Chapter 431: The Truth of the World

The sound of grinding swords screeched harshly, like teeth clashing and grinding, sending a chilling jolt through the eardrums.

Along with the grinding sound, countless tendrils of black mist rose, resembling numerous fox tails spreading and climbing across the sky, as if to tear it all to shreds.

Ning Changjiu stood on the Divine Painting Tower, gazing into the distance.

The Golden Crow flew out, and Ye Changong's figure landed lightly. Ji Xuan bowed respectfully, and the young girl nodded slightly, then also turned her gaze to the distance.

Ning Changjiu asked Liu Xiwang, "Is there still even a ten percent chance?"

Liu Xiwang stared at the black mist rising into the sky and shook her head, saying, "Not even one percent."

Ning Changjiu gave a bitter smile. "So when you said 'ten percent' earlier, you meant the enemy's odds of winning."

Liu Xiwang ignored his sarcasm and said, "In any case, be careful. The enemy we face now might no longer be Ke Wenzhou."

Ning Changjiu quietly assented.

In the Golden Crow Divine Kingdom, Siming and Lu Jiajia sat on their respective thrones, their eyes closed, awaiting the start of the battle at any moment.

"Xiaoli, stay in the Divine Painting Tower on standby and observe the movements of the Sword Pavilion disciples," Ning Changjiu said.

Shao Xiaoli gripped her sword tightly, hummed softly through her nose, and nodded in agreement.

Ning Changjiu ruffled her hair and said, "The battle at Guhuang is too dangerous. No matter what happens, don't interfere. Your master can handle it alone. Once the Sword Saint is dead, I'll go with you to see the Luo River."

Shao Xiaoli lowered her head and said, "Master, please don't talk like that. Xiaoli gets scared hearing it... I won't cause any trouble."

Ning Changjiu looked at Ye Changong and asked, "Master, you are now..."

Ye Changong raised a hand, cutting him off. She said, "Back then, you left the spark with me. You all said I was humanity's hope. Now that the Dark Lord has infiltrated and is present before us, how can I not go? Besides..."

A faint smile appeared on Ye Changong's youthful face. "Besides, I still hold three authorities; there's no need to worry about my safety."

Ning Changjiu nodded, saying nothing more. He had no doubt about his master's words, believing his master would not act recklessly.

Their exchange was brief.

Ke Wenzhou had clearly sensed their arrival.

The sound of grinding swords grew more intense, as if it would cleave the whetstone beneath in two. The black smoke resembled demonic claws reaching out from a furnace, already obscuring most of the starry sky, turning it into a hazy gray-black expanse.

Ye Changong gave Ji Xuan some instructions, telling him to remain at the top floor and, if necessary, to unfold the historical panorama like Luo Shu.

Ji Xuan acknowledged the order and ascended the tower.

"Alright, don't let him block the moon," Ye Changong said, looking up at Ning Changjiu.

Ning Changjiu stared in the direction of the billowing black smoke. As he nodded, his figure vanished. The next moment, thunder roared in the sky, instantly overpowering the sound of grinding swords. The winding, flowing Luo River flashed before his eyes, and the desolate ruins in the distance soon appeared as well.

It was a mountain range of ruins, riddled with holes.

The empty holes resembled wide-mouthed fledglings crying for food.

On the highest peak, an old man sat cross-legged, his gaunt body hunched. In his hands, he held a rusty ancient sword, pressing it against the cliff face with both hands, grinding it. His narrowed eyes were fixed on the blade, the wrinkles etched around his eyes resembling dry, withered tree bark.

On his back was a token, that of the Sword Pavilion's master. During his battle with Ning Changjiu in Naming back then, he had used this token to summon hundreds of ancient swords.

For the sake of his beliefs, he had long severed all his emotions and desires. Now, his body was filled with black mist, making the old man appear like a walking corpse.

Ning Changjiu and Ye Changong landed on the peak opposite him. Thousands of dark holes separated them from the Sword Saint.

"You've finally arrived."

Ke Wenzhou raised his head, covered in dry, sparse hair, his murky eyes staring at the newcomers.

Ning Changjiu frowned. "I didn't expect you to still have consciousness."

