88: Chapter 88 The Ancient Realm of Xuanhuang, Ancient Trials

The fog surged like a tide, dyeing everything in the color of Chaos gray.

Half a day had passed since Bai Yunzhou stepped into the Xuanhuang Ancient Realm. Beneath his feet lay hard xuanhuang-colored rock, its surface covered in dense, natural patterns resembling the veins of some ancient creature.

Visibility around him was less than three zhang, and further away was a boundless expanse of fog. When the Chaos Eye was activated, countless tiny specks of light could be seen floating within the mist.

The cyan ones were fragments of Sword Intent, the purple ones were afterimages of thunder patterns, and the red ones were the lingering resonance of blood fiend aura.

Even more abundant was a vast, grayish-yellow halo.

That was the trace of the dispersed Xuanhuang Origin.

"This place... is actually a Small World formed from the precipitation of ancient xuanhuang qi." Bai Yunzhou muttered to himself, feeling the faint pulsation coming from the rock beneath his feet as he walked—it shared the same Origin as the Xuanhuang Leylines deep beneath Qingxuan Mountain, yet it was far more ancient and pure.

With every step he took, the Chaos Green Lotus Body within him resonated faintly, and the green lotus phantom in his Dantian slowly rotated, greedily absorbing the thin xuanhuang qi in the air.

However, good times did not last long.

After walking for about a hundred zhang, the fog ahead suddenly surged, condensing into a vague humanoid phantom.

The phantom wore ancient robes and tied up its long hair. Its face was blurry, and only a sword shadow hanging from its waist was clearly visible—the sword body was slender, and the hilt was engraved with green lotus patterns.

"Sword Intent materialized..." Bai Yunzhou stopped in his tracks, his expression solemn.

The phantom did not speak, only raising its hand in a beckoning motion. The fog condensed into a cyan longsword identical in shape to the sword at its waist, its tip pointing afar at Bai Yunzhou.

The next moment, sword light flared.

It was a plain, unremarkable straight thrust. The speed was not fast, and the angle was ordinary, yet it contained a certain true meaning of the Dao of Sword that returned to simplicity. Wherever the sword light passed, the fog parted automatically, as if even the rules of this Small World were making way for this single sword strike.

Bai Yunzhou's pupils constricted slightly.

He had seen this sword strike before in the Legacy memories of the Qinglian Sword Canon—it was the "First Bloom of the Green Lotus" created by Sword Monarch Qinglian when he was young, the prototype of the first form of the canon.

"A trial, huh..."

Not daring to be careless, he drew his liefeng sword and similarly executed a direct straight thrust.

Qinglian Thunder Sword · Thunder Sound Slash!

The sword emerged with the sound of thunder, entwined with purple lightning, carrying a magnificent momentum.

The tips of the two swords collided precisely.

"Clang—!"

With a crisp sword hum, Bai Yunzhou felt an extremely pure Green Lotus Sword Intent travel up the sword body, instantly surging into his body and resonating with his own Sword Intent.

The phantom's sword momentum did not stop. Its sword tip trembled slightly, transforming into nine cold stars that shrouded nine vital points across Bai Yunzhou's body.

Spiritual light flickered on the zhuiyun boots beneath Bai Yunzhou's feet, and his figure retreated rapidly. At the same time, his sword momentum shifted, meeting them with another nine sword stars.

"Clang clang clang clang—!"

The sword hum rang nine times in succession, and each sound deepened his understanding of Green Lotus Sword Intent by another fraction.

The phantom withdrew its sword, its figure slowly dissipating, leaving only an aged voice echoing in the mist:

"Descendant of the Green Lotus, your Green Lotus Sword Heart is passable, yet you rely too heavily on external objects. Although lightning is sharp, it is ultimately a branch. Only when the Dao of Sword reaches purity can one see their true self."

As the voice fell, the phantom completely vanished, leaving behind a cyan crystal the size of a fingernail in its place, radiating pure Sword Intent fluctuations.

