Chapter 1697: The Sovereign of the World Cluster's Sword

Jiang Ding calculated for a moment.

Since he began developing the Sword of Extinguished Cause, his ability to trace back through cause and effect had been greatly enhanced; he was no longer the wretched figure who had once been easily snared by the threads of cause and effect laid down by the Thread-Pulling Celestial and the Sun-Bone Celestial.

Clang~

The Taiqing Flying Sword hummed softly.

Jiang Ding's gaze fell on a horse-drawn cart moving between villages. The black-clothed driver took bewildered infants and children from the hands of parents whose eyes were swollen from crying yet dared not resist in the slightest, placed them in the prison cart behind him, took only one or two from each village, and then continued on to the next.

From this horse-drawn cart, a single slender thread of cause and effect was born.

This thread of cause and effect spread in all directions, reaching deep into towns, sects, cultivation clans, falling upon one Nascent Soul and Soul Transformation cultivator after another, forming an airtight great net of cause and effect that enveloped everyone; very few could transcend cause and effect.

This great net of cause and effect, which covered the entire Minor Thousand World, converged through a super teleportation array into a single thick strand that spread toward the Zhong Senior Qian Shi Gao Jie.

Threads of cause and effect existed in the Zhong Senior Qian Shi Gao Jie as well, spreading ceaselessly in all directions.

In the end, every center was fixed upon a Zhong Senior Qian Shi Gao Jie called the Imperial Earth Central Realm. All the infants and children vanished there, spreading toward the direction of the Ancient God Dao Sect's mountain gate, and there it ended.

"So many children… how could one bear it…"

Jiang Ding sighed softly, understanding something.

The Ancient God Ancestor, tens of thousands of years ago, was also a great figure who had rendered meritorious service to the entire human race. He had rescued humanity from the oppression of the myriad races, propagated humanity throughout the entire world cluster, and laid the foundation for humanity's hegemony over this world cluster. It could be called a great merit on par with remaking heaven and earth.

He had not expected that he would have fallen to such a state.

Between heaven and earth, there are no eternal sages.

A ripple rose in Jiang Ding's heart, then slowly subsided.

He continued to shuttle between various Minor Thousand Worlds and Zhong Senior Qian Shi Gao Jie, investigating one world after another for the locations of the Ancient God Ancestor's split-soul contingencies, marking them with cause and effect, continuously gathering causal information. The sword in his Sea of Consciousness went from blurry to gradually clearer, constantly changing.

Several decades later.

When Jiang Ding stood outside the Imperial Earth Central Realm, countless threads of cause and effect converged beneath his sword, condensing into a hazy sword light.

This was not merely a single sword strike.

Under the effect of the Aberrant Mutation power, the Taiqing Flying Sword's damage against the Ancient God Ancestor had been amplified by at least thirty percent; it possessed a special attack against him. This was the application of the power of cause and effect under the Taiqing Flying Sword—gathering intelligence and then, before battle, giving birth to sword qi and sword intent with special lethality.

"This journey is about to end."

Jiang Ding said quietly.

Through gathering the cause and effect of the Ancient God Ancestor from all nearby worlds, a great net of cause and effect had already appeared in his Sea of Consciousness. This

great net of cause and effect spread throughout the former Badaxian Sect domains, and then extended toward every corner of the world cluster, including the vast, dead silence of the starry sky.

Jiang Ding could now see an embryo on a meteorite belt somewhere in the endless starry sky, could see an eggshell drifting in the dead silent starry sky, could see the bloodline within a turtle demon—after several generations, the turtle demon's bloodline would mutate and produce an entirely new consciousness…

The Ancient God Ancestor had simply laid down countless contingencies!

Jiang Ding could also see an extremely slender, extremely tenuous thread of cause and effect rising from the late stage of the Ancient God Dao Sect's mountain gate, spreading toward an extremely distant place beyond the cosmic starry sky.

This thread of cause and effect was nearly invisible, broken and fragmented, and if the Law-Extinguishing Rule did not possess an extremely high priority, it might not have been able to capture it, because it was truly too faint; even a Celestial well-versed in the calculations of heavenly secrets might very well fail to observe it.

"Is it a new world cluster?"

"Or even… a Great Thousand World?"

Jiang Ding's heart grew fervent.

For a being who had broken through the Fourth Step limit, a single Great Thousand World could no longer satisfy its growth needs; a new heaven and earth meant a new future.

The same was true for the Immortal Gate.

