Before the Old Dragon Lord's voice even faded, the sword was already drawn.
In an instant, all the divine senses secretly peeping at this place felt heaven and earth turn white. Everything became murky and indistinguishable, unable to perceive any scene whatsoever.
And the same scene, falling into the Old Dragon Lord's eyes, was reduced to three feet of flowing light. When it first launched, it was like the Silver River shattering the clouds; its momentum was like a white rainbow drinking from a mountain stream, escaping from his pupils. By the time he snapped back to his senses, the peerless edge of the sword was already pressing right against his neck, leaving him unable to react!
'Too fast...'
Even now, the Old Dragon Lord couldn't clearly see Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon's figure. All his thoughts were snatched away by the dazzlingly bright sword edge right before his eyes.
It was exactly this sword strike.
Dragon Lord Qu Jian had been decapitated by this exact sword strike, and then all his profound wonders were severed. Unable to circulate the slightest bit of spiritual power, he was reduced to a living dead existence.
'What exactly is this.'
The Old Dragon Lord had never seen such a sharp and fierce method. Only Lu Yang, who had been observing this place from the shadows all along, could recognize it, a look of nostalgia surfacing in the depths of his eyes.
[Non-Killing Sword Intent].
The peerless sword intent that had once allowed Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon to roam unhindered through the Immortal Nexus, known as the number one at the Foundation Establishment realm. Now, it astonishingly displayed its ultimate sharpness in a brand new form!
'Block it, I must block it!'
It wasn't until the sword edge approached the Old Dragon Lord's neck, with only three inches remaining, that the Old Dragon Lord finally reacted. All his profound wonder roared out!
[Sovereign Eastflow], [Star River Immortal].
[Shared Nourishment], [Inexhaustible Stream]...
[Foundation of Heaven and Earth]!
Except for the decapitated Dragon Lord Qu Jian, who was powerless to activate the [Ravine Stream Water], all the other Water Element Dao Fruits were fully circulated by the Old Dragon Lord at this moment!
In an instant, the Old Dragon Lord rode the clouds and mounted the mist. Just like the Cang River Dragon Lord's maneuver when facing Patriarch Nether Whisper earlier, the [Star River Immortal] provided escape, and the [Inexhaustible Stream] amplified and elevated the profound wonder. But besides these, he also utilized a [Shared Nourishment] to transfer the might of the approaching sword qi.
Then he heard the hum of a sword.
"Clang—!"
Where the sword hum passed, nothing remained unsevered. All profound wonders were cut off out of thin air. The ghostly white sword light instantly erased the rest of the boiling light and color concepts between heaven and earth.
[All-Severing Sword Intent]!
The soaring rosy clouds were struck down, the inexhaustible stream was cut off, and the shared water source was excavated.
The three layers of profound wonder fell one after another, causing the chill in the Old Dragon Lord's pupils to reach its limit. The originally three-inch distance of the sword edge had already shrunk to two inches.
At this life-and-death juncture, he immediately changed his profound wonder.
"Rumble!"
Behind him, rippling water light seemed to open a gateway to a new world, wrapping around the Old Dragon Lord, intending to send him out of this perilous situation.
[Sovereign Eastflow]!
This profound wonder could generate a universe and contain a world within. As long as he escaped into it and bought some time, he was confident he could execute a few more methods.
He didn't expect to turn defeat into victory, but at least he could block this sword strike.
Thinking of this, the Old Dragon Lord couldn't help but grit his teeth. In the end, it was still because this place was bizarre, and the Heavenly Lord couldn't amplify him. Otherwise, how could he end up in such a sorry state?
The longsword forged ahead with indomitable will.
In the next instant, the towering dragon body had already sunk into the universe where water and sky merged, disappearing without a trace. Subsequently, the overwhelming sword light followed closely behind.
'I can't block it!'
The Old Dragon Lord exhaled deeply, only to see the small world created by the [Sovereign Eastflow] directly cleaved open. The numerous profound wonders couldn't land on that spiritual sword.
But regardless, the Old Dragon Lord still bought the most precious breathing room, allowing him to concentrate all his stature and profound wonder onto a single point. The boiling radiance wasn't intense, nor was it dazzling; instead, it was as gentle as water, like a mother's palm gently stroking towards the incoming cleaving longsword.
[Foundation of Heaven and Earth]!
This Supreme Dao Fruit profound wonder, which inherently possessed an extraordinarily high stature, now condensed the majority of the [Water Element]'s mighty power, instantly draining all of the Old Dragon Lord's spiritual power!
In an instant, the loud cry of a baby rang out.
On the originally seamlessly unified, utterly pure longsword, infinite consciousnesses suddenly sprouted. Every strand of sword light astonishingly gave birth to its own consciousness.
