Chapter 434: A Dao Obtained, the Azure Dragon Rises

This time, Xu Qing expanded his power of rules and flew within the region he guarded, searching for suitable prisoners while also taking out a jade slip to screen his list.

What he was looking for were cultivators who had been at the Nascent Soul Great Perfection realm when captured; for this type of prisoner, they were only one step away from the arrival of the heavenly tribulation.

Xu Qing soon locked onto four targets. Using the power of rules to search while forming hand seals, it wasn't long before he found a Flying Wing Clan cultivator.

This prisoner was hiding in a cave deep underground, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

The next instant, as the place where the prisoner lived roared and the earth collapsed, a massive gap exploded open. Amidst the rumbling, the Flying Wing Clan prisoner's expression changed.

Although his reaction was fast, it was of no use under absolute strength.

A great force descended from the sky, directly seizing his body and forcibly dragging him into mid-air.

It allowed him no refusal, nor even the slightest struggle.

Under the rules, with Xu Qing's cultivation and combat power here, he could crush any prisoner.

Thus, in an instant, this Flying Wing Clan Nascent Soul cultivator, who could stir up winds and clouds outside and crush Xu Qing with a single hand, was grabbed by the neck by Xu Qing.

"My lord."

Despite the resentment in his heart, the Flying Wing Clan cultivator still spoke cautiously, a fawning expression appearing on his face.

Xu Qing didn't speak, his gaze icy. After a careful inspection, he tossed the Flying Wing Clan cultivator aside and then flicked several elixirs over.

These elixirs contained rich spiritual energy; they were decent elixirs even outside, and here, they were precious to the extreme. The Flying Wing Clan prisoner was stunned upon seeing them, but the look in his eyes was not joy, but hesitation.

He knew very well that when things are abnormal, there must be a demon, so he looked at Xu Qing with trepidation.

"My lord, this..."

"Will you eat them yourself, or should I cripple you and stuff them in?" Xu Qing said calmly.

A fierce energy rose in the Flying Wing Clan prisoner's heart, but he forcibly suppressed it. He knew the consequences of not obeying, so he gritted his teeth, picked up the elixirs, and swallowed them all.

However, he kept his guard up, controlling the speed of absorption.

Xu Qing frowned and brought a palm down directly. Amidst the rumbling, the Flying Wing Clan cultivator let out a shrill scream, his body nearly collapsing, and after falling, he was left on the verge of death.

But it was only his physical body that was weak; the spiritual energy within him was recovering rapidly as the elixirs melted. After checking, Xu Qing felt it wasn't enough, so he pried the prisoner's mouth open and tossed in a few more.

The next instant, as these elixirs melted, a fluctuation of an imminent breakthrough radiated from the Flying Wing Clan cultivator.

He had been at the Nascent Soul limit when captured. After so many years, he had reached the point of breakthrough, but ascending to Spirit Repository required the Heavenly Dao, which he clearly lacked, so the breakthrough was bound to fail.

But... whether it failed or not did not affect the triggering of the world's rules here, forming the Blade of Heavenly Tribulation.

This fluctuation immediately terrified the Flying Wing Clan cultivator. He knew what Xu Qing was about to do. He was just about to speak, but it was too late; the firmament instantly surged with wind and clouds, and tribulation clouds filled the sky.

The Flying Wing Clan cultivator let out a sharp sound, jumped up violently, and sped toward the distance, even continuously striking himself, trying to suppress his cultivation to make the heavenly tribulation dissipate.

But before he could strike many times, his whole body trembled and stopped, revealing a fanatical, exaggerated expression, yet there was terror in his eyes.

His body, as if controlled, forcibly turned around to kneel before Xu Qing and spoke loudly.

"Master... I am willing... to... die!"

The slurred speech indicated that the Shadow's control over him was unstable. At this moment, the Flying Wing Clan cultivator struggled intensely, his expression changed, the fanatical look vanished rapidly, and his face became distorted; it looked like he was about to break free.

Just at this moment, thunder roared in the firmament, and the Heaven-Slaying Blade, composed of countless lightning bolts, descended abruptly toward the Flying Wing Clan cultivator below.

