Chapter 303: Difficult Situation

"Finally, the Deity Transformation Middle Stage."

Outside the simulation, Zhou Qing's spirit surged with excitement.

Something he had failed to achieve across thousands of years in the sixth and seventh simulations, he had just accomplished in a mere forty years in this eighth simulation.

He stepped into the Deity Transformation realm at sixty, and reached the Deity Transformation Middle Stage at one hundred.

To be precise, it was not exactly forty years. Over a decade ago, the Zhou Qing in the simulation had already cultivated to the Deity Transformation early stage peak. The only reason he had not broken through earlier was that his mid-stage sword Dao remained incomplete.

"Not bad at all."

Zhou Qing was in a fantastic mood. Granted, once this simulation ended, the Sword Lord would not directly inherit his cultivation into the main body, but would instead become his clone.

But whether clone or main body, both were Zhou Qing. There was no difference; it all depended entirely on his own will.

If Zhou Qing wished to treat the Sword Lord as his true main body, then the Sword Lord would be the main body.

All the cultivation achievements from the Sword Lord's lifetime would effectively be inherited into reality.

'I just don't know what my final ending will be in this simulation.'

Zhou Qing was quite curious. Heavenly Sword Peak's final records regarding the Sword Lord stated that he ascended to the Upper Realm, but whether he had actually succeeded remained unknown.

'I have the space-time coordinates for the Great Dao Sect. If my cultivation reaches the Deity Transformation Stage Peak and I attempt to ascend, it wouldn't be a hopeless endeavor...'

Zhou Qing pondered to himself. The space-time coordinates of the Great Dao Sect were part of his memories, which the Sword Lord in the simulation naturally knew as well.

Since he possessed specific space-time coordinates, he wouldn't be flying blind like a headless fly in the boundless Void. He would at least have a direction to choose.

This was absolutely crucial. The most dangerous aspect of the boundless Void—aside from various powerful entities like the Outer Domain Heavenly Demons—was losing one's directional coordinates.

"I'll know as I keep watching."

Zhou Qing's mind settled as he continued to watch the shifting, illusory text before him.

[After stepping into the Deity Transformation Middle Stage, you carefully felt the changes in your body.]

[The improvement of your magic power and divine soul was secondary; the most important aspect was the perfection of your sword Dao.]

[The sword Dao is your foundation. Only with your current strength can you truly be called invincible in the Human Realm.]

[Before the Deity Transformation Middle Stage, your killing power surpassed ordinary Deity Transformation Late Stage experts. However, the Deity Transformation Late Stage Heavenly Monarchs of the One Law and One Body factions, armed with Upper Realm heritage, still had a chance to contend against you.]

[But now, the sword Dao of the Deity Transformation Middle Stage has caused your combat power to soar far beyond a mere realm advancement. Even a Late Stage Heavenly Monarch wielding Upper Realm heritage cannot block more than a few of your sword strikes.]

[If human cultivators are like this, then demonic cultivators and demonic creatures, suppressed by your "Natural Enemy of Demonic Cultivators" talent, are as fragile as thin paper before you.]

[For the current you, slaying an ordinary Tier 5 Consummation demon sovereign takes but a single sword strike. Ten or even dozens of Tier 5 Consummation demon sovereigns? Perhaps a few more strikes. Even a Tier 5 Consummation demon sovereign wielding methods bestowed by a Void Return demon sovereign has little power to resist you; if they do not run, they die.]

["Safe, I'm finally safe."]

[A smile appeared on your face. Only after stepping into the Deity Transformation Middle Stage did a sense of security rise in your heart. This was absolute safety brought about by absolute strength.]

["However, even if I am invincible in the Human Realm, I am still a bit short of completely repelling the Demon Abyss Realm's invasion..."]

[You frowned. Under the premise that the Human Realm had not yet fully transformed into the Demon Abyss Realm, even someone as powerful as a Void Return demon sovereign could not truly descend. Even if they paid a catastrophic price, they could only manage a partial descent—extending a single arm or leg.]

