Chapter 702: The Tribulation Begins

Chapter 702: Chapter 702: The Tribulation Begins

This shameful humiliation gnawed at his Dao Heart day and night.

The Wansheng Sword Sect focused on cultivating Sword Intent and training one’s Heart and Spirit. Now that his Heart and Spirit was blocked, how could he even think of advancing?

Xu Yunfan had become his Heart Demon.

Failure to kill him had become a flaw in his heart.

Now, he actually sensed that Xu Yunfan’s Divine Soul had left its body, daring to barge into a deathtrap like the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation.

’Hiding away on Divine Sky Mountain for thirty years, only to leave his body and enter this place of death... Hmph. Is he just too young, too eager to obtain the Taiyin Nether Dragon Dao Fruit that grows within the Sea of Suffering?’

True Monarch Tongxuan’s thoughts raced, and he instantly deduced Xu Yunfan’s objective.

His cold laughter echoed among the frigid peaks.

"Excellent. He’s truly courting death. The Sea of Suffering Reincarnation is the Wanderer’s Returning Ruins, a place forbidden to the living. Even for a True Monarch’s Divine Soul, entering is like treading on thin ice. The slightest misstep means eternal damnation.

Xu Yunfan, since you dare to set foot here, you can’t blame me for seeing you off on your final journey!"

How could he possibly miss such a heaven-sent opportunity?

If he killed Xu Yunfan, his path of cultivation would be wide open.

He was well aware of the dangers of the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation.

It was the final destination for all living beings in the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm. There, waves of blood corroded bone, ghostly winds dissolved souls, and turbulent, distorted currents of space-time ran rampant.

To enter with one’s Divine Soul separated from the body was tantamount to severing one’s own foundation, placing oneself in unprecedented peril.

But for a Cultivator of the Wansheng Sword Sect, the place offered a unique advantage.

The way of the Sword Cultivator emphasized willpower above all. Their Divine Souls were forged as strong as iron, with Sword Intent at their core. This made them naturally more resilient than cultivators of other schools when resisting the ubiquitous, soul-eroding ghostly winds and Death Qi of the Sea of Suffering.

Furthermore, a released Sword Intent was even clearer and sharper in such an environment.

A clash of the Heart and Spirit was far more lethal than any physical confrontation.

At this thought, he no longer hesitated.

Sword Cultivators sought clarity of thought, and the villain Xu Yunfan had been an obstruction in his mind for decades. The fact that his Daoist Cultivation hadn’t regressed was a testament to his solid foundation.

He rose at once, walked out of his Grotto Heaven, and bowed slightly toward a certain location within the Wansheng Sword Sect.

"I request the Severing Fate Sword!"

True Monarch Tongxuan let out a low cry. His Divine Thought, sharp as a sword, turned inward for Introspection.

From a distance, a faint ripple emanated from the Severing Fate Sword—a sword whose form was never seen, only its shadow.

In an instant, within his Dantian Cave Heaven, a Star-Pivot Sword Essence Golden Core—forged from an ultimate, icy will and a sharpness that could sever all things—erupted in a brilliant flash of light.

Without hesitation, he drew upon a wisp of the Original Sword Spirit True Meaning, linked it with the incoming ripple from the Severing Fate Sword, and transformed it into a formless, intangible Severing Fate Sword Intent that radiated an aura capable of severing all karma and destiny.

Then, he ruthlessly struck down at the phantom image of his own Divine Soul.

"CHHHK!"

It was a piercing sound only a Divine Soul could perceive.

The moment the Severing Fate Sword fell, True Monarch Tongxuan grunted. His Divine Soul, once as condensed as solid matter, instantly dimmed by a third, and his aura plummeted.

This was the Secret Technique created by the Wansheng Sword Sect for entering the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation.

To strike oneself with the sword.

By sacrificing a portion of one’s Origin, one could sever their overwhelmingly strong karmic ties to the world of the living. This would drastically weaken their presence and living aura, cloaking their Divine Soul in the guise of the dead to evade the Sea of Suffering’s harshest backlash, which was reserved for powerful living souls.

Only by doing this could a Golden Core True Monarch Level Divine Soul have a chance of stepping into that Realm of the Dead with relative safety.

The cost was grievous. Without a deep-seated grudge or a heaven-sent opportunity, no one would be willing to take such a risk.

Only a Golden Core True Monarch could withstand such a blow. Anyone else struck by the Severing Fate Sword would probably be reincarnated as a pig or a dog three times over on the spot.

