Chapter 1335: Blue-Robed Lady

Ye Guan bowed deeply toward the two figures in the distance. Then, he turned and soared away on his sword, disappearing beyond the horizon.

Shrieeek!

A shrill sword cry resonated throughout the Imperial Domain. Then, a single sword light tore through the sky. Everyone trembled and instinctively looked up at the firmament.

The cultivators of the Imperial Clan witnessed an earth-shattering sword strike.

Over a thousand True Saints of the Imperial Clan were obliterated with just one strike. A vast chasm, stretching hundreds of thousands of meters, was carved across the heavens and the land. The starry domain was also filled with a powerful sword intent, suffocating the cultivators before tearing them apart.

"

Aaaaahhh!

" A furious roar echoed. Then, terrifying waves of energy surged toward the sea of sword light, engulfing and obliterating it.

Moments later, a group of figures emerged from the collapsed spacetime. Supreme Elder Nan stood at the helm of the group, while the two elders standing beside him earlier were missing.

Supreme Elder Yun and Supreme Elder Qiu were killed, while Supreme Elder Nan lost an arm! The relentless sword intent had corroded his wound, preventing regeneration.

His face was twisted with rage, and his eyes burned with fury.

That was just one sword!

The swordsman from the Other Shore had slain over two thousand of his elite cultivators with just one sword attack, including Supreme Elder Yun and Supreme Elder Qiu.

They were no ordinary True Saints. They had once been part of the fight against the First True Saint of the Other Shore. Given enough time, they could have stepped half a step into the Beyond Dao Realm.

Unfortunately, the two Supreme Elders were killed, and the handpicked experts of the Imperial Clan were murdered as well.

Supreme Elder Nan's heart bled from the loss. Then, he was shocked. The attack had almost killed him as well.

How could a mere True Saint possess such terrifying power?

Just then, an elder beside Supreme Elder Nan sternly said, "Elder, that young man has already reached Imperial City."

Supreme Elder Nan looked up and scoffed, "He thinks he can challenge my Imperial Clan by himself? What a ridiculous idea! Let's go!"

With that, he led his forces to the skies and vanished into the horizon.

Behind them, the boundless sword intent began to fade away slowly. Like a fleeting blooming flower, the sword strike came and went in an instant.

***

Thanks to True Saint Hao Ran's sacrifice, Ye Guan successfully arrived at the Imperial City. It was amidst a vast and boundless mountain range. The city walls soared thousands of meters high, stretching beyond the horizon.

The entire city was like a towering mountain range, magnificent and imposing.

Forged from a mysterious black crystal, the walls were incomparably sturdy, radiating a faint yet ancient divine aura.

A towering twelve-story pagoda that seemed to pierce the firmament stood in the middle of the city.

The Imperial Manifestation Pagoda! It was one of the Imperial Clan's greatest trump cards! It was constructed by the Supreme Emperor of the Imperial Clan, and thanks to the pagoda, the Imperial Clan was still thriving today, even after the fall of their Supreme Emperor.

When the First True Saint of the Other Shore invaded, the Imperial Manifestation Pagoda stopped him from advancing, preventing him from breaching the Imperial City.

At this moment, the cultivators within the city were on high alert. Terrifying auras permeated the sky and earth, making the entire world feel suffocating for just about anyone.

***

Upon reaching the Imperial City, Ye Guan didn't attack. Instead, he looked to the right and saw a solitary hill a kilometer away in the distance.

Ye Guan's divine sense landed on it, but a mysterious force blocked him, preventing him from seeing any farther. The solitary hill was the burial site of the First True Saint!

Ye Guan approached the hill, and a terrifying force suddenly suppressed him in place.

The power of a True Saint!

Ye Guan's expression shifted. It was a powerful wave of energy. However, Ye Guan didn't resist it. Instead, he bowed slightly toward the hill and greeted, "Greetings, Senior. I'm a descendant of the Other Shore."

After a moment of silence, the energy receded like a tide. Ye Guan relaxed and ascended the hill. Upon reaching the summit, he saw a middle-aged man standing beside a massive boulder.

He had his hands clasped behind his back as he gazed at the Imperial City.

Ye Guan studied the man curiously. He appeared to be in his thirties and was tall and elegant, with an air of effortless grace. He was like a jade tree standing proudly in the wind.

He was none other than the First True Saint!

The middle-aged man turned and looked at Ye Guan.

"A swordsman?" he asked with a smile.

Ye Guan nodded. "Yes."

"Very impressive."

Ye Guan hesitated to speak.

The middle-aged man seemed to have read Ye Guan's mind and chuckled. "I have long perished. What you're seeing is merely a phantom.

"The only reason they dare not come up here is that they're afraid of me taking down one of their half-step Beyond Dao Realm cultivators."

