Chapter 1342
Life-or-Death Crisis
This aura was as black as ink, evil, violent, bloodthirsty, and destructive, like a world-destroying demonic cloud, crushing towards the Shattered Star Abyss with overwhelming force!
Wherever it passed, stars and rocks turned to dust, space shattered, and the turbulent flow of time and space was suppressed by the demonic energy!
The mere wisp of aura emanating from the area caused Ye Yang and the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's expressions to change drastically!
The two felt as if an ancient demonic mountain was pressing down on their chests, causing them to stop breathing, their meridians to flow backward, and their Dao hearts to tremble slightly.
A fear originating from the depths of my soul instantly swept over my entire body.
"What...what a terrifying aura!"
Ye Yang's face was as pale as paper, and the hair on his body stood on end. He barely managed to withstand the pressure by circulating all his Dao power.
But his legs were trembling slightly, and he was almost kneeling down in submission.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's expression was more solemn than ever before, and he held both the Star Mark Sword and the Azure Lotus Sword horizontally in front of his chest.
Two powerful sword intents erupted, creating a sword barrier that barely allowed him to stabilize himself.
He looked up in the direction where the demonic cloud had descended, and for the first time, a look of fear appeared in his eyes.
"It's a demon... the strongest one!"
"...A demonic cultivator at the Mahayana realm!"
The Great Vehicle Realm!
That is a realm that stands at the pinnacle of all heavens, capable of shattering stars and tearing apart star fields with a wave of the hand, far surpassing the Thunder Tribulation Realm, truly a giant among giants!
Ye Yang was filled with shock and disbelief.
The demonic powerhouses he had previously killed were merely at the Thunder Tribulation Realm; before this supreme demonic powerhouse, they were like ants.
The difference between the two is like the difference between clouds and mud; they are incomparable!
"Hahaha!"
A wild and evil laugh echoed throughout the entire Star Ruins Ancient Road, making everyone's eardrums buzz and their souls tremble.
"Azure Lotus Sword Immortal, Fellow Daoist Ye, the opportunities in this Star Tower are mine. Where do you think you're going?"
"Hand over the Xuanwu Heaven-Suppressing Seal and the map of the Star Ruins Ancient Road, and I can grant you a quick death. Otherwise, I will surely extract your souls and cast you into the Endless Demon Prison to suffer torment for ten thousand years, never to be reincarnated!"
The demonic sound pierced the ears, like thousands of demonic needles, striking the soul.
Ye Yang groaned, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth, his soul suffering a minor injury.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's face also turned pale, and his sword intent became slightly disordered.
They knew very well that, let alone resisting, even if they fought back with all their might, they wouldn't last more than ten breaths!
Once caught up by this supreme expert, death is certain!
"We cannot fight! We must flee!"
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal made a decisive decision, her voice urgent.
This person is far too strong; we are no match for him. As long as we survive, we can always fight again!
Ye Yang also understood the pros and cons involved.
A head-on confrontation will only lead to certain death.
Only by escaping can they have a chance of survival!
Just then, the Xuanwu Zhentian Seal on Ye Yang's chest began to feel slightly warm, and a faint yet incredibly clear thought entered his mind.
It is the guidance of the sacred beast Xuanwu!
"Head north... all the way north... through the Shattered Star Ice Plains... into the core of the ancient road... only there... can we escape this calamity..."
Ye Yang was overjoyed and immediately sent a telepathic message to the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal.
"Senior, the Xuanwu Sacred Beast is guiding us northwards!"
"it is good!"
Without further hesitation, the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal unleashed his full sword intent.
"Azure Lotus Heaven-Escape Sword!"
A streak of cyan sword light enveloped the two figures, transforming them into an extreme stream of light as they frantically fled northward.
The speed was so fast that it almost tore through space, leaving only a faint blue trail.
"Huh? Trying to run away?"
The strongest demon snorted coldly, his tone filled with utter disdain.
"You cannot escape before me!"
Boom!
The demonic clouds churned, and a pitch-black demonic claw, obscuring the sky and carrying the power to destroy everything, reached out to grab Ye Yang and the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal!
Wherever the demonic claws passed, space shattered, stars vanished, and an aura of despair enveloped the surroundings.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal gritted his teeth and pushed his cultivation to its limit, causing the sword light to surge once again.
It abruptly changed direction, narrowly avoiding the claw attack.
Bang!
The demonic claws landed on empty space, slamming hard into the void.
With a deafening roar, the entire Shattered Star Abyss was blasted to pieces, countless spatial fragments flew everywhere, and the remains of those cultivators instantly turned to ashes.
