Chapter 1433: Mo Demon Arts Listen to Snow Chen Sword, Saying Celestial Secrets Humans Are Above the Law

Spectral Domain.

Xi’s move was remarkably simple.

He merely rotated his palms, which were pressed together, and folded them in front of his chest.

Similar to how a Spirit Refiner expands their domain, his aura seamlessly integrated with the surrounding environment.

As a faint glow appeared in the small, eerie green sword in his eyes, his entire being became almost transparent, like a ghost.

Within a radius of several miles, wisps of lingering spirits began to float forth.

These were unconscious floating spirits, fragmented beast souls, and remnants of unwillingness or resentment left behind by decaying vegetation.

Under the night sky, the snowy mountain became incredibly eerie and sinister.

It was as if the mortal realm had connected to the netherworld; a common person venturing here might be scared to death.

The dense mass of spirits integrated into the Ghost Sword, becoming an external extension for Xi, as if they were his own limbs.

They served as both his ears and his eyes.

"Rewind," Xi commanded softly.

Within the Spectral Domain, the spirits materialized and converged, forming a series of images.

Soon, the images rewound, displaying scenes witnessed by the lingering spirits in this area, from daylight to night.

Xi watched silently.

Lord Dao Qiongcang waited quietly.

The images showed no human presence for an entire day, only continuous, solitary snowfall.

The only period of activity was when a feline beast came here to forage, then left after finishing.

"No one has been here..."

Xi’s heart sank after seeing everything.

He was extremely confident in his Ghost Sword technique, and his first thought was, "Lord Dao, could your judgment have been mistaken?"

"Is this the Soul-Controlling Art, one of the eighteen Ghost Sword flows?" Lord Dao’s focus didn't seem to be on the rewind results.

"Yes," Xi opened his mouth, bringing the conversation back to the main topic. "Reporting to Lord Dao, your subordinate found no one."

"Spectral Domain, is it a domain-type sword technique unique to Ghost Sword cultivators, similar to a Spirit Refiner's domain?" Lord Dao asked again.

Xi subconsciously let out a sound of hesitation and quickly replied, "Yes."

"When you become a Half-Saint, will this be similar to a Spirit Refiner's Saint Domain?"

"Yes."

"A very clever concept, somewhat similar to the Azure River Sword Domain, but less offensive, a reconnaissance-type sword technique?"

"Yes, and no," Xi shook his head seriously. Before he could explain, he closed his mouth.

Because Lord Dao kept asking questions, not giving him a chance to speak. "Even if it has offensive capabilities, it can't compare to the Azure River Sword Domain, right? After all, Mo Sword Art is renowned for its strongest offense."

"It depends on who you're comparing it to," Xi said, not allowing himself to lack confidence when it came to ancient sword arts.

"How about compared to Gou Wuyue?"

Xi fell silent, then mumbled after a long pause, "Sword Saint Wuyue..."

"Sword Immortal."

"Sword Immortal?" Xi was startled. "Elder Wuyue hasn't achieved Sainthood yet?"

Recently, news of Sword Immortal Gou Wuyue achieving Sainthood had spread everywhere, throughout the Holy Mountain.

Although it was said he became the Chief of the Anomaly Division, Xi had not received definitive confirmation.

However, hearing it so often, the widespread belief made him think it was true.

But unlike outsiders, Xi also knew that with the change in the White-Robed Administrator's position, information about the previous incumbent had been completely sealed off.

What outsiders said was inaccurate.

Lord Dao, however, definitely knew the first-hand information, because he was the one who sealed it!

Lord Dao Qiongcang retorted, "What, then, is your understanding of 'Saint'? Is it a realm, or a unit for measuring battle prowess?"

Xi felt it was both, caught in a dilemma.

Lord Dao Qiongcang said:

"If it's a realm, then Shen Yi would only be at the Great Void level, because his highest Spirit Refinement realm only grasped illusions."

"Then, by conventional logic, any Half-Saint could easily defeat Shen Yi, is that right?"

