Chapter 575 - 343: Securing the Central Plains, Sweeping the Six Kingdoms, the Celestial Mandate is Mine

This Sword Tower had been jointly refined by numerous Military Family Sword Cultivators from Above the Tenth Realm. It could absorb power from the world and unleash Sword Qi of varying intensity.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a magnificent, sky-shaking Taotie Celestial King General Dharma Aspect appeared above the Imperial Palace. With a SLAM, it brought its palm down.

Vast waves of destructive airflow instantly demolished the Glazed Sword Tower, shattering it into countless fragments.

This towering Dharma Aspect stood like a War God. Golden Light flowed from its eyes, and its form resembled a Buddhist Family’s Furious Vajra. It drew the long saber from its waist.

SSSST!

Flames searing hot enough to reach tens of thousands of degrees swept over the five Puppet Giants guarding the Imperial Palace. The Black Gold Iron of their bodies was roasted red-hot, melting completely into flowing iron that pooled all over the ground.

The boiling molten iron even splashed and injured many of the Song Dynasty’s Imperial Guard.

Lu Mingyuan stood ten zhang in front of the Dharma Aspect, his expression impassive. With his hand resting on his saber, he walked forward, heading into the depths of the Imperial Palace.

Anyone who stood in his way was dealt with by the Bronze Mask Shadow Warriors who emerged endlessly from the ground.

"Lu Mingyuan, must you truly commit such an atrocity!"

Emperor Shaoxing’s face drained of color as he watched the number of people around him dwindle. He had never imagined Lu Mingyuan’s Cultivation had reached such a level.

The Thirteenth Realm of the Martial Arts, the Martial Saint.

’To think he’s this terrifying!’

"As for the Celestial Mandate, I’ve come to take it myself."

Lu Mingyuan said, his tone indifferent.

At that moment, Emperor Shaoxing seemed to be stalling for time. He looked up at the sky, a hint of joyous surprise in his eyes, and shouted, "I implore you, Immortal Master, save my Song Dynasty!"

Far off in the night sky, a heavenly light flickered. It grew closer and closer until it stood suspended in the void, looking down upon the Capital City below.

The light eventually coalesced into a human figure—a middle-aged Sword Cultivator in a dark teal Daoist Robe. A Yin-Yang Fish was embroidered on his chest, forming an Eight Trigrams Diagram.

Lu Mingyuan suddenly looked up, noticing the figure’s arrival.

The figure had clearly seen Lu Mingyuan as well. He raised his head and narrowed his eyes.

The strong can always sense one another.

This was especially true since the imposing aura around Lu Mingyuan had not yet dissipated. His entire body exuded a faint Martial Dao pressure, and a spiritual light gathered on his very bones, emitting a golden radiance.

Thus, in the eyes of this Immortal Master, the newcomer was a formidable opponent.

Beneath the moonlit sky over the Imperial Palace, tens of thousands stood silently on the ground amidst the shocking sounds of slaughter. Numerous Cultivators stared intently at the two tiny figures in the void.

A chilling, terrifying sword momentum rose from the arriving Immortal Master, spreading out from the sky. It made the chests of the Great Yan Soldiers and the Three Academy Cultivators tighten, forcing them to take an unconscious step back.

Elder Xu stood mid-air. Although he had already entered the Immortal Realm, he showed no trace of carelessness. He extended his right hand, and a misty azure light condensed in his palm, gradually forming a crystal-clear Spirit Sword that he pointed diagonally toward the ground.

Brilliant, solid golden lotuses materialized above his head and on his shoulders.

Three Flowers at the Crown; the Great Dao was already formed.

He had directly summoned his Lifebound Flying Sword and the Three Flowers at the Top, a clear sign of how seriously he was taking this.

Seeing this seemingly perfect Spirit Sword and the power it radiated, Lu Mingyuan understood instantly.

The man before him was a Sword Immortal.

He had to be the number one Tributor of the Song Dynasty, at the National Guardian Level.

After a Qi Cultivator achieves Integration and undergoes the "Dao Qi Essence Qi Transformation God," they must fuse their essence, qi, and spirit to form the Three Flowers. The higher the quality of these flowers, the stronger one’s Cultivation.

This elderly Sword Cultivator before him was, without a doubt, a Thirteenth Realm Immortal.

Elder Xu spoke with a calm gaze, "Your Majesty, perhaps you could do me, Chi Longzi of the Great Red Cave Heaven, a favor? The Song Dynasty will certainly make amends to Great Yan afterward."

"So, it is Senior Chi Longzi."

Upon hearing this name, Lu Mingyuan had a good idea of the man’s identity.

He was from the Great Red Cave Heaven, one of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, renowned for its Alchemy True Flame. Furthermore, Chi Longzi was the Sect Master of this Grotto Heaven. No wonder his Cultivation was so high.

When Elder Xu heard that the other party recognized his name, his expression relaxed. But his relief was short-lived, cut off by a single sentence.

"Listen well, Chi Longzi. I will only strike once. If you can block it without taking a single step back, I will withdraw my army today."

