Chapter 1723 Assisting the Old Slick Guy in Advancement
Beyond the Immortal Gourd Realm, the starry sky changes color!
The originally brilliant light of the stars in the heavens was subdued, and a huge array diagram, whose vastness and complexity could not be described in words, slowly emerged on the boundary membrane of the Immortal Gourd Realm.
As starlight flows, the Tao manifests.
The birth and death of stars can be faintly seen, and a terrifying artistic conception of refining all laws and returning to the origin permeates the air.
Any being that tries to get close will feel a tremor and insignificance from the depths of its soul.
This Immortal Refining Array, which incorporates the foundation of a half-step ninth-order array, has finally been completed!
Standing at the heart of the formation, Zhang Xuan felt the perfect resonance between the immortal formation and the immortal gourd realm, his heart filled with boundless pride.
"Next, it's time to let the demon cubs of the Abyss of Beginning Demons taste the flavor of this half-step ninth-order immortal array. However, simply preparing this half-step ninth-order array is far from enough."
Zhang Xuan gazed into the depths of the void, where the boundless sea of stars lay.
A phantom river of time flows silently within the palace, reflecting the illusory birth and death of all the heavens and myriad realms.
He looked at one of them, and it was the old fox who was at the peak of the Void Refinement stage.
With a flash, Zhang Xuan appeared in front of the old slick man.
“Ancestor…”
“I have known you since the early stages of Qi Refining, so there’s no need to be so polite with me.”
“Yes, temple master,” the old slick man said with a smile.
Upon hearing the distant title of "Temple Master," Zhang Xuan couldn't help but smile.
With a wave of his hand, the illusory river of time materialized.
"Many Integration Realm positions in the Nine Divine Realms are now vacant due to the bloody battle. Are you ready to take that step?"
"I haven't decided on the fusion fruit position I want yet," the old slick man said silently.
"The realm of integration is not only a transformation of magic power and divine soul, but also requires occupying a position in heaven and earth. This position is the prototype of the authority of the Great Dao. Cultivators choose a path according to their own cultivation, condense the corresponding Dao fruit, and then they can resonate with the Great Dao, imprint their true name, and occupy a place."
As Zhang Xuan narrated, an incredibly grand scene slowly unfolded in the old man's mind.
It was a sea of laws that transcended the dimensions of reality.
Countless paths formed from pure Dao principles crisscross the void, creating an invisible framework that supports all the heavens and myriad realms.
At the key nodes of these paths, there are embedded composite fruit positions with different lights!
The old fox saw that what represented the paths of the Heavenly Generals and Earthly Fiends was a vast star-shaped chessboard.
Three hundred and sixty-five celestial main stars and auxiliary stars intertwine to evolve into two thousand five hundred and ninety-two brilliant chess positions.
Most of these chess positions have been lit up, and the radiance reflects the blurry figure of the person who occupies them, their aura sometimes domineering, sometimes mysterious, and sometimes majestic.
However, hundreds of chess pieces are now dim and lifeless, silently floating on the chessboard, waiting for a new strong player to take their place.
That was the spot vacated by the Nascent Soul cultivators who perished during the great battle and followed the Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiend paths!
He saw that what represented the path of the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches was a towering tree whose branches and leaves stretched through all the heavens.
The tree is covered with 1,440 fruits of various shapes, exuding a unique Daoist charm that can assist, deduce, and create.
At this moment, dozens of fruits on this Dao tree have lost their luster, and some branches even show signs of withering, clearly indicating that their original owner has already perished.
He also saw a chaotic vortex that constantly rotated and was born and died, representing the path of the Five Elements and Yin and Yang, with 1,023 points of undying spiritual light floating in the vortex.
Within the vortex, many positions of enlightenment have also perished, awaiting to be rekindled.
He even caught a glimpse of more ancient and rarer paths, such as the Four Symbols and Eight Trigrams, and the celestial trajectories.
Each of them occupies a corner in the Sea of Laws, exuding an ancient and powerful aura, and there are quite a few vacancies among them.
"Is this the state of union?" The old man's mind wavered.
Through the temple master, he realized for the first time so intuitively that the path of cultivation, the further one goes, the more closely it is connected with the root of the laws of heaven and earth, and even with cultivators from all realms, competing for that limited access to the fruition position!
“Indeed,” Zhang Xuan’s voice pulled him back from his shock. “In the last great battle, hundreds of my nine divine realms’ Nascent Soul cultivators perished. This is a crisis, but also an immense opportunity!”
Zhang Xuan stared intently at the old man: "Your path is the path of the sword. The path of the sword is sharp and decisive, and its positions are mostly in the fierce star positions such as 'Kill, Break, Wolf' in the 'Heavenly Gang and Earthly Fiends' path, or some of the 'Five Elements Metal' positions that are more offensive. Now, there are quite a few of these types of positions available."
Upon hearing this, the old slick man's eyes flashed with an unprecedented glint of shrewdness.
The road has been pointed out, and the goal is clear!
But how do you embark on this path, and how do you contend for that vacant throne?
“Your accumulation is already sufficient. What you lack is a catalyst, a key that can elevate the essence of your swordsmanship and trigger resonance at the corresponding level.” Zhang Xuan said, slowly raising his hand.
"Zheng——!"
A sword's cry shattered the tranquility of the Starry Sky Temple!
A dazzling galaxy burst forth from Zhang Xuan's palm!
That was not a galaxy of water, but a torrent of swords!
It is a vast river composed of countless fine, dust-like sword intent runes, condensed, tangible sword energy light, and broken and reassembled sword dao laws!
The long river roared and surged, exuding supreme majesty that could annihilate stars and judge the heavens.
"This is your key, your ladder to heaven!" Zhang Xuan's voice was solemn. "Refine it, inherit the essence of swordsmanship within, use it as a foundation to condense your own swordsmanship fruit, and occupy that vacant swordsmanship fusion fruit position!"
The old man gazed at the sword galaxy that seemed to tear his soul apart, feeling unprecedented pressure, but also an incredibly strong attraction!
This is a crisis, but also an unprecedented destiny!
"I will suppress the most violent backlash for you, but you must bear the tempering of your sword intent and the fusion of your Dao principles! This is your struggle for the Dao, and also your rebirth!" As soon as Zhang Xuan finished speaking, he waved his sleeve.
The next moment, the old slickman and that vast sword domain star river appeared together in a void refining field completely constructed by Zhang Xuan's Great Dao.
This place is isolated from the outside world, making it capable of withstanding the most intense energy impacts.
The old man sat cross-legged, and what floated in front of him was no longer a single sword domain star river, but two forces with completely opposite properties, yet faintly of the same origin.
To the left lies the vast and dazzling sword domain starry river, its sword energy chilling, its killing intent soaring to the heavens, representing ultimate sharpness and destruction.
On the right, however, was an ancient, hazy, and soft halo containing boundless vitality.
At the heart of this halo is the illusory pupil of an eye, outlined by a faint light and the deepest darkness—the Eye of Candlelight!
This "Eye of Candlelight" is the sword path opportunity that the old oil-headed man obtained through the sacrifice of his entire family.
It was also the source of his endless regret.
This is also the source of his confidence in defeating those of higher ranks.
His eyes were calm and resolute, with an almost martyr-like persistence.
