Chapter 3362: Sword-Unsheathing Beasts
The heavenly staircase was gone!
To reach the Sword God Temple, one could only follow the former location of the staircase and cross the chaotic space to get there.
Fortunately, Grandmaster Taiqing and Grandmaster Yuqing had already visited many times and were very familiar with the space where the staircase had been.
Before long, they arrived outside the Sword God Temple.
Most of the deities had been taken by King Yu to the Sword Realm. Those who remained were only Chi Yao, Zangjin Baihu, Bai Qinger, Xiao Hei, Turtle King, and the four Taixu Ancient Gods of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization.
In truth, having witnessed the earlier clash between the King and the God Venerable, the vast majority of deities simply did not dare to stay.
The Sword God Temple was too eerie!
Even after many eons had passed, it had not declined. It exuded a powerful aura and harbored immense danger, as terrifying as the present-day supreme temples like the Destiny Temple, Darkness Temple, and Truth Temple.
Which ordinary deity would dare to venture inside?
The four Taixu Ancient Gods of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization had stayed on King Yu's orders. King Yu believed they had no potential to break through to the Infinite Realm, but if they followed Zhang Ruochen to explore the Sword God Temple, they might find a sliver of opportunity.
The gate of the Sword God Temple was already covered in rust, yet it still retained its grandeur.
The door was half-open, with a hole ten thousand zhang in diameter, punched through by some unknown force, giving a shocking impression.
Xiao Hei approached to study it and said, "This door is forged from the ultimate substance of the Five Elements. Its hardness is no less than some divine artifacts. A door this thick was actually punched through!"
Zangjin Baihu became interested in the two stone beasts outside the gate.
These two stone beasts looked very much like saber-toothed tigers, their fangs as sharp as two golden swords, each the size of a hill. Their faces were ferocious, lifelike.
They were called Sword-Unsheathing Beasts!
Legend had it that sword cultivators who climbed the heavenly staircase or were summoned to the Sword God Temple had to remove their swords and place them into the mouths of these two stone beasts for safekeeping.
Zangjin Baihu extended a claw and touched the stone beast. Her tiger eyes gradually turned strange, and she said, "They're alive!"
The two Sword-Unsheathing Beasts could no longer pretend. They immediately turned and rushed into the temple gate.
Like the heavenly staircase, they had been nourished by the rain of Sword Source light for years and had developed intelligence.
But their cultivation was not as high as the staircase's; they were only at the Taixu Realm.
Grandmaster Taiqing and Grandmaster Yuqing were just telling Zhang Ruochen and the others about the dangers and precautions inside the Sword God Temple when this incident occurred.
Turtle King was very anxious, saying, "That... that owl was... was..."
Zangjin Baihu and the four Taixu Ancient Gods of the Heavenly Beginning Civilization followed the footprints of the two Sword-Unsheathing Beasts and chased inside.
"They're alive!"
"These two tiger monsters are alive too. Stop them."
"They are stone carvings, at best considered Stone Clan, not tiger monsters." Zangjin Baihu's tone was unfriendly as she glared at a Taixu Ancient God from the Heavenly Beginning Civilization.
The two Sword-Unsheathing Beasts were intercepted and immediately opened their mouths, spewing out countless sword qi.
"Shua shua!"
Their mouths had once held famous swords from all over the world and had absorbed countless Sword Sources.
A single mouthful of sword qi was extremely powerful, like a fully realized Infinite Sword Dao divine ability erupting, forcing the four Taixu Ancient Gods to immediately form a defensive formation.
"He was taken!" Turtle King was almost frantic, finally finishing his sentence.
Grandmaster Taiqing, Grandmaster Yuqing, Zhang Ruochen, Ji Fanxin, and Xiuchen Heavenly God entered the temple. One of the Sword-Unsheathing Beasts was already pinned under Zangjin Baihu's tiger claw.
Golden divine patterns surged from the tiger claw, firmly suppressing the Sword-Unsheathing Beast, causing cracks to appear in its stone body.
