Immortal of the Ages

In the very heart of the boundless Sea of Swords, a lofty tower, formidable and solemn, pierced the heavens, its omnipresence cascading a shroud of awe and dread across the lands. This was no ordinary edifice, but the Forbidden Tower, a name whispered with reverence and fear.

One day, a golden haired elder, a countenance of humility painted across his face, approached the formidable structure.

A dark-robed figure barred his path, brows arching ever so slightly, eyes ice-cold and piercing. "Who dares approach the sacred Forbidden Tower?" the guard demanded.

"My name is Fan Jing, of the Fan Famiy. I bear urgent news for the tower," the elder hastily replied, none other than Elder Fan himself.

Ever since the Conclave, Elder Fan hastily returned to the Sea of Swords and loitered around the Forbidden Tower.

"You again?" Impatience fluttered across the dark-robed figure’s face. "Ye Guying has secluded himself for ten days to absorb the sword dao legacy of the Forbidden Tower. He cannot be disturbed. Can you not wait until he emerges?"

Fan Jing’s voice held a delicate edge of desperation. "Brother Chen, I indeed intended to return in ten days, but calamity has struck the family of the prodigy, Ye Guying. It's quite the crisis!"

The robed man hesitated, interjecting with confusion. "Has something happened to the family of the Heaven Chosen, Ye Guying? Isn’t he of the Azure Spirit Sword Sect? Aren’t his adoptive father and brother temporarily in charge?"

Indeed, the term Heaven Chosen signified a figure of unparalleled talent and stature within the Forbidden Tower.

"Yes, but a villain has arisen within the Azure Spirit, one most formidable!" Fan Jing continued. "From what I’ve heard, he’s disabled Ye Guying's adoptive father and brother, usurping control of Azure Spirit! If we don’t apprehend the malefactor before Ye Guying exits seclusion, he may well vanish into the ether!"

Fan Jing deliberately omitted the fact that Yun Xiao was also a prodigy. There was no need to delve into discussions of the Sword Inheritance Stone that hadn’t been tested, was there? Moreover, Yun Xiao’s talents held no value to the Forbidden Tower. The Tower would never admit two mortal enemies, especially when Ye Guying, already in possession of two Planet grade talents, was peerless.

The black-robed figure pondered momentarily, then offered, “Holy Son Chu has good relations with Ye Guying and has been eager to forge a stronger alliance. I’ll take you to see him.”

Fan Jing’s eyes sparked at the mention of Holy Son Chu. "Thank you, Brother Chen!"

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Meanwhile, in the Northern Wastelands, a region belonging to the Grand Wasteland, it neighbored the mortal realms.

This area, separated from the thousand mortal nations by endless mountain ranges, was guarded by the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, which blocked the pathway of the demonic hordes moving south. While formidable demons and Demon Kings could traverse through the boundless mountains, the numerously vast and yet weakly fledgling demons, who could barely morph into human forms, and were essentially on par with the mortal warriors, could not cross the many high peaks.

This forsaken land, rife with desolation and resentment, birthed foul air from the earth and polluted waters from its rivers. Resentment blossomed forth, countless souls lingering, and the day was perpetually shadowed by a dark, ominous aura, turning vegetation demonic.

For millennia, this realm unknowingly spawned myriad demons, who cannibalized and devoured each other like nourishing poisonous insects. Presently, the Northern Wastelands harbored over a hundred thousand demons, all congregated under the banner of the Demon Emperor of the Northern Wastelands.

Despite the Demon Emperor's true form being a mere fox, its ability to subdue a host of fearsome beasts and foul demons and ascend to power evidenced its terrifying capabilities.

Three years prior, Zhao Jianxing, the Sect Master of the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, along with the Seven Prodigies of the Sword Pavilion, waged a fierce battle against the hordes of demons, slaughtering twenty thousand and sending shockwaves through the thousand mortal nations.

Mortal gratitude, extolling the descent of a Sword Immortal to rescue the suffering masses—how little they knew of the shattered sword of the hero, subjected to humiliation?

