Chapter 2461 He Returns

Boom!

Waves of thunder and lightning continued to crash down, one after another, shaking the very fabric of the universe, as if determined to erase all existence.

After an unknown length of time, a miracle unfolded. The sword cauldron finally took form. Its surface was covered in all sorts of mysterious and wondrous patterns: galaxies spiralling through the cosmos, divine sand roaring within chaos, all echoing with a deep, thunderous hum.

Its body was adorned with flowers, birds, fish, and insects. The sun and moon were laid out in celestial alignment, forming cryptic dao runes. Lines of ancient, majestic scripture were engraved upon it, glowing brilliantly and revealing the profound mysteries of the dao.

The Great Dao Furnace Art!

Additionally, within the sword cauldron, the dao sword floated in silence, ringing with a low hum. Its blade had grown increasingly ancient and unadorned, like a divine artifact that concealed its brilliance, mysterious and unfathomable.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Tribulation thunderbolts struck down again and again, but each bolt was deflected by the sword cauldron, scattering blinding sparks like a surging waterfall. Then, the sword cauldron stirred, as if it had awakened, gaining true intelligence and life.

More and more divine patterns emerged across its surface—plants, fish, insects, mountains, the cosmos, stars, sun, moon, gods, demons, immortals and spirits... All of it made the cauldron appear even more vast and boundless. Though it was a cauldron, it seemed to carry within it a real universe.

Despite that, Lin Xun remained unaware of it all. With no thoughts in his mind, he relied solely on instinct to guide his cultivation, restoring his broken body. His spirit and will blazed brightly as he sat cross-legged, chanting scriptures.

As the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron took shape, Lin Xun’s transformation also reached its critical peak.

Boom!

His body was reborn, his blood boiled, and both his physique and cultivation were being refined to their absolute limits! It was as if he had broken through a heavenly barrier, crossing a threshold that led to the heavens and stepping directly into the Practicing Voidness Realm!

At that moment, the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron let out a thunderous roar. The countless dao runes carved into its body trembled, as if on the verge of coming to life. One could even hear the echoing roar of the dao itself, as if it was coming from the dawn of time, from the primal chaos before creation. It was vast, majestic and awe-inspiring!

Rumble!

Billions of bolts of divine lightning thundered down, baptizing the cauldron. With each strike, it grew more powerful, radiating an aura of invincibility, as if it could crush the firmament and live for eternity. The Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron continued to hum, releasing a rain of light. Each strand of light was like a razor-sharp peerless sword qi capable of piercing the sun, moon, and stars!

It had fully transformed. Its power was now unmatched, and the tribulation lightning that once raged through the heavens could no longer touch it. As the sword cauldron soared into the sky, it devoured billions of thunderbolts. In a flash, it nearly swept the entire firmament clean of thunder and lightning!

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

“Rise!”

At that moment, Lin Xun rose to his feet. His roar shook the starry domain, and his tall figure erupted with countless rays of divine light. The might of the Emperor Stage surged forth, drowning heaven and earth. With a single punch, he struck the heavens, aiming for the final bolt of heavenly tribulation.

Boom!

The starry cosmos was thrown into violent turmoil. The endless sea of thunder and lightning seemed crushed by the hand of the heavens. With a deafening roar, it exploded, sending torrents of destruction surging outward, annihilating countless stars in its wake.

At this moment, Lin Xun’s towering figure blazed like a divine beam of light, piercing through the ages and shaking the world!

Bang!

In the far distance, a black bronze mirror shattered before the green sparrow’s eyes. It inhaled sharply. It had planned to record every moment of this tribulation with the mirror, to preserve it as a curtain of light for eternity.

Who would have thought that this tribulation could not be engraved at all? As if this was a secret of heaven, forbidden from being revealed!

“Withdraw!” Lin Xun’s voice echoed across the void. His physical body, his spirit, and the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron... All of them at this moment resembled a giant whale swallowing the sea, continuously drawing in the last remnants of the heavenly tribulation.

Emperor might surged, blanketing the cosmos. Having stepped across the threshold of the seventh realm Emperor Stage, both Lin Xun and the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron underwent a profound transformation, as if ascending a ladder to the heavens and achieving the sublimation of life.

In a sense, for Lin Xun, the seventh realm marked not just advancement, but an entirely new phase of cultivation, one fundamentally distinct from all those before.

“It’s over...”

Lin Xun had ascended the seventh realm Supreme Emperor Stage. Now, he stood alone in the shattered starry sky. The tribulation thunder and lightning had vanished. Countless stars had been reduced to dust, and only now did silence return. Starlight rained down, illuminating the heavens and bringing clarity.

Silver waterfalls of light cascaded from the sky as the brilliance of endless stars gathered toward him, washing over his body and replenishing the immense power he had expended.

At last, all phenomena faded. Only Lin Xun remained, standing beneath the firmament. The Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron floated above his head, radiating boundless light and divine brilliance. The glow made his figure appear hazy, illusionary, and unreal.

From afar, the cosmos seemed cold and still, vast and eternal. He stood alone, shrouded in hazy light, as if bearing the loneliness of eternity. However, the feeling he gave was that of a sovereign reigning over the boundless cosmos, unmatched through all of time!

This tribulation had lasted far longer than any before, and its dangers were unprecedented. His spirit, body, flesh, blood, and bones...all had been shattered countless times, and each time reshaped and rebuilt. It was no less than a nirvanic cycle of life and death!

