Chapter 532: Ancient Return

As the County Governor's words echoed, the hundreds of thousands of cultivators beneath the altar felt a massive upheaval in their minds. The common folk in the County Capital, however, were largely bewildered, for much of history remained unknown to them.

Only after becoming a Sword Holder and attending the County Governor's lectures did Xu Qing learn humanity's brief history. It was also the first time he glimpsed the condensed life story of Crown Prince Ziqing through historical accounts.

At this moment, Marquis Yao in mid-air, along with the Deputy Palace Masters of the Three Palaces and others around him, all looked dazed, their gazes towards the County Governor filled with complexity. The County Governor's true identity was surprising, yet it also seemed logical.

His governance as County Governor over the years, along with his various wartime decrees, clearly demonstrated his deep familiarity with state affairs. Indeed, upon careful recollection, his arrangements during the war were meticulously orderly. If one disregarded the fatigue he displayed purely for the sake of the narrative, one could discern a sense of effortless ease. This extended to the post-war reconstruction and recovery, with everything being carried out properly under his successive decrees. He had truly performed exceptionally, so much so that many had previously felt he even surpassed the old County Governor.

As Destiny descended upon him, Ziqing raised his left hand, grasping forward as if holding an invisible sword.

Ziqing spoke in a deep voice.

And now, the gaze appearing over the County Capital was even more astonishing than the box from before.

"He actually sacrificed himself to become half a domain treasure!"

"What else?" Zhao Yao's tone was fierce.

However, none of this could erase the County Governor's crimes.

His gaze fell upon the County Capital.

Tens of thousands of years had passed since the existence of the Qinglin Upper Kingdom. The entire landscape of Zhao Yao had changed drastically, but no matter how much, it was now reversing.

The unfamiliar aura made Ziqing immediately realize that the world within the painting was precisely the place where every cultivator, at the moment of Foundation Establishment, summoned evil souls.

It wasn't just humanity; at that moment, the mountains and rivers within the County Capital territory trembled — from the earth, from the rivers, from the vegetation, from the mountain peaks.

They were about to step out.

The County Governor sighed. "Deceiving all beings, gaining recognition from heaven, earth, and man to become the County Governor, and acquiring the destiny blessing of this entire Xu Qing land – this is what I craved."

The County Governor gazed at Ziqing and spoke.

Moreover, the light of dawn spread within Ziqing's body, brilliantly illuminating all directions, forming a colorful Nascent Soul within the light!

In the blood rain and alien substances, every living being in the County Capital trembled. Their expressions changed from joy to numbness. Above everyone's head, life force rose, accompanied by wisps of destiny, being forcibly extracted.

"I thought he'd say a lot," the County Governor smiled.

Its appearance shattered Ding Yi Ba Qi. The head, stone lion, and old Danqing man within it all trembled mentally and knelt before that eleventh Nascent Soul!

It was Night Dove!

This ability was not something everyone possessed; besides his familiarity with state affairs, it also required a grand strategic vision for the entire Fenghai County.

Ziqing shook his head.

At that moment, hearts turned!

At that point, Grandfather One, having attacked the Emperor Sword with the first puppet, still had something to discover.

The Hundred-Battle Sword Holders on the ground felt a wave of sadness. They knew who Ziqing was referring to; the figure who protected Zhao Yao after Commander Xiang's death had long become eternal in their minds.

"Because in my plan, my subsequent help to humanity would make human destiny flourish from its decadent state, expanding territories, and ultimately bringing back the Saint Lan."

The entire Xu Qing land trembled. Mountains formed in past lives collapsed, and ancient mountains that had disappeared over the ages emerged from the earth.

"This was the most crucial step in all my plans."

"I have a sword!"

"Disperse!"

His voice carried the sense of ages, as if it came from tens of thousands of years in the future, drifting across the river of time, echoing through heaven and earth at that moment.

