376: Using Daoist thought as bait, he cleverly fished for the sword's mysteries.

Buzz—!

Following the appearance of the unimaginably massive purple vortex out of thin air.

The billions of bolts of thunder that had previously raged wildly, enough to tear apart a Void Returning Great Expert, were now as docile as sheep.

The spatial fissures that opened and closed without warning, swallowing everything, were stabilized by an invisible massive hand, prevented from spreading rampantly.

All sounds ceased.

Only the purple vortex spanning the heavens and earth rotated slowly.

The Law fluctuations it emitted were ancient and vast, carrying a supreme majesty that caused even a Void Return Perfection Realm expert to tremble.

It was as if, behind the vortex, a supreme deity that had slept for eons was lurking.

All the thunder and all the spatial turbulence bowed before it.

Aboard the immortal slaying sword boat, Sword Profound One's withered body stood ramrod straight, his pair of cloudy old eyes...

...now shot out two visible, ghastly white beams of killing intent, piercing through layers of the Void Realm and firmly fixing themselves onto the void crossing divine boat a hundred miles away.

The terrifying pressure of the Void Return Perfection Realm was no longer concealed, collapsing like an entire sky and fiercely pressing down upon Shen Yuanmo!

The void crossing divine boat's silver protective barrier flashed wildly under this pressure, emitting overwhelmed ripples, as if it would shatter the next moment.

The space inside the ship twisted; if an ordinary Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator were here, their Divine Soul would likely be directly crushed by this pressure!

However, Shen Yuanmo on the deck did not move even a corner of his clothes.

He stood with his hands behind his back, his black hair slightly fluttering in the static spacetime, seemingly oblivious to the world-destroying pressure.

A Divine Thought, carrying a hint of disdain and mockery, penetrated the blockade of pressure and accurately entered Sword Profound One’s mind.

“Old thing, is this all the strength you have?”

“If I were you, what you should be thinking about now isn't how to kill me, but how to save your life after entering the Divine Treasury.”

Boom!

It was as if billions of bolts of thunder exploded in Sword Profound One's mind!

What was his status?

He was the previous Sect Master of the Taiyi Sword Sect, an old monster of the Void Return Perfection Realm who had been in seclusion for many years, aiming only to break through to the Hedao Realm!

Having dominated the Eastern Domain for tens of thousands of years, when had anyone dared to speak to him like this?

Moreover, the opponent was just a Soul Transformation Stage junior who hadn't even fully matured!

“Ha... hehe...”

Sword Profound One laughed in extreme fury, his shriveled chest heaving violently, his Sword Intent boiling around him, cutting faint cracks into the surrounding solidified space.

“Good! What an arrogant and ignorant Little Beast!”

“This Seat shall let you know today what it means to know the immensity of heaven and earth! What it means to be Void Return Perfection Realm!”

“Before entering the Divine Treasury, This Seat will first execute you!”

Just as Sword Profound One's killing intent reached its peak, preparing to disregard everything and strike first to annihilate this ant who didn't know his place.

In the deeper silence of the Sea of Thunder, several equally terrifying Divine Thoughts silently swept over the area.

One of the Divine Thoughts was filled with tyrannical and savage Demonic Qi, utterly domineering.

Another was cold and sinister, carrying a dense aura of the Demonic Path, like a poisonous snake lurking in the darkness.

There were also a few others, slightly weaker, but still peak Great Powers of the Late Void Returning Stage.

There was more than just one or two mantises stalking the cicada.

Shen Yuanmo seemed to sense something, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

He stopped wasting words on Sword Profound One, and with a thought...

Voom!

The void crossing divine boat burst forth with light, instantly transforming into a dazzling silver stream, charging straight toward the entrance of the massive purple vortex with a decisive posture!

To all the observers, this action clearly looked like he was forced by Sword Profound One's pressure, desperately trying to seize the initiative and escape into the Divine Treasury!

“Trying to run?”

Seeing this, Sword Profound One revealed a smile of extreme cruelty on his face.

In his eyes, Shen Yuanmo was already a turtle in a jar, unable to escape even with wings.

“In front of This Seat, where can you run?”

“This Divine Treasury belongs to This Seat, and your life also belongs to This Seat!”

“Break for me—!”

Rumble!!!

The immortal slaying sword boat let out an earth-shattering roar!

The grotesque hull, composed of eerie white bones, erupted with dazzling, ghastly white sword light.

It completely ignored the spatial rules of the area, arriving later but reaching the destination first, with a posture even more savage and overbearing than the void crossing divine boat!

The sword light tore through everything, and its speed soared once more!