A terrifying shockwave swept over them, and Ye Yang and the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal were struck as if by an ancient behemoth.
Both of them coughed up blood at the same time, and their bodies flew northward like kites with broken strings.
"Escape! Escape!"
Ye Yang gritted his teeth and activated the Xuanwu Suppressing Heaven Seal with all his might, using the power of the sacred beast to empower the two of them.
The speed has surged again!
Two streaks of light, one blue and one gold, darted wildly through the ancient Star Ruins Road, passing over countless pieces of star debris.
They sped northwards, navigating through turbulent currents of time and space.
Behind them, demonic clouds rolled in, and demonic energy surged to the heavens.
The aura of the strongest demon was like a persistent, lingering ailment, locking onto them and drawing ever closer.
A terrifying pressure constantly weighed on their minds.
The shadow of death loomed over them.
Ye Yang glanced back at the sky-covering, demonic cloud, with only one thought in his mind.
We have to escape!
We must reach the core of the Star Ruins Ancient Road alive!
We must obtain the Immortal-Stabilizing Technique!
Only by becoming stronger can one gain a foothold in this dog-eat-dog world, protect those around them, and eliminate all powerful enemies!
"Senior, give it your all!"
"At the northernmost point lies life!"
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal nodded silently, his eyes resolute, his sword intent burning brightly.
They are willing to sacrifice their own resources to push the speed to the limit.
Ye Yang gave a low shout.
His body's Dao power burned rapidly.
The Xuanwu Heaven-Suppressing Seal hung above their heads, casting golden light that protected the two in the center, counteracting the oppressive demonic energy surging from behind.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal changed sword techniques with both hands in quick succession, merging the Azure Lotus Sword Intent with the Star Mark Sword's Star Laws into one, and the azure light almost shattered this chaotic spacetime.
Neither of them dared to hold back in the slightest, pushing their cultivation to its limit.
The overwhelming demonic cloud behind him followed him like a shadow, and the divine sense of the Mahayana cultivator was locked on like a leech.
No matter how they changed direction, burrowed into spatial turbulence, or used star debris for cover, they could not completely escape.
"Youngster, do you think you can escape!"
Yunyuan Zhenjun's cold laughter pierced through the void, and with each tremor, it made the two of them shudder.
A pitch-black demonic claw descended from the sky once more, its five fingers spread wide, covering the vast starry sky, intending to crush them to death in the starry ruins.
"Senior, turn left! Go through the spatial rift!"
Ye Yang swept his divine sense wildly, using the Xuanwu Suppressing Heaven Seal's faint perception of the stars and space, and shouted sharply.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal almost instinctively trusted him. The escape light suddenly veered, and the two of them narrowly escaped into a raging spatial turbulence.
boom!
As the demonic claws descended, the entire starry sky collapsed, and the place where they had just been was wiped into nothingness.
The violent aftershocks swept over them, and both of them coughed up a mouthful of blood, their bodies cracking.
"Faster!"
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal gritted his teeth, forcing out a wisp of his life essence blood, which merged into the escape light.
The cyan sword light instantly surged several times, breaking through its speed limit and transforming into an almost invisible stream of light.
They plunged headlong into the deeper, more turbulent depths of the star ruins.
Here, star debris is densely packed like a forest, spatial rifts are everywhere, and sometimes the suction force is overwhelming.
Sometimes the repulsive force collapses, and even a cultivator at the Thunder Tribulation Realm who accidentally enters will be instantly torn to pieces.
But at this moment, the two had no other choice.
Behind him lay certain death, while in front of him was a nine-out-of-ten chance of survival.
Ye Yang tightly embraced the Xuanwu Zhentian Seal, constantly communicating with the remnant soul within it through his divine sense.
"Fellow Daoist Xuanwu, please show me the way... please show me the way quickly!"
A faint, persistent thought remained steadfastly pointing due north.
I don't know how long they ran.
A breath feels like a hundred years, and a hundred years feel like a fleeting moment.
The two crossed several vast spatial rivers that traversed the starry sky, their clothes already stained with blood, and their auras extremely weak.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's usually pristine azure robes were now stained with blood and dust.
His hair was disheveled, and his breathing was uneven; he was clearly nearing his limit.
Ye Yang's face was deathly pale, and his meridians were injured in many places. If it weren't for the Xuanwu Zhentian Seal constantly channeling gentle holy power to protect his heart meridian, he would have collapsed halfway through.
at last.
The suffocating demonic power behind them gradually faded away.