"Mama! Protect Mama!"
"Don't kill Mama!"
Countless consciousnesses filled the sword light. Even the profound wonder-breaking [All-Severing Sword Intent] was powerless, because these consciousnesses were inherently a part of itself.
Seeing that under the amplification of the [Foundation of Heaven and Earth], the originally magnificent sword light was divided, and some of the sword light even counterattacked Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon to protect itself, causing the imminent killing intent to sharply decline, a hint of a relieved smile finally surfaced in the depths of the Old Dragon Lord's eyes.
'How is it?'
The Old Dragon Lord laughed heartily inward, he begin to calculate what method to use for a counterattack. At the very least, he had to rescue Dragon Lord Qu Jian, who had turned into a living dead dragon.
But in the next instant, he was stunned.
Because the man before him not only didn't show any anger because the sword light was blocked, but instead smiled calmly, a thoroughly delightful joy showing in his eyes:
"...Good!"
This laugh accompanied the sword's hum. And on the spiritual sword in his hand, amidst the numerous consciousnesses created by the [Foundation of Heaven and Earth], a concept finally emerged.
As soon as the concept emerged, it immediately presented a boundless radiance. Those consciousnesses catalyzed by the Old Dragon Lord to interfere with the sword light now seemed to become the most perfect whetstone, polishing and smelting this brand new concept until it was even purer, erupting with brilliant, dazzling light.
So close yet worlds apart, pierced through in a single strike.
"Pfft!"
The sword edge pierced into flesh and blood. Yet the Old Dragon Lord couldn't care less—his head gradually separating from his body. All his thoughts were enveloped by an even grander concept.
In a daze, he seemed to hear a lament:
'In my life, I have comprehended two sword intents through cultivation. One was bestowed by the World Honored One, named [Non-Killing]. The other was bestowed by the Sword Lord, named [All-Severing].'
Both sword intents were the absolute pinnacle of this Great Dao. Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon used them to prove his [Sword Dao].
However, this was the Sword Lord's [Sword Dao].
Not his.
'Yet it cannot be denied that whether it is [Non-Killing] or [All-Severing], although there are the causes of the Dao Lords' arrangements, they are also lament originating from my heart.'
In the Immortal Nexus world, among the living beings of the sea of light, immortal cultivators sit high above, pursuing the lofty Great Dao, while ordinary mortals toil day in and day out, only seeking to scrape by.
How unjust is this?
The Dao Lords sit enthroned upon [Paramita]. For the sake of their own paths, they exploit living beings, manipulate the workings of the world, deem all things illusory, and acknowledge only themselves as real. What kind of madness is this?
The world ought not be so.
Whether lofty immortal cultivators and divine Buddhas, or lowly, powerless mortals—at their core, there is no difference. It is only their station that divides them.
They are all human.
Therefore, what I seek in this life is neither transcendence nor the Great Dao.
I seek only to become a [Perfected One]—and that all living beings under heaven may each become a [Perfected One] as well.
The bright sword light severed everything.
In that moment, nothing remained but the sword's cry ringing to the heavens—its voice rolling like thunder, bearing an unyielding, decisive resolve:
"To hold the sword yet not kill; to sever all mortal karma; with a single heart-lamp, to illumine the human realm."
The third sword intent—
[Perfected One]!
At that instant, none felt it more keenly than the Old Dragon Lord standing before the sword's edge. Before this strike, he felt as though he had been cast back into mortality—reduced once more to a mere mortal.
'He did it on purpose.'
'The consciousnesses catalyzed by the [Foundation of Heaven and Earth] became his best whetstone. This peerless divine edge was tempered and refined countless times by myself...'
'He was using me to test his sword?'
'He actually dared to use me as a whetstone!?'
Shock and fury surged without end, yet all his profound power had already been stripped away. The dragon head—vast as mountains and rivers—plunged from the firmament.
Then came Cang River, Huai River, Yu Zhao, Yang Lake…
One sword. Five lives.
Five dragon heads fell in succession, like shattered jade crashing upon the earth, striking until heaven and earth trembled and water-light flooded the sky. In that instant, beyond the [Dao-Attaining Hidden Profound Palace], furious lightning roared and reverberated between heaven and earth.
The sword light vanished in an instant.
Silence followed.
Perfected One Vanquishing-Demon stood squarely in place, sheathing his longsword. Then, his gaze shifted slightly, looking at a figure not far away who had appeared at some unknown time, also holding a sword.
The Great Sword Ancestor.
Two figures with completely different appearances, yet incredibly similar temperaments between their brows, now looked at each other calmly and without ripples.
In the next second, the Great Sword Ancestor spoke faintly:
"What a fine divine edge."
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist. After today, the Primordial Spirit is within reach."