wasn't the Arbor. Nor was it to destroy the Xianzhou. They only wanted to throw the ship into chaos.
Truthfully, without Wei Yi, they would have succeeded.
But now the situation turned… delicate.
"Pups, charge together! Those filthy Xianzhou are overwhelmed by Rahu's influence—hunt to your hearts' content! This time we'll make the Alliance lose face across the universe!"
With a howl from a back alley, a Borisin squad tore off their disguises and surged out, expecting a feast.
Instead, they met Cloud Knights staring back, calm and steady.
…What?
The intel was wrong! Why weren't these Xianzhou people going mad?!
Unlucky for them, they'd run into Sushang's patrol unit.
If others were affected by Rahu to some degree, Sushang had been fine from start to finish. While everyone else fought to steady their minds, she was the sort to say, "Wow, the doctor's flowers smell amazing."
Sometimes being that pure had its perks. You didn't get lost in any fog.
Like right now. When Sushang saw a pack of abominations rushing out, her thoughts were very simple:
Damn! Enemy! Damn! Fight!
She hefted her Cloud Knight greatsword—so heavy it took others two hands—yet in her grip it swung like a rapier. She slapped it straight into the Borisin.
Watching her single-handedly whirl that slab of steel, the ordinary soldiers felt exactly like she had back then watching Suyi twirl Xuanyuan one-handed.
Beyond Sushang's fight, other battles flared everywhere.
"Hmph. Seven hundred years gone, and the Xianzhou still stink the same—reeking enough to make me sick."
A gigantic gray wolf strode down the street with a curved blade. People scattered in panic.
But before he could start hunting, a small figure shot out.
"Abomination! You dare rampage on the Xianzhou—prepare to die!"
Yanqing faced him, sword flashing cold light.
"A brat, huh? Fine. I'll eat you first—pick my teeth with your bones. Kids like you are best: skin, meat, and marrow all crushed together."
The wolf snorted, then lifted his blade. "Remember this name when you meet Tengxiao below: Huyan Shuang of the Borisin. Looks like I've been hiding too long. Seven hundred years of silence, and now even whelps like you dare talk big in my face! Back when I battled the former Sword Master Jingliu, you weren't even born!"
He lunged.
"Former Sword Master?" Yanqing's eyes flicked with surprise. "You fought her and lived?"
He vaulted cleanly over the wolf's heavy strike.
"Hah! Of course!"
"Well, I get it." Yanqing suddenly grinned. "You must've been scared out of your mind. You hid for seven hundred years, and only crawled out because you thought my grandmaster was dead."
"Brat. You want to die!"
"Heh. Sounds like I was right." Yanqing laughed. He'd only guessed, but the reaction confirmed it.
If this guy truly survived Jingliu head-on, he'd be a core Borisin figure by now.
Yanqing was a polite kid—to allies.
To enemies, he could be as sharp and cheeky as any boy his age.
Like that taunt.
And like what came next—
"Since your intel is seven centuries out of date, try this sword—how about it?"
"Overconfident pup!"
Huyan Shuang sprang high, crashing down with a crushing strike.
This time Yanqing didn't dodge. He raised a stance the wolf found hauntingly familiar.
Frost condensed along Yanqing's blade. His eyes hardened, and he thrust upward.
For an instant, his brows and gaze looked uncannily like Jingliu's.
Huyan Shuang froze.
His heart stalled.
Damn it—Jingliu is still chasing me?!
Seven hundred years ago, he'd watched Jingliu capture War-Chief Hulei with a godlike sword. From that day on, he'd clung to life in hiding, claiming "seclusion after battle."
Now his lifespan was at its limit, and he'd come to the Xianzhou to extend it by devouring.
Only to meet a young swordsman on the Luofu whose every movement echoed Jingliu.
He still couldn't beat him, even at full strength.
"Die!"
He roared, trying to crush Yanqing head-on—
but Yanqing's sword froze him solid.
Against someone like Hulei, that strike might only hold them a moment.
But this wolf was no Hulei.
"Seven hundred years in hiding, thinking that woman was long dead… and in the end, I still died to this sword. Seven hundred years… her strike haunted me. Every time I closed my eyes I saw War-Chief Hulei sealed in ice by that blade… and in the end, what I feared most became reality…"
His vitality drained away.
"To Hulei below," Yanqing said coolly, "tell him the one who killed you was Jingliu's grand-disciple—the future Sword Master of the Luofu, Yanqing."