As this Nascent Soul appeared, mountains and rivers trembled together. Qingqiu, among the hundreds of thousands of people on the ground, trembled as never before. Her breathing quickened as she gazed at this Nascent Soul, lost in wonder.

"I was wondering before why Qinglin's reincarnation was due to his unparalleled brilliance, and how you, Bai Xiaozhuo, could also reincarnate. But now I know why you could. You are truly ruthless!"

The County Governor's body trembled, his expression contorted. His hair was the first to turn to ash, and his clothes and flesh melted together in the blink of an eye. His body was crushed by an internal force, forced to concave.

Infinite alien substances surged down at that moment, rising from plants, from humans, from buildings, from all areas, from all things!

A great wind howled, sweeping across heaven and earth. The clothes of millions of people who had stepped out of their homes in the County Capital flapped in the wind. Their destinies also rose and converged towards Ziqing.

This entire process happened in a flash.

All Return to Void cultivators were suppressed.

Without warning, in a residence in the County Capital, a limping old man walked out of his house. He was dressed plainly, his eyes showing strong fighting intent. He was Ghost Hand, a jailer from District C of the Penal Department!

This Nascent Soul was originally not a body of destiny, yet its appearance shook heaven and earth, causing the sky to roar and the vortex to grow larger.

Perhaps it was precisely because it was always visible that people had grown accustomed to it. But at that moment, all beings had to look up, in that joy, to behold her.

After piercing the sky, it spread ripples, covering the entire sky of Xu Qing, transforming into the seventh layer of the sky.

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators were utterly horrified; the common folk of the County Capital were all silenced.

Ziqing was silent, the County Capital was silent, heaven and earth were silent.

At this moment, he raised his left hand, clenched forward, and roared.

The Captain remained silent. As his eyes narrowed slightly, the power of the Purple Moon surged within Ziqing, the Poison Restraint Pill erupted, the power of Ding Yi Ba Qi emerged, and the shadow of Ghost Emperor Mountain appeared before him.

As the runes gradually shattered, and as all living beings in Xu Qing felt turbulent waves in their hearts, eight colossal, fishbone-like divine spikes shot up into the sky from eight directions in Xu Qing, heading straight for the firmament.

"Ziqing, you said before that I wasn't worthy to lead my Lord. You were right. Many, many people said the same thing back then."

"Senior Brother, this is my business. If you're gone, even if I survive, I'll regret it for the rest of my life."

The Deputy Commander of the Eight Palaces, the Deacon, and the cultivators from the surrounding Judicial Palace and Executive Palace all erupted with their cultivation, striking at the County Governor.

Zhao Yao, the Emperor Sword, Grandfather One, all the cultivators present, and the power of Ziqing's sword, all paused before the remnant face at that moment.

"But now, I have won."

"Unfortunately, I couldn't wait for the most opportune time. I ultimately didn't become the County Governor and didn't receive Xu Qing's destiny blessing, which forced me to push many things prematurely. Alas."

To one's horror, the spine also couldn't endure, visibly vanishing, which then affected the head.

The County Governor's remnant face showed no change in expression, looking towards the Emperor Sword.

"I didn't know what the deity wanted. Finally, as the Qinglin Upper Kingdom was being destroyed, I knew what it wanted. So, with tears in my eyes, I slaughtered all the citizens in the county, whether cultivators, common folk, old or young. They didn't resist, allowing me to act. After I killed all the beings in the county, its sleeve finally nodded to me."

Amidst the roar, the Palace Master spat blood, heavily wounded, falling back and shouting loudly.

They knew that phrase.

"There was an old man I respected very much."

Only a single spine connected to the head.

"Why did only he stand out then? I remember he wasn't from Fenghai; he was from Nanhuang Continent."

Only the Captain, his body shining with blue light, now turned back and gave Ziqing a deep look, as if saying goodbye.

At that moment, heaven and earth trembled together!

