Chapter 1 The Longest Retreat

Ye Chu Xiao experienced the longest closed-door cultivation of his life.

It was simply too tempting to see his cultivation improve so rapidly. Once he started, he couldn't bear to stop.

For nearly two years, Ye Chu Xiao and Duanmu Lin immersed themselves in the depths of the Aurora Land, freely absorbing and devouring all the nutrients it offered. At the same time, they used the ubiquitous remnants of souls to verify and temper their own cultivation.

With the 'help' of these remnant souls, their cultivation could hardly be considered a closed-door affair.

During these two years, Ye Chu Xiao not only pushed his cultivation to a level infinitely close to the Intent Realm, just a hair's breadth away, but also, through joint cultivation with Duanmu Lin, raised the Denglou Secret Art by another thirty levels, reaching one hundred and thirty-eight levels.

Seemingly only thirty levels higher, but once Ye Chu Xiao unleashed it, he could gain at least a fivefold increase in combat power in a short period.

That domain, condensed only on the edge of his blade, possessed a destructive and impactful force that ordinary Intent Realm cultivators' domains lacked.

It could be said that although Ye Chu Xiao did not yet possess the most solid shield in the world, he had mastered a spear sharp enough to pierce through any shield.

If he were properly prepared, he could even brazenly kill Intent Realm cultivators.

The Ice Lotus, completely integrated with the aurora and seemingly having established a mysterious connection with both Ye Chu Xiao and Duanmu Lin, bloomed with an even gentler and more radiant aurora, slowly unfurling new petals.

Under Duanmu Lin's guidance, and irrigated by the endless aurora, the Ice Lotus, which had originally been forced to mature by Ye Chu Xiao, actually began to grow again.

Duanmu Lin seemed to have become its unique and magical roots and leaves, extending its vitality and breaking through its original limitations.

Meanwhile, Duanmu Lin, who had been sitting on the Ice Lotus, slowly retracted the giant phantom that had expanded to the horizon amid the gentle waves of the aurora.

The phantom steadily solidified, eventually forming a real body with warmth and sensation.

Yin reaches its extreme and gives birth to Yang, returning to human form. This is a crucial juncture for ghost cultivators.

Only ghost cultivators who reach this stage can be considered to have achieved something and embarked on the right path.

Duanmu Lin had already crossed this threshold more than half a year ago, but she chose to dissipate her painstakingly condensed body and extract nourishment from the Nine Deaths Demonic Art provided by Ye Chu Xiao, reshaping her body nine times.

Until the physical body she condensed formed absolute homogeneity with the aurora substance.

From now on, she would no longer be borrowing the aurora, but would herself be the place where this special aurora originated.

Her physical body was equivalent to a miniature Aurora Netherworld.

All Yin souls could be stored and accommodated within her, and then be driven by her.

"Done?" Ye Chu Xiao asked Duanmu Lin.

Duanmu Lin smiled slightly. Her originally pink hair had faded from its vibrant color to silver-white, with only a few traces of silver-pink remaining at the tips.

A robe made of green-blue aurora enveloped Duanmu Lin, concealing her exquisite figure, making her appear more solemn than beautiful.

"Yes! I have fulfilled my mission!" Duanmu Lin said to Ye Chu Xiao with a smile.

They were friends without reservation. Unless Ye Chu Xiao repeatedly betrayed Duanmu Lin, she would always be his ally, no matter how independent she became.

This was innate, not the result of later efforts.

Like the dependence and trust of children towards their parents, like the care and selflessness of parents towards their children.

"Good. In that case, our plan can continue to move forward." Ye Chu Xiao felt a long-lost hint of excitement.

The things they were about to do were truly world-changing events, and also the beginning of extracting more from this world.

Ye Chu Xiao had done many great things.

But often, they only got started and didn't have the chance to finish.

However, this time was different. He was determined to bite into the most succulent and juicy fruit and would never let the fruits of his labor be given away again.

Strength was the only reason for Ye Chu Xiao to have such confidence.

"Since that's the case, let's set off! Do you have a target?" Ye Chu Xiao asked Duanmu Lin.

But in reality, they both knew who they should be looking for at this time.

Duanmu Lin could transform into the aurora, becoming the Netherworld.

Why couldn't Ye Chu Xiao turn his acupoints into the Underworld, transform his aura into the aurora, and smell the withering vitality that existed in this world every moment?

"Of course, I do. Zhou Jiusheng! He's the first!" Duanmu Lin said with a smile.

Night City, Broken Swallow Tower!

The tower was thirty-three stories high, but it was hundreds of feet above the ground.

