Chapter 426: The World of Swords

He remembered it all at once.

The Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian and Tianxie Jianxian were stunned.

Among the seven future Wu Shang, the strongest of them—the only one not crushed by a single palm strike from the First Sacred Spirit—was also the only one granted a flicker of approval in the First Sacred Spirit's gaze.

If one were to name the most unforgettable among the seven future Wu Shang, it would be this one.

The immense power he displayed, the unwavering, unyielding will that refused to retreat, shook all living beings.

Even when the First Sacred Spirit shattered half his body with a single blow.

Yet he never retreated, burned his blood to ash, squeezed the marrow from his bones, turned his Dao into light, and flew like a moth into the flame toward the First Sacred Spirit.

Had he not met the First Sacred Spirit, among the Wu Shang he would have found few true rivals, worthy of his title.

Had he not refused to retreat, perhaps he would not have died.

"I hope my former kin do not stand in my way…" murmured the Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian.

These were the final words translated from the Heavenly Stele.

There was no emotion in these words—he had cultivated the Tai Shang Wang Qing Pian, as if saying: if you block me, then crush me.

He was not joking—he truly did it.

Facing the First Sacred Spirit, this being, the most astonishing since ancient times, born already a Wu Shang, though immensely powerful, still charged forward, fulfilling the vow he had once made: to slay a Heaven, to seek the truth.

No one could stop him—not even the First Sacred Spirit.

Alas, in the end he was defeated, perishing at the hands of the First Sacred Spirit.

"Perhaps, in the end, he awoke… and wished to die at the hands of the past."

The Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian sighed with melancholy, unsure how to judge Di Tian—perhaps they had no right to judge at all; Di Tian's grandeur did not care for others' opinions.

The memory of the seven future Wu Shang fighting together against the First Sacred Spirit was vivid.

They remembered clearly why they came, why they fought, exhausting everything, their lives lost in the past—calling them enemies, the great foes of the past, was correct.

They sought to obliterate the past; they were the past's enemies.

But to say their thoughts were wrong—that cannot be judged.

What position one stands in determines what thoughts one holds; right and wrong cannot be applied here.

Sometimes, conflict arises not because one side is right and the other wrong, but simply because they stand on opposite sides.

In the past, people believed the future's destruction of the past meant the future was evil and the past was righteous—but now that the truth is known, no one says this anymore.

The future sought to destroy the past not for gain, but purely for the future—to prevent its fate from being manipulated, merely to rewrite its destined end.

To secure a better future.

Is this idea wrong?

No, it is not.

The past, to protect itself, resisted the future.

Is this action wrong?

No, it is not.

Neither side was wrong—only opposed, with different stances.

"Indeed, he was originally a prodigy of the Initial Realm, and should have understood the First Sacred Spirit—after all, his era was ancient, likely originating from the Chaos Age of the Tai Chu era; even if he had never seen the First Sacred Spirit, he should have known his power."

Yet he still charged toward the First Sacred Spirit.

Tianxie Jianxian fell silent here, as did Gao Xiang Hong and the others.

They had not realized Di Tian was a past Wu Shang until now; now that they knew he was both a past Wu Shang and a future Wu Shang, they could not help but ponder deeply.

"He and the six Wu Shang Tian ambushed the First Sacred Spirit—without warning his companions before or during the attack."

Gao Xiang Hong suddenly spoke up.

The Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian and Tianxie Jianxian remained silent, both thinking the same question.

Did he awaken at the last moment, willingly embrace death at the hands of the past?

Or did he intend to weaken the future enemies?

To trade one Wu Shang for the lives of seven future Wu Shang Tian—a bargain worth paying.

"The past is past; he is already dead. What he thought, what the truth was—no one knows anymore."

The Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian stood before the Heavenly Stele, staring at the signature inscribed upon it: Di Tian.

Then he bowed deeply to the stele.

Regardless of whether he later became a Heaven and turned against the past, it cannot be denied that once he shed blood and tears for the Initial Realm, endured endless sorrow.

For that alone—even now, as one of the great upheavals that destroyed the past—he should not be stripped of his sacrifices; he deserves this bow.

Huh~

Exhaling a long breath of stale air, Gao Xiang Hong and Tianxie Jianxian, having bowed after him, cast one final deep look at the stele and continued forward.

Many mysteries had now been resolved.

When was the River of Time severed? Why did that past Wu Shang become a Heaven of the future and journey to the past?

He must have seen the future's horror, its unbearable hardship, and awakened—this was tied to Him.

Whether he truly brought the six future Wu Shang to deliver themselves, or truly became a future Wu Shang Tian, one thing is certain: the future's horror drove the Wu Shang to fall into Heaven, to darkness, to see no hope.

The root cause lies with Him, with the chessboard.

Hence, at any cost, they sought to obliterate the past and sever Him.

"Jianxian?"

As the Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian and Gao Xiang Hong walked, they suddenly noticed the Jianxian had stopped.

"Let's go over there and take a look."

In their eyes, the Jianxian pointed to a direction for no apparent reason.

Perhaps sensing their confusion, the Sword Immortal, who had been staring at that direction, his eyes bright as stars, flickered with sword intent capable of severing sun, moon, and stars:

"My immortal sword is calling me to go there; I too feel a sword intent coming from that direction."

The Tianxie Sword Immortal was a swordsman, and also a sword fanatic.

Having said this much, Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian Zun, Gao Xiang Hong, naturally did not obstruct him, and followed him toward that direction.

Ahead.

There lay a grave, unlike any other—the tombstone shaped like a sword, the mound solitary and desolate, radiating the feeling: the world does not know me, yet I alone know who I am.

One second ago, gazing at this grave, this illusion held.

The next second, it was different—no desolation remained, only vastness, boundless expanse.

As if the desolation had watched the red dust's right and wrong, been filled by mortal affairs, no longer lonely, embracing the entire world.

Then it exploded.

At the moment they arrived, the grave shattered violently, startling Jiuzhou Di Yi Xian Zun and the others—how could a tomb suddenly burst open? This was no ordinary grave; it held the heroes who had fought in the Original Battlefield.

They were the fallen ancestors.

Now, this grave had exploded upon their arrival—if the gods who once fought on the Original Battlefield learned of this, no explanation would suffice; they would surely perish here.

"What's going on?"

Gao Xiang Hong stared at the grave now wreathed in dust, his scalp prickling, sweat drenching his body.

Then—

Light erupted from the grave's peak; a broken sword, streaked with blood, flew out and landed, and within the broken blade, faintly visible, was a solitary silhouette locked in a cataclysmic battle.

The solitary figure wielded a sword, striking blow after blow, cleaving downward—not merely sword beams, but entire worlds forged from sword beams.

A world of swords!

……