[With your current strength, you still lack confidence in facing the partial demonic body of a true Void Return demon sovereign. That is a demon sovereign who has opened their own inner world; their every action is augmented by the power of a complete world. At the end of the seventh simulation, you used your "Dead But Not Stiff" talent to possess the Purgatory Demon Sovereign for a century, so you know exactly how terrifying such Void Return demon sovereigns truly are.]

["If I want to confront a Void Return demon sovereign head-on, it is impossible to do so relying solely on the power of the Deity Transformation Stage. Only by opening my own inner world—even if it is just a prototype—will I have any hope of contending with a demon sovereign."]

[You sat cross-legged as Sword Intent intertwined and clashed before you. After stepping into the Deity Transformation Middle Stage, you had already gained a certain level of understanding regarding the opening of a sword Dao world, but you were still far from forming its prototype.]

["What is a world? How is it opened? How does one open it from nothing?"]

[You frowned in thought. The Seven-Foot Heavenly Sword floated beside you, circulating an invisible, razor-sharp aura.]

["Crack..."]

[You took out a fruit radiating a soul Dao aura, crunched down on it, and swallowed it. This was a soul Dao spiritual fruit that could enhance the foundation of the divine soul. Over the past few decades, you had lost count of how many you had eaten; they basically had no effect anymore.]

["The sword Dao of the Deity Transformation Late Stage requires at least opening the prototype of a sword Dao world. Only then can I threaten a Void Return demon sovereign. But what kind of sword Dao world prototype actually suits me? Something like the Human Realm? It is too balanced—that will not work. The Demon Abyss Realm? I do not like it."]

[You spoke softly, the strands of Sword Intent before you clashing and merging.]

'Perhaps witnessing more of the operating laws of different worlds might inspire me?'

[You suddenly thought of this, and then contacted Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons.]

[These two Heavenly Monarchs hailed from Ethereal Peak and the Extreme Dao Hall, respectively. Compared to the Two Bodies and Three Laws of the near-ancient era, the inheritances of the One Law and One Body from the ancient era had yet to be severed, possessing numerous heritages originating from the Upper Realm.]

[Before long, Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons came to meet you in person.]

["Sword Lord, you have reached the Deity Transformation Middle Stage?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang could not help but ask. Even if you had not summoned him, he would have been observing you at this time. The changes in the world's power triggered by your breakthrough to the Deity Transformation Middle Stage naturally could not be hidden from Heavenly Monarch Xingmang, who oversaw the entire Human Realm.]

["Mhm."]

[You nodded slightly.]

[Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons was completely dumbfounded as well.]

[Forty years ago, you had only just entered the Deity Transformation Stage, and now you were already at the Deity Transformation Middle Stage? As a body cultivator, he had expended an unknown amount of time and blood, sweat, and tears just to cross from the Fifth Tier Early Stage to the mid-stage. Yet you had crossed that gap in a mere forty years.]

['Is he even human?']

['Is he really not a pure-blooded True Spirit disguised as a human?']

[Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons secretly observed you. As a body-cultivating Heavenly Monarch with a powerful physical body, if there was even a sliver of True Spirit Bloodline aura circulating within you, it could not be hidden from him.]

["I contacted you this time because I want to understand more about the operating laws of the world, and not just limited to the Human Realm." You looked at the two Heavenly Monarchs. "Do you have any relevant resources?"]

["More operating laws of the world..." Heavenly Monarch Xingmang's expression showed some hesitation, but he eventually said in a deep voice, "My Ethereal Peak does have some, all left behind by our ancestral master..."]

[The ancestral master Heavenly Monarch Xingmang spoke of naturally referred to the reincarnated immortal who created Ethereal Peak. Only a reincarnated immortal whose realm surpassed the Deity Transformation Stage had the capability to leave behind the operating laws of other worlds.]

["I can make the decision to hand them all over to the Sword Lord for comprehension."]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang's expression fluctuated uncertainly before he solemnly stated this.]

