Chapter 723: Eight Wastes Prison-Suppression, Shocking All Realms! (Combined)

Crack~

The finger tapped Li Yuan's head, and the One-Heart Sword Lord shattered at the sound. Immortal light rolled into the Sword Realm, not even a single byte escaping.

It had already transformed into a resplendent golden ancient sword, falling through the void, humming and trembling.

"Crack!"

Almost simultaneously, inside and outside the Sword Realm, every Cognition Sphere shattered at once.

The many cultivators watching through the projection-images were dazed, having already forgotten what that Dao Lord looked like, remembering only a robe of white.

"Many thanks, Master!"

Having taken the blow, Li Yuan dropped to his knees and bowed at once, feeling the gloom swept clean, his heart bright and clear.

"Greetings, Master!"

"Greetings, Dao Lord (Martial Uncle)!"

Inside and outside the Sword Realm, every cultivator, regardless of realm, bowed without exception; even the arrogant Lord Lord Tianyu bowed long and deep, offering the grand salute.

'So this is Dao Lord Lord Tianyu!'

Outside the Sword Realm, a host of great cultivators bowed, feeling awe fill their hearts to the utmost.

When the One-Heart Sword Lord had manifested, many cultivators had foreseen that a Dao Lord would descend, yet none had expected there to be no clash or collision at all.

A single toll of the bell alone settled the Sword Realm's upheaval!

"Disperse."

Dao Lord Lord Tianyu raised his sleeve and swept it once.

The host of cultivators felt the world spin; when their senses returned, they were shocked to find themselves swept back to the nearest domain.

"D-Dao Lord…"

After the immortal light shattered, the Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian Sword broke free. It gave a light shake, transformed into a thin, small Daoist Priest with three sky-pointing tufts of hair, and prostrated itself, trembling with fear.

It was the closest, and so its perception was the clearest.

This white-robed Dao Lord's aura was terrifying beyond imagination. Even at its late master's peak, it had never been so fearsome; a mere wisp of will descending had suppressed the entire Sword Realm.

One must remember that within the Sword Realm lingered the auras of its own master and the One-Heart Sword's life-and-death great battle—two forces intersecting, possessing the power to slay a Dao Lord!

'Nearly a Heavenly Lord…'

Recalling that its prior targeting of Li Yuan could not possibly be hidden from this Dao Lord, the Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian Sword felt its heart tremble.

"Y-you…"

In the void, the resplendent golden ancient sword trembled lightly, unwilling yet awed.

"You fought well."

Dao Lord Lord Tianyu paid the two swords no heed at all, merely casting a rather approving glance at his own disciple.

He had used Chaos to bear the void; the moment the thought arose, he already knew all the changes in the Sword Realm, having seen the entire process of Li Yuan sweeping through the Tai Shan Xuan Dao Lord and ascending to the twelfth level.

Even he felt there was nothing to fault; within the three realms, there was no one in the present age who could match him. Even those who could leave their names in ancient history would have to fight to know victory or defeat.

"Master praises me too highly."

Only then did Li Yuan rise. His peripheral gaze swept past the outside of the Sword Realm; those two Dao Lord sword-intents had both fallen silent, clearly no match for his Master's great Gu Gu Shentong.

"The Prison-Suppressing Gu Gu Shentong, also known as the Eight Wastes Prison-Suppression. In those years, Junior Brother Brother Tianying failed to reach great completion, could not suppress the eight fiends, and ultimately perished beyond the realms…"

"Eight Wastes Prison-Suppression."

Li Yuan's heart gave a tremor; he felt his Master's gaze was unbearably heavy.

Even the Blood Phoenix imprisoned within his body could not help but let out a wail, folding its wings, not daring to move a muscle.

"This is a great Gu Gu Shentong. Before the Qi Jing, each realm can imprison at most one fiend. The Fire Phoenix you chose… is quite excellent!"

Dao Lord Lord Tianyu withdrew his gaze, signifying approval.

Li Yuan still wished to explain the Blood Phoenix's origins, but seeing the Dao Lord cared not at all, he promptly changed tack and asked: "Master, you said Martial Uncle in those years could not suppress the eight fiends…"

"After your Martial Uncle perished, your Master mulled over the errors therein. This Gu Gu Shentong itself is sound; the key lies in the selection of the fiends to be imprisoned."

Dao Lord Lord Tianyu answered:

"The eight fiends of Prison-Suppression must follow a principle. According to your Master's deductions, these eight fiends should correspond to Heaven, Earth, Water, Thunder, Wind, Fire, Mountain, and Marsh."

"Ah?"

Li Yuan's heart gave a jolt.

