Chapter 1920: Near God

A few lingering rays of afterglow struggled to pierce through the gloom of the Ghost and Buddha Realm. As it swayed through the Sword Sea and fell upon the boundless white snow, the old trees on the mountain were tinged with sorrow on their branches.

"Rustle..."

The wind still whispered, and the snow still hissed.

Sword Ancestor was gone; Gu, Xiao, and Lei had also been taken away. Looking up, only two solemn figures remained above the void, their presence as desolate as deep winter.

The sky was like an inverted great bowl, protecting the myriad living beings within while simultaneously concealing the scenery outside. Thus, everything became unknown.

Humans are spiritual creatures, naturally possessing a premonition of danger. Even without knowing the general situation, and without turning their heads or blinking, when they inexplicably looked again at the two ancient sword cultivators in the void...

Everyone around the mountain felt a chill run down their spine and unconsciously took a few steps back, yielding a large area for the battlefield.

Hong Niang grasped the Golden Apricot, feeling a sense of unease. She frowned, murmuring to herself and to the millions of apricots on the teaching screen:

"I have a feeling, the storm is brewing..."

The words had barely left her lips.

The Sword Sea in the void boomed and trembled, as tens of thousands of swords spread out to both sides like a pair of wings.

Ba Zunan slowly walked out from the blank sword current, the solemn expression on his face gradually fading to calmness, finally turning into a prolonged sigh:

"The former glory is no more; rosy flesh and fat, now but bare bones."

"Brother Hua, I overestimated Sword Ancestor, and I also overestimated Famous Sword Twenty-One. What was called 'Primordial Creation' turned out to be a joke."

He flipped his palm and raised it. A great hum arose from the Sword Sea.

All the remaining famous swords — including Yue Lian, which had lost its master, and the Soul-Extracting Staff that had entered the past — except for the Ghost Hunter in Hua Changdeng's hand... all returned!

Twenty famous swords revolved around Ba Zunan, making him appear extraordinarily valiant. Ba Zunan raised his head and looked forward, his black hair flying, his sword intent radiating powerfully and intertwining with the twenty famous swords, his aura growing ever stronger.

"Buzz, buzz, buzz..."

Sword intent was born from the famous swords, flowed into Ba Zunan's body, and after being nurtured and strengthened within him, flowed back into the blades of the famous swords. This cycle repeated itself.

The famous swords seemed cleansed of dust, their radiance intensified. Ba Zunan was like a sword drawn from its sheath, his battle intent rising steadily.

Before long, as the wind and snow on Lingyu Mountain paused, the tens of thousands of swords in the Sword Sea behind him, spread like wings, hummed and simultaneously shot forth brilliant silver light, all of which was absorbed by Ba Zunan.

"The Undying Sword Body..."

Hua Changdeng knew at a glance that the gap Ba Zunan had thirty years ago had been perfectly filled after thirty years. And just as his opponent had said, he could also tell that Famous Sword Twenty-One, in revealing its mysteries, was originally capable of much more. In the end, a Sword Ancestor emerged, but suppressed the true "Primordial Creation."

From this, it was clear that those above did not want to see them standing on the shoulders of giants to verify if the way of the sword was feasible. Only one of the gu they cultivated could survive. And if they couldn't forge a new path, they would ultimately still die.

While putting aside the true creation contained within Famous Sword Twenty-One, the two of them, Hua and Ba, could still continue to discuss the Way, determine superiority, and spark some insights.

But... was there still time?

Hua Changdeng caressed the sword jade in his hand, shook his head silently, carefully hid it away, and tucked it into his robe. No time left!

Going to the Sword Pagoda was suicide. Waiting around was also death. When the Three Ancestors lost patience, or found a gap to descend upon the Five Domains, if their task remained unaccomplished, both would vanish into nothingness.

Only one path to survival remained: nurturing swords through battle, and nurturing people through swords – if they failed to attain godhood or ancestorship, it would mean death and the dissipation of their Dao!

Rumble...

Lingyu Mountain subtly trembled, wind and snow rolled, and everyone retreated in astonishment, again and again. Ba Zunan had begun his move. Hua Changdeng also drew Ghost Hunter. The two stood in rivalry, conveying only one piece of information to the world.

No need to dwell on the whereabouts of Gu, Xiao, and Lei; no need to focus on the situation outside the bowl. Just look at the present, just observe this moment.

"It's coming..." Hong Niang grasped the Golden Apricot, running backward with her long legs, while excitedly shouting, "They're going to fight!"

The cultivators on Lingyu Mountain immediately scattered like birds and beasts. Each wished they had wings, fearing being affected by the battle's aftermath. Only then did everyone realize they were too close. This viewing distance was fine for a discussion of the Dao. But when their true battle intents clashed, the mere ripples from their colliding auras were almost enough to crush one's spirit.

