Immortal Realm, Spirit Demon Domain.
Once a glorious immortal domain, the Spirit Demon Domain at this moment was like a battlefield that had just endured a great battle, devastation stretching everywhere.
Corpses, weapon shards, deep trenches and craters – all permeated with the stench of death.
To the south, where once mountains and rivers stretched for ten thousand miles, and among the floating clouds here, where tens of thousands of immortal birds once soared across the sky – everything, everything had turned into ruins.
…
In a certain corner of the Spirit Demon Domain, the sky was gloomy, dark clouds casting their shadows upon the surface of a stream, making it rather bleak.
Originally, the water of this stream was clear, but the upheaval in the Spirit Demon Domain had turned it gray; coupled with the dark clouds above, it made the stream even more eerie and sinister.
At this moment, two figures approached from the distant horizon. A man and a woman, they looked down at the stream from above, their faces both pale.
"Khởi Tuyền!"
The man carried a cloth bundle on his back, his fist clenched tightly as he called out. The woman had an elegant figure, a sword hanging at her waist, and in her arms, she held a baby whose forehead was wrapped in a black cloth, covering its eyes.
As soon as the man finished speaking, a huge cracking sound echoed. The ground suddenly split in two, severing the stream into two sections. A pillar of water shot into the sky, swirling with earth and rocks in a hazy vortex.
The pillar of water rapidly grew larger and spun wildly, flinging water from both upstream and downstream upwards. The entire sky seemed to weep like rain, filled with sorrow.
"Khởi Tuyền, I'm sorry! I couldn't protect the Spirit Demon Domain."
The man's eyes were utterly lifeless. From the corner of his mouth, he couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of fresh blood. If one looked closely at his body, they would see a terrifying wound stretching from his shoulder to his waist, fresh blood constantly dripping, only to be swept away by the pillar of water as it fell.
The pillar of water seemed to understand the man's words. From a sky that wept like rain, the pillar of water instantly transformed into a ferocious evil dragon, its roars continuous and ceaseless.
It grieved for every branch and blade of grass, grieved for the land of Spirit Demon. Similarly, it was even more enraged at those who had brought disaster upon this land.
"Khởi Tuyền? Don't."
Seeing Khởi Tuyền erupt with wild ferocity, the man shouted loudly. His hand transformed into a massive phantom image, pressing down on the pillar of water from the void, wanting to suppress all of Khởi Tuyền's rage.
The evil dragon, pressed by the phantom hand, formed its arm into a claw like an iron cage, striking towards the man. Though the iron cage-claw moved later, it arrived first, about to fall upon the man and imprison him.
The man's pupils constricted. The cloth bundle on his back automatically fell, and a long saber instantly appeared in his hand. He took a step forward, without hesitation, striking a blow with his saber towards the claw.
The man struck a blow, the saber's blade transforming into a saber-light stretching for a million miles, sweeping towards the evil dragon.
As he struck this blow, a tear of blood flowed from the corner of his eye, as if he had just cut down the very thing he cherished and respected most.
The evil dragon's claw was only a few tens of *zhang* long, nothing compared to the saber-light stretching for a million miles. But the saber blow struck by the man seemed to truly enrage the dragon.
One could only see the evil dragon unleash terrifying high waves, a surging torrent like a waterfall suspended upside down, gushing into the void. From afar, it resembled a pillar of water brimming with ferocity, intent on tearing apart the sky.
And at this moment, the saber-light stretching for a million miles, struck by the man, finally hit the pillar of water.
A blast echoed throughout Linhma Realm. The sky, the ground, everything seemed to be trembling, as if with just a light touch of a fingertip, the void would shatter, the ground would collapse, and all things would turn to naught.
The man felt a pang of fear. The raging Khởi Tuyền was countless times more terrifying than he had imagined. His million-mile blade aura had been casually blocked by a pillar of water. Not only that, the water pillar had sent him flying, and his long saber, too, had flown off to who knew where.
Pfft.
Having been sent flying several million miles, the man struggled to stop himself, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. Though his complexion was extremely poor, he had no intention of giving up. A distance of several million miles, yet he covered it in just a few steps, appearing beside the woman holding the child. And his long saber, which had been knocked away, was now back in his hand, though he didn't know when he'd retrieved it.
But before the man could make another move, the Khởi Tuyền had already erupted to an unimaginable degree.
Continuous rumbling sounds filled the air. Beneath the ground, cracks spread with a snapping sound. In the sky, water vortexes appeared one after another, shooting out countless foam arrows in all directions, tossing and stirring the void repeatedly, creating extreme chaos.
Foam arrows rained down like a deluge. The man, his eyes almost powerless, roared:
"Khởi Tuyền, stop!"
The water pillar in the sky transformed into a malevolent dragon, shook its head slightly at the man, and continued its frenzied churning.
As Khởi Tuyền erupted, not just within Linhma Realm, but gradually, other Immortal Realms also experienced anomalies. Dark, gloomy clouds covered the sky, and thunder rumbled with flashing lightning.
…
At the same time, somewhere in the Immortal Realm, two men were playing chess. One man, with naturally flowing hair, held a black chess piece between two fingers and gently placed it on the board, his expression casual. The other man opposite him was bald, his body a plump mass of flesh. He had just placed a white chess piece, which he held between his fingers, onto the board.
