31: Supreme Sword Tomb

A sharp, Void Realm-tearing arc slowly curved up the corner of Lin Yuan's mouth.

“As you wish!”

Before his voice faded—

*Swoosh! Boom—!!!*

Lin Yuan's figure vanished completely! No, not vanished! The entire floating Starry Sky Hall was instantly submerged by countless bolts of violent azure and Purple Lightning wind and thunder! That wasn't an afterimage; it was the Law itself surging and roaring!

He seemed to appear simultaneously in every corner of the stellar river, yet also seemed never to have moved, only that this Void Realm was twisting, folding, and shattering under the extreme speed of the wind and thunder!

Every flash was accompanied by the furious roar of wind and thunder ripping through the stellar river and a jarring resonance like the snapping of Law chains! Space, like fragile glass, left behind black fissures that could not heal behind him for a long time!

“Buzz—!!!”

An unprecedented dread originating from the deepest part of the Soul, like a cold tide, instantly swept over the lofty Starry Sky Will! For the first time, that eternal voice displayed an uncontrollable, almost panicked, violent tremor:

“Trans... Transcendent?! This... this is absolutely impossible!!”

“In just ten days... ten days! Pushing a Divine-tier Peak movement technique to the Transcendent state... What... what kind of existence are you?!” The shock contained within that voice even drowned out the roar of the Law!

The wind and thunder abruptly ceased, and Lin Yuan's figure reformed like a deity in the center of the hall, the surrounding wind and thunder Law docile as silk ribbons. His expression was calm, as if he had only done a trivial thing, yet in the depths of his eyes, divine light capable of incinerating stars flickered:

“The reward. Hand it over.” His voice was flat, yet carried the unquestionable dignity of a Supreme.

*Buzz!*

A pillar of starlight, pure to the extreme, crashed down and merged into Lin Yuan's body!

[Reward Issued: 10,000 Star Basic Combat Power!]

[Current evolution points remaining: 53,233]

[Basic Combat Power: 14,960 Stars!]

The surging feeling of power had not yet subsided—

*Crack! Rumble, rumble, rumble—!!!*

The entire vast Starry Sky Hall, along with the boundless stellar river outside it, seemed to be fiercely grasped by an invisible giant hand capable of crushing galaxies, emitting a groan of distress and violent tremor! Lin Yuan suddenly looked up, his gaze like two bolts of Chaos divine thunder tearing through the darkness, stabbing straight toward the entrance of the Seventh Heaven!

There, the phantom image of an ancient sword, mottled with rust and seemingly bearing the vicissitudes and silence of countless eons, was slowly solidifying from the Void Realm! Every slight tremor it made caused the Foundation of the entire trial ground to shake violently, emitting a heaven-shaking sword cry capable of shattering stars!

The cry was not harsh, but carried a sense of solitude, desolation, and... an ultimate yearning for a true Dominator that pierced through the ages!

The voice of the Starry Sky Will, carrying unprecedented solemnity, slowly sounded:

“The Seventh Heaven: Supreme Sword Tomb. If one is not an Extreme Supreme, entering it will result in... the destruction of the Divine Soul!”

Lin Yuan's five fingers abruptly tightened. The dao observing sword in his palm emitted an excited, low hum, its blade flowing with a faint light like the dawn of Chaos. The Battle Intent in his eyes had transformed into Chaos flames that could burn down the eight wastes:

“Extreme Supreme? That suits me perfectly!” A low roar was like thunder in his heart, “The fortune in this Sword Tomb is rightfully the stepping stone for my ascension!”

The Seventh Heaven: Supreme Sword Tomb

With one step, he entered the massive fissure that spanned the starry Universe, seeming to have been split open by Supreme power!

*Zheng—Clang, clang, clang, clang!!!*

Countless beams of peerless sword light, bright enough to blind gods and devils, suddenly erupted! The entire starry sky was completely split and pulverized, revealing the Soul-freezing sight behind the fissure—a Primordial Sword Tomb suspended within endless Chaos Qi currents!

As far as the eye could see, countless broken and decayed remnant swords, still exuding indomitable Battle Intent, piled up into mountains, stretching to the end of the Chaos, forming a graveyard of desperate metal!

And in the very center of the Sword Tomb, nine Supreme greatswords, like colossal pillars supporting the heavens, were plunged into the earth. Their blades were wrapped in boiling Law chains of various colors—Purple Lightning and Wild Thunder, Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice, Heaven-Burning World Fire, and hurricanes that ripped apart the starry Universe... The pressure emanating from each greatsword was enough to cause a major world to collapse! However, where three of the greatswords should have been, only three bottomless, massive voids radiating an aura of silence and destruction remained.

