Chapter 2189: Heaven-Slaying Sword Art
Yun Che's consciousness was completely swallowed by these four words in an instant.
He seemed to see four sword lights that had cleaved through time and space from the ancient primordial chaos, silently and flawlessly severing his soul sea from his body and drawing it into a boundless, desolate void built entirely of sword intent.
This void had no sky, no ground, no light, no darkness.
This unprecedented sense of nothingness, this extremely strange space—though utterly foreign—yet clearly reflected a spontaneously emerging cognition in his mind:
Primordial Chaos.
This primordial chaos seemed as though heaven and earth had not yet been divided, yin and yang not yet separated, and all things not yet born. Only a single sword intent remained… a sword intent that seemed to have existed before the birth of all things, older than time itself.
It appeared to be quietly slumbering at the very center of this chaotic world, neither sinking nor floating, neither moving nor shaking, yet silently touching every existence in the world.
And if it were to move…
Then life and death would alternate, heaven and earth would collapse, ten thousand stars would flicker and die, the flow of time would be severed, cause and effect would crumble…
Yun Che!
Yun Che!!
Within the chaos, someone seemed to be calling his name, distant and faint, then gradually becoming urgent.
Yun Che—
An "impurity" that should not exist appeared in the chaotic world… a pure white, flawless micro-trace.
The slumbering sword intent remained silent and still, allowing this pure white trace to invade swiftly, until it gradually filled the entire chaotic space.
Yun Che's consciousness gradually regained clarity within this pure white. The four words "Heaven-Slaying Sword Art" still appeared clearly in his soul sea, still carrying a chilling sword intent, but no longer devouring his consciousness.
"You… just now…"
Li Suo's voice carried deep concern, and also a faint trace of lingering fear.
"It's nothing." Yun Che was silent for a long while, as if reconstructing his cognition, then replied calmly: "I seemed to have seen for an instant… the original appearance of the primordial chaos."
"…" Li Suo was momentarily speechless.
"Can you see these words?" Yun Che asked.
Li Suo spoke softly: "Heaven-Slaying Sword Art."
Even if her existence were even more tenuous, even if her cognition were even more incomplete, she could never forget what these four words meant.
Following the cognition that had been deeply touched, she murmured softly: "The Ancestral Heaven-Slaying Sword is the ancestor of all swords in the world. The Heaven-Slaying Sword Art is the origin of all sword arts in the world."
"In his life, Mo E created over nine hundred thousand sword arts based on the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art. Except for a few core sword arts, he distributed the rest across all realms and races."
"These nine hundred thousand sword arts then spread and evolved throughout the heavens, like a great tree branching out, a turbulent stream giving birth to tributaries, spawning countless sword arts and sword sects. But tracing back to their origin, they all inevitably lead back to Heaven-Slaying God Emperor and the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art."
This was a cognition that had just been revived under Li Suo's touch. She seemed to be murmuring memories that did not belong to her, every word carrying the vastness of countless years and fates.
"Among the sword arts created by Heaven-Slaying God Emperor, the strongest is the Heaven-Breaking Sword Art practiced by Zhe Tian Divine Kingdom. Though only bestowed upon his subordinate clans, it was not absolutely forbidden. Only the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art… was inscribed into Mo E's soul foundation by Father Primordial God when he created the four Creation Gods, and was never shown to anyone."
"Now… it has actually…"
The four Creation Gods did not hide their self-created divine abilities from each other. For instance, Ni Xuan had once fully mastered the Heaven-Breaking Ninety-Nine Swords created by Mo E, and had also merged Xike's power of order with Jie Yuan to create Moon Withdrawing Star Returning.
Mo Su was not surprised that Ni Xuan knew the Life Miracle created by Li Suo.
But each of the four Creation Gods also had their own exclusive forbidden domains that even other Creation Gods could not touch.
The domain belonging to the first Creation God, Mo E, was the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art!
And if Mo E had to choose a single successor for the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art, it could only have been Mo Su, the former Heaven-Slaying Crown Prince.
But now, at this very moment, this Heaven-Slaying Sword Art—which should have been exclusive to the Heaven-Slaying God Emperor, the ancestor of all sword paths in the world, and untouchable even by other Creation Gods—had been granted to Yun Che.
Li Suo's astonishment was far beyond what Yun Che could empathize with.