The Immortal Gate's current expansion had reached a limit, facing a severe shortage of resources, so much so that it could not bring into play the Immortal Gate's Immortal Dao industry's ability to rapidly replicate and multiply, reaching the combat power of the Celestial rank's limit.

If broader domains existed, the future of the many Immortal Gate cultivators would become brighter, and the hope of advancing to Celestial would grow greater.

……

Imperial Earth Central Realm.

In the Yellow Earth Hall atop the highest peak, boundless spiritual mechanisms coiled, the atmosphere was heavy, and even more wondrous great arrays protected the sect both inside and out, leaving nothing to chance.

This was the highest sacred ground of this domain cluster—the Ancient God Dao's Yellow Earth Hall.

Here, a large number of Void Refining True Lords were stationed year-round, and Dao Merging Divine Monarchs sat high atop the peaks, firmly suppressing this domain cluster. For tens of thousands of years, they had never allowed this domain cluster to slip from the Ancient God Dao's control, continuously transporting vast quantities of heavenly materials and earthly treasures, and living beings, to the Ancient God Dao Sect's mountain gate, making tremendous contributions to the Ancient God Ancestor's recuperation and recovery.

On this day, numerous Void Refining True Lords gathered in the Yellow Earth Hall, paying homage to the Yellow Earth Divine Monarch.

This Yellow Earth Divine Monarch was a Dao Merging Divine Monarch who had achieved his Dao over ten thousand years ago. It was said that his ancestors were the bloodline of the Ancestor's personally transmitted disciples, and his talent and bearing were top-notch, so he had gained the Ancestor's favor. In one leap over the dragon gate, he achieved the Divine Monarch, becoming a legend within the domains.

After advancing to Dao Merging, the Yellow Earth Divine Monarch had always been diligent, taking the Ancestor's instructions as his own duty, never daring to slack off, and often paying attention to affairs in various regions.

"Greetings, Divine Monarch!"

The many Ancient God Dao Void Refining True Lords performed great rites of obeisance.

"Disciples, dispense with the formalities."

At the head was a middle-aged cultivator wearing a crown. He indifferently waved his

hand.

When he had first advanced to Dao Merging, he had been joyful each day, full of high spirits, with a great air of looking down upon the world. In recent years, however, he had grown somewhat weary of this unchanging mortal world, but the Ancestor's heavy trust meant he naturally did not dare be careless.

"Disciples must be diligent."

"In recent years, the heavenly materials, earthly treasures, and birthday spirit pills offered up have decreased again? What is going on? There is no need to speak of various difficulties. If this matter is not handled well, and the Ancestor blames us, this Divine Monarch will certainly find it hard to escape responsibility, but do you think you will fare well under the Ancestor's wrath? Think of the consequences!"

The Yellow Earth Divine Monarch said sternly.

The many Void Refining True Lords below turned pale, their bodies trembling, and the various difficulties they had been about to voice dared no longer leave their mouths.

"I know it is hard for you."

"The Ancestor's demands have increased again and again; this is a fact."

The Yellow Earth Divine Monarch's expression softened somewhat: "But this is a good thing. The Ancestor demanding more means recovery is near. When the Ancestor emerges from seclusion, he will surely sweep aside all directions and restore the sect's former lands. What Eastern Extreme Demon Sect could possibly compare with the Ancestor, who has reached the extreme of Celestial over tens of thousands of years?"

"At that time, your Dao paths will be infinitely bright, and advancing to Dao Merging will be as easy as turning over one's hand."

"The hardship is only temporary."

"The Divine Monarch speaks truly."

Many Void Refinement True Venerables' hearts burned with the same fire.

What is the name of this world cluster?

The Ancient God World Cluster!

The East Extreme Demon Sect — outsiders, nothing more — how could they possibly compare with our sect's founding patriarch?

"Do your work well."

"In the future, all of you—"

Loess Divine Monarch revealed a faint smile, just about to offer a few words of encouragement, when an expression of absolute horror surfaced on his face: "Great Sun Sword—"

Boom!

In the sky, a terrifying sun bloomed with radiance.

A single, dazzling, endless sword qi swept across, passing over the entire Shanfeng of the Loess Sect, brushing over the heads of every Ancient God Dao Void Refinement and Dao Merging cultivator, scouring every single place.

In an instant, the entire Loess Sect fell utterly silent.

No one knew how long had passed.

Thud!

Loess Divine Monarch's horrified head fell to the ground, producing a muffled sound.

The very next instant, the heads of the Ancient God Dao Void Refinement True Venerables fell to the ground one after another, the thudding sounds unceasing, rising and falling, as the entire great hall became a place of death.