Chapter 1905: 牵动

In the chaotic and dark currents of fractured time and space, storms raged, and there was utter silence.

Space fragments, as thin as cicada wings, split into sharp blades, moving chaotically with the "storms" and flowing towards the next node in time.

Everything drifted aimlessly, like clouds and wind, carried along by the currents.

As these broken blades traveled, they collided and cut into each other, transforming into even finer, sparkling fragments, and were occasionally devoured by black holes.

—It had always been this way.

Then, at a certain moment, amidst countless years of silence and darkness, a faint light appeared somewhere within the fractured time and space.

"Buzz!" A sword hum echoed, emerging from a dimensional rift and then silently vanishing.

Immediately after, a majestic tall building squeezed out of the rift, as if answering a summons.

The tall building featured green tiles and soaring eaves, elaborately carved beams and painted rafters. Green smoke lingered around its eaves, transforming into auspicious clouds, and at its peak, a silver moon hung high, casting down pure radiance. It was aloof and ethereal, as if it were a celestial object.

If anyone were present, they would instantly recognize this as the Sword Tower from ancient paintings, the Divine Court of the Sword Ancestor.

Unfortunately, no one was fated to witness it.

In just a moment, as the tall building entered the shallow layers of fractured time and space from the dimensional rift, it immediately became imbued with the mottled, ancient aura of time.

Everything it had been just moments ago seemed illusory and ceased to exist.

The green tiles decayed, turning black.

Beams and pillars shriveled, developing cracks.

The green smoke and auspicious clouds turned grayish-brown, their sanctity fallen.

The crescent silver moon lost all its pure radiance and bright white color, becoming dim and lusterless.

The tall building transformed into a solitary tower, assimilating with the aura of fractured time and space, becoming lonely, silent, and utterly devoid of life.

Outside the tower's eaves, twelve iron chains were fastened, connected from unknown origins. They all pulled with force, as if to drag the solitary tower back to its original place, returning everything to its primordial state.

To no avail.

The Sword Tower slowly moved forward, traveling with the storms of fractured time and space, yet unlike the storms and broken blades, it was not aimless.

It traversed repeatedly, soon squeezing into temporal rifts, moving from deep to shallow, then to even shallower layers, as if pursuing something, heading towards a definite destination.

The Sword Tower had twelve sides, eleven of which glowed.

Beneath its dim, withered exterior, below the twelve windows on the topmost floor of the tower's peak, sword shadows could be seen flickering.

It seemed something else was continuously resisting the "erosion" of perhaps time, perhaps other forces.

Twelve sides of the Sword Tower, twelve silver chains.

Yet one of the chains, like the tower face and window it was attached to, was dim and lusterless.

"Whoosh!" A broken time-space blade swept past the area radiated by the Sword Tower's force field, emitting an extremely grating, piercing sound.

It happened to strike the chain fastened to the dim eaves; the chain rattled loudly and snapped under the strain.

Chain links, sword energy, and iron fragments scattered and vanished into the fractured time and space, like a stone sinking into the sea, causing no ripple.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz…" On the topmost floor of the Sword Tower, through the wooden window, aided by the faint moonlight, the flickering sword shadows inside could be seen more frequently.

However, not long after, everything returned to calm.

After another period of unknown, prolonged silence…

"Clack!" On the topmost floor of the Sword Tower, the wooden window on the dim side was suddenly pushed open.

A ghostly, faint, and illusory face peered out.

It had no discernible features, yet it deeply inhaled and then emitted a dry, eerie, hissing laugh:"Sword Ancestor, Sword Ancestor, what can be done about it? What can be done about me…"

*Thump-thump!* Her heart suddenly quickened, and Lei Xi'er's chest jolted.

Her Divine-Demonic Eyes spun rapidly in that instant, emitting a large amount of black and white mist.

"This is…"

She was still at the Crossroads.

In a trance, amidst utter chaos, she saw a speck of golden light.

"Buddha's light.""It's the Inverted Buddha Pagoda."

