Chapter 1643: With a Three-Foot Sword in Hand, Four Swords Have Already Slanted and Divided the Heavenly Relics

“Focusing on myself, huh…”

Outside, a storm raged, but his heart was still.

Even the flamboyant old Daoist plainly admitted he knew nothing and had to play it by ear.

Xu Xiao Shou, holding his sword askew, seemed calm and composed.

The role a person plays in a group is often not fixed.

Before, he had no choice.

When he was a pawn, he wouldn't dare boast.

Now, Xu Xiao Shou felt he could be an all-around utility player!

He could be a brawny warrior, primarily attacking, because he now had Dao Qiong Cang, the greatest mastermind, by his side.

He could also be a strategic general, controlling the situation, when the flamboyant old Daoist, Sang Lao, Shui Gui, and others weren’t around.

He actually preferred being a supporting character. If there was a mastermind, an attacker, and someone to constantly provide emotional value as a cheerleading squad, and just needed one more unnoticed spectator like Kong Yu Hen—lying down was truly comfortable.

But now, gripping his sword again to face the storm, Xu Xiao Shou felt…

He had returned to his true calling!

“Unknown…”

He looked ahead.

The path ahead was unknown, Sui Yin was unknown, and how to use his sword was also unknown. This was just like his past.

Xu Xiao Shou had never been an overly courageous person.

But along the way, the unknown forged miracles, challenges cast courage. He didn’t need to practice bravery; he had never trembled with a sword in hand.

And…

“Sword!”

Xiong Jian You Si Yi Fan.

His fingertips gently brushed the blade, clearly sensing the sword resonating with his soul.

Facing the same storm.

Hiding the same quiet waves.

Having cultivated Guan Jian Shu to this point, Xu Xiao Shou didn’t know how Ba Zun An was back then, but he felt his own compatibility with You Si Jian was… complete.

And the sword!

From Tian Sang Ling Gong to today…

Other paths had progressed, some stopped, some continued.

Like Culinary Mastery and Painting Mastery, they were at the bottom of his priority list, long since stagnant.

Ancient Sword Arts!

Xu Xiao Shou had never given it up!

“There’s a good saying…”

Amidst the storm, Xu Xiao Shou flipped You Si Jian back and forth, looking down and murmuring with a light chuckle:

“If we weren’t in such a hurry, the Dao of the Sword, it should be the most romantic of all Daos, shouldn’t it?”

What was he raving about?

Dao Qiong Cang, hearing this, took a heavy blow from the battlefield, spitting blood as he retreated.

His face was not good.

Not from injury, but from anger!

He told him to focus on attacking, and here he was doing something flashy and talking nonsense…

“Gaa?”

Soon, Dao Qiong Cang turned into a large duck, his expression frozen.

Then, amidst the storm, with that sound, a lingering sword hum soared, and immediately, a three-foot ethereal light burst forth from the tip of You Si Jian.

“Om!”

The Sword Dao disk blossomed in the air like a lotus.

The surrounding azure gale storm was swept away, and even the laws of the Great Dao paused.

Looking closely.

Xu Xiao Shou stood on brilliant light, his body trembling at an extremely high frequency, so fast it seemed still.

And You Si Jian was also subtly trembling!

For some unknown reason, the two had suddenly achieved a perfect state of human-sword unity!

“Tian Jie?”

“No, not Tian Jie!”

“Just simply, a perfect fit…”

In Dao Qiong Cang’s eyes, “Xu Xiao Shou and the sword” under the azure storm at this moment seemed like the most perfect painting.

He racked his brains for other flowery words to describe this painting, but only one word popped into his head:

Suitable!

Just suitable, nothing else!

“What a flamboyant ancient sword cultivator…”

Dao Qiong Cang secretly clicked his tongue, a trace of jealousy he hadn't even noticed flowing in his eyes.

Just by speaking a few words, he could spiritually control a divine artifact as renowned as Xuan Cang, effortlessly boosting his combat power to 120 percent.

Just a change in posture could make the battlefield take notice, drawing everyone’s gaze involuntarily towards their group.

Ancient sword cultivators…

Why!

Tian Ji Shu was also very flamboyant!