Bai Yunzhou picked up the crystal. It felt slightly cool to the touch, and when his Divine Sense probed inside, he instantly "saw" countless insights into the Dao of Sword—all of them experiences on how to temper Sword Intent to a pure Realm.

"The ultimate purity of the Dao of Sword..." He was deep in thought.

Putting away the crystal, he continued forward.

From then on, every hundred zhang, a phantom would condense.

The second phantom was entwined with purple lightning all over its body, commanding the might of thunder with a wave of its hand. What it imparted was the method of "condensing" the Law of Thunder—compressing and condensing the violent power of lightning until it turned into hair-thin threads of thunder, increasing its power tenfold.

The third phantom had blood qi soaring to the skies, executing the "refining" technique of blood fiend power—how to purify the miscellaneous essence of blood fiend and transform it into the most foundational "True Intent of Blood".

Bai Yunzhou fought them one by one. Although he could not defeat these phantoms, which were at least at the Soul Transformation stage, he learned valuable techniques in applying the Laws from them.

His Green Lotus Sword Intent became increasingly pure, the power of lightning more condensed, and the blood fiend Law gradually dissolved its fierce aura.

And his greatest harvest was the evolution of the Chaos Eye.

With every trial he experienced, the Chaos color deep within his pupils deepened by a fraction. By the end of the fifth trial, he could clearly "see" the trajectory of the Law circulating within the phantom's body, and even pre-judge its next move.

"The Chaos Eye... So this is the true innate talent of the Chaos Green Lotus Body." Realization dawned in Bai Yunzhou's heart.

No longer passively responding to the fight, he began actively searching for the phantoms in the mist.

The sixth, seventh, eighth trials...

When the ninth trial ended, he stood in a relatively open clearing. The surrounding fog had thinned out considerably, allowing him to see a dilapidated stone tablet in the distance.

The stone tablet was about three zhang tall, its surface covered in cracks, and the inscription was blurry. Only four ancient Seal script characters at the very top remained faintly discernible:

xuanhuang sword Tomb

Bai Yunzhou approached and reached out to touch the tablet's surface.

"Hum—!"

The tablet body shook violently, and countless xuanhuang-colored specks of light flew out from the inscription, condensing in midair into a much more solid phantom.

This phantom was no longer condensed from a single Law; instead, it was surrounded by cyan, purple, and red halos simultaneously. The three-colored halos converged at its chest, transforming into a wisp of Chaos gray.

"Triple-attribute concurrent cultivation... The Chaos Green Lotus Body?" A thought stirred in Bai Yunzhou's heart.

The phantom slowly opened its eyes—they were eyes composed entirely of the color of Chaos, identical to Bai Yunzhou's Chaos Eye at this moment.

"Thirty-seven thousand years... I've finally waited for you."

The phantom spoke, its voice desolate and distant, as if traversing endless years.

"Senior is..."

"I am the Chaos Sword Monarch, and also the final vein-guarding emissary of this Realm." The phantom's tone was calm, "The aura upon your body shares the same Origin as my Revered Master, Chaos Taoist. It seems that child Qinglian... ultimately still walked down this path."

Chaos Sword Monarch!

Bai Yunzhou felt a massive shock in his heart—this person was a peerless powerhouse of the ancient era who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Sword Monarch Qinglian, rumored to have long perished in that catastrophe thirty thousand years ago.

"Senior is still alive?"

"Merely a remnant thought." The Chaos Sword Monarch phantom shook its head. "My body has fallen, my soul has dispersed, leaving only this obsession to guard the Sword Tomb and await the inheritor."

It looked at Bai Yunzhou, its Chaos Eyes seeming capable of insight into everything: "You have already passed the ninefold Law trial and are qualified to receive the true Legacy. But before that, you need to know the truth—"

The phantom waved its hand, and the surrounding fog completely dispersed, revealing the full view of the Sword Tomb.