Ye Guan fell silent. He thought that the First True Saint was still alive.

The middle-aged man added, "I'm still here because I've been waiting for someone from the Other Shore to reach this place. I'm glad I've been patient enough."

The middle-aged man opened his palm, and a small ark floated toward Ye Guan.

Ye Guan was taken aback. "The Other Shore Ark?"

"Yes."

"Senior, what is the origin of this ark?" Ye Guan had always been very curious about the Other Shore Ark.

The middle-aged man lifted his gaze to the sky, and his eyes showed a flicker of emotion. "To be honest, I don't know either."

Ye Guan was stunned.

"When the Other Shore was just founded, it was an extremely primitive and weak civilization. People's lifespans barely exceeded a hundred years. Forget about cultivation; even survival was extremely difficult.

"I was nothing more than an ordinary and insignificant individual at the time. Every year, natural disasters would strike us relentlessly. Harvests were often destroyed by natural calamities, and the streets were often littered with corpses. Many people resorted to cannibalism out of desperation.

"Our world was filled with suffering. Until one day, a woman dressed in blue and riding backward on a green ox walked into our tribe."

The middle-aged man's eyes brightened as he recalled the cherished memory. "When she arrived, I was the only one in the clan who was still alive. Since then, I followed her. Every day, she would patiently help me cultivate.

"Of course, at the time, I didn't even know what the word 'cultivation' means. I simply thought that it'd be great to follow her, as I can eat my fill every day thanks to her.

"For three years, she brought me everywhere until she suddenly told me that she was going to leave."

Ye Guan listened quietly.

"Before she left, she gave me a small ark and said, 'The world is filled with suffering. All living beings are struggling, so you ought to protect the Other Shore.'"

Ye Guan suddenly asked, "Had she said where she was going?"

"I asked her what she was going to do before she left, and do you know what she said?"

"She said that she's going to save the vast expanse."

Save the vast expanse?

Ye Guan was stunned.

"I believed her." He then turned to face Ye Guan. "Now, I am entrusting it to you."

Ye Guan's expression turned solemn. "Senior, I'm not from the Other Shore."

"Do you cultivate the Dao of Order?"

"Yes."

"Since you cultivate Order and the people of the Other Shore have placed their faith in you, doesn't that make them your people?"

Ye Guan was silent for a moment. Then, he took the Other Shore Ark and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior."

A hint of appreciation flashed in the middle-aged man's eyes. Then he turned to look at the Imperial City. Supreme Elder Nan and the others had returned, and the city's arrays were active. Countless powerful auras were converging on them, filling the air with a terrifying pressure.

The middle-aged man asked, "Are you afraid?"

"If I were afraid, I wouldn't be here," Ye Guan replied calmly.

"

Hahaha!

Good, very good."

Ye Guan bowed slightly. "Senior, I will be taking my leave now."

Then, he turned around and walked away.

"Wait."

Ye Guan stopped in his tracks.

"You carry an unknown karma. Someone is using you as part of a larger scheme, but I'm sorry, I can't see more than that, as I'm just a mere phantom."

Ye Guan smiled. "It doesn't matter."

He knew that fact the moment he stepped into the Other Shore. He knew that he had become a part of someone's game. However, it didn't matter—overthinking was no use to him at this point. He just had to fight!

The middle-aged man looked at Ye Guan and said, "Let me give you a helping hand."

Just as Ye Guan was about to speak, the middle-aged man added, "Since you're fighting for the Other Shore, then I will put my faith in you. I will follow your Order."

Boom!

Ye Guan's aura surged violently. Moments later, his Order Sword Intent and cultivation base broke past the bottleneck, reaching brand-new heights.

Half-Step Beyond the Dao!

His sword intent and aura skyrocketed, shattering the Great Dao around him. The overwhelming pressure of his sword intent and aura weighed heavily on everyone in the Imperial City.

A half-step Beyond Dao Realm swordsman!

Every cultivator of the Imperial Clan turned pale. A swordsman with that cultivation base was just... They dared not even think about it!

Ye Guan gripped his sword and walked down the hill. As he descended, he said, "Senior, you may rest now. From here on, I will protect the Other Shore."

The First True Saint watched as Ye Guan walked down the hill. A faint smile tugged at his lips. He slowly looked up, and it seemed like he could see the blue-robed woman riding a green ox once again.

"You once asked me to protect the Other Shore, and I did my best."

With that, he faded away, forever erased from the world.

The First True Saint was no more.

Ye Guan stopped and said, "Senior, farewell."

After a long silence, Ye Guan transformed into a streak of sword light that took to the skies. In the blink of an eye, he arrived at the gates of the Imperial City.

"Imperial Clan! Do you dare face me in battle?" said Ye Guan with a booming voice while pointing his sword at the city.