Though in his past life he had been a wandering Daoist Priest, he still possessed basic knowledge. These eight fiends corresponded to—what looked like the Eight Trigrams?

"Once you return to Huishan, your Master will naturally transmit it to you."

Dao Lord Lord Tianyu's gaze fell upon that resplendent golden ancient sword: "A Holy Spirit is born of Heaven and nurtured by Heaven. Though not a Mu Mu Xiantian body, it possesses Mu Mu Xiantian qi. Therefore, the One-Heart Sword can serve as the 'Fiend of Heaven.'"

"You…"

The One-Heart Sword trembled violently for an instant, then fell into silence.

"The Guile-Demon was conceived by the aura of Opening Gui Xu; ordinary means cannot easily extinguish it. Therefore, your Master spared its life. When you imprison this fiend in the future, you must be exceedingly cautious."

Dao Lord Lord Tianyu flicked a finger; the resplendent golden One-Heart Sword became a dull, ash-gray sword.

"Many thanks, Master, for bestowing the treasure!"

Li Yuan was both delighted and somewhat awed; he bowed and received the One-Heart Sword with both hands.

"As for this Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian Sword."

Dao Lord Lord Tianyu paused slightly: "Dao Lord Tai Shan Xuan died slaying cultivators from another realm; his legacy should not be cut off. Therefore, the Sword Realm may endure for nine epochs…"

"Do you understand?"

This remark was naturally addressed to the Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian Sword. The latter shivered all over, nodding repeatedly, crying out 'Understood.'

"From this day forth, the Sword Realm shall no longer be sealed."

Words spoken, law followed!

The instant Lord Lord Tianyu spoke, the cultivators who had been watching the battle inside and outside the Sword Realm—no matter which realm or stretch of starry sky they were in—all felt the Dao-voice reverberating, their hearts and spirits trembling.

Li Yuan looked up and saw the void shudder as an invisible qi spread slowly; wherever it passed, those countless strands of immortal light vanished from sight.

The Sword Realm, on the verge of collapse, slowly knit itself whole again, but that gate of the Sword Realm no longer closed—it was fixed forever in the void.

"From this day forth, those who break through nine layers of the Sword Realm may obtain the upper volume of the Tai Shan Xuan Sword Scripture; those who break ten layers may obtain either the middle or lower volume; those who break eleven layers may obtain the Tai Shan Xuan inheritance!"

Ignoring Li Yuan, who was gazing at him eagerly, Lord Lord Tianyu's words fell, and the Sword Realm responded of its own accord—its twelve layers all blazed with divine light at once.

"We humbly obey the Dao Lord's decree!"

Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian kowtowed again and again, gratitude surging in its heart—it had truly thought this Dao Lord was going to take it away.

"Those who break twelve layers…"

Only now did Lord Lord Tianyu turn his gaze toward his own disciple:

"Your Dao-shadow shall guard the twelfth layer of the Sword Realm. If any cultivator of the Ren San Jing defeats it, they shall obtain Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian!"

"Then this disciple…"

Li Yuan cradled the Yi Xin Sword in his hands, but his eyes couldn't help drifting toward Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian.

Earlier—even when he had activated his Void-traversal—he had left behind the qi of Ying Mo Shen. Had the Yi Xin Sword not blocked him and dragged him back, the very first thing he would have done upon leaving was to try to lure this sword away!

"One hundred and twenty years shall be the limit. If no one defeats this disciple of mine…"

Lord Lord Tianyu looked toward Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian. Bitter as it felt inside, it still nodded again and again, putting on the air of one leaving everything to the Dao Lord's arrangement.

"If no one emerges victorious…"

"Crack!"

The Dao-voice reverberated, the Sword Realm quaked violently, and Tai Shan Xuan Tong Tian plunged helplessly into the void, bearing the Sword Realm upon itself.

Ten thousand wondrous scenes appeared—cave-heavens manifested one after another, and faintly, one could even see quite a few Ren San Jing cultivators who hadn't managed to flee the Sword Realm in time.

"Hum~"

Li Yuan felt his whole body shudder as he saw strands of immortal light weaving together, roaming through the layers of the Sword Realm, and finally converging upon the twelfth layer.

Under the gaze of master and disciple, they coalesced into a Daoist clad in purple-black armor, gripping a heavy tree-shaped warhammer.

"This—many thanks, Master!"

Li Yuan knew his master still favored him, and hurriedly bowed again.

"Across all the realms of heaven, the strong are as common as clouds, and prodigies as numerous as carps crossing a river. Though you do have a few tricks, this sword is not necessarily yours."