As the light from the Severing Fate Sword faded, True Monarch Tongxuan’s aura dropped to the brink of Foundation Establishment Perfection. However, his core True Meaning of Star-Pivot Sword Soul became even more condensed and pure, like Cold Iron tempered a thousand times.

The Golden Core Magical Power within him grew as still and frigid as a frozen pond.

With no further hesitation, his Divine Soul, now disguised by the Severing Fate Sword, shot out from his body. It transformed into a stream of icy Sword Spirit light, condensed to the point of almost melting into the dim background. Following the faint ripple left behind by Xu Yunfan, it ruthlessly plunged into the void, heading straight for the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation.

Wansheng Sword Sect, atop Pure Yang Peak.

A sea of clouds churned below, while a Sword Intent blazed as brilliantly as the midday sun.

On the Cloud Platform at the summit, Lv Chunyang, dressed in a simple green robe, casually placed a white stone on a floating chessboard.

As the master of the Wansheng Sword Sect, he was a peak expert at the Mid-Stage Golden Core. His Pure Yang Sword Intent penetrated the entire Southern Continent, and no flow of energy, within the Sect or without, could escape his sword-sharp perception.

The moment True Monarch Tongxuan used the Severing Fate Sword to sever his own Origin, his Divine Soul leaving his body to plunge toward the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation, it was like a pebble dropped into a calm lake, its ripples clearly reflected in Lv Chunyang’s senses.

His fingers, holding a chess piece, paused for a fraction of a second. He raised his eyes, as deep as a Star Sea, and his gaze seemed to pierce through layers of space to fall upon the Sword Spirit vanishing into the void from the summit of Phecda Peak.

Lv Chunyang’s expression remained utterly placid, as still as the water in an old well.

He had long seen through the actions of True Monarch Tongxuan, a True Monarch of the Wansheng Sword Sect’s Direct Lineage, with perfect clarity.

The man’s hatred for Xu Yunfan stemmed from the failed ambush in the Boundary Sea—a great loss of face. But on a deeper level, it was born of resentment and apprehension toward Xu Yunfan who, despite hailing from the Primordial Sect, shared a bond with Lv Chunyang as if they were brothers from the same world and sect.

Tongxuan and his ilk had always seen him, an outsider, as a thorn in their side.

His own ascension to Sect Leader had been nothing more than a product of circumstance.

He withdrew his gaze and let it fall back upon the chessboard as if he had merely shooed away a bothersome fly. He whispered indifferently, his voice so low that only he could hear.

"He really is courting death."

Just how dangerous was the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation?

For Xu Yunfan to dare enter with his Divine Soul, he must have had powerful backing and plans in reserve. He wouldn’t be unprepared.

Even with the slight advantage of his condensed Sword Spirit, Tongxuan was heading to a fate where he would be used as a pawn, or perhaps even a sacrifice.

Once a Sword Cultivator’s mind was clouded by Tribulation Qi, even a Golden Core master was doomed to fall.

Lv Chunyang was well aware of this, yet he had no intention of interfering.

He was more than happy to watch the internal strife of the Wansheng Sword Sect play out.

The more that Direct Lineage True Monarchs like Tongxuan and Tianguang—men who saw him as a country bumpkin—died, the tighter his true grip on the sharp sword named Wansheng would become.

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In an unknown, gloomy corner of the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm.

The place was neither mountain nor water. Space twisted unpredictably, as if it existed independently from the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm, yet was also attached to it like a dark, hidden crease.

Shadows so thick they were almost tangible flowed through the area, devouring all light and perception.

A middle-aged Cultivator sat cross-legged in the heart of the shadows. He wore a magnificent Purple Gold Daoist Robe, and his handsome face possessed a sickly, almost demonic, pallor.

The aura around him was incredibly obscure, like a Stubborn Stone that had merged with the darkness. If not for the faint, intermittent pressure of a Golden Core, his presence would have been nearly impossible to detect.

Suddenly, his deep-set eyes, which seemed capable of devouring souls, snapped open.

Two points of ghostly light gleamed in the darkness, filled with irrepressible ecstasy and greed.

"His Divine Soul has left his body and entered the Sea of Suffering Reincarnation... It’s him! Xu Yunfan!"

The White-haired True Daoist’s voice was low and hoarse, but it couldn’t conceal his delight.

He had waited for this moment for far too long, so long that he had almost given up hope and resigned himself to reincarnation. If he couldn’t break through to the Mid-Stage Golden Core in this life, he feared he would never reach the Golden Core realm again.