The Sword-Unsheathing Beast was not weak; on the contrary, it was very powerful, with a cultivation comparable to a Taixu peak great god at the Body-Stop level. Outside, it could be a realm lord of a powerful realm or a lord of an ancient civilization, absolutely a giant in the divine realm.
But Zangjin Baihu's aura was even more terrifying!
Because of the cover of the Sword Source light rain, the rules of heaven and earth were hard to maintain, so Zangjin Baihu no longer needed to suppress her cultivation and did not fear attracting heavenly punishment. Her blood qi was abundant, and golden divine light shone brilliantly on her body.
Zhang Ruochen finally saw through her true cultivation, which had reached the Infinite Realm, but she should still be at the initial stage of Qiankun Infinite.
Thirty thousand years ago, Fengdu Dadi, at the Ancient God Nest, awakened the sleeping Zangjin Baihu and the Swastika Azure Dragon, intending to take them as mounts. But a powerful will deep within the Ancient God Nest stopped him.
That will told Fengdu Dadi, "The tiger is the king of beasts. The dragon is the supreme of all spirits. When the tiger roars and the dragon sings, heaven and earth are overturned. If you take them as mounts and suppress them as slaves and servants, you will surely suffer backlash in the future."
Could it backlash against Fengdu Dadi?
It was impossible to know whether that will's words were true or false, but from the fact that Fengdu Dadi did not take Zangjin Baihu and the Swastika Azure Dragon as mounts, it could be seen that those words carried some weight.
From the fact that Zangjin Baihu and the Swastika Azure Dragon could avoid the Calamity of Quantities and be preserved as fetal eggs from prehistoric times, it could be seen that their birth must be extraordinary. They possessed power capable of resisting the Calamity of Quantities, protecting their vitality.
The other Sword-Unsheathing Beast was very wary of Zangjin Baihu. It stepped on Xiao Hei and threatened, "I am just a stone beast guarding the gate. We have no grudges, so why must you kill us all?"
"Who said anything about killing you all?"
Zangjin Baihu's aura was very strong, and the "Burial" character on her forehead formed a soul-suppressing pressure.
That Sword-Unsheathing Beast said, "You release Little Left first, and then I'll believe you."
"You release the owl first..." Zangjin Baihu said.
"No, you first."
"What qualifications do you have to negotiate with me? Do you believe I will crush its stone body right now?" Zangjin Baihu said.
"If you crush Little Left, I will crush this owl."
...
The negotiation reached a deadlock.
Xiao Hei was really about to be crushed. His body was very flat, all his bones were creaking, his eyes were crooked, and his mouth was twisted. He wanted to send out a spiritual power cry for help.
But his spiritual power was locked!
Zhang Ruochen and the others did not intervene, standing by and watching calmly.
With Zangjin Baihu's cultivation, dealing with the two Sword-Unsheathing Beasts was not difficult.
In a very short time, Zangjin Baihu found the Divine Sea of the Sword-Unsheathing Beast she had stepped on and sealed it with Burial Rule divine patterns.
Just as the other Sword-Unsheathing Beast was about to continue negotiating, the "Burial" character on Zangjin Baihu's forehead flickered, and that Sword-Unsheathing Beast directly fell over.
When it woke up, it was already pinned under Zangjin Baihu's claw.
Grandmaster Taiqing said, "The Way of Burial has some real tricks! The 'Burial' character on its forehead contains an extremely powerful soul attack. It is not simply inherited through bloodline; it definitely has a significant origin."
Both Sword-Unsheathing Beasts had their Divine Seas sealed, and after a thorough lesson from Zangjin Baihu, they completely lost their temper.
It was mainly the "Burial" character imprint that deeply shocked their souls, like the arrival of a sovereign, making them tremble from the core and unable to help but submit.
Zhang Ruochen pulled Xiao Hei out of the footprint pit and rubbed his body, gradually restoring his shape.
Xiao Hei looked at the two Sword-Unsheathing Beasts, then at Zangjin Baihu, who was scolding them, and said, "What is this world coming to? Even two random stone beasts guarding the gate are great gods. My cultivation at the upper-level god perfection is completely insufficient! This emperor has decided that once we get out, I will go into seclusion to cultivate. I will not leave seclusion until I reach the great god realm."