In just an instant, it surpassed the silver stream of light, and Sword Profound One's withered figure...

...carrying endless killing intent and the arrogance of certain victory, was the first to rush into the deep, unknown purple vortex!

He wanted to enter before Shen Yuanmo, then set up a heaven-and-earth net, forcing him to walk right into the trap!

However, the moment Sword Profound One's foot stepped into the vortex...

A sudden change occurred!

The entire massive purple vortex trembled violently!

An will far surpassing the Void Return Perfection Realm, carrying endless majesty and an aura of decay, suddenly awakened!

That will seemed to have been disturbed from an eternal slumber, filled with towering rage!

Deep within the vortex, an invisible massive hand, formed purely from Thunder Law, was impossible to discern.

Yet it contained the terrifying power of the Hedao Realm, and it smashed down fiercely towards Sword Profound One, the first intruder!

At this moment, the Lord of the Ghost Market's warning clearly echoed in Shen Yuanmo's Sea of Consciousness.

“Dao Lord Zixiao is not benevolent... the greatest danger within his Divine Treasury is not the ancient Restrictions... but his residual Dao Thought.”

Booming—!!!

The light from the Law collision, powerful enough to rip the sky apart, exploded violently at the vortex entrance!

Meanwhile, the void crossing divine boat, which had been charging forward relentlessly, suddenly stopped in the Void Realm a hundred miles away from the vortex.

Shen Yuanmo calmly watched the terrifying energy storm erupting within the vortex.

Listening to the roar coming from within, belonging to Sword Profound One, filled with shock, fury, and even a hint of terror.

“What the hell is this thing?!”

“Dao Thought of the Hedao Realm?! Dao Lord Zixiao?! You're not completely dead!!!”

The roar was filled with unbelievable dread.

In the distance, the Demonic Qi and Demonic Thoughts that had been stirring instantly shrank back after sensing that pure Hedao Realm will.

They all recoiled sharply, instantly lying dormant like startled rabbits, not daring to make the slightest movement again.

Clearly, this sudden turn of events completely suppressed all the yellow sparrows harboring ill intentions.

Confirming that the Dao Thought had been perfectly restrained by Sword Profound One, Shen Yuanmo finally showed a faint smile.

With a thought, he put away the void crossing divine boat.

The hazy chaos myriad dao armor quietly surfaced on his body.

Subsequently, under the horrified gazes of all the observers...

Shen Yuanmo, walking as leisurely as if strolling in a courtyard, stepped out, his figure passing through the violently fluctuating energy aftermath.

He calmly walked into the purple vortex—a gate of hell even for the Void Return Perfection Realm... Passing through the vortex, the scene before him suddenly opened up.

This was a shattered world.

The sky had no sun, moon, or stars, only crisscrossing purple Law lightning bolts.

They wove together into an immense canopy, radiating an aura of destruction.

The earth was shattered, with countless massive fragments of land floating in the Void Realm, covered entirely in the scars left behind by an ancient great war.

And in the extremely distant sky, a world-shaking battle was unfolding.

A giant, a thousand zhang tall, whose face could not be clearly seen, composed entirely of purple lightning...

...was wildly battling the minuscule Sword Profound One, swinging its massive lightning fists.

Every collision caused the heavens and earth of this shattered world to collapse, and the Laws to wail!

Sword Profound One was fighting like a madman, pushing the power of the immortal slaying sword boat and the taiyi divine sword to their limits, yet he could only barely resist, looking utterly wretched.

Shen Yuanmo merely glanced at the scene before withdrawing his gaze.

He had no interest whatsoever in this battle.

He raised his hand, and the two divine treasury keys obtained from the Ghost Market floated quietly in his palm.

[Insight into Origin]!

Buzz!

The two keys resonated violently like never before, and profound Space-Time Dao Charm intertwined, forming an illusory guide before Shen Yuanmo.

That direction was not towards the distant battlefield.

Instead, it pointed toward the other side of this shattered continent, a dark abyss shrouded by an endless purple lightning storm.

That was his destination: the location of the Origin of the Great Dao of Thunder!

Just as Shen Yuanmo prepared to move and head straight for his destination...

The two keys in his palm suddenly vibrated even more intensely!

A brand new, yet homologous, sensation was clearly transmitted into his mind through the resonance of the keys!

Shen Yuanmo paused, his gaze suddenly turning toward the center of the distant battlefield where the earth was collapsing and the sky was tearing apart.

The third, and final, divine treasury key... was actually not at the Taiyi Sword Sect's mountain gate!

It was right aboard the immortal slaying sword boat, which was currently being fiercely battered by the lightning giant!