# Chapter 2198: At All Costs
The Nether King extended one hand, grasping the sword body, attempting to lift it.
"Hmm?"
What surprised the Nether King was that the sword body appeared light and thin, yet was exceptionally heavy. He had already exerted considerable strength, but could not budge it.
"According to legend, the Star Divine Sword was forged from a star. It truly is as heavy as a star," the Nether King murmured, his eyes radiating a divine light eager to test its power.
Stars in the universe were all immensely vast and extremely heavy, equivalent to millions of planets.
Even gods needed to expend tremendous effort to move a star.
In fact, when a living being became a god, the Divine Throne Planet they condensed, in its strongest state, was equivalent to a star. Only after a god fell would their Divine Throne Planet gradually degrade to the level of a planet.
Possessing the power of a star was the minimum standard for becoming a god.
Without hesitation, the Nether King extended his other hand, gripping the sword body with both hands.
Then, the Nether King held nothing back, releasing his own power to envelop the sword body of the Star Divine Sword.
"Boom."
An extremely powerful force burst forth from the sword body, and the entire ground of the "Dismemberment Prison Realm" shattered in an instant.
Countless crimson divine patterns clearly emerged on the sword body, releasing an intensely scorching power that melted everything.
In the blink of an eye, the "Dismemberment Prison Realm" had turned into a sea of magma and fire, with temperatures reaching extreme heights.
Even a Saint who entered would be reduced to ashes.
Clearly, it was the Nether King's attempt to lift the sword body that had triggered the violent power contained within the Star Divine Sword.
"Clatter."
Finally, the Nether King pulled the sword body of the Star Divine Sword out of the magma.
In that instant, the Star Divine Sword released an even more blazing and scorching power, radiating a dazzling brilliance like a sun, making it impossible to open one's eyes.
"Rumble."
At the same time, around the Sword Grave, the ground began to crack, as if a great earthquake had occurred, triggering panic among countless living beings.
The tremors spread outward—ten thousand li, a hundred thousand li, a million li, ten million li...
Finally, the entire Central Domain, spanning countless millions of li, trembled slightly, as if a star were rolling across the vast land of the Central Domain.
If not for the isolation of the Nether Prison, the unleashed might at the moment the Star Divine Sword emerged would have been even more terrifying.
After a long while, the Star Divine Sword returned to calm, its light and heat converging back to its original form.
Once truly subdued and held in hand, it became considerably lighter.
A satisfied smile appeared in the Nether King's eyes. Being suppressed in the Nether Prison for ten thousand years, gaining such a divine sword was not a loss.
More importantly, the Star Divine Sword contained the Sword Dao Essence comprehended by the Sword Ancestor, now all obtained by the Nether King, bringing endless benefits.
Although he had not yet become a god, he already possessed power comparable to a deity.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to lift the Star Divine Sword.
The Nether King swung the Star Divine Sword, slashing upward.
"Shiiing."
Instantly, a rift opened in the dim sky.
Holding the Star Divine Sword, the Nether King soared into the sky.
Seeing this, the Blood Queen quickly followed.
In the blink of an eye, the Nether King had rushed out of the Nether Prison, appearing in the Sword Grave.
The originally calm Sword Grave now experienced astonishing upheaval—ten thousand swords sang in unison, all tilting toward the Star Divine Sword as if paying homage.
"Whoosh."
Pieces of divine sword fragments scattered throughout the Sword Grave quickly gathered, merging with the sword body.
The Sword Grave was extremely special, capable of repairing and nurturing sword artifacts.
Thus, over so many years, the numerous fragments of the divine sword had not decayed but instead become more divine.
As more and more fragments merged with the sword body, it grew heavier, naturally radiating blazing light and heat, illuminating the Sword Grave.
In the Central Imperial City, at the Azure Rainbow Pavilion.
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden's expression suddenly shifted slightly. The Sky-Burning Sword stored within her body stirred uncontrollably, flying out.
The Canglan Martial Saint was the sword-bearer of the Sky-Burning Sword. Although this sword's rank was not high, it held extremely important significance, being a major trump card for guarding the Nether Prison.
"Return."
The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden reached out, attempting to retrieve the Sky-Burning Sword.
However, the Sky-Burning Sword trembled violently, completely beyond her control, and even the Confucian Ancestor Sacred Scripture could not suppress it.
"Whoosh."
The Sky-Burning Sword transformed into a beam of sword light, directly breaking through the air and vanishing.
"Could there be a problem at the Sword Grave?" The Nine Heavens Mysterious Maiden wore a contemplative expression.
If not for the urgent situation here, she would have immediately set out for the Sword Grave to investigate.
At the Moon Worship Demon Sect.
Ling Feiyu was originally in secluded cultivation but was inexplicably disturbed.