Three days prior, a battle at the Azure Spirit Sword Sect had gone unknown to mortals.

But today, that youth in white, wielding an azure sword, leading three thousand Sword Cultivators, pointed his blade towards the Northern Wastelands. He unflinchingly marched towards the demon's den. In this moment, the act spread like a storm through the world of mortals.

A generation’s Sword Immortal from the Zhao family, bravely met his end!

Another emerged, a Sword Immortal from the Yun family, a young lad merely coming of age, headed to the north to meet death in the wastelands!

The shock was even greater!

Sooner or later, the name Yun Xiao would return to the Cloud Nation... truly worthy of the Yun Family's heroic lineage!

Upon hearing that three thousand Sword Cultivators of the Azure Spirit Sword Sect headed north to decide a life-and-death struggle with the demons, the entirety of the Northern Wastelands became even more dark and solemn, with a turbulent tide of demons surging!

Atop Dark Abyss Mountain, a demon fog shot into the sky, like a fox face eclipsing the heavens, eerily malevolent!

“The emperor summons us!”

Seeing this, the Northern Wasteland’s assorted demons rushed towards Dark Abyss Mountain to assemble!

In an instant, demons gathered, a tide of evil creatures surged below that fox-like visage, each one with crimson eyes and fanatic expressions! Where they passed, vegetation perished, demonic aura lingered!

Dark Abyss Mountain was the place where the Sword Pavilion Seven met their bitter end!

It was also a place where the grievances of Azure Spirit's Sword Cultivators lay unsettled! Three years, lost souls lingered, a humiliation repeated a myriad of times! Who would dare to go there?

Now, learning that the Azure Spirit Sword Cultivators were heading north to stake life and death, the Demon Emperor of the Northern Wastelands assembled at Dark Abyss Mountain. It was obviously intending to kill and demoralize, trampling on the very place where the Sword Pavilion's Seven Prodigies had met their tragic fate, mocking the three thousand swords of Azure Spirit!

Who didn’t know of its wicked intentions? On this day, a hundred thousand demons crawled all over Dark Abyss Mountain!

“Three years ago, this mountain buried the Seven Prodigies of the Sword Pavilion!”

“Today, this mountain will bury three thousand Sword Cultivators!”

“From now on, Dark Abyss Mountain will be the grave of Sword Cultivators!”

A declaration, chilling and ferocious, echoed like gusts of cold wind through Dark Abyss Mountain!

Those hundred thousand demons, whether they possessed spiritual intelligence or not, under such demonic words, each roared brutally, their howls shaking the heavens!

Blood Demons, veil demons, trickster demons, bone demons... countless tainted demons!

Wolf demons, fox demons, spiders, poisonous insects, and other beasts transformed into demons turned the thousand-mile distance blood-red.

OOOOH! OOOOH! On the highest peak of Dark Abyss Mountain, a blue flag wailed in the wind amidst the encirclement of demons. Seven faces on it stared southwards, their gaze enough to shatter one’s courage!

Three years! With demons rampant and villains prevailing in perpetual darkness, where was the road home...?

Looking down, countless fierce demons nestled between these mountains and ravines, some beastly, some half-human, and hundreds of years-old Demon Kings capable of taking completely human forms.

Each one of them, with a gruesome face, looked to the south. Corpses still dripping blood from their maws, they howled as the miasma in the air ran wild.

A streak of pink light materialized beneath the blue flag, gazing at the frenzied eyes of a hundred thousand demons. The light transformed into a woman of breathtaking beauty, her skin as white as porcelain, so delicate it seemed a mere breath could shatter it. Alluring and seductive, she bore a charisma in every frown and smile, each a lethal temptation. Her form, enveloped in a flirtatious pink mist, and three elongated fox tails further tickling the heartstrings of those who beheld her.

