Chapter 391: Gift

What rushed toward him was a wind carrying ash and dust.

The sky, covered in cracks, began to glow.

It illuminated Ji Jue’s eyes.

The Serpent of Corpses rose from the abyss, dancing wildly and coiling; its nearly infinite body surged endlessly from the depths, entangling itself around the Sower’s arm.

Seen through the cracked sky, as if through a shattered glass dome, everything was magnified, including the Sower’s massive form.

The giant serpent writhed, coiling tightly around that arm which struggled in fury.

Wave after wave of magnificent ripples spread out from the fingertips, wrist, and arm; wherever they passed, everything was annihilated.

Amidst the earth-shattering ripples, a burning figure emerged from atop the giant serpent’s skull.

Compared to everything else, he was like a speck of dust.

"Hello there."

Ji Jue strolled among the iron scales, raised his head, and waved at the Sower across the rift and the turmoil: "We meet again!"

Books once said: Every encounter in life is a reunion after a long separation.

When Ji Jue first read that, he only thought the literary sentimentality was all bullshit, but at this moment, he inexplicably understood and grasped the meaning within.

Perhaps, that is exactly what it meant.

Clearly so strange, yet destined to be familiar; from the very first

glance, he felt the long entanglement of time to come.

And the moment he saw those eyes again, he couldn't help but smile, feeling joy and happiness from the bottom of his heart, already unable to wait to step forward and offer a greeting:

"Have you been doing well?"

BOOM!

The fierce light of the Natural Enemy’s Blade erupted, piercing out from behind the Sower, gushing and raging, burning away the paleness, as infinite blood sprayed from the wound.

Pierced, heavily wounded!

It seems not well.

It was as if in response to him, making him laugh out loud, filled with joy—that’s great, I’ve waited for you for so long, and you’ve finally spoken to me!

Seeing that you aren't doing well, I can finally rest easy.

It’s okay, don't worry or be afraid if you aren't doing well.

Because, with my help, you’re about to be doing even worse!

This snake is a gift I’m giving you; I searched for it in the sacrificial temple for a long time. Take it, don't be polite, take it back and nourish your body!

"———————!!!!"

[Garbled text]

The giant serpent hissed; though it had no flesh or blood, it emitted a high-pitched sound like the friction of silent steel. Countless bone joints ground together, shooting out sharp spikes like innumerable tiny blades and needles, which, as the body writhed, stabbed into the giant hand.

Pale phantom light like blood gushed out continuously, only to be swallowed and absorbed by the serpent’s body. The giant serpent’s mouth grew firmer, contracting and clamping down.

Letting the cracks on its own body spread, it refused to let go!

The venomous resentment never ceased!

BOOM!!!

Another crack appeared on the giant serpent’s body, nearly severing it at the waist.

After such a long passage of time, it was no longer that Serpent of the Present World that once spanned the world, whose blood made the four seas salty.

Its life had long since faded, its fierce might dissipated; all that remained, besides this skeleton existing as a martial achievement, was its undying resentment.

Using this relic as a base, the structure of the Nether Sea Worm as its spirit, and fueled by countless sacrifices and offerings, it finally operated on this single breath of resentment.

It was as if the deceased had returned to life, crawling out from the grave once more.

No matter how ferocious or violent.

Compared to an existence like the Sower, it was still limited; no matter how much it gnawed, it was like an ant trying to swallow an elephant, with no hope in sight.

Yet that malice and resentment vibrated incessantly. The serpent’s remaining ferocity erupted again, crazed, devouring the phantom blood flowing from the Sower’s arm without limit, and even the blood outside the rift was not spared.

Like a bottomless pit, it tried in its overestimation of itself to swallow everything once more.

All in vain.

Not only did it fail to shake the opponent’s foundation like the Sword of the Natural Enemy, but it was instead eroded and infected by that strange pale blood.

Under the irrigation of that blood, it mutated rapidly.

The spiritual structure of the Nether Sea Worm, after experiencing the impact of resentment, encountered such terrifying pollution and was collapsing and destroying at a speed visible to the naked eye.

And strange flesh grew rapidly from beneath the iron light, tinged with wisps of paleness, and even gradually merged into the Sower’s body.

It was about to be absorbed in return.

The giant serpent expanded, expanded, and expanded!

In the end, even the entire rift could no longer contain it, nearly squeezing out of the crack, breaking through the rift to the outside...

"Yes, that's right, just like that..."

Ji Jue bent down, stroking the scales on the giant serpent’s skull as if in praise: "Eat more, there's plenty, take another two bites, keep going."

BOOM!!

The final shackles and control snapped completely.

The giant serpent went mad, its scarlet eyes twisting. Amidst the magnificent, endless resentment, a trace of human-like ferocity gradually emerged, looking toward Ji Jue.

Famished and insatiable.

Ji Jue was also looking at it, gazing at the comrade and partner he had only accompanied for less than a minute, offering his gratitude and thanks.

"It's okay, I believe in you."

He said: "Please believe in me too!"