Piercing through the chaos, sure enough, it was an inverted golden Buddha pagoda, standing deep underground.

Its spire pointed downwards, suppressing precisely a black coffin.

"Spirit, return…""Spirit, return…"

Whispers came to her ears, like Buddhist chants and demonic whispers, disturbing her mind.

*Thump-thump!* Her heart seized again. Lei Xi'er gently clutched her chest, her brow furrowed slightly, almost collapsing to the ground.

This time she saw clearly: it was the lid of the coffin beneath the pagoda that was vibrating, as if a pair of large hands inside were pushing upwards, trying to break open the seal from within.

The Inverted Buddha Pagoda glowed intensely with golden light, and the disturbance immediately vanished.

After a long while, black-gold liquid again overflowed from the coffin beneath the pagoda, and a faint voice emerged:"Help me, help me… Whoever helps me shall surely be rewarded…"

Although the voice was faint, its content became clearer, yet it still held both Buddhist and demonic aspects, making it hard to discern good from evil.

Lei Xi'er, standing amidst the chaos, showed no fear and softly asked:"Who are you? How can I help you? And what benefit will I gain?"

The Inverted Buddha Pagoda continued to radiate golden light, and the voice no longer appeared.

After a long while, when the golden light weakened, the coffin lid began to thump violently again, as if someone inside was knocking with great force.

"Thump, thump, thump!"

Lei Xi'er's heart raced.

The thing kept knocking; each strike was like a heavy hammer, making her dizzy.

"How do I help you?" Lei Xi'er clutched her head, which was splitting with pain. "At least say something! I have a wish, as long as you can fulfill it!"

The coffin stopped moving.

After a long while, intermittent sounds emerged from within.

"Come…""Come to the lower levels of the pagoda…"

The chaotic vision before her disappeared.

Lei Xi'er was drenched in sweat; her legs gave way, and she collapsed.

Beside her, a gilded grayish-brown long staff appeared in time, gently propping her up. A deep, resonant voice accompanied it:"Where are the others?"

Lei Xi'er was startled. After steadying herself, she turned her head to look.

Almost everyone around had disappeared.

Both the West Street Master, Thousand-Hand Tailor, who had planned to enter, and the North Street Master, Corpse Entangler, were gone. So too were the hundreds of busybodies from various streets who hadn't intended to go in but merely wanted to watch the excitement.

The ground was still trembling. Beside the black vortex, only the Five Declines of Heaven and Man and Liu Guifen remained.

And following Liu Guifen was the ill-faced old witch, Wu Siniang.

"They all went in," the Five Declines of Heaven and Man said, glancing at Shen Yi. "You're late."

Shen Yi nodded, looking at Lei Xi'er. "How was it?"

"Not good…" Lei Xi'er frowned. "Did any of you see anything?"

Everyone shook their heads.

But what she had just seen was clearly so real, so Lei Xi'er asked again, "Then, did you hear anything?"

"Yes!" This time, the Five Declines of Heaven and Man spoke up, pointing at the vortex. "Just now, you became abnormal. The 'key' entered the 'lock', and everything 'unsealed'. Everyone who heard it went in."

Liu Guifen added, "My mental strength is strong, Wu Siniang is also quite good, and Senior Heaven and Man is exceptional. We all withstood it."

He then pointed to the other side. "Thousand-Hand Tailor and Corpse Entangler, either swayed by temptation or acting on impulse, didn't wait and went in early."

They're courting disaster!

Lei Xi'er couldn't imagine what benefits those who went in early could possibly gain.

No matter what, if Shen Yi doesn't go in, no one has a chance.

"Why didn't I hear or see anything?" Shen Yi, holding Overlord, looked perplexed.

He had just arrived.

It was obvious that his late arrival wasn't the reason.

Liu Guifen raised a hand. "Perhaps the one inside doesn't really want you to enter?"

"Since everyone's here, let's go!" Wu Siniang spoke abruptly.

Shen Yi looked at her.

She was hunched, with disheveled hair and sores on her face, extremely ugly. Yet her body was covered in talismans and precious beads, indicating considerable wealth.