The moment it descended, the Shadow left. The Flying Wing Clan cultivator, restored to normal, had no possibility of dodging and was struck by the Heavenly Blade amidst shrill screams.

The rumbling echoed, spreading in all directions.

Xu Qing sat cross-legged in his original spot, paying no attention to the Flying Wing Clan prisoner who had already had his Dao foundation severed and was on the verge of death. He looked up at the Heavenly Blade, gaining insights once more.

Three hundred breaths of time passed in a flash.

As the tribulation clouds slowly dissipated, the Heavenly Blade also vanished. A thoughtful look appeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

After a long while, he stood up, took a step forward, and went to another region to find another suitable specimen.

Just like that, time flowed by, and several days passed.

Amidst Xu Qing's repeated attempts at gaining insights, the day he had agreed upon with Xiang Ningyan arrived.

On this day, at dusk, the firmament was filled with a gorgeous orange-red glow, flowing over the earth like water, and also landing on the roof and square of the Sword-Holding Palace's record office.

There, many Sword-Holders were lined up in a long queue.

They were all candidates from various prefectures.

Among them, some had anxious expressions, waiting bitterly; Xiang Ningyan was one of them.

He looked into the distance from time to time, feeling uneasy and anxious; he had already been waiting for half a day.

Behind the desk beside him sat a stern-looking middle-aged Sword-Holder. This person's cultivation was at the Golden Core stage, and lightning faintly flashed in his eyes; he was clearly from the Primordial Thunder Lineage, with impressive fluctuations.

At this moment, he looked up at the seven or eight candidates who were frequently looking into the distance and spoke indifferently.

"Most of the candidates' recommendation records have been completed; only you are left."

"Have you actually found your recommenders from the same prefecture?"

These seven or eight candidates all had bitter expressions; some explained, while others remained silent.

Xiang Ningyan nodded quickly and bowed to the middle-aged Sword-Holder.

"Please wait a little longer; my recommender promised me he would come."

"Who are you looking for?" The middle-aged Sword-Holder frowned and spoke slowly.

Xiang Ningyan hesitated and did not say Xu Qing's name. He wasn't sure if the other party would really come. If he said it and the person didn't show up, it would become a joke for him.

Furthermore, for this candidate assessment, he had been tested at the same time as people of the same status from other prefectures. To compete for the first place among candidates, they had competed fiercely, and conflicts were inevitable.

At this moment, there were three hot-headed youths in the crowd who had had friction with him.

These three saw Xiang Ningyan's anxiety and his failure to name his recommender, so mockery flashed across their expressions. Although it wasn't very obvious, Xiang Ningyan still saw it.

This expression made Xiang Ningyan feel uncomfortable in his heart.

One of them even let out a low laugh.

"First place in the candidate assessment, yet no one came to recommend him; one can see his character."

Xiang Ningyan remained silent.

The middle-aged Sword-Holder was expressionless. He didn't care about the remarks of these hot-headed youths. There were many such people; after all, everyone had a different personality—some were gloomy, others direct.

But after becoming Sword-Holders, most would change.

So he flipped through Xiang Ningyan's resume and noticed he was from Yinghuang Prefecture. He looked up in surprise and swept his gaze over Xiang Ningyan.

"You are from the same prefecture as Brother Xu Qing?"

Xiang Ningyan nodded upon hearing this.

Beside him, one of the three candidates who had conflicts with him chuckled.

"If Brother Xu Qing, who shines with ten thousand zhang of brilliance, isn't even willing to recommend someone, it really shows that someone has some problems."

"What's the use of struggling so hard to get first place as a candidate."

"You are courting death!" Xiang Ningyan's expression was gloomy as he looked over violently. The other party had provoked him several times, and coupled with his current anxiety, the fierce energy in his heart inevitably rose.

"Why, do you want to fight us again here!" The three youths looked at Xiang Ningyan with unkind gazes; they just wanted to enrage him.

Xiang Ningyan gritted his teeth, fierce energy rising in his eyes.