But whenever Dao Qiong Cang “showed off,” others’ reactions were always disdainful and annoyed, as if they wanted to flay him with their eyes, desperate for an answer.

The inherent flamboyance of ancient sword cultivators…

How to put it, there was a touch of otherworldly grace within the flamboyance.

Dao Qiong Cang yearned for it but couldn’t reach it, even the “Liu Dao Qiong Cang Jian Xian Dao” found it hard to imitate.

He hated Ba Zun An for this one thing!

Extending that hatred, among all ancient sword cultivators, what he most hated was this unlearnable quality!

But hatred aside, Dao Qiong Cang secretly imprinted this scene, mentally edited Xu Xiao Shou out and inserted himself, setting the scene in the awe-inspiring presence of the Sheng Shen Da Lu…

He immediately felt his body lighten, as if floating, unconsciously mimicking, without a sound, muttering to himself:

“If we weren’t in such a hurry, Tian Ji Shu, it should be the most romantic of arts, shouldn’t it?”

Yours?

Yours is good.

But from now on, it’s mine!

Amidst the storm, a sharp edge emerged.

Sui Yin immediately sensed the anomaly. When he narrowed his eyes and glanced over, he couldn’t help but be stunned.

“Strange…”

That “Heavenly Ancestor’s descendant” who could grow huge, “Void Giant Clan,” “wielding a large halberd”…

All of Sui Yin’s subjective impressions of Xu Xiao Shou flashed through his mind, summarized by nothing more than the words “brawny warrior.”

He simply couldn’t reconcile that image with the person before him—even though Xu Xiao Shou had previously displayed his considerable intellect and formidable sword power.

“The power of the sword…”

Yes, from this young man, he once again saw a potential no less than that of an extreme giant.

But it belonged to the “sword”!

As if he were not the Heavenly Ancestor’s descendant, but the Sword Ancestor’s descendant!

The sword, with its ethereal, dignified nature, used by a gentleman, turning a small force into a great one, certainly held killing power, but was truly disliked by the Void Giant Clan.

Their natures were incompatible.

It was like a god suddenly boasting, “I will kill you from a thousand miles away”—the statement itself felt jarringly out of place.

Sui Yin, at this moment, felt precisely this way.

But reality was too exaggerated!

Ever since he first laid eyes on this young man, he had been constantly transforming.

The intricate Sword Dao formation beneath his feet was so brilliant, its divisions so clear, proclaiming his perfect mastery of the nine great sword arts.

All the mixed energies within him—Refining Spirit, Ancient Martial Arts, Void… and so on—rapidly receded.

When he raised his sword to the sky, pointing to the world's apex.

He no longer resembled a Void Giant Clan member, as if he had found his most suitable way of living in the chaotic mortal world and achieved perfect transcendence.

“Boom!”

At that moment, sword intent soared, cleaving the storm.

Silver light purified the cosmos, tearing through the clouds.

“Sui Yin!”

Xu Xiao Shou gazed at Sui Yin from afar, his eyes, cold as water under the moonlight, spoke without a ripple:

“If I strike you down with three swords, and this battle ends, how about it?”

What a boast!

When the words “how about it” echoed through heaven and earth.

Dao Qiong Cang’s first reaction was, had Xu Xiao Shou invited Ba Zun An to possess him? How did he suddenly become so formidable?

But then he thought…

Ba Zun An wasn’t this style.

The same arrogance, the same pride, but a different feeling. This might purely stem from Xu Xiao Shou himself?

Was he bluffing?

But striking down Sui Yin with three swords…

Direct combat was unavoidable. What then, after he bluffed?

Dao Qiong Cang, in his self-proclaimed “San Zun Qiong Cang” state, could only fight Wan Ze Sui Yin to a standstill, and his body wasn’t his own, so he wasn’t suited for prolonged combat.

And the attack power of ancient sword cultivators, could it really be so much stronger than that of Tian Ji Shu practitioners—just by wielding a sword, they could make a next-generation youngster’s mouth as hard as Ba Zun An’s back then?

“Then I’ll be ready…”

Dao Qiong Cang stealthily retreated, secretly protecting the soul body of Er Zhu Zi, preparing the “Ba Shen Jiang Shu” ritual while glancing at Sui Yin.

