Chapter 1325: The Sea of Suffering and Fan Zhaodi

The Sword Scripture of Suffering!

This sword scripture was born from Hao Ran's immense suffering and hardships. It embodied not only his understanding of the Dao of the Sword but his deep comprehension of the world's tribulations and pain.

By going through extreme suffering, he managed to forge an unparalleled Sword Dao. After reading the scripture, Shi Yu's expression grew complicated.

Eventually, he let out a deep sigh. Now, he understood why most swordsmen were unable to earn Hao Ran's approval.

This sword scripture was created through unimaginable hardship. To cultivate it, one needed unwavering perseverance—an iron will beyond imagination.

It was divided into three stages—tempering the body, refining the soul, and forging the will.

Each stage required enduring countless tribulations, using suffering itself as a whetstone to refine one's body, soul, and will. Amidst the tribulations, a single thread of true intent had to be forged.

The difficulty was unimaginable, like trying to compress an entire ocean into a single drop of water. And once this path was embarked upon, there was no turning back. One had to succeed, or they would perish.

This was precisely why Hao Ran was so reluctant to pass on his inheritance.

More than anyone, he wished to see stronger swordsmen emerge in this world, but he also understood that without unwavering perseverance, attempting to cultivate this scripture would only lead to ruin.

It was a training method so extreme that it was reckless.

A path of no return.

If one succeeded, however, one would become immeasurably powerful.

Ye Guan studied the scripture for a long time before falling into deep contemplation. Endure countless tribulations, remain unwavering in the midst of suffering, and forge the so-called true intent to become a True Saint.

Was it difficult? It was extremely difficult.

According to the scripture, each tribulation represented a different form of suffering. To endure countless tribulations meant experiencing all the world's sufferings, without breaking apart and without losing oneself, all while forging the so-called true intent.

Even Ye Guan found it daunting.

The three of them sat in silence.

Would they attempt it?

There was no turning back. Failure meant death.

Ye Guan suddenly said, "I have to try it."

Shi Yu and Zhou Hann turned to look at him. Ye Guan smiled slightly before rising to his feet and walking away.

"Holy Son," Zhou Hann suddenly said.

Ye Guan stopped and looked at her.

Staring at him intently, Zhou Hann asked, "Are you sure? There's no way back once you start."

Ye Guan chuckled. "I never had a way back to begin with."

With that, he turned around and disappeared.

Zhou Hann was silent.

Beside her, Shi Yu murmured, "He might have a chance..."

Zhou Hann glanced at him.

Shi Yu explained, "His Sword Dao is far from ordinary."

As a fellow swordsman, he could sense the immense power in Ye Guan's sword aura. It was something extraordinary and fearsome.

Zhou Hann sighed softly. "I never realized that becoming a True Saint was so difficult."

Of course, she dreamed of reaching that realm. After seeing Hao Ran's cultivation method, however, she despaired. It wasn't something ordinary people could achieve.

No wonder a True Saint only appeared once in ten thousand years.

Shi Yu suddenly said, "Let's train."

With that, he turned around and left.

The scripture had given him some insights.

He couldn't follow the same path as Hao Ran, but he could still learn from it.

***

Ye Guan arrived at the edge of a vast sea. Sitting atop a massive boulder, he let the cool ocean breeze wash over him.

Little Pagoda asked,

"Are you really going to try this?"

Ye Guan asked in return,

"Master Pagoda, how much time do you think I have left?"

Little Pagoda fell silent.

Gazing out at the ocean, Ye Guan murmured,

"Fan Zhaodi won't give me much time..."

Although not much time had passed outside, Ye Guan had spent countless hours training within the tiny pagoda. After all, he knew that Fan Zhaodi wouldn't give him enough time to grow.

This was his final chance.

If he succeeded, he would stand a chance against her.

If he failed, he would be powerless before her.

Little Pagoda sighed.

"Then, let's go gambling. Gamble everything."

"That's my only choice."

Ye Guan smiled.

"Countless tribulations... what's there to fear?"

Closing his eyes, he began cultivating the Sword Scripture of Suffering.

Rumble!

The ground around him trembled, signaling the start of the tribulations.

Little Pagoda swiftly sealed off the surrounding space to prevent any collateral damage.

Dense black clouds gathered overhead, and they crackled with terrifying tribulation lightning bolts.

The first tribulation was here.

Ye Guan spread his palm open.

A bolt of lightning struck down from the heavens, piercing him.

Boom!