“Nine Supreme Swords... three already have masters!” Lin Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted to pinpoints, his heart pounding like a war drum. “Before me, three Prodigies have actually passed through this place of certain death!”

*Buzz—!*

Just as Lin Yuan's mind was reeling, the destructive Sword Qi raging throughout the Sword Tomb, powerful enough to strangle gods and devils, instantly receded like a gentle tide, as if encountering a Supreme sovereign, yielding a path paved with countless broken swords leading to the core of the Sword Tomb! Lin Yuan's gaze was involuntarily drawn to the highest point of the Sword Tomb—

There, a longsword, deep and dark as eternal night, silently floated. Its body was not metal but flowed with Chaos Origin, and at its edge, terrifying scenes of stellar rivers vanishing and time and space being born and evolving constantly rotated!

Merely gazing at it felt like the Soul was about to be sucked into the blade and completely annihilated! A Supreme Sword Intent, transcending the nine Supreme greatswords below and seemingly capable of severing Karma and destroying all Dao, diffused outward!

[chaos heavenly extreme sword]

—Born alongside the Supreme, growing with the Supreme. Where the blade points, the Heavenly Dao must also bow!

“It's... calling me?” A tremor originating from his Bloodline and the deepest part of his Soul made Lin Yuan's heart nearly leap out of his chest! He almost instinctively reached out his hand toward that Supreme sword.

*Zheng—!!!*

A sword cry, incomparably clear yet containing the mighty power of creation, echoed through the Chaos! That chaos heavenly extreme sword seemed to break free from the shackles of the ages, transforming into a stream of Chaos light that sliced through the river of time and space, instantly crossing the infinite distance and landing steadily in Lin Yuan's palm!

*Boom!!!*

An indescribably vast torrent of Sword Intent, like a Universal tsunami unleashed, instantly surged into Lin Yuan's limbs, Sea of Consciousness, and Divine Soul! His consciousness was forcefully pulled into a scene of undivided Chaos: when heaven and earth first opened, a bolt of Chaos Sword Qi that tore through the Grandmist was born... It endured endless epochs, witnessing the rise and fall of all heavens, waiting only for an existence capable of carrying it and unleashing its full edge! A piece of information branded with the aura of Chaos was deeply engraved in Lin Yuan's Soul:

chaos heavenly extreme sword: Formed from the first wisp of Chaos Qi when heaven and earth began, born alongside the Supreme! Its power is boundless, growing with its master, and ultimately capable of... destroying the Heavenly Dao!

“Good!” Lin Yuan gripped the Chaos-flowing hilt tightly with his five fingers, feeling the Supreme power emanating from the sword body—the feeling that he could cleave the entire Universe with a single stroke. An unprecedented sense of heroism shot straight to the sky! This sword perfectly matched him!

However, in the deepest Chaos of the Sword Tomb, a voice more silent and colder than Ten Thousand Year Profound Ice rang out like a death knell:

“He who obtains the sword shall be tested!”

*Boom—!*

The scene of the Sword Tomb instantly twisted and collapsed! Countless broken swords turned to dust, and Chaos Qi currents wildly rolled back, engulfing Lin Yuan!

The next moment, he found himself in an endless ancient battlefield where Sword Qi crisscrossed and killing intent filled the air! In the Void Realm, a phantom figure condensed from pure killing Sword Intent slowly emerged—clad in blood-stained ancient armor, holding a scarlet demonic sword seemingly forged from the blood and Souls of countless beings! Its mere existence caused Lin Yuan's Purple-Gold Body to feel a needle-like stinging pain!

[Sword Tomb Guardian - First Level: Blood Slaughter Sword Dominator]

Clear the trial to unlock ten percent of the heavenly extreme sword's power! Fail, and your body and Soul will be permanently suppressed in the Sword Tomb, becoming one of the countless remnant swords!

“One trial, one layer of heaven.” The leading White-Robed Sword Cultivator raised a finger, withered like a ghost claw. A destructive sword light, condensed to the extreme, flickered at his fingertip. “Clear the trial, unlock the seal!”

*Rumble!* The ground beneath Lin Yuan's feet suddenly collapsed, transforming into a bottomless Ten Thousand Zang Sword Abyss where Sword Qi raged like a tangible storm! He fell like a meteor, and in that instant—

*Puchi! Puchi! Puchi!...* Hundreds of bolts of killing Sword Qi, condensed like divine gold, easily pierced through the defense of his proud Purple-Gold Body, ignoring it! The scorching Supreme blood was evaporated into a blood mist by the violent Sword Qi before it could even splatter! Even more terrifyingly, every wound retained a sharp Sword Intent, like maggots clinging to bone, that wildly churned and sliced through his flesh and marrow like countless steel needles!

