Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 857 - 852: Lurking Part 2

Chapter 857: Chapter 852: Lurking Part 2

The newcomer was none other than Jiu Se Divine Lord, Yin Chuan, who resided in the Northern Starfield, impervious to all techniques.

Jiu Se smiled and looked at Universal Heavenly Venerable.

"Is our agreement still valid?"

"Of course." Universal Heavenly Venerable nodded solemnly. "Is Future Buddha planning to return to the Golden Lotus? If there are any instructions, I will do my utmost to fulfill them!"

There was a hint of hope in his eyes.

Jiu Se squinted and said,

"In six thousand years, I will prepare to use the Qi of Tribulation to return to the Golden Lotus and fulfill my battle with the Heavenly Dragon King Tian Yin. During this period, I need you to come and act as my protector."

"I obey!"

Universal Heavenly Venerable respectfully replied.

"At that time, I will appropriately allow you to witness the changes when I return to the transcendent state. Whether you succeed depends on yourself."

"Yes!"

Universal Heavenly Venerable was overjoyed.

"You need to be on guard against two things. First, Primordial Ning An Heavenly Demon is also about to appear. He and I were born of the same destiny, specifically to destroy my Dao foundation.

Second, the Heavenly Demon Army Masters and the Taoist Ancestors will not easily let me succeed. Although they are temporarily sealed deep in the Abyss, entangled with each other, they can still interfere remotely through projections. You will have to assist me at that time." Jiu Se said seriously.

"Rest assured, Buddha. I have prepared for countless years for this and will ensure nothing goes wrong!"

"Then I am relieved. So, until we meet again in the Northern Starfield."

Jiu Se nodded in satisfaction, turned, transformed into a platinum Escape Light, and disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Only Universal Heavenly Venerable was left, his face beaming with joy.

**********************

The Tenth Abyss, the River of Aging.

The grey earth was full of cracks. Streams of white tribulation Qi surged out like fountains, constantly eroding the terrifyingly dense earth and rivers.

Fang Yu wore a long black robe, the hem trailing three meters behind him like a cloak.

He stood by the River of Aging, accompanied only by a skeleton man in a similar black robe.

The skeleton man was truly just a skeleton, with no flesh at all. His white skull was hidden under his black hood, his eye sockets were deep and dark, like an endless Abyss.

"Master, Jiu Se Divine Lord has begun his movements," the skeleton man said in a low voice.

Fang Yu, with his back to him, watched the slow flow of the River of Aging and said nothing.

The skeleton man clenched his white bone claws, making a crisp, clattering sound.

"The time for the battle between Jiu Se and the Heavenly Dragon King Tian Yin is approaching. The Taoist Ancestors are each planning to continue their legacies to dominate the next new era.

The Heavenly Demon Army Masters instinctively follow the will of the Great Universe, destroying all complex things to allow the qi of tribulation to clear and devour."

He paused.

"So, what about us? What is our purpose?"

The breeze blew, lifting Fang Yu’s black hair at the side of his face.

He remained silent for a while before slowly turning around.

"What is the purpose of life?"

"It’s fear, I suppose," the skeleton man thought and answered. "Fear of death, thus survival."

"Indeed..." Fang Yu sighed, "The essence of life is emptiness, so no matter how much one gains or lives, after ultimately satisfying everything, what remains is only emptiness."

"And as this emptiness grows with time, even the fear of death inevitably weakens."

"Master..." The skeleton man hesitated. He wanted to know, now that they had left the Shadow Realm and occupied the Ninth Abyss, surviving the great tribulation, what was their next purpose?

Not everyone has the ambition to challenge the Taoist Ancestors.

Most beings, after exhausting their initial drive, would settle for the present, hoping to find stability.

No one has endless ambition.

Fang Yu saw through his thoughts.

He smiled.

"I absorbed and devoured the Taoist Ancestor Origin. Using the cicada shedding its shell strategy, I let external forces kill my clone to deceive the Taoist Ancestors, thus turning from light to dark.

Now, I understand why I was born."

The skeleton man did not understand his meaning.

Fang Yu smiled and said,

"You only need to know that ’my opportunity to achieve the Dao lies entirely with Jiu Se’."

"Jiu Se Divine Lord..."

The skeleton man pondered.

"Now, among Jiu Se, me, and Tian Yin, we are the main characters of this great tribulation. Whichever of us ultimately wins the battle will become the true root of this tribulation’s end." Fang Yu explained. "As all things perish, and Taoist Ancestors do not appear, the will of the Great Universe has created the best stage for us."

*********************

Months after the outbreak of the great tribulation.

Numerous Holy Land Realm Masters fell one after another. Many places of God worship withstood the first wave of attacks but could not resist the subsequent continuous wear and tear.

The Lands for God Worship were devoured and digested by the Qi of Tribulation, becoming a part of it.

The majority of the lands and oceans of the Mortal Realm were devoured by the tribulation Qi, with more than half of the area disappearing and still rapidly vanishing.

Countless living beings and clans were all eradicated.

Humans, animals, plants, rocks, soil, air—there was nothing that the Qi of Tribulation could not devour and assimilate.