“Tch!”

It was clear that at first hearing this, Sui Yin wanted to laugh.

After all, in his eyes, especially with the power of the Demon Ancestor now upon him.

“Cao Yi Han” was nothing more than a clown, so where did Xu Xiao Shou get the courage to speak such arrogant words?

But as the opposite voice settled.

He looked up and noticed the anomaly.

After the storm was cleared, at the edge of the sky, above the clouds, a layer of silver moon had appeared at some unknown time.

The moonlight, like a wash, shone down coldly, unmoved by the world’s storm, falling only on the black-clad youth’s sword, shrouding him and his sword in a hazy silver sheen.

An illusion?

His vision seemed to blur for a moment.

At a certain instant, Sui Yin actually saw a ninety-nine-story illusory tall building, and the youth already stood atop the lonely building, showing his back, remarkably similar to…

“Sword Ancestor!”

Sui Yin suddenly came back to his senses.

He realized that his previous illusion might not have been an illusion; this boy’s sword carried a hint of the Sword Ancestor’s essence.

Not just “similar,” but almost “is”!

But, just a little hope, could it truly become so?

Sui Yin flicked his sleeve, scoffing coldly:

“Such grandiloquence…”

But before the word “shameful” could leave his lips, the youth below him leaped high into the bright moon.

He lifted his sword into the void…

“Clang!”

A sword hum echoed in the void.

Nine afterimages converged into one sword, merging with his body.

Under the moonlight, beautiful plum blossoms withered around the youth, mortal dust swirled, he trod upon the Ten Yama Kings, a myriad of swords bowed above his head, he bore azure peerless wings on his back, and before him, a Bodhisattva lowered his brows, a picture of compassion and tranquility.

With a rumble, a thunderclap erupted from the Divine Vestige.

The storm stirred up dust and shattered stones, which hovered in the air, all concealing their sharpness, not revealing a hint of ferocity.

“Sword Manifestation?”

Dao Qiong Cang’s brows furrowed, even thinking that Mei Si Ren had been invited to possess him.

But he quickly realized it wasn’t. Compared to Mei Si Ren’s truly existing sword manifestation, Xu Xiao Shou hadn’t summoned any “thing.”

The manifestation around him at this moment flowed out from his own body.

Was this weaker?

He was the sword manifestation!

Unlike Mei Si Ren’s fierce, Vajra-like sword manifestation, Xu Xiao Shou’s calm demeanor at this moment added more of the profound hiddenness of “Cang Jian Shu.”

Yet, anyone could see that both he himself and the floating shattered stones summoned into the void contained “extremely ferocious” power.

Concealing the sharpness within the body, presenting ordinariness to the outside.

Returning to simplicity!

With just this leap, Dao Qiong Cang couldn’t help but be secretly amazed; Xu Xiao Shou had evolved again!

“The student surpasses the teacher.”

Sui Yin’s sarcasm choked in his throat.

He even felt a cold prickle on his skin through the “scabbard”—a threat?

Only this much!

Could mere theatrics earn the attention of the Ancestor God?

“What, afraid?”

Without waiting for more words, the youth opposite him opened his eyes, sneering.

No need for the sword to move, just his gaze, that clear, pure moonlight, like a training ribbon, shattered the void and directly invaded the soul.

“Boom!”

Sui Yin once again witnessed the imagery of the solitary tower.

This time, his mind, which appeared unharmed but was actually riddled with holes from continuous battles, lost control, and endless demonic energy erupted from his body.

Wan Ze Sheng Di, seemingly Wan Ze Mo Di.

“How provocative!”

Dao Qiong Cang secretly praised.

Arrogance is the strongest illusion.

Sui Yin in this state was completely unprovokable, and Xu Xiao Shou’s gaze targeted the mind, tearing open old wounds and salting them.

Sui Yin?

He couldn't withstand it!

And this boy had truly grown…

Not only was he following his plan, but he also had his own ideas.

At this moment, the situation was under his complete control, led by him, and dragged into a three-sword duel that didn’t allow for prolonged combat.