Ke Wenzhou let out two dry laughs and said, "Perhaps the heavens pitied my unfinished path, and thus left me a fraction of my awareness to witness the end of the sword dao."

He was like a malevolent ghost, yet his words were still clear.

As he spoke, he stood up, looking at the sword in his hand. It was covered in rust and blood, and it was unclear whether it had been properly sharpened.

"Everyone is like a sword..." Ke Wenzhou uttered this sentiment without apparent reason. "But even if you strip away all the rust, what you often see is just useless scrap metal that's long past its prime."

As the old man spoke, he laughed loudly and casually tossed the sword he had been grinding for a long time into a hole.

He extended his hand. A sharp black light pierced through his palm, and a long sword then grew out from within his body, grasped by his broken fingers.

Ning Changjiu held the Silver Sword, watching him from afar. The tip of his sword subtly shifted, but he did not make the first move.

Ye Changong stood by his side, her appearance serene and docile, like a daughter accompanying her father on a visit to relatives.

A strong wind brushed their faces. Her black dress danced in the wind, yet her fine hair did not tremble at all.

Ke Wenzhou turned around, black smoke pouring from his seven orifices.

He looked at the two people who had come to kill him. His gaze fell upon Ye Changong, and he showed no surprise at the young girl's shrunken form. Instead, he bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, Master of the Unseeable View."

The young Master offered no response. Behind her, a slender moon was outlined.

Ning Changjiu looked at Ke Wenzhou and asked, "Is this current state of yours the ultimate limit of the sword dao you sought?"

Ke Wenzhou replied, "I don't know. I haven't experienced the scenery at the end of the path, and I don't know what it should truly be like. But this current state isn't bad either."

Ning Changjiu asked, "What exactly did the Heavenly Dao promise you?"

Ke Wenzhou replied, "Eternity."

Ning Changjiu asked, "You would sacrifice the lives of your disciples, the lives of all beings, to pursue that elusive eternity?"

Ke Wenzhou chuckled, revealing his cracked teeth. "Things have come to this; I have no retreat. If I cannot hold firm to my original belief, then I will truly have nothing left. If saints can help me, I will bow to them. If their path yields nothing, I will kneel before demons. To cultivate my entire life and not seek eternity—that would be truly uninteresting..."

He stood amidst the sky-obscuring black mist. A white light suddenly ignited in his eyes, and his face was covered in cracks, like a ghost with nowhere left to turn.

Ning Changjiu could feel that consciousness was slowly fading from the opponent's body. The part belonging to the Dark Lord was rapidly taking him over. What remained of him was less a body and more a shell for the devil's birth.

In the brief moment of the opponent's shifting consciousness, Ning Changjiu didn't hesitate for a moment. In his mind, Siming and Lu Jiajia simultaneously resonated with him.

*Rip!*

Above Ke Wenzhou's head, the black aura was instantly torn open. Countless cracks also began to spread across the walls of the caves between the peaks. Amidst sounds like bones being crushed, Ning Changjiu stomped on the rock, his body taut and launching instantly, shooting forth like an arrow.

The distance between him and the Sword Saint rapidly closed. In that brief interval, Ning Changjiu gripped the Silver Sword and drew it out with full force.

His figure paused above Ke Wenzhou, then descended with even greater speed, cleaving towards the decrepit husk.

At the same time, Ke Wenzhou seemed to truly awaken. He raised his sword to block, intercepting Ning Changjiu the instant his blade descended.

Sword energy exploded, forming the first shockwave. The surrounding peaks were instantly reduced to rubble.

Ke Wenzhou blocked with a single arm, holding his sword aloft, while Ning Changjiu pressed down with both arms on his sword. The two blades met in the air, and the scene seemed to freeze.

Ye Changong remained standing where she was.

She closed her eyes and spread her arms; in her hands, she held only authority.

The instant Ning Changjiu and Ke Wenzhou's swords locked in a stalemate, the power of authority in Ye Changong's hands was cast forth.

Authority was a weapon that transcended all blades, a product of the world's laws breaking through their limits.

Although Ye Changong was much weaker than her peak, she held four authorities. Unfortunately, among these four, the only one truly related to killing was the 'Dust Seal' seized from Baizang.

The Dust Seal was thrown, instantly approaching Ke Wenzhou.

