Chapter 1669: If I Go and Do Not Return, Then I Do Not Return

Heaven and earth suddenly froze.

Everything—the cosmos, the rolling Lei Gao Jie thunderclouds, the flickering lightning, the consciousness of all beings—froze in place, becoming a single painting.

Riiip—

That painting was torn apart by a single streak of resplendent sword-light, then shattered into countless fragments.

The starry skies of the Ancient God Domain world clusters returned to calm once more.

……

In the skies above the Solar System, a youth in blue robes gazed into the night.

"I can yield no further."

"Immortals were always great beings forged from countless miracles."

Jiang Ding murmured, "Falling behind again and again, the burden grows too heavy to turn back—in the end, the despair that follows is something I cannot face. The despair-filled twilight of countless Supreme beings through the ages—I will never live through that."

"If I am to die, I shall die in the most beautiful years of my life."

The Immortal-Grade Order yielded.

The Three-Step Limit yielded.

The future will surely yield further, because the further one goes, the harder it becomes to break through the limit—a difficulty built up step by step!

This difficulty, the further one goes, accumulates exponentially.

One could say that what seems difficult now is, in truth, already the easiest stage for success. Later on, once one becomes a Supreme, everything will already be set, and change will be far harder.

Jiang Ding fell into endless contemplation.

If there is no answer, then there is no answer. Despair appearing in research is perfectly normal—everyone must go through it, even if the final result proves to be failure, achieving nothing at all.

He did not know how long passed.

"Is there any direction?"

A gentle voice asked.

It was Yuan—he had come here.

"Swordsmanship and Sword Soul."

Jiang Ding was not surprised; he said quietly, "A breakthrough in swordsmanship to the Eighth Tier, further fine-tuning the Materialist Solar rules—no longer minor adjustments, but adjustments down to one-thousandth precision, truly mastering one branch-rule of heaven and earth, and becoming completely one with that branch-rule."

"A living being is the master of some branch of the rules."

"This is the Eighth-Tier Dao-Stage Swordsmanship."

"It sounds rather difficult?"

Yuan guessed.

"Mm."

"It is very difficult, because this is Jiang Jiang Jinxian-grade swordsmanship."

Jiang Ding looked up toward the distance and said quietly, "In the endless starry skies, the number of Supreme beings is finite, because the branches of the rules are finite. Every Supreme represents the limit of one path. Take, for example, the Grand Dao Rule of Fire—its branches are limited, and the number of Supremes it can bear is fixed."

"Occasionally there are changes—for instance, a certain Supreme occupies more branches of the rules, or a certain Supreme creates a new"

"rule of the Fire Dao, a new path."

"But overall, the number of Supremes in the endless cosmic starry skies is limited."

"Eighth-Tier Dao-Stage Swordsmanship means using the sword to pry open the rules, to dominate one branch of the rules, and to give birth to one's own rule-creation—for example, the Ninth-Tier Grand Yin-Yang Sword Realm's Supreme Purity Divine Iron."

"A Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong Sword Son can only ever approach Dao-Stage Swordsmanship, never truly reach it."

"That is the level of difficulty."

Throughout the ages, only two Supremes of the Grand Yin-Yang Sword Realm have existed in the same era—this is why.

When the sword Dao of Grand Yin and Grand Yang reaches its apex, it is a Supreme.

Until this generation's Solar Sword Master and Lunar Sword Master perish, the Lunar and Solar Sword Sons can never advance to Supreme; they can only slumber in seal, awaiting the future.

To break through the Three-Step Limit, if one's foundation is insufficient and one wishes to forcibly break through the limit by one's own talent, this is the kind of swordsmanship required.

Jiang Ding cannot do it.

Between the Seventh-Tier Heavenly Sword Swordsmanship and the Eighth-Tier Dao-Stage Swordsmanship of the sword Dao, there seemed to be an entire endless cosmos between them—no ladder to climb up at all—only a sheer ninety-degree cliff.

"What about Sword Soul and Sword Intent?"

Yuan asked again.

For a Refinement Void cultivator to master Jiang Jiang Jinxian swordsmanship—this truly exceeds the limit, because even the limit of a Taiyi Qingmu Xianzong Sword Son's growth is only Supreme.

"In the Immortal Dao cosmos, a cultivator's will can directly affect matter and reality, and further still, can affect the rules themselves."

"For sword cultivators, that is Sword Soul and Sword Intent."

Jiang Ding said calmly, "For me, what is needed is a battlefield. On such a battlefield, I must slay over a hundred Dao Sons, and if I do not die, then I should be able to give birth to such Sword Intent—called the Adulthood-Stage Sword Soul."

"A sword cultivator of the Adulthood-Stage Sword Soul is the backbone of the human race—an existence capable of influencing the fate of the race."

From the perspective of the hegemon races of the endless starry skies, a sword cultivator can only call himself an adult once he has grown into the Adulthood-Stage Sword Soul.