"Actually, you can also go into seclusion in the Sword God Temple."
Grandmaster Taiqing walked over, looking at Xiao Hei with a very gentle gaze. He knew that Xiao Hei was the disciple of Tai Shang and the only son of the Ninth Divine Teacher.
The Ninth Divine Teacher had some interactions with Grandmaster Taiqing, and his age was even younger than his.
To Grandmaster Taiqing, Xiao Hei was the son of an old acquaintance.
Xiao Hei did not dare to be presumptuous in front of a God Venerable and humbly said, "Grandmaster, the Sword God Temple is too dangerous. It is not a good place for seclusion."
Grandmaster Taiqing looked at the towering, glowing divine tree and said, "The Sword Source Divine Tree brightens once every thousand years, each time lasting about three months. During this period, the dark power in the Sword God Temple recedes, and various evil anomalies become docile. As long as you do not enter certain dangerous areas or actively provoke the evil anomalies, most places are quite safe."
The Sword Source Divine Tree was clearly a name Grandmaster Taiqing had come up with himself.
Whether that divine tree was the Sword Source, Grandmaster Taiqing was not sure.
"Three months, if we activate the Sundial, that would be one hundred and eighty years." Xiao Hei calculated. In such a short time, breaking through to the great god realm was simply impossible.
"What exactly are the evil anomalies?"
Zhang Ruochen did not think that stone races like the heavenly staircase and the Sword-Unsheathing Beasts were the evil anomalies.
These anomalies, born from the Sword Source and having developed intelligence, would not even wake up if not actively provoked.
Bai Qinger asked almost simultaneously with Zhang Ruochen, "Grandmaster, were you once trapped in the Sword God Temple?"
She had caught another layer of meaning in Grandmaster Taiqing's words.
"The evil anomalies are related to the darkness here. We might have to deal with them later." Grandmaster Yuqing walked over, his aura very sharp, showing no fear of the evil anomalies at all, but rather full of battle intent.
There were not many things in the world that could make a God Venerable afraid.
Especially for Grandmaster Yuqing, who had a "never look back" state of mind as a sword cultivator!
Grandmaster Taiqing answered Bai Qinger, saying, "My junior brother Yuqing and I were indeed once trapped in the Sword God Temple, enduring a difficult thousand years. Most of the time, we buried ourselves deep in the earth, surviving by playing dead."
The lofty Sword Dao God Venerable recounted an embarrassing story, giving all the deities present a strange feeling.
Grandmaster Yuqing clearly cared more about face than Grandmaster Taiqing. He flicked his sleeve proudly, his aura like a divine sword unsheathing, and said, "If I break through to the peak of Qiankun Infinite this time, I will take my sword and charge into the darkness, slay all evil anomalies, and pacify the Sword God Temple."
"Then you can all cultivate in seclusion in the Sword God Temple without any more fear."
Grandmaster Taiqing stroked his beard and smiled, "Even the Heaven-Breaking Divine Staircase has retreated, so what is there to fear? It is indeed time to visit those few dangerous places in the Sword God Temple. Break through the darkness and revive the Sword Dao."
Zhang Ruochen proposed, "Before going into seclusion, we must first eliminate those two major threats."
Zangjin Baihu walked over with a cat-like step and said, "Those two Sword-Unsheathing Beasts said they sensed a chilling, eerie wind blowing past earlier, entering the Sword God Temple. It seems King Guo really did sneak in!"
"As long as he is in the Sword God Temple, finding him will not be difficult." Grandmaster Taiqing said.
At this moment, Bai Qinger whispered a telepathic message to Zhang Ruochen, "The Earth Demon Sparrow sensed a special summoning force in the temple."
Ji Fanxin also sent a telepathic message to Zhang Ruochen, "The Heavenly Dao Flute sensed a call from an unknown force deep in the temple."
The Earth Demon Sparrow and the Heavenly Dao Flute were obtained by them in the Origin Divine Temple. Along with the Seven Star Sword, they were known as the three great temple-guarding divine artifacts of the Origin Divine Temple. For the entire ancient Sword Realm, they were the three most powerful divine artifacts.