"Our Empress!" A hundred thousand demons, frantic and wild, especially the male creatures of lesser spiritual wisdom, were helplessly ensnared by her charm. The Empress of the Northern Wastelands! This bewitching creature bestowed upon herself a captivating name, Moon Fairy.

THUD THUD THUD! At that moment, ten humanoid figures emerged from the horde, kneeling before the Moon Fairy. Although humanoid, their faces were fearsome and monstrous, with lingering traces of their demonic origins—depicting them as green-faced and fanged would be an understatement. Their anthropomorphic forms paled in comparison to the Moon Fairy.

These ten were Demon Kings, each eight hundred years of age, all possessing power that could rival the Sword Venerables of the Azure Spirit Sword Sect!

Green Fox King, White Vulture King, Spider Queen... each of them frequently ventured south into the mortal nations, inflicting untold slaughter and horror. Every single one of them could send the mortal world quaking in fear, rendering places they visited uninhabitable. Especially in the last three years!

Without Zhao Jianxing and the Seven Prodigies of the Sword Pavilion, who could possibly block them?

Even relying on Shangguan Yu, Li Chenlong, and Chen Dong wasn’t enough; they simply couldn’t kill fast enough. These demons, adept at lurking, escaping, and killing invisibly, now listened to reports of the Moon Fairy’s avatar being slain, the Serpent Emperor killed, and for the first time in hundreds of years, three thousand Azure Spirit Sword Cultivators assembled to march north for a decisive battle. Naturally, these ten eight-hundred-year-old Demon Kings gathered, each more brutal than the last.

"Greetings, my Empress!" They half-knelt, looking up at the enchanting Moon Fairy, their eyes awash with a surging blood-red light.

"Three thousand Azure Spirit Sword Cultivators, enough for a feast for our little ones!" The Green Fox King grinned malevolently.

"After devouring these three thousand cultivators, it's perfect to head south to Azure Spirit, consume that sword sect entirely! We’ll plant our Northern Wastelands flag atop the Sword Pavilion's Grand Hall!" the White Vulture King declared, coldly.

"Since the establishment of the Azure Spirit Sword Sect, it's always been us attacking them to the south! Even the formidable Zhao Jianxing and the Sword Pavilion Seven didn’t dare come north to seek death. This provocation gives us an excuse to ignore the Grand Wasteland Pact and give these wastes a severe lesson!" the Spider Queen sneered maliciously.

"Once we take Azure Spirit, even our little ones can freely go south and have a good feast!"

"Then, those thousand mortal nations will become our breeding ground, haha..."

The remaining Demon Kings spoke in turn, faces twisted into ferocious smiles.

"A mere mortal, blood rushing to his head, dares to come and sacrifice lives?"

"The Serpent Emperor was the adopted son of the Grand Wasteland Demon Lord. That kid named Yun Xiao killed the Serpent Emperor and even dares to come and seek death? Conveniently, we can give the Grand Wasteland Demon Lord an explanation," the Spider Queen said, with a chilling tone.

"I've heard from a friend in Azure Spirit before, this kid is pretty brash. Didn’t expect him to be this reckless!" The Green Fox King looked towards the south, a pair of green eyes flashing with a dreadfully cold demon light.

A horde of a hundred thousand demons knelt, a menacing aura surging like a tempest under the sky.

Moon Fairy, a figure enchanting and ethereal, lifted her gaze to the Bluedrop Flag, a sly smile playing at her lips.

“Oh, he aims to lead the souls back to the Sword Pavilion…” she murmured softly.

"Deluded folly!" scoffed the demon horde, an icy laughter punctuating the dense air.

Tenderness dripping from her every syllable, the Moon Fairy delicately extracted the Bluedrop Flag, locking eyes with the spirits within, a mocking glint dancing in her gaze.

“Since they desire to let these so-called loyal souls return home, I think... I disagree!” She declared, turning towards the monstrous congregation, her voice a lilting jest.

