Chapter 275: Absolute Encounter

The Stone City split in two. The Great World and the Lesser World touched and collided, instantly destroying the Lesser World's laws and shattering the balance of the Other Shore.

Ning Changjiu and Lu Jiajia were at opposite ends of the world, falling towards the two sides of the Luoshu.

The fractured Stone City crashed into the peaks, sending up vast clouds of dust. Rubble tumbled down the slopes, and an ancient dragon coiled around one of the mountains, unable to escape, had its spine broken by the colliding city.

The Dragon Keeper perished, his century of effort reduced to ashes.

His final words still echoed in Ning Changjiu's mind, like a curse or a delirium.

Ning Changjiu could clearly see his body being torn apart, and his consciousness quickly fell into a coma.

When he awoke, his eyes felt as if a layer of dust covered them.

He was not dead.

Before him, two figures stood dimly opposed.

One wore green, the other white. They stood holding their swords, appearing desolate amidst the swirling dust and fire.

“Young friend, you are awake.” One of them looked at him.

Ning Changjiu opened his eyes and clearly saw the faces of the people before him.

The man in green had a cold expression, while the man in white smiled.

“You… saved me?” Ning Changjiu looked at his hands and feet. The previous image of his body being torn apart seemed like an illusion; he was completely unharmed.

The man in white shook his head and smiled, “I am also very curious why someone of your cultivation level did not die.”

Ning Changjiu was equally perplexed. He looked at the men before him and asked, “Who are you two…?”

The man in white smiled and said, “My name is Qiu Ziguan, not very famous. He is Li He, a truly renowned figure. You must have heard of that poem, ‘Cut off the dragon’s feet, chew its flesh, so it cannot return by day or hide by night,’ haven’t you? Truly a resounding and stirring reputation.”

Ning Changjiu frowned. He had indeed heard of it, mentioned by the Dragon Keeper.

The indifferent man in green spoke calmly, “What I originally wanted to say was not ‘cut off the dragon’s feet,’ but ‘cut off the dragon race’… A dragon losing its feet becomes a python, and both dragons and pythons are equally repulsive.”

“Poet Li, your spirit is indeed grand,” Qiu Ziguan chuckled. “It seems the Dragon Keeper will die restless.”

Li He said, “He is already dead, so I will naturally not trouble him. Before you ascend to the heavens, I merely wish to fight you to fulfill a long-cherished desire; anything else is futile.”

Qiu Ziguan, holding his sword, chuckled, “You’re not surprised by the Dragon Keeper’s death?”

Li He replied, “The Sage warned him long ago. If you stubbornly go your own way, your fate will be the same.”

Qiu Ziguan said, “It was just that his Heaven Tablet was flawed. The symmetry of the Other Shore is inherently a law of the Lesser World, which is not recognized by the Heavenly Dao. For a century, he was simply seeking his own demise.”

Li He offered no comment.

Ning Changjiu couldn’t help but ask, “May I ask, Senior, what will be inscribed on your Heaven Tablet?”

Qiu Ziguan proudly declared, “Having cultivated the sword my whole life, I naturally must inscribe the sword.”

“The sword? Is it sword techniques and sword principles?” Ning Changjiu asked.

Qiu Ziguan chuckled, tapping the sword in his hand, and proudly said, “This sword of mine is forged from extraterrestrial meteorite iron.”

“Is Senior researching sword forging?”

“No,” Qiu Ziguan raised a finger, pointing to the sky, and said, “I am researching extraterrestrial meteorite iron.”

Above, the stellar river was brilliant and pure; even as the mortal world turned upside down, that river flowed silently through eternity.

Li He’s expression was distant, seemingly unconcerned with Qiu Ziguan’s findings.

Qiu Ziguan looked at the dust-stained young man in white and chuckled, “Once I ascend to the heavens, decades of my research will be lost. And the results I’ve obtained, every word of them, are heavenly secrets. Would you… like to hear them?”

Ning Changjiu hesitated for a moment, then sincerely said, “I would be honored to hear the details.”

Qiu Ziguan slowly began, as if reciting a poem: “Our land appears flat, but its true shape is like a chicken’s egg. When the moon sets in the west here, its shadow rises in the east there. The moon is our closest star; its radiance is not self-generated but comes from the sun’s illumination, and its waxing and waning are also due to the sun’s obscuration. Beyond the vast sky, there are still flying stars—Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, and Pluto—which correspond to the Six Primal Deities…”

Qiu Ziguan continued speaking slowly.

A star map gradually unfolded before them as he spoke. Ning Changjiu gazed at the scroll, his thoughts irresistibly drawn to it.

“Senior, are you saying the stars in the sky are related to the Primal Deities?” Ning Changjiu asked.

Qiu Ziguan nodded, “That is also why those six deities are so powerful—because they are essentially gods that are projections of starlight.”