The Heaven-Burying Sword hanging at her chest suddenly burst forth with brilliant sword light, transforming into a three-foot azure blade, circling her several times.
When Ling Feiyu tried to reach out and grasp it, the Heaven-Burying Sword shot straight into the sky, vanishing in an instant.
"What's happening?"
Ling Feiyu frowned slightly, her eyes full of confusion.
Since becoming the sword-bearer of the Heaven-Burying Sword, she had never encountered such a situation.
Meanwhile, the other sword-bearers all experienced the same phenomenon, feeling puzzled and uneasy.
Before long, including the Sky-Burning Sword and the Heaven-Burying Sword, five subsidiary swords flew through the air from various parts of the Kunlun Realm.
These five swords had extremely close connections with the Sword Grave, so they were not obstructed by divine patterns and flew directly into the Sword Grave.
Only the Skyward Sword was missing.
Five relatively large fragments separated from the five sacred swords, merging into the Star Divine Sword.
"What happened? Why is the Sword Grave experiencing such upheaval?"
"Such powerful force—my Sacred Soul nearly melted."
"How did the connection with the Heaven-Burying Sword suddenly break? What's going on?"
...
For a time, the ancestral sword-bearers slumbering in the Sword Grave were all alarmed.
They could perceive the various changes in the Sword Grave but could not leave their slumbering places to investigate.
With five subsidiary swords having problems, it meant that five sword-bearers would be unable to borrow the power of their respective lineage ancestors in the Sword Grave.
Such a change was certainly not a good thing.
Before long, the sword body of the Star Divine Sword was largely repaired, missing only a small piece.
"The location of the sword hilt seems very special—I can't summon it here. The missing subsidiary sword also appears to be with the hilt." The Nether King closed his eyes, sensing carefully.
"Rustle."
The figure of Old Man Kong materialized.
Looking at the Star Divine Sword in the Nether King's hand, a complex expression appeared in Old Man Kong's eyes. Clearly, he did not wish for the Sword Ancestor's divine sword to be controlled by a Hell Realm cultivator.
Shaking his head slightly, Old Man Kong sighed, "Subduing the Star Divine Sword brings you endless benefits, but also great constraints. Back then, the Sword Ancestor forged the Star Divine Sword to protect the Kunlun Realm."
"This is the sword's mission!"
"Therefore, the Star Divine Sword does not strike the living beings of the Kunlun Realm."
Hearing this, the Nether King stared at the sword body of the Star Divine Sword, a strange light flashing in his eyes. "Is that so? I, the King, do not believe it."
With that, the Nether King suddenly stepped forward, swinging the Star Divine Sword toward Old Man Kong.
Old Man Kong appeared extremely calm, standing with his hands behind his back, neither dodging nor blocking, allowing the divine sword to strike him.
However, the Star Divine Sword, radiating brilliant divine light, abruptly stopped mid-air, unable to strike down.
"Clang!"
The sword body trembled violently, beyond the Nether King's control.
The Nether King naturally would not give up, immediately releasing even greater power into the divine sword.
"Bang."
The divine sword burst forth with an immensely powerful force, actually shaking the Nether King's hand away.
The Nether King spread his aching hands, staring at the Star Divine Sword suspended in mid-air, his eyes narrowing as a strong sense of frustration arose.
Facts proved that what Old Man Kong said was indeed true.
Wielding the Star Divine Sword, one could attack anyone, even gods.
But it could not be used to attack the living beings of the Kunlun Realm.
The Sword Ancestor's will to protect the Kunlun Realm was already imprinted in the divine sword.
The Nether King had never imagined that a sword could influence his will—this was certainly not a pleasant realization.
Once, he had the ambition to control the Kunlun Realm, and even after ten thousand years, that had not changed.
Now that he was free, he naturally wanted to continue pursuing that goal.
But constrained by the Star Divine Sword, how could he do so?
The Nether King's emotions fluctuated continuously, his eyes flickering uncertainly—no one knew what he was thinking.
Before long, the Nether King's emotions calmed, a resolute gleam appearing in his eyes.
The Sword Ancestor's will? So what? In the future, he would become even stronger, completely subduing the Star Divine Sword. A single sword could not bind him.
To him, contending with the Sword Ancestor's will was also a form of tempering, helping him reach the peak faster.
The Nether King restrained his killing intent, regrasping the Star Divine Sword, and swung it backward. The Star Divine Sword burst forth with an extremely sharp sword light, indestructible and unstoppable.
Instantly, dense divine patterns appeared within the Sword Grave, filling the space like chains, interweaving to seal this area.
It was because of these divine patterns that Hell Realm gods could not directly open space rifts connected to the Sword Grave, only sending people to attack from outside.
