97: Chapter 97 Second Life, The Four Swords of Zhuxian

The Forbidden Zone Supreme Beings and some powerful figures from All Realms were experiencing complex emotions.

They both hoped Jiang Hao would perish, so they could see the light of day again and contend for the Path to Immortality.

Yet they also feared this was a trap, for that Great Emperor was simply too cunning, too formidable.

The Heavens and Myriad Worlds fell into an eerie calm.

No one dared to make a reckless move, no one dared to set foot into the Origin Realm.

And at this moment, Jiang Hao, within his secluded retreat, slowly opened his eyes.

The second life was complete!

Feeling the power within his body, far more formidable than before, Jiang Hao's lips curved into a faint smile.

The shattering of the heavenly heart imprint was no accident; it was done intentionally.

Firstly, the heavenly heart imprint had long been useless to him. He walked the Mortal World Immortal Path, destined for successive transformations; the heavenly heart imprint would only fetter his steps.

Secondly, he wished to yield the opportunity for Dao-proving to the Prodigies of later generations.

The great Dao shackles of the eighteen thousand years of the Ancient Desolation Era had long been broken by him. Now, with the great era open, it was precisely the time for Prodigies to emerge in abundance.

Thirdly... he was fishing.

Fishing for those dormant Forbidden Zone Supreme Beings, fishing for those powerful figures from All Realms with ill intentions.

Should anyone dare to jump out, he would not hesitate to suppress and slay them!

Jiang Hao immersed his mind within his body, beginning to sort through the gains from this transformation.

He had become more perfect, his Physical Body imperishable, his Divine Soul indestructible.

His 'Chaos Scripture' had incorporated fragments of the Dao scriptures and the great Dao from the Chaotic Ancient Heavenly Court, becoming even more profound.

Afterwards, Jiang Hao continued his seclusion, continuing to consolidate the gains from his Breakthrough, while also giving the fish a chance.

However, one year, ten years, fifty years, a century passed...

Apart from the initial earth-shattering fluctuations, the Universe showed no further abnormalities.

There was no Dark Turmoil, no Supreme Beings emerged, not even any confirmed news about the whereabouts of the Chaos Great Emperor.

More and more living beings began to believe that the Chaos Great Emperor who had dominated an era had likely, for some reason, faded into a tragic conclusion.

The great Dao of the Chaos Great Emperor had indeed vanished.

Forbidden Ground of the Dao Seeking Sect, Immortal Cave for seclusion.

A century of time was but an instant to Jiang Hao, who had completed his transformation.

He slowly opened his eyes. Within his pupils, the scene of Chaos beginning to form and the Universe's birth and destruction flickered briefly before settling into profound tranquility.

'A century...' Jiang Hao's Divine Sense lightly swept across the outside world, absorbing all the turmoil within the Universe.

He saw the suspicions of the myriad races, saw the restless stirrings of certain factions, and also saw... the continued silence of the major Life Forbidden Zone.

A rather helpless expression appeared on Jiang Hao's face as he let out a soft sigh:

'So patient? The heavenly heart imprint shattered, the suppression of the great Dao vanished, the path to becoming an Emperor reopened... Such immense temptation, and not even one peeks out to take a look or test the waters?'

He shook his head. 'This bait was wasted. Seems my previous strikes were a bit too heavy, giving them Heart Demons and making them so highly vigilant.'

Thinking that the feigned death ruse he had laid hadn't even caught a single small fish, Jiang Hao felt a sense of punching cotton.

'Another empty haul,' he muttered softly, standing up and stretching his limbs.

'Fine then. Since you won't jump out, I'll continue with my own affairs. Only three of the nine cauldrons have been placed, the immortal egg is still being nurtured, and the Mortal World Immortal Path is long... There's plenty of time.'

He took a single step, leaving the Immortal Cave where he had secluded himself for a century, his figure merging into the Void Realm.

None knew that the Chaos Great Emperor, believed to have possibly perished, had quietly lived out an even more powerful second life.

Eight thousand years passed. Among the generation of Prodigies like Feng Xi, Chu Changge, and the young War Emperor, who were spirited and ambitious at the dawn of the great era, most had passed like meteors streaking across the sky.