After listening, Xi had an answer in his heart.

A Saint is not a realm, but a unit of battle prowess measurement.

Lord Dao Qiongcang continued:

"If 'Saint' is a unit of battle prowess measurement, then what is the meaning of a Half-Saint rank?"

"All Spirit Refiners who reach the peak of the Great Void realm can fight above their rank, regardless of whether they have a Half-Saint rank."

"Wouldn't a Half-Saint rank then be meaningless?"

Xi was stunned.

He felt like a weathervane, swaying to the other side again.

"I ask Lord Dao for clarification," he said solemnly, cupping his fists.

Lord Dao Qiongcang, holding the secrets of the heavens, said mysteriously, "There are no constant rules in the world; things vary from person to person. For the extraordinary, conventional reasoning is hard to apply."

Xi seemed thoughtful.

His thoughts quickly spread, connecting to something, and he asked in surprise, "So, Sword Immortal Wuyue is similar to Shen Yi? He hasn't achieved Sainthood, but has made a breakthrough, reaching Half-Saint battle prowess?"

"Similar..." Dao Qiongcang chuckled upon hearing this. "Young man, your choice of words is quite interesting."

Xi hesitated again.

Dao Qiongcang then said seriously:

"Ten Venerable Seats, Seven Sword Immortals."

"Among the previous generation's prodigies, Gou Wuyue was the only one who, by his own strength, secured a place on both lists."

"I am not as good as him, Shen Yi is not as good as him, and Ba Zun'an is not as good as him. Why would he need to be 'similar' to anyone?"

Xi was shaken by these words.

Thinking it over carefully, it seemed to be true.

But his point of shock was not this; it was that he hadn't expected Lord Dao's appraisal of Sword Immortal Wuyue to be so high.

If that's the case, why does the Holy Divine Palace treat him this way...?

Xi dared not ponder further and said with slight apology, "This junior's choice of words was inappropriate and too rash."

He then changed the subject, knowing well how to probe for information:

"However, Lord Dao, the Eighth Sword Immortal, and Shen Yi, all follow new paths."

"If Sword Immortal Wuyue's path was merely the Mo Sword Art, unable to innovate, your subordinate believes he would not receive such a high evaluation from Lord Dao."

Dao Qiongcang smiled, "Your cleverness, if applied to Ghost Sword techniques, would make your teacher very pleased."

Xi flinched.

His words were indeed highly disrespectful.

Disrespectful to the previous White-Robed Administrator.

And also very disrespectful to seniors in ancient sword arts.

But tonight, it seemed Lord Dao was willing to hear him speak and ask in this manner?

Dao Qiongcang then nodded:

"However, what you said is indeed true; Gou Wuyue is searching for a new path."

"Otherwise, he wouldn't need to join the Holy Divine Palace and might have achieved Sainthood long ago."

"If that were not the case, during the Eight Palaces event, he wouldn't have refused to turn back even when Ba Zun'an advised him to, and even brought Wuxiu back to the mountain to face punishment."

"Before the light arrives, towering trees and tiny blades of grass are equally buried deep underground..."

At this point, as if remembering something, Dao Qiongcang's voice softened considerably, as if he were speaking to himself:

"If he had truly turned back, wouldn't decades of effort have been in vain?"

Xi's eyes brightened. "So, Elder Wuyue finally succeeded!?"

Dao Qiongcang looked up at the young man, who was yearning for the new path under the moonlight, and a slight smile appeared on his lips:

"As if."

"Huh?"

Xi was dumbfounded.

Don't, don't leave me hanging!

Dao Qiongcang, however, remained silent, gazing at the moonlight as if recalling that scene.

At that time, he appeared in the Dead Sea with a Half-Saint rank just in time, offering another chance.

Gou Wuyue, who had already manifested a Sword Chant of Sainthood but suppressed his breakthrough, either by the Dead Sea or by himself, accepted the proposal:

He chose to leave the Dead Sea and continue serving as the Holy Mountain's sword, but transitioned from openly serving to working covertly.

