Chapter 231

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Protagonist:

Jiang Xuan

The Taishang Laojun Palace opened; the Heavenly Lord refined pills, the Child Servant fanned the fire.

Jiang Xuan's gaze fell upon the Eight Trigrams Furnace of the Moral Heavenly Lord; in his heart he knew clearly that sealed within that furnace was an existence who had once rampaged horizontally and vertically across the Ten Thousand Worlds.

Qitian Great Sage!

The Moral Heavenly Lord still emanated a kind of non-action, indifferent, and eternal aura, unfathomably deep.

"Heavenly Lord, what about Shui Zu?"

Jiang Xuan hesitated for a moment, but ultimately could not suppress the doubt in his heart and asked aloud.

His coming to the Taishang Laojun Palace this time was, first, to avoid danger that might appear at any time; second, he hoped to unravel this mystery.

Golden Horn and Silver Horn to the side, hearing Jiang Xuan's question, also pricked up their ears; they were equally curious about how Shui Zu had suddenly exploded, staring expectantly, waiting for the Moral Heavenly Lord to give an answer.

For a while, the entire Taishang Laojun Palace was so quiet you could hear a falling needle, utterly silent.

After a good long while, the Moral Heavenly Lord slowly raised his head and said unhurriedly: "I had him come here to see me."

Finishing that sentence, he paused, then continued: "Him after the Heavenly Court fell."

Hearing this, Jiang Xuan instantly understood many things.

So Shui Zu after the Heavenly Court fell had come here to see the Moral Heavenly Lord; this matter was likely intricately complex and involved a vast scope.

Jiang Xuan stood in the Taishang Laojun Palace, his heart penetrating the truth; behind the matter of Shui Zu, traces of the Moral Heavenly Lord were faintly visible.

He did not pursue the questioning further, turned, and left.

"How can a person fathom the heart of Heaven?"

Jiang Xuan finally let out a long sigh, his voice shaking the long sky, containing a sigh at the profound inscrutability of Heavenly Lord.

At present it is precisely the End-Tribulation Era; Qian Kun is in turmoil; no one can predict whether there will be another Era opening.

All sides' Powerful Forces, in this chaotic troubled world, driven by Heavenly Lord, frequently employ means, all vying for that Transcendent opportunity, that Dao Fruit position, seeking a thread of Eternal Vitality in this Universe torrent, so as not to be annihilated by the Endless Tribulation Number.

Jiang Xuan drove away his chaotic thoughts; overthinking was of no benefit, so he simply cut off the notion.

Immediately, Jiang Xuan's Figure flashed; he Stepped Out, and thus departed.

"Great Master, why help this person?"

Silver Horn was full of doubt, only because a segment of memory from not long ago suddenly Emerged in his mind.

The Water God at his peak visited the Taishang Laojun Palace, and he himself had personally welcomed him in.

Now the historical Cultivation Trajectory has already been altered; Golden Horn and Silver Horn, as the Moral Heavenly Lord's Child Servants, for those matters unrelated to the overall situation, the Moral Heavenly Lord has never concealed things from them, but this change of events has plunged Silver Horn into confusion.

"Great Master, although this person's Dao and Method have the Eight Trigrams Furnace's Road, they are not worth this much……"

Golden Horn spoke; in truth he thought Jiang Xuan's Method, though strange, had the Heavenly Lord Master's Road, and also the other Master's Road, but compared to the One Life Law, it seemed the road ahead was already exhausted.

"Follow Heaven, respond to Dao."

The Moral Heavenly Lord blandly uttered four characters, then spoke no further, his eyes lightly closing.

Golden Horn and Silver Horn looked at each other, both faces showing a perplexed expression.

They have followed the Moral Heavenly Lord through countless Era Years; naturally they understand the meaning of these four characters.

In this Heaven and Earth, the so-called "Heaven" is the Moral Heavenly Lord;

the so-called "Dao" is also the Moral Heavenly Lord!

As far as Jiang Xuan is concerned, the profound meaning of the Moral Heavenly Lord's four characters can roughly be translated as: follow one's heart, follow one's nature; in doing things, why need so many excuses — it is merely as the interest strikes!

Mysterious, hard-to-find Location; Dao dissipates, Method hides, Principle leaves no trace; Years cannot erode it, Fate cannot inscribe it.

Three Silhouettes sit peacefully facing each other; each Figure contains three unique artistic conceptions: one is Opening Up, one is Existing in the World, one is Becoming Empty.