That was a wasteland a hundred zhang in radius, with countless broken swords and fractured blades stabbed upside down into the ground. Most of the sword bodies were covered in rust, yet they still radiated faint Sword Intent fluctuations. At the center of the Sword Tomb, there was a three-zhang-tall stone platform, and suspended above the platform was a longsword that was grayish throughout.

The longsword was scabbardless, its body archaic, and its hilt was carved with Chaos cloud patterns.

Most eye-catching of all was that directly beneath the longsword, the ground split open into a three-chi-long crack, from which grayish-yellow mist continuously gushed—that was the Xuanhuang Origin refined to the ultimate degree!

Deep within the crack, Bai Yunzhou looked through the Chaos Eye and saw an even deeper darkness.

That darkness was not nothingness, but some sort of... fissure.

At the edge of the fissure, countless dense blood-colored runes were entwined like chains, constantly eroding the Xuanhuang Origin and attempting to widen the fissure.

"That is..."

Bai Yunzhou's pupils shrank abruptly.

"An otherworldly fissure." The Chaos Sword Monarch's tone was heavy. "Thirty thousand years ago, Revered Master Chaos used his body as a sacrifice to Seal this fissure and prevent otherworldly demon gods from descending. The Xuanhuang Leylines are the core of the Seal."

He pointed at the fissure: "What the Blood God Cult seeks has never been the Xuanhuang Leylines themselves, but to break the Seal and allow the 'Chaos Demon God' on the other side of the fissure to descend into this Realm. The so-called Blood God Pill, Blood God Puppet—they are merely offerings for the sacrifice."

Bai Yunzhou drew in a cold breath.

He finally understood why the Blood God Cult was so frantically collecting vital blood and refining Puppets—everything was for the sake of sacrifice, in order to open this fissure!

"Senior, just what kind of existence is that Chaos Demon God...?"

"I do not know either." The Chaos Sword Monarch shook its head. "Revered Master only left behind a few fragmented words: Demon gods are not creatures of this Realm; they come from the otherworldly Chaos and live by devouring world Origins. Back then, thirty percent of the Northern Region's leylines were devoured by it. Had Revered Master not risked his life to Seal it, this Realm would have long since been reduced to ruins."

He looked at Bai Yunzhou with complicated eyes: "Since you have inherited the Chaos Green Lotus Body, you are the successor of Revered Master's lineage. You cannot avoid this tribulation."

Bai Yunzhou was silent for a moment, raising his head to look straight at the phantom: "What should Junior do?"

"Accept the Legacy, Breakthrough to the Middle Stage Nascent Soul, and Revered Master the Chaos Return-to-Origin Sword Intent." Sword Monarch Qinglian said word by word, "Only the Power of Chaos can repair the cracks and resist the erosion of the Demon God."

"But..." His tone shifted, "The Legacy process is extremely perilous. The obsession and demonic thoughts of past leyline guardians linger within the Sword Tomb. You must defeat them in the illusion to gain the recognition of the Chaos Sword. If you are even slightly careless, your Divine Soul will be lost, and you will be trapped in the Sword Tomb forever."

Bai Yunzhou gripped the liefeng sword tightly, determination flashing in his eyes: "Junior is willing to try."

"Good."

The phantom of Sword Monarch Qinglian slowly dissipated, transforming into countless points of light that merged into the Sword Tomb.

At the same time, all the broken swords in the Sword Tomb trembled simultaneously, emitting a shrill sword hum!

Countless phantoms rose from the sword bodies—some wore green robes and brandished swords, some wore ferocious blood-robes, some were entwined with thunder, and still others were shrouded in gray mist, exuding an aura of Chaos.

These were all the lingering obsessions of the past leyline guardians!

"Latecomer... receive the sword!"

"Protect the leylines... until death!"

"The Demon God... is invincible... run..."

Chaotic voices echoed in the Sword Tomb as countless phantoms lunged at Bai Yunzhou all at once.

Meanwhile, the Chaos Sword in the center of the Sword Tomb slowly descended, its tip pointing downward, hovering three feet above the stone platform.

