# 1073
Chapter 1074: The Heavenly Venerable Borrows a Sword
Upon hearing these words, all the gods present stood frozen in place.
Thor turned his head to look at the majestic figure behind him, his pupils constricting sharply.
Between the shattered divine thrones, Odin, draped in a white divine robe, stood quietly with furrowed brows. In that dark eye socket perpetually covered by an eyepatch, countless crimson, grotesque worms were massed together, crawling silently over each other—appearing from afar like a red eyeball.
Thor's heart shook violently. He instinctively stepped back two paces, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Not only him—Hodur, the blind god who had been knocked to the ground by the Heavenly Venerable, and Tyr, the war god who had been knocked down the mountain and had just clambered back up to the temple, also froze in place.
They stared blankly at that familiar figure, feeling more unfamiliar with it than ever before.
"Father…" Thor spoke dazedly. "What happened to your eye? And what the Heavenly Venerable just said…"
"A lie."
Odin spoke calmly, closing his eyelid to hide the constantly writhing crimson right eye. He stepped forward into the air, and boundless divine power surged forth instantly. The Heavenly Venerable of Dao lightly parted his lips, and obscure Daoist scriptures flowed from his mouth as the surrounding spiritual energy churned violently.
The two Supreme Gods' divine powers collided within the temple without any fanfare. The scattered aftershocks immediately cracked the temple's four walls with fierce gouges. In just a short moment, the entire temple shattered with a thunderous crash!
Several Norse Chief Gods rapidly retreated to the open airspace near the divine mountain. The two mysterious figures from the Heavenly Temple who had been quietly standing in the corner exchanged a glance, then also hastily withdrew, avoiding being drawn in, and watched from afar.
The dust at the mountaintop gradually cleared. The originally grand and majestic hall lay in ruins. Above the shattered steps, Odin's figure had retreated half a step back, while the Heavenly Venerable at the temple gate had retreated two steps barefoot.
The Daoist hairpin binding his hair had somehow come loose, messy black hair cascading over his black-and-white Daoist robe, adding a touch of unrestrained elegance instead.
The Heavenly Venerable's eyes remained utterly calm. He gazed at that majestic figure draped in white divine robes and let out a long sigh:
"True to reputation as one who single-handedly holds up an entire divine kingdom. The legendary strongest god of the West indeed lives up to its name…"
He paused, then continued:
"It seems that if I want to tear away this false facade of yours, this贫道 will need to expend some effort."
Upon hearing these words, Odin's brow furrowed slightly.
The Heavenly Venerable, draped in his black-and-white Daoist robe with disheveled hair and barefoot, yet with eyes still immaculately clean, slowly raised his right hand, pressing it together in a sword gesture, and pointed remotely eastward.
"Queen Mother of the West, this贫道 today borrows a sword from your Kunlun…"
He spoke calmly.
…
Kunlun Ruins.
Under the morning glow, a voice pierced through infinite space, echoing resoundingly among the mountains.
"Queen Mother of the West, this贫道 today borrows a sword from your Kunlun…"
The Queen Mother of the West, who was conversing with Lin Qiye, lifted her head toward the sky, her beautiful eyes narrowing slightly.
"Finally…"
"Your Majesty, what is that voice?"
Lin Qiye looked around, confusion evident in his eyes.
The Queen Mother of the West did not answer. She simply turned around, gazing at the distant Sword-Storing Mountains stretching endlessly before her, and declared loudly:
"Great Xia's Heavenly Venerable of Dao, today borrows a sword from the Kunlun Sword Vault to slay enemies… Those who wish to join the Heavenly Venerable in battle, please rise!"
Vroom—!!
The moment the Queen Mother of the West finished speaking, countless sword cries rang out from the continuous mountains. Then, one after another, streaks of sword light shot toward the sky, hurtling westward at rapid speed.
From these successive sword cries, Lin Qiye could clearly sense the battle intent and defiance contained within these ancient blades. At this moment, they were no longer mere swords, but fearless soldiers following their generals into battle—one command, and ten thousand swords cry as one!
A hundred blades, a thousand, ten thousand, a hundred thousand, a million… ten million.
In the span of a breath, dense and countless sword gleams surged skyward, like an inexhaustible sword-light tsunami, sweeping wildly toward the Western divine kingdom—magnificent yet grandiosely majestic!
Standing beneath this sword-light tsunami, Lin Qiye felt utterly insignificant. He stood dazed for a long while before drawing a sharp breath!
What he needed to understand was that every single blade here was crafted by the Queen Mother of the West's own hands. A century of accumulation and forging had created this entire Kunlun Sword Vein.
Using such a terrifying quantity of Kunlun swords… Exactly whom was the Heavenly Venerable of Dao intending to kill?
…
On the silent divine mountain.
"What is Great Xia's Heavenly Venerable doing?" Thor asked, puzzled.
"I don't know…" Hodur paused. "But did you hear something?"
"Something? Where?"
"The East. It's approaching from there. It sounds like… swords?"
In the ruins of the shattered temple, Odin's brow furrowed. He was about to do something when he suddenly turned his head eastward.
Endless sword light, mingling with chilling, sharp cries, burst skyward from beneath the Bifröst cliffs, like a world-destroying sword-light tsunami, crashing against every inch of Asgard's land.
At the sight of this terrifying sword-light tsunami, the gods residing within Asgard immediately paled. Before they could flee in terror, the sword-light tsunami swept directly over their heads, surging toward the divine mountain.
These swords' targets were never them.
Above the divine mountain, Odin gazed at the infinite sword light heading straight for him, his expression growing increasingly grave.
"Thirty million swords… should be sufficient." The Heavenly Venerable of Dao stood calmly beneath the towering sword-light tsunami, his right hand in a sword gesture, pointing at Odin through the air. "Go."
The tsunami formed by thirty million Kunlun sword lights immediately engulfed Odin's figure!
The ground roared as the entire Asgard quaked violently. Sword energy mixed with dust submerged the temples and roads for dozens of kilometers around the divine mountain. Countless Norse gods frantically fled outward from the sword light.
High in the sky, the two mysterious figures from the Heavenly Temple lowered their heads to observe the sword-light tsunami. Beneath their black hoods, both spoke in the same tone, at the same rhythm, as if mechanically in unison:
"Should we go help him?"
The two paused for a moment, then, as if speaking to themselves, answered simultaneously:
"Let's wait a bit more."
"But our purpose in coming here was precisely to help Asgard resist Great Xia's Heavenly Venerable. If Odin dies, Asgard without Odin will become meat waiting to be slaughtered… This would be unfavorable for us."
"Odin won't die so easily, and if what Great Xia's Heavenly Venerable said is true, the Heavenly Temple's stance toward Asgard may need to change."
"…You're right. Then let's wait a bit longer."
While the two conversed, the sword-light tsunami was nearing its end.
Once the dust settled, the divine mountain that had once towered in the heart of Asgard had been forcibly shattered, even cleaved through the earth beneath, becoming a massive pit nearly a hundred meters deep.
The Heavenly Venerable in his black-and-white Daoist robe strode through the air to above the giant pit. He looked down, and a faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips.
In the center of the pit, a tall, blood-soaked figure was slowly rising…
It was Odin.
grotesque blood worms crawled among his shattered muscles and organs. Within the bloody cavity of his severed shoulder, disgusting tendrils intertwined, stretching approximately ten meters long. They twisted and crawled on the ground, picking up his severed half-arm, then re-fusing it back into his fragmented body…