Ning Changjiu frowned. This was the first time he had heard such a notion.

Ning Changjiu suddenly recalled the eight words his Senior Sister once spoke: “Gaze upon the starry sky, and the divine kingdom shall be seen.”

Gaze upon the starry sky.

He couldn’t help but look up.

The starry sky appeared brilliant, yet most of it was hidden in darkness.

A sense of dread crept over him.

“The divine kingdom is related to the stars?” he asked.

Qiu Ziguan nodded, “To establish a divine kingdom, either a star must illuminate you, or you must illuminate a star.”

Ning Changjiu involuntarily remembered the scene on Heavenly Cave Peak when he illuminated his fate star.

Ning Changjiu asked again, “What about the Six Primal Deities? Their stars…”

Qiu Ziguan said, “For reasons unknown, two thousand years ago, all six stars moved away. The first to leave was Pluto…”

He paused slightly, then chuckled, “That’s enough. If I say more, I fear Li He might eavesdrop and ascend in my place.”

Li He said, “I am not interested.”

Qiu Ziguan smiled, “You are a strange one. Despite having the second-best swordplay in the world, you show no pursuit of immortality or freedom.”

Li He sighed, “I never seek what cannot be attained. The once-mighty Emperor Liu Che sought immortality, yet his bones eventually rotted in Maoling. That Emperor, King Zheng, also perished after returning from his search for immortals.”

Qiu Ziguan stopped speaking. They were fundamentally not from the same world.

This battle was their decisive one.

Ning Changjiu witnessed this battle.

They were two peerless swords.

When they drew their swords, all the brilliance under the starry sky converged on their blades.

Ning Changjiu’s cultivation level was inferior to theirs, but he could comprehend their swordplay.

His gaze fell upon the swords.

Thus, the starry sky and the bright moon lost their color. The world became a suffocating prison, holding only the three of them.

Li He’s sword was magnificent and fierce. If he drew his sword on a mountaintop, it could change the winds and clouds; if he drew it over the sea, it could stir up storms.

But Ning Changjiu knew he couldn’t win.

Qiu Ziguan was truly a person destined to walk the Grand Dao. Li He’s mountains and seas were of the mortal realm, but Qiu Ziguan’s sword was like a celestial being soaring through the cosmos, so light and agile it seemed not of this world.

Qiu Ziguan’s sword ultimately pierced Li He’s chest.

Li He conceded defeat.

He sat wearily on the ground, clutching the blood on his chest.

Qiu Ziguan gazed at the starry sky and proudly declared, “The three legendary realms are Dao of Obscurity, Dao of Emptiness, and Dao of Phenomena. I shall break through the heavens with the Dao of Emptiness.”

“The three legendary realms?” Ning Changjiu heard their true names for the first time.

Before leaving, Qiu Ziguan generously offered guidance: “The Dao of Obscurity pertains to the minuscule, the Dao of Emptiness to the vast, and the Dao of Phenomena to all myriad forms in the world. These three are the paths to the legendary realms, and there is no inherent superiority among them.”

Ning Changjiu said thoughtfully, “Thank you for your guidance, Senior.”

Qiu Ziguan nodded. Holding his sword before him, he fixed his gaze on the stars and broke through the void with his blade.

Li He watched his disappearing figure, a look of melancholy on his face.

Long after, a burning meteorite iron sword plummeted from the sky.

The sight was as if the Immortal-Suppressing Sword itself had descended.

Li He took Ning Changjiu and departed together.

The peak, which had endured an epic battle, was instantly obliterated. After all the dust settled, Li He returned to the ruins, where a sword had already cooled.

It was indeed the sword Qiu Ziguan had forged from meteorite iron.

Li He had anticipated this. He sighed, picked up the sword, wiped off the scorched ash, and strapped it to his back.

“This place is dangerous, you should come with me,” Li He said.

Ning Changjiu shook his head, “Thank you, Senior, but I need to find someone, so I cannot accompany you.”

“Is it your Dao companion?” Li He asked.

Ning Changjiu nodded gently.

With the Stone City broken, he wasn’t sure how he had survived, much less if Lu Jiajia was truly safe…

Li He said, “You two must be from outside.”

Ning Changjiu’s expression faltered, “You know too?”

Li He said, “Because I have encountered people like you before… Alas, we have been trapped in the same hundred-year cycle, repeating it five times over. Not just me, many others have discovered it, and we are all looking for a way out.”

Li He paused, then continued, “Since you are from outside, you don’t need to worry about your safety. You will get injured, you will feel pain, but once you cross the threshold of death, you will be reborn… Only figures within history can die within history; you will not.”

“Is this eternal life?” Ning Changjiu asked.

