The phenomenon of ascension encompassed the entire world—grander and more striking than during Zhao Wushuang’s ascension!

It was, for all intents and purposes, comparable to the staggering phenomenon that’d taken place during the birth of the Karmic Tree. The cries of innumerable swords resonated in the world of immortals, accompanied by a boundless sword aura that turned the entire world into a sea of swords.

Sword Divine had ascended to immortality!

Every immortal in the world was painfully aware of the fact. Always lurking in the shadows, sometimes appearing to destabilize the status quo, Sword Divine had finally become an immortal.

“This is Sword Divine ascending to immortality?!” someone shouted in alarm. “Then what about the tree-shaped phenomenon last time?”

Many realized the crux of the issue. Last time, the world had witnessed the vision of a golden tree. Prevailing wisdom at the time had been that it was Sword Divine’s phenomenon of ascension. However, the divine sword cutting through the world now and the symphony of swords were more befitting of Sword Divine’s ascension.

But in that case, who had it been the last time?

Lu Yun?

Lu Yun had been spotted only a few days prior, his phenomenon a mere carpet of purple energy a few hundred kilometers across.

Qing Yu? She wasn’t an immortal yet! Perhaps there was yet another hidden peerless genius in the world that no one knew of?

“He’s truly better than me!” In Dusk Province, inside Dao City, Zhao Wushuang’s eyes dimmed with sadness.

A phenomenon of ascension bespoke an immortal’s potential and almost always determined the heights one would reach in the future. True, her own phenomenon had also affected the entire world, but it still paled in comparison to Sword Divine’s.

……

Meanwhile, Dongfang Hao raged with indignation. The essence of his tribulation had been stolen! He’d be able to guess the culprit’s identity even if he threw his brain away.

Lu Yun!

Tribulation essence could temper an immortal body and strengthen one’s immortal foundations. And in case he didn’t need all of it for himself, he could still use the rest to strengthen his clansmen and subordinates!

But now, the liquid essence that formed a lake six hundred meters wide had been entirely claimed by Lu Yun, a loss that almost drove Dongfang Hao crazy.

“Men, deploy formations! Don’t let him escape no matter what!!” he raved as if gone stark mad. His phenomenon still lingered in the air, but he’d already lost all semblance of composure.

Boom!

A somber killing aura spread out over the sea for a million kilometers. Dream-like radiance flickered through the sky as one thousand and eighty-eight killing formations abruptly took to the air, sealing off space within a five hundred thousand kilometer radius.

“Who said I was leaving?” an indifferent voice rose, followed by a giant foot more than five kilometers wide that dropped from the sky and stepped right on Dongfang Hao.

Dongfang Hao saw red! He’d become a void-ascended true immortal, but Lu Yun’s replica, Xing Chen, was a peak golden immortal!

Inside the replica, the heart and lungs of heaven and earth echoed in harmony and generated an inexhaustible supply of strength. Now that Lu Yun’s primary body had also become an immortal, his nascent spirit had propelled Xing Chen’s strength to unprecedented realms.

Death art, Size Manipulation!

Lu Yun had become an unfathomably huge giant. Stepping down with one foot, he sank Dongfang Hao straight into the ocean, stirring up prodigious waves in the West Sea.

Indeed, Lu Yun hadn’t left. How could he, when the area was blockaded by multiple layers of formations? Unless Feinie were to arrive and operate the Yin and Yang Formation Orbs with him, it’d be very difficult to break through the ancient killing formations.

As for Holy Lord Ashu, he’d taken to the sky to ward off an unknown powerhouse.

“Lu Yun!!” Dongfang Hao struggled beneath Yun’s foot, seething with anger and indignation, but he couldn’t unleash his pent-up fury no matter how hard he struggled.

He’d just overcome his tribulation and become a void-ascended immortal! This should’ve been the most glorious moment of his life, yet he found himself crushed under someone’s foot, unable to move!

He was about to explode with rage!

Meanwhile, his phenomenon of ascension continued to swallow the energy of the land, ready to flow into him and increase his strength once it reached completion.

“Why are you shouting my name?” Lu Yun’s distant voice came from high above. However, no one could see him. Only a giant foot and half a calf were visible.

Dongfang Hao choked on his fury.

“Some things aren’t yours to have, so I’ll collect them in your stead for now. When you grow strong enough, feel free to come find me and take them back.” A giant hand descended from the sky and grabbed the Sword of Slaughter.

“Bastard!!” Dongfang Hao struggled frantically, but Lu Yun’s foot was akin to the Five Finger Mountain imprisoning the Monkey King [1] No matter how hard he fought back, Sword Divine couldn’t break free from the giant foot crushing him.

Instead, the Dusk governor’s hand wrapped around the Sword of Slaughter. Shaking violently, the sword unleashed rays of deadly aura that sliced Lu Yun’s hand open, splashing bright-red blood in the air.

“Open!!” With a resounding shout, the Gates of the Abyss opened wide and drew the Sword of Slaughter into the kingdom of hell.

“Stop!!” a furious scream reverberated in the sky as a white-haired old man carrying a sword on his back suddenly appeared. His sword shot out of its sheath and slashed straight at Lu Yun.

A giant beam of light a full five thousand kilometers long sliced across the heavens and crashed down heavily on Lu Yun.

“Scram!!” Holy Lord Ashu answered in kind and dispelled all of the accumulated life force within him, returning to his previous state as a living dead.

Death’s aura surged in the air, turning the surroundings into a small-scale underworld. Ghostfire smoldering from his figure, Ashu greeted the sword with an explosive punch.

Boom!

When the two collided in the air, space began tearing. The old man flushed beet red as his sword shattered into sparks of cold light. He coughed up blood, and his figure lost most of its vigor.

“A holy lord of the underworld!!” he shouted in alarm. “Why have you come to the world of immortals? Aren’t you afraid that powerhouses from the three Firmaments will come together to kill you?!”

The old man had realized that Ashu was no ordinary holy lord, but one from the depths of the underworld, an existence similar to a primordial principal realm immortal. In the world of immortals, such an existence was simply invincible!

Wherever a holy lord stood, the surrounding area became their domain of the underworld. Ghostfire burning in his eyes, Ashu looked coldly at the old man and his now bladeless sword handle. “I don’t want to kill indiscriminately… so get lost!”

“We’re the ones who should be leaving,” Lu Yun interjected. After gathering the Sword of Slaughter into the netherworld, he’d returned to his normal size. “Well then, have a good day now!”

With the Boundless Step, he strode millions of kilometers away in a single step and made good his escape.

Ashu stared blankly, dumbstruck by the sudden change in the situation. Quickly recomposing himself, he hastened to seal away his essence and vanished from view.

Lu Yun had stolen the tribulