712: Chapter 712 Lu Xueqi and Biyao (91)

The rings shattered silently.

The second, third, fourth... The gray thread advanced at a constant, unchanging speed, and wherever it passed, all Purifying Domains dissipated like bubbles under the sun.

They were not destroyed, but "assimilated."

The power of Chaos "returned" everything to its most primitive state.

The seventy-eighth, seventy-ninth, eightieth...

When the gray thread touched the final ring, beads of sweat seeped from Ye Lingxiao's forehead. He felt his "Dustless" Sword Intent, which he had painstakingly cultivated for twenty years, being disintegrated and absorbed by a power of a higher order.

This was not a crushing of power, but a transcendence of Realm.

"I... have lost." Ye Lingxiao spoke suddenly, while simultaneously dispelling his final layer of defense.

The gray thread stopped three inches from his glabella, then slowly dissipated.

The entire venue fell into dead silence.

Everyone widened their eyes, unable to believe the scene unfolding before them.

Ye Lingxiao, the number one person of the Eastern Region's younger generation who had never known defeat, had actually voluntarily conceded?

"Why?" Su Han's body swayed, his face pale as paper, but his eyes were filled with confusion.

"Your Sword Intent has already touched the edge of the 'Dao'." Ye Lingxiao sheathed his Dustless Sword and looked at Su Han with a complex expression. "That sword strike of Chaos returning to origin broke my 'Dustless' Foundation. If we continue to fight, my Sword Heart will be left with cracks, and I will never be able to reach Perfection in my lifetime."

He paused, then continued, "Besides, this sword strike of yours came at the cost of burning your life force, didn't it? In your current state, do you still have the strength to unleash a second strike?"

Su Han was silent. Ye Lingxiao was right; that strike just now had almost drained all of his spiritual power and life force. If not for the Demon Seed in his chest feeding back a pure surge of life force at the final moment, he would have already collapsed.

But the cost of the Demon Seed's feedback was that the cracks in the Seal had widened by another third.

"In this battle, Su Han is the victor!" The voice of the presiding Elder rang out, carrying a trace of incredulous trembling.

After a brief silence, the entire venue erupted in a deafening uproar.

"Ye Lingxiao conceded?!"

"What kind of sword technique was that? I couldn't even understand it!"

"Su Han won... He actually defeated the number one Prodigy of the Eastern Region!"

"A dark horse! A true dark horse!"

Cheers, gasps of astonishment, and sounds of doubt intertwined, but Su Han could no longer hear them clearly. His vision began to blur, and the sounds around his ears gradually faded away, leaving only the roar of the Demon Seed in his chest growing clearer and clearer.

"Su Han!" Lin Xuan was the first to rush onto the stage, supporting the swaying Su Han. "How are you?"

"Take me... away..." Su Han managed to utter these three words with difficulty before passing out.

The last sensation before losing consciousness was the Demon Seed's insane and greedy intent, surging toward his Sea of Consciousness like a tidal wave.

...

It is unknown how much time had passed, but Su Han woke up in darkness.

He opened his eyes and saw the familiar ceiling of the quiet room. On his chest, the light of the Star Seal of Demon Suppression was as faint as a candle in the wind, and the cracks had already spread to two-thirds of the entire Seal. The power of the Demon Seed was continuously seeping out, eroding his Meridians and internal organs.

"You're awake." Lin Xuan's voice came from the side.

Su Han turned his head with difficulty and saw Lin Xuan sitting by the bed, holding a bowl of medicinal soup, his eyes filled with worry.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"A day and a night." Lin Xuan handed over the medicinal soup. "Do you know that you almost died? Sect Master Yunlan had to personally intervene to stabilize the rampaging Devilish Qi in your body. He said that your Seal can last for at most three more days."

Three days.

Even shorter than expected.

Su Han took the medicinal soup and drank it in one gulp. The bitter liquid slid down his throat, bringing a faint warmth, but it was quickly devoured by the Devilish Qi within his body.

"What about Ye Lingxiao?" he asked.

"He left." Lin Xuan sighed. "He said he is going to the Sword Tomb to undergo closed-door cultivation, and he will not emerge until he figures out a way to break that sword strike of yours. Before leaving, he asked me to pass a message on to you."

"What message?"

"He said your path of the Dao of the sword is unprecedented. But that path is filled with thorns, and the slightest carelessness will lead to eternal damnation. He hopes that when you meet again, you will still be able to hold a sword."

Su Han was silent.

Ye Lingxiao had seen it; that "Returning to Origin" strike was something he could not fully control in his current state. It was a strike that transcended his Realm, barely unleashed by forcibly fusing Star Power, the power of the Demon Seed, and all his own understanding of the Dao of the sword while in a desperate situation.

It was not power that should belong to the Foundation Establishment Stage, nor was it even a Domain that the Golden Core Stage could reach.

It was the embryonic form of the "Dao".

"The semi-finals have ended, and the finals are in three days," Lin Xuan continued. "Your opponent is Qin Mu of the Xuantian Sect. But given your current condition..."

"I will participate." Su Han interrupted him, struggling to sit up.

"Are you crazy?" Lin Xuan was anxious and angry. "You can barely walk right now, how can you compete? And Sect Master Yunlan said you must immediately begin closed-door cultivation to try and completely refine or Seal the Demon Seed. Otherwise, in three days, when the Demon Seed erupts, even the gods won't be able to save you!"

"I know," Su Han said calmly. "That is why I must participate in the finals."

"Why? Just for that so-called championship honor? Su Han, life is more important than honor!"

Su Han looked at Lin Xuan, his eyes flashing with a light Lin Xuan had never seen before. "It is not for honor, but for an opportunity. The battle against Qin Mu is my last chance."

"What opportunity?"

"An opportunity for a Breakthrough, and also an opportunity to survive." Su Han's gaze turned toward the window, looking at the distant sky. "My 'Returning to Origin' strike, although it touched the edge of Chaos, is still incomplete. Qin Mu's 'Xuantian One Qi' follows the path of 'One Qi transforming into ten thousand things, and ten thousand things returning to Chaos.' Fighting him might allow me to truly understand the essence of 'Chaos Returning to Origin'."

"And if you fail?"

"Then I will die on the stage; that is better than being eroded by the Demon Seed and becoming a monster that only knows how to kill." Su Han's voice was very soft, but it carried an unquestionable determination.

Lin Xuan opened his mouth but ultimately said nothing. He knew that once Su Han had made a decision, no one could change it.

"I will be in closed-door cultivation for these three days," Su Han sat cross-legged again. "Senior Brother Lin, please help me act as a Protector; do not let anyone disturb me."

"Alright." Lin Xuan nodded heavily, turned, and walked out of the quiet room, sitting cross-legged outside the door.

Inside the quiet room, Su Han closed his eyes and introspected.

The situation was worse than he had imagined. Only the core of the Star Seal of Demon Suppression was barely functioning, and pure Devilish Qi was constantly seeping out from the cracks, eroding his Meridians, Dantian, and even his Sea of Consciousness. The consciousness of the Demon Seed was becoming clearer and clearer, constantly whispering in his ears, tempting him to give up resistance and accept that infinite power.

"You cannot hold on for much longer..." The Demon Seed's voice was full of enchantment. "Why struggle so bitterly? Release the Seal, and I will give you everything you want. Power, authority, eternal life... You and I are one; my power is your power."

Su Han remained unmoved, circulating the Qingyun Sect's sect-protecting Cultivation Technique, the "Qingyun Qi Refining Art," guiding the remaining spiritual power in his body to try and repair the Seal.

But as soon as the spiritual power approached the Seal, it was devoured completely by the Devilish Qi.