["Xingmang, you...?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons' eyes widened.]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang glanced at Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons, giving him a subtle look.]

[Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons fell silent. A moment later, he spoke up, "My Extreme Dao Hall is also willing to offer up such resources."]

["That is excellent."]

[You could see that Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons had his reservations, but you did not say anything more.]

"Please wait a moment, Sword Lord."

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang immediately stood up and returned to Ethereal Peak.]

[Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons did the same, returning to the Extreme Dao Hall.]

[During this time, Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons secretly contacted Heavenly Monarch Xingmang.]

["Xingmang, are you crazy? Every Heaven and Earth Origin Stone used is one less in the world. They are the hope our ancestral masters left for us descendants to step into the Void Return Stage. And you are just handing them over to that Sword Lord?"]

["Hope? Does our Human Realm still have any hope?" Heavenly Monarch Xingmang scoffed.]

["What do you mean?" Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons asked in a grim tone. He immediately thought of something. "Are you referring to the Demon Abyss Realm? Aren't the two great Demon Abyss Realm passages in the Western Desert and Northern Plains already being guarded?"]

["I have peered into the scenes of the Human Realm's future, and the situation will only continue to deteriorate. The Demon Abyss Realm's methods go far beyond this..." Heavenly Monarch Xingmang's gaze was profound. "The survival of our Human Realm is right on the line. As for those Heaven and Earth Origin Stones? Our predecessors comprehended many of them, but did any of them open an inner world and step into the Void Return Stage?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons remained silent.]

[Ever since the birth of the One Law and One Body, quite a few Late Stage and even Peak Deity Transformation Heavenly Monarchs had appeared, but Void Return Stage experts? Not a single one.]

["The Sword Lord... The Sword Lord's future is exceedingly difficult to divine, but judging from his performance so far, he is very likely the Human Realm's only variable, our only chance of survival."]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang continued. With the Human Realm's current strength, the most powerful figures—the Deity Transformation Late Stage Heavenly Monarchs of the One Law and One Body wielding Upper Realm heritage—were all tied down suppressing the two Demon Abyss Realm passages in the Western Desert and Northern Plains.]

[The pressure from the Demon Abyss Realm made it completely impossible for those two Deity Transformation Late Stage Heavenly Monarchs to extricate themselves.]

["I have a premonition that the Demon Abyss Realm might tear open a third passage between the worlds..." Heavenly Monarch Xingmang said heavily.]

["A third passage between the worlds?" Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons' eyelids twitched. The passage mentioned here was certainly not the kind of spatial rift that could only accommodate Tier 3 or Tier 4 demons, but a full-scale passage capable of bearing Tier 5 demon sovereigns.]

["I just do not know where it will be. I have already had Heavenly Monarch Juezhen prepare a Quasi-Tier 6 killing array. The moment a third passage between the worlds appears in the Human Realm, Heavenly Monarch Juezhen will rush over at the fastest possible speed to forcibly suppress it with the Quasi-Tier 6 killing array."]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang stated.]

["A Quasi-Tier 6 killing array... Did your Ethereal Peak give that treasure to Juezhen?" Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons asked, his tone complex. To set up a Quasi-Tier 6 killing array, not only did they need a sufficient number of array heavenly masters, but they also needed a supreme treasure to serve as the array core.]

[That array core was a paramount treasure of Ethereal Peak. The various heavenly masters of the array Dao lineage had coveted it for who knows how many years, but Ethereal Peak had never brought it out.]

[The array core was important to the array Dao lineage, but it was equally vital to Ethereal Peak, serving as one of the foundation stones for their mountain-guarding grand array.]

["If we cannot stop the Demon Abyss Realm, everyone will die. What does it matter if it is a paramount treasure or not?" Heavenly Monarch Xingmang's tone was calm. He suddenly added, "With the Sword Lord's cultivation speed, it is entirely possible for him to break the limits of the Deity Transformation realm and step into the Void Return Stage..."]