In the center of the three Silhouettes a book rests quietly; its Appearance is ordinary, not a thread of divine strangeness is seen. Yet as the pages turn, images emerge in succession: the magnificence of Nine Dragons Pulling Coffin, the strangeness of the Desolate Forbidden Land, the peril of the Ascending Heaven Road!

On the book's cover, two large characters are prominently printed: Zhe Tian!

……

Jiang Xuan laughed loudly, his Figure flashed, traversing layer upon layer of Space barriers, descending upon the Immortal Traces Square.

After stepping out of the Taishang Laojun Palace again, Jiang Xuan's heart faintly had some realization.

The current him, though he did not relax his Vigilance, was also no longer Walking on Thin Ice as at the beginning.

The power the Moral Heavenly Lord supported him with far exceeded his expectations.

The Liu Dao Hui Lun Zhi Zhu frequently Probed him, yet they did not know Jiang Xuan was also Probing the various Powerful Forces.

In this situation, Jiang Xuan began to Actively lay out plans.

Jiang Xuan, bringing Meng Qi and the Immortal Traces' Lingbao Tianzun Chonghe Daoist, strode out from their base; as their Silhouettes shifted, they arrived at the Cao Clan's territory in the Northern Zhou Accompanying Capital.

Bringing Chonghe this time was Meng Qi's idea; this little monk hoped Jiang Xuan could bring his organization's leader along as well.

Chonghe raised his eyes and saw the surroundings clearly; his expression changed drastically; he hurriedly cupped his fists toward Jiang Xuan and asked: "Qian Sui, has the Cao Clan committed any offense?"

Chonghe's face was full of Worry; he knew Jiang Xuan's awe-inspiring reputation, fearing the Cao Clan might, out of ignorance, provoke this Great Power.

Chonghe's heart was anxious; he had already clearly understood Jiang Xuan's identity.

The earth-shaking change in Yu Hai, the news had long since spread to all directions under Heaven; only Bixia Yuanjun and the others, because they were in the Reincarnation Space executing a Task, had not received this initial news.

Jiang Xuan with one palm's power struck dead the Great Asura Meng Nan, and even successfully obtained one form of the Tathagata God Palm — simply shocking to hear!

He secretly pondered: if the Cao Clan truly had unintentionally offended this Strong One, he could only step forward and speak on behalf of the Cao Family members in the organization, pleading for mercy to preserve their lives.

After all, Chonghe understood in his heart: a person who could so easily kill Meng Nan, dealing with him would be just a flip of the hand; there was absolutely no chance of survival.

"Haha! Qian Sui Chonghe, set your mind at ease!"

Meng Qi stood at his side, smiling as he spoke, "The Great Emperor comes from a foreign land; how could the Cao clan have had the opportunity to offend him!"

"Great Emperor, have you come for the Seven Severing Heaven Swords?"

"Precisely. Compared to the Tathagata God Palm, the Seven Severing Heaven Swords suit me better!"

Without the Moral Heavenly Lord's aid, Jiang Xuan reckoned he could at most obtain the first form of the Tathagata God Palm, and he also owed thanks to Meng Qi; now that there was an opportunity, he naturally yearned for more.

"I also yearn for the Severing Heaven Sword very much,"

Meng Qi's face revealed a look of longing, "Strength or weakness of power is merely a momentary state, but this carefree and elegant bearing is a lifelong pursuit..."

Chonghe, at the side, heard these words, and his eyes were full of astonishment. The Seven Severing Heaven Swords?

This is a peerless divine skill passed down through the ages in the world; even a Heavenly Ranking immortal like him had never had the fate to see it, yet now it is actually here in the Cao clan's capital?

Chonghe's heart surged with turbulent emotions. Among the myriad sects under heaven, those possessing a peerless art like the Seven Severing Heaven Swords are rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns; even his own Chunyang Sect did not possess it!

However, the Chunyang Sect has the Moral Heavenly Lord's One Qi Transforms Three Pure Ones...

"Rest assured, I only take the Seven Severing Heaven Swords, and will not harm the innocent."

Jiang Xuan saw through Chonghe's changing expression and spoke; he was not a bloodthirsty person.

"Senior Chonghe, these Seven Severing Heaven Swords do not belong to the Cao family."