“Use your flesh and blood to engrave the trajectory of the sword.” The voice of the White-Robed Sword Cultivator was like a curse amidst the boundless agony. “Pain is the ladder for a Sword Cultivator to ascend to heaven!”

When Lin Yuan, having almost exhausted his last shred of strength, dragged his ravaged body—nearly flayed by Sword Qi with bones peeking through—out of the Sword Abyss, the first demonic, blood-diamond-like rune on the ancient hilt of the chaos heavenly extreme sword in his palm suddenly lit up! A pure killing Sword Intent fused into the sword, making its edge even sharper!

Sword Tomb Guardian - Second Stage - Spirit Sword Venerable

The green-robed guest's bamboo sword merely tapped lightly in Lin Yuan's direction.

"Ugh—!" Lin Yuan groaned, the vast Spiritual Qi that had been docilely flowing within him instantly went berserk and boiled!

It transformed into billions of tiny yet incomparably sharp Spiritual Qi swords, thinner than ox hair, frantically piercing, cutting, and churning within his resilient Meridians, Dantian, and even Sea of Consciousness! It was as if they intended to utterly grind his cultivation Foundation into dust! Every breath brought heart-wrenching pain, and every circulation of Spiritual Qi was like trekking through a mountain of blades and a sea of fire!

"Breathing is the sword's hum." The green-robed guest's bamboo sword deftly picked up a blood crystal, containing violent Sword Qi, that Lin Yuan had coughed out, his tone indifferent, "Every wisp of Spiritual Qi you inhale and exhale shall be refined into a sword's edge!"

For three days and three nights, Lin Yuan felt as if he were in purgatory, using his Supreme will to forcefully tame and refine the berserk Spiritual Qi within his body.

When he could finally breathe steadily again, a puff of white Qi he exhaled actually condensed and combined automatically in the air, forming an exquisite, miniature sword array brimming with killing intent! On the spine of the chaos heavenly extreme sword, the second rune, azure as the sky, lit up in response! A trace of nimble sharpness was added to the circulating Chaos Qi within the sword body!

Sword Tomb Guardian - Third Stage - Illusion-Breaking Sword Crone

The blind old crone's seemingly slow cane stabbed forward, and under the intense pain and heightened mental focus, Lin Yuan's vision suddenly changed! He clearly "saw" the three hundred and sixty hair-thin yet fatally precise Law cracks on the cane!

"Break here." The old crone's dry voice and the crisp sound of a crucial node on the cane shattering rang out simultaneously!

In the subsequent battle, the world in Lin Yuan's eyes was completely overturned. Everything became a fragile puzzle composed of countless cracks, some thick, some thin, some bright, some dim. When he could, in an instant, precisely find the single "core pattern" that bore the entire structural force on an indestructible ancient "Sword Testing Stone"—

Whoosh! The sword light flashed, and the Sword Testing Stone silently split into two halves!

On the edge of the chaos heavenly extreme sword, the third rune, shimmering with light that pierced through illusions, suddenly glowed with a crimson blood-red light!

..."The eighth pass has been broken." The White-Robed Sword Cultivator's voice was like the clash of billions of divine swords, cold and murderous, "The final pass... Questioning the Heart!"

Buzz... Absolute darkness, devouring all light and sound, instantly enveloped the entire Sword Tomb. Lin Yuan felt the chaos heavenly extreme sword in his hand become heavy as a mountain, as if he held an entire Universe on the verge of annihilation! A clear and powerful pulsation came from the sword body, like the heartbeat of a Chaos giant beast, each beat shaking his Divine Soul!

"What... is a sword?"

A question, seemingly originating from the dawn of Chaos and yet from the deepest part of Lin Yuan's Soul, directly struck his Dao Heart!

Countless images of wielding a sword surged like a tide: clumsy yet resolute swings in the Awakening Realm, desperate slashes pouring out everything at the brink of life and death, the flash of inspiration in a dazzling stab when comprehending a sword move... The soft hum of his initial companion, the dao observing sword, the Law power brought by the fate dice, the extreme speed brought by Wind Thunder Movement... All memories, insights, and powers related to "sword" churned and collided wildly in his Sea of Consciousness!

The extreme pain of Sword Qi penetrating his body and carving into his flesh in the first pass; the mysterious control of Spiritual Qi transforming into swords and breath becoming sharp in the second pass; the true meaning of dispelling illusions, perceiving all things and pointing directly to the core in the third pass... and even the various life-and-death trials and true insights into the Dao of Sword experienced in the subsequent five passes... All these insights, at this moment, transformed into peerless sword lights of various forms, yet all sharp-edged, surging and merging in the starry sky of his Sea of Consciousness!