The white chess piece, however, landed in a precarious spot, surrounded by black pieces.
"Tianshu, if you want to seize Khởi Tuyền, you shouldn't rush your moves on the board."
The man with flowing hair looked at the dark, thundering sky and smiled, not rushing his next move.
"Coveting Khởi Tuyền, it's not just you and I in the entire Immortal Realm."
The bald man cursed loudly, and his massive body instantly vanished, heading straight for that chaotic Linhma Realm.
…
Banners embroidered with the five large characters "Đông Tiên Vực Liên Minh" (Eastern Immortal Realm Alliance) fluttered in the wind. The alliance square was packed with people, all Realm Lords and their subordinates from the allied Immortal Realms of the Eastern Immortal Realm.
In the center of the square, atop a high platform, stood a figure of about fifty years old, with a short beard. He waved his hand, silencing the discussions below:
"Everyone, Linhma Realm has been destroyed, but Linhma Realm Lord is not dead yet. This person is cruel and vicious. If we let him escape, it would be like letting a venomous snake slip away."
"Advance to Linhma Realm, kill Linhma Realm Lord."
"Kill!"
Although most people in the square knew that Linhma Realm's current predicament wasn't necessarily due to its own fault, in the Immortal Realm, however, to kill a person or destroy an Immortal Realm, a mere excuse was enough. What need was there for right or wrong?
…
Many forces in the Immortal Realm were simultaneously heading in one direction, but in reality, those with enough strength to contend for Khởi Tuyền could be counted on one hand.
Khởi Tuyền rose up a pillar of water like a sky-supporting pillar. At this moment, Khởi Tuyền suddenly shot out endless black bubbles. The crowded bubbles instantly turned the water pillar pitch-black, looking extremely sinister.
“What is this?”
The man seemed to suddenly understand something. He murmured softly, his gaze fixed on the water pillar, unmoving.
Standing beside him, the woman didn't notice the changes in the water pillar. Her eyes, usually fixed on the distant horizon, suddenly narrowed slightly. She said urgently:
“Luo Ming, the old monk Tian Shu is coming. And, it’s Mie Lei.”
The man, Luo Ming, was startled. His eyes shifted direction to look, and the long saber in his hand trembled slightly with anger.
“Fang Yi, we’ve been set up. Take Kui’er and leave first.”
It was unknown how long Khởi Tuyền had existed, but whenever the Immortal Realm mentioned its name, it was as if acknowledging it as the origin of all waters. Its value was immeasurable, coveted by all.
As the Domain Lord of the Spirit Demon Domain, besieged by numerous Immortal Domains, Luo Ming had not been killed until now simply because the various domains wanted to find Khởi Tuyền through him.
A chill ran through Luo Ming. The long saber in his hand swept through the air. Its saber light, spanning millions of miles, was sharp and filled with killing intent, locking onto Tian Shu and Mie Lei’s path.
“Die.”
The saber light, spanning millions of miles, transformed into endless massive waves. These waves grew from one *zhang* to over a hundred *zhang*, then from a hundred *zhang* to ten thousand *zhang*. The countless ten-thousand-*zhang* waves were all chilling, permeated with the aura of death.
After unleashing this saber strike, Luo Ming’s body swayed as if about to collapse. He was certain that if he unleashed another strike, his spirit and meridians would surely crumble.
But Luo Ming didn’t care about such things. He wanted to create an escape opportunity for Fang Yi and Kui’er, so he had to strike continuously. The saber light’s million-mile waves had not yet reached Tian Shu when the long saber in Luo Ming’s hand unleashed a second strike.
The saber light of the second strike was even more terrifying than the first. The two saber lights streaked across the void, one after the other. Previously, the Spirit Demon Domain’s landscape was already in ruins, yet under the sweep of these two saber lights, everything turned to dust.
At this moment, on the distant horizon.
Tian Shu had been rushing here. He hadn't even had time to see what Khởi Tuyền looked like when a saber light, carrying intense killing intent, struck towards him. Just as he was about to curse, another saber light swept over, seemingly about to land on him.
The bald monk snorted coldly. His bulky body rippled. The Buddhist beads on his wrist flashed with light, transforming into thirty-six *sarira*. They linked together to form a protective halo, hovering above his head.
Not stopping there, Tian Shu’s hand spread open. He grasped a monk’s staff from which hung eight shriveled skulls. They rattled and clattered, emitting eerie sounds – wails and resentful cries. It was as if the roars of millions of trapped vengeful spirits and evil ghosts were struggling to break free.
The first saber light finally struck. The thirty-six *sarira* Buddhist beads faintly showed thirty-six eminent Buddhist monks sitting and chanting scriptures. Their Sanskrit chants resonated, transforming into a golden fist that punched into the saber light.
Boom, crack.
The countless ten-thousand-*zhang* waves from the saber light collided with the golden fist. A massive cracking sound echoed. The fist was forced back. The saber light, seizing the opportunity, tore open a gap in the thirty-six *sarira* and landed on the monk’s shoulder, a spray of fresh blood mixed with bits of fat erupted.