His sword aura erupted.
In an instant, the Borisin shattered into frozen fragments.
Scenes like this unfolded across the Luofu.
Yunli's Insight-Shatter Slash split a pack leader into pieces. She barely had time to breathe before another Borisin struck from behind.
She was about to trade injury for the kill—
when a tall figure stepped in front of her.
A single swing of the Shattered Sword ended the attacker.
"Kid," Blade—no, Yingxing—snorted, "nobody taught you to watch your back in a fight? You nearly got jumped."
"Hehe. Emergency situation, you know? Still… didn't think you'd help me, mister."
"Hmph. I just happened to pass by."
"Ehehe…"
The enemy's plot—to crash the Luofu's defenses through Rahu—was crushed effortlessly beneath Wei Yi's power.
The Borisin who infiltrated the ship managed some chaos, but the Cloud Knights pinned them down before they could raise real waves.
"Ha ha ha! Let me love you to death with one spear! You look bigger than the other pups—eat this!"
"Sir wolf, do you acknowledge Idrila's peerless beauty?"
"What idiot are you? I don't care about your beauty!"
Argenti: struggling not to laugh.
"Until I behold that light once more… all beauty in the galaxy, I will defend to my final breath! And the Xianzhou, in my eyes, is beauty everywhere. Those who would shatter it are, without question, vile and ugly!"
He swept his spear and cut down several Borisin at once.
Yet their numbers far exceeded his expectations. After felling dozens, dozens more appeared.
Argenti's response?
Even stronger attacks.
"Offered to… Idrila!"
This Martial Exaltation Ritual had drawn not only tourists, but many powerful figures who came to participate.
Most of them were decent people. When the Xianzhou came under attack, they each lent a hand.
You could even spot Kafka in a café, idly scrolling her phone with one hand while the other puppeteered Abundance abominations outside into slaughtering each other.
Or Sam in his sleek armor, kicking through enemies one by one with flames that melted everything.
When Wei Yi finally finished everything, Feixiao walked up with concern.
Using his authority over such a wide range—even for Wei Yi now—was no small drain.
Protection was always harder than destruction.
"Relax." Wei Yi smiled at her worry. "If you're the sharpest spear, then I'm the strongest blood pool. This kind of spending is nothing to me."
Then he teased, "My wife is so outstanding. If I don't work harder, won't everyone on the Xianzhou think I'm just living off you?"
Feixiao's smile softened into something exquisitely gentle.
"You're welcome to live off me as much as you want."
Only in front of Wei Yi did Feixiao ever look this tender.
"Worthy of an Emanator of Abundance," someone praised as Wei Yi returned to the room. "That power—truly fearsome!"
By the time he got back, Jing Yuan and Huaiyan had already left. With the ship in turmoil, someone had to steady the helm: Jing Yuan to the Divine Foresight Office, Huaiyan to wherever he could help.
There would be confusion, yes, but with Marshal Hua present, nothing felt desperate. Everything moved forward in order.
Up in the sky, facing Rahu—
during those moments, Rahu had crept closer again.
Even Suyi's mind began to feel the pressure. Wei Yi's authority was too far away to shield her.
"To think this demonic star would show up now." Suyi sighed helplessly. "Looks like our match will have to wait."
Against a monster like this, even she had no way out. A sword had limits.
"No." Jingliu shook her head. "Our contest ends here."
"You mean…?"
"Whoever can cut down the star in the heavens wins."
"Cut down a star…" Suyi looked at Jingliu's seriousness and gave a bitter smile. "If you can do that, then go ahead. I'll admit you're stronger than me."
"Good."
Jingliu lifted her gaze to Devourer-of-Worlds Rahu drawing near and took a slow breath.
"Hold on a little longer, everyone. I will let you… be freed completely."
She whispered it to herself.
Then voices surged into her mind.
"Jingliu… save me. It's me. Jingliu, it's Mother… save me…"
"Jingliu… my child… my daughter… are you truly going to kill me with your own hands?"
"No—don't kill me! Murderer!"
"Beast! We're all Cangcheng people! Why—why raise your sword against us?!"
Familiar voices. Luring voices.
None of them shook her heart even a hair.
Centuries of solitary wandering had forged her will into ancient, unmeltable ice.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced down at the Jingfeng flagship.
Her thoughts drifted back.
