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Chapter 569: Sword God
🕑 Added 2025-02-24 14:00:12 +0000 UTCAs early as two thousand years ago, Tianyi had infiltrated the Numinous Realm with his immortal sense. It was not that Tianyi’s scope had increased all that much, but that some of the Xiyi Talisman he scattered in the lower realms reached the Numinous Realm. Using those Xiyi Talismans as emitters and relay points, he was able to know some matters of the Numinous Sword Sect.
Of course, the Numinous Sword Sect knew about the Xiyi Talismans, so they became contraband in the Numinous Realm. Not that it stopped people who experienced the sweetness of the Xiyi Talisman from willingly giving them up. Like alcohol from the Prohibition Era, Xiyi Talismans were still used and traded underground.
There was even a smuggling ring business that emerged because of the Numinous Sword Sect’s oppression. Compared to the price of the Xiyi Talisman in the Primordial Realm and even lower realms, they were a thousand to ten thousand times higher.
The ringleaders were loose true immortals that embarked on comprehending the Law of Space, which allowed them to enter the lower realms and even the Primordial Realm to grab stock before returning to sell them. In the scant few thousand years, they amassed a terrifying amount of wealth that would make even an immortal monarch’s eyes green with envy.
But that wasn’t the reason why Tianyi noticed. The abnormal energy fluctuations were far too great and manifested physically in the Primordial Realm.
The sky changed where Tianyi was looking at. Although it hadn’t reached the point of tearing the sky, those strong enough all noticed. A silvery line appeared in the sky. At its core was the essence of metal, but upon closer inspection, they could see the Law of Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, and even the Law of Light and the Law of Darkness. It seemed that all laws were born from metal.
This phenomenon wasn’t only occurring in the Primordial Realm, but in all realms. The effect on the Primordial Realm was the weakest, because its natural barriers guarded against external interference. It was much more noticeable in the lower realms, depending on distance. Maybe many people had already knelt down, instinctively sensing this was the work of a divinity.
In the following period of time, anyone who studied the Law of Metal would find it much easier to glimpse into the secrets of metal. It was the same everywhere else, but the farther away from the Numinous Realm, the weaker the effect would be.
Thanks to the Xiyi Talisman, Tianyi practically had a front-row seat to everything. The entire sky of the Numinous Realm had turned white, and a powerful pressure ballooned from the Numinous Sword Sect. Those too weak were forced to kneel under that powerful force.
It was not an intentional act by the new divinity, but because he had reached a new realm and could not control his power. Immortal emperors could still barely maintain their posture, while monarchs and below fell to their knees.
‘Who is the new sword god?’ Tianyi wondered. For a moment, Bao Ling’s face flashed in his mind, but he quickly shot that idea down.
It was just his intuition, but Tianyi felt that Bao Ling should make a much bigger commotion when he becomes a divinity. But aside from Bao Ling, Tianyi couldn’t think of anyone else with the talent to become a divinity.
Sovereign Yanxu? Although he was an old sword sovereign, the time he spent as a sovereign compared to his time as an emperor was pitifully short. Maybe if it was Mengfei, Tianyi would not have such doubt, but Sovereign Yanxu did not have the talent.
Emperor Southsword? Even less likely in Tianyi’s opinion. Although he was much younger than the elderly Sovereign Yanxu, he had not caused any of his three flowers to bloom. It remained to be seen if he could even reach the peak of the Extremity Immortal Realm before he reached the limit of his willpower.
The other ones Tianyi thought of were still immortal monarchs ten thousand years ago. Even if they entered the Extremity Immortal Realm, it was too abnormal to become a divinity, right?
‘Did they use the method of faith?’ Tianyi thought. However, he soon dismissed the idea. He had not seen anyone become a divinity through faith, but he knew that the phenomenon was not as exaggerated as this. When the Cloud Goddess became a divinity, it only affected the Huang Realm and did not extend to the other realms. Not to mention that the laws did not become clearer, either.
***
Inside the core of the Numinous Sword Sect, Sovereign—no. Divinity Yanxu parted his lips and excelled the last bit of qi inside his body. He had replaced all the energy in his body with essence, transforming his body once more and reaching a new height unseen since the primordial era.
However, Divinity Yanxu’s thoughts were troubled. There was joy, but there was also sadness and disappointment.
In front of him was a plain sword. The blade seemed to be forged out of iron, the hilt and handle were crafted from ordinary materials. However, this was no ordinary sword, but the Immortal Ending Sword.
Divinity Yanxu reached out and grabbed the hilt. Gently, as if it was some fragile porcelain, he picked up the handle slowly.
CRACK!
It was just a small sound, but it was magnified endlessly in Divinity Yanxu’s ears, akin to a thunderous roar from a world-destroying lightning.
A small crack had appeared at the base of the blade. Before he could do anything else, the blade fell. Divinity Yanxu stared at the bladeless hilt in his hand in a daze.
“I was already prepared for it, but when it happened, I still can’t help but feel regret. I am a sinner of the Numinous Sword Sect!”
While Divinity Yanxu wallowed in his misery, a new voice cut in. “No, you are the Numinous Sword Sect’s savior.”
Divinity Yanxu looked up to see Bao Ling standing a few meters away. This was his most favored disciple, his pride and joy. Whenever he looked at Bao Ling, he would always nod in satisfaction, but now? Now, he looked at Bao Ling with love and hate.
Bao Ling walked forward, as if he couldn’t see the hatred in his master’s eyes. “You don’t have to blame yourself. It’s fine if Master blames me. I won’t care. But Master, you know that if you do not sacrifice the Immortal Ending Sword, you would not reach the Divine Realm. Even if you gathered all the faith in the Numinous Realm and the realms below, the Immortal Court would not fear you.”
