Chapter 433: The Most Primitive Taicang Ancestral Blade

At this moment, Xu Qing stepped into the mural world once again, descending anew.

As the laws of the realm pressed down upon his body, he took a deep breath, retrieved his token, and followed the guidance to the East Thirteen region he was tasked to guard in the future.

This area was vast; Ghost Hand had not brought him here before. After Xu Qing quickly located it, he cast his gaze over it.

The landscape here was dominated by volcanoes, the earth crimson and magma roiling.

Those three Black Heaven clansmen were suppressed within three separate volcanoes.

Using the light and heat of the volcanoes to mimic the power of the sun, they were subjected to day and night torture.

Xu Qing flew over to inspect the area and even extracted one of the Black Heaven cultivators to examine him closely. As time passed, after five hundred breaths, a sharp glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

"The aura of the Red Moon is far denser here than in the Saint Lan clan..." Xu Qing murmured.

In fact, when Ghost Hand had explained and dissected that Black Heaven clansman in front of him that day, Xu Qing had already sensed the aura of the Red Moon within the Black Heaven clansman's body.

This aura came from the black blood of the Black Heaven clan.

Arriving today, he confirmed this point after his investigation.

"This is also the reason why I sensed the Red Moon aura on the Saint Lan clan; it is because the Saint Lan clan cultivators all have a trace of Black Heaven clan bloodline integrated into them."

"Looking at it this way, could the Black Heaven clan be the same as the God Realm cultivators represented by the brand on the Primordial Li-You Pillar in Yinghuang Province—all believers of that evil deity who covers their eyes in the Red Moon?"

Vigilance rose in Xu Qing's heart; he was well aware that the Purple Moon within his Fourth Tiangong was formed from a wisp of aura plundered from the Red Moon.

"Black Heaven clan..." Xu Qing pondered. He felt his judgment was likely the truth, which also aligned with the claim that there was no sun, only a moon, within the Black Heaven clan.

After a long while, Xu Qing suppressed his thoughts and sent a divine sense to the Shadow, having it leave shadow eyes on these three Black Heaven clansmen for observation.

At the same time, he placed jade slips to record the images.

Then, Xu Qing thought for a moment. To allow them to communicate with each other and uncover more details, he simply locked all three Black Heaven clansmen into a single volcano.

After finishing this, Xu Qing tried to capture another alien prisoner; he wanted to test if the Ghostly Profound Dao-Seizing Art could allow him to devour the other party and thereby improve his cultivation base.

But unfortunately, although Xu Qing could crush the prisoner in terms of combat power, the difference in cultivation realms meant the effect of the Ghostly Profound Dao-Seizing Art was not very good.

Xu Qing pondered for a while. He felt that if devouring a Golden Core was like eating a candied hawthorn, no matter how hard the hawthorn was, he could still eat it; after all, it was wrapped in a layer of sugar that melted upon entering the mouth and could be digested once it entered the body.

But devouring a Nascent Soul was like wrapping a layer of iron around the candied hawthorn, turning it into an iron lump that was difficult to digest.

Xu Qing could understand this point; after all, no matter how fragile the opponent was, their realm was ultimately Nascent Soul. The difference in levels made it difficult for a Golden Core realm technique to function normally.

Of course, it was not impossible, but it would be much more troublesome and not as convenient as devouring a Golden Core.

Xu Qing felt that perhaps his method was wrong, so he planned to try and find a way once he could withstand the time in this place for longer. For now, having calculated the time, he prepared to leave.

He had already arrived twice today, and now, with his body bearing the rules of the small world, he was nearing his limit.

Just as Xu Qing intended to leave, the heavens and earth in the distance suddenly changed color. The clouds in the firmament transformed on their own, becoming pitch black, with bolts of lightning constantly slithering within.

It looked like a heavenly tribulation.

Even more thunder spilled out, falling toward the earth, causing a series of sounds that made the ground there collapse and rubble scatter, and the range was still expanding.

Xu Qing's eyes narrowed; he had not used his authority to form this scene.

"Could another jailer have arrived?"

Xu Qing's body flickered as he moved forward, the wind rising and clouds surging all around him.

Seen from afar, it looked like a celestial body surrounded by violent power, speeding away.

And at the moment Xu Qing approached, a figure suddenly rushed out from the earth beneath the heavenly tribulation. It was an alien with blue skin all over, a single horn on its head, and a tall stature.