Li He sighed, “No, each time you die, you will lose a portion of your memory, until you are forever lost here. Even if you were to kill everyone in this world, you would still only be lost. This is more painful than death.”

“Alas, perhaps you still have a chance for transcendence, but we have already been inscribed into the book, unable to break free in this life or any other.”

Sīmìng pulled her sword from the head of a massive pangolin-like beast.

Blood gushed forth.

Sharp sword qi drew chaotic lines before her eyes.

The pangolin’s seemingly impenetrable shell was sliced through by the sword qi like soft tofu.

Sīmìng flipped its body, used her sword to cut open its abdomen, extracted its demon core, peeled back some demon fox mask, and swallowed it in one gulp.

This was the thirteenth great demon she had killed.

She looked at the chaotic world, the blood and fire reflected in her icy eyes gradually cooling.

She had not entered the Five Paths long ago, but due to her previous life as a legendary-realm divine official and her formidable authority, killing some people from the Eight Lords in one-on-one combat was not difficult.

She swallowed the demon core, crunching it down. The mighty spiritual power contained within surged into her body.

Sīmìng’s pale complexion improved slightly.

Earlier, she had been ambushed by seven or eight ancient gods. After killing two of them, she fought desperately to escape. Although the escape was graceful, her injuries were severe.

After consuming the demon core, she re-sheathed her sword on her back.

“It’s about time,” Sīmìng said.

While in the divine kingdom, she had ascended once before.

After entering the three legendary realms, she had reached a level second only to the Divine Kingdom’s Lord, taking over from the aging divine official of the previous generation.

At that time, her Heaven Tablet took a long while to inscribe, with many parts completed with the help of Ye Chu.

She still remembered the entire contents of her Heaven Tablet.

It naturally expounded on time.

She demonstrated the true existence of time and named the plane perpendicular to the point, line, and surface of the three-dimensional world the Spirit Realm.

Time traversed the Spirit Realm, also influenced by the curvature of space.

Just as time on mountains passes slower than in oceans, cultivators prefer to practice on high mountains.

Recalling her Heaven Tablet, she prepared for ascension.

The people here were still full of dread and fear regarding severing the heavens and ascending, but for her, it was a familiar path.

She did not leave immediately, wanting only to see if the Luoshu Pavilion contained any secrets from five hundred years ago that she was unaware of.

But this world was too chaotic and dangerous; even she sustained significant injuries.

Moreover, the true secrets remained veiled—such as the death of the Divine Kingdom’s Lord.

Seven hundred years ago, her own Divine Lord had his head severed. Five hundred years ago, during the greatest catastrophe of heaven and earth, another Divine Lord died…

Truly an incredible two hundred years.

Sīmìng began to ascend.

The figures of humans, demons, and ancient gods, locked in bloody battle, clashed all around her, like eagles fighting in the sky.

In the distance, a group of great demons at the Five Paths realm were climbing a great peak. Among them were a fire fox with eight tails, a demonic creature with huge horns like a giant ox, descendants of the Golden-Winged Great Peng, and ancient apes carrying twin blades.

Just as they were about to reach the summit, the huge Ox Demon suddenly rebelled, beginning to slaughter its own kind…

Sīmìng paid it no mind; betrayal was always an eternal topic among living beings.

She cast her gaze further into the distance.

Far away, a giant Taotie beast with ram horns spread its arms, supporting a colossal peak that was about to collapse. It struggled to hold on, its feet sinking into the mud.

A divine turtle carrying a volcano plunged into the sea, seemingly intending to boil away all the seawater and transform oceans into mulberry fields.

And giant birds fell from the sky, their wings broken, while countless ancient crocodiles below opened their jaws wide in the sea…

The vast land seemed sculpted by thunder and fire. Bloody slaughter filled and consumed everything, as creatures, whether for survival or faith, climbed those cloud-piercing divine pillars.

Sīmìng sighed.

She knew the outcome of this battle.

The Immortal Court would remain, the Heavenly Dao would remain, and the myriad beings, almost extinguished, would revive in the spring breeze.

Its grandeur and vastness were merely the ashes of calamity, buried in the earth of the future.

Life was futile, death in vain…

Sīmìng began to inscribe her Heaven Tablet.

The Heaven Tablet could be inscribed not only on the Five Paths Heavenly Peaks, but even if one at the initial stage of the Five Paths inscribed it, their physical body would be unable to withstand the energy of ascension, leading to instant death. Only after reaching the peak of the Five Paths, with all preparations complete, did one truly qualify for ascension.

Sīmìng didn’t care. This was a false world, and her body was the finest porcelain forged in the Divine Lord’s Primordial Spirit Cavern…

That was the Divine Lord’s flame; how could this Luoshu harm her?

With undivided concentration, she inscribed the tablet in mid-air.

The Heaven Tablet, following her memory, was nearing completion.

A sudden change occurred.