The ever-present divine sense lock was slowly loosening and dissipating.
The demonic howl that echoed through the starry sky grew farther and farther away, until it finally disappeared completely.
They ran wildly for another half hour, confirming that there was no trace of anyone chasing them.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal abruptly withdrew his sword intent.
The light of their escape path fell, and the two staggered as they landed on a massive, frozen remnant of a star.
The ice beneath our feet was hard and piercing, radiating an ancient, unyielding chill.
The surroundings were completely silent, so quiet that only the two people's heavy breathing could be heard.
Ye Yang, supporting himself on the Xuanwu Zhentian Seal, knelt on the ground, panting heavily, cold sweat mixed with blood sliding down his forehead. The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal, leaning on the Star Mark Sword, his chest heaving slightly, his usually calm and indifferent face now showing traces of lingering shock.
The two looked at each other and saw deep fear in each other's eyes.
"That was close..."
Ye Yang's voice was hoarse.
"We were just one step away from dying at the hands of that demonic cultivator."
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal nodded slowly, raised his hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth, and his eyes were extremely solemn.
"This person is no ordinary demonic cultivator. Do you know who he is?"
Ye Yang was taken aback: "This junior does not know, senior, do you recognize him?"
"If I'm not mistaken, he should be True Monarch Yunyuan."
Ye Yang was startled, recalling the figure that had blocked the Blood Demon Lord in front of the Nine Revolutions Star Tower.
I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat.
"He...he's been watching us from the very beginning?"
"good."
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal sighed softly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"I'm afraid he noticed us the moment we stepped in."
"The slaying of the Blood Demon Lord and other demons, the unusual activity of the Star Tower, the appearance of the Xuanwu Heaven-Suppressing Seal... With his cultivation level, how could he not have noticed?"
Ye Yang felt a chill run down his spine.
"Then why didn't he just take action directly, instead letting us walk all the way to the Star Ruins Ancient Road?"
"Because he's waiting."
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's gaze was deep, looking towards the frozen depths further north.
"He knew that we had the map of the Star Ruins Ancient Road, and he also knew that the Xuanwu Suppressing Heaven Seal was the key to the core inheritance."
If he makes a move at the Star Tower, and we are pushed to the brink, we might destroy the map, hide the Heaven-Suppressing Seal, or even drag the inheritance down with us.
So he chose to remain silent, letting us search for treasure and escape, following us all the way until we found the place where the Immortal-Stabilizing Technique was passed down to him.
"He was... waiting for a rabbit to run into a tree stump."
Ye Yang gasped, feeling a chill run through his body.
From slaying the Blood Demon Lord, entering the Star Tower, obtaining the Star Map, venturing along the ancient path, to being surrounded and killed by a group of cultivators...
All of this happened right under the nose of True Lord Yunyuan.
He was like a cold-blooded hunter, watching his prey struggle in the net, and then swallowing it whole the moment it finally found the treasure.
What a deep scheme!
What terrifying patience!
"Those who have reached the Mahayana Realm no longer rely solely on brute force," the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal said in a deep voice.
"What they are calculating is opportunity, inheritance, and the path to immortality."
“In his eyes, we were nothing more than two pawns leading the way.”
Ye Yang clenched his fist.
Having narrowly escaped death to reach this place, and on the verge of touching the legendary Immortal-Stabilizing Technique, they ended up falling into someone else's trap.
"So now..."
"I can't back out now."
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal shook his head.
“Since True Lord Yunyuan has allowed us to come here, he must have already blocked all escape routes.”
If we turn back, we'll be walking into a trap; if we stay, we'll only be slowly ensnared and killed.
Ye Yang took a deep breath, suppressing the turmoil in his heart.
He knew that the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal was right.
Now that things have come to this, it's too late for fear; there's nowhere to escape.
The only way out is to move forward.
"What you mean, senior, is..."
"We have found the method to stabilize immortality."
A sharp light flashed in the eyes of the Azure Lotus Sword Immortal, "Comprehend it as soon as possible, and break through as soon as possible."
Only if one of us can use this inheritance to touch the threshold of Mahayana Buddhism will we be qualified to fight against True Monarch Yunyuan.
Otherwise, I will surely die today.
"This man is vindictive and ruthless. If you fall into his hands, your soul and body will be destroyed, and that will be the lightest fate."
Ye Yang nodded heavily, the fear in his eyes dissipating, leaving only determination.
"I see."
If successful, one may become an immortal.
Defeat means utter ruin.
He raised his hand and placed it on his chest, and the Xuanwu Zhentian Seal slowly rose up.