In the blink of an eye, the County Governor's figure was no longer human-like, nor were his legs. Flesh dissipated, bones shattered, until his entire body began to collapse and all his limbs vanished.

If it could open its eyes, then the County Capital territory it saw now would appear as a ghost realm.

That day, he still waited for a long time.

"He died in battle. But in my heart, he lives on."

The image of that old man in his mind grew clearer.

In an instant, heaven and earth changed color, all four directions surged with clouds, destiny wailed, and common folk wept blood.

This was something every cultivator had to be informed of after Foundation Establishment.

The appearance of the seventeen Nascent Souls caused the Heavenly Mandate and Heavenly Tribulation to suddenly form. Though not timely, they ultimately appeared.

Sword light flashed, the old servant's head flew off, his body exploded and crumbled, and as flesh and blood scattered, the face of his flying head seemed to melt like ice and snow, revealing its true appearance.

After speaking, Ziqing looked at the hundreds of thousands of people on the altar, and then at the entire County Capital.

"I have a sword!"

So, Ziqing took a deep breath, his voice deep, echoing through heaven and earth.

As he spoke, he suddenly drew his sword. Immediately, a Marquis Yao, cultivated for four hundred years, surged from behind him, forming a world-shaking, unparalleled rainbow, heading straight for Ziqing.

"I have a sword to protect our home!"

The sky blurred, the earth twisted.

This scene of merging with the forbidden great net and gradually collapsing in the freezing cold was a lifelong pain for all cultivators who survived the Western Front.

Next, the County Governor's remnant face looked towards Grandfather One.

As those five words were uttered, the hundreds of thousands of Sword Holders on the altar all had bloodshot eyes. The blood-stained figure etched in their memories now seemed to appear on Ziqing's body, overlapping with him.

As those words were spoken, heaven and earth roared. Streaks of lightning crossed the sky, wisps of killing intent rose from the County Capital. On the altar, the hundreds of thousands of Hundred-Battle Sword Holders all had bloodshot eyes at this moment.

A full-force strike, unstoppable.

The world within the painting was not the Wanggu Continent, but utter darkness.

Ziqing was unaware of all this. At this moment, his cultivation roared, surging and erupting. In an instant, seven Nascent Souls formed, greatly elevating his cultivation, reaching a state where all seventeen Nascent Souls were present.

Its eyelids twitched slightly, but it still didn't open its eyes.

Its hair fell naturally, and the size of its sleeve surpassed the sun and moon.

The County Governor stood in mid-air, not dodging in the slightest. Just as the world-destroying power descended, he looked up at Zhao Yao before the sword light, then closed his eyes.

"I pray to reunite with my Lord in the future."

The County Governor was silent, his gaze sweeping over the Eight Palace Deputy Commanders, who were severely injured with shattered souls, and then over the Eight Palace Deacons, all of whom were pale and began to mutate.

Not just him, but all those around the County Governor could not escape death. Their bodies and spirits were completely destroyed. All the power surged towards the County Governor.

"I have a sword!"

"But my plan must still be completed. I still cannot leave. So I chose to reveal the true form bestowed by the deity, to actively be tainted by the aura of Wanggu, to no longer be pure, making it impossible for me, who has no past, present, or future, to reincarnate again, thus fixing my form."

His words echoed through heaven and earth. Countless eyes showed dim light, and countless hearts rose in unanimous agreement.

The next instant, the sword light, gathering the power of the crowd, imbued with the will of the entire County Capital and the might of destiny, fundamentally approached.

The Emperor Sword was stained with blood, falling back.

That phrase, like a clap of thunder, struck Ziqing's mind, turning into ripples that sought to engulf everything, but a blood-stained figure could never be obscured.

Foundation Establishment required a replica fate lamp for protection; only firelight could protect oneself. Foundation Establishment without protection would attract great terror.

It seemed the tide had turned!

Yinghuang Prefecture was also the same.