As for the middle-aged Sword-Holder at the record office, he watched this scene with cold eyes. Similar things happened among every batch of new candidates; after all, where there are many people, there will naturally be conflicts, so he spoke indifferently.

"If you have a conflict, get out, resolve it, and then come back."

Upon hearing this, the three youths immediately rose into the air, and one of them pointed at Xiang Ningyan.

"Didn't you steal our limelight as a candidate? Do you dare to come and fight again!"

"You are wrong; how could Xiang Ningyan not dare? He is waiting for his recommender, so he cannot fight us. Isn't that right, Xiang Ningyan? I've even thought of the reason for your refusal for you."

Another youth among the three laughed and spoke.

A cold glint flashed in Xiang Ningyan's eyes, and just as he was about to fly out, a calm voice came from afar.

"Xiang Ningyan, I was delayed by something; I've come a bit late."

Following the voice, a whistling sound also echoed. In the firmament in the distance, a figure approached rapidly.

In the rosy glow, this person's long hair danced, and a white Daoist robe as white as snow, combined with a handsome face, made everyone who saw him instinctively attracted to him.

It was Xu Qing.

Xu Qing did not easily make promises to others, but once he did, he would definitely fulfill them.

Since he had agreed to recommend Xiang Ningyan, he wouldn't deliberately delay. It was just that he had been busy gaining insights into the Heaven-Slaying Blade these days, which was why he was late today.

As for finding Xiang Ningyan unpleasant, that was still the case, but since the Captain felt this person was useful, Xu Qing was prepared to observe him more.

The moment he arrived, all the candidate disciples at the record office were shaken. One by one, they showed respect and bowed together. The three youths who had conflicts with Xiang Ningyan also trembled and lowered their heads, not daring to act presumptuously anymore.

It was because Xu Qing's fame in the Sword-Holding Palace was currently not small; he was called one of the monsters of this batch, and it was said that the several monsters of this batch had good personal relationships and stuck together—offending one was equivalent to offending all.

Moreover, now that each of them held important positions and had formed forces, no one was willing to offend them.

The middle-aged Sword-Holder at the record office also laughed and stood up to welcome him.

On the day Xu Qing and Kong Xianglong and the others confronted the Yao family at the Sword-Holding Palace, this person was among the many Sword-Holders who came. He had met Xu Qing once and knew what they had done, and he felt great admiration in his heart.

Xiang Ningyan was even more excited and stepped forward quickly. Xu Qing's voice was like heavenly music to him, and his figure was like a rainbow. That fluctuation of mood made him incomparably grateful for Xu Qing's arrival.

Xu Qing nodded at Xiang Ningyan and then cupped his fists in return to the middle-aged Sword-Holder who came to welcome him.

"Sorry to trouble you, Brother Zhou; I am Xiang Ningyan's recommender."

When the Sword-Holder surnamed Zhou heard Xu Qing call out his surname, a bright light immediately appeared in his eyes. He secretly thought that this person could be accepted by Kong Xianglong and the others—the ten thousand zhang of brilliance was one aspect, but his conduct was another.

One had to know that there were many Sword-Holders who went to the Discipline Hall at that time. Although everyone met each other later and Wang Chen and the others made introductions, time was short after all.

To be able to remember a surname in such a situation—this was a skill.

So he laughed and spoke.

"Since Brother Xu Qing recommends him, it shows that this Xiang Ningyan has an upright heart and pure character." After speaking, he immediately recorded Xiang Ningyan's pass and then looked at Xiang Ningyan with severity in his eyes.

"Xiang Ningyan, I hope that after you become a Sword-Holder, you will be loyal to your duties and not embarrass Brother Xu Qing!"

Xiang Ningyan quickly agreed.

Xu Qing didn't stay long. After saying a few words to this Sword-Holder surnamed Zhou, he bid farewell and left under the respectful gazes of the crowd.

He still had to return to the Criminal Prison Department to continue his insights.

At this moment, when he returned and passed the ninth floor of the Criminal Prison Department, Xu Qing's figure had just appeared on the stairs when he heard the Palace Master's stern voice from afar.