"Run!"

"Run down the mountain!"

"Can't stay in the sky either," they cried, "a single strike will probably shatter it..."

Such was the logic. While running, everyone felt a surge of excitement. "It's good if it shatters! It's good if they fight!" they thought. "The unveiling of mysteries didn't reveal the Sword Ancestor's so-called scenery behind the door, but if these two clash, they might provide even greater enlightenment."

"Swish, swish, swish!"

In the high sky, sword intent was circulating, having already developed into a furious momentum. Around Ba Zunan, for a hundred zhang, expanded a tangible domain of silver sword intent. One glance would make one's heart pound. There was a feeling that in the next breath, one would collapse, and others would explode from the sheer power.

Yet, even so, the tens of thousands of swords in the Sword Sea, their surging sword qi still frantically poured into Ba Zunan's body, expanding the sword intent domain bit by bit, further outwards, as if without limit.

A hundred zhang...Three hundred zhang...Five hundred zhang...

The Eighth Sword Immortal was no longer merely the Eighth Sword Immortal; he had become a bottomless pit, trying to burst himself?

"Seeking externally yields no results," he declared. "All things must naturally be sought within. Brother Hua," Ba Zunan continued, "the Sword Ancestor's mysteries couldn't be fully displayed for you. Perhaps my Sword Hiding Art can give you some inspiration..."

Brilliant sword light burst from Ba Zunan's eyes. As he absorbed all the myriad sword powers into his body, his voice, though clearly from his throat, sounded like weapons emerging from a forge, clanging incessantly:

"Ten thousand swords, become one!"

With that declaration, his sleeves billowed, and the Sword Sea hummed and surged violently. It was no longer limited to the nourishment of sword qi and sword intent; tens of thousands of swords simultaneously shot through the sky, their tips pointing directly at Ba Zunan.

"No way..."

Everyone in the Five Domains widened their eyes, watching the next scene in disbelief. The tens of thousands of swords, obscuring the sky, truly and actually plunged towards Ba Zunan. It didn't look like ten thousand swords becoming one, but rather ten thousand swords piercing the heart!

"Swish, swish, swish!"

Heaven and earth were silent, with only the sound of countless spirit swords tearing through the air. A terrifying sight occurred: when the first sword pierced Ba Zunan's body, no blood splattered. The swords were like returning to their sheaths. Ba Zunan was the sheath. The spirit swords pierced into his chest and were hidden within.

"Concealment..."

Hua Changdeng held Ghost Hunter diagonally, his face unmoved, but his heart was filled with awe. The Sword Hiding Art had reached such a degree, how could it be merely "hiding"? This fellow intended to utilize the Undying Sword Body to its extreme, leveraging the power of all ten thousand swords and the famous swords to their utmost, making them all return to one, unifying them within his "self"!

Swish, swish, swish...

One sword after another, one by one. An eight-foot tall man absorbed tens of thousands of swords. In just a few breaths, the sky-obscuring Sword Sea, tens of thousands of swords, were completely swallowed by Ba Zunan's Undying Sword Body. His body did not swell from this. His form and spirit did not distort. The only change was that the sword intent domain around him, from several hundred zhang, expanded to ten thousand li!

"Whoosh!"

The sword intent domain then contracted. This violent energy, as if unable to be compressed, outwardly manifested itself, yet, in an instant, was absorbed back into Ba Zunan's body. The flying snow on Lingyu Mountain froze mid-air. The cultivators of the Five Domains gaped, speechless.

Figures like Gou Wuyue and Xiao Kongtong had retreated even further, to places like Fusang City, observing from afar, their scalps tingling: "This is... Sword Hiding Art?" Others hide sword momentum and sword power, but when Ba Zunan goes all out, he can truly "hide swords"?

The streets were deserted. The Golden Apricot teaching screens in every household saw a dramatic increase in viewers. Across the Sacred Continent, almost everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered before a small golden orb, each filled with dread.

As the world watched, the only one whose expression remained unchanged was Hua Changdeng, standing on the other side within the battle.

"Not enough."

Hua Changdeng's fingertips caressed Ghost Hunter. Ghost Hunter hummed with a long sound; from its pits and cracks, a faint eerie light glimmered, exhaling the death qi of souls and emitting mournful "woo-woo" cries.

The Sword Sea was completely absorbed. Ba Zunan's power swallowed ten thousand li. Hua Changdeng merely raised an eyebrow, and as he glanced over, his chin slightly swayed, and he firmly declared, his voice carrying for ten thousand li:

"Ba Zunan, not enough."