Some chose to seal themselves within divine sources, waiting for a more suitable era to bloom with even more dazzling brilliance.

Others had already fallen silent or dissolved into the Dao amidst subsequent conflicts, adventures, and cultivation bottlenecks.

The faces of the new generation changed batch after batch, the Universe remaining as clamorous as ever.

And the era of the twelve peerless heroes belonging to Jiang Hao had, in the eyes of the world, completely become a distant legend, imprinted in ancient texts and the nostalgic memories of the older generation.

Apart from the Chaos Great Emperor Jiang Hao, the others were scarcely mentioned anymore.

A figure appeared outside the planet formed from Heavenly Venerable Lingbao.

Jiang Hao stood outside the Star Domain, but his Divine Sense had long pierced through layers of spatial barriers, landing upon the Immortal Terrace Pond at the center of that Small World.

Within the pond, the originally faint spiritual light spots, after nearly ten millennia of gathering and nurturing...

...had now become incomparably brilliant, as if nurturing a great sun ready to erupt at any moment, radiating vibrant vitality and Dao charm.

'Soon,' Jiang Hao murmured, a flicker of anticipation in his eyes.

Heavenly Venerable Lingbao, one of the Nine Heavenly Venerables of the Mythological Era, wielded slaughter and termination; his Dao was unique and formidable.

Observing the complete process of such an ancient existence defying the heavens to return from extinction would greatly benefit his understanding of life's essence, the indestructibility of the true spirit, and the mysteries of transformation.

He decided to wait here.

Thus, Jiang Hao concealed his form and aura, like cosmic dust, quietly hovering near this human-shaped Star Domain.

His gaze pierced the void, intently watching every subtle change within the Immortal Terrace Small World.

Time flowed, and another five hundred years quietly passed.

The Universe seemed calm. The golden great era flourished vigorously without an Emperor, and the competition among Prodigies grew ever more intense.

Occasional fluctuations from quasi-Emperor collisions shook the starry sky, but overall, balance was maintained.

What secretly amazed Jiang Hao the most was that those Life Forbidden Zone remained remarkably well-behaved.

Centuries had passed since the heavenly heart imprint shattered, yet not a single Supreme Being had failed to restrain themselves and jumped out to test the waters or launch a small-scale turmoil to replenish their vitality.

'Truly rare,' Jiang Hao shook his head and chuckled amidst the silent void.

He naturally welcomed this outcome. The Universe's peaceful development, with the Human Race and myriad races' Prodigies competing, was precisely the scene he had wished to see when he had previously sorted out the great Dao.

However, this peace was abruptly shattered one day.

The first change occurred in the human-shaped Star Domain formed from Heavenly Venerable Lingbao's corpse.

The core of the Star Domain, the Small World representing the Immortal Terrace, suddenly erupted with immeasurable light!

A brilliant radiance, containing the Supreme essence of sword Dao, appeared.

The radiance broke through the Small World's barriers, illuminating vast stretches of nearby dark starry space; countless stars paled under this light.

Immediately after, from four directions separated by endless starry rivers at the edge of the Universe, earth-shattering, razor-sharp auras erupted simultaneously!

In the east, green light flourished mightily. A sword of ancient simplicity, its entire body green as jade, tore through the void, its blade engraved with profound Dao patterns.

Wherever it passed, life force was extinguished by its ultimate sharpness, yet within the deathly stillness, a trace of creation was contained. This was the Immortal-Slaying Sword!

In the south, crimson as blood. A broad-bladed, giant sword, red as a burning sunset, arrived with a resonant hum, carrying the blazing, annihilating intent to burn all heavens and shatter all laws. This was the Immortal-Slaughtering Sword!

In the west, white light pierced the eyes. A slender-bladed, sharp sword, pure white as snow, traversed the starry river. Its Sword Qi was bone-chillingly cold, freezing time and space, severing Karma, peerlessly fierce. This was the Immortal-Trapping Sword!

In the north, black light was profound and deep. A strangely shaped, pitch-black sword, dark as ink, silently appeared, emanating the Dao charm of terminating all things. This was the Immortal-Ending Sword!

These were precisely the four swords of zhuxian, the Heavenly Venerable weapons most notorious for slaughter and ranked first in killing from the Mythological Era.