Bloody rain, accompanied by rumbling thunder, fell upon the earth, submerging the County Capital in rain. It also poured onto the statue of the Ancient Emperor Xuan You, dripping from his forehead to the corner of his eye, like tears of blood.

Especially the phrase "protect our home" spoken by Commander Xiang after his death, which was deeply imprinted in the heart of every Sword Holder.

As if the apocalypse had arrived.

The firmament churned, and clouds rumbled and dispersed in all directions, as if an invisible divine hand had parted the sky, revealing the twilight horizon, and revealing, beneath this firmament, the eternally existing remnant face of a deity from before the Ancient Emperor Xuan You era.

This was the Sword Holder's Marquis Yao.

The County Governor lowered his eyes, not dodging.

"From this very moment forward, for my past, that moment is my present; the next instant is my future."

Thus, roars filled with bloody malevolence erupted from their mouths.

"Disperse!"

"Therefore, I did not dodge your recent attack, using it as a reward for your resolve."

But no one knew what this world was.

Just this one sword could destroy Spirit Depository and shake Return to Void.

As for the two puppets the County Governor had taken out earlier, their remnant souls had now dissipated. They were no longer affected, resuming their actions, their original commands directing them straight towards Grandfather One, the Palace Master, and Zhao Yao.

Their bodies began to wither, their skin began to sag, but they did not die.

The County Governor ignored the countless murderous gazes around him, and didn't look at Zhao Yao or the others. It seemed that at this moment, in his eyes, the entire Xu Qing only contained Ziqing, the one he had originally paid no attention to.

Ideals, it seemed, were a joke in the face of power.

In an instant, it landed on the County Governor.

Apart from their appearances, what he saw was no different.

Without warning, under the shroud of destiny, Ding Yi Ba Qi within Ziqing also trembled. A small person rapidly formed within it, similar in stature to the little girl from before, but with Ziqing's appearance.

Not far away, his old servant's expression changed, and he quickly advanced, but under the power of all four directions, he had no right to avoid it.

But a golden glow suddenly emanated from the other half of its face, rapidly covering the entire area, like a golden, incomplete mask.

Beneath the sky, Grandfather One's body swayed, heading straight for the County Governor.

The Palace Master's eyes erupted with killing intent, bloody light surging, and he likewise charged out.

Rivers formed, mountains rose. If one could stand at a supreme vantage point and overlook the entire Zhao Yao, one would discover that these ancient mountains, returning from the past, formed an enormous rune.

It floated outside the Wanggu Continent, visible to all beings on the Wanggu Continent who looked up.

This sword arrived instantly, rapidly merging into Ziqing's Marquis Yao. As the sword in his hand swelled several times in an instant, Zhao Yao's eyes gleamed as he looked at the County Governor.

At this moment, the firmament was drawn, and heavenly thunder gathered within it. This was the power of heavenly tribulation.

"Now, my people, return from the Land of Fierce Li."

Ziqing said nothing, looking up at the sky.

Voices, one after another, merged, surpassing the sound of heavenly thunder. Looking around, Sword Holders, one by one, drew their swords.

"Ziqing, do you know? This place... isn't where you died that year. Before the Crown Prince fell in Southern Continent, I stood here, gazing at the deity's remnant face in the sky, and little by little, I carved my own flesh into its likeness."

The County Governor spoke in a deep voice, then his gaze fell upon Zhao Yao.

He also had a sword. When the Penal Department collapsed, he held back. He told Ziqing that when one day the culprit behind the Penal Department's collapse was found, he must be informed.

"His territory was destroyed along with the Zhao Yao Upper Kingdom."

The blood rain also revealed things that originally existed on their bodies but were invisible to others: streaks of light emanating from the seams along their forms.

"Thus, I could use Fenghai's destiny to draw in more human destiny."

If Baili was the first generation divine test subject, Sheng Yunzi the seventh generation, and Chu Tianqun the seventh generation complete, then these two puppets were the eighth generation!