Meng Qi hurriedly explained, "This is a treasure location I discovered from a ruin; it merely happens to be located at the Cao family's Earth Immortal Lake." In fact, Chonghe was not an unreasonable pedant either.

According to the original development trajectory, it was precisely Chonghe who brought Meng Qi here to obtain the Seven Severing Heaven Swords.

"The years this treasure has remained in this place are far more ancient than the Cao family's history."

Meng Qi's words were not false. These Seven Severing Heaven Swords were originally a treasure left by Zhenwu. There were three such treasures in total; two had already been discovered, and powerful sect inheritances had been established and continued to this day.

Under such circumstances, Meng Qi naturally could not rashly show up at their doors claiming the treasure for himself; only here at the Cao clan was it still ownerless, giving him a chance.

"Since it is so, everything depends on Senior's decision."

Chonghe pondered briefly, then nodded in agreement. This way, he also need not worry that his junior brother would suffer calamity for no reason, being randomly beaten to death in his own home.

Jiang Xuan led the two, drifting down onto the small lake below, stepping on the lake surface and advancing steadily, yet the surrounding people seemed to turn a blind eye to them; the few of them proceeded toward the target without any obstruction.

Such a scene was truly extremely bizarre. Jiang Xuan walked at the front with head held high and stride wide, yet behind him two people followed closely.

One was an existence akin to the "Primordial Heavenly Lord," the other was the "Lingbao Tianzun."

Jiang Xuan advanced all the way, his bearing carefree and elegant, his aura extraordinary; in contrast, those two Heavenly Lords seemed cautious and careful, silently following behind, forming a striking and peculiar tableau.

The three went straight ahead, and before long stepped onto a small island.

The island was shrouded in cold ice; Cao clan patrolmen came and went among it.

Jiang Xuan's gaze was like a torch; he instantly penetrated the surrounding arrangements, yet was blocked by an inexplicable force.

"Found it."

Jiang Xuan's expression was joyful; he then took the two and instantly teleported to the depths of the ice island, continuing deeper.

Along the way, two Earth Immortal remains appeared before their eyes; Jiang Xuan halted to scrutinize them.

"Hm? Great Emperor?"

Meng Qi saw this, doubt arising in his heart, unable to guess whether Jiang Xuan intended something for these two remains.

"I have already witnessed a Human Immortal; this time let me see what is unique about an Earth Immortal."

Jiang Xuan examined them carefully, using this to deepen his insight into the One Life Law, laying groundwork for subsequent plans. But he had no intention of seizing the remains; the Seven Severing Heaven Swords were originally an ownerless opportunity, while these two remains already belonged to the Cao clan; forcibly taking them would violate his principles of conduct.

After a moment, Jiang Xuan moved his gaze away, leading the two onward, passing through the ice eye and stepping into the cold pool.

He saw the laws fluctuate before him; this was the outermost protection, difficult to block even for a Dharma Body, yet to Jiang Xuan it was even more like a mantis trying to stop a chariot. Jiang Xuan took a single step across; heaven and earth abruptly changed, the cold water vanished, distant palaces layered one upon another, a cold moon hung high, the earth was boundless, forming a small world of its own!

Where Jiang Xuan and the others stood, broken walls and ruins were scattered all around; only the central main hall stood towering and majestic.

This ruin had long been explored by Dharma Body experts, yet all returned empty-handed; the weapon fragments scattered around that had lost their divinity were clear proof.

"These are actually divine weapon fragments!"

Chonghe's face showed surprise; he looked at Jiang Xuan and asked, "Senior, can this treasure vault be entered?" The scene before his eyes was vastly different from what he had imagined.

"Naturally it is no trouble."

Meng Qi's tone was certain. "The Zhenwu Sect and the Jianxi Pavilion originally had the qualifications to obtain the treasure." Finishing, Meng Qi's voice gradually rose, "The Great Emperor is wise and martial, his might shaking the myriad realms; how could such a trifling obstacle be in his eyes?"

This treasure was left by the Zhenwu Dadi two to three hundred thousand years ago.

If it were before the Mo Fu chaotic era, Jiang Xuan would absolutely not dare to rashly break in, not even dare to approach.

But the Mo Fu chaotic era caused a great change in the pattern of heaven and earth; the seals left by the Zhenwu Dadi in the past were greatly weakened, to the extent that even those of the Outer Scene Realm had a chance to obtain the treasure.

Moreover, this time Meng Qi was accompanying him.