The only one left who could utilize him was Dao Qiongcang.

This naturally made Dao Qiongcang immensely pleased.

However, unexpectedly, Gou Wuyue refused the Half-Saint rank, which outsiders believed was his sole purpose for diligently serving the Holy Divine Palace for decades.

"Ambition higher than the heavens!"

Dao Qiongcang could easily see Gou Wuyue's thoughts.

But from that point on, was his "fate as thin as paper"...?

Gou Wuyue, with his severed arm, seemed to have also severed his own fate.

Dao Qiongcang could no longer divine his future, even with all his calculations.

"Let's talk about the Ghost Sword technique again."

Dao Qiongcang no longer wished to speak much about his exclusive treasure sword, and looked at Xi with an obvious, almost cheap, admiration in his eyes:

"Your Soul-Controlling Art has reached perfection; it's naturally formed, used with masterful skill, truly profound and extraordinary."

"A Spectral Domain like this, if wielded by a Sword Saint, could probably contend with the Preta Path of the Six Paths of Ancient Martial Arts, I presume?"

Xi, receiving such high praise unexpectedly, was somewhat overwhelmed but struggled to make a comparison, so he could only say, "Your subordinate does not know."

"What about a Saint Emperor then? At that highest realm, you should have some measure, right?"

"Saint Emperor..." Xi's eyes filled with yearning. "At that level, it's not just about the Soul-Controlling Art anymore."

"Hmm, you have a point," Dao Qiongcang nodded in agreement. "Have you cultivated the Lord of Fengdu yet?"

"Difficult..."

"Compared to the Six Paths of Ancient Martial Arts, do you think the Lord of Fengdu is stronger or weaker?" Dao Qiongcang seemed quite concerned about his subordinate's ancient sword cultivation realm at this moment.

Xi smiled and replied crisply, "It depends on the individual."

"What about you?"

"I can't," Xi recalled the bald man in his mind; at that time, he had been utterly defenseless.

"What about Hua Changdeng?" Dao Qiongcang's gaze was like lightning, boldly cutting through the pretense.

"Old... they cannot be compared on the same day." Xi pursed his lips and shook his head. He clearly understood Lord Dao's true intentions but didn't hide his thoughts, adding, "It's a gap between heaven and earth!"

"Oh? What is heaven, and what is earth?"

Xi gave the most definitive answer, stating solemnly:

"The Lord of Fengdu, ruler of the Yin realm, is about control."

"The Six Paths of Ancient Martial Arts borrow from heaven, from the human realm, from hell, from Asuras, Pretas, and beasts... they are diverse but not refined, unable to transcend."

He stopped at this point, saying no more.

Because there was no need to say more.

Dao Qiongcang nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, but did not jump to conclusions, only saying:

"The Six Paths are not the end of ancient martial arts. What you see is less than one ten-thousandth of what Shen Yi possesses."

Under the snowy night, with myriad ghosts around, Xi's gaze was like a torch, utterly fearless:

"The Ghost Sword technique encompasses everything."

"I am not yet qualified to evaluate it, but if Lord Dao truly insists on asking..."

"I can only say that my teacher also only revealed the tip of the iceberg!"

Dao Qiongcang smiled in satisfaction.

He spoke a lot, and I am very pleased.

Finally, he concluded his words, not with a far-off vision, but with something immediate:

"This Lord truly looks forward to the day when you can evaluate the Ghost Sword technique, and assess all paths of heaven and earth, all myriad forms and aspects."

"At that time, you and I will discuss as equals, for the Way has no seniors."

Xi was slightly dazed.

A moment ago, Lord Dao was sarcastic and aggressive.

Now, Lord Dao was encouraging a junior, full of expectation.

Xi truly couldn't understand which was the real Lord Dao—was he broad-minded enough to encompass everything, or narrow-minded and petty?

"Your subordinate dares not," Xi respectfully bowed his head.

"Why not? Be a bit bolder, there's no one around here," Dao Qiongcang said with a laugh.

