Chapter 1319: What’s Behind the Scenes!

More important than the immortal was the canon! When canon collapsed, it was like the mountain 山 component of immortal 仙 crumbling, and leaving behind... nothing but the person 人.

Up in the dome of heaven, the ancient immortal staggered backward. He looked at his hand, which was crumbling away, and he realized that all of his karma and dao lineaments had turned into the rays of a setting sun that flowed across his broken skin. Within that light were an infinitude of glowing butterflies, all of which were manifestations of his past karma and fate. And now... as they flew, they struggled, their essence draining away as they themselves faded.

The ancient immortal saw all of that and smiled bitterly. He seemed to have completely deflated, and his body was once again withering. The wrinkles on his face once again split open, and the karma he had exchanged erupted again, causing his hair to again writhe and fall out! The magnificent immortal statute behind him started shaking.

The momentum he had built up in that peak moment of canon now collapsed like a dam bursting. Out of his mouth erupted mouthfuls of dao blood, full of immortal essence. Even as that blood sprayed through the air, it emitted a noxious fragrance. And as it scattered down, it turned into a blood-red haze that spread in all directions.

Among the countless species of Revered Ancient, many sensed what was happening, and were filled with excitement. Empress Summer Departure struggled to breathe steadily, and Master Seventh was shaken to the core. The eyes of Zhou Zhengli and the others shone brightly.

This type of battle of canon could shake the opponent’s very foundation, so most immortals wouldn’t go to these lengths unless dealing with a deadly adversary. That was why... battles of canon were exceedingly rare.

The only one who reacted somewhat differently was Erniu, who licked his lips, looked at Xu Qing and the ancient immortal, and started speculating internally.

This is just grandstanding, right? Hey, I’m good at that too. If you think about it that way, then when the day comes that I become a Summer Immortal, won’t I be invincible among immortals?

As Erniu’s imagination went wild, Xu Qing looked at the ancient immortal.

“You have a choice to make now,” he said.

The ancient immortal slowly turned his head, his expression carrying the weight of time, and his eyes wistful. He was not looking at Xu Qing, but rather, at the vast lands of Revered Ancient. It was a world both familiar and unfamiliar to him. He noted all the species, and especially humankind.

In the end, his gaze came to rest on Master Seventh. Master Seventh said nothing.

The ancient immortal closed his eyes as the majestic immortal body he had formed began to fall apart. Cracks spread across it, covering it. When it was completely covered with cracks, the ancient immortal opened his eyes. It looked as if he had made a decision.

Instantly, silver immortal fire flared from within his eyes, spreading out to cover him, filling the cracks and spreading through the void. It was as if he was turning into a celestial sun. Surrounded by endless fire, he clenched his right hand into a fist, within which was his immortal essence that was about to be extinguished. His other hand, he stretched out, and in its palm was all the karma from his hundred thousand years of cultivation.

Sensing his two hands, he took a deep breath. And then, without any hesitation, he turned his immortal essence into kindling and used all of his karma as oil. And he absorbed it!

When that happened, the immortal essence vanished, and the karma was destroyed. The silver fire from his immortal body swelled, blasting out of him and rising in a pillar toward the dome of heaven.

Heaven-shaking, earth-shattering rumbling sounds echoed out. The sound seemed to contain a note of farewell, something that surpassed a thunderclap and shook all heaven and earth. It even thrummed within the bloodline of all living beings!

As the immortal fire climbed, it reached the peak of heaven, where Revered Ancient was sealed off. And thus, the whole sky was painted silver.

Yet, it wasn’t the most pure silver; it almost seemed like it was aging. It was almost like a dirge as the ancient immortal reached the end of the road. That was because he wasn’t just burning immortal power, but also, all of the achievements and virtues from when he led the Deep Earth star ring to take over Revered Ancient! That previous crown of glory was now like a medallion representing his life.

In this manner... the canon was destroyed, but the person was not! In the final moment of incineration, the silver fire lost its silver color and returned to him, filling in the cracks, and resulting in him looking like nothing more than an ordinary old man. There was nothing about him that made him seem like an immortal.

The fire above dissipated, and the sun rose in the distance. A ray of light penetrated the sea of clouds and illuminated the old man’s tattered daoist robe.

“In the end, I lost immortalhood,” the old man murmured. “Going forward, I have nothing to do with Revered Ancient.” Then he looked at Xu Qing. “Child, I’ve done as you wished. And now, I have a wish! Back then, a spectacular individual left his mark in the sky with a sword. You were at his side. Did you master the sword techniques he used?”

Xu Qing looked at the ancient immortal and nodded.

The ancient immortal’s eyes glowed more brightly. “Draw your sword!”

Xu Qing extended his right hand and pushed it down toward the earth below, all while speaking in a voice that echoed far and wide.

“During different parts of the Grand Emperor’s life, he created different sword techniques. There are a total of five. The first stance is called... Earth Treasury.”[1]

Human lands trembled as Xu Qing’s immortal will entered them. The rumbling grew louder, sweeping through Revered Ancient, and causing wild colors to flash in the sky. Everyone was shaken.

Then Xu Qing spoke again, his voice rumbling across all the lands. “Earth Treasury focuses on the releasing of earth energy to replace the will of the earth with the will of the sword. It takes earth energy and turns it into sword energy. Then it converges to make an earth sword!”