Three million years of foolish devotion and solitude… to the current Mo Su, was there truly nothing left that was truly important beyond his obsession?
Yun Che's soul sea trembled, and his heart beat wildly.
Given personally by Mo Su, its meaning reaching the primordial chaos… this was a true ancestor sword art that even Ni Xuan had sought but never obtained. How could he remain calm before it?
Without responding to Li Suo, his mind and soul seemed to be drawn by an irresistible force toward the slowly manifesting sword art:
[Heaven-Slaying Sword Art]
Heaven's towers crumble and collapse, the sword cleaves the desolate vastness.
Cut down the heavenly path, sever the dome of the sky.
One sword slays heaven, ten thousand tribulations return to origin.
Primordial chaos as foundation, life and death as sorrow.
These thirty-two characters of the general formula took Yun Che an extremely long time to read. Because when each character became clear in his consciousness, it felt as if an invisible sword intent embedded itself into his soul sea—not heavy, not painful—yet he felt his entire soul being completely pierced through… a full thirty-two times.
Until these thirty-two characters of the general formula were deeply engraved into the deepest part of his soul, never to be forgotten for all eternity.
And before his soul could even rest, the originally quiet sword art suddenly released a soul-piercing sharpness. The violently pierced soul sea emitted intense tremors that nearly shattered it:
[Divine Command Sword]
The divine commands the nine heavens, the sword guides the arcane profound.
Cleanse the transgressions of the divine marquises, slay the deceptive and false.
Ten thousand gods bow their heads, heaven and earth become the sheath.
The fruit of the sage condenses into the blade, the path derives from the ancient.
[Nightmare Slaying Sword]
Nightmare flames blaze through the dome, the sword rises from the silent abyss.
Sever the roots and deep layers of nightmare, shatter the delusional and sickly.
Ten thousand nightmares are annihilated, the nine deeps become their tomb.
Karma fire tempers the blade, the nightmare abyss is forever sealed.
[Primordial Void Sword]
Ten thousand phenomena return to one, the sword hides in the empty sky.
There is no birth, death, or defilement; no false, true, dark, or light.
The law escapes into silence, primordial chaos as the heart.
Taihao rests in breath, all return to the primordial void.
Yun Che's pupils had completely lost their color, and the profound energy around him surged out of control.
Divine Command, Nightmare Slaying, Primordial Void… the formulas of these three swords were engraved upon his soul. But the manifestation of the sword art did not stop…
[Heaven-Slaying Sword]
Heaven's towers crumble and collapse, the sword cleaves the desolate flood.
Cut down the evil warp of the heavenly path, slay the binding threads of the dome.
Ten thousand tribulations return to origin, primordial chaos as foundation.
Arcane yellow is re-divided, the primordial chaos is re-cast.
Relying on the ancestor, the sword goes forth with no return.
Clang————
Yun Che's consciousness instantly turned into a complete blank.
When he finally struggled to wake, he was already collapsed on his knees, gasping heavily, drenched in sweat from head to toe.
"Yun Che…" He heard Li Suo's voice, which seemed to have been calling for a while: "Are you… alright?"
"Hah… huff!"
He took two more heavy breaths, then slowly stood up, and gradually wiped the astonishment from his face.
"No matter how profound a sword art, it should only be lifeless, dead words. Yet this Heaven-Slaying Sword Art actually generates such terrifying sword intent on its own."
He seemed a bit shaken.
This was not the first time he had encountered such a situation. He recalled when he first practiced the Great Dao Pagoda Art—when the divine art entered his heart, it also spontaneously generated a faint Desolate God divine thought… but compared to the sword intent generated by the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art, it was a world of difference.
"That is because it was personally created by Father Primordial God." Li Suo's ethereal voice carried an awe rooted in the depths of her soul and the origin of cognition: "Its mere existence, merely being known, can stir the most primal sword intent between heaven and earth."
"Just as the Void Law you bear—its mere presence within you allows you to easily attune to everything between heaven and earth."
Yun Che closed his eyes and re-examined the Heaven-Slaying Divine Art… but this time, his soul sea was completely calm and still. No matter how many times he thought of it or touched it with his divine sense, there was no longer the terrifying anomaly from before.
"You… have you gained any understanding?" Li Suo asked, seemingly with faint hope.
Yun Che shook his head directly: "None at all."