Lord Lord Tianyu raised his eyes to look out across the four corners of the void, as if one formidable will after another was also watching this place.

"However, if across the myriad heavens and the realms as countless as grains of sand, no one emerges victorious in one hundred and twenty years…"

"Then this sword shall belong to Li Yuan!"

"Wooo~"

The void fell utterly still.

After a few breaths, Li Yuan heard the sound produced by terrifying wills shaking the world's spiritual energy:

"Agreed!"

'At least a dozen or more Dao Lords!'

Li Yuan hurriedly bowed his head, stole a glance at the dust-covered Yi Xin Sword, and a realization dawned within him.

The Sword God Tomb was indeed a death-trap, but for the Weitian Dao Sect, it might not truly be any death-trap at all.

That no one took it might be because the various Dao Lords were checking one another, or perhaps it was a tacit understanding to leave this place for the younger generation.

Therefore, whether the Yi Xin Sword was a Gu Mo or the rebirth of the Yi Xin Sword Lord, the outcome was inevitable.

And because of this, even Master could not dispose of the entire Sword Realm with a single word?

As for this Yi Xin Sword wanting to seize him, to belong to him—that was, of course, only natural…

With this thought, Li Yuan already had the measure of things in his heart.

He focused his perception and detected that the qi of the hammer-wielding Daoist was his own strongest state after activating the Soldier-Calling Register—only then did he finally breathe a sigh of relief:

"One hundred and twenty years, then?"

Unless there was still some freak of nature like the Five Dragon Immortal in this world, this sword already bore the Li surname!

'To be safe, once the Divine Palace is complete, I'll come back here to "update" the guarding state…'

As these thoughts stirred, Li Yuan held the three volumes of the Tai Shan Xuan Sword Scripture he had obtained in his hands:

"Master…"

"Mm."

Lord Lord Tianyu took them, nodded slightly: "The Dao of the Tai Shan Xuan Dao Lord does indeed have its unique merits."

He flipped through them, accepted it as his disciple's filial piety, then casually handed the Sword Scripture back. With a light flick of his sleeve, the Dao Lord's form had already vanished into the void.

"Farewell, Master!"

Li Yuan rose and bowed deeply.

When he straightened up again, though his master was no longer at his side, he felt utterly steady at heart.

"With Master's Gu Gu Shentong and magic power, a single strike across the void could suppress the Sword Realm—yet he divided his will to come here…"

Drawing a deep breath, Li Yuan felt deeply the weight of his master's grace.

"Hum~"

At this moment, he took out his Communication Sphere. The instant he did, he heard a chorus of 'buzzing' sounds—all coming from the Friends interface.

The 'Mount Mount Dongxuan Inner Disciple' interface trembled violently, countless divine senses weaving together, and a group of friends—including Qi Yun, Yu Yu Fa Huan Zhen, and Huang Yuan—had all sent divine-sense messages.

Li Yuan replied to each in turn and discovered that over two hundred thousand cultivators had applied to add him. The moment he opened it, divine senses flew everywhere.

"So many people?"

Li Yuan was startled, then Yu Yu Xuanji focused his gaze and swept through them, spotting quite a few familiar faces.

Such as Zhanghailong, Wu Yunlong, Jiuyunji, Lin Yue, and others—he flipped through the list and even saw Master Master Fujiu, Master Fuxiong, and other true disciples of the Way of Heaven Sect!

"Buzz~"

At this moment, the Friend Interface trembled again.

【... Master Master Fufa invites you to join the 'True Disciples of Mount Mount Dongxuan'...】

"Agreed!"

Li Yuan agreed decisively; he was still thinking of finding his senior brothers to purchase the controlling objects related to the Five Great Extremes Scripture.

"Yu Yu Wangxian is here too."

As soon as Li Yuan clicked into the 'True Disciples of Mount Mount Dongxuan', he saw Yu Yu Wangxian among the many divine thought messages; the latter was extremely active, one could even say the most active.

【... Junior Brother Li truly leaves Yu in awe; at the very edge of life and death, he still kept in mind retrieving the Great Profound Sword Scripture for the Sect Master; he is truly a model for our generation...】

"Damn it, this kid is too slippery!"

In the dimensional wreckage deep within the Return of Ruins, Yu Yu Wangxian put away the Omniscience Orb and couldn't help but slap his thigh: "If he didn't guess that the Sect Master would descend, I'll cut off my head and give it to him!"

"So what?"

The Old Daoist of Daoist Tianyun was immersed in the Omniscience Orb, his divine thoughts flying about, conversing with someone unknown; hearing the voice, he casually replied.

"Admiration!"

"Besides admiration, only admiration!"