Clang——!

The chaos heavenly extreme sword actually broke free from Lin Yuan's control and hovered before him! On the sword body, the nine runes representing the nine trials—crimson, azure, scarlet glow... lit up one by one, finally connecting into a single expanse, forming a Chaos Star Map encompassing the stars of the Universe and containing endless Dao of Sword Supreme principles! The Star Map circulated, completely enveloping Lin Yuan!

All sword lights, all insights, all pain and enlightenment, converged and sublimated at this moment! An answer, like the first lightning bolt that split the Grandmist in Chaos, illuminated his entire Soul:

"The sword is me!"

"I am the sword!"

Boom-CRACK—!!!

The moment Lin Yuan reached out and re-gripped the hilt!

The entire Supreme Sword Tomb, which had been silent for countless eons, completely erupted! Billions of broken, decayed, and silent remnant swords, as if infused with an immortal Battle Soul, trembled and hummed in unison, breaking free from the earth's shackles, rising with their tips pointing upwards, standing awe-inspiringly!

Countless ancient Sword Intents, some sharp, some profound, some strange, some grand, surged forth like subjects paying homage to a monarch, from every corner of the Sword Tomb, from the depths of Chaos, and from the crevices of space-time!

They converged and swirled, forming a storm of billions of Sword Intents around Lin Yuan, piercing through Chaos and tearing apart the starry sky! At the center of the storm, Lin Yuan stood with his sword, man and sword integrated into one, exuding a Supreme sword might that made even the Supreme Greatswords tremble!

[Epiphany: Sword Heart Transcendent Clarity!]

[Comprehended the Law of Sword!]

[Current comprehension: 15%!]

The chaos heavenly extreme sword in his palm let out a joyous, clear, long hum, as if splitting heaven and earth! On the dark sword body, the Chaos Star Map completely solidified and became internalized, transforming into countless tiny yet brilliant eternal inscriptions, like real stars! Lin Yuan casually waved his hand towards the boundless Chaos—

Rip—!

A dark sword mark, as if capable of completely cleaving Chaos, appeared out of thin air, lingering for a long time, with annihilating Chaos Qi flowing along its edges!

[chaos heavenly extreme sword (First Stage Awakening)]

Combat Power Bonus: +30,000 Stars

[Law Edge]: Sword Qi inherently possesses Law power!

[Weapon Devouring Evolution]: Can devour and fuse with the Origin of other divine weapons, growing infinitely!

When the light gate leading to the Eighth Heaven roared open amidst the mighty sword hum.

In the Ninth Heaven, Bai Li, who was cultivating quietly, suddenly trembled.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Her life-bound sword, which she had nurtured for countless years and had long since gained sentience, uncontrollably vibrated and trembled wildly! The scabbard instantly became covered with fine cracks, and an indescribable fear, reverence, and... fervent submission, originating from the depths of its sword Soul, surged through her mind like a tide!

"This is..." Bai Li's beautiful face showed shock, her jade hand pressing firmly on her life-bound sword, which was almost bursting out of its sheath. Her beautiful eyes, reflecting the direction of the Sword Tomb below, were filled with extreme shock and delight, "Sword Dao Resonance?! No... this is... Myriad Swords Returning to the Ancestor?! Is a Sword Dao Supreme born, causing all swords in the heavens to bow in submission?!"

At the same time, within the Sword Tomb.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The remaining five Supreme Greatswords, entwined with terrifying Law chains, as if sensing the ultimate sublimation and Supreme pressure of their kind, simultaneously erupted with clear, impassioned sword hums that pierced through the Nine Heavens! These hums were no longer oppressive, but rather like witnessing and congratulating the birth of a true Sword Dao Supreme, who transcended them, right here!

Lin Yuan sheathed his sword.

The chaos heavenly extreme sword obediently returned to its ancient scabbard, but the circulating Chaos Star Glow indicated the Supreme sharpness contained within.

He no longer looked at the billions of subservient broken swords, nor at the resonating Supreme Greatswords. He simply walked calmly towards the light gate of the Eighth Heaven, carrying a newfound, Supreme Sword Intent capable of cutting through everything.

Behind him, the billions of broken swords pointing towards the sky, like the most loyal guards, maintained their solemn posture of worship, their hums gradually fading, yet leaving an eternal mark of submission. The entire Sword Tomb fell into a shocking silence after the birth of the Supreme Sword Dao Supreme.