However, the Star Divine Sword was invincible—these divine patterns could not withstand it.
In an instant, the divine patterns interwoven in space were all severed, no longer able to seal the space.
"Rustle."
Instantly, the stable space split open, forming a rift ten thousand zhang long, piercing heaven and earth.
This space rift was a passage opened by the Nether King, connecting to a rather distant place in the Kunlun Realm.
He had already sensed that the sword hilt of the Star Divine Sword and the Skyward Sword subsidiary sword were on the other side of the space rift.
Inside the space rift was pitch-black, with void power surging, eroding everything.
On the other side of the space rift was a bottomless abyss, looking from afar like a demon's mouth, capable of swallowing everything in the world.
"The Endless Abyss."
No wonder he could not summon the sword hilt and the Skyward Sword subsidiary sword—they were actually beneath that mysterious and unfathomable Endless Abyss.
The heavenly and earthly rules within the Endless Abyss were completely different from those of the Kunlun Realm, like another world.
Seeing the Endless Abyss at the end of the space rift, the Blood Queen fell into thought.
With a step, the Nether King entered the space rift, crossing the void, walking step by step toward the Endless Abyss.
The Blood Queen glanced at Old Man Kong, then followed.
Seeing the two leave, Old Man Kong shook his head slightly, then vanished into the black mountain.
Guarding the Nether Prison was his mission—under no circumstances could he leave.
The Nether King's cultivation was near-divine, yet he had only been imprisoned on the fifteenth level. Were there living beings imprisoned on the lowest three levels? And what kind of beings?
Besides Old Man Kong, probably no one knew.
Exiting the space rift, the Nether King and the Blood Queen landed on the ground, standing at the edge of the Endless Abyss. Sharp cold winds continuously battered against them.
"The sword hilt of the Star Divine Sword and the Skyward Sword subsidiary sword are indeed down below," the Nether King said.
Arriving here, the Star Divine Sword's sword body sensed the hilt even more strongly, its light continuously pulsing.
Under the Blood Queen's guidance, the two arrived at the second gradient of the Endless Abyss.
"A very special world!"
The Nether King walked forward while observing his surroundings.
Suddenly, he stopped, his gaze fixed on the distant blood-colored mountain. The heavenly and earthly phenomena at that location could not escape his perception.
"So the sword hilt and the Skyward Sword subsidiary sword are on Zhang Ruochen. That kid... eh, what happened to him? Why is he undergoing soul-summoning?"
As he spoke, the Nether King reached out and grabbed—the ancient sword hilt and the Skyward Sword subsidiary sword that Zhang Ruochen had stored away immediately flew out.
A fragment separated from the Skyward Sword subsidiary sword, merging into the Star Divine Sword.
The ancient sword hilt circled the sword body once, and between them, numerous inscriptions surged forth, intertwining and connecting, finally fusing together.
At this point, the Star Divine Sword was finally complete.
"Hum."
The Star Divine Sword vibrated violently, emitting an extremely sharp sword aura, causing hundreds of black cracks to immediately appear in the surrounding space.
Crimson flames rose, and the temperature of the entire second gradient instantly increased by more than a hundred times.
Centered on the Star Divine Sword, the space within a hundred li radius was burned to nothingness in an instant, forming a massive black hole.
This was the result of the Nether King deliberately suppressing it—otherwise, the destruction would have been unimaginable.
"The Star Divine Sword, the peerless divine weapon of the Kunlun Realm. You obtained the sword body—that is your fortune. Chen'er obtained the sword hilt—that is his fortune. Sixth Brother, as an elder, is it really appropriate for you to take the sword hilt like this, robbing your own nephew's opportunity?" the Blood Queen said.
Hearing this, the Nether King couldn't help but laugh heartily, finding his sister extremely protective of her own.
The sword hilt Zhang Ruochen obtained did not contain the Sword Ancestor's spiritual will—it was merely a dead object.
And he, spending ten thousand years, risking being refined, hovering on the edge of life and death countless times, had subdued the Star Divine Sword. By any measure, he was the master of the Star Divine Sword.
Yet, according to the Blood Queen's meaning, it became that he and Zhang Ruochen each obtained half the fortune of the Star Divine Sword.
How could it be calculated that way?
However, the Nether King was now free and had obtained the complete Star Battle Sword, in excellent spirits. He did not wish to argue with his only sister. "If it were any other being, taking it would be one thing. But since it's my own nephew, if I really did that, I'd be mocked by Hell Realm beings for at least an eon. Rest assured, your elder brother also has a sense of dignity."
With that, the Nether King extended one hand, pressing down on the void.
Powerful spiritual power was released, surging into the blood-colored mountain to assist the Blood Queen in soul-summoning.
