544: Chapter 544 Divine Martial Forbidden Technique: Sealing the Sword and Returning to Origin!

While everyone was still stunned by the four words "Taichu Heaven Lord," their Divine Souls dazed, immersed in that dead silence of shock and complex remorse, not yet fully recovered—Lu Changzhi moved.

The gray-white Soul Power that had been dormant around him suddenly surged without warning!

It was not a gentle burning.

It was a resolute explosion.

In an instant, it engulfed him, transforming into a pillar of gray-white light that pierced the sky!

His hands moved with lightning speed in the Void Realm, his ten fingers dancing into a blur of afterimages.

The hand seals were complex, ancient, and profound to the extreme. Each seal he cast caused the Origin of the Void Realm to tremble violently, emitting a low, painful hum!

Thousands of ancient Sword Dao runes, condensed from the purest Sword Intent, poured out from his fingertips like a bursting galaxy!

These runes were not an attack—rather, they carried a gentle power of imprisonment and guidance, precisely wrapping around and linking the remnant Divine Souls of every Sword Master present, forcibly connecting them to Lu Changzhi's core of Soul Power!

"Divine Martial Forbidden Technique · Sword Sealing Return to Origin!"

A low yet resolute shout did not ring through the heavens, but exploded directly within the core of every Sword Master's remnant Divine Soul!

Every syllable carried a resolute power that shook the Divine Soul and brooked no doubt!

Boom—!!!

In an instant, a radiance of Sword Dao, too brilliant to describe, erupted completely from the core of Lu Changzhi's Soul Power!

This light did not spread outward—instead, it contracted and condensed inward, forming an invisible yet indestructible Sword Dao barrier, completely enveloping and locking down the remnant Divine Souls of the one hundred and seven Sword Masters!

The moment the barrier formed, the Soul Power of all the Sword Masters, which had been on the verge of collapsing and dissipating, was firmly locked; the trend of their Soul bodies fading was forcibly halted!

Following that, streams of pure, majestic Soul Power, containing Lu Changzhi's life Origin and the true essence of the Dao, poured like a floodgate opening along those rune links, crazily and without regard for the cost, from Lu Changzhi's body—into the body of every Sword Master!

"This is... Divine Martial Forbidden Technique · Sword Sealing Return to Origin!"

One of the oldest Sword Master remnant Divine Souls was the first to react, his Divine Soul shaking violently as he let out a shrill, distorted roar:

"It is the absolute forbidden method of sacrificing one's entire Divine Soul and burning away every trace of existence to fulfill and stabilize the Foundation of others' Soul bodies!!!"

"Sword Master! What are you doing?!"

"Stop! Quickly stop, Lu Changzhi!"

"No—!!!"

All the Sword Masters understood in an instant.

Lu Changzhi intended to burn his own remaining ancient remnant Divine Soul—at the cost of his own Divine Soul completely and permanently dissipating, he would trigger this forbidden technique to forcibly stabilize the Divine Souls of all the Sword Masters, preserving the final heart and Foundation for The Sword Lineage!

It was so they could continue to exist, waiting for the inheritor to truly rise and complete the unfinished mission of protecting the Myriad Heavens and Worlds!

"Sword Master! Stop! I beg you, stop!"

The roars rose one after another, converging into a frenzy of heart-wrenching grief.

The Sword Masters struggled desperately, urging their own remaining, already meager Soul Power, trying to break free from the gentle yet incredibly tough rune links, trying to cut off that life-transference that was crazily pouring in, yet tearing at their hearts like knives!

Even a few of the most unyielding Sword Masters flashed a look of ruthlessness in their eyes, actually attempting to burn their own Divine Souls in reverse, wanting to break the link through self-destruction and interrupt this sacrifice!

It was useless!

This Sword Dao barrier, condensed from all of Lu Changzhi's Divine Soul, will, and even the obsession of his existence—was indestructible!

It gently accepted all their struggles and resistance, yet it remained unmoved, still steadily executing its only command—to lock them down. And to transfer Soul Power.

They could only watch helplessly as Lu Changzhi's once solid Soul body began to become thin and transparent at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The radiance of his Soul Power was rapidly dimming.

Wanyan Shu was the first to completely lose control.

The light in his golden eyes turned completely blood-red, and the golden light of protection around his body exploded and raged violently, yet it could not shake the link in the slightest.

Like a trapped, wounded lion, he went mad, "charging" toward Lu Changzhi—even though his Soul body was fixed—his hoarse, desperate roar filled with endless panic and pleading: "Lu Changzhi! You madman! A complete and utter madman! What are you doing?!"

"We crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood together! We fought our way out of desperate situations with our backs against each other! Even the ancient sealing could not make us bow our heads!"