"This isn't enough?" The Five Domains were dumbfounded, no longer knowing if Saint Emperor Hua was confident or arrogant. The Eighth Sword Immortal's power had reached such a peak. If he were to unleash a single sword strike to test everyone under heaven, who could possibly block it? Could Gou Wuyue block it? Even someone like Gou Wuyue, their only option could only be to retreat far away!

"Brother Hua, don't rush." Above the void, Ba Zunan's face held a smile. Having swallowed the ten thousand swords of the Sword Sea, including Xuan Cang and Chasing Moon, the nourishment from these sword powers, for anyone else, would already cause their Dao rhythm to surge, their spirit to reach a blissful state, making them unaware of their thoughts or words; yet Ba Zunan still maintained clear consciousness.

After speaking, the hand that had just summoned the famous swords inverted its palm downwards and pressed gently.

"More!"

This time, the twenty famous swords leaped into the air. Ba Zunan tilted his head back and opened his mouth, and the twenty famous swords transformed into beams of light, one by one entering his throat and being swallowed into his belly.

"This is..."

The spectators in the Five Domains were simultaneously moved. But when the first famous sword entered his belly, Ba Zunan's body cracked, yet no blood splattered; instead, a streak of sword intent seeped out. That streak of sword intent was as thin as a cicada's wing, about three feet long, slicing diagonally out from his right shoulder. Wherever it passed, space became like paper, and the Dao laws like hair, easily cut through. When it pierced through the clouds, its momentum did not decrease in the slightest, as if it would directly exit this realm and strike the Three Ancestors beyond the borders. But in the blink of an eye, that streak of sword intent, like a returning bone, twisted its way back from outside the sky, through the gap on Ba Zunan's shoulder, and returned to his body.

At the same time.

Throughout the Five Domains, every spirit refiner, whether watching the battle or not, felt their body sink, their knees buckling. Their hearts felt as if a ten-thousand-jin boulder was hung upon them, violently plummeting downwards. Their bodies all felt an overwhelming sense of burden.

"Boom."

Deep like a drumbeat, the sound of the Dao was muffled yet resounding. Everyone's mind flickered, blood burst from their seven orifices, and they nearly fainted on the spot. Enduring this wave, they looked back at Lingyu Mountain. Ba Zunan, who had barely swallowed the Sorrowful Tears Sword, the Great Compassion Sword, and the Nameless Sword, now had Dao chains and shackles appearing around him. The scene was exceptionally familiar.

Soon, someone remembered and shrieked, "This is very similar to Emperor Cangsheng's...!"

Yes, very similar. That one sentence awoke everyone; everyone remembered. Half a year ago, when Grandfather Shou fought Emperor Cangsheng, the latter's Art Seed: Imprisonment - Multi-stage Unsealing, left an indelible impression on the world. His final arrow pushed to the verge of Virtual Ancestor transformation, aimed at the entire Heaven Ladder, attempting to take away all high-level cultivators. However, Grandfather Shou's superior strategy and his preemptively unleashed Phantom Sword Art ended Emperor Cangsheng's last dream before his fall.

Was Emperor Cangsheng's Art Seed: Imprisonment weakened by this? No! Everyone knew that if that arrow had been fired, even Grandfather Shou would likely have found it hard to avoid its edge.

Now, Ba Zunan had swallowed the ten thousand swords of the Sword Sea, and then the wounded swords. With a mortal body comparable to an Ancestor God, he had actually stirred up such Dao chains and shackles.

"What in the world..." Gou Wuyue frowned, his heart stern; this Sword Hiding Art was a bit too much. Even he couldn't understand Ba Zunan's current realm; this was no longer even within the scope of the Ancient Sword Dao's Sword Hiding Art: Drawn Sword. Ba Zunan's "hiding" clearly borrowed the Dao of Emperor Cangsheng's Art Seed: Imprisonment; he too "borrowed from a hundred schools to form one person"!

The second muffled drumbeat sounded, as the Beast Sword, Mad Carving Sword, entered his throat. Ba Zunan's body remained unmoving; three wounds split open on him, sword intent leaked out, only to return. "Just this single streak of sword intent," someone exclaimed, comparing the strength, "is no weaker than the power of Sword Immortal Wuyue's earlier 'Unrestrained Desire Sword' that blocked Hua Changdeng!" He became even more astonished.

Boom, boom.Boom, boom, boom.

The muffled drumbeats grew more rapid, and the famous swords entered his throat ever faster: Fei Yi, Moon Departing in Wine, Green Scaled Ridge, Twin Needles, Tombstone City Snow, Ghost Wheel Sorrow, Fiery Python...

Like war drums before two armies clashed on a battlefield, everyone heard their minds roar, hot blood surged backward, and their eyeballs bulged and turned blood-red from the shock.