"Uh..."

"Ancient sword cultivators disregard gods and Buddhas. If you don't intend to 'cut down' Hua Changdeng, you will never surpass him," Dao Qiongcang's eyes burned like flames. "Speak, you actually want to."

Xi's confidence surged, he straightened his chest and loudly declared, "Yes, I really want to cut him down! I've put up with him for years!"

"Cut down whom? Say it! You don't even dare to speak his name directly!"

"Hua! Chang! Deng!"

"Good! What nerve! Truly outrageous audacity!"

Dao Qiongcang laughed three times, clapped three times, then composed himself, revealing a sound-recording pearl in his palm, shaking it before the young man, and then carefully put it away:

"Tomorrow, this Lord will relay your message to Hua Changdeng."

Xi froze on the spot, like an ice sculpture.

"Are you saying this Lord was mistaken?"

"Dao Qiong... Lord, you are undoubtedly mistaken! That Southern Domain evil cultivator has never appeared here today!"

"Are you certain?"

"Hahaha, your subordinate has checked thirteen times; there's no such person. I am absolutely certain!"

"Oh? What if you are wrong?"

"Wrong? Hahaha, what is right, what is wrong? Your subordinate dares to bet his head on it... Lord Dao, you have miscalculated, your methods are exhausted here today! If I lose, what harm is there in offering you this fine head?"

"Rest assured, even if your words are insolent, this Lord cannot bear to cut you down. Your teacher will deal with you."

"Hahaha! Hahaha... *sniffle*, hahahaha..."

Xi laughed uncontrollably under the snowy night, tears in his eyes.

At this moment, where was the slightest trace of humility he had shown earlier at Mount Guizhe, in front of the Sacred Hall?

He looked as if he had been possessed!

Xi was no longer the same Xi.

From now on, he would trust no one in the world!

"It would have been so much better to be like this from the start, why pretend...?"

Dao Qiongcang was very pleased with this, and stated that the sound-recording pearl would not be crushed or given to Xi because of this.

He had dealt with ancient sword cultivators for many years; how could he not know that despite their dignified appearance, they were... in private, more eccentric than the last?

Forcibly unleashing this suppressed eccentricity, making them wild and frantic, was precisely Dao Qiongcang's small pleasure.

"Rewind the Spectral Domain and look again," Dao Qiongcang simply instructed.

"Even if you watch it three more times, you won't find anything. Do you really think I'm an incompetent person occupying a position without merit?" Xi sneered, glaring at him. "My suggestion is, better not to look!"

Dao Qiongcang was greatly amused, almost slapping his thigh.

The old Xi would never have dared to look at him with such eyes.

What an ancient sword cultivator! Truly amusing!

"Now, you somewhat resemble the Chief of the Anomaly Division... No, you are even more audacious than Yi Kuang, more audacious than your teacher."

"Audacious? I'm simply stating facts. Don't think that just because you're Lord Dao, you can disregard your subordinate's efforts and toy with others at will."

"Don't worry, I said I wouldn't kill you, so I won't. Rewind."

"Heh."

Xi was, after all, just a subordinate, so he could only activate the power of the Spectral Domain's rewind once more, then crossed his arms and glared coldly at Dao Qiongcang.

He wanted to see how this mysterious Lord Dao differed from him, and what flaws he could find in a scene that seemingly had no discrepancies!

In the images.

Snow fell endlessly.

It laden the branches of the evergreen trees on the mountain forest, then curled up leaves into clumps and knocked them to the ground.

The wind rustled.

When the wild beast, resembling a tiger or a leopard, entered the scene...

"Stop."

Dao Qiongcang stretched out his hand and called a halt.

Xi was startled and promptly froze the rewind image, his gaze falling on the beast.

He had observed this beast several times, but found nothing. Could he have overlooked something?

"Do you see it?" Dao Qiongcang pointed to the distance in the image.

"What?"

"The leaf."

A... leaf...?

Xi was taken aback, looking at the daytime scene in the image.

