Chapter 1317: Behind the Scenes

The Celestial is the Constitution! Yet, when the Constitution collapses, it is as if the essence of the Celestial has been stripped away, leaving only humanity.

Just like the Ancient Immortal now, stumbling backward in the sky. He looked at his crumbling hand, seeing the Karmic Dao Marks that once made him omnipotent now transforming into the light of the setting sun, flowing with their final brilliance across his fractured skin. Within the light, myriad luminous butterflies subtly appeared; each was a manifestation of his past karma and destiny. Yet now, as they flew out, these butterflies struggled, seemingly having lost their origin, and began to dissipate.

Seeing this, the Ancient Immortal gave a bitter smile. He seemed to have lost all vitality, and with it, decay once again descended upon him. The wrinkles on his face cracked open once more, the karma he had replaced erupted anew, and his silver hair curled up again, falling out strand by strand! Even the vast Immortal Body behind him began to destabilize. His aura, which had previously reached the peak of constitutional power, instantly collapsed like a bursting dam. At the same time, mouthfuls of Dao Blood, containing his Immortal Source, uncontrollably gushed from his mouth. In mid-air, the blood emitted a foul stench, and as it scattered, it transformed into countless crimson mists, dissipating in all directions.

This scene invigorated the spirits of all who sensed it among the Myriad Races of Wanggu. The Empress’s breathing quickened, and Seventh Master’s heart trembled. Zhou Zhengli and others all showed expressions of wonder. Such a constitutional dispute could shake the opponent's very foundation; unless it was a mortal vendetta, Immortals would not choose this method against each other. Therefore, this kind of constitutional struggle was very rare.

Only Er Niu licked his lips, watching Xu Qing and the Ancient Immortal in the sky, muttering to himself. “Isn’t this just a war of words? I’m good at this! If that’s the case, won’t I be unrivaled among Immortals the day I become a Xia Immortal?”

As Er Niu's thoughts drifted, Xu Qing's gaze fell upon the Ancient Immortal in the sky, and a profound voice echoed. “You still have one choice at this moment.”

Hearing this, the Ancient Immortal slowly turned his head, his expression filled with the vicissitudes of time, and his eyes revealed a sense of weariness. He did not look at Xu Qing, but at the land of Wanggu. He gazed at this world, both familiar and strange to him, at its Myriad Races, and especially at its human race. Finally, his gaze settled on Seventh Master. Seventh Master remained silent.

The Ancient Immortal closed his eyes; the vast Immortal Body he had coalesced behind him now began to collapse. Cracks rapidly spread across the Immortal Body. Yet, just as these fissures permeated his entire form, the Ancient Immortal's closed eyes snapped open. He seemed to have made a decision, a choice in his heart. The moment his eyes opened, dense silver immortal flames erupted within him, instantly filling his entire body and spreading through the cracks into the surrounding void. His entire being seemed to transform into the ultimate Yang.

Within the endless flames, his left hand clenched into a fist, holding his own Immortal Source, on the verge of extinguishing. His other hand lay flat, its palm containing all the karma accumulated from a hundred thousand years of cultivation. Sensing both hands, he took a deep breath, and without any further hesitation, he transformed the Immortal Source in his palm into kindling and all his karma into lamp oil, completely merging them into himself!

Instantly, his Immortal Source scattered, and his karma vanished. The silver flames emanating from his Immortal Body surged, overflowing from his form and rising continuously towards the sky, becoming an inferno. During this process, an earth-shattering rumble resounded. This sound seemed to contain a farewell, surpassing thunder, rending heaven and earth. It reverberated through the bloodlines of all beings among the Myriad Races!

And as his immortal flames continuously ascended, touching the Wanggu Seal at the apex of the Nine Heavens, the entire sky was dyed silver. However, this silver was not pure; it gave a sense of pallor, as if it were a mournful song for the Ancient Immortal's end. For he was burning not only his immortal power but also the merit he had accumulated by leading the Thick Earth Star Ring to dominate Wanggu! These crowns that once made him brilliant now transformed into medals of self-sacrifice. With this, he exchanged for the Constitution's demise but humanity's survival!

The moment he was completely consumed, the silver flames lost their color, returning to his body, filling the cracks, making him appear normal, still an old man. Only, there was no longer any immortal essence about him. The sky, too, as the flames dissipated, saw the first sun rise in the distance. The first ray of dawn pierced through the thin sea of clouds, shining upon the old man's tattered Daoist robe.

“Ultimately, the immortal position has been lost,” the Ancient Immortal murmured. “From now on, this old man has no further connection with Wanggu…” Then, the light in his eyes reconverged, looking at Xu Qing.

“Junior, this old man has fulfilled your wish! And now, this old man has a wish! Back then, the one who left his mark in the sky with the power of his sword, his swordsmanship was astonishing. Were you by his side then? Did you learn his swordsmanship?”

Xu Qing looked at the Ancient Immortal and nodded. The light in the Ancient Immortal's eyes grew brighter. “Draw your sword!”

Xu Qing abruptly raised his right hand, pressing it slightly towards the ground below, and his deep voice spread in all directions. “The Great Emperor's path throughout his life was entirely swordsmanship. He created a total of five swords. The first stance is called… Earth Store.”