"Otherwise, I am taking the Song’s Celestial Mandate. Those who obstruct me will be cut down."

With that, the hand Lu Mingyuan had resting on his saber moved.

In that instant, all of his Martial Arts Holy Qi gathered. The Spiritual Radiance in his meridians began to flow rapidly, his [Martial Saint] Fate Grid activated, and pure, untainted Thunder Profound Techniques surged into the Gloomy Cold Blade, making the Divine Blade Zhu Xie appear incomparably translucent. The Heart, Qi, and Spirit he put into drawing the saber became one.

TWANG!

The ring of the saber was like a dragon’s roar from the vast sea. Compared to the Dragon Slaying Nineteen Forms, the sound of this slash was less muffled and its momentum less pure, but it possessed far more power!

A hundred times the power!

The blade struck.

It unleashed a long trail of Inky Flood Dragon Saber Qi, stretching for several hundred meters. From the ground, it looked like a shooting star streaking across and illuminating the night sky.

Faced with this extremely powerful strike.

For the first time, Elder Xu’s heart leaped in shock, and his eyelid twitched.

One could say the entire night sky was merely a backdrop for this single slash.

Even Elder Xu had to admit that he had no confidence he could counter Lu Mingyuan’s strike with his sword.

Though he had witnessed countless masters of the saber, no strike he could recall in his mind possessed a greater momentum than this one.

It was a heaven-cleaving strike, forged from mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

With a solemn expression, he held his hands out as if supporting something. Three incomparably brilliant golden flowers instantly appeared, emitting a faint pressure.

He struck out brazenly with his sword!

BOOM!!

The power of the saber and sword collided, creating a deafening explosion. Waves of qi blasted outwards, and a violent gale swept across the surroundings!

Had it been an ordinary strike, Chi Longzi might have been able to block it. But this was Saber Qi amplified a hundredfold.

Cleanly and decisively, it pierced straight through Sect Master Chi Longzi.

Afterward, an endless rain of Saber Qi descended, sweeping through this corner of the world.

Chi Longzi was an Immortal Realm Sword Cultivator, yet he was still swiftly defeated at Lu Mingyuan’s hands.

In the long night, Lu Mingyuan held his saber in one hand and held the other open.

He paid no mind to whether Chi Longzi lived or died.

He paid no mind to Emperor Shaoxing’s dumbfounded expression.

He paid no mind to the sounds of slaughter from the clashing armies below.

Instead, he stood upon the Song Dynasty’s Dragon Vein, staring directly at the black water dragon that was its National Fortune.

His "Python and Sparrow Swallowing Dragon" Fate Grid slowly activated.

A plume of golden, qi-infused smoke shot up from the ground, transforming into a scorching great sun.

He intended to extract the entire Celestial Destiny and Fortune of the Song Dynasty.

An incomparable sense of power filled his entire body.

The battle between Lu Mingyuan and Chi Longzi was seen by everyone for a hundred li around. Many of the Song Dynasty’s Cultivators, as well as its common people, were filled with panic.

Though they didn’t know exactly what had happened, everyone understood the outcome in their hearts.

The Song Dynasty was doomed to fall to these soldiers who had entered the city.

BAM!

In the boundless sky, a profound black water dragon fully materialized, illuminating the heavens before descending directly upon Lu Mingyuan’s head.

Lu Mingyuan’s small Flesh Body, as if a whale swallowing the ocean, directly absorbed this Celestial Destiny and Fortune into himself.

In an instant, he felt a staggering sense of euphoria.

Every cell in his body was howling with joy.

Under the enhancement of this Destiny, his aura rapidly surged.

He vaulted past the Mid Stage Martial Saint and Late Stage Martial Saint in a single leap, stepping into the Martial Saint Perfect Realm.

He closed his eyes to savor the experience.

[Visualizing the Water Dragon’s Fortune has triggered ’Observing the Micro.’ Your Saber Technique has greatly benefited. You have grasped a wisp of Sword Dao Profound Techniques.]

[Emperor’s Orange Life Chart - Innate Dao Fool, Refinement Level increased to 25%]

’So, this is the Sword Dao.’

Lu Mingyuan looked at Zhu Xie in his hand, lost in thought.

’The Sword Dao is the path of moving forward without hesitation. It is the path of slaying all injustice and all unjust people in the world.’

The barrier to the Realm that had troubled him for so long was broken. Lu Mingyuan raised the Divine Blade Zhu Xie and slashed toward the heavens.

Then, without a backward glance, he rode the wind and departed.

RUMBLE!

Seconds after he left, a majestic, great-whiskered Black Dragon fell from the void. It fled into the Dragon-locking Well, only to disintegrate in an instant.

This Flood Dragon, which Emperor Shaoxing had raised for a hundred years, had just lost its life for nothing.

However, that enormous Saber Qi was extremely exaggerated. Riding the wind, it flew off and directly sliced off half of the Song Dynasty’s back mountain.

Lu Mingyuan had entered the Dao with a single slash!

Emperor Shaoxing collapsed to the ground, his face a mask of disbelief as he stared at the severed dragon’s head.

Overnight, much of his hair had turned white.

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