His cultivation was already near-divine, and his spiritual will was fully comparable to a god's. At this moment, he could naturally lend the Blood Queen a hand.
Mainly, the Nether King knew the danger of soul-summoning and did not want the Blood Queen to make any mistakes.
Inside the cave of the blood-colored mountain, the Blood Queen stood within the soul-summoning formation, continuously releasing divine blood to stabilize the illusory yet real soul-summoning channel.
As time passed, the Blood Queen's divine thoughts had successively retrieved Zhang Ruochen's dissipated soul fragments, gathering them strand by strand.
These retrieved soul fragments all attached themselves to Zhang Ruochen's surviving faint Sacred Soul, gradually strengthening it.
In this process, suffering the backlash of heavenly and earthly rules, the Blood Queen's divine thoughts were continuously annihilated.
Even a god could not contend with the will of the entire heaven and earth.
Not only divine thoughts, but the spiritual will imprinted in every inch of flesh and blood was also being worn away by the will of heaven and earth.
Even as powerful as the Blood Queen, her divine true body now had a somewhat pale complexion, her aura gradually weakening.
"Crack," a sound rang out from within the Blood Queen's body.
A clear crack appeared on her Divine Source.
The Blood Queen's body trembled, divine blood flowing from the corner of her mouth. Her divine body also cracked, like porcelain, about to shatter into pieces.
The Divine Source was extremely important to a god—it was the foundation of cultivation, with the divine soul also wrapped within it.
This was the terror of the backlash of heavenly and earthly rules—it directly affected the Divine Source and divine soul, and could not be defended against.
Though gods were powerful, they could not contend with heaven and earth and nature.
If a Spiritual Power Great Saint had done this, the final result would likely have been the complete annihilation of both spiritual power and Sacred Soul.
As time passed, cracking sounds occasionally came from within the Blood Queen's body. The cracks on her Divine Source increased, her divine body split more severely, and divine blood gushed forth.
Yet, even so, the Blood Queen's gaze remained resolute, maintaining the soul-summoning formation with all her might, showing no intention of giving up.
Even at the cost of her life, she had to save Zhang Ruochen.
Later, the backlash of heaven and earth grew stronger, and even the soul-summoning formation could barely be maintained, gradually being worn away.
If this continued, the soul-summoning would fail, and even the souls already recalled would dissipate again.
"Chen'er absolutely cannot be allowed to die."
Looking at Zhang Ruochen wrapped in crimson blood, the Blood Queen's eyes were full of tenderness.
Immediately, the Blood Queen actually released her own divine soul, using it to suppress the soul-summoning formation, and also using it to guide Zhang Ruochen's dissipated soul fragments.
Zhang Ruochen was her descendant; his soul was nurtured within her body, of the same origin, with an extremely special connection between them.
However, doing so meant the Blood Queen would face even greater danger.
The backlash of heavenly and earthly rules acted entirely on the Blood Queen's divine soul.
Even though the Blood Queen's divine soul was powerful, it could not withstand the backlash force. First, cracks appeared, then it gradually collapsed bit by bit.
"Pfft."
The Blood Queen spat out a large mouthful of divine blood, her aura growing even weaker.
Finally, Zhang Ruochen's last soul fragment flew out of the soul-summoning channel, combining with the main Sacred Soul body.
Above Zhang Ruochen's body, an extremely condensed Sacred Soul hovered, identical to Zhang Ruochen, like a solid entity. Though not yet awakened, Zhang Ruochen's Sacred Soul already emitted a vast Sacred Might.
Perhaps because it had dissipated into heaven and earth and then recondensed, Zhang Ruochen's Sacred Soul had acquired a trace of strange, indescribable aura.
"Sacred Soul returns to body, reversing life and death."
The Blood Queen shouted softly, the hand seals she formed changing.
Now had reached the most critical moment—success or failure hung in the balance.
"Boom."
The soul-summoning channel collapsed, releasing an extremely terrifying destructive force.
This force rushed directly toward Zhang Ruochen, not allowing him to defy heavenly and earthly rules and come back to life.
The Blood Queen did not hesitate for a moment, using her majestic body to block all the destructive force, not letting Zhang Ruochen bear even a trace.
As a result, the Blood Queen's injuries worsened. Her divine body nearly shattered, becoming a bloody mess.
Her Divine Source and divine soul suffered severe damage, covered in dense cracks like a spider's web, on the verge of collapse.
If this continued, even if the Blood Queen did not die, she would likely destroy her divine path foundation—such a cost was truly too great.
Though the Nether King could clearly perceive the Blood Queen's situation, he did not speak to stop her. A god's will—how could it be easily changed?
He was just surprised that his only sister valued blood ties so heavily, which should be quite unusual in the Blood Absolute Family.