He had never seen a sword art like this—no, aside from the anomaly when it was inscribed into his soul, anyone who looked at it would never believe it was a sword art.
No core of sword foundation, no form of sword techniques, no essence of sword intent… only sections of short, obscure, incomprehensible text.
Exactly like… the Heaven-Defying World Scripture.
The only things he could understand were the names of the four sword techniques: Divine Command Sword, Nightmare Slaying Sword, Primordial Void Sword, and Heaven-Slaying Sword.
Among them, the Heaven-Slaying Sword was the most special. The other three each had four lines of formula, but it alone had five lines, and its last line…
Relying on the ancestor, the sword goes forth with no return.
Relying on the ancestor…
Was this an intent that could only be delivered using the Ancestral Heaven-Slaying Sword?
Calming his mind, he sat down again, sinking his consciousness and focusing his perception… After all, this was a sword art created by Father Primordial God. If he could comprehend even a trace of it, it would surely generate unimaginable power and be a great help to him.
————
Xiaodie Divine Kingdom.
The hall was as deep as an abyss. Grayish celestial light seeped through the cracks in the dome, filtered by layers of dark aura until it was nearly nonexistent when it reached the ground. There was no superfluous décor in the hall—only a figure standing with his back to the hall's entrance, and the figure's shadow cast upon the wall, stretched extremely long and faint by the dim light.
"Why have you returned alone? Where is Buwang?"
The Ninth Imperial Son of Xiaodie knelt on one knee in obeisance. Before him, the revered Qihang Divine Venerable stood with his back to him, his voice calm and flat. But the Ninth Imperial Son still felt his heart and soul tighten, and he lowered his head a few more inches.
"Reporting to my father god, Brother Buwang is… unwilling to return," he answered truthfully. Faced with his lone arrival, Pan Yusheng's calm demeanor hid a chilling aura that far exceeded his expectations.
"Then keep searching, keep pursuing!" Pan Yusheng's voice grew slightly more impatient: "He is merely venting lingering resentment, retreating to advance. There is no real reason for him to refuse to return!"
"If ten times is not enough, then twenty. If not enough, then thirty. Who told you to return so early!"
The last words were tinged with a hint of harshness that betrayed a loss of calm.
The Ninth Imperial Son's throat rolled violently. His lips moved for a while before he spoke nervously, "Father god, at first, your child thought the same. But… Brother Buwang seems to be… truly unwilling to return."
"…" Pan Yusheng finally turned around. His expression was calm, but his eyes held a darkness that made one dare not look directly: "What did you say?"
"At first, I could easily trace his whereabouts, finding him twice within half a month. I kept my posture extremely low, every word sincere, and invited him back in your name, Father god. But Brother Buwang refused outright each time… The third time I found his trace, as soon as I neared him, he fled swiftly, unwilling to even meet me face to face."
The Ninth Imperial Son took a deep breath and spoke faster: "After that, I could no longer find any trace of him. Later, I invited the Seventeenth Brother and the people of the Shadow Court to help. With three thousand hands, after more than a month, we could not find even a single trace."
"Given this, Brother Buwang must be deeply hiding himself, constantly erasing all traces of his existence. If he were truly retreating to advance—pretending to refuse while actually accepting—why would he leave no trace at all? Why would he hide so absolutely and thoroughly?"
Having quickly reported everything, the Ninth Imperial Son bowed his head deeply, waiting for his father's command.
He could not see Pan Yusheng's expression at that moment, but he could be sure it was not the calm indifference from when he was first sent to search.
After a long silence, Pan Yusheng's voice reached his ears: "Withdraw… No need to search further."
"Yes."
The Ninth Imperial Son let out a huge sigh of relief and retreated like he was fleeing.
Pan Yusheng stood still, gazing ahead, silent for a long time.
He knew Pan Buwang's plight after losing the title of Divine Son better than anyone.
But…
"Jiyao." He looked ahead and suddenly spoke.
The dark aura swirled, and a figure quickly appeared before Pan Yusheng: "My lord, what are your orders?"
He looked at the man before him, his voice calm: "Go find Buwang yourself and persuade him to return."
Pan Jiyao looked up abruptly, but did not immediately respond, his expression complex.
"Although you 'abandoned' him, you were still his master."
The Qihang Divine Venerable's voice remained calm, showing no emotion. He spoke the word "abandoned" clearly and directly: "After much thought, you are the most suitable."