In the mountain forest, there were countless leaves. Which leaf was Lord Dao referring to?

Wait!

Xi suddenly felt his scalp tingle.

Could it be that he had watched the scene thirteen times, and Lord Dao had also watched it thirteen times, but Lord Dao's scrutiny was so meticulous that he didn't miss even a single leaf?

"Here."

Dao Qiongcang gathered starlight to point to a seemingly inconspicuous leaf in the image.

Xi's gaze followed.

The snow clung to branches, knocked off twigs, and scattered fallen leaves.

This leaf had neither vanished, nor accelerated its movement, nor shown any spiritual energy fluctuations...

It had simply fallen naturally. What could be abnormal about it?

"Hmph."

Xi scoffed, yet inexplicably felt a sense of unease.

Dao Qiongcang continued, "If snow normally hits a branch and a leaf falls, the break point would look like this."

He used his Heavenly Secret Art to simulate the details of a leaf after it breaks—when magnified, the break point was very rough!

"However, after this particular leaf fell, the result was like this."

Dao Qiongcang then magnified the image of the break point from the Spectral Domain's rewind—it was still rough!

"Pfft."

Xi burst out laughing, a mocking expression on his lips. "Lord Dao, is there a difference?"

"There is no difference," Dao Qiongcang shook his head.

"Hahaha..." Xi felt like he was going crazy. What was Dao Qiongcang saying? Was he toying with him, becoming addicted to it?

"But look here," he said.

Dao Qiongcang suddenly stepped forward, walking to the break point of the fallen leaf at the corresponding real-world location shown in the Spectral Domain's rewind image.

This was extremely difficult to find.

To find the anomaly in a "naturally fallen" leaf among thousands of almost identical ones, and then to match it to its real-world location...

Xi believed he didn't have the energy for such a task.

He followed, looked up, and then his heart sank.

The break point of the leaf and twig that Lord Dao had picked for him to examine closely was, in reality—incredibly smooth!

It was as if it had been cut off by a sword; it showed no trace of the roughness seen in the Spectral Domain's rewind.

This meant:

The Ghost Sword technique had deceived him!

"Impossible, this is impossible..."

Xi was shocked.

He was shocked that the Ghost Sword technique had been fooled.

He was shocked that the Southern Domain evil cultivator had indeed been here.

He was even more shocked that Lord Dao could find the "anomaly" in the rewind image, which showed no anomalies, among thousands of identical leaves, and then cross-reference it with reality to find the true "anomaly"!

"How did you do that?"

Xi was dumbfounded.

He was utterly convinced at this moment.

This was the unfathomable Dao Qiongcang?

Dao Qiongcang did not answer, instead pointing his star-gathered light to other leaves in the rewind image, a total of thirty-seven.

He then individually corresponded them to thirty-seven real-world locations, signaling Xi to look.

Xi, disbelieving, frantically went to check.

Without exception, all thirty-seven leaves had normal, rough break points in the rewind image, but in reality, they were abnormal and smooth!

"There is no such thing as unfathomable mystery..."

Dao Qiongcang seemed to know what Xi was thinking at that moment and calmly said, "All this Lord did was follow clues, and then used a method that you all would rather not use even when desperate, yet it might be the only useful one, albeit the most tedious and thankless."

"You..." Xi said in disbelief, "Did you truly identify each one individually?"

Dao Qiongcang turned his gaze, twirling his fingers:

"Thirteen rewinds, thirteen chances to win, a full thirty-eight flaws left by the enemy for you..."

"You ignored them all."

After a pause, Dao Qiongcang said calmly:

"What this Lord wants to say is..."

"Today, your head can remain on your shoulders for now. Whether you want your life tomorrow depends on whether you still want to fight for it."

"Opportunity, once missed, is gone forever."

Xi was slightly dazed.

A moment ago, Lord Dao was sarcastic and aggressive.

Now, Lord Dao was encouraging a junior, full of expectation.

