In the endless void, a torrent surged forth, within which a Taoist could be vaguely seen walking forward. However, above the Taoist's head, in another indistinct void, wisps of chaotic mist hung down, obscuring the Taoist's figure as well, making him indistinct.
"Brother Daoist, the road ahead is blocked. Please stop here!"
Rolling death energy stretched across the void, transforming into a towering mountain range that stretched endlessly from top to bottom. Amidst this rolling death energy, a crystal-clear skeleton could be seen, holding a treasure wheel, sitting cross-legged on a divine platform, exuding a solemn and dignified aura, without the slightest hint of evil.
"Where my feet tread, there lies a smooth road!"
The Taoist, shrouded in chaotic mist, responded calmly, while the torrent beneath his feet continued its relentless flow, like a lithe celestial dragon, rushing straight towards the Death Qi Mountains.
"Is a fight really necessary? I haven't fought with anyone in a long time. In this world, shouldn't peace be valued?"
The skeleton, slumped on the platform, spoke, its voice tinged with a faint sadness, as if it were sighing.
"To dabble in reincarnation is to court death!"
The Taoist priest never stopped walking. In fact, his steps never changed. The torrent beneath his feet was simply a natural torrent of Taoist magic that arose as he walked in the void!
"This is the Dao Venerable's will. We who come after him are merely following this path. Fellow Daoist, you are also a disciple of the Dao Venerable, how can you be so short-sighted?"
"You dare to call yourself a Daoist Venerable? You're utterly ignorant!"
The Taoist raised his palm, and the chaotic mist that had enveloped his figure dissipated, revealing a dusty gray jade ruyi. As the Taoist waved it, the ruyi burst forth with an indescribably brilliant and magnificent sword aura.
In a mere instant, the sword light illuminated the boundless darkness, shining brightly and radiating in all directions. The deathly mountain range that stretched behind the white jade skull disintegrated and vanished like snow under the blazing sun, even before the magnificent sword light had fallen.
However, the white jade skeleton didn't care much about this, because the deathly mountain range was just a natural phenomenon that condensed and manifested because he was sitting there cross-legged and his Daoist aura was dissipating.
"Fellow Daoist, you possess extraordinary abilities. Behold the power of my newly comprehended reincarnation technique!"
The white jade skull sat motionless on the altar, gently raising the precious wheel in its hand forward. Instantly, boundless divine light burst forth, evolving into six layers of heaven and earth, which connected in succession and transformed into a divine wheel.
The Taoist priest wielded his Ruyi scepter and unleashed a sword aura that entered the Six Paths of Reincarnation. With a single strike, it destroyed three layers of the cycle of reincarnation. However, it became somewhat weak when it entered the fourth layer, and by the fifth layer, the power of its sword aura had been exhausted, leaving it with no strength to break through.
Seeing this, the divine light released by the white jade skull from its divine wheel became even more dazzling. The small world destroyed by the sword energy slowly rotated under the illumination of the divine light, as if it were a cycle of reincarnation. The broken ruins quickly healed and returned to normal in a few breaths, as if it had been unharmed by the attack.
"Not bad!"
The Taoist in the chaos stared at the cycle of reincarnation formed by the six worlds, looked at it carefully for a moment, and nodded slightly in approval.
"Fellow Daoist, since that's the case, why don't we withdraw to avoid damaging our harmony?"
The white jade skeleton suggested again that if possible, he wanted to get through this crucial period peacefully. The one who emerged from the Supreme Dao was already enough of a headache for him, and he didn't want to cause any more trouble. Heaven knows how much foundation that Dao Venerable left behind for his lineage when he transcended.
"It's just a decent skill, a mere trifle. You think you can stop me with that? You're utterly absurd. Considering your two attempts to dissuade me, I'll let you leave. Otherwise, your death and annihilation will happen today. Don't say I didn't warn you!"
The Taoist priest spoke in a calm tone.
"Fellow Daoist, your killing intent is too strong. Please listen to me recite a scripture for you to dispel your malevolence!"
Hearing the threat from the Taoist priest in front of him, the white jade skeleton was not too concerned. The formation of the six small worlds into a cycle of reincarnation was just the most superficial application of the treasure wheel in his hand.
He dared not say he could defeat this Taoist who came from the Supreme Tao, but he could certainly stop him here. As for dying and losing his Tao, that was rather laughable.
