Chapter 585: Li Zhaotian's True Dao of Sword

Beyond the sea of lightning and poisonous mist, Li Zhaotian descended from the Sword Pavilion, one hand gripping his divine sword, the Tempest Fiend Sword, while the other clutched his sword token.

"Mu Wentao, are you still not escaping?" he asked, hovering idly nearby as he awaited the arrival of Zhu Ji, Pei Yishan, and Li Wang.

Behind him, Pang Jian's colossal divine form loomed within the sea of lightning and poisonous mist with a starry sky circling him.

He knew they would not have to fear the ancient Thunder Dragon with Su Wanrou and Pang Jian present.

Once Zhu Ji and the others arrived, they would suppress Long Xiao with overwhelming force and execute Mu Wentao.

Li Zhaotian could not predict how the True Gods would handle Long Xiao afterward. He was only certain that the Fey Race's rampant arrogance would be put to an end.

With the Fey Race effectively suppressed, the human race could fully focus on dealing with the foreign races in the Fifth World.

Mu Wentao, the second-ranked True God of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect, had always been known for his intelligence and cunning. He was a master schemer, adept at intricate calculations. Li Zhaotian was sure Mu Wentao knew the fate that awaited him.

"Pang Jian's divine form...his chest has a gaping hole in it. Only the Fortune of the Abyss, the very force that formed divine seats, could heal such an injury," Mu Wentao said with an eerie calmness. "Li Zhaotian, you've yet to ascend to godhood, and there are things Li Wang likely hasn't explained to you.

"Both Su Wanrou and Pang Jian have arrived. Yet, both have completely ignored me. In all of your eyes, I'm already as good as dead."

Mu Wentao's lips curled into a sardonic smile beneath his mask.

"Their attitude and your expression all tell me exactly what fate awaits me.

"Li Wang has already made his decision. The other True Gods will come to kill me."

Mu Wentao raised his hand and removed the mask from his strikingly handsome face to meet Li Zhaotian's stunned gaze.

"They will not arrive. No other True Gods will descend here aside from Su Wanrou and Pang Jian."

Li Zhaotian's expression changed drastically as a terrible realization struck him.

There was only really one force that could stop Zhu Ji, Pei Yishan, Liu Fu, and Li Wang from reaching the Sacred Soul Continent.

The Dragon Lair Sect, or rather, Long Xiao, had long since forged a secret alliance with the foreign races in the Fifth World!

The moment Long Xiao set his sights on the Thunderclap Paradise in the Resolute Expanse, the upcoming war became set in stone.

This war was a single thread that would unravel with the slightest tug, dragging all the most powerful forces in the Abyss into the fray.

No one would escape unscathed.

"Pang Jian! Sect Master Su!" Li Zhaotian's furious roar transformed into a sword light that sliced through the sea of lightning and poisonous mist to detonate like a thunderclap. "Long Xiao has severed all ties with the human race! He's colluded with the foreign races, seeking to overturn the foundation of the human race!"

Mu Wentao let out a long sigh, his grip secretly tightening around the Court of Shenluo. "Li Zhaotian, if you hadn't lost control and taken the Sword Pavilion away from Heaven Awakening Continent, you could have had a chance.

"When the Sword Pavilion remained anchored to the Heaven Awakening Continent, it was connected to towering peaks, allowing it to unleash its greatest power.

"The Heaven Departure Peak, the Sword Honing Peak, the Elusive Peak, the Breakthrough Peak, and the Enlightenment Peak were each carved into a world-shaking array.

"No one dared to act recklessly on the Heaven Awakening Continent with the lingering power of the Sword Pavilion's past Sword Gods looming over them.

"It's too bad you lost yourself to rage when Mu Aichuan died and the Thunderclap Paradise was stolen from the Resolute Expanse.

"Li Zhaotian, if the Sword Pavilion is destroyed because of this, will you be able to face the Sword Gods of ages past?"

Mu Wentao's words struck Li Zhaotian's heart like a well-aimed arrow.

Li Zhaotian felt a cold sweat break across his forehead.

Zhu Ji, Li Wang, and Pei Yishan had indeed failed to reach the Sacred Soul Continent. Even when he stretched out his divine sense, he could not detect the slightest trace of their earth-shaking presence.

The Sword Pavilion had also seen a significant decline in power after being separated from the mountains of the Heaven Awakening Continent.

This was precisely why Li Zhaotian had been reluctant to relocate the sect.

"The Sword Pavilion has to be destroyed for the foreign races to continue their ascension. This was the consensus reached by the strongest forces of the Fifth World."

Mu Wentao raised his Court of Shenluo again, holding it in his left hand as he bowed slightly toward Li Zhaotian.

"The ancient Sword Gods of the Sword Pavilion have slain far too many Rank Ten foreign race warriors of the Fifth World.

"The True Gods and those mighty sects have forgotten the Sword Pavilion's fearsome might and now underestimate its power, but the sworn enemies of the human race in the Fifth World? They have never forgotten.

"Only your enemies truly understand the extent of your strength.

"Li Zhaotian, perhaps even you don't realize this, but the Outer Gods and foreign race powerhouses below fear your strength after your ascension more so than they fear even the current strongest True God of the human race, Zhu Ji.

"The Sword Pavilion has to fall. Your death will embolden them to ignite the war ahead of schedule.

"They'll no longer wish to wait for the murky energy to rise once you're gone."

Mu Wentao would not have realized how much those watchful Outer Gods and foreign race powerhouses feared Li Zhaotian and the Sword Pavilion if not for his close ties to the high-ranking Outer God of the Ghost Race.

