193: With the final sword strike, the Sword Lord fell.

The city walls of Three Seas City were towering and majestic, resembling a colossal beast lying between the sea and the sky.

Above the city walls, the glow of the Formation circulated, emitting a terrifying pressure.

And outside the massive city gate.

A hunched old man was slowly approaching.

He was too old.

His white hair was messy like withered grass, and the deep grooves of wrinkles on his face resembled cracked old tree bark.

In his hand, he leaned on a crutch made from a dead branch, picked up from who knows where.

With every step, he had to pause briefly to catch his breath.

It was a sign that the flame of his life was about to be extinguished.

If a Mortal saw him, they would surely assume he was a wandering old beggar looking to enter the city for a meal.

But this was the Cultivation World.

It was Three Seas City, which had just experienced a bloody storm.

Therefore, the moment this old man appeared on the horizon.

The air above the city tower instantly solidified.

“He's here.”

Above the city walls, two figures materialized out of thin air.

The leader, dressed in luxurious clothes and possessing a sinister appearance, was none other than the City Lord of Three Seas City, Jia Wenmo.

Standing half a step behind him was a middle-aged man wearing a gray robe.

This man had an ordinary face, the kind that would be impossible to pick out in a crowd.

But simply by standing there, the surrounding space seemed to collapse, emitting a subtle, heavy sense of oppression.

This person was Jia Wenmo's Dao Protector, Jia Zhen.

Jia Zhen narrowed his eyes slightly, his gaze crossing a distance of a thousand zhang before settling on the hunched old man.

There was no contempt in his eyes, but rather a hint of pity.

“What a pity.”

Jia Zhen sighed softly; the sound was not loud, yet it echoed clearly between heaven and earth.

“A naturally born Sword Lord Physique, a Sword Dao prodigy rarely seen in ten thousand years.”

“If he had been born in Central Divine State, guided by a famous Revered Master, and if he hadn't strayed onto the wrong path of the 'Wither and Flourish' Sword Dao...”

“In the future, he would certainly have made a name for himself across the Nine Heavens and Ten Domains, becoming a major power.”

Speaking to this point, Jia Zhen shook his head, his tone full of regret:

“Yet now, he is forced to exhaust this peerless talent in this barren corner of the Eastern Sea.”

“It is truly a waste of heavenly resources.”

Jia Wenmo, standing nearby, raised an eyebrow upon hearing this.

Although he didn't understand the True Meaning of the Sword Dao, he understood the weight of the phrase “made a name for himself across the Nine Heavens and Ten Domains.”

His gaze toward the old man immediately became more eager.

“Hey, old man.”

Jia Wenmo spoke loudly, looking down from his superior position:

“This City Lord knows who you are.”

“You are that reclusive prodigy from Myriad Spirits Manor.”

“Earth Guard died by your hand, and that Black Dragon Remnant Soul was also slain by you.”

“Logically speaking, this is a capital offense.”

Jia Wenmo paused, a smile that he believed to be magnanimous curving his lips:

“But this City Lord cherishes talent.”

“As long as you put down your crutch right now and swear loyalty to me.”

“I can overlook your previous actions.”

“Furthermore, I can give you unimaginable resources to help extend your Lifespan and help you Breakthrough!”

The wind blew softly.

It stirred up the dust on the ground, hitting the hem of the old man's clothes.

The Sword Lord stopped walking.

He slowly raised his head. In his cloudy old eyes, there was none of the excitement Jia Wenmo had expected.

There was only tranquility.

A tranquility like the stagnant water deep within the Eastern Sea, unmoved for eons.

“Cough, cough...”

The Sword Lord coughed twice, and a trace of black blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

He did not look at Jia Wenmo.

Instead, he directed his gaze toward Jia Zhen, who was behind Jia Wenmo.

A smile suddenly appeared on that aged face.

The smile was ugly, as all the wrinkles on his face were squeezed together.

But it was very pure.

