Chapter 423: Lava Forest

The Sword Domain is a swordsmanship technique created by the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace after being enlightened by the Village Chief, allowing him to enter the realm of the Sword Path. It differs from his previous swordsmanship; before, he had only touched upon the threshold of the Sword Path but had not yet truly reached it.

Although his swordsmanship was powerful then, having created three fundamental sword forms and earning him the title of Sword God, he could never compare to the Village Chief without entering the Sword Path. After entering it, his combat strength increased dramatically.

He was exceptionally brilliant, with no weaknesses in his power. The Sword Path he comprehended was also different from the Village Chief's.

The Village Chief, reminiscing about the fallen heroes, created sword diagrams, which were more about cherishing the past. In contrast, the Imperial Preceptor was pioneering and progressive, advocating for reform, possessing immense ambition and spirit.

Ambition determines achievement. The Village Chief's era had passed, and the Imperial Preceptor's era had just begun.

His Sword Domain had just been created, with only the first chapter, "Domain Establishment," completed.

"Domain Establishment" signifies settling the land, securing the nation, quelling chaos within the four seas, eradicating disasters across the eight directions, and ushering in an era of peace and prosperity. The Imperial Preceptor's will and aspirations were contained within this single sword, representing the highest swordsmanship he had yet to create!

When the One-Eyed Deity was pierced through his single eye by the Imperial Preceptor's sword, the "Domain Establishment" had already been secretly embedded within the deity's mind.

The One-Eyed Deity was cunning; he wasn't truly one-eyed. He originally had two eyes, but his unique cultivation technique, combined with his extraordinary mastery of the path of creation, allowed him to mysteriously shift one eye to the center of his forehead and the other to the back of his head. This latter eye was typically covered by his hair, making people believe he only had one eye.

Unknown to others, he could see both in front of and behind him. He knew the Imperial Preceptor of Eternal Peace was a formidable opponent and the most crucial figure in Eternal Peace's reforms. Thus, this time, he was willing to sacrifice an eye to send the Imperial Preceptor to his demise!

However, despite his cunning and willingness to lose an eye, the Imperial Preceptor proved to be superior in strategic thinking.

As the power of "Domain Establishment" burst forth from within his mind, cracks immediately appeared on the One-Eyed Deity's head, and brilliant streaks of sword light emerged from these fissures.

His eyes, ears, nose, and mouth suddenly glowed with brilliant light. Then, streams of sword light erupted from his orifices. Soon, more and more cracks appeared on his head, and even more sword light burst forth, illuminating the surrounding snow-capped mountains as if it were broad daylight!

The One-Eyed Deity's fist slammed down, striking the Imperial Preceptor with immense force. The ground immediately cracked and shattered, with fissures extending outwards in all directions from the Imperial Preceptor's position, spreading an unknown distance.

The Imperial Preceptor coughed up blood, hearing the sound of his own bones breaking.

Above the neck, the One-Eyed Deity had completely vanished. His body swayed and then collapsed.

At the bottom of the pit, the Imperial Preceptor lay motionless, blood continuously gushing from his mouth, his breath barely perceptible. "Jade-Faced Poison King, help..." he whispered.

At that moment, the Cripple was sprinting, carrying the Apothecary on his back, frantically weaving through various battle zones. The Apothecary continuously refined elixirs and concocted medicines, even faster than Qin Mu. He kept poisoning the Celestial Deities or administering healing medicines to the Village Chief and others, urging, "Cripple, faster! Go faster! Didn't you boast that your speed is unmatched under heaven?"

"If I weren't carrying you, I *would* be the fastest under heaven!" the Cripple retorted.

The Cripple, exasperated, angrily said, "Why don't *you* try having your legs chopped off and reattached, and then run? Twice, my legs have been severed and only recently reattached. I'm worried that if I run any faster, my legs will detach from my upper body and run off without me!"

The Apothecary comforted him, "It's fine. Mu'er's craftsmanship is excellent; they won't easily break off. Run a little faster, there's another deity catching up behind us."

Behind them, a three-headed deity was in hot pursuit. The Apothecary had already released his "little darlings"—numerous venomous creatures that swarmed towards the deity like a tide.

These venomous creatures had been nurtured by the Apothecary for many years with elixirs and various poisons, making each of them immensely powerful. As they ran, they transformed, their bodies rapidly expanding in moments, muscles and exoskeletons bursting outwards. They became gargantuan, ferocious beasts, spewing mist, breathing fire, spouting water, and unleashing toxins.

Yet, even so, they could only slightly impede the three-headed deity's speed.

The deity's power was terrifying; with every movement, he pulverized the venomous creatures, reducing them to colorful pulp with limbs flying everywhere.

The creatures couldn't even get close; they exploded simply from his roaring shouts.

Even when poisoned, one of the three-headed deity's heads burst into raging flames, transforming into a fiery head. It burned fiercely from inside out, tempering itself with divine fire that coursed through its entire body repeatedly, incinerating the venom.

His other head turned sapphire blue, and a sapphire-blue radiant light repeatedly cleansed his physical body, expelling the potent poison in an instant.

One could say the Apothecary's poisons had met their match against this deity.

Furthermore, without relying on venomous creatures, the Apothecary's personal strength was arguably the weakest in Disabled Elderly Village, only at the Celestial-Human realm. His power truly lay in his poisons and the creatures themselves.

When factoring in his poisons and venomous creatures, his combat power became incalculable; he might poison a deity to death, or he might be smashed by a single palm.

With the Cripple carrying him, his speed was not at its peak, and they also had to evade potential sneak attacks from other deities, making their situation extremely precarious.

Even with the Cripple's unmatched speed, navigating through various earth-shattering divine abilities was terrifyingly dangerous; a slight misstep could cost them both their lives.