From afar, the closed-eyed golden remnant face in mid-air instinctively felt familiar, and as waves stirred in people's hearts, the County Governor's remnant face opened its eyes.

"Little brother..."

This sword arrived instantly, rapidly merging into Ziqing's Marquis Yao. As the sword in his hand swelled several times in an instant, Zhao Yao's eyes gleamed as he looked at the County Governor.

Back then, Crown Prince Qinglin only opened a box at the Four Sect Alliance.

The entire County Capital was reversing, transforming into a forbidden zone.

Streaks of sword light erupted from the ground, rushing towards Ziqing, converging in his hand, rapidly forming a sword.

The sword light illuminated the sky, the sword energy destroyed everything, carrying the Sword Holders' oath, carrying thoughts of Zhao Yao, heading straight for the County Governor.

Roars converged, shaking heaven and earth. Hundreds of thousands of people on the altar, their wills and thoughts merged.

That was Ziqing's seventeenth Nascent Soul!

Whether it was poisoning the old County Governor, causing chaos in Fenghai County, colluding with the Saint Lan race, or indirectly leading to Commander Xiang's death, every single act was a blood debt.

"You sacrificed yourself to the deity back then, trying to gain the chance to lead the Crown Prince. The deity ignored you. So you willingly transformed yourself into a magic treasure, ready to abandon your soul and everything. The deity still ignored you."

The Emperor Sword also roared, charging forward as well.

He walked from time, growing clearer. His body had no vibrant colors, no glorious form, but was a ragged, small, dirt-stained child, as if crawled out from a pile of corpses.

"Disperse!"

Ziqing pressed hard on the Captain's shoulder, then looked into the Captain's eyes and said softly.

Heaven and earth twisted, all things blurred. As wails echoed in all directions, the County Governor's remnant face looked towards the Palace Master.

This light shone, indestructible.

Not only did they know, but the common folk of the County Capital also knew.

Destiny's approval, the blessing of all beings, lightning shattering, heavenly tribulation collapsing, forced to retreat.

Finally, the River of Time within Ziqing's body became slightly clearer, and a figure walked out from its waters.

He actually had something unspoken: that old man, through his words, actions, and death in battle, showed him what it truly meant to be a Sword Holder.

"You forced me to pluck the fruit before it was fully ripe, ruining many of my arrangements and potentially preventing me from fully keeping my promise to my people."

The Captain, standing by Ziqing, now stepped back a few paces. He knew that today, Zhao Yao was the only focus.

The cultivators of the Judicial Palace and Executive Palace, though they had no Sword Holder's oath, also knew the rights and responsibilities of the Sword Holder Palace.

This unfamiliar scene made everyone recognize that the unfamiliar remnant face of the County Governor floating in mid-air... it was identical to the deity's remnant face in the sky in terms of injuries and form!

But his eyes showed determination; it seemed that no matter how difficult his life was, it couldn't make him bow his head. He wanted to keep going, he wanted to live!

So quickly, killing intent from the entire County Capital rose again.

Only one flower withered; its rank was insufficient, so it could be suppressed.

The landscape belonging to the Zhao Yao Upper Kingdom was reappearing.

The Sky-Breaker bore its own weight, but that weight was too immense.

The Palace Master's body trembled violently. An eight-colored flower appeared above his head, and beneath the eight flowers sat the shadow of a Heavenly Marquis. However, it seemed Zhao Yao's bloodline was not pure, so this shadow was incomplete and could not fully form. After dissipating into heaven and earth, two of the eight-colored flowers were directly cut off.

His flesh was instantly erased, most notably from his chest, where ribs were visible and also couldn't withstand the pressure, becoming smooth then crumbling into dust that stained his vital organs.

The sky darkened, lightning surged and coiled, like millions of silver serpents appearing in the sky.

A spark could start a prairie fire, but blood rain could also extinguish it.