Thus, as long as Ba Zun An was invited, one sword could extinguish all of Sui Yin’s prestige!

Then, the only remaining question was…

Could he be invited?

Or, even if he couldn’t, did he plan to go himself?

Dao Qiong Cang narrowed his eyes, his holy consciousness already seeping into the Divine Vestige, searching for Sui Yin’s “blockade.”

He wasn’t just preparing the ritual.

He was also planning another retreat, regardless of success or failure.

“Hee hee hee!”

As expected, after Sui Yin’s demonic energy flowed through him, he was filled with anger, yet paradoxically, he laughed with extreme delight.

Though he instantly regained control and salvaged his dignity, he couldn’t help but retreat half a step to steady himself, letting out a sinister chuckle:

“Alright!”

“This Ancestor declares here today: if your three swords can injure this Ancestor’s Saint Emperor body, then what harm is there in letting you live?”

The sword intent, wanting to conceal, grew more intense.

The sword momentum, wanting to restrain, grew more ferocious.

Upon hearing this, Xu Xiao Shou’s face remained devoid of sorrow or joy, but his fingers trembled even more violently, yet he spoke calmly:

“Injure?”

“I said I’d strike you down, then I’ll strike you down. Three swords will decide, I won’t break my word.”

How presumptuous!

Sui Yin, like a tyrant, raised his six arms and three heads. The Bai Ye Yu Shan, Feng Li Jing, and other divine artifacts in his hands rose with him as he bellowed:

“Come!”

“If this Ancestor retreats a single step, I lose!”

With a rumble, the Cang Long Yin Yue Tu directly appeared, blocking in front of him.

Feng Li Jing turned to its heaviest page, and a world-ending storm gathered, condensing into a three-zhang wind barrier protecting himself.

That was it!

To deal with San Zun Qiong Cang, he still needed to dodge.

To deal with this young man, Sui Yin only set up two layers of defense, without using any spells.

It seemed that in his eyes, Xu Xiao Shou’s next sword only deserved these two layers of external objects for defense.

More would be too much.

It would harm the Ancestor God’s dignity!

“This is too overconfident.”

Arrogance, actually terrifying to this extent?

Xu Xiao Shou merely glanced, a slight curl of his lips, and withdrew his gaze without any comment.

Just wait to die!

Putting aside everything else, just the 80-level Sword Dao Disk, its attack power was absolutely no weaker than any Transcendent Dao Transformation Refinement Spirit Dao.

It should even be said to be infinitely close to at least half of the strongest attacks among the Ten Revered Seats… well, at least one.

Don't underestimate yourself!

One must know, the Sword Dao Disk was not a small disk, but a large one, containing parts of the nine great sword arts, and also a part that should be sword techniques.

Its passive skill consumption was ten times that of other Great Dao Disks!

And this didn’t even consider that Xu Xiao Shou wasn’t planning to only use sword moves.

Before drawing his sword, he had many preparations!

“Shhh…”

His sword-wielding hand suddenly charred.

This time, what tore through his sleeve was not the extremely compressed and thoroughly burning divine thought dragon, but sword intent like silver water!

Sui Yin’s heart trembled, remembering the lightning-attribute Fa Shen Xing Jie that his father had used to control him previously.

His finger twitched, wanting to add more defense in front of him, such as blocking with a Sheng Zu Shi Ke or something.

But the posture had already been fully displayed; to add more now?

“Heh!”

He replied with a disdainful scoff, treating the sword intent as fleeting clouds.

“Ssss, ssss, ssss!”

Ghostly energy surged into the sky, three blood patterns appeared on Xu Xiao Shou’s brow, and he flung nine tails behind him in the air.

He had entered the ghost-beast transformation state while in human form.

“Hiss—”

The breathing method combined with the power of吞噬 (Tūn Shì - Devouring) sucked in.

With this suck, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth suddenly surged, and the ten-thousand-mile territory instantly became a vacuum.

Even Dao Qiong Cang stumbled repeatedly, as if about to fall.

The Feng Li Jing in Sui Yin’s hand also flapped open, several pages tearing, directly sucked into Xu Xiao Shou’s stomach from a distance.

“What?”