Not long ago, when she learned Wei Yi had been ambushed and tried to return to the Xianzhou, Yaoguang stopped her. In the end, she went to the Xuling Xianzhou and met the Marshal.
Instead of interrogation, Hua didn't spit harsh words at her. She saw through Jingliu's lie about planting the Stellaron in the Xianzhou at a glance.
At the end, Hua asked her:
"Do you want to return to the Xianzhou?"
Jingliu had wanted to refuse.
Then Hua said something that changed everything:
"With your current identity, how can you ever repay his kindness? You feel guilty toward him, don't you? You want to protect him—am I wrong?"
Jingliu had stayed silent.
Hua's secret art had already shown her everything Jingliu had lived through recently. She understood Jingliu's thoughts more clearly than Jingliu herself.
"Soon he will forge an alliance with the Xianzhou Alliance as an Emanator of Abundance. If you truly wish to repay him, this is your chance. The seat of Sword Champion has been empty for thousands of years… and you now have the qualification to claim it."
So Jingliu accepted. She returned to the Xianzhou and entered the Martial Exaltation Ritual.
Thinking of that moment, she recalled words Baiheng had said to her a few days earlier.
She'd brushed them off back then.
But now she knew her answer.
"He freed me from centuries of lonely wandering and let me feel warmth once more. He redeemed me—though I am a sinner—without asking for anything in return. Seven hundred years have passed. All I have left is this body and this sword. The road ahead is perilous. I do not ask to stand beside him as a lover. I ask only this: let me be his blade, and sever every obstacle before him."
With her heart settled, Jingliu raised her hand toward the demonic star.
At once, profound Taixu sword-qi gathered beside her.
Her eyes held nothing else as she murmured:
"Divinity is the utmost change, the wondrous speech of all things… that which cannot be questioned by form…"
A vast light congealed in the air. In her hand, a golden sword-strike took shape.
It was the supreme realm countless Xianzhou swordsmen dreamed of—the technique one must master to become Sword Champion.
Marshal Hua's famed art—
Taixu Sword Deity!
For thousands of years, after Hua became Marshal, no one had learned this sword. That was why the Sword Champion seat had stayed empty.
Now, as the wanderer returned, as worldly dust washed away, and as only pure sword remained in Jingliu's heart—
she grasped it at last.
After Hua taught her the formula, everything fell into place.
Seven hundred years ago, Jingliu had already found its embryonic form through the Cloud Knight sword arts. With Hua's personal guidance, mastery was inevitable.
"To think you've reached this level…" Suyi watched the brilliant golden sword-qi and couldn't hide the bitterness.
She had believed the gap between her and Jingliu wouldn't be too large.
But seeing a perfect Taixu Sword Deity form, she understood.
She had already lost.
Jingliu was a genius—who had sprouted this blade from fundamentals and made it bloom into something terrifyingly beautiful.
"I'll free them now."
She listened to the star's screams, pressed her pale lips together, and her gaze hardened.
"Taixu… Sword Deity!"
A colossal light tore open the sky.
In a blink, that sword-qi expanded into a planetary-scale slash and surged toward Rahu.
Sensing fatal threat, Devourer-of-Worlds Rahu let out a tremendous howl. Its flesh boiled, and endless red tides erupted from its surface, crashing into the Taixu Sword Deity.
Two overwhelming powers collided.
At contact, the red tide melted like snow.
But it wasn't enough. Not nearly enough.
A vivified planet's energy was near infinite. This alone couldn't truly defeat it.
For an instant, it seemed like a stalemate.
Then a subtle, mysterious force surged from Jingliu's body.
Endless power flooded from her heart, sustaining her frame and feeding a strike meant to cut through all things.
"Steady your mind. This has always been your dream, hasn't it?" Wei Yi's voice sounded in her thoughts. "Go, Jingliu. Cut down the star."
"…Yes. I will."
Jingliu nodded faintly.
I still can't repay him enough…
In the next moment, the sword-light blazed brighter still. Jingliu's power multiplied severalfold, and under that radiance Rahu could only retreat again and again!
The sky-spanning slash pierced through all defense.
With a single sword—
Rahu was cleaved in two.
Thus fell the vivified planet Devourer-of-Worlds Rahu…
After swallowing the Cangcheng Xianzhou for over seventeen hundred years,
it was finally cut down by Cangcheng's last orphan—
Jingliu.
....
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