Suddenly, a speck of white light appeared in the sky.

The white light instantly illuminated the horizon.

It filled everyone’s vision.

Sīmìng was the first to see it clearly.

The speck of white light was very distant and appeared tiny.

But in reality, it was an entire majestic city, and something seemed to be pushing beneath it… They were falling together.

Coincidentally, Sīmìng’s path of ascension aligned precisely with the descending trajectory of this great city.

Sīmìng inwardly thought, "This is bad."

All living beings ceased their fighting and began to flee.

The central great city fell, and then one city after another plunged from the sky. The sudden, immense roar could no longer be described as deafening; it was as if the loudest thunder exploded one by one beside their ears, causing the very winds and clouds to lose their color.

Even Sīmìng had only heard of swords falling from the sky, never of cities.

She immediately pushed her authority over time to its limit.

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

It sounded as if heavenly city towers were collapsing.

Massive cities fell one after another.

Cultivators at the edges might still have a chance to escape, but those in the center were instantly crushed to death.

Sīmìng’s position was extremely precarious.

Her authority over time was pushed to its absolute maximum.

Yet, as described in her Heaven Tablet, sufficient speed could alter time.

The giant city arrived in an instant.

Her figure grazed its edge, and the immense shockwave and blades of fierce wind slammed into her back.

Sīmìng’s burst of spiritual power collided with it.

Her figure was instantly sent flying, like a launched firework, crashing into the rock face, and only came to a halt after breaking through several peaks.

In the last great peak, the mountain body shattered.

Sīmìng’s figure was deeply embedded in the rock wall. The shattered wall connected to a cavern, and her body fell directly inside.

Sīmìng lay prone on the ground, her silver hair covered in dust.

She coughed up a mouthful of blood.

She could feel her life gradually ebbing away.

But for some reason, perhaps because this world was false, she felt no fear of death.

She felt she might die an inexplicable death…

What exactly were those cities falling from the sky?

Were there truly celestial palaces and jade towers in the sky? And before… had the sky collapsed?

Sīmìng felt as if a blade had pierced her temple, stirring within her brain.

In the heart of the chaos, more and more people fled in all directions.

Some also fled into this cavern.

But this cavern was quickly sealed off by the great city, becoming a dead end.

Sīmìng’s eyes lifted slightly. She vaguely saw a few people who had fled into this cavern.

There was an old man with a saber, a young man with a sword on his back, a hunchbacked demon with two pairs of huge steel claws, an ancient god with half its body missing and bleeding profusely, and finally, before the cavern was sealed, a woman also fled inside…

The woman, dressed strikingly in white, held a sword, her sword intent emanating freely without needing to be released.

That figure struck Sīmìng’s gaze, causing a slight chill in her heart.

She knew, of course, that they couldn’t be the same person, but seeing white robes when her life was in danger always instinctively filled her with dread.

She needed to kill this woman in white…

This thought sprang into her mind instantly.

But reason held her hand back.

She used her authority over time to envelop herself, making her temporal flow different from theirs.

This was a disguise, and those trapped in the cavern, engulfed in panic, indeed did not detect her presence…

Sīmìng recuperated from her injuries.

The people in the cavern seemed to be discussing cooperation.

Sīmìng sneered inwardly.

As expected, it wasn’t long before one of them suddenly drew a blade and backstabbed another.

Chaos erupted instantly.

They were never from the same faction; coexisting required constant vigilance against betrayal, which was exhausting… Only by killing everyone could one ensure their own safe survival.

Sīmìng closed her eyes, doing her best to conceal all her aura.

Those consumed by bloodlust couldn’t possibly detect her.

She only needed to remain hidden until the end, ready to seize the ultimate advantage.

A long while later, she opened her eyes again.

Only two living beings remained within the cavern.

It was the woman in white and the monster with steel blades for arms.

Sīmìng took one look and knew the woman in white would soon be killed.

She watched the battle.

Indeed, the battle was almost entirely one-sided.

In the white-clad woman’s final strike against him, her sword notably shifted by half an inch.

That half-inch was deadly.

“Save me!” the woman in white suddenly shouted.

Had she been discovered?

Sīmìng was slightly startled.

The fierce beast also turned around.

She looked at the fleshy lumps on the steel-bladed monster’s face and frowned in disgust.

Truly hideous…

Sīmìng extended a finger and pointed it at the steel-bladed monster from behind.

The moment she acted, she regretted it.

She could have remained perfectly hidden; even if the beast had turned around, it wouldn’t have found her. The woman must have been tricking her, gambling that there was no one else in the cavern.

And the power she had accumulated was only enough for one strike.

She had been tricked by her!

Damn it…

Regret filled Sīmìng’s heart.

She had killed the monster, but the woman in white would surely kill her.

This was the essence of a chaotic world.