Ke Wenzhou's movements slowed.

At this instant, a golden light flashed past Ning Changjiu's left and right sides. As the golden light passed, the figures of Lu Jiajia and Siming also appeared like specters.

Siming held a black sword, stabbing cleanly at the opponent's neck. With a single thought, Lu Jiajia generated ten thousand swords, and their lights covered the Sword Saint like a rainstorm.

Ning Changjiu and Ye Changong were responsible for locking down the Sword Saint, while Lu Jiajia and Siming were responsible for the killing blow. This was the ultimate killing maneuver they had planned long ago. In this instant, the killing intent they unleashed was enough to tear an unhealable rift in the firmament!

The surrounding peaks instantly collapsed, and the entire ground rapidly sank.

The black mist swirling around Ke Wenzhou was shattered by this sword energy and killing intent. Yet the body, protected by the Dark Lord, was like bedrock; even after being scoured by Lu Jiajia and Siming's sword energy, it showed no trace of a crack.

But a look of pain still lit up in the Sword Saint's murky pupils.

His arm was already severed, and a single person with one arm was ultimately no match. Between his limbs, the power of the Dust Seal silently permeated him, like mud clogging his joints, making Ke Wenzhou's movements difficult.

He could only recklessly expend his physical spiritual energy, using immense external force to resist their fully murderous swords.

Ning Changjiu and Ke Wenzhou's swords remained locked.

Between the two, the second wave of sword energy erupted. This time, the entire Guhuang ruins were utterly destroyed. All the precious traces left by the dragon race in ancient times were instantly obliterated, and the empty, dilapidated halls met the same fate...

Within the sword energy, whether rough stones or magnificent palaces, all were instantly pulverized into fine grains of sand.

In Guhuang, it seemed as if the scene of Heaven's Treasury's resurgence was replaying, and overwhelming dust and sand formed a storm, spiraling upwards.

On the Divine Painting Tower, Shao Xiaoli glanced from afar and immediately withdrew her gaze. Her master's task was to observe the movements of the Sword Pavilion disciples; she absolutely couldn't get distracted...

In the sandstorm stirred by the chaotic currents, Siming's sword tip shifted, thrusting diagonally downwards towards Ke Wenzhou's right rib. Lu Jiajia, with a knowing synchronicity, likewise stabbed towards the Sword Saint's left rib.

The Dark Lord's power within Ke Wenzhou resisted the sword tips, like countless fine tentacles pushing them firmly away from his flesh.

Yet even so, Ke Wenzhou was still unable to withstand the combined force of the four, and his body was gradually being pierced.

In the sea of sand, Ye Changong was calm and silent. Her black dress floated with a clear brilliance, and as her fingers danced, the authority of fate, inscribing the outcome of death, pressed down.

Ning Changjiu and Siming gave Ke Wenzhou no time to adjust. They simultaneously activated the authority of time.

Among the few of them, time was instantly accelerated a thousandfold.

Thus, the speed at which the sword edges pierced Ke Wenzhou's body also increased a thousandfold.

What was originally a gradual piercing, with such an enhancement, visibly tore through his flesh and plunged into his body.

Outside their immediate vicinity, sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset, became momentary events.

Ning Changjiu felt as if he had returned to the decisive battle with the Sin Sovereign. They stood on an absolute temporal plane, each cutting their sharp edges into the other's body.

A long time passed, but to their perception, it was merely an instant.

Ning Changjiu activated his Lunar Eye, intently observing every frequency of Ke Wenzhou's breathing and every muscle contraction.

Soon, the opponent's breathing became erratic, and his muscles stiffened. It was at this moment that a golden light suddenly flared in Ning Changjiu's pupils. An Asura crawled out from his body, extended its sharp claws, seized Ke Wenzhou's shoulders, and ripped him apart.

Unable to resist the combined force of the group, Ke Wenzhou's shoulder blades shattered, and his right arm hung limply as if dislocated.

Having lost his resistance, Ning Changjiu's Silver Sword plunged through,

as if an iceberg were splitting down the middle.

The Silver Sword sliced through the opponent's body, almost cleaving Ke Wenzhou directly in half.

Lu Jiajia and Siming's swords also plunged