784: Seven Tribulations, Destiny, Sword Mastery, Centuries of Legacy

An hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Clang!

The hum of a sword echoed on the arena atop the sacred mountain.

It seemed as if an invisible restriction had dispersed, allowing the people on the arena to attack at will.

"Eliminate the first one who came up first!"

The Blue-clothed youth suddenly pulled out the wooden sword from his waist, his body moving with the sword.

He unexpectedly took the lead in attacking Zhou Xiuyuan.

They had personally experienced the difficulty of those nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine steps.

The faster one passed them, the stronger their strength must be.

As for who was the first to come up...

That Seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth had long since covertly informed everyone.

Following the Blue-clothed youth's action...

The other four also moved at the same time.

They didn't mind letting the strongest one be knocked out first.

As for what happened after the first one was eliminated...

The rest would depend on their own abilities.

The five of them attacked Zhou Xiuyuan from five different directions.

Although they each held a wooden sword...

Distinctly different yet equally terrifying Sword Intent overflowed from the wooden swords.

Even if they couldn't use their cultivation or magic power, if a Cultivator with slightly weaker cultivation were here, they probably wouldn't be able to take a single strike from even a wooden sword.

This was the intent of the Dao of the Sword, striking directly at consciousness, heart, and Divine Soul.

The Blue-clothed youth had been the first to act, but just as the other four moved, his figure paused imperceptibly.

This pause instantly caused the Blue-clothed youth to fall behind.

However, it was also this pause...

That a wisp of extremely sharp Sword Intent arrived at the very moment of that pause.

It pierced through the Blue-clothed youth's wooden sword, which radiated an overbearing intent.

And landed on the Blue-clothed youth's body.

"Pfft!"

The Blue-clothed youth spat out a large mouthful of blood, his body falling off the arena like a kite with a broken string, disappearing within this sacred mountain space.

"The first one."

Zhou Xiuyuan's voice was calm.

With a sweep and a flick of the wooden sword in his hand, he altered the sword momentum of the Gentle woman and the youth.

His figure swayed, dodging the downward hack of the Tall middle-aged man.

Then he moved toward the Over ten-foot-tall man who was striking horizontally.

Zhou Xiuyuan's actions in this instant...

Caused the three of them to be greatly shocked.

Zhou Xiuyuan's Sword Intent was too strong, his sword speed too fast, and his insight was terrifyingly sharp.

Such a powerful enemy made them alarmed, yet also filled them with joy.

To pass the trial of the steps and then be able to trade blows with such a Master...

Even if they didn't obtain the Legacy in the end, this trip would be worth it.

"Kill!"

The Tall middle-aged man was invigorated.

Reversing the sword in his hand, the sword light was like a rainbow as it pierced toward Zhou Xiuyuan's heart... Meanwhile.

To the west of the East Barren, in Lu Province, within the Lushan Sword Sect's True Inheritance Cave.

A figure coughing blood quietly appeared.

"Damn it!"

Li Zhenyi's expression was extremely ugly.

He had finally managed to pass those deadly steps with great difficulty.

Who would have thought he would be eliminated by a single sword strike from that white-clothed youth.

Li Zhenyi flew out.

He reached the sky and looked toward the phantom of the sacred mountain still projected on the horizon.

Only, he could no longer enter.

"Heavenly Sword Legacy..."

"Someone, come here!"

Li Zhenyi's expression flickered uncertainly.

From his Storage Pouch, five Memory Stones flew out, imprinting the appearances of the five people in his mind, as he commanded a Disciple who flew over: "Find out the identities of these five people."

The Disciple took the Memory Stones but found they only contained appearances and no other information.

"True Inheritor, the East Barren is so vast. Without other information, I'm afraid it will be like searching for a needle in a haystack."

The Disciple hesitated for a moment and sighed.

"What, even you dare to defy me?"

Li Zhenyi's tone was unfriendly.

"I wouldn't dare. I'll get on it right away."

The Disciple's expression stiffened, and not daring to say more, he flew away.

Looking at the phantom of the sacred mountain, Li Zhenyi naturally knew this method of finding people was too inefficient.

"It's better to wait for Heavenly Sword Mountain to recognize a Master. After it does, Heavenly Sword Mountain will surely be completely revealed to the world..."