Xi truly couldn't understand which was the real Lord Dao—was he broad-minded enough to encompass everything, or narrow-minded and petty?

"Your subordinate dares not," Xi respectfully bowed his head.

"Why not? Be a bit bolder, there's no one around here," Dao Qiongcang said with a laugh.

"Uh..."

"Ancient sword cultivators disregard gods and Buddhas. If you don't intend to 'cut down' Hua Changdeng, you will never surpass him," Dao Qiongcang's eyes burned like flames. "Speak, you actually want to."

Xi's confidence surged, he straightened his chest and loudly declared, "Yes, I really want to cut him down! I've put up with him for years!"

"Cut down whom? Say it! You don't even dare to speak his name directly!"

"Hua! Chang! Deng!"

"Good! What nerve! Truly outrageous audacity!"

Dao Qiongcang laughed three times, clapped three times, then composed himself, revealing a sound-recording pearl in his palm, shaking it before the young man, and then carefully put it away:

"Tomorrow, this Lord will relay your message to Hua Changdeng."

Xi froze on the spot, like an ice sculpture.

"Are you saying this Lord was mistaken?"

"Dao Qiong... Lord, you are undoubtedly mistaken! That Southern Domain evil cultivator has never appeared here today!"

"Are you certain?"

"Hahaha, your subordinate has checked thirteen times; there's no such person. I am absolutely certain!"

"Oh? What if you are wrong?"

"Wrong? Hahaha, what is right, what is wrong? Your subordinate dares to bet his head on it... Lord Dao, you have miscalculated, your methods are exhausted here today! If I lose, what harm is there in offering you this fine head?"

"Rest assured, even if your words are insolent, this Lord cannot bear to cut you down. Your teacher will deal with you."

"Hahaha! Hahaha... *sniffle*, hahahaha..."

Xi laughed uncontrollably under the snowy night, tears in his eyes.

At this moment, where was the slightest trace of humility he had shown earlier at Mount Guizhe, in front of the Sacred Hall?

He looked as if he had been possessed!

Xi was no longer the same Xi.

From now on, he would trust no one in the world!

"It would have been so much better to be like this from the start, why pretend...?"

Dao Qiongcang was very pleased with this, and stated that the sound-recording pearl would not be crushed or given to Xi because of this.

He had dealt with ancient sword cultivators for many years; how could he not know that despite their dignified appearance, they were in private, more eccentric than the last?

Forcibly unleashing this suppressed eccentricity, making them wild and frantic, was precisely Dao Qiongcang's small pleasure.

"Rewind the Spectral Domain and look again," Dao Qiongcang simply instructed.

"Even if you watch it three more times, you won't find anything. Do you really think I'm an incompetent person occupying a position without merit?" Xi sneered, glaring at him. "My suggestion is, better not to look!"

Dao Qiongcang was greatly amused, almost slapping his thigh.

The old Xi would never have dared to look at him with such eyes.

What an ancient sword cultivator! Truly amusing!

"Now, you somewhat resemble the Chief of the Anomaly Division... No, you are even more audacious than Yi Kuang, more audacious than your teacher."

"Audacious? I'm simply stating facts. Don't think that just because you're Lord Dao, you can disregard your subordinate's efforts and toy with others at will."

"Don't worry, I said I wouldn't kill you, so I won't. Rewind."

"Heh."

Xi was, after all, just a subordinate, so he could only activate the power of the Spectral Domain's rewind once more, then crossed his arms and glared coldly at Dao Qiongcang.

He wanted to see how this mysterious Lord Dao differed from him, and what flaws he could find in a scene that seemingly had no discrepancies!

In the images.

Snow fell endlessly.

It laden the branches of the evergreen trees on the mountain forest, then curled up leaves into clumps and knocked them to the ground.

The wind rustled.

When the wild beast, resembling a tiger or a leopard, entered the scene...

"Stop."

Dao Qiongcang stretched out his hand and called a halt.

Xi was startled and promptly froze the rewind image, his gaze falling on the beast.