"The Imperial Preceptor has lost his combat ability; we must rescue him first!" the Cripple exclaimed.

The Cripple, still carrying the Apothecary, rushed towards where the Imperial Preceptor had fallen. At that moment, the three-headed deity suddenly swayed, and two of its heads flew through the air, unleashing a combination of water and fire to engulf them!

The Cripple quickly dodged. Suddenly, the ground ahead became incredibly hot, instantly transforming into rolling lava, and the entire snow mountain began to sink into it. A deity stood upon the lava, holding a bright mirror that floated up and hung in the air, its massive surface shining down into the molten rock.

Everything beneath the earth seemed to become as clear as if submerged in a transparent lake.

The deity had a goat's head with a pair of curved horns and keen eyes, searching for traces beneath the earth.

Suddenly, the mirror's light illuminated Earth Elemental Peak's form. Earth Elemental Peak was moving rapidly underground, but when caught by the mirror's light, his speed immediately slowed. Previously, he could move unimpeded underground, but this mirror light was surprisingly able to bind him, restricting his subterranean movement.

"Die!" the goat-headed deity sneered.

The goat-headed deity sneered, and the horns on its head detached, shooting with two sharp sounds into the lava, heading straight for Earth Elemental Peak.

Just then, the lava suddenly shifted, rising upwards to form a gigantic face that opened its massive mouth and swallowed the goat-headed deity. "Even if I die, I'll drag you down with me!" roared a voice.

The Cripple and the Apothecary looked down into the earth. Under the mirror's illumination, Earth Elemental Peak deep underground was pinned, pierced front and back by the two goat horns.

Earth Elemental Peak's divine ability was dragging the goat-headed deity deeper into the earth, plummeting towards its depths.

"Cripple, steal that mirror!" the Apothecary urgently shouted.

The Cripple dashed forward, employing his "Heaven-Stealing, Sun-Swapping Hand" technique. With a whoosh, the bright mirror vanished without a trace, hidden by him in an unknown location.

Earth Elemental Peak, now able to move underground, vigorously attacked the goat-headed deity. Without the mirror's illumination, neither the Cripple nor the Apothecary could see the battle beneath the earth.

The lava surged, sending up roaring waves of fire. Suddenly, the lava rose into the air, rapidly solidifying into a gigantic palm, then transforming into various shapes—palms, fists, hammers, or feet—erupting from the sea of lava and freezing in mid-air, a breathtaking sight.

The Cripple hurriedly dodged, carrying the Apothecary, and shouted loudly towards the ground, "Tiny Nail, stop fighting! Come out quickly and let the Apothecary heal you..."

The Apothecary gently patted his shoulder and whispered, "There's no need to call him out. Let him fight to his heart's content. When he was pinned earlier, those two goat horns had already pierced and killed his primordial spirit. He only has one last breath left, and once that's gone, he will..."

He did not finish his sentence.

The Cripple paused in shock, then gritted his teeth and ran towards the Imperial Preceptor's fallen location without looking back.

The sea of lava continuously trembled, and strange peaks and bizarre rocks erupted from the ground. The ferocity of the battle beneath the earth was unimaginable. Suddenly, the battle under the lava sea ceased and returned to calm, leaving only the peculiar peaks and strange rocks that had risen from the molten sea, bearing various palm prints, fist marks, and other forms.

*Splash.*

The lava parted, and the goat-headed deity slowly emerged from the sea, growing taller and taller.

*Thump, thump, thump.*

He stepped out of the sea of lava, the molten rock on his body flowing off like water and turning into black stone upon hitting the ground. His eyes were empty, a truly tragic sight, yet he still exuded an earth-shattering battle intent.

The Cripple and the Apothecary were startled, but just then, the goat-headed deity collapsed with a *thud*. A pointed horned hammer was embedded in the back of his head, and the short Earth Elemental Peak, still impaled by the two goat horns in his chest, hung from the hammer's handle as they both fell.

The crimson fire in the eyes of the Earth Elemental tribe leader was slowly dimming.

"The taste of underground fiery fruits... it's like strong liquor. When it flows from your mouth to your throat, it leaves a lifelong aftertaste," he muttered.

The crimson fire in his eyes gradually extinguished as he mumbled, "I recall that taste again... I suppose this life is coming to an end. I shouldn't have answered the Human Emperor's Seal's call, but our ancestors have sworn an oath... the Earth Elemental tribe will never betray our ancestors' vows..."

He closed his eyes and, together with the goat-headed deity, sank into the lava, slowly consumed by it.

The Cripple, carrying the Apothecary, rushed to the Imperial Preceptor's side. The Apothecary quickly dismounted to administer aid. Suddenly, an incredibly bright light burst forth from the darkness. Both of them looked up to see the Sun Ship sailing out of the gloom, with a celestial-like figure standing on deck, holding chains that pulled a blazing sun.

"It's the girl Mu'er brought! She's the Sun Guardian!" the Apothecary exclaimed.

The Apothecary immediately recognized Yan Jingjing. Ignoring his surprise, he quickly shouted, "Sun Guardian, quick, help!"

Yan Jingjing's gaze swept across the battlefield. With her four arms, she yanked the chains, and the sun high in the sky was immediately pulled by her immense, brute strength, beginning to descend from above.

On the Sun Ship, the expressions of tens of thousands of Sun Herders drastically changed, and they cried out in unison, "Sun Guardian, no!"

The Sun Herder Chief shouted, "Little Ancestor, you mustn't learn from His Highness—"

The sun descended halfway, then suddenly stopped. From its lower half, incredibly sharp golden beams burst forth, shooting towards the battling Celestial Deities!