Large areas of the Lands for God Worship perished. The remaining Holy Lands, like sparks in the void, barely managed to sustain and began seeking various means to contact large congregations.

The remaining forces of the Buddha Domain flocked to the Northern Starfield, forming the largest northern labyrinth.

Then there was Nether City in the Shadow Realm, guarded by Sherie Divine Monarch. It ranked second in terms of area.

Third was the Mysterious Realm formed by the cultivators of Four Seas Fairy Mountains, Illusory Sea, and Polar Region, united with the Dragon Race and the Phoenix Clan, jointly resisting the Qi of Tribulation.

It was said that they had found two Great Saints with ten points of Immortal Light each. Using their resources, they barely managed to sustain, earning the name Water and Fire Maze. But some claimed that the true reliance of this realm was the Heavenly Dragon King Tian Yin.

These three were the largest surviving gathering grounds.

The others were merely struggling to survive, destined to be worn down and perish by the Qi of Tribulation eventually.

***********************

Netherworld Palace.

Lin Xin held a red light orb, closed his eyes, and carefully felt its unique rules and changes in its flow.

After a long time, he slowly released the Taoist Ancestor Origin, looking at this treasure with a complex expression.

"Too complicated... With my current cognitive abilities, I am completely unable to keep up with the qualitative changes within."

In an instant, hundreds of billions of small or large planets underwent qualitative changes, marking the process of forming the Galactic Core within the Taoist Ancestor Origin’s evolution.

Countless planets collapsed and converged towards the center, amalgamating under an immense gravitational force to form a genuine core, the Galactic Core.

Lin Xin could only grasp the qualitative change process of a few planets. The rest was too much for him to handle.

The Taoist Ancestor Origin acted like a playback device, recording the moments when the Taoist Ancestors condensed their Galactic Cores.

Even just observing this process, Lin Xin found himself unable to continue beyond the beginning.

Now he finally understood why so many Dao Seekers had retreated into seclusion for countless years without reappearing.

"So why was Fang Yu able to absorb the Taoist Ancestor Origin so quickly?" he frowned.

"Could it be direct devouring?"

While possible, it would be akin to burning a book of essential knowledge for warmth—an extreme waste.

Lin Xin had an intuition that the swift absorption of the Taoist Ancestor Origin had something to do with the Nether House controlled by the Shadow Realm.

The Nether House had survived innumerable great tribulations housing ancient beings who fled there to escape.

Simply put, ordinary tribulation Qi might be ineffective against it.

"Perhaps I should quickly visit the Nether House to find an answer."

Unable to rapidly comprehend the Taoist Ancestor Origin, each insight requiring a month, with billions of planetary transformations left to address, not to mention the second and third stages, how would he proceed? By continually dragging on?

"There must be a special method."

Lin Xin increasingly felt convinced. Since Fang Yu was still alive, it was highly likely he was still in the Shadow Realm, possibly within the Nether House.

Moreover, with no news of Red Leaf Sword Master over the years, it seemed timely to investigate the situation. Although not necessarily strong enough, he could probe matters.

Just as he thought,

his figure flashed and vanished from the Heart Core, reappearing inside the secluded chamber of Netherworld Palace.

He swiftly exited the chamber, sending his divine sense to inform Lin Yi and Lin Wai, who were managing affairs.

Soon, outside the chamber, two streaks of Escape Light rapidly arrived and landed before Lin Xin, transforming into a snow monster and a star demon.

They were Lin Yi and Lin Wai, the two Grand Stewards of Nether City in the Shadow Realm.

"Master!"

The two respectfully greeted Lin Xin.

"I need to go out for a while. Are the resources of the Shadow Realm sufficient?"

Lin Xin asked casually.

Lin Yi quickly responded.

"They are sufficient. With careful usage, the resources can sustain the current populace and cultivators for over ten thousand years. Our self-sustaining ecosystem can generate a near-perfect cycle of food and material production.

The only consumables are the sun simulations and large quantities of elemental materials."

"While continually resisting the erosion of tribulation Qi without external cosmic material supplements, maintaining this level is the limit," Lin Wai added.

Lin Xin nodded in satisfaction.

"I may be gone for a while. If anything happens, you can seek decisions from Honored Master, Jiuqu Immortal Elder, or Universal Heavenly Venerable."

"We understand!"

Lin Yi and Lin Wai replied in unison.

"Then, that’s settled."

Lin Xin trusted his Grand Stewards implicitly since they were powerful evolved beings from his own creations with unquestionable loyalty.

As for energy, he had an inexhaustible Lava Heart supplying it. Water came from vast amounts of seawater and freshwater, forming lakes of various sizes.

After giving some detailed instructions, Lin Xin felt reassured. His figure vanished abruptly.

In front of the chamber, Lin Yi and Lin Wai inside the palace also breathed sighs of relief.

"Master’s presence has become increasingly formidable. I now dare not even gaze directly at him."

Lin Yi sighed.

His snow monster body, over three meters tall, curving as he bowed, appeared strained and cumbersome.