This alien had only one eye, thick arms, and nine fingers on each hand. At this moment, its expression was anxious and even frantic as it rushed rapidly toward the thunderclouds in the firmament.

It was undergoing a tribulation!

Upon seeing this, Xu Qing immediately understood. There were no other jailers here; the reason for the change in the heavens and earth was this alien.

This person was quite extraordinary, as its cultivation base was nearing a breakthrough even within this small world, thereby causing the laws of the small world to manifest as a heavenly tribulation to suppress it.

This was rare within the small world. As Xu Qing had learned about this prison during this time, he knew clearly... the opponent could not possibly succeed.

If the laws of this realm were not controlled by the Sword-Holding Palace, the opponent might have had a chance of success, but now, the heavenly tribulation suppression here—though Xu Qing had never seen it with his own eyes—was, according to his understanding, earth-shattering in power.

And since there was no guard stationed here originally, he figured this was the reason the alien chose this place.

But this prisoner clearly had not anticipated Xu Qing's arrival today.

"Did Senior Ghost Hand arrange for me to come here because he knew about this?" As this realization dawned on Xu Qing, the tribulation cloud suddenly emitted a heaven-shaking roar.

Thunder rumbled, the firmament changed color, and bolts of lightning fell from the clouds in unison. They did not strike directly at the rushing alien but instead gathered together at high speed.

They actually formed a long blade composed of lightning and thunder beneath the clouds.

This blade had endless thunderous light, brilliant and blinding; its emergence caused the heavens and earth to roar.

A supreme power descended upon the world, containing the rules governing this small world, the laws of the heavens and earth, and even the power of the Heavenly Dao.

It radiated a clear Dao rhyme!

The blade radiance was dazzling to the extreme at this moment, causing the heavens and earth to change color, as if the world had completely dimmed in this instant, with only the light of this blade becoming the sole radiance of the world!

With supreme might and infinite power, it unleashed a sound that pierced the clouds and slashed toward the alien with a single strike!

This was the true Heavenly Blade!

It did not slash the body, but the Dao!

The blade fell, passing through the alien in an instant.

The blue-skinned alien shuddered all over, a shrill, miserable sound coming from its throat, and as it trembled, it could not help but spray blood wildly.

As its body swayed and tottered, its Nascent Soul cultivation could not sustain it and collapsed in the blink of an eye!

The Nascent Soul within its body instantly turned to ash, all Heavenly Palaces were annihilated in a flash, the Foundation Establishment fire dissipated in an instant, the Dao foundation collapsed with a boom, and all its cultivation base fell apart!

"I am not reconciled!"

The alien's voice was incomparably miserable, but clearly, being in this small world and under the rules and laws, it was completely helpless and could only drink the cup of hatred. Its body fell to the ground with a boom, turning into a mortal, losing everything, and lying at death's door.

At this moment, Xu Qing did not pay attention to the prisoner, nor did he listen to the opponent's unwilling roar. He landed on a mountain peak, his eyes wide, thunder echoing in his heart, and his mind stirred by monstrous waves.

He stared fixedly at the Heavenly Blade formed by countless bolts of lightning and thunder in the firmament.

That strike kept appearing in his mind, becoming the only thing there.

"This strike... this strike..." Xu Qing murmured, his body trembling, his spirit seemingly swept by a storm.

The change in his state of mind also caused the transformation of the surrounding heavenly and earthly rules. Countless clouds and mists appeared above him, at times turning into acid rain, at times forming magnetic thunder, and at times producing lightning.

Even the surroundings of the mountain peak where he stood were the same.

Everything outside the mountain was blurring—one moment an ocean, one moment a plain, one moment a desert, and the next returning to a volcano.

The heavens and earth changed color, and the wind and clouds rolled backward.

As for the alien cultivator who failed the tribulation, it had disappeared without a trace under the changes of the heavenly rules; perhaps it had died, or perhaps it had fled.

Xu Qing did not focus on this person; his entire spirit was now placed on the Heavenly Tribulation Blade.

Even though this Heavenly Tribulation Blade was slowly dissipating in the distance, it became increasingly clear in Xu Qing's mind.

The feeling this strike gave him was very similar to the strike he had seen slashed by the divine statue that stepped down in the Taicang Dao Temple within the scavenger forbidden zone in Yinghuang Province years ago.