“It’s not the Immortal Court, but the Buzhou Immortal Court,” Divinity Yanxu finally said after a moment of silence.
His disciple was right.
Since the last Divine Beast-Human War ended, Sovereign Yanxu was doing everything in his power to reach the Divine Realm. He was not the only one, as the sect spent its accumulated resources to train members. Thanks to those efforts, the Numinous Sword Sect now had eleven sword emperors, but because of this, the sect’s treasury dwindled rapidly. No, it was less than half. Of the spent resources, he occupied more than half.
Even so, he could not see hope of breaking through to the Divine Realm. The more time passed, the more anxious he became. Because it meant that the Immortal Court was more likely to attack. The time of attack wasn’t guaranteed. As long as the Numinous Sword Sect did not produce a divinity, the chances would increase with time.
Maybe attacking only ten thousand years after the war was foolish, but was it really? The Immortal Court had two divinities now. Even if they were not exactly on the same front, it posed a great threat. The Numinous Sword Sect was powerful enough to fend off a divinity, but what about afterward? When the divinity attacked, it would force the Numinous Sword Sect to sequester itself from the world. By then, the Immortal Court would only need to force them to stay hidden and allow the rest of the world to prosper.
If you do not advance, you regress.
Even if the Divinity left and no longer attacked them, the Numinous Sword Sect would be surrounded by powerful enemies that wanted to take the helm of the Numinous Realm. By then, there would be no Numinous Sword Sect, the hegemonic force, only the first-rate force Numinous Sword Sect.
A thousand years ago, Yanxu actually thought of using the Allheaven Jianmu Tree to become a divinity. If he failed, he would naturally die. Even if he survived, it was not known if he could become a member of the divine.
It was a pure and desperate gamble.
At this time, Bao Ling came forward. He produced a method that would allow an immortal monarch or above to become a divinity. It wasn’t a divinity of faith either, but a true divinity created from the foundation of the worldly laws.
The price? One of the four Immortal Exterminating Swords.
The act was blasphemous. Just as the Immortal Court considered themselves the lineage of the Heavenly Lord of Primordial Beginnings, the Numinous Sword Sect considered themselves the orthodox lineage of the Heavenly Lord of Numinous Treasures. If they desecrate the founder’s artifacts, they would be worse than beasts.
But faced with destruction, they had no choice.
If he did not decisively sacrifice the Immortal Ending Sword, it would remain unknown whether or not he could become a divinity. A divinity of faith was nothing to fear. Many times, the Numinous Sword Sect’s enemies have become divinities by faith, but they were all destroyed in the end.
Although he became a divinity, Yanxu was not happy. It would not be wrong to say that any of the Immortal Exterminating Swords was a pillar of the Numinous Sword Sect. Now, one of the pillars was permanently lost. The Immortal Exterminating Sword Formation would never have the chance to show itself to the world again.
If only Sovereign Xi had not stolen the Immortal Confining Sword. They would be able to use the Immortal Exterminating Sword Formation and not fear even divinities of the Immortal Court.
An unquenchable anger welled up from Divinity Yanxu’s stomach and up his throat. He glared at Bao Ling. “Get out!”
Bao Ling didn’t appear saddened by his master’s rejection. He simply bowed and excused himself.
As soon as Bao Ling left, Divinity Yanxu instantly felt regretful. In a moment of weakness, he allowed his wrath to blind his mind. All the guilt and self-hate turned to anger at Bao Ling for showing him this method. He knew it was wrong. Perhaps his heart might feel better, but the Numinous Sword Sect can’t be without a divinity.
In essence, they sacrificed their potential for power. It can’t be called wrong. Potential was just that, potential. It can’t protect anything. Only power could. So, he understood that the method Bao Ling took out was actually something crucial for the Numinous Sword Sect.
However, Divinity Yanxu wasn’t willing to lower his face to summon Bao Ling back and apologize. ‘I’ll apologize to him later, after I stabilize my cultivation.’
After a moment, he added. ‘And ask him where he found the method.’
Because of the shock brought by the method, Divinity Yanxu didn’t question where and how much Bao Ling found because he was struggling over what decision to make. In the end, he chose to be a sinner without telling anyone.
After becoming a divinity, his immortal sense transformed into divine sense, just like how spiritual sense turned into immortal sense. With it, he could scan the entire Numinous Realm and beyond. The scope was large, but it was not too large.
After testing it a bit, Divinity Yanxu sighed. He used the Law of Metal to become a monarch, and it was his foundation, but he was now a divinity on the Law of Water, causing his foundation to be shaky. There was no helping it.
The four Immortal Exterminating Swords each had their own elements. The element of the Immortal Ending Sword was water, the Immortal Slaughtering Sword was fire, the Immortal Slaying Sword was Wind, and the Immortal Confining Sword was earth.
He sighed. Although he became a divinity, it was one without any chance of progress. His foundation was not his, so it would conflict. But for now, it was enough to protect the Numinous Sword Sect.
After stabilizing his cultivation base, Divinity Yanxu summoned the upper echelon of the sect. Although no one bothered him, they all knew what he did. Still, none of them blamed him.
Divinity Yanxu frowned when he saw everyone gathered. “Where’s Bao Ling?”
Comments
Zaim İpek
This makes sense. Hopefully Tianyi advances his progress on that Law of Five Phases from observing this divine ascension. I imagine Mamafei would also advance her own cultivation from this due to her natural talent. Now that the Numinous sect has discovered this method, will they be tempted to abuse it and create two more divinities? Will Mamafei somehow discover this method on her own and use it to ascend? Can this be done with any intact divine artifact? Looks like we will find out later.