It was the same with the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron. Now, Lin Xun sat cross-legged in silence, consolidating his newly gained cultivation.

The greatest transformation upon reaching the seventh realm Emperor Stage was the birth of a vast starry cosmos within his True Self Emperor World. Sun, moon, and stars now orbited within it, radiating dazzling brilliance. Auspicious lights of the great dao cascaded down, illuminating the world in harmony, integrating the above and below into a unique and flawless unity.

At this stage, the cultivator’s cultivation would be suffused with divine radiance and their dharma perfected. Both form and emptiness were transcended, body and spirit became wonderfully harmonious, utterly refined, as if returned to the void, returned to the true!

In truth, it marked the beginning of a path to seek the profound mysteries of the dao—truth and illusion, existence and nonexistence, reality and emptiness.

At the same time, Lin Xun sensed that the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron had also undergone a fundamental transformation. The Phoenix Flame of Order within it seemed completely shattered, transformed into countless strands of power that now merged seamlessly into the cauldron itself.

Around the cauldron, visions of the eternal cosmos and celestial phenomena emerged. Mysterious dao runes floated in and out of view, while a vast and boundless aura surged forth, as if it could suppress past, present, and future.

Within the sword cauldron, the dao sword appeared even more ancient, unadorned, subdued and dim. Yet it gave the impression that once unleashed upon the world, it could split open the heavens and pierce through the nine heavens!

In addition, the Nirvana law power had condensed into a lotus pattern suspended within it. The nine netherworld dao runes loomed faintly, flickering with an inexplicable radiance. Over a dozen extinguishing law flames were firmly suppressed in the deepest part of the cauldron.

The entire cauldron now felt it had merged with Lin Xun, as though it had become an extension of his being.

One day later, Lin Xun emerged from meditation and stood up.

The green sparrow had arrived at some point without him noticing. “That old bastard Heng Tianshuo probably never imagined that the ninth district he used to trap you in a desperate situation would instead help you achieve a complete transformation in your cultivation.”

Heng Tianshuo!

A cold light flickered in Lin Xun’s eyes. “Fortune and misfortune intertwine, life and death are full of surprises. When I return, I’ll personally send that old bastard off.”

With that, he brought out his identity token. Light rained down from it, but it showed no path or portal to the outside world.

The green sparrow immediately cried out, “What a scumbag! He’s clearly tampered with your token. Even if you survive the ninth district, there’s no way out!”

Murderous intent surged in Lin Xun’s heart, but his expression remained calm. He put the token away and surveyed his surroundings. A moment later, a thought flashed through his mind.

Clang!

From within the Limitless Abyss Sword Cauldron, a sword soared into the sky like an indestructible beam of light, tearing open a massive rift in the collapsing and empty universe.

The green sparrow was dumbfounded, “That works?”

“Let’s go,” Lin Xun simply said and took the lead.

......

In the starry sky outside the trial world, ripples of spatial energy surged through the void. One after another portals began appearing. Feng Junlin, Yue Duqiu, Xiang Xiaoyuan and other peerless figures were the first to emerge.

At a distance stood the commander of the City Lord’s Residence, Heng Zhan, along with a group of soldiers. They had waited here for an entire month.

As more space ripples formed, Emperor-level figures returned one after another. Some looked grim, others relieved or bitter, and some were dissatisfied. Each wore a different expression.

Those who had gathered enough star sources smiled, while those who failed looked disappointed. However, compared to those returning, the majority had already perished within the trial world.

Time passed slowly, and fewer and fewer emerged. In the end, only about a hundred survived. It should be mentioned that over six hundred Emperors had entered the trial.

“Could that Ling Xuanzi be dead?” someone couldn’t help but murmur.

They were preparing to return to Origin City, but Ling Xuanzi’s absence drew many surprised looks.

“It’s time. Return to the city!” Heng Zhan ordered.

“Wait, there’s no harm in staying a little longer,” Yue Duqiu interjected, brows furrowed.

“I’ve overseen countless trials over the years. Whenever we reach this point, it means no one else will return alive. Waiting any longer is pointless.” Heng Zhan said indifferently.

“What if someone’s still alive?” Yue Duqiu asked.

Heng Zhan said expressionlessly, “The trial is over. My duty is to escort you back, not to waste time.”

Yue Duqiu couldn’t help but sigh in his heart. He had clung to a sliver of hope, but in the end, no miracle came.

“Looks like Ling Xuanzi really died. Couldn’t ask for a better outcome,” someone sneered

Heng Zhan added coldly, “Indeed. If you ask me, Ling Xuanzi will never appear alive again in this lifetime!”

He knew that Lin Xun had been thrown into the ninth district, a place impossible to escape alive.

Boom!

Suddenly, a deafening boom rang out like the collapse of heaven and earth. Far in the distance, the void exploded open, and a figure tore through the sky like a divine being, shaking the sky as he arrived.

“What? He came out!” Everyone gasped.

The figure was cloaked in divine radiance, towering and majestic. His aura surged like an abyss, shattering the void as he descended with overwhelming might.

It was Lin Xun. However, at this moment, his presence was utterly terrifying, like a supreme god descending from the heavens, sending shockwaves through everyone’s heart.

Especially Heng Zhan. He stood frozen in a daze. Just moments earlier, he had declared with certainty that Lin Xun would never make it out alive, but now, he was charging out of the trial world. The shock nearly made him cry out.

“How is this possible?” he muttered in disbelief.