419: Bottleneck broken, late stage of returning to emptiness

Inside the quiet room, all was silent.

Shen Yuanmo sat cross-legged, with not a single trace of magical power fluctuation around him.

He looked like a stubborn rock, merging with his surroundings and returning to simplicity.

His eyes were tightly closed, but his mind had sunk into his Dantian Sea of Qi.

In the center of that churning chaotic Sea of Qi, a chaos dao embryo with a face identical to his floated quietly.

After this period of settling, what had been plundered from the God-Slaying Tribulation and the Thunder Emperor Lord...

...that vast, majestic energy, enough to burst any Void Return Realm Cultivator, had been completely tamed.

They were no longer wild horses but had turned into pure nourishment, slowly being absorbed and refined by the chaos dao embryo like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

With every breath, the Aura of the chaos dao embryo became a fraction more solid.

The chaotic airflow surrounding it grew deeper, as if it contained a great Universe being forged, exuding an ancient and heart-palpitating pressure.

Shen Yuanmo could clearly feel every cell and every inch of bone in his body undergoing a transformation under the nourishment of this energy.

His cultivation had long since reached the peak of the Middle Stage Void Returning, and the Late Stage Bottleneck was close at hand.

"The timing is about right."

A calm voice echoed in Shen Yuanmo's heart.

Without the slightest hesitation, with a thought, he issued a command to the chaos dao embryo.

"Breakthrough!"

In an instant, it was as if a slumbering primeval beast had suddenly awakened.

Within the Dantian Sea of Qi, that chaos dao embryo, which had been floating quietly, suddenly snapped its eyes open.

Two rays of chaotic divine light burst forth, and the entire Sea of Qi instantly boiled.

The majestic energy that had been gently refined until now completely lost control at this moment, erupting like a volcano that had been accumulating for billions of years.

"Rumble—!"

The terrifying torrent of energy was no longer a mere trickle.

Instead, it frantically washed through Shen Yuanmo's Meridians, bones, and flesh.

Extreme pain instantly spread throughout his entire body.

It was a piercing pain of being forcibly torn apart, crushed, and then restructured from the inside out!

For any other Void Return Realm Cultivator, even a Body Cultivator specializing in the Physical Body...

...under this level of energy impact, their Dao Body would have burst apart in the very first instant.

But Shen Yuanmo's Chaos Dao Body, tempered by the God-Slaying Tribulation, had already reached the strength of a Grade Six Dao Artifact.

He only gave a muffled groan and held firmly to the clarity of his mind, allowing that violent energy to rage within his body.

Fine, bloody cracks began to appear on the surface of his skin, golden blood seeping out and evaporating in the next instant.

Breaking, restructuring, breaking again, restructuring again... His Dao Body was undergoing a transformation of life through death amidst this terrifying energy storm.

And the root of all this, the chaos dao embryo within the Dantian Sea of Qi...

...opened its mouth, like a bottomless black hole, and began to frantically devour that erupting torrent of energy.

Its size did not increase, but its Aura was climbing frantically at a terrifying speed.

The solid barrier blocking the way between the Middle Stage and Late Void Returning Stage, under this unreasonable impact...

...began to vibrate violently, letting out overburdened "crack" sounds.

"Still not enough!"

A flash of ruthlessness crossed Shen Yuanmo's eyes.

He gritted his teeth and sent his Divine Sense into his body.

He forcibly drove the energy raging in his Meridians even more brutally against the Bottleneck in his Dantian Sea of Qi.

Destruction before creation.

Since he was going to Breakthrough, he would use the most domineering and thorough method.

"Break... for me!!!"

With a roar in his heart, all the energy converged into a single point.

Turning into a divine light that could split the heavens and earth, it struck hard against that crumbling Bottleneck.

"Crack—!"

A crisp sound of shattering, as if coming from the depths of the Dao Origin, echoed through Shen Yuanmo's Sea of Consciousness.

At this moment, his cultivation steadily stepped into the Late Void Returning Stage without any hindrance.

But it wasn't over yet.

That majestic energy was still not exhausted, pushing his cultivation to continue its triumphant progress.

Until it was only a step away from the Great Perfection of Void Return...

...this terrifying energy finally subsided slowly, completely merging into his chaos dao embryo.

Inside the quiet room, the violent Aura slowly retracted.

Shen Yuanmo slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was calm, but upon closer inspection...

...scenes of stars disillusioning and the beginning of Chaos were faintly visible deep within his pupils.

He didn't stand up immediately but performed an internal inspection again.

The Dantian Sea of Qi had expanded more than tenfold, the chaotic airflow as thick as mercury, and the magical power contained within was more than a hundred times more robust than before.

The chaos dao embryo floated quietly, its Aura restrained.

But Shen Yuanmo knew that with just a thought, this dao embryo could unleash a power sufficient to make even a Dao Integration Realm Great Expert tremble.

In the Sea of Consciousness, the chaos divine man adorned with eight rings also became more solid due to the cultivation Breakthrough.

As the Hedao Realm Divine Sense power circulated, the surrounding void let out subtle distortions.

More importantly, he felt that his control over the Law of Judgment had reached a whole new level.

Before, he could only borrow and imitate it.

But now, he felt as if he could establish rules.

Shen Yuanmo clenched his fists; he could feel that if he were to face someone like Jian Xuanji at the Early Stage of Hedao again...

...he probably wouldn't even need to use the chaos myriad dao armor; just with the power of his Physical Body and chaos dao embryo, he could beat them to death.

Even against a Middle Stage Hedao, he might still have the strength to fight!

"Very good."

Shen Yuanmo slowly stood up and stretched his limbs, his whole body letting out a series of crackling pops, as if dragons and tigers were roaring.

