Chapter 522: Jiang Ran and His Celestial Gate Sword

The old man with lifeless eyes offered Pang Jian a few words of caution before returning Pang Jian's divine sense to his body.

Although the old man still sat quietly in the same spot, his body now exuded an aura of death.

There was neither a soul nor any trace of vitality in his frail body. The old man was clearly dead, or more accurately, he had died long ago.

Unable to see any hope, he had taken his own life back when the upheaval first broke out.

Dozens like him had similarly committed suicide, and their bodies were scattered throughout the city.

Someone had sent their will into the mind of the dead old man, drawing Pang Jian's divine sense into a void-like space to offer a piece of advice.

That person then promptly retracted their will and left.

Sending one's will to a corpse and weaving an alternate space was an extraordinary divine ability.

Who was that?

Is he the heretical cultivator seeking to ascend to the True God Realm, or is he truly also searching for them in the shadows as he claims?

How does he know me? How does he know that I wield the Abyssal Demon Sword?

Pang Jian stared blankly at the beggar's corpse before him, then cautiously spread his divine sense once more.

Soon, he noticed another suicide victim.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian appeared before the body of a young girl. Gazing down at her closed eyes, he tentatively said, "Senior..."

The young girl lay cold and lifeless, devoid of blood essence or soul fluctuations.

It seemed she had reached the Innate Realm despite appearing barely sixteen. This made her a noteworthy talent among rogue cultivators in the Second World.

Unfortunately, she had ended her own life long before the heretical factions even had the chance to breach Imperial Dominion City.

The female corpse hung her head low, her pale lips unmoving, but a voice echoed from within her body.

"The one hiding within Imperial Dominion City can also wander through others' seas of consciousness. Some of these suicide victims sensed his presence and knew he sought to control them, but lacked the strength to resist.

"Thus, they instead chose to destroy their own souls. I'm examining the corpses to search for clues.

"Boy, stop trying to find me. I only warned you because I have ties to Li Zhaotian. This will be the last time I respond to you. The catastrophe in the Imperial Dominion is not something you can stop. Just focus on staying alive."

With that, the corpse fell silent.

Pang Jian stubbornly continued to search other corpses for answers, hoping to uncover more about the mysterious individual, but they kept to their word and did not respond.

If he has ties to my master, he's likely an Immortal Realm expert. He can shift his will between corpses and craft a void-like space within the minds of the dead, meaning his cultivation is likely higher than Shang Xiuchun.

Is he in the late Immortal Realm? Or possibly even the peak?

If he's not a heretical cultivator, perhaps he could stop a new True God from being born.

A flurry of thoughts flashed through Pang Jian's mind as he pondered how to sabotage the plans of the heretical cultivator in Imperial Dominion City.

Suddenly, a dazzling sword light burst forth from the western region of the Imperial Dominion.

The sword light cleaved through the murky sea of blood known as the "Blood Prison," breaking through the Blood Prison Sect's blockade before soaring high into the sky above the fragmented land.

"Lu Qinghe!" the figure roared, voice echoing like the toll of a great bell as he came to a halt above.

Everyone on the Imperial Dominion heard his thunderous cry with unmistakable clarity.

All eyes turned toward the radiant figure hovering in the dark night sky.

"It's Jiang Ran!"

"It's the Great Elder of the Sword Pavilion, Jiang Ran!"

"The Celestial Gate Sword!"

The rogue cultivators cried out, prayers for a mighty figure to quell the upheaval in the Imperial Dominion seemingly answered.

Jiang Ran's mountain in the Sword Pavilion was called the Celestial Gate Peak, and his sword was similarly named the Celestial Gate Sword.

His lifelong aspiration was to forge a mystical gate with his sword, allowing the inhabitants of the Abyss to pass through and escape this prison world.

This was his ultimate Dao of Sword, the foundation of his quest to ascend to godhood.

However, his path to godhood ended in failure, and his cultivation realm regressed as a result.

His failure to ascend had dulled the sharp edge of his ambition to open a path for the inhabitants of the Abyss.

Only after many years did he step back onto his crumbling path to godhood, slowly restoring the sharp edge of his resolve, and ascending to the peak of the Immortal Realm once more.

"Where is Lu Qinghe?" Jiang Ran's sword intent surged.

A resplendent gate, conjured from sword light, hovered behind him.

The radiant gate illuminated the dark and desolate Imperial Dominion.

All the heretical cultivators below shuddered, hearts gripped with fear under the searing pressure of the gate.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Blinding beams of sword light shot out from the radiant gate behind Jiang Ran, locking onto heretical cultivators all across the Imperial Dominion and cutting them down.

The rampant heretical cultivators were quickly subdued, forced to flee from the light of the Celestial Gate.

They hid in forests, caves, and lakes, desperately seeking refuge from Jiang Ran's watchful gaze.

In Imperial Dominion City, Pang Jian gazed at the tall elder with white hair and youthful features, mind drifting to the long-standing rivalry between Jiang Ran and his master.