“You... came from Outside the Eastern Sea, didn't you?”

The Sword Lord's voice was hoarse, like two rough whetstones grating against each other.

Jia Wenmo frowned, just about to rebuke the old fool for being ignorant of favors.

But he saw the Sword Lord gently stroking the dead branch crutch in his hand, speaking to himself:

“The Eastern Sea is too small.”

“Too small to hold my sword.”

“Therefore, I have been waiting.”

“Waiting for someone worthy of me drawing my sword.”

Having finished speaking, his hand grasped the top of the crutch.

“Zheng—”

An extremely faint sound of friction, yet one that seemed to pierce the very Soul, rang out.

The Sword Lord slowly drew a sword from the dead branch.

It was a wooden sword.

It had no Spiritual Qi fluctuations, nor did it exhibit any sharp edge.

It looked just like a child's toy.

The instant this wooden sword was drawn.

The Sword Lord's originally hunched body did not straighten, but the aura around him completely vanished at that moment.

It wasn't hidden.

Rather, it seemed to melt into the heaven and earth, becoming one with every blade of grass, every tree, every brick, and every tile.

“In this Life, I cultivated Wither and Flourish, severed the Seven Emotions, and extinguished the Six Desires.”

“I used my flesh and blood as the sheath, my Lifespan as the oil, and my Divine Soul as the fire.”

“Only to nurture three swords.”

The Sword Lord looked at the wooden sword in his hand, his gaze as tender as if he were looking at his own child.

“The first sword is named 'Awakening of Insects,' severing all worldly specters.”

“The second sword is named 'Spring and Autumn,' cutting off all worldly grievances.”

He raised his head and looked at the two people atop the city wall.

“This final sword...”

“Is named, 'Life - Name of the Third Sword'.”

As his voice fell.

The Sword Lord moved.

There were no fancy movements.

Nor was there any earth-shattering Sword Qi storm.

He simply raised his hand and swung his sword.

Just like an old farmer in the Mortal world swinging a sickle to cut down a weed in the field.

Utterly ordinary.

Simple and unadorned.

It didn't even stir up a breath of wind.

As this sword strike was unleashed, a faint ripple spread through the air.

It looked sluggish, seemingly easy for anyone to dodge.

Above the city walls.

Jia Wenmo looked at the light, airy sword strike, his face revealing expressions of astonishment and confusion.

“That's it?”

“This is the so-called final sword?”

“I don't feel any danger...”

He even felt like laughing.

Was this old man senile, trying to kill someone by waving a broken piece of wood?

However.

Jia Zhen, standing behind him.

The moment that sword was swung.

His expression drastically changed!

His eyes, which had been utterly indifferent, were instantly filled with endless terror.

“This... this is...”

“Returning to Simplicity! The Dao follows Nature?!”

“Madman! You absolute madman!”

Jia Zhen screamed, his voice turning shrill.

Under Jia Wenmo's bewildered gaze.

Jia Zhen moved.

He no longer held back, no longer concealed his power.

Boom!

An overwhelmingly terrifying aura erupted from his body.

The strength of that aura instantly shot through the clouds, causing the entire Three Seas City to tremble violently.

Spirit Transformation Realm!

And it wasn't the Early Stage, nor the Middle Stage.

It was the terrifying Late Stage of the Spirit Transformation Realm!

Such cultivation, placed in the Eastern Sea, was equivalent to the existence of a True God.

“Be suppressed!”

Jia Zhen roared furiously, frantically forming hand seals.

Between heaven and earth, a massive character for “Suppress” seemed to appear.

That was the power of Law!

It was the “Suppression” Law, which only powerful Soul Transformation Cultivators could touch upon.

Under this Law, space solidified, and all things came to a standstill.

Any attack, any Spiritual Qi, would be forcibly suppressed by this Law and reduced to nothing.

However.

That utterly ordinary Sword Qi drifted over.

It did not resist it.

Nor did it collide with it.

It was like water flowing through a fishing net, or a breeze passing through a fence.