"Don't think that just because others have called you a great prodigy a few times, you can be arrogant. In my eyes, you, Kong Xianglong, are just a newly promoted Sword-Holder, very immature!"

Xu Qing's footsteps paused, and he looked over, noticing Kong Xianglong standing with his head lowered at the junction of this floor.

The Palace Master was opposite him, looking majestic and scolding him with a cold face.

"Even if you look stunningly brilliant to others, you don't follow the Sword-Holder rules and have repeatedly neglected your work for private matters. Sooner or later, you will cause a great disaster. Do you understand this point?"

The Palace Master's expression was majestic, and his voice carried some anger.

"The Sword-Holding Palace is not a place for raising flowers, nor does it need people who don't follow the rules. If you think you can rely on your little cleverness to act recklessly here..."

Xu Qing saw this scene and understood that Kong Xianglong must have been discovered doing some private business when delivering prisoners for handover, which triggered the Palace Master's scolding. He was afraid another round of imprisonment was inevitable.

"Why is the Palace Master always staring at Brother Kong?"

Xu Qing felt a bit surprised, but he knew the other party was currently in a fit of anger, so he immediately lowered his head and walked toward the tenth floor.

But before he could walk down the stairs, Kong Xianglong actually refuted him rarely.

"I didn't act recklessly. I completed the mission, and I got the mission items. I was just two days late in delivering them back. Those victims were all on the verge of death; how could I stand by and watch them die!"

"Presumptuous!" The Palace Master let out a cold snort. This sound was like thunder roaring in all directions, making the surrounding jailers feel terrified. Xu Qing also gasped and looked back.

He saw Kong Xianglong looking up with a face of defiance, while the Palace Master was clearly even angrier, cold light radiating from his eyes.

"You have ability now, don't you? You've learned to talk back. If you continue like this, you might as well get out of the Capital District and find a small place to enjoy your hero's vanity there."

Kong Xianglong's body trembled, and after a long while, he lowered his head.

"Do you remember the first sentence I said to you when you were promoted to Sword-Holder?" The Palace Master looked at Kong Xianglong, his face full of majesty.

"As Sword-Holders, every one of us is a sharp sword of the human race, and we must be ready to die for the human race at any time." Kong Xianglong spoke loudly upon hearing this.

Xu Qing was familiar with this sentence. When he first saw the Palace Master on the 89th floor, the other party said the first sentence exactly the same way.

At this moment, the Palace Master's words carried severity and continued to echo.

"I hope that in the future, you will fall on the battlefield of the human race, rather than in some despicable conspiracy!"

"With your personality, it is not difficult to lay a trap for you. Someone, lock him up. This time, lock him up for two months, and no one is allowed to visit during this period!"

The Palace Master flicked his sleeve and turned to leave. When he passed Xu Qing, his eyes glared.

"What are you watching? Have you discovered the secrets of Ding Yisaner? Have you completed the insights in the C-zone? Why aren't you going yet!"

"Yes!" Xu Qing quickly lowered his head and left rapidly.

Before leaving, he glanced at Kong Xianglong and found that the other party was also looking at him. The two looked at each other, both feeling helpless.

Xu Qing withdrew his gaze and hurried toward the 90th floor. While feeling the Palace Master's severity in his heart, a thoughtful look also appeared in his eyes.

"Does the Palace Master know I am gaining insights?"

Xu Qing understood that as the Palace Master, controlling the entire Criminal Prison Department, it was not difficult to know he was gaining insights.

But there were so many things in the entire Criminal Prison Department, and he could still know his movements, which showed that the Palace Master was paying attention to him.

As Xu Qing was lost in thought, he soon arrived at the 90th floor. As soon as he walked in, he saw Ghost Hand drinking wine there. He smiled after seeing Xu Qing.

"You were scolded by the Palace Master, right? I heard the roar from above even here."

Xu Qing nodded, feeling depressed in his heart. This scolding was an unprovoked disaster.

"The Palace Master is just like that; he is strict with everyone, and even more so with himself." Ghost Hand tossed him a pot of wine and said with a smile.