No one was perfect.

Jiang Ran, resentful of his master's decision to appoint another as the Pavilion Master, allowed his frustration to evolve into internal conflict within the sect.

In his bid to reclaim the position of Pavilion Master, he sought to ascend to the True God Realm through his chosen Dao. When he failed, his spirit crumbled, and he went into seclusion.

He clearly lacked the magnanimity his master had hoped for and failed to give his full support to the new Pavilion Master, Li Zhaotian.

However, even then, Jiang Ran's desire and pursuit for the position of Pavilion Master had all been open and aboveboard.

In the human race's hour of peril, Zhou Wenhao—Jiang Ran's disciple—fought valiantly on the Cosmic Skies Continent. The elders under Jiang Ran's command also upheld the interests of Sword Pavilion above all else.

When he heard that heretical cultivators sought to ascend to the True God Realm in the Imperial Dominion, Jiang Ran insisted on getting involved, heedless of warnings and danger.

Such was the spirit of the Sword Pavilion.

Every member of the Sword Pavilion, from outer disciple to elder, was steadfast and fearless. They knew exactly when to act and what had to be done.

Though Liu Junhong, Wang Ce, and Guang He were also in the Immortal Realm, they were far inferior to Jiang Ran, and their presence here would make little difference.

Jiang Ran was in the peak of the Immortal Realm and had arrived in the Imperial Dominion hoping that the Outer Gods and the powerhouses of the Fifth World had yet to fully execute their plans.

He was betting on that slightest sliver of possibility.

Pang Jian's heart surged with excitement.

There could still be hope to turn the tide!

Jiang Ran's arrival brought a glimmer of hope to Pang Jian.

The White Bone Saint Lu Qinghe ascended from the northeastern region of the fragmented land.

"Brother Jiang, your brilliance remains undiminished after all these years. It brings me great comfort," he said with a hearty laugh. "I thought I planned for every possibility, but still, I never expected you to be the first to step into the Imperial Dominion.

"Brother Jiang, how righteous of you to willingly enter the tiger's den despite knowing the danger!"

Creak! Creak!

As Lu Qinghe approached Jiang Ran, the White Bone Gate guarding the sky of the northern region shifted forward with an eerie groan, dragging the sinister White Bone City on the other side of it.

A woman with heavy makeup from the Blood Prison Sect drifted forward from the western region of the fragmented land.

"You old dog! I never thought you'd dare set foot in the Imperial Dominion!" She pulled at the murky sea of blood known as the Blood Prison with both hands, reuniting the scattered pools before her. "You led Lu Xiaolin, Cai Xin, Shi Bingyun, and the Sword Pavilion's forces to slaughter the three thousand disciples of my Blood Prison Sect!

"The Blood Prison Sect's hatred for you, Jiang Ran, can never be reconciled!"

Boom!

Her massive body plunged into the murky sea, sending bloody waves splashing everywhere.

"Xie Tong?" Jiang Ran knitted his brows, pausing in recollection. "When I killed your master, I remember you watching from afar before fleeing the battlefield.

"Seven hundred years have passed, and you've reached the Immortal Realm. Are you planning to stand your ground this time?

"Your master, much like you now, was also in the middle stage of the Immortal Realm when I fought him. He could withstand two or three of my strikes. I wonder how many you can handle."

The Celestial Gate quietly transformed into a brilliant sword, formed from countless fragments of crystalline sword light.

The sword carried within it the essence of hundreds of sword techniques and was the culmination of the most powerful sword techniques of the Sword Pavilion.

It descended toward the murky sea.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sword plunged into the sea of blood, its crystalline brilliance slicing through the murky waters with unerring precision to expose the hidden Xie Tong. The Blood Prison Sect's Sect Master let out a wretched howl as the sword cut into her.

"You can't even withstand a single strike. You're nowhere near as capable as your dead master. How could you possibly lead the Blood Prison Sect?" Jiang Ran mocked.

Thousands of radiant sword lights burst to life within the murky sea, riddling the Blood Prison with holes, causing it to resemble a tattered veil.

Xie Tong and the dozens of Blood Prison Sect disciples hiding in the sea of blood plummeted to the ground.

Jiang Ran shook his head in disappointment. With a casual flick of his hand, he drew the scattered sword lights into his palm and tossed them behind him to reform the Celestial Gate.

"Jiang Ran, you never change." The White Bone Saint Lu Qinghe clapped his hands in mock admiration, not even bothering to spare a glance at Xie Tong. "Back then, I lost to you in the late stage of the Immortal Realm but now, I've reached the peak.

"Striking down Xie Tong is hardly fair. You're merely bullying the weak.

"But drawing your sword against me? Now that would be a battle between equals. A clash of true rivals."

Lu Qinghe clasped his hands and bowed deeply toward Jiang Ran.

"Go!"

The White Bone Gate and the ancient White Bone City on the other side of it shot toward Jiang Ran's Celestial Gate.