On the divine seal, tortoises and snakes intertwined, stars swirled, and an ancient and profound aura permeated the air.
This place is already deep in the far north of the Star Ruins Ancient Road, very close to the place of inheritance, and the resonance of the Heaven-Suppressing Seal is becoming stronger and stronger.
Ye Yang closed his eyes and poured all his divine sense into the Xuanwu Suppressing Heaven Seal.
"Senior Xuanwu, lead me to the place where the Immortal-Stabilizing Technique is passed down."
hum!
The divine seal trembled slightly and automatically rose into the air, its light pointing northward.
A barely perceptible golden beam pierced through layers of frozen stars, pointing towards the deepest part of this icy plain.
"Over there!"
Ye Yang opened his eyes, his gaze flashing with a sharp light.
"go!"
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's spirits lifted, he forcefully suppressed his injuries, and his sword intent condensed once more.
The two dared not delay. After a short rest, they immediately followed the guidance of the Heaven-Suppressing Seal and moved forward quickly.
The star debris beneath their feet grew larger and larger, the ice layer grew thicker and thicker, and the cold air was bone-chilling, as if even space itself was frozen solid.
The surroundings were deathly silent, devoid of any living beings or cultivators, leaving only ancient desolation and coldness.
The deeper one goes, the clearer the laws of heaven and earth become, and an ancient, vast, and majestic aura washes over you.
That was the aura left behind by ancient immortals and gods.
Not long after.
The frozen land ahead suddenly opened up into a bright and open vista.
An ancient altar, suspended in mid-air, appeared before us.
The altar was constructed of an unknown white divine jade, covered with long-lost star runes. Streaks of star power rose from the center of the altar, transforming into a pillar of light that stretched straight to the sky.
Within the pillar of light, countless characters floated and disappeared, each containing the profound truth of destruction and rebirth.
The area around the altar was peaceful and serene, a stark contrast to the raging Star Ruins Ancient Road outside.
An aura of pressure, compelling people to bow down in worship, slowly spread.
"This is... the place where the Immortal-Stabilizing Technique is passed down!"
Ye Yang was so excited that his voice trembled.
The ancient path to immortality that countless cultivators have dreamed of is within reach!
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal also caught his breath, and a long-lost look of excitement appeared in his eyes.
"That's right... this aura of law is absolutely correct. The Immortal-Stabilizing Technique is right here on this altar."
Having faced life and death and escaped pursuit, we have finally reached this point.
Ye Yang gripped the Dragon Abyss Sword tightly and stepped forward, his heart pounding with excitement.
As long as he obtains the Immortal-Fixing Technique, he will have the opportunity to break through the tribulation and reach the Mahayana stage. If he encounters True Monarch Yunyuan again in the future, he will not be without the power to fight him.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal followed closely behind, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily, but he found no ambush or presence.
The terrifying demonic power of True Monarch Yunyuan seemed to have completely vanished.
"strangeness……"
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal frowned slightly.
"He was clearly lying in wait, so why isn't he here now?"
Ye Yang's heart tightened, and he was about to speak.
At that very moment.
scoff!
A jet-black demonic sword light tore through the void without warning!
The sword light was extremely fast and extremely ruthless, slashing directly towards Ye Yang's back!
This sword strike concealed the laws of space and the principles of Mahayana Buddhism; it was silent and unavoidable!
"careful!"
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal's expression changed drastically. The Star Mark Sword was instantly drawn, and a surge of azure sword light erupted, blocking Ye Yang's path.
clang!!!
The clang of metal reverberated throughout the frozen altar.
The Azure Lotus Sword Immortal was forced to retreat repeatedly by the sword strike, his tiger's mouth split open, blood splattering everywhere, his eyes filled with horror.
Ye Yang suddenly turned around, the Dragon Abyss Sword held horizontally across his chest, the Xuanwu Suppressing Heaven Seal hanging high above his head, and stared at the void with a horrified expression.
As the sword light dissipated, a figure clad in a jet-black demonic robe slowly emerged from the void.
His face was sinister, his eyes indifferent, and his demonic energy was restrained. He seemed no different from an ordinary cultivator, but the pressure that surpassed all things made the entire altar tremble slightly.
Who else could it be but True Lord Yunyuan!
He stood there, without making any move, yet it seemed as if he had already taken control of the entire world.
A cold and mocking smile appeared on Yunyuan Zhenjun's lips as his gaze slowly swept over Ye Yang and Qinglian Sword Immortal.
"We've been waiting for you for so long."
"You've finally appeared." (End of Chapter)