The entire tower was cast from black iron mixed with extraterrestrial rare metals. It was inserted into the ground, towering into the clouds above.

The reason for such a tower was simply because the old man living at the top of the tower needed to use the wind, thunder, and clouds above the Nine Heavens to cultivate a legendary divine power capable of piercing through life and death.

Connected to the top of the tower, the large metal ball chain extending across the sky in the cloud realm was spread out like a large net, firmly grasping the clouds, turning this originally shapeless and free cloud into a prisoner, subject to manipulation.

Layers upon layers of lightning-attracting formations attracted all the thunderclouds within a radius of thousands of miles, and constantly drew energy from all directions like a vortex. Because of this unrestrained extraction, the area within eight hundred miles outside the Broken Swallow Tower had been transformed into a desert.

If Night City were not a special city relying on operating casinos, brothels, smuggling, and distributing various contraband items, it would definitely be unable to survive in such a harsh environment.

Amidst the roar of lightning, the huge metal net vibrated constantly. With each vibration, extremely terrifying energy was poured into the highest level of the Broken Swallow Tower along the top of the tower.

The Sword God of Wind and Thunder, Zhou Jiusheng, held a sword of wind and thunder, sometimes real and sometimes illusory, in his hands, constantly absorbing and compressing the most manic and violent power in the world, attempting to tame these forces with his own will and transform them into a submissive sword in his hands.

As the sword shape continued to solidify, the surrounding space seemed to be torn apart by the fierce and domineering sword energy, creating visible cracks.

Some kind of invisible barrier seemed about to be cut off by this sword, and the big hand that bound fate, controlled life and death, and locked the throat would also be cut off by him with this sword that gathered overwhelming power.

As long as he crossed it, as long as he crossed the chasm from the Intent Realm to the Undefined Realm, he could seek life from death, and the lives taken away by the defects of the Heavenly Dao would all be returned in double.

Success or failure, life or death, all depended on this one move.

But at a critical moment, Zhou Jiusheng spat out blood and fell into the sword-forging wind and thunder formation. His entire body became weak, like a balloon that had suddenly been pricked, shriveled like a chicken claw that had been boiled and dried.

His white hair and the crisscrossing ravines on his face all seemed to symbolize his weakness.

The most terrifying thing about the lifespan defect of the Barren Struggle Realm was not only that it took away the lifespan that should have increased with the improvement of cultivation, but also that it took away the twilight years of powerful cultivators, making them feel an unprecedented aging and weakness in their twilight years after decades of glory.

How ridiculous!

Powerful cultivators with the ability to move mountains and break peaks, and turn rivers, would feel insufficient strength and loss of blood in their old age, no longer having the bravery and domineering spirit of their youth.

They might even suffer from diseases, lose their minds, and be unable to control their subtle behavior.

At the time of their final moments, they might even develop dementia and incontinence.

Of course, even in this state, the old tiger still had some power. Even powerful cultivators in this state still had a brief burst of fighting power.

But it was only one battle.

Therefore, unless they were unburdened cultivators, powerful old cultivators often tried to reduce the number of times they took action, transforming it into a deterrent to protect their younger generations.

And those powerful but unburdened old cultivators were the targets of joint prevention and fear from many forces.

No one knew what crazy actions a once highly respected person would do in their final twilight years.

Zhou Jiusheng trembled as he touched each rune he had personally carved on the metal ground.

His face was pale, but there was also some relief in his misery.

He was no longer able to continue. This was the closest he had ever been to breaking through to the Undefined Realm.

Since he had failed, there was absolutely no possibility of trying again.

After that, he would only be a skeleton in a grave, waiting to die.

"I should leave this tower!"

"I also have to leave a way out for future generations. Without my suppression and care, it is no longer appropriate for them to continue to obtain the huge benefits of Night City. Let those who are useless stay here for their enemies to vent their anger, and secretly arrange for those who still have hope to go to the prepared refuge, change their names, and start over." Zhou Jiusheng thought.

But immediately, a cold light flashed in his eyes, and his originally hunched figure suddenly straightened up again.

"I wonder which old friend has come to visit?"

"Could it be that you think I'm old and my sword is no longer sharp?" Zhou Jiusheng questioned coldly.

As he opened his palm, the spiritual sword that had accompanied him for most of his life had already leaped into his palm, emitting a light that was almost as strong as a divine artifact.

In Daheng, even if Intent Realm cultivators did not have a divine artifact in hand, they could gradually forge their own divine artifact through long-term collection of materials and polishing.