"Over a hundred Dao Sons?"

Yuan instantly shut himself down.

Setting aside whether such a battlefield even exists—to speak frankly, the probability of the Great Sun Sword Son surviving and slaying a hundred Dao Sons should be infinitely close to zero.

"Are there any other paths?"

Yuan could not help but ask.

"There are."

"Immortal Physique, Dragon and Phoenix bloodlines, Immortal Scriptures, Immortal Artifacts—perhaps one must also add the Immortal-Grade Order of the Soul Transformation stage. The rule-force transformed from the power of the Immortal-Grade Order is extremely strong, making it easier to break through the limit."

Jiang Ding gave his answer based on his own understanding.

Lead by one step, lead by every step—such is the way of it.

One wrong step naturally accumulates step by step until it forms the despair of countless Supreme Ones.

The despair of countless Supreme Ones.

Yuan fell silent.

"In the endless starry sky, the Immortal Gate is too poor."

"Its foundation is too weak."

Yuan sighed, "Compared to those truly capable of becoming Immortals, we are too weak; becoming an Immortal is entirely a luxury, perhaps even impossible for a single generation to achieve."

He offered this gentle admonition.

The people of this generation of the Immortal Gate may only pave the way for the Immortal Gate citizens in the historical years to come.

Perhaps after endless ages, a True Immortal will be born within the Immortal Gate.

At that time, this Immortal Gate True Immortal might look back on the two Immortal Gate leaders who laid the foundation of the Immortal Gate many years ago.

"I do not wish to leave such glory to future generations."

Jiang Ding said calmly.

The education he received since childhood taught him to treat his own interests as equal to the Immortal Gate's interests, complete dedication, abandoning his own interests and his own dreams; this was unacceptable to him.

"Then what should be done?"

Yuan sighed lightly, "Jiang Ding, continue to try and strive, until your lifespan limit of seventy thousand years; the Immortal Gate and I will help you, constantly experimenting, researching, advancing toward the Eighth Realm of the Sword Dao."

"If you reach your lifespan limit and still cannot succeed, I hope you can advance to Dao-Integration to survive."

The youth in green robes still slowly shook his head.

"Why?"

Yuan was stunned.

"Senior Yuan, this path of sword techniques cannot be walked."

"This is a Sword Technique of the Jiang Jiang Jinxian level; the Immortal Gate has absolutely no possibility of researching a breakthrough within thirty thousand years."

Jiang Ding said slowly, "I can live at most another thirty thousand years; my only path is not in sword techniques, but in Sword Soul."

"Sword Soul?"

"Where will you find over a hundred Dao Sons to fight?"

Yuan asked, puzzled.

"Senior Yuan, actually, it does not have to be Dao Sons."

"As long as the opponent is suitable."

Jiang Ding gradually revealed a trace of mad, sinister laughter, "Even, this opponent does not necessarily have to be human; have you not heard that fighting with people brings endless joy, fighting with the earth brings endless joy, fighting with heaven brings endless joy?"

"For example, there."

His gaze turned toward the endless starry sky of the Milky Way, burning with intense heat.

"Deep within the home universe?"

Yuan trembled, many ominous feelings arising in his heart, "Deep within the home universe there is nothing, except countless stars, countless planets and meteorites, infinite cosmic space, and the ever-present phenomenon of Spirit Dissipation; there is nothing!"

"That is exactly it."

"That is exactly what I want!"

"Haha!"

"Hahahaha!"

Jiang Ding laughed out loud, filled with

immense joy, "Senior Yuan, do you know? Our Immortal Gate is weak as an ant in the endless starry sky, with no advantages, yet we possess one treasure of the endless universe and starry sky level."

"That is our home!"

"That is our Spiritless Universe, and our innate adaptability to the Spiritless Universe."

"If speaking in terms of talent, this adaptability to the Spiritless Universe could even be called an Immortal-level talent; is such a possibility possible?"

"Is this an Immortal Body?"

"Is it?"

Jiang Ding laughed heartily, "I want to say, this is it, this must be it."

"Senior Yuan, take care of everything within the Immortal Gate."

"If Senior Wan Ji and the others advance to Dao-Integration, convey my congratulations on my behalf; I am now going deeper into the home universe, to explore my path to becoming an Immortal; this time I will not give up, not give up like a Soul Transformation Immortal-level order."

"My Sword Soul will definitely break through, it will definitely break through."

"This breakthrough will inevitably manifest in the power to destroy laws; I believe it will, I will surely win in this battle, returning with the hope of becoming an Immortal."

"Senior Yuan, farewell!"

"Farewell!"

The laughter finally turned into a mad, low roar and growl.

A terrifying sun's light pierced through cosmic space, flying toward the Milky Way; in the future, he would even pass through the Milky Way and fly toward even more distant places, reserving absolutely no Spirit Qi for his own return.

With this departure,

if the Sword Soul fails to break through, then he will bury his bones in the home universe!