By the time Mu Wentao ascended to the True God Realm, the Sword Pavilion had already declined. He had not witnessed the era when the five Sword Gods reigned supreme over the Abyss.

To him, the legends of the Sword Pavilion and the past Sword Gods were exaggerated myths, stories inflated beyond reason.

After attaining godhood, he had lost all reverence for the Sword Pavilion, believing the sect and its Sword Gods to be nothing special.

Zi Mo, the domineering Thunder Dragon, the Ghost Race's You Kui, and those foreign race powerhouses had forced him to see the terrifying truth about the Sword Pavilion and its Sword Gods.

The Sword Gods of the Sword Pavilion were strong beyond measure, and the prospect of the already powerful Li Zhaotian ascending was terrifying.

If he successfully ascended, he would reign supreme.

Thankfully, he had failed his attempt at ascension. Only after his failure did Long Xiao dare to venture into Northern Qi and form an accord with the hidden ancient Fey God. A decision that would shape the future of the Abyss.

Li Zhaotian's will and intent surged into his sword token.

"Xu Yu,"

"Guang He."

"Chen Weihuang."

After relaying a series of urgent messages, he exhaled sharply.

"The Heaven Awakening Continent faces imminent upheaval. The Sword Pavilion and I may not be able to return in time. Prepare for war!"

He knew what was coming for the Sword Pavilion, the Second World, and even the First World.

The True Gods, initially planning to descend upon the Sacred Soul Continent to punish the ancient Thunder Dragon and execute Mu Wentao, would likely never arrive.

Long Xiao had long since allied with the foreign races in the Fifth World.

The ancient Fey Race had previously seen the foreign races as mortal enemies for casting them from their pedestal and ending their long era of dominance.

Generations of Fey Gods before Long Xiao had stood unwaveringly with the human race, joining forces to resist the ascension of the foreign races from the Fifth World again and again, casting them back into the eternal darkness.

However, under Long Xiao's rule, the tide had shifted. He had seized the opportunity of the once-in-a-hundred-millennia grand event to overturn the situation.

A new alliance had been set. The Fey Race and the foreign races of the Fifth World had united to topple the human race.

"The Abyss is a prison. I was born knowing this." Li Zhaotian glanced at the sky, sensing the barrier of the Abyss.

The Tempest Fiend Sword in his grasp resonated with the intent of "confinement."

Li Zhaotian swung his sword, sending out sword light that expanded in layered ripples.

Each streak of sword light carried the essence of "confinement," transforming the space around them into a cage before enclosing himself, the Sword Pavilion, and Mu Wentao within.

A world took form around them.

This world was like a well, with its boundary walls, bizarre mist, abyssal depths, and barrier all created from sword light.

Li Zhaotian had replicated the Abyss using his divine sword!

This world differed vastly from the true Abyss in that it was not refined into distinct layers, but its intent—the will to imprison all beings—was genuine and precise.

"Li Zhaotian!" Mu Wentao was horrified. "I vaguely remember that you once sought to prove your Dao through slaughter! When did your Dao of Sword change? Jiang Ran sought to open a gate, to forge a gateway that could enable him to leave the Abyss!

"But you! You imprison yourself and intend to imprison all living beings as well!

"Will this world become sealed forever if you ascend to godhood? The Abyss's barrier will only strengthen if you attain divinity. Just what kind of Dao are you pursuing, Li Zhaotian?!"

Mu Wentao was furious at the realization of Li Zhaotian's true Dao of Sword.

Li Zhaotian had deceived the entire world!

In the past, Li Zhaotian had vaguely revealed his Dao of Sword to be related to unrivaled slaughter, ultimate sharpness, and an extreme obsession with selflessness and oblivion.

Never before had it been like today, where his sword carved a prison, with "confinement" as the true essence of his Dao of Sword.

This Dao of Sword's essence was intimately tied to the purpose of the Abyss.

"Imprison all living beings? Mu Wentao, what makes you think the barrier and the boundary walls exist to imprison the beings of the Abyss? Do you truly believe life in the Abyss could have survived this long without the barrier and the boundary walls?

"The human race's golden age and the Fey Race's foundation were built upon these restrictions.

"If the Outer Gods were to descend with their true bodies, what room would we have left to grow? It's fine for a True God to strive to escape, but repeatedly breaching the barrier only weakens it.

"The Heavenly Dao I seek is the natural order of the Abyss. I'm willing to reinforce the barrier so that the inhabitants of the Abyss can live in peace, free from the corruption of Outer Gods.

"I can't believe a man lost to petty affections dares to pass judgment on my Heavenly Dao.

"I, Li Zhaotian, have dominated the affairs of the heart for years. I am always the master of my emotions! Women are secondary! Mu Wentao, if you truly have the ability, make Zi Mo forsake the Outer Gods, lower herself, and secure the starry skies for the human race in your stead!

"But you cannot. You cannot suppress the Outer Gods beyond, yet you still dare to stand in my way!"

Li Zhaotian swung his sword again and again.

The "Abyss" formed from his sword light contracted. Several divine swords within the Sword Pavilion resonated in unison, unleashing ever more dazzling sword light to mend the minute flaws in his "cage."

Boom!

The second-ranked True God of the Ghost Sacrifice Sect, Mu Wentao, perished within the well-shaped domain of sword light. His Dao was erased and his existence was extinguished.

After years of concealment, Li Zhaotian finally revealed his true Dao of Sword at a time when the human race faced great peril and the Heaven Awakening Continent was on the brink of an unimaginable catastrophe.

He had effortlessly slain a True God with his sword.

Fortune manifested following the death of a True God, and Li Zhaotian did not hesitate to seize the opportunity to ascend to godhood.