"Snap." Shen Yi broke off a finger, split it into four segments, and distributed them to the four people: Heaven and Man, Lei, Liu, and Wu. "Wrap it in spiritual energy and eat it."

The four were startled.

Shen Yi did not explain, only looking at the Five Declines of Heaven and Man. "Don't absorb it; just 'eat' it."

They didn't understand, but they complied.

At least, with the reputation of the Crossroads' guardian god, Shen Yi wouldn't harm them.

Lei Xi'er frowned slightly, then swallowed the finger segment. After it entered her stomach, she was surprised to find that the finger segment had automatically "digested" and disappeared.

Shen Yi shook his hand, and the severed finger grew back.

Holding Overlord, he stepped forward, leading the way towards the black vortex."Form pairs and follow behind me. Once inside, try your best to protect yourselves. If you get separated, I will come find you immediately. If you suffer a fatal injury, the finger I left in your stomach can block one attack. Hold on for half a breath, and I will arrive."

Liu Guifen gently drew a breath.

Wu Siniang's brows and eyes also relaxed slightly.

The resentment they had harbored for so long vanished at this moment, replaced by a full sense of security.

"Half a breath…" Putting other things aside, it was only half a breath; surely they could hold on?

Shen Yi walked to the black vortex. Just as he lifted his foot to jump down, ripples appeared under his feet, and he was blocked.

"It really won't let you in?" Liu Guifen was astonished. It was just a guess; he never thought it would come true. Was he a jinx?

"Just now, they just jumped down directly. A guiding force automatically led them to where they needed to go."

"Even a big guy like Thousand-Hand Tailor and a strange one like Corpse Entangler were let through."

"It couldn't be a time limit, preventing entry now, could it?"

Liu Guifen was itching to move, but didn't dare.

Wu Siniang threw a wooden puppet dog forward.

"Woof, woof, woof." The little dog barked a few times, jumped forward, and went down.

It could enter… Shen Yi couldn't…

Lei Xi'er walked from behind, glanced at the black abyss, her mind wavered, and she was about to jump down. "Let me try…"

"No need." Shen Yi reached out to stop her.

Everyone snapped back to reality, looking at the towering figure, who was more than a head taller than ordinary people.

He stood holding his staff, stomping on the black vortex twice, as if testing the strength of the obstruction.

Ripples surged; the invisible barrier, like a tiger blocking the road, still stood in front.

Refused! Simply refused!

Shen Yi smiled, flipping Overlord over his backhand and holding it across his chest.

"Step back."

Liu Guifen instantly moved a hundred zhang away.

The others also continuously retreated.

They saw Shen Yi sink into a horse stance, the ground beneath his feet cracking loudly, and then suddenly exploding with a resounding boom:"Heavenly Dao."

Bricks and tiles all around exploded.

On Shen Yi's forehead, a brilliant white mark lit up.

He did not physically grow larger, but an illusory, gigantic Heavenly Dao Shen Yi expanded from around him, gradually fading into the distant skies.

Power waves surged… Space twisted…

Shen Yi held Overlord with one hand, lifted it upwards, tearing out a sonic boom, then swung it downwards with fierce force.

One strike! A booming sound erupted. The invisible barrier offered not even half a shred of resistance, completely shattering.

Along with the black vortex beneath it, which also violently boiled and twisted, and in a blink, exploded into countless black spatial fragments, splashing outwards.

Once the teleportation channel was broken, dirt splashed up from the center of the Crossroads below, and dust rose into the sky.

It wasn't over yet! The force was still descending!

One zhang, ten zhang, a hundred zhang… From soil, to rock, to unknown minerals deep underground…

After one strike, the black vortex was directly blasted into a thousand-zhang deep abyss, plunging straight down.

"Buzz!" When the force reached the deepest part of the ground, black demonic energy surged from beneath the abyss, pushing upwards, still resisting.

But… it was futile.

The demonic energy was pierced by the force and scattered in waves all around.

After the demonic energy, demonic liquid again gushed upwards, eroding the power waves and putting up a stubborn resistance.