Ten wounds split open on Ba Zunan's body. Then fifty, a hundred, then he was covered in wounds... The Dao chains were originally slender and brilliant. Soon they became thick, dull, and oppressive, as if endless energy was compressed within them...

Yet, unlike Emperor Cangsheng's Art Seed: Imprisonment - Multi-stage Unsealing, where power leakage would shatter space, here the space was different. Ba Zunan stood on the void, a smile playing on his lips. The space around him, except for being disturbed by the sword intent leaking from his body, remained completely unharmed. His power had reached this point. His control was also perfect. The so-called "hiding" was truly "hiding," refusing to let go of even a single trace!

"Gulp."

When Yue Lian, ranked first among the famous swords, also entered his throat, Ba Zunan's body was covered in wounds, sword intent splattered everywhere, a dazzling array. Yet he could still gather back all the leaked sword intent, allowing them to be fully absorbed through his wounds, simultaneously healing the wounds.

"His body..."

The cultivators of the Five Domains no longer dared to imagine. How terrifying it was to hide such a quantity of swords, and such quality of famous swords, within one's body. Not to mention Ba Zunan's mastery of the Sword Gazing Art; he was constantly exchanging sword intent with the ten thousand swords, constantly strengthening the power within his body.

He already seemed very strong. But with every passing breath, he grew several times stronger than he was a breath ago. Such a person, if it were themselves standing opposite him, they would probably have already knelt down. Hua Changdeng...

The teaching screen zoomed in on the Saint Emperor opposite him. Hua Changdeng's eyes closed and opened; indeed, he was a bit more serious, but when he spoke, his words were as light as clouds and breeze:

"Still not enough."

Ba Zunan responded and took a step forward. After a whoosh, all sounds ceased, Lingyu's wind and snow stopped in the void, and the Dao chains around Ba Zunan silently disintegrated...

Everyone's pupils widened. Yet they found there was still no energy leakage whatsoever. The power of the disintegrated Dao chains and shackles was completely absorbed by Ba Zunan's Undying Sword Body in one breath.

"Not enough?" Ba Zunan's lips curved into a smile.

Hua Changdeng's eyelids finally twitched. After the silence at Lingyu, dark clouds gathered from the nine heavens. The first flash of lightning instantly shattered the silence.

"One layer...""Two layers...""Three layers..."

Boom!

Three layers of tribulation clouds rose one upon another. The spirit refiners of the Five Domains erupted: Saint Tribulation, Emperor Tribulation, and that last layer was... the tribulation for deification and ancestorship... an Ancestor God Tribulation?!

Hua Changdeng: "Not enough."

Ba Zunan lowered his head and smiled. After smiling, he leaped up, soaring to the sky.

Outside the spatial rift, the coffin beneath the pagoda, the illusory figure of the Great World Scholar Tree, and the purple eye-orb all trembled simultaneously, uttering cries of surprise:

"Magnificent!"

The Three Ancestors were excited. Because they all saw a radiant, seven-colored, mysterious gate of Dao rhythm suddenly unfold above the plane of the Sacred Continent. The gate opened wide, and a sword pierced through the clouds. That sword stood a foot high in the sky, piercing through all three layers of tribulation clouds. Above the plane, a colossal white-robed figure simultaneously ascended, with a dignified appearance and eyes gleaming with divine light, almost comparable to an Ancestor God.

"Virtual Ancestor transformation..." The Demon Ancestor murmured, "This is Ba Zunan's Virtual Ancestor transformation!" They had waited for this. They had waited successfully. This young man, indeed, did not disappoint!

But in just an instant, this Virtual Ancestor transformation image converged and merged, and the wondrous sight of the Mysterious Gate opening wide closed again. Ba Zunan landed back in place. The three flowers of tribulation clouds above his head had just barely formed, yet they were also swallowed in one gulp.

"Cluck, cluck!" At the foot of Lingyu Mountain, the black chicken in Yu Zhiwen's arms widened its fighting eyes, poked its head out, stomping on his chest, and couldn't help but stand up. "So much restraint? Ba Zunan, you're amazing..."

The wind and snow of Lingyu gracefully fell once more. The triple Saint Tribulation and the Virtual Ancestor transformation image surprisingly failed to cause the power to lose control, not even stirring a single snowflake. Ba Zunan stood upon the void, gentle ripples spreading beneath his feet, his aura contained within three feet, returning to his steps. He smiled faintly and said softly:

"Brother Hua, how about now?"

Hua Changdeng took a deep breath, flicked his wrist, and Ghost Hunter let out a long hum, his unchanging tone finally shifting:

"Perhaps it's worth a try!"