To obtain the sword, one had to cross this sea of obsession!

Bai Yunzhou took a deep breath, operating the Chaos Eye at full power. Tri-colored lights of cyan, purple, and red flowed deep within his pupils, finally transforming into pure Chaos gray.

He saw that within every phantom, there was a Law thread—Sword Intent, lightning, blood qi, frost, raging fire... and even some Laws he had never seen before.

And all these Law threads ultimately converged toward the central Chaos Sword.

"I see..." Bai Yunzhou understood in his heart, "These obsessions are all the Law insights left behind by past leyline guardians. To defeat them is to absorb their insights and perfect my own Dao of Chaos."

He hesitated no longer, stepping forward.

The first green-robed phantom slashed out with a sword, its Sword Intent as pure as colored glaze.

Bai Yunzhou did not dodge or evade, similarly slashing out with a sword. The Green Lotus Sword Intent collided without any fancy tricks.

The moment the two swords touched, the green-robed phantom turned into countless points of light, merging into Bai Yunzhou's body. His understanding of the sword Dao instantly improved by a notch.

The second blood-robed phantom lunged forward, its blood qi soaring to the heavens.

Bai Yunzhou operated the Law of Blood, similarly counterattacking with blood qi.

Absorbing, comprehending, Fusion...

Phantom after phantom lunged forward, and phantom after phantom dissipated.

Like a sponge, Bai Yunzhou absorbed the Law insights of past leyline guardians. The three-element Laws within his body became increasingly perfected, and the Awakening degree of the Chaos Green Lotus Body rose slowly and steadily.

[51%... 52%... 53%...]

When he finished absorbing the ninth phantom, the Awakening degree had reached 55%!

However, the subsequent phantoms began to show abnormalities.

That was a phantom entirely shrouded in gray mist, its face indistinct, revealing only a pair of scarlet eyes.

"Chaos... Demon God..." The phantom made a hoarse sound, "Submit... or... die..."

It waved its hand, and the gray mist turned into countless tentacles, every single tentacle containing an aura that devoured everything.

Bai Yunzhou's expression changed—this was not the obsession of a leyline guardian, but a demonic thought eroded by the Demon God!

"Slash!"

The liefeng sword slashed out, the Qinglian Thunder Sword and the Power of Chaos fusing into a grayish-cyan sword Qi.

The sword Qi severed several tentacles, but more tentacles surged over, surrounding Bai Yunzhou tightly.

The moment the tentacles touched his body, a cold, greedy, and malicious will surged into his Sea of Consciousness, frantically eroding his Divine Soul.

"Submit... offer your body... I will grant you eternal life..."

The Demon God's whispers echoed in his ears.

Bai Yunzhou bit the tip of his tongue, the sharp pain keeping him awake. The Green Lotus Sword Heart operated at full power, purifying the eroding force.

However, the demonic thought was too powerful, and his consciousness began to blur.

Just at this moment—

Within his Dantian, that green lotus phantom suddenly bloomed!

The lotus petals unfolded layer by layer, and at the center, a speck of Chaos light lit up.

That was the Origin mark of the Chaos Green Lotus Body!

Where the light passed, the demonic thought tentacles melted like ice and snow, and the Demon God's whispers stopped abruptly.

The gray mist phantom let out a shrill scream, its figure rapidly fading.

"Impossible... mere Nascent Soul... how can you resist my erosion..."

"Because," Bai Yunzhou slowly raised his head, the Chaos light in his eyes flaring brightly, "What I cultivate is the true Dao of Chaos!"

He thrust out with a sword.

In this sword, there was no longer any green lotus, no longer any lightning, no longer any blood qi.

There was only pure Chaos.

The sword light was gray and hazy, seemingly ordinary, yet it contained the great power of splitting the heavens and earth and resetting the cosmos.

Screech—!

The gray mist phantom was pierced through by the sword and completely dissipated.