"If Master takes action, there might be a chance..."

Li Zhenyi thought of something and flew toward the Sword Sect's Forbidden Ground, which was the secluded cultivation dwelling of his Master, the Grand Elder of the Sword Sect, Sovereign Bajian... The Legacy of Heavenly Sword Mountain was being silently watched by various interested parties.

Who knew what they were plotting.

Time passed.

In the Chaotic Sea, at the bottom of the sea area of Gui Zhou Island, deep within the Profound Palace.

The aura of the Heavenly Tribulation slowly dissipated.

The Black Giant Serpent slowly moved its body.

The seventh stage of the tribulation had passed.

"Now, my Physical Body, magic power, and divine intent have all reached Perfection."

Mo Xuan sensed the magic power within his body, which had once again strengthened significantly, as well as his Divine Sense, which had undergone another transformation.

"The eighth stage, the Red Dust Tribulation, tempering the heart in the Mortal World..."

"The Mortal World is unpredictable; I cannot rush."

"First, I will comprehend the Law of destiny."

Mo Xuan abandoned the idea of triggering the Heavenly Tribulation again.

His consciousness sank into the depths of his heart.

And landed upon that silver wheel.

If he could also fully comprehend this wheel of destiny...

He could probably rely on the two Laws of Karma and destiny to forcibly sense the whereabouts of the other three innate supreme treasures.

"Destiny..."

Mo Xuan's mind merged into that silver wheel.

Upon the silver wheel, invisible threads seemed to connect to various certain and uncertain futures.

A living being's destiny is a winding path formed by every choice they make.

The choices at each stage seem many, but if one reasons backward from the future, there is only one.

The wheel of destiny drifted within a blend of cyan and white light.

Within the Profound Palace, silence fell once more... In the Central East Barren.

One immortal mountain after another, soaring into the clouds like sharp swords, pierced the firmament.

Atop one of these immortal mountains.

A Tall middle-aged man suddenly appeared.

"I was played by that kid..."

The tall man was somewhat discouraged as he looked up at the phantom of the sacred mountain.

Inside, only that white-haired youth and that Seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth remained.

He wondered who would make it to the end.

"Gao Da, you failed."

At this moment, a burly Middle-aged Cultivator carrying a heavy sword arrived beside the tall man.

"Revered Master."

Gao Da bowed and nodded.

"There is always someone better; our Wanjian Sect's Legacy is not inferior to that of Heavenly Sword Mountain."

The burly man carrying the heavy sword cautioned.

Gao Da nodded, but he still had some thoughts in his heart.

A few days later.

Within the Wanjian Immortal Sect, one of the Ten Great Immortal Sects, a Sovereign's Disciple issued a task to investigate certain information... Atop Heavenly Sword Mountain, on the arena.

Two figures holding swords crossed paths again and again.

Zhou Xiuyuan's body was covered in bloodstains, which dyed his white hair red.

He had been under siege.

But he had neutralized it all; some of the blood was his, but most belonged to others, specifically the youth he was fighting.

Looking at the youth, who was bleeding all over and whose aura was declining but who refused to yield, a hint of admiration grew in Zhou Xiuyuan's heart.

"An unyielding Dao of the Sword."

"In the future, you can come to the Chaotic Sea to find me."

"My name is Zhou Xiuyuan."

Zhou Xiuyuan felt a sense of appreciation for the talent; this youth was not very old and his cultivation was weaker than his own.

Yet his attainment in the Dao of the Sword was stronger than all the others.

Having said that, Zhou Xiuyuan swung his sword.

He shattered the wooden sword in the youth's hand.

The youth's figure disappeared, leaving only Zhou Xiuyuan on the arena.

Sword Intent soared to the skies.

Boom!

The sacred mountain suddenly shook.

The arena cracked open, and a stone sword—ancient, lackluster, and even with a few nicks—slowly floated upward.

Heavenly Sword!

No introduction was needed; the moment he saw this stone sword, those two words surfaced in Zhou Xiuyuan's mind.

Even though this stone sword appeared so unremarkable.

The stone sword vibrated lightly, as if urging Zhou Xiuyuan.

Zhou Xiuyuan let out a long breath.

He stepped before the stone sword, reached out, and grasped it.

This grasp lasted for a hundred years.