He has cultivated the Tao for countless years, reaching this level where the immortality sought by ordinary cultivators is easily attainable for him. As for death and the dissipation of his Tao? Who could possess such supernatural power?
"Heaven and earth are natural, impurities disperse, the cave is mysterious and vast, the primordial energy shines brightly..."
The faint chanting echoed in the void. The white jade skull sat motionless on the altar, and an inexplicable power spread through the void, not only calming the aftershocks of the simple probing battle, but also smoothing out the folds in the void, making this area of space more stable.
"Oh!"
Upon hearing the chanting of Taoist scriptures, the Taoist standing amidst chaos, his feet treading on the torrent, chuckled softly. Then, he reached into his sleeve and gently tossed something to the ground.
Instantly, a Dao diagram unfolded in the void, spreading wildly along the boundless darkness with each breath, covering an area of tens of thousands of miles in the blink of an eye.
Clang~
Clang~
The sounds of swords clashing echoed in the void and darkness, instantly suppressing the chanting and preventing it from continuing.
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"Fellow Daoist, you..."
The white jade skeleton wanted to say something, but when he looked at the Dao diagram that had covered the place where he was sitting, he lowered his head, and there was a celestial light dancing in his empty eye sockets.
"The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation?!"
The white jade skeleton, who had been full of confidence, was suddenly shocked. No longer daring to sit solemnly on the altar, he stood up abruptly, abandoning the altar and fleeing backwards with the treasure wheel in his hand.
Clang~
A vast sword aura burst forth from the Dao diagram in an instant, and a celestial sword reflecting a faint blue light hung above the Dao diagram. In just a moment, it severed a section of an arm that was as clear as if it were carved from white jade.
Wherever the sword light passed, the cycle of reincarnation formed by the six worlds was also cut through in one stroke, without hindering the burst of sword power in the slightest, as fragile as a piece of paper.
"Fellow Daoist, please show mercy!"
The white jade skull, now missing an arm, held the treasure wheel, its tone revealing a hint of panic, no longer showing any of its previous composure, because a sword mark had appeared on the immortal artifact in its hand that was so closely tied to its life.
What truly terrified him was that the immortal sword he had just thrown out was merely a fragment of the sword diagram; its full power had not yet been unleashed. Once the Taoist had thrown out all the immortal swords, the sword-based killing formation would be set up, and at that time, not only celestial immortals but even golden immortals would perish here.
"The mystery of reincarnation that you have comprehended is extremely profound. You can try to see if you can escape from this place by using the wonder of reincarnation when I have finished setting it up."
The Taoist priest remained unmoved by the pleas for mercy. He then slowly took out a celestial sword from his sleeve and tossed it into the Taoist diagram.
Having obtained this immortal sword that was already perfectly suited to him, he spread out in the void, covering the Dao map that spanned tens of thousands of miles. The power of the rampaging sword energy was even greater, becoming even more terrifying. Even the void itself seemed to be on the verge of cracking and unable to withstand it.
"Please don't joke, fellow Daoist. My understanding is merely a minor Dao; how could I possibly escape the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation?"
The white jade skeleton felt a pang of regret. He finally understood why, when he took the initiative to stop the people from the Supreme Dao, none of those beings who were even more ancient than him fought against him, but instead let him go alone.
"You can give it a try. How will you know it won't work if you don't try? Reincarnation is the Great Dao spoken of by the Dao Venerable. How can it be considered a minor path?"
The Taoist priest spoke softly, and as he spoke, he took out a celestial sword that reflected a hazy purple light and threw it into the Taoist diagram below.
"Please, fellow Daoist, spare my life. If you spare me this ordeal, I will surely repay you in the future!"
The crisis of his divine death and annihilation was imminent. The immortal sword, which had been stained with the blood of countless immortal beings, hovered beside him. The sharpness and murderous aura of the sword were extinguishing even the flames of his soul.
"There's no point in not warning me. I've already said this. You've cut off your own path to survival and courted your own death. Even I can't do anything about it. Fellow Daoist, don't make such a fool of yourself. Please rest in peace on your journey!"
"Fellow Daoist, I am also a human cultivator. To kill me would be a tragedy for humanity while bringing joy to all other races. I beg you, for the sake of humanity, spare me!"
Seeing that begging for mercy was useless, the white jade skeleton changed its approach. It knew the significance of the Supreme Dao to the human race, and how much the seemingly carefree Supreme Daoist Venerable actually favored the human race.