However, in the Barren Struggle Realm, if cultivators did not have the corresponding foundation and opportunities, even if they were in the Intent Realm, it would be difficult to equip them with divine artifacts.

They mostly used spiritual tools.

"Old Sword God Zhou's sword is, of course, very sharp."

"Not only is it very sharp, but also because of the hatred in his heart, the killing intent is even stronger."

"Even if this junior wants to ask for advice, I still have some hesitation." Ye Chu Xiao jumped in through the window, regarding the electric arcs that were still flickering around him as nothing.

Zhou Jiusheng looked at Ye Chu Xiao, seemingly trying to identify who he was.

After a few seconds, he said, "Heavenly Blade Xiao Ye! It's actually you!"

Ye Chu Xiao said in surprise, "You actually recognize me?"

Zhou Jiusheng said, "Your little affair in Wenjia Mountain City is certainly not worth mentioning, but you took advantage of the battle between Tan Gongjia and Lin Run, and finally got a big advantage, which made you completely famous throughout the world. The entire Great Chu Aquatic Clan cultivators regard you as an enemy and are looking for your whereabouts all over the world. As for Great Chu, it is offering a divine artifact embryo as a reward to take your life."

Ye Chu Xiao said, "Divine artifact embryo? What a great deal! It makes me want to take myself to claim the reward!"

"I just don't know why a dead Marquis Zhenhai still has such value. If it's just for face, then someone should be worth more than me."

Zhou Jiusheng said, "Since the matter has been exposed, you are certainly the best scapegoat and the best point of conflict transfer."

Ye Chu Xiao understood completely after only thinking about it.

Lin Run's scheme to kill Tan Gongjia was something that had to be done in secret.

For Great Chu to regain control of the waters within its borders, the prerequisite was not to force all the aquatic cultivators to rebel.

After the matter was exposed, in order to mend relations and provide a step down, the Great Chu court had to show its attitude and offer a large reward for Ye Chu Xiao, the 'culprit'.

As for how Ye Chu Xiao was discovered, there was no need to say more.

Among the hundred schools of cultivators, there were always some wonderful methods to replay the situation at that time, which was not too difficult.

"Heaven helps me, I was originally prepared to seal my sword!"

"I didn't expect you to take the initiative to come to my door, giving me a second chance." Zhou Jiusheng looked at Ye Chu Xiao. Without any movement, the Intent Realm opened up and enveloped the entire top of the tower.

In the realm, Ye Chu Xiao was not only cut off from the connection with the outside world's energy, but even his breathing and heartbeat gradually became imperceptible.

It was as if he had been deprived of his vitality in the other party's movements.

Buzz!

The Yuanyang Treasure Saber revealed its sharpness. The cold blade seemed to tear open a strong old cowhide.

Zhou Jiusheng's realm was cut open by Ye Chu Xiao's blade.

The energy of heaven and earth poured in, and the stolen breathing and heartbeat all returned.

"You want to catch me to exchange for the embryo?"

"Do you have the strength?" Ye Chu Xiao had no sense of bullying the elderly. Holding the treasure saber, he took a step forward.

A step away, the saber cut open the realm that seemed to stretch infinitely, and moved towards Zhou Jiusheng's neck.

Zhou Jiusheng originally intended to raise his sword to fight back, but he coughed and spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm.

Then he could only turn around and retreat, trying to stay away from Ye Chu Xiao's blade.

"Despicable junior, how dare you deceive me?" Zhou Jiusheng smoothed his breath, forcibly gathered his energy, and stabbed with a backhand sword. However, he had already lost the opportunity. The original exquisite swordsmanship only used three or four tenths of its wonderfulness. From the original high and mighty, like a god or demon, it completely fell into the mortal world, becoming a human sword, a craftsman's sword.

The saber and sword collided, making a harsh collision sound.

Then, the saber's cry became louder and louder, and the sword's cry was tragic and unwilling.

Zhou Jiusheng's sword was firmly suppressed by Ye Chu Xiao's saber, and he was unable to resist at all.

"Old Sword God! No matter how unparalleled you were in the past, you are about to die now!"

"People who are about to die are not qualified to be arrogant."

"People! Have to accept getting old!" Ye Chu Xiao provoked.

Zhou Jiusheng drew back his sword, turned around, broke through the window, and flew out.

When he realized that he could not fight Ye Chu Xiao at this moment, this once infinitely glorious old Sword God, without regard for his face, chose to run away.

To be able to live to become a Sword God, first of all, you have to know how to run away.

Everyone has a weak time.

Innate strength does not belong to the self-improving race of humans.