Still futile!

The demonic liquid exploded, splashing in all directions.

It could only corrode the soil with a hissing sound, but couldn't erode Overlord's single strike force in the slightest.

"Dong!" A heavy, bell-like sound, as if a wooden mallet had struck a bell, resounded.

Finally, a speck of golden light appeared beneath the abyss, as if a demon had opened its eyes.

"The Inverted Buddha Pagoda…" Everyone's spiritual perception swept over.

It was a massive pagoda base, built of golden bricks and tiles, with demonic energy overflowing from the cracks between them.

Accumulated over many years, for an unknown duration, it had condensed into viscous demonic liquid to prevent outsiders and variables from entering, waiting for the right moment to allow access.

Now, with Overlord's single strike, all those years of "prevention" were completely shattered.

"Oh my heavens…" Liu Guifen, returning to the front, glanced into the abyss and gasped.

This damn thing was the Inverted Buddha Pagoda, revealed by one strike!

He stared blankly back at Shen Yi.

The tall and strong Shen Yi, paired with Overlord.

What does it mean to slay gods if gods block, and slay Buddhas if Buddhas block? This is it!

Shen Yi retrieved his staff, glancing at Liu Guifen beside him. "The path is beneath our feet. We walk the righteous path, without needing petty guides."

Then looking at the few people further back, he nodded slightly and said:"If you truly cannot act, I also have some understanding of the Dao of Intention. Recite my name in your heart, and perhaps I will know. Remember, I am with you in everything. Do not easily give up until the very last moment."

He looked at Lei Xi'er, who possessed the Ultimate Demonic Body and Divine-Demonic Eyes."Especially you."

Having said that, he leaped, leading the way into the abyss.

Liu Guifen stared blankly ahead, his face pale, his heart surging.

For a moment, he thought Shen Yi knew something and was hinting at him.

No… Impossible…

In an instant, he realized that no matter how strong Shen Yi was, he couldn't possibly know about the Dao Ancestor's inheritance.

"The path is beneath our feet"—it was just that the Inverted Buddha Pagoda happened to be beneath their feet.

"If only I also possessed this talent, this power…" Liu Guifen pursed his lips and sighed silently.

He was not Shen Yi.

No one was Shen Yi.

Liu Guifen wasn't foolish; he knew that everything gained came at a price. But he only had the "Dao Ancestor's Inheritance" as an opportunity left.

Without it, he wouldn't even dare to enter the Crossroads.

Without such opportunities, mortals, even if they spent their entire lives, had zero chance of even coming close to Shen Yi.

"You will become a Dao Ancestor, Emperor Guifen…"

Liu Guifen secretly encouraged himself, gestured with his eyes for Wu Siniang to follow, and then also leaped into the abyss.

"This is why Xu Xiaoshou told us to stick close to Shen Yi."

The Five Declines of Heaven and Man and Lei Xi'er stood side by side before the abyss, gazing at the golden light of the Inverted Buddha Pagoda's base far below, the shock in their eyes undiminished.

With power like this, why would one need mystical arts?

A path that could be forged step by step—why should one take a detour, or give face to the Ancestor Gods of all heavens?

"If even he can't handle it, then if I go, it'll probably be the same."

Lei Xi'er finally understood why Xu Xiaoshou had said that.

She didn't dare to hesitate further. After exchanging a look with the Five Declines of Heaven and Man, she also leaped into the abyss.

"Then, let's go…"

The Five Declines of Heaven and Man turned his back downwards, emptied his mind, and fell backward into the abyss.

The wind howled past his ears.

His limbs and robes drifted powerlessly upwards.

The light of the sky receded bit by bit, darkness encroached upon his vision, until his eyes closed, and everything vanished.

Only at this time, in such a moment, could the Five Declines of Heaven and Man feel the existence of life.

"Dying here seems… not so bad…"

As his thoughts drifted, the Blood World Orb floated up from his chest.

Along with it, brought out from his body, was Shen Yi's finger, which was slowly absorbed by the Blood World Orb.