Bai Yunzhou withdrew his sword, panted for a moment, and continued forward.

The phantoms encountered thereafter were mostly normal, occasionally mixed with one or two demonic thoughts, all of which were purified by him with the Power of Chaos.

When he finished absorbing the forty-ninth phantom, he stood before the stone platform.

The Chaos Sword hovered three feet above his head.

The sword body was gray and hazy, and the Chaos cloud patterns at the hilt seemed to come alive, flowing slowly.

Bai Yunzhou reached out and grasped the hilt.

Boom—!

A majestic Chaos Sword Intent surged into his body along the hilt, instantly overwhelming his Meridians, Dantian, and Sea of Consciousness!

The scene before his eyes changed drastically.

He "saw"—

Thirty-seven thousand years ago, Chaos Taoist transformed his body into a Seal, suppressing the Demon God deep within the leylines.

Three thousand years ago, Sword Monarch Qinglian created the Qinglian Sword Canon, attempting to imitate Chaos through the sword Dao.

A hundred years ago, the Xuanhuang Leylines experienced their first anomaly, and the Blood God Cult began laying out their plans.

And now...

The crack was expanding, and the Demon God was about to awaken.

"Latecomer..."

The voice of Chaos Taoist resounded in the Sea of Consciousness, desolate and weary.

"I used my body as a sacrifice to Seal the Demon God for thirty thousand years. Now the Seal is about to break, and the survival of this Realm rests upon your shoulders."

"The Chaos Green Lotus Body was created by me through deducing my lifelong cultivation. It can accommodate all Laws and suppress Chaos. However, to achieve the great Dao, one must undergo three tribulations—"

"The Law Tribulation, you have already passed."

"The Heart Demon Tribulation, you just passed."

"The final tribulation... is the Heavenly Tribulation, and also the Tribulation of Fate."

"On the day of the Xuanhuang Tide, the Demon God will definitely impact the Seal with all its might. By then, you must use the Chaos Sword as a guide and your body as a sacrifice to reset the Seal."

"This action... has a nine-in-ten chance of death."

"Are you... willing?"

Bai Yunzhou fell silent.

For a long time, he raised his head, his eyes clear and resolute:

"Junior is willing to bear this tribulation."

As his voice fell, the Chaos Sword radiated brilliant light!

The sword body transformed into countless Chaos runes, surging into Bai Yunzhou's body and completely fusing with the Chaos Green Lotus Body.

In his Dantian, that green lotus phantom began to undergo a transformation—the lotus petals turned from cyan to gray, and at the center, a grayish-hazy lotus seed formed.

On the surface of the lotus seed, three patterns emerged: a sword pattern, a thunder pattern, and a blood pattern.

Deep within the lotus seed, the fourth and fifth patterns could be vaguely seen gestating...

Chaos Green Lotus Body, Awakening degree—60%!

Bai Yunzhou opened his eyes. The Chaos Sword in his hand had disappeared, replaced by that chaos lotus seed in his Dantian.

And his cultivation, under the infusion of the majestic Power of Chaos, broke through as naturally as water flowing into a channel—

Middle Stage Nascent Soul!

He slowly stood up and looked toward that crack deep within the Sword Tomb.

The blood-colored runes on the edge of the crack seemed to have dimmed by a fraction.

"Three months..." Bai Yunzhou whispered, "Demon God, we will meet on the day of the tide."

He turned around and walked toward the direction he had come from.

Behind him, ten thousand swords in the Sword Tomb chimed together, as if seeing off the new generation of leyline guardian.

Deep within the Sword Tomb, within that crack, a pair of scarlet eyes slowly opened, glanced at Bai Yunzhou's departing back, and then slowly closed.

Leaving behind only a faint, seemingly non-existent sigh:

"The Chaos successor... has finally... appeared..."

"This time... I will definitely... devour..."

The voice dissipated, and the Sword Tomb returned to dead silence.

Only the Xuanhuang Origin still slowly surged out from the crack, nourishing this ancient Small World.