So-called passion and bonds are just like this—without reason, yet so tangible.

Have you felt it, friend?

If you can't feel it, that's fine.

It’s enough that I felt it!

In that instant, as the eroded, mutated serpent opened its mouth to swallow Ji Jue, he reached out his hand once more.

He pressed it onto the 'seven-inch' spot that had been set up since its creation!

Right beneath the mutated scales, at the intersection of countless spiritual circuits, where all sequences and modules overlapped—the vital, critical point!

——Dissociation Art!

SNAP!

The giant serpent stiffened, its ferocity stalled. In that glimmer of light within its eyes, was it confusion or fear? It was truly hard to distinguish.

It was as if a hand had casually pulled out the thread from the deepest part of a tangled mess, the vital main line of a complete sweater...

And so, following Ji Jue’s movement, it shattered.

The irreversible collapse had begun!

With the collapse of the center, the 'heart' shattered completely. Then, the self-destruction sequence hidden beneath the spiritual circuits activated, and a chain-reaction explosion spread through the 'blood vessels' to the entire body.

At this moment, the giant serpent filling the rift shook violently, dissolving amidst the explosion, scattering. The life, resentment, and spiritual essence gathered in one place dissipated like rain, falling in a flurry.

But before it could spread or hit the ground.

Ji Jue reached out his hand once again.

"I have a gift to give you."

The Demon in the Flame laughed, launching the final sacrifice!

In the alchemy of the corrupted craftsmen, this was a crucial link: through the ritual, direct communication with the Great Calamity, and through this resonance and burnt offering, offering massive sacrifices to bring down the true essence of evil and folly!

But at this moment, it was not pointed at any Great Calamity or vortex, but at Ji Jue himself!

All evil deeds, done by my hand.

All evil consequences, return to my body!

Accompanied by the complete collapse and dissociation, as that broken skeleton fell from the sky, the infinite essence of supreme good and great calamity rushed toward Ji Jue, all sinking into the [Hole] on Ji Jue’s chest.

Then, a flame light that reached the sky erupted from there.

White flames roared, black flames raged, paleness and pitch-black intertwined, sinking into the earth and rising to the sky, circling Ji Jue’s body.

He could feel himself growing, growing, and growing at a terrifying speed.

As long as he swallowed all of this, he could break through countless barriers and, in an instant, truly become a Calamity of the World comparable to the Lu Changsheng of the past!

But even if he became Lu Changsheng, so what?

Even if he surpassed Lu Changsheng and became the next Sower, what of it?

Besides creating more suffering and hell, what meaning would that have?

At this moment, beneath the surging flames, the matrix of Non-Attack faintly lit up and emerged. The fire of Non-Fate roared and gathered—Refining, begin!

In the snap of a finger, he gathered the blood-red color and resentment filling the sky, making everything extract,

change, purify, and rise again.

It was like holding a furious, raging giant serpent, suppressing its struggle and resistance time and time again, and then, pouring them all into the giant serpent’s skull...

————Into that sword scar in the void that had not faded for a thousand years!

With this infinite resentment and sacrifice, he catalyzed, stimulated, and reawakened this trace of the Chixiao’s existence!

"Ancestral Sword Master above!"

Ignoring the excruciating pain that tore through his flesh and soul, letting his palm be sliced and shattered, white bone exposed, he gripped that crack tightly, offering the final blood sacrifice, presenting everything.

"I implore you, lend me your sword!"

In that instant, as the sword scar hummed, the Hanxiang Mirror in his arms also seemed to glow, vibrating incessantly. The intent of the Heavenly Origin from the Nine Forms flowed within his chest, changing and reconstructing, and as Ji Jue’s spiritual essence flowed, it surged into that void crack together.

The sword scar blazed, fierce light erupting.

As if it were a living thing, it changed suddenly.

Ji Jue seemed to have gripped something.

He felt its roar and arrogance.

In the instant it swallowed all the sacrifices, amidst the serpent’s resentment, the call of the same origin, the Sword Master’s authority, and the realization of the Chixiao’s creation, a clear and distant cry suddenly rose from within.

It broke through the rift and resounded across the world.

Lingering and spreading.

An unexpected change manifested at this moment.

In a trance, Ji Jue’s soul seemed to have drifted away with that humming.

[Line break]

The infinite lingering sound broke through the storm, the sky, and the earth’s crust, rising straight up, up, and up, until it seemed to go toward the past and the future.

Across ancient time, two clanging sounds of the same origin resonated for an instant.

Amidst the infinite blue waves and sea breeze, on the serpent’s corpse that stretched like mountain ranges, the blood-red color still wound its way, like a torrent, heading toward the four seas.

And right atop the giant serpent’s skull, the middle-aged Sword Master, singing in memory and bleary-eyed from drink, held a wine jar and suddenly raised his eyes, as if foreseeing the phantom and call from the future.

He froze for a moment, then laughed out loud, full of joy.

Without hesitation, he waved his hand.

"A mere sword, what is there to regret?"

The Sword Master flicked his finger, tapping the long sword before his knees that was still stained with blood: "Take it!"