He had observed this beast several times, but found nothing. Could he have overlooked something?

"Do you see it?" Dao Qiongcang pointed to the distance in the image.

"What?"

"The leaf."

A... leaf...?

Xi was taken aback, looking at the daytime scene in the image.

In the mountain forest, there were countless leaves. Which leaf was Lord Dao referring to?

Wait!

Xi suddenly felt his scalp tingle.

Could it be that he had watched the scene thirteen times, and Lord Dao had also watched it thirteen times, but Lord Dao's scrutiny was so meticulous that he didn't miss even a single leaf?

"Here."

Dao Qiongcang gathered starlight to point to a seemingly inconspicuous leaf in the image.

Xi's gaze followed.

The snow clung to branches, knocked off twigs, and scattered fallen leaves.

This leaf had neither vanished, nor accelerated its movement, nor shown any spiritual energy fluctuations...

It had simply fallen naturally. What could be abnormal about it?

"Hmph."

Xi scoffed, yet inexplicably felt a sense of unease.

Dao Qiongcang continued, "If snow normally hits a branch and a leaf falls, the break point would look like this."

He used his Heavenly Secret Art to simulate the details of a leaf after it breaks—when magnified, the break point was very rough!

"However, after this particular leaf fell, the result was like this."

Dao Qiongcang then magnified the image of the break point from the Spectral Domain's rewind—it was still rough!

"Pfft."

Xi burst out laughing, a mocking expression on his lips. "Lord Dao, is there a difference?"

"There is no difference," Dao Qiongcang shook his head.

"Hahaha..." Xi felt like he was going crazy. What was Dao Qiongcang saying? Was he toying with him, becoming addicted to it?

"But look here," he said.

Dao Qiongcang suddenly stepped forward, walking to the break point of the fallen leaf at the corresponding real-world location shown in the Spectral Domain's rewind image.

This was extremely difficult to find.

To find the anomaly in a "naturally fallen" leaf among thousands of almost identical ones, and then to match it to its real-world location...

Xi believed he didn't have the energy for such a task.

He followed, looked up, and then his heart sank.

The break point of the leaf and twig that Lord Dao had picked for him to examine closely was, in reality—incredibly smooth!

It was as if it had been cut off by a sword; it showed no trace of the roughness seen in the Spectral Domain's rewind.

This meant:

The Ghost Sword technique had deceived him!

"Impossible, this is impossible..."

Xi was shocked.

He was shocked that the Ghost Sword technique had been fooled.

He was shocked that the Southern Domain evil cultivator had indeed been here.

He was even more shocked that Lord Dao could find the "anomaly" in the rewind image, which showed no anomalies, among thousands of identical leaves, and then cross-reference it with reality to find the true "anomaly"!

"How did you do that?"

Xi was dumbfounded.

He was utterly convinced at this moment.

This was the unfathomable Dao Qiongcang?

Dao Qiongcang did not answer, instead pointing his star-gathered light to other leaves in the rewind image, a total of thirty-seven.

He then individually corresponded them to thirty-seven real-world locations, signaling Xi to look.

Xi, disbelieving, frantically went to check.

Without exception, all thirty-seven leaves had normal, rough break points in the rewind image, but in reality, they were abnormal and smooth!

"There is no such thing as unfathomable mystery..."

Dao Qiongcang seemed to know what Xi was thinking at that moment and calmly said, "All this Lord did was follow clues, and then used a method that you all would rather not use even when desperate, yet it might be the only useful one, albeit the most tedious and thankless."

"You..." Xi said in disbelief, "Did you truly identify each one individually?"

Dao Qiongcang turned his gaze, twirling his fingers:

"Thirteen rewinds, thirteen chances to win, a full thirty-eight flaws left by the enemy for you..."

"You ignored them all."

After a pause, Dao Qiongcang said calmly:

"What this Lord wants to say is..."

"Today, your head can remain on your shoulders for now. Whether you want your life tomorrow depends on whether you still want to fight for it."

"Opportunity, once missed, is gone forever."