"I… understand."
Though his expression was complicated, he could not refuse the command of the Divine Venerable.
"Remember, it is to persuade him to return." Pan Yusheng gave specific instructions: "If he is unwilling, do not bring him back by force."
This time, Pan Jiyao did not respond. He only nodded very lightly and silently withdrew.
Everyone could see clearly that since returning from the Pure Land, Pan Yusheng's attitude when mentioning Pan Buwang had been changing—from the initial calm indifference, to gradually showing slight impatience, and the frequency of mention had become increasingly higher.
…………
Although Yun Che used a heavy sword as his weapon, strictly speaking, he was not a true sword cultivator.
With the Dragon God's body and the Desolate God's power as his foundation, and the Evil God Art to amplify his power, his combat style had always been centered on ferocity and violence. The heavy sword was merely the tool best suited to bear and unleash such destructive force.
Even the Celestial Wolf Prison God Scripture he cultivated walked the path of fierce destruction.
Unlike Hua Caili, whose sword techniques, sword heart, sword intent, sword spirit, and sword soul were all centered on the sword.
After focusing on comprehending the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art for six hours, Yun Che had gained nothing.
Not even a single moment of epiphany.
"Forget it…"
Yun Che opened his eyes and gave up helplessly.
"No need to rush," Li Suo comforted softly. "Enlightenment in high-level domains often requires a long span of time. For a supreme domain like the Heaven-Slaying Divine Art, a million years is also common."
Yun Che twisted the corner of his mouth and said helplessly, "Given my current situation, forget a million years—I can't even wait a hundred."
"A sword art at the highest level, if it cannot be comprehended, becomes nothing more than useless dead text… So, I exchanged the Primordial Chaos Life-Death Seal, which is useless to Mo Su, for the Heaven-Slaying Sword Art, which is useless to me. Quite fair indeed."
He stood up, stretched his shoulders, and smiled self-deprecatingly.
"Would you like to come and take a look at He Ling?"
Yun Che's expression instantly stiffened. Without even time to respond, he closed his eyes and concentrated, sinking his consciousness into the Heavenly Poison Pearl.
The Heavenly Poison space, which had lost its emerald vitality, now held a patch of endlessly familiar green light.
This light had once appeared in every corner of his soul sea when he needed comfort, accompanied by the eternally gentle voice of the young girl, preventing him from being completely swallowed by darkness even during the most hopeless years.
Now, only a faint, weak cluster remained, lying quietly in Li Suo's pure white, flawless palm.
This was the first time he had sensed her existence since He Ling's passing. A thousand emotions surged into his soul. He stood there frozen for a moment, silently watching, afraid to approach, afraid to touch.
Li Suo gently closed her hands, and a ball of white light silently spread, completely enveloping it—like a snow falling at the end of spring, gently and carefully holding the last seed that had yet to wither in its embrace.
It also caused He Ling's aura to completely vanish from Yun Che's perception again.
"Although it was forced to leave the Primordial Chaos Life-Death Seal, the life aura extracted from that seal is enough to protect her for hundreds of years, unending and undying."
Yun Che opened his mouth, but still asked: "In her current state, can she really… be restored to her original form, right?"
Li Suo knew his concern and answered softly: "The Wood Spirit race was the first race I created. They carry my most original and purest life aura. So her life is far more resilient than you imagine."
"She will recover to her original form, exactly as you remember her, and will not lose any of her own past."
Li Suo gave him the most beautiful answer.
"Once I manifest a physical body and recover enough life divine power, I can gradually restore her and also recall the Primordial Chaos Life-Death Seal at any time."
At that moment, a voice came from the outside world:
"Young master, Long Wangchu, the young master of the Dragon God clan, requests an audience. He has arrived outside the hall."
Yun Che instantly opened his eyes.
It had only been three days since he left the Dragon God clan. He was indeed impatient, afraid of changes.
"Invite the young master of the Dragon God clan inside. Do not be discourteous."
Yun Che slowly stepped forward. The moment he crossed the threshold of the hall, all gloom in his eyes was concealed, leaving only a very gentle, breeze-like smile on his lips.
————
Question: Why was He Ling banned before going down the Abyss?
Answer: Because the Zhou Tian Pearl recharges too quickly in the Abyss, afraid that a certain Mr. Yun would cheat with the Zhou Tian Divine Realm!