A blinding light engulfed Ye Guan, and extreme pain pervaded every inch of his being. His flesh felt like it was being incinerated, but he gritted his teeth and held firm. Drawing upon his sword intent, he began reconstructing his body.

And then, another bolt of tribulation lightning crashed down.

Ye Guan clenched his jaw, and his eyes became filled with unshakable determination. The moment he had chosen to embark on this path, he knew that there was no turning back.

If he couldn't make it through, then he would die here.

***

Elsewhere, another young man was in the midst of intense training.

The young man was none other than Nan Yi.

He was a prodigy, but he had been training tirelessly within the tiny pagoda's spacetime. For someone like him, the time difference was an unprecedented advantage.

He had also been studying the mysterious laws of this world's spacetime.

Ten years inside the pagoda was only a day outside.

The revelation overturned his understanding of spacetime. After all, his primary focus was spacetime cultivation, and his most prized possession was the Dao-Tracing Stone—a supreme relic that was like the embodiment of the Dao of Spacetime.

His goal was to harness the unique spacetime in this world to enhance his Dao-Tracing Stone. Alongside Song Yuan and others, he had been researching the spacetime laws in his pagoda for many years now.

The key difference between the pagoda's spacetime and the outside world's spacetime was in the presence of an incredibly powerful Great Dao of Spacetime that was suppressing the Other Shore's Great Dao of Spacetime.

In simpler terms, time here was delayed compared to the outside world.

The realization led them to an astonishing breakthrough, spacetime storage.

If they could store spacetime from within the pagoda and unleash it outside, they would gain an overwhelming advantage. This was their only option thus far, as the Great Dao of Spacetime in the pagoda was too deep.

It was so deep that even Song Yuan couldn't grasp it.

They tested many things. They used divine spells, martial arts, and even artifacts to capture and contain the time here.

And it worked...

When they stored the pagoda's spacetime inside a specialized sacred artifact, the spacetime within the sacred artifact flowed significantly slower than the spacetime in the outside world.

In battle, this meant that an opponent would experience spacetime normally, but for the wielder of the sacred artifact, time would flow much slower for them.

This was a so-called spacetime suppression!

Song Yuan and his team were absolutely thrilled by the discovery.

The specialized sacred artifact wasn't just an artifact. It was a game-changing sacred artifact of the Other Shore. Moreover, they discovered that the pagoda's spacetime could be fused with their martial arts and divine spells.

And the best part?

The specialized sacred artifact could be mass-produced.

Of course, everything depended on Ye Guan's approval.

Without his approval, they wouldn't be able to extract the pagoda's spacetime.

Luckily, Ye Guan had no objections, allowing them to continue their research.

The people of the Other Shore were overjoyed, and some even started calling for Ye Guan to become their Dharma Lord. He was more generous than the Other Shore Ark.

Meanwhile, the elites of the Other Shore became significantly stronger due to the time difference.

Ye Guan's arrival was truly a blessing for the Other Shore.

With his permission, Song Yuan and the others began stockpiling the pagoda's spacetime on a massive scale. Their ultimate goal was to ensure that every person would have a sacred artifact of their own during a crisis.

There weren't enough True Saints, so they had to make up for it with sheer firepower.

The ones who gained the most from this opportunity were the Dharma Lord and the Supreme Leaders. They were the top experts of the Other Shore, but their strength still skyrocketed thanks to the pagoda's mysterious spacetime.

Of course, becoming a True Saint was still exceedingly difficult.

However, they could see hope in becoming one. In other words, the True Saint Realm was no longer an unattainable dream.

***

The Ancestral Dao was also busy training. He pulled himself together, as he knew that once the damned Fan Zhaodi was here, he wouldn't stand a chance against her. Surrendering wasn't an option, either.

At this point, giving up was as good as throwing his life away.

With that in mind, he started working on two things. First of all, he was cultivating with all his might, as his foundation was still intact, so it was just a matter of retracing his path.

Secondly, he was waiting for Ye Guan to grow even stronger so that he could summon his past self back and merge it with his current self.

Whenever he was reminded about how Fan Zhaodi had schemed against him, he would become so enraged that he would grind his teeth to dust.

It should've been me, not her! I was supposed to be invincible! This damned world... it really is unfair.

***

While the entire Other Shore was busy growing stronger, a woman clad in a blood-red robe slowly stepped onto the shore of the Sea of Suffering.

Fan Zhaodi gazed calmly at the Sea of Suffering.

Sensing danger, the still waters rippled.