He took out a transmission Jade Slip and sent out a Divine Thought.

"Daoist Xinghe, I have come out of seclusion."

Having done all this, he took a step forward, and his figure instantly disappeared from the quiet room.

When he reappeared, he had already arrived outside the main peak hall of the Wanfa Immortal Sect.

Outside the hall, Daoist Xinghe, Myriad Laws Daoist, and Qing Xuzi were already waiting.

When they saw Shen Yuanmo's figure, the pupils of the three men contracted simultaneously.

He's here!

But... as the three swept their Divine Sense over him, they received no feedback.

The Shen Yuanmo before them seemed like a complete Mortal.

No, even emptier than a Mortal.

He stood there, yet seemed isolated from the entire space, a world of his own.

Their Divine Sense simply couldn't touch his true existence.

How is this possible!

A monstrous wave rose in Daoist Xinghe's heart.

He was a Late Stage Hedao Great Power! Even if Shen Yuanmo had broken through to Late Void Returning Stage...

...or even Great Perfection, he shouldn't be unable to sense even a trace of his Aura.

This feeling was something he had only experienced when facing the most ancient Old Ancestors of the Sect, those who had already stepped halfway into the Mahayana stage.

"Congratulations to Elder Shen on your great advancement in cultivation!"

Qing Xuzi was the first to react; suppressing the shock in his heart, he hurriedly bowed in salute.

"Elder Shen..." Myriad Laws Daoist was also shocked, for a moment not knowing what to say.

"No need for formalities."

Shen Yuanmo spoke indifferently, his gaze falling directly on Daoist Xinghe.

"Is the intelligence on the Taiyi Sword Sect's mountain-protecting array ready?"

His voice was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable majesty.

Daoist Xinghe quickly recovered from his shock and took out a purple-gold Jade Slip.

"Elder Shen, it's all here. The Taiyi Covering Heaven Sword Formation of the Taiyi Sword Sect is a top-tier Grade Seven killing array passed down from ancient times."

"It is jointly hosted by thirty-six Void Return Elders, with Sect Master Jian Wuya presiding over the formation eye. Once fully activated, it is said to be able to slay those at the Late Stage Hedao!"

Daoist Xinghe introduced it quickly, his tone full of gravity.

"Moreover, according to our latest intelligence, after Jian Xuanji's death, their remaining three Hedao Old Ancestors have all come out of seclusion."

"They are presiding over the three core nodes of the sword array, merging as one with it."

"The Taiyi Sword Sect is now extremely well-defended."

"Elder Shen, do you really intend to go alone?"

Finally, Daoist Xinghe couldn't help but ask about the worry in his heart.

Qing Xuzi and Myriad Laws Daoist also looked at Shen Yuanmo nervously.

Shen Yuanmo took the Jade Slip and swept his Divine Sense over it; the massive amount of information inside was instantly understood and analyzed by him.

There was no expression on his face as he simply uttered two words.

"Enough."

After saying that, he didn't give the three any chance to persuade him further; the space around him rippled slightly like waves.

He stepped into the rippling void, and his figure disappeared.

Only a cold sentence remained, echoing in front of the hall.

"When I return, there will be no more Taiyi Sword Sect in the Eastern Region."

The three of them stared blankly at where Shen Yuanmo had disappeared, feeling the space barrier that had been forcibly torn...

...and was now slowly healing, remaining speechless for a long time.

After a long while, Qing Xuzi swallowed with difficulty and asked in a dry voice.

"Old Ancestor Star River, did Elder Shen just tear through space and perform a void shuttle?"

Daoist Xinghe's expression was complex to the extreme as he slowly nodded.

"Look at how smoothly that space crack is healing."

"This shows that his control over the Space Law has reached an inconceivable level..."

Myriad Laws Daoist muttered to himself, "Is he truly going to charge into the Taiyi Sword Sect alone?"

Daoist Xinghe took a deep breath, a fanatical gambler's glint flashing in his eyes.

"Pass on my orders!"

"Activate all the void crossing divine boats of the Sect! Set out for the border of the Eastern Region!"

"All Elders above the Void Return Realm, assemble!"

He suddenly clenched his fist.

"If Elder Shen wins, we will take over everything of the Taiyi Sword Sect with the force of thunder!"

...Eastern Region, the mountain gate of the Taiyi Sword Sect.

Continuous sword peaks pierced the clouds, shrouded in rosy light, presenting a majestic sight.

But beneath that grand mountain gate, the atmosphere was suppressed to the extreme.

Countless Disciples in white robes held dharma swords, nervously patrolling the surroundings as if facing a formidable enemy.

Just then, right in front of the Taiyi Sword Sect's supposedly impregnable mountain gate, the cloudless void suddenly rippled like the surface of water.

A black-clad figure slowly stepped out from it.

He had no earth-shattering Aura or terrifying pressure.

He just floated quietly in the air, his black robe fluttering in the wind.

"Who is it?!"

The mountain-guarding Disciples discovered him immediately and shouted a stern question.

"Buzz—!"

The piercing sound of alarm bells instantly rang throughout the entire Taiyi Sword Sect.

Countless sword lights soared from various peaks, dense enough to blot out the sun.

Powerful and angry Divine Senses instantly locked onto that solitary figure.

"Shen Yuanmo!!!"

A roar filled with endless resentment and fear came from the main peak.

Jian Wuya appeared above the mountain gate in a disheveled state, his eyes blood-red, staring fixedly at the figure that had made it impossible for him to eat or sleep in peace.

Shen Yuanmo raised his head, his calm gaze sweeping over the faces below—some terrified, some angry, some numb.

Finally, his gaze fell upon Jian Wuya.

"I have come."

He said indifferently.

"I've come to take your lives."