The plain-looking long sword hummed, lifted, and slashed down casually. Immediately, a red light shot into the sky, filling the world.

Vast and mighty like a long dragon, endless and raging, it poured continuously into that sword scar and disappeared.

In the silence, the sea breeze blew, and there were no more strange phenomena.

At the front, the person in charge who was urging the giants to pull the ropes to drag the giant serpent toward the sacrificial temple returned, glanced at the sword scar, and frowned in confusion:

"Your Highness, who are you talking to?"

"Yeah, who is it?"

The Sword Master was immersed in his drunkenness and smiled happily: "Probably a latecomer?"

"For a guy like you who likes to go against the grain, can there even be a future?"

His companion sneered: "Maybe in the future, among your descendants, there will be a tyrant who provokes the world to purge him, leaving behind infinite disaster!"

"Haha, that’s also possible."

The Sword Master didn't care at all. He braced his knees, bathed in the sunlight, plucking his sword to play a song, and the corners of his mouth slowly curled up:

"However, imagine that after thousands and tens of thousands of years, everything is gone, you and my remains have turned to dust, and our names and pasts have vanished into nothingness.

But after everything, there is still someone who can rise up with a sword just like you and me...

Isn't that a good thing?"

The companion was silent for a long time, then sighed naturally:

"It couldn't be better."

"Right?"

The Sword Master laughed at the sky, raised the wine jar, tilted his head, drank half himself, and sprinkled the other half into the sea:

"This cup is to toast the latecomer!"

The residual wine and blood flowed together into the four seas. From then on, the four seas were all salty, but amidst the turbulent sea waves, did a trace of today’s wine still remain?

That instant thousands of years later, it was as if the scent of wine was lingering on the tip of his nose like a hallucination.

The latecomer reached out and sank into the carving.

Finally, he gripped that fierce light that had been waiting for him for who knows how long, and pulled it out fiercely!

The moment the Sower turned his head in astonishment, he saw it again.

Amidst the reignited dead ashes, a scarlet color rose, reaching the sky...

The clouds turned red, as if twenty-four heavens were opening one after another, and the Heavenly Gate appeared.

The blue sea surged, and on the seabed beneath the surface, dragons and snakes rose in an instant!

Between heaven and earth, it was as if the true master, the true controller, the true judge had arrived in an instant... Above the shadow of the tower, the square high gate appeared.

After the Great Calamity, the Supreme Good descended!

Looking down at the sword light that reached the sky in the hands of the Calamity Demon...

A truly genuine Heavenly Origin Sword!

Tianlu was astonished, Pang Pei and Ellis stiffened, and it wasn't just them.

At this moment, countless people lost their voices in unison:

"————Chixiao?!"

That was not the decaying Emperor’s sword from the end of the dynasty, nor the fake of the same name circulating among the Thousand Islands, but the true sword of governance that had revitalized creation, reopened the new heaven, and established eternal phenomena in the hands of the Second Monarch of the past!

At this moment, the shadow of Chixiao had come in response to the call!

In the hands of that burning shadow, it was raised!

The sword hummed loudly, resounding through heaven and earth, shocking the universe and all phenomena, turning into the axis of the world...

From now on, I’m afraid no one will ever doubt whether Lu Changsheng

has the Imperial Seal!

This manifestation of the Chixiao shadow was the best proof of the mandate of heaven and the inheritance of the great unification!

But Ji Jue didn't care.

The moment this power to dominate the world fell into his hands, only one thought, one idea, one question remained in his mind.

Looking at the Sower’s giant hand reaching into the rift...

———Was it this hand that sent the Calamity of the Flame Tide into the present world back then?

Perhaps it was the other hand.

It’s possible he used both hands.

But it didn't matter...

We meet for the first time, and I didn't bring any gifts, and the kindness of a drop of water in the past is even harder to repay. Let’s just leave this hand here as interest!

In that instant, the Calamity Demon laughed wildly, toward that arm that was twitching and trying to pull back...

——SLASH!

Heaven and earth moved, all things shook, singing and rejoicing.

Carrying the circulating phenomena, making all things in the world converge, gathering the meaning of everything, bidding farewell to the past, establishing the present, and creating the future.

That flame light like fire gathered into a line, flashing and disappearing...

Then, an unprecedented, violent roar erupted from within the rift.

Following the dissipation of that line of Chixiao shadow, pale blood sprayed,

overwhelming, like a rainstorm.

The Sower’s arm was severed at the elbow!

No longer able to restrain himself, he roared!

Heavily wounded!

It wasn't just a wound; even the slightest sensation in the lost arm was gone, completely separated into two different individuals.

As if it were born that way.

Lost forever.

This is the mandate of heaven being with me, taking and giving as I please!

Amidst the roar, the last thing that came was the sound of distant laughter.

The burning demon fell from the sky, toward the abyss, and finally waved at him, full of enthusiasm.

Filled with malice and ferocity, he bid him farewell.

Goodbye, friend.

Goodbye!

One day, we will meet again!