As he spoke, the human lands rumbled. With the infusion of Xu Qing's immortal essence, this rumble grew louder and louder, instantly sweeping across Wanggu, stirring up a dull earth sound that caused the sky to change color. It awe-inspired the mind. Xu Qing's voice echoed amidst the rumble of the earth. “The so-called Earth Store focuses on activating earth energy, replacing earth will with sword intent, transforming earth energy into sword qi. Once gathered, it condenses into an Earth Sword!”

As he spoke, the rumbling of the Wanggu land was like countless earth dragons erupting, streams of earth energy rising into the sky, rapidly converging to form a heaven-shaking great sword! Its color was dark yellow, standing tall in the sky! But it did not fall.

“The second stance is called Splitting Void!” Xu Qing raised his right hand and gently pressed it towards the sky. The sky darkened at this moment, and the void blurred. A terrifying power seemed to descend from nothingness, enveloping all the void in Wanggu, drawing out all traces of emptiness! “This sword was created by the Great Emperor for the Ancient Emperor's conquest of the Myriad Races. It can shatter the void, and the shattered traces are sword marks. These sword marks, boundless and endless, gather together to form the Splitting Void Sword!”

As Xu Qing's words spread, the void suddenly collapsed. Lines of spatial cracks continuously appeared on Wanggu's firmament. Dense and boundless. Those were both cracks and sword marks! As Xu Qing clenched his raised right hand, these countless sword marks converged from all directions before him, forming the second world-shaking sword! Sword light spread, sword qi ravaged, and sword intent quelled heaven and earth.

Seeing these two swords, humanity was moved, especially the Empress, whose eyes showed a trace of remembrance. As for the Myriad Races, they all reacted similarly. Indeed, the Sword-Wielding Great Emperor's strike back then had secured half a Jiazi (30 years) for the beings of Wanggu. Without that half-Jiazi, Wanggu's catastrophe would have been utterly unchangeable. The Ancient Immortal, for his part, had a hint of sighing in his expression. Although he knew that the Sword Cultivator Great Emperor back then had threatened with his resurrected broken face, he had to admit that the other's swordsmanship, even now, was still astonishing.

“Continue,” the Ancient Immortal spoke in a low voice. Xu Qing's eyes held deep meaning as he raised his hand and waved. “The third stance... is called Celestial Palace. This stance is primarily for slaughter, targeting only cultivators... thus, after the gods descended, the Great Emperor only used it once. The so-called Celestial Palace comes from the Celestial Palaces forged within every cultivator at the Core Formation stage and above!”

Xu Qing spoke calmly, then his raised right hand suddenly descended. All cultivators from holy lands at the Core Formation stage and above, who had previously dispersed and entered Wanggu, wherever they were at this moment, felt their minds rumble. Their Celestial Palaces rumbled and vibrated within them, as if controlled. From their respective Celestial Palaces, illusory swords coalesced, piercing out of their bodies! They converged into a sea of swords, roaring through heaven and earth, arriving like a tsunami from all directions. From a distance, the momentum was earth-shattering. Finally, before Xu Qing, it condensed into the third world-shaking great sword!

“The fourth sword, its name is Star Radiance!” The moment the words rang out, the sky rumbled, and daylight was instantly replaced by night. In the night, countless stars shone brightly. Countless star lights transformed into streaks of sword light, becoming long swords that descended from the starry sky, scattering across the world, forming the fourth world-shaking sword!

The Wanggu Deities were silent, and the Ancient Immortal in the sky gazed intently. The Empress's body trembled slightly. Indeed, at that moment, amidst the starlight and the radiance of the four great swords, Xu Qing's figure blurred. For a fleeting instant, in her eyes, he seemed to transform into the Sword-Wielding Great Emperor.

“The final sword…” Amidst the sword light, Xu Qing's mind recalled the voice of the Sword-Wielding Great Emperor from back then, and he spoke softly. “This sword was created by the Great Emperor to protect humanity, hence its name… Mundane World!”

The struggling human world after Dong Sheng's failure.The striving human world during the Saint Heaven era.The recovering human world under Jing Yun's rule.The unyielding human world during Dao Shi's reign.The chaotic human world during the ten thousand years of Xuan Zhan.The rising human world after Empress Li Xia!

“This is the human world he protected. He is gone, but I remain.” Xu Qing said softly. Just as before, his conviction was immense! Rising to shake the world, it overlapped with the previous four swords in the sky, converging into one, a true Mundane World Sword!

Towards the Ancient Immortal, with one sword, it descended!

The Ancient Immortal closed his eyes. But at the very instant the Mundane World Sword was about to strike the Ancient Immortal, it sharply veered around him, heading towards the void behind him! The void rippled, and a single drop of golden river water surprisingly appeared from within the emptiness. The moment it touched the sword, this river water emitted a sound that startled the gods, then suddenly burst forth, forming countless streams, forming vast expanses… Instantly, it transformed into a boundless Divine River that made Wanggu tremble and the starry sky ripple!

This river was not physical, merely an illusory projection, yet within it, countless stars and all living beings were visible, as were many lotus flowers. Within those lotus flowers, countless figures sat cross-legged: foreign races, humans, cultivators, deities… Furthermore, within the river water, a cold, indifferent golden giant eye faintly opened. It was precisely… the Mother River of the Divine Venerable in the Northern Ninth Star Ring!

“You are precisely who I was waiting for!” At that moment, Xu Qing's eyes emitted an unparalleled cold glint that had been suppressed until now!