Thinking of this, Xu Qing's body shook.

"Could it be..."

He had a vague judgment that the peerless expert who created the Taicang Blade years ago might have also seen a Dao-slashing Heavenly Blade similar to today's.

But looking closely, there were differences.

The Taicang Blade of the Dao Temple was a cultivator's blade, while this one was a Heavenly Tribulation Blade.

The similarity between the two was that they were nearly of the same origin; the difference was that the Dao rhymes they contained were distinct, so the direction of the slash was different.

The former killed the body, the latter slashed the Dao.

"If I could comprehend it and fuse it with the Taicang Blade..."

A sharp glint appeared in Xu Qing's eyes, and his breathing became slightly rapid.

His right hand instinctively raised. As he traced that strike within his mind, his right hand also swung, wanting to execute the Dao-slashing blade formed by the convergence of the world's rules and the laws of the heavens and earth.

But even though Xu Qing was astonishing in his comprehension, it was impossible to succeed after just one look.

Thus, after dozens of breaths, as the shadow of the Heavenly Blade composed of thunder in the firmament slowly dissipated, the blade shadow floating in Xu Qing's mind also began to blur, unable to remain.

Until the end, no matter how unwilling Xu Qing was, he still found it difficult to hold onto it, and it gradually dissipated.

He also tried to use his authority to form this blade in the sky again, but it was ineffective.

Clearly, the appearance of this kind of Heavenly Tribulation Blade was beyond his authority.

But Xu Qing did not give up; he immediately closed his eyes and began to meditate.

Just like when he tried to comprehend the Ghost Emperor Mountain before, he struggled to make the blade shadow in his mind dissipate slowly, striving to remember it.

Several hundred breaths of time passed in a flash.

Xu Qing opened his eyes, his vision bloodshot. He looked up at the firmament, which had cleared and returned to normal, and sighed softly.

His comprehension... had failed after all.

On one hand, the Heavenly Blade appeared for too short a time; on the other, he was nearing his own limit of endurance in the small world, leaving him in a poor state.

Furthermore, the status of this Heavenly Blade was extremely high; to a certain extent, it could be seen as an original version of the Taicang Blade.

All of this made it very difficult for Xu Qing to succeed.

"Also, I was too impatient."

Xu Qing murmured. After analyzing the reason for his failure, he had to take flight amidst this sigh and leave this small world.

The moment he exited, as his body relaxed, a sense of exhaustion immediately surfaced throughout his entire body.

Every time he left the small world, he had this feeling; it was because his cultivation base was insufficient, and bearing the rules of a realm placed a huge burden on his body.

However, Xu Qing did not pay attention to these things; a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes, and his mind was also analyzing.

"To comprehend this strike, I need to let it appear a few more times... and I myself must be in a state of relaxation, completely free from distractions."

"To comprehend this blade, it needs to appear a few more times... and I must be in a relaxed state, completely free from distractions."

"Only then will there be a possibility of comprehending this Heaven-Severing Dao Blade."

Xu Qing seemed lost in thought; he lowered his head to look at the small world below, a direction forming in his heart.

"The Great Void Blade—I have mastered two blades now. If this Heaven-Severing Dao Blade can be successful, then this blade can serve as my third."

After arriving at the Commandery Capital, Xu Qing had not left, nor had he gone out to search for Great Void Dao Temples, so his Great Void Blade had not increased.

Furthermore, he understood that given the conditions for comprehending the Great Void Blade, the vast majority of Dao Temples were actually empty.

After all, once someone succeeds once, it becomes ineffective, and it takes half a sixty-year cycle before new insights can slowly form.

This also destined the difficulty of accumulating the Great Void Blade to be immense; it requires serendipity to find a Dao Temple that has either exceeded the time limit, has not been successfully comprehended, or where the previous comprehender happened to die.

Deep in thought, Xu Qing returned to the Criminal Prison Department.

"I won't return to the Sword Pavilion yet!"

The moment he stepped out of the mural, Xu Qing turned his head to look at the image of the small world.

A look of determination appeared in his eyes, and he simply found a corner on the ninetieth floor to sit cross-legged, practice breathing, and recuperate.

Two hours later, as prison guards were entering and exiting the small world one after another, Xu Qing's body recovered to its normal state under the operation of the purple crystal.

Without the slightest hesitation, he stood up, stepped into the mural, endured the descent of the rules, and entered the small world once again.