"Fellow Daoist, before you speak, shouldn't you take a look at yourself first? What part of you resembles a human? You are nothing but a skeleton demon. Killing you is in accordance with the prosperous destiny of my human race!"
The Taoist priest, wielding a celestial sword that radiated boundless white light and pierced the very soul, once again plunged it into the sword diagram. This time, the power of the celestial sword formation surged dramatically, almost doubling!
At this moment, there were already four immortal swords on the sword diagram of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation. The four swords complemented each other and enhanced each other's power. The void, which was originally empty, was torn to pieces, and even the white bone skeleton couldn't help but let out a miserable howl.
On his white jade skeleton, countless sword marks appeared. If that were all, it would not have made him lose his composure. More importantly, the sword energy not only damaged his physical body, but also directly slashed his true spirit.
"Brother Dao, you've misjudged me. I've cultivated this form for the sake of practicing Daoist arts, not as a demon!"
Having already been damaged to its core, even if it managed to escape this place, it would be severely weakened in the future. The white skeleton dared not show the slightest disrespect and instead humbly begged for mercy.
He was already fish in the slaughter, with no confidence or strength to bargain. He could only hope that the Taoist had a kind heart and a great wish for humanity, so that he might have a chance to survive.
"Since you've mastered evil magic and become like this, you're no different from any other demon. You should continue on your way!"
The Taoist priest in the chaos chuckled and threw down the fifth sword. This time, the power of the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation was further enhanced, and the white jade skeleton could no longer endure it.
"How is this possible? Isn't the Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation supposed to have only four immortal swords? Why is there a fifth one?"
"The Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation only has four immortal swords? That was so many years ago, fellow Daoist. Your information is far too outdated. You deserve to suffer this calamity today!"
"No!"
The white jade skeleton let out a desperate roar. His physical body was collapsing under the strangulation of the sword energy and was no longer able to support him. Not only his physical body, but also the immortal artifact in his hand, into which he had poured countless efforts, was also crumbling.
"You can't do this to me! I have shed blood for the human race, I have contributed to the rise of the human race, I have done good for the human race, you can't kill me!"
"Brother Dao, since you can't escape this calamity, why not save some face before you die and your Dao dissipates? Why tell such a lie and become a laughingstock?"
"I'm not lying!"
But I don't recognize you!
The Taoist sighed, and then the chaos and mist that had been obscuring his face dissipated, revealing an ordinary human face that was unremarkable and showed no signs of any supernatural abilities.
"Who exactly are you?"
The Netherworld Lord, now shattered and with only a mottled skull and half a broken body remaining, questioned with resentment.
What he just said doesn't stand up to scrutiny. He did show up during the period of human rise, but he was indecisive and didn't make a decision.
Only after the human race had achieved great power did he make up his mind to join the human race and be reborn as a human. However, over the long years, he gradually transformed his human form into what it is now.
"You don't even recognize me? It seems I didn't make a mistake in killing you!"
The ordinary-looking Taoist priest breathed a sigh of relief, a relaxed smile appearing on his honest face. If he weren't in the void, he would look like an ordinary Taoist priest rooted in the mortal world, simple and unpretentious.
Who exactly are you?
"My Daoist name is Chunyang!"
"What?! Pure Yang?! The Daoist Master's second disciple?!"
The reincarnated powerful being, now reduced to a mere skeleton, was utterly astonished and shocked.
He chose the path described by that Daoist master who had already transcended the Dao, and now that disciple was right in front of him, he failed to recognize him at the beginning. Instead, he was full of confidence and wanted to stop him here. Now it seems that he is extremely ridiculous.
"Indeed, among Master's disciples, only I am the most incompetent. Therefore, this time, only I, the useless second disciple, am allowed to make this trip!"
"So that's how it is! Hahahaha, you are a disciple of the Daoist Master, no wonder, no wonder! It's not unjust that I fell into your hands and suffered this calamity! Hahahaha!"
The skull, whose skull was gradually crumbling, laughed maniacally, almost to the point of madness.
Once you fall into this Immortal Slaughtering Sword Formation, your death and annihilation are already predetermined. Ordinary methods of resurrection are utterly useless, and all the arrangements are a joke.
"Those guys, they really had a clever plan, pushing me out as a scapegoat, hahaha, but they never expected that the Daoist Master's disciple would emerge, and that I would die and my Dao would perish. Not only me, but all of you will not escape!"
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