“Come now, my darlings, one drop of filthy blood each. Drip it upon this Bluedrop Flag, stain the souls of these seven human heroes with our filth, and let these self-righteous humans experience, firsthand, what it’s like to have their souls reek as we do!” Her laughter, soft and bewitching, echoed amidst the snarls of the demonic army.

“Tainted blood?” The hundred thousand demons erupted into cruel, mirthful laughter upon hearing her words.

“Exactly! Let the seven of them carry the stain of our blood in their souls through every reincarnation, no matter how many times they’re reborn!”

“To slaughter twenty thousand of our brothers and not suffer for at least nine lifetimes... it simply doesn’t add up, does it?”

“Under the deluge of the blood of a hundred thousand demons, even if their souls can reincarnate, perhaps in the next life they can't even become pigs or dogs, only ephemeral mayflies, forever pinned to the book of life and death!” Demons stepped forward, each more sinister than the last.

The Green Fox King was the first, belonging to the fox tribe and kin to the Moon Fairy, his status was naturally a notch above the rest. He squeezed a drop of blood—steeped in sin—from his body.

“The Sword Pavilion Seven? Merely seven waste of spaces!” His sinister laugh froze just as he was about to let the blood drop.

A hundred thousand demons watched, a chorus of mocking laughter filling the air.

Just at that moment, a howl of sword aura thundered from the southern horizon, and azure sword aura shook the heavens!

BOOM BOOM BOOM! The sound of three thousand Sovereign Swords piercing the sky was like the grinding of iron, sounding beside the ears of a hundred thousand demons.

Countless minor demons rolled on the ground, wailing!

“So soon?” The Green Fox King, momentarily stunned, accidentally dropped the sinister blood onto the earth. Instantly, even the soil turned a dull grey, losing all semblance of life.

Upon the Bluedrop Flag, the seven souls quivered! They had arrived! Finally, they were here! Three years! Who didn't wish to return home? The Bluedrop Flag vibrated violently!

The hundred thousand demons turned their icy gazes skywards, buzzing with trepidation.

KLANG KLANG! Above the cloud layer, suddenly, three thousand sword riders plunged down! They faced death unflinchingly, their murderous aura shattering the heavens!

Leading them was a man in white with an azure sword. He rode across the sky, dragging behind him a hundred-odd incapacitated Ye Family members, his white robe fluttering, and a tidal wave of murderous intent flooding from him!

A moment of such stature was truly unparalleled across the ages!

"Yun Xiao!" Upon seeing this, fury erupted in Moon Fairy’s chest. Her avatar had been minced into gore by him!

"You shall die without a place for burial!!" Moon Fairy roared, her face nearly splitting, morphing from a beauty into a sharp-fanged, snarling fox face.

BOOM! In reply to Moon Fairy, a string of people crashed down from the sky! Ye Tiance, Jiang Yue, Yao Manxue, and the rest screamed as they plummeted, landing squarely amidst the hundred thousand demons, right before Moon Fairy's eyes!

SPLAT SPLAT SPLAT! Their heads burst upon impact, muscles and bones entirely snapped, each on the brink of death. They couldn’t even muster screams, only offering dim, hollow gazes at the surrounding legion of demons.

"Moon Fairy... save me." Jiang Yue, teetering on the brink, beheld the demon sovereign before her, trembling arm outstretched, pleading.

However, Moon Fairy didn’t even glance at her! What value could a Low Comet grade talent like her hold? None at all!

Ye Tiance, her, Yao Manxue—these people who had once befriended the demons, now lay, battered and broken, hurled into the midst of the demon tide by Yun Xiao!

The miserable state of Ye Tiance and his kinsmen seemed like a dire warning!

The hundred thousand demon horde stared blankly at this former overlord of Azure Spirit, now so pitifully brought low. For a moment, a chilling air rose within their hearts.

SHING SHING! Above the boundless sky, sword aura surged.

The youth, radiant and peerless, hovered on his Sovereign Sword, extending a finger and declaring, “I’ve come to the Northern Wastelands, and not a single demon shall live!”