Even the power of Feng Li Jing was forcefully pulled away. Sui Yin didn’t know if he was startled or if he too had been sucked in a bit, his steps subtly floating.

Such power, if he could digest it immediately, then the strike to come…

He couldn’t digest it.

Sui Yin thought this, his expression unchanged, but his knees slightly sank—he wanted to take out the Da Guai Zhong Gu and cover himself with it.

But!

How could a dignified evil god, when the young man opposite hadn’t even moved his sword, cover himself like a cowardly turtle? What kind of dignity was that?

“Heh.”

Sui Yin sneered, showing Xu Xiao Shou his nostrils.

“Thump!”

His mind sank, delving into the world of “Guan Jian Dian.”

Xu Xiao Shou once again saw the spirited figure of the white-clad swordsman. He didn't know how to invite this one.

But from beginning to end, for this first sword, he never intended to invite Ba Zun An.

Let's test this sword; it will cut down Sui Yin and also sever the starry river!

What he wanted…

His brows lifted, and the void suddenly resonated with the clang of a sharp sword being drawn.

Xu Xiao Shou’s gaze pierced through Sui Yin, looking towards the invisible starry hand outside the Heavenly Realm Core—this was the blockade.

Without another word, he slowly raised You Si Jian in his hand.

This sword had become heavier than Sui Jun.

“Come on!”

This sword, Dao Qiong Cang, I will help you tear open the seal.

This sword, Ba Zun An, I will cut towards the door of the secondary plane.

This sword, Sui Yin…

And Sui Yin!

You are not Sui Jun Dun!

This sword, you cannot block!

“Boom—”

Spirit reaching the heart, energy soaring to the sky.

When the inner sword-eye opened, mountains and rivers changed color.

You Si Jian in Xu Xiao Shou’s hand exploded with a tremendous roar, it could no longer be lifted, as if bearing immense weight, sinking diagonally towards the ground.

“Crack—”

“Bang!”

Where the sword light pointed.

Clearly, no heavy object fell.

Yet the earth, as if touched by the blade of a heavy sword descending from the sky, boomed open a chasm ten thousand zhang deep.

Where moonlight splashed, it separated in the air, melted when it touched the Dao, those who saw it bled from their eyes, those who thought of it felt their souls crack and their will freeze.

Dao Qiong Cang, fundamentally nearing fifty, felt his blood boil at this sight, his grandmaster sword intent surging forth.

Ba Zun An had not yet been invited, but he already felt the soul of a sword immortal possessing him, and could open his mouth to recite:

“With You Si Jian three feet in hand, tilted, it has split the sky of the Vestige! Splendid!”

Indeed, a good sword… Sui Yin had not yet met the sword, his mouth twitched slightly, a glint of surprise in his eyes.

Shamefully!

He wanted to retreat further, then block!

“No gods, no ancestors!”

“No laws, no heaven!”

“No desires, no emotions!”

“No obstacles, no hindrances!”

Four thunderous roars exploded in heaven and earth.

Completely different from the various sword intents he had learned and understood before, they came as if from a dream, gained from instant enlightenment.

Xu Xiao Shou’s eyes were bloodshot with rage, his teeth clenched. The fierce sword, falling diagonally in his hand, no longer suppressed its power. With a sweep in the air, the world was instantly filled with a surge of black light:

“Sword Activate!”

Cang Jian Shu, concealing all sharpness.

Qi Jian Shu, drawing the blade from its sheath.

At that moment, the Sword Dao disk flickered with light, sequentially illuminating various second-realm profound Dao patterns, selecting essence and brilliance without greed.

This sword borrows from Bo Ruo Wu’s “Zhu Xin,” from Tian Qi Zhi’s “Qi Li,” from Da Hong Shen Zhi Nu’s “Si Li,” and from Wang Qing Jian’s “Wu Qing”!

“Four borrowings from the second realm, returning to my ultimate intent.”

“Let’s test this sword, acting without desire!”

Boom—

With one sword, chaos was split.

The fierce black light burst forth from You Si Jian like a waterfall, like a night rising from the moonlight, reaching high into the sky, filling the vision of all beings with defilement amidst the silver and azure wind.