165: Chapter 165 The Old Man Borrows a Sword Seeks Illusion, the Azure Emperor Gazes and Locks the Altar

Ye Xiu walked slowly toward the Kaihuang Throne covered in tribulation ash, his hands clasped behind his back.

A rare look of appreciation flashed in his heterochromatic gold and silver eyes.

"To be in a dead zone like this, where the Great Dao Laws are completely twisted and there is absolutely no Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi to replenish oneself,"

"without relying on any external force, relying solely on that unyielding, unbending resolve in one's chest,"

"to forcefully carve such a Sword Intent that hasn't dissipated for a thousand years on this indestructible astral meteoric iron."

The corners of Ye Xiu's mouth curled slightly, his tone carrying a patronizing critique:

"Although limited by the Laws of this world, and his cultivation is a bit lacking,"

"but this Heaven-Slashing Sword Bone that would rather shatter like jade than bend is barely worthy of earning a bit of respect from me, Ye Xiu."

Qin Mu clutched his bleeding finger and asked with extreme anxiety:

"Brother Ye! The Village Chief deliberately left a sure-kill Sword Intent on the throne. What on earth does it mean?"

"Where are they? Could they have been teleported away by that Formation just now?"

"This sword scar is not a defensive trap meant to kill; it is a suicide note."

Ye Xiu did not draw his sword, but directly extended his right hand.

That right hand, which had just crushed the Divine Language Formation with bare hands and was stained with the supreme Laws of an Immortal Five True Saint,

pressed down without any hesitation, extremely brutally, onto the crack that radiated a peerless Sword Intent!

*Buzz!*

The Sword Intent left by the Village Chief instinctively sensed the invasion of an external force, instantly bursting with a blinding, pale sword glow.

Like an infuriated Dragon, it frantically slashed at Ye Xiu's palm, attempting to defend the final dignity of a Sword Cultivator.

However, before the supreme Physical Body of an Immortal Five True Saint, which was like divine gold and impervious to all methods,

this Sword Intent, which was enough to tear apart the Void Realm and shred a Divine Bridge, could not even cut a single hair on Ye Xiu's palm.

Only a series of ear-piercing "clangs" of metal clashing could be heard.

Under the unreasonable, absolute suppression of the True Saint's pressure, that Sword Intent finally yielded with extreme reluctance.

Ye Xiu let out a sharp shout, and his palm suddenly surged with a burst of jade-green Creation True Essence,

pouring forcefully into the sword scar like a bursting flood!

"Shrouding the Heavens Dharma Eye, Time Backtrack. Reveal yourself to me!"

A miracle unfolded in this Hall of the Other Shore, which had been dead silent for millions of years!

*Whoosh—*

That fierce Sword Intent, tightly compressed within the crack of the meteoric iron, was activated by Ye Xiu's high-dimensional True Saint Origin.

Like a stone thrown into calm water, ripples of time visible to the naked eye undulated in mid-air.

Immediately after, in the void at the very center of the hall, countless lights and shadows intertwined frantically.

Out of thin air, a holographic projection appeared. Although somewhat blurry due to the loss of energy, it was extremely realistic!

That was the final memory left in this Sword Intent by the Village Chief and the others before they disappeared!

In the image:

The Hall of the Other Shore was in complete disarray, with traces of battle everywhere on the ground.

The limbless Village Chief of Canlao Village was floating in mid-air, relying on his vast Sword Qi.

On his old face, which usually wore a kind and calm smile,

it was now filled with unprecedented solemnity, extreme anger, and a touch of tragic despair after his faith had completely collapsed.

Behind the Village Chief stood the Blind Man, The Mute, and the Apothecary—old monsters who had once shaken the world.

In the projection, they were not facing the open bronze doors of the hall, nor were they resisting the Divine Language Formation outside.

Their eyes were fixed intently behind the Kaihuang Throne!

There, what should have been the hall's sturdiest wall of astral meteoric iron,

had actually been violently torn open from the inside, revealing a bottomless, extremely sickening, and twisted...

...blood-colored spatial rift that even carried a strong aura of "flesh sacrifice"!

"Hypocritical lies... a pathetic escape..."

In the projection, the Village Chief's voice sounded extremely hoarse and dry.

He stared intently at the rift, which was constantly oozing viscous blood, as if looking at the most disgusting monster in the world.

"Our Canlao Village spent our entire lives searching for Wuyou Township. We regarded the Founding Emperor as the final backbone of the Major Thousand Worlds."

"We thought this was the hope he left behind, that it hid the supreme power capable of overthrowing the Heavenly Court..."

The Village Chief laughed miserably, suddenly bursting into a bone-chilling, tragic laughter.

"Hahaha! It's all a lie! It's all lies!"

The Village Chief laughed until blood-tears seeped from the corners of his eyes, his voice carrying a suffocating despair:

"That coward, the Founding Emperor! He didn't leave behind any foundation to launch a counterattack against the Heavenly Court at all!"

"What he left behind... is a man-eating devil's den!"

"This so-called Ark of the Other Shore is not some sanctuary to protect all living beings at all! It's a trap!"

As soon as these words were spoken, Qin Mu, who was standing to the side watching the projection, felt as if he had been struck head-on by the divine thunder of the Nine Heavens.

His entire body instantly froze on the spot, his mind going completely blank.

A trap?

Qin Mu trembled all over, staring at the projection in disbelief.

Those countless heroic spirits who had fled along with the Founding Emperor, those ancient ancestors who had died on the deck of the Ark...

Had they not died fighting off the pursuers from the Heavenly Court?

Instead, had they been used as fuel and blood-sacrificed alive... by the Founding Emperor whom they had sworn allegiance to?!

In the projection, a sudden change occurred!

From within that blood-colored spatial rift, accompanied by a sickening chewing sound,

countless terrifying tentacles woven from viscous flesh, bone fragments, and black, corrupted Laws suddenly reached out!

These tentacles, carrying an extremely terrifying spatial suction, were like hungry wolves that had caught the scent of blood.

They frantically lunged toward the heavily injured Blind Man and the others, attempting to drag these top-tier masters into the altar to be used as nourishment!

"We cannot stay here! The sure-kill grand Formation on the outskirts of the Ark has been alarmed; our path of retreat is dead!"

Looking at the surging blood-colored tentacles, an unprecedentedly brilliant sword light erupted from the Village Chief's eyes.

It was the ultimate swansong of burning his lifespan and burning his Divine Soul!

"Since our retreat is cut off! Since this Founding Emperor is a coward who speaks nothing but lies and feeds on the flesh and blood of his own race!"

"Then today, this old man will risk this remnant life of mine to go to the end of that blood sacrifice and see what tricks that cowardly turtle is actually up to!"

"Dayan Sword Chart—Heaven Opening!"

In the projection, the limbless Village Chief actually transformed in an instant into a peerless divine sword that connected heaven and earth, capable of severing the river of time!

He merged his body with the Dao, and with a single strike, he forcefully cleaved open those countless blood-colored tentacles wrapping around them.

Then, the sword light swept up the people of Canlao Village and charged resolutely into the blood-colored rift that radiated an endless aura of death!

At the very last moment before disappearing into the rift,

the Village Chief suddenly turned his head. His cloudy eyes seemed to penetrate the barriers of time

and the mists of the Void Realm, staring intently at Qin Mu who stood before the throne.

On that indestructible Kaihuang Throne, he had used his life to slash that final Heaven-Slashing sword scar, which contained his dying message!

"Qin Mu... if you come here..."

"Don't worry about us! Leave this ship immediately! Take the people of The Great Ruins... and go forever!"