At this moment, the great gate stood wide open; the ground was paved with pieces of black floor tiles that seemed condensed from dark water.

Further ahead, three offering tables could be seen.

On the uppermost one was placed a small tree, bearing three branches and nine leaves, vitality contained within, Dao rhyme flowing; this was the carrier of the fifth form of the Seven Severing Heaven Swords, "Dao Transmits the Universe," and itself a supreme divine object — the Tree of the Great Dao.

Jiang Xuan's gaze was deep; this Tree of the Great Dao was of crucial importance to Meng Qi.

On the second offering table were displayed three items.

One was like a blazing great sun continuously gathering and releasing light, emitting endless light and heat; this was the "Great Sun Flame Heart," a renowned divine weapon main material.

The second was a piece of dark blue crystal, seeming to flow slowly; looking at it one felt one's mind frozen by it; it was the "Ice Eye Crystal Soul," also a divine weapon main material.

In this life's world, divine weapons hold a lofty status.

Major sects under heaven, if lacking a peak Dharma Body expert to guard them, rely on divine weapons to deal with enemies from all sides.

Possessing a divine weapon, and with a clan grand array as backing, even a Dharma Body expert would not dare to lightly provoke them.

By a not entirely precise analogy, this situation is somewhat similar to the status of Imperial Weapons in the Zhetian World, but divine weapons are far less powerful than Imperial Weapons; however, if they are legendary-grade or above peerless divine weapons, according to Jiang Xuan's personal experience, their might actually far exceeds Imperial Weapons.

When forging divine weapons, the main material is undoubtedly the most critical part. Of course, the forger's own powerful cultivation foundation is also indispensable.

As for the items placed on the remaining offering table, there was a Dun Kong Talisman, two top-grade treasure weapons, and a Xuan Ming Creation Pill. This pill can be called a divine object; even though the world has undergone great changes, it can still extend a person's life by two hundred years.

Jiang Xuan paid no attention to the other items, directly reaching out and taking the Tree of the Great Dao.

This Great Dao Tree bore no methods left behind by Zhenwu, so Jiang Xuan took it with fair peace of mind.

The Great Dao Tree grew nine leaves; Jiang Xuan looked at one of them, and saw within the leaf what appeared to be a vast boundless universe, with infinite star systems, boundless nebulae, countless stars together forming a dark deep universe scene. Where each green leaf grew was a different universe, connected to each other by branches, rooted upon the main trunk, containing infinite profundities between them.

Suddenly, a single thread of brilliant sword radiance lit up, instantly splitting into countless rays of light, rushing straight into the universe transformed by that leaf, freely shuttling within every universe, every heaven and earth, omnipresent.

This is the fifth form of the Seven Severing Heaven Swords — Dao Transmits the Universe!

This sword can be called leaving no hole unentered; once truly cultivated to completion, no matter where one hides, it is difficult to escape this fierce sword.

Jiang Xuan was immersed in the wondrous rhyme flavor of this peerless divine skill, and in his mind he already felt that, compared to the Tathagata God Palm, he seemed to be more in accord with the Seven Severing Heaven Swords.

"What's going on?"

Jiang Xuan, just intoxicated in the subtleties of the Severing Heaven Sword, suddenly heard Meng Qi's startled cry from beside him.

Jiang Xuan hurriedly turned his head to look at where Meng Qi was, and couldn't help but shrink his pupils; he saw that Meng Qi and Chonghe had already picked up the remaining treasures one after another. It wasn't that Jiang Xuan had any opinion on them taking treasures per se; the key was that this situation was truly abnormal — the treasures left by the Zhenwu Great Emperor, aside from the Great Dao Tree, should all have had follow-up measures left behind!

"Chonghe, was it you who broke the follow-up measures?" Jiang Xuan asked.

"Not done by me; I carefully probed before and discovered no left-behind methods at all. After obtaining Meng Qi's agreement, I even used methods to probe a bit, but no abnormal situation occurred throughout." Chonghe hurriedly explained, indicating this matter had no connection with himself.

Jiang Xuan and Meng Qi looked at each other, then both carefully examined all the treasures, and the result was that they truly discovered no methods left behind.

Jiang Xuan fell silent at once; at this moment, many past events surged into his mind — the Tathagata God Palm general outline, the matter of Shui Zu, the various things at Taishang Laojun Palace, and the person who truly probed him inside the Six Paths Reincarnation Lord, many clues seemed to interweave together.

(Chapter End)