"And you're telling me now that you're going to die alone?! Stop, damn it! Stop this cursed forbidden technique immediately! This is an order! I order you as your brother!"

Sword Ruthless was cold and stiff, as if even his remnant Divine Soul had been frozen.

All the emotions in his gray eyes—coldness, obsession, shock, panic—collapsed completely, leaving only endless, abyssal black grief and despair.

The hand gripping his sword—a phantom formed by his Soul body—trembled violently, and the Sword Intent that he relied on to exist was breaking and dissipating inch by inch.

He opened his mouth.

His voice, usually cold and waveless, with every word as hard as iron, was now broken beyond repair, filled with heart-rending trembling and a blood-weeping roar: "Lu Changzhi... how dare you..."

"We agreed... to guard The Sword Lineage together, to see the dawn together... If you dare... If you dare to sacrifice your Divine Soul just like this... I, Sword Ruthless... even if my Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, even if I am annihilated from Reincarnation... in this life, this world, and for all eternity... I will never forgive you! Never!!!"

Both men had red eyes, and Soul tears—points of light overflowing from the violent fluctuations of their Soul essence—fell uncontrollably. They tried their best to get closer, to stop him, but were gently yet firmly pushed back by the power of the forbidden technique and locked in place.

They could only watch this scene in vain.

Their hearts were filled with near-death despair and helpless struggle. It was agonizing.

Lu Changzhi looked at this group of brothers who had shared life and death with him, who had been sworn brothers for eternity, looking at their grief-stricken, maddened appearance—yet the corners of his mouth slowly, and with extreme difficulty, curled upward.

This was a faint smile of relief.

This smile spanned the slaughter and smoke of eternity, shedding the coldness and majesty of being a Sword Master, leaving only the purest—belonging to the individual "Lu Changzhi"—gentleness. Reluctance. And a trace of satisfaction at having his wish fulfilled.

His Soul body became increasingly transparent, and one could almost see the swaying Divine Phoenix flame behind him.

The Soul Power around him drained away rapidly like a receding tide, yet the gaze he cast upon them was brighter and firmer than ever before. He spoke slowly.

His voice was very soft, but because of the direct Divine Soul link, it entered the "ears" and hearts of every Sword Master clearly, word by word: "Everyone... thank you for... accompanying me for eternity."

His voice carried the vicissitudes of eternity and a trace of lingering fatigue—but also an unshakable sense of responsibility and no regrets.

"Thank you all... for fighting side by side with me all this time, never leaving, never abandoning."

"But... the catastrophe of the Myriad Heavens and Worlds is not yet over, and the undercurrents are still surging. The Legacy of The Sword Lineage must absolutely not... be cut off here."

His gaze finally swept over the direction of Jian Tanghuang—that emerald-gold leaf left a final warm trail of light in his vision as he was about to dissipate.

"Today..."

Lu Changzhi's voice suddenly rose, carrying his final strength and resolution, like the last sword drawn from its sheath, resounding through the universe of the Soul: "I will use this remnant life of mine, Lu Changzhi, and use my Divine Soul as a sacrifice!"

"To stabilize your Foundation! To protect the Legacy of The Sword Lineage!"

"To return to this Myriad Heavens and Worlds—to the billions of living beings—a... true... peaceful and prosperous era!"

The words fell.

Lu Changzhi closed his eyes.

The last trace of expression on his face returned to calm.

He completely and unreservedly triggered the final stage of the forbidden technique.

Boom————!!!

The gray-white Soul Power enveloping him erupted with a roar, shattering into billions of beams of Sword Dao light, brilliant to the extreme!

Each beam of light carried a part of his memories, a piece of his insight into the Dao, a wisp of his life Origin... like a meteor shower in reverse, or like a flock of birds returning to their nest—all of it, gently and firmly, poured into the Soul bodies of the one hundred and seven Sword Masters.

His figure quickly became illusory and transparent in the Void Realm.

Finally.

Like a reflection being wiped away.

He quietly dissipated.

There was no earth-shattering explosion.

There was no mournful cry that shook all things.

There was only a majestic and warm new Soul Power filling the Void Realm.

And a regretless Sword Intent deeply branded into the core of the Soul marrow of all the survivors, along with that absolute resolution of sacrificing oneself and entrusting the future—forever, it remained between this heaven and earth.

It remained in every saved remnant Divine Soul.

The Void Realm returned to silence.

Only the Divine Phoenix's flame was still burning.

Only that strong heartbeat—thump. Thump. Thump.

Like the pulse of a new era, heavy and powerful, beating the final chapter of eternity.

And... the prelude to the dawn.