"The more he scolds you, the more he cares about you in his heart."

Xu Qing recalled his previous guess.

"The Palace Master has no disciples, and his children died in battle, so he pays great attention to Sword-Holders with aptitude. You are like this, and Kong Xianglong is also like this."

Ghost Hand sighed and took a sip of wine.

"Children died in battle?" Xu Qing looked at Ghost Hand.

"Yes, newcomers don't know about this, but most old-timers know. The Palace Master had two sons, both Sword-Holders with astonishing aptitude."

"But one died in a mission to infiltrate the Saint-Lan Clan; it was suicide to avoid being captured alive. The other died because his personality was targeted and plotted against."

Ghost Hand sighed and said no more.

Xu Qing was silent. He looked up at the 89th floor above, and after a long while, he bowed to Ghost Hand and walked toward the mural, stepping into the small world.

In the East 13th District he was responsible for, the four prisoners who met the criteria had already had their Dao severed. However, three days ago, Xu Qing had found other jailers in the C-zone and exchanged prisoners in his responsible area for a few who met the requirements.

At this moment, he sat cross-legged on the volcano, looking up at the firmament. As the world roared, the Heavenly Blade reappeared.

Xu Qing's expression was calm. Now he was no longer as anxious as he was at the beginning, but the whole person was in peace, silently gazing, silently gaining insights, and silently imprinting it in his mind.

In his mind, the shadow of the blade formed again and again.

But it collapsed and dissipated again and again.

Despite this, Xu Qing persisted.

Until half a month later, amidst his repeated arrivals and insights, the alien prisoners he had exchanged for were running out.

At this time, Xu Qing did not continue to trigger the Blade of Heavenly Tribulation with the prisoners' cultivation breakthroughs, but sat cross-legged there, recalling and depicting it in his mind, and his right hand was also raised many times, copying it again and again.

In his mind, a relatively stable shadow of the blade finally appeared, which he carefully protected and slowly deepened.

This process was very boring, like forging a peerless sharp blade.

Gradually, sharpness appeared. Actually, at this point, Xu Qing knew he could end it.

But he noticed that the blade he was gaining insights into, although very powerful, was not the Dao-Slaying he had imagined, but rather one that slayed both body and soul.

"It's different from what I thought..."

Xu Qing pondered and simply didn't end it, but continued to copy and deepen the shadow of the blade in his sea of consciousness. He wanted to see what would happen if he continued to gain insights.

It's just that sometimes, if the method is wrong, it's fine if the forging time is short, but if it's forged for a long time, what you get will not be a sharp blade, but scrap iron.

So half a month later, his mind, which had been gaining insights here every time he came, suddenly shook. This blade he had copied in his sea of consciousness still collapsed.

And because he had poured his heart and soul into it for a long time, as the shadow of the blade shattered, Xu Qing's body also trembled violently, and he spat out a large mouthful of blood.

"How could it be like this..."

Xu Qing's expression was withered, unwilling to give up, murmuring in a low voice.

Whether it was the Taicang Blade or the Ghost Emperor Mountain shadow, he had never felt such difficulty, especially since he had clearly gained insights and formed it before, but for some reason, it collapsed again.

It was as if leaving an outline of that blade in his mind was fine, but trying to imprint it deeper was beyond his reach.

"Is my method wrong?"

Xu Qing was silent, closed his eyes, sat cross-legged there, and fell into deep thought.

Until a long time later, he gave up on gaining insights into the blade itself and instead recalled those prisoners whose Dao had been severed, recalling the scenes of their Dao foundations collapsing after the blade fell.

As the images continuously emerged in his mind, after a long while, Xu Qing suddenly trembled and opened his eyes violently.

"My direction is wrong!"

"All my previous insights were based on previous methods, but those were all based on body and soul. For example, the Taicang Blade slays the body, and the Ghost Emperor Mountain suppresses the soul."

"That was not insight; that was copying. And this time, what is needed is true insight."

"Because this Blade of Dao-Slaying transformed by the rules is not a Blade of Heavenly Tribulation; it is a Blade of Heavenly Dao!"