The invincible “Suppress” Law, the instant it touched the Sword Qi.

Was actually like paper mache.

It was silently torn apart!

“Impossible!”

Jia Zhen's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

His Law couldn't block this Mortal's single sword strike?

Under the crisis of life and death, Jia Zhen fiercely bit the tip of his tongue.

A mouthful of vital blood was sprayed out.

“Black Heaven Pagoda, appear!”

Buzz—

A pitch-black small pagoda instantly flew out, growing rapidly against the wind until it became a hundred zhang tall colossal peak.

Dao Rhyme circulated around the small pagoda, emitting an ancient and weathered aura.

It was clearly an Ancient Treasure of extremely high grade.

Carrying a terrifying weight capable of crushing mountains and rivers, it pressed down toward that small, thin thread of Sword Qi.

Below.

The Sword Lord looked at the sky-obscuring Black Pagoda, the faint smile still present on his face.

“You are very strong.”

“In the entire Eastern Sea, I fear no one could withstand a single move from you.”

“Even Brother Wan Jian in his prime would not be your match.”

The Sword Lord commented softly, his tone carrying a hint of approval.

Afterward, he shook his head again.

“A pity.”

“For me, it is still not enough.”

Puch.

A soft sound.

That Sword Qi named “Life - Name of the Third Sword” collided with the Black Pagoda.

There was no explosion.

No deafening roar.

It was like a hot knife slicing through butter.

The indestructible Ancient Treasure Black Pagoda was actually sliced neatly in half down the middle!

The cut was as smooth as a mirror.

“Pfft—”

With his Magic Treasure destroyed and his heart and mind connected to it, Jia Zhen violently spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

His eyes were filled with despair and disbelief.

“No...”

He wanted to flee.

But the Sword Qi had already passed through the remnants of the Black Pagoda.

It did not slow down in the slightest after severing the Ancient Treasure.

Its speed hadn't even changed.

It just lightly and airily plunged into Jia Zhen's chest.

The scene.

Froze at this moment.

Jia Zhen maintained his posture of horrified retreat, freezing completely on the spot.

Motionless.

Below the city wall.

The wooden sword in the Sword Lord's hand shattered inch by inch, turning into flying ash.

Along with it, his body also began to shatter.

His legs, his torso—all were gradually dissolving into specks of light.

That was the ash left after his life force was completely burned away.

But he felt no pain.

He struggled to lift his head and glanced at the bewildered Jia Wenmo atop the city wall.

“Heh heh...”

“What a pity, this 'Life - Name of the Third Sword' was too short; it couldn't take you, this scourge, along with it.”

A trace of regret flashed in the Sword Lord's eyes.

Afterward, he looked again at the motionless Jia Zhen.

The regret faded, replaced by a sense of relief.

“However.”

“To be able to sever the Dao of such a powerful expert, and to eliminate this greatest variable for the Eastern Sea.”

“This sword strike was not wasted.”

The wind rose.

The old man's figure completely vanished.

Only a faint, indistinct whisper echoed in the wind:

“Revered Master, I did my best...”

Buzz—

The very instant the Sword Lord died and his Dao vanished.

The entire Eastern Sea.

Whether it was a cleaver in a Mortal iron shop or a Spirit Sword in a Cultivator's hand.

Or even fragments of ancient swords buried deep beneath the sea.

At this moment.

All of them began to tremble uncontrollably.

Emitting sorrowful sword cries.

Ten Thousand Swords wailed, bidding farewell to the Sword Lord... Thousands of miles away, atop the ruins of Myriad Spirits Manor.

Wan Jian Daoist, heavily injured, was sitting in front of a broken stone tablet.

Hearing the overwhelming sound of the Sword Cries.

The old Daoist's tears instantly streamed down his face.

With trembling hands, he raised a bowl of turbid strong liquor in front of him.

He slowly poured it out in the direction of Three Seas City.

“Child, travel well.”