[In Heavenly Monarch Xingmang's eyes, only by stepping into the Void Return Stage and becoming a Venerable could they stop the Demon Abyss Realm. And in the vast Human Realm right now, the only one with any hope of reaching the Void Return Stage was the Sword Lord, who had burst onto the scene forty years ago.]

[Aside from the Sword Lord, Heavenly Monarch Xingmang did not believe any other Heavenly Monarch could do it. Even his own sect's Deity Transformation Late Stage Heavenly Monarch had no destiny with the Void Return Stage.]

["I understand. My Extreme Dao Hall will not hide anything." Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons sighed inwardly.]

[He then brought out every single Heaven and Earth Origin Stone from the Extreme Dao Hall.]

[These so-called Heaven and Earth Origin Stones were items left behind by the two reincarnated immortals of the One Body and One Law, who had imprinted the operating laws of different worlds onto these strange stones.]

[These strange stones could preserve the essence of all the world's operating laws to the greatest extent, but they could only be comprehended once, similar to the origin stone of the Heavenly Cycle Book of Changes.]

[Over the long epochs of the ancient era spanning millions of years, the past generations of the One Law and One Body factions had occasionally comprehended these origin stones. With every comprehension, one stone was lost. By now, the Heaven and Earth Origin Stones possessed by the two great factions barely amounted to a dozen or so when combined.]

[Half a day later, Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons brought over every single Heaven and Earth Origin Stone left in their respective sects.]

[With the two Late Stage Heavenly Monarchs holding the fort at the world passages in the Western Desert and Northern Plains, Ethereal Peak and the Extreme Dao Hall were currently under the command of Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons. That was why they were able to retrieve these dozen-plus Heaven and Earth Origin Stones so smoothly.]

["Heaven and Earth Origin Stones?"]

[You looked with great interest at the dozen or so jade stones before you. They gave off a feeling similar to the origin stone of the Heavenly Cycle Book of Changes.]

["Fellow Daoist Sword Lord, if you have any other needs, just say the word. I will think of every possible way to satisfy them," Heavenly Monarch Xingmang said.]

["The same goes for my Extreme Dao Hall," Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons chimed in from the side.]

["Thank you."]

[You replied.]

[It was obvious that these Heaven and Earth Origin Stones had a limit on the number of times they could be comprehended. Unlike inheritance manuals, they were non-renewable resources. For Ethereal Peak and the Extreme Dao Hall to bring them out clearly showed that they placed unparalleled importance on you.]

["Let's try the first one."]

[You immediately sent out your divine sense to feel the first Heaven and Earth Origin Stone.]

[Buzz—]

[Your divine sense plummeted into the origin stone. Inside was an incomparably dark void—no direction, no time, only absolute darkness.]

[Right at this moment, a light appeared.]

[The clear qi floated up, the turbid qi sank, and the two energies of yin and yang intertwined. A grand world was thus formed.]

["This realm is named the Liyuan Realm. It possesses the five elements and yin and yang, and can nurture all living things..."]

[A voice rang out. It did not speak in any language you knew, yet you inexplicably understood its meaning.]

[A full few days passed.]

[Only then did you open your eyes.]

["The Liyuan Realm..."]

[You looked at the Heaven and Earth Origin Stone in your hand; it had already silently crumbled into fine powder.]

[You did not care about that. In your mind, everything you had just comprehended continuously surfaced.]

[The Liyuan Realm was a grand world no inferior to the Human Realm of the ancient era. It was vast and boundless, nurturing countless living beings.]

["It is different. It is different from the Human Realm..."]

[Your thoughts churned. Compared to the incomparably complex and profound prototype of Grand Pure Heaven, the Liyuan Realm was much easier to understand, making it much more suitable for the current you.]

["My sword Dao world..."]

[From the operating laws of the Liyuan Realm, you continuously extracted the parts you desired, perfecting the sword Dao world you wanted to open.]