"Looking at it from a deeper level, it uses the laws to slay the spiritual energy within the cultivator. At the moment this blade falls, the spiritual energy is affected, as if... it no longer belongs to the cultivator themselves!"

"The point of this blade is not to slay, but to make the cultivator's own spiritual energy repel the practitioner and disintegrate on its own!"

"This blade, or rather this Dao, is more like... a legal decree!"

Xu Qing's breathing was rapid, and a strong light appeared in his eyes.

"A legal decree commanding spiritual energy to make it repel the cultivator?"

"How is this done?"

An answer instantly rose in his mind.

Spiritual energy is the essence. Then, if spiritual energy is viewed as an existence the same as alien matter, then whose aura is spiritual energy...

Xu Qing thought of the four original Heavenly Daos outside this small world. Their gazes gathered to form the sun and moon, manifesting the laws.

"Spiritual energy comes from the laws, and the laws come from the Heavenly Dao?"

Xu Qing murmured, a strange light appearing in his eyes.

After prisoners are locked in this small world, they are invaded and assimilated by the small world, eventually merging with this world. Therefore, the laws of this small world can dissipate their cultivation.

"So, this blade is the Heavenly Dao using the laws to transform into a legal decree, thereby slaying down!"

"Then, what is the Heavenly Dao?"

A thoughtful look appeared in Xu Qing's eyes. After a long while, he took a deep breath, stood up, and walked out of this small world. Outside the continent, in the void, his footsteps paused, and he looked down at the four huge original Heavenly Daos outside the light shell.

He watched very seriously and carefully, even sitting cross-legged in the void, spreading his perception, and immersing himself completely.

Time flowed by. Seven days later, a sense of realization rose in Xu Qing's heart.

"These four Heavenly Daos are not substantial objects, but an existence that is like life yet not life, like death yet not death."

"This type of existence has no will of its own."

This was what Xu Qing observed, and it was also the answer he obtained from asking the Immortal Zixuan during these seven days.

This answer made Xu Qing think of the Wanggu Continent.

According to his understanding, a powerhouse who has mastered the laws of the Wanggu Continent could also achieve this Heavenly Dao blade on the Wanggu Continent, but this was incomparably difficult.

Because the Heavenly Dao of the small world is controlled by the Sword-Holding Palace, it can be used.

But the Heavenly Dao of the Wanggu Continent—there should be no one who can control it.

And without anyone in control, the Heavenly Dao has no self-consciousness, only the instinct transformed by the laws.

At this moment, Xu Qing suddenly realized what the Spirit Repository realm was.

He also understood the reason why Ghost Hand once said that the Spirit Repository realm requires gaining insights into the Heavenly Dao, and that the Heavenly Dao must sit in one's own secret repository.

That is because only the Heavenly Dao can carry the laws and subsequently command the laws.

Powerhouses in the Spirit Repository realm can already apply the laws of their own Heavenly Dao to the Wanggu Continent. Although it cannot last long, it can be changed for a short time to form their own supreme state.

It is similar to the Profound Brilliance state of Foundation Establishment.

After realizing these things, Xu Qing had a deeper understanding of this Heavenly Dao blade.

He also finally knew why he had been failing all along.

Because this blade contains the laws, and the laws can only be mastered by the Spirit Repository, and the Spirit Repository's mastery also relies on the Heavenly Dao within the secret repository as a carrier.

That is why he failed, and why no matter how he copied it, it was difficult to succeed.

He lacked a carrier to carry the laws!

"So that's how it is!"

Xu Qing realized it completely.

"Carrier..."

He thought of the Poison Prohibition Elixir, thought of the Life Lamp, thought of the Imperial-level cultivation technique, thought of the Purple Moon...

In the end, he gave them all up.

These, in the final analysis, were all external objects.

Only one thing was the most suitable.

That is... the Azure Dragon.

The Life-Bound Azure Dragon!

"The Heavenly Dao within my future secret repository!"

This was the object that truly belonged to his own formation!

A bright light appeared in Xu Qing's eyes.

This chapter is a two-in-one. ===== CHAPTER 435 =====