As the words left his mouth, the lands of Revered Ancient rumbled as if countless subterranean dragons were thrashing about. The earth energy rose up, converged...

And turned into an astonishing sword! It was dark yellow, and it rose high into the dome of heaven! However, it did not fall.

“The second sword stance is called Rending the Void!”

Xu Qing lifted his hand and pushed it up toward the sky. The dome of heaven dimmed, and everything turned blurry. A terrifying force descended, covering all of Revered Ancient and extracting the energy from the air.

“The Grand Emperor created this sword move back when he was working with the Ancient Emperor to wage war on the other species of Revered Ancient. The void shatters everything within range, and the shattered remnants are actually sword lineaments. The infinite sword lineaments then converge into a sword that creates the sword move of Rending the Void!”

As Xu Qing spoke the words, the void shattered. Spatial rifts snaked out, filling the sky over Revered Ancient. They were dense and neverending. Those shattered remnants were sword lineaments!

As Xu Qing rapidly clenched his right hand into a fist, the innumerable sword lineaments converged to create a second spectacular sword! Sword light spread, sword light smashed all obstacles, and a sword will weighed down on all heaven and earth.

Humans who saw the two swords seemed visibly moved, and a look of reminiscence could be seen on the face of Empress Summer Departure. Other species reacted in similar ways. Years ago when Grand Emperor Swordsage unsheathed these swords, he had bought half of a sixty-year-cycle for all living beings. Without that extra time, Revered Ancient would have had a hard time standing up to the imminent catastrophe.

The ancient immortal’s expression was also wistful. It was true that Grand Emperor Swordsage had threatened to awaken the broken face, which foiled his own plans. But there was no denying that his opponent’s sword skills... were the best he had ever seen.

“Continue,” he said in a low voice.

With a meaningful look in his eyes, Xu Qing waved his hand again. “The third stance... is called Heavenly Palaces. It focuses on slaughter, and can only be used to target cultivators.... After the arrival of the gods, the Grand Emperor only used it once. The heavenly palaces mentioned in the name of the technique are the heavenly palaces that Core Formation cultivators create inside themselves!”

As the words left Xu Qing’s mouth, he waved his hand.

All of the Core Formation cultivators from the holy lands who had spread out through Revered Ancient, regardless of where they were, felt their hearts and minds reeling. The heavenly palaces within them trembled. And then, beyond the control of the cultivators, illusory swords appeared within those heavenly palaces. They shot out! They became a sea of swords, like a massive tsunami racing across heaven and earth.

From a distance, it was possible to see three magnificent, gigantic swords in front of Xu Qing!

“The fourth sword is called Star Splendor!”

The dome of heaven rumbled, and the light of day vanished and was replaced by the darkness of night. Within that darkness were innumerable twinkling stars. It was an infinitude of starlight that became beam after beam of sword light. In turn, long swords began to descend from the starlight and into the mortal world. This was the fourth stupendous sword!

The gods of Revered Ancient looked on in silence. The ancient immortal did the same. Empress Summer Departure was trembling.

At that moment, Xu Qing, just barely visible within the starlight and the glow of the four swords... really did seem like Grand Emperor Swordsage.

“The final sword...” he said softly, and in his mind, he could hear the words Grand Emperor Swordsage had spoken all those years ago. “This sword was created by the Grand Emperor to safeguard humankind. Its name is... The Human World!”

The difficulties of the human world after Emperor Eastglory was defeated. The struggles of the human world in the era of Sageheaven. The revival of the human world under Mirrorcloud’s control. The tenacity of the human world when Dao Life reigned. The struggles of the human world for the thousands of years that Dark War ruled. The rise to prominence of the human world after Empress Summer Departure came!

“This is how he safeguarded the human world. He is gone. But I’m still here!”

It was just like how, years ago, during the assessment of the heart, Xu Qing received a 30,000-meter pillar of light! It was truly astonishing. Up in the dome of heaven, the four swords merged together, turning into one single sword. It was... The Human World Sword! It turned in the direction of the ancient immortal, and then... it slashed down!

The ancient immortal closed his eyes. And yet, as The Human World Sword was just about to hit the ancient immortal, it suddenly shifted past him, and instead slashed into the air behind him.

All of a sudden, a golden drop of river water appeared. When the sword hit it, the water emitted a shocking sound, and then suddenly exploded, turning into strips and pieces.... An instant later, it turned into a godly river that shook Revered Ancient and caused the starry sky to vibrate!

The water was not corporeal. It was only a projection. Within that river were countless heavenly bodies as well as innumerable living things. And there were lotuses. Seated cross-legged on the lotuses were innumerable figures, including humans, nonhumans, cultivators, and gods....[2]

Also within the water, it was possible to see an apathetic golden eye that slowly opened. This was... the God Paragon from the north of the Ninth Star Ring, the mother river!

“We’ve been waiting for you!”

Xu Qing’s eyes began to pulse with something spectacularly cold!

1. The descriptions of the stances here are largely similar to when they were initially explained by Grand Emperor Swordsage, starting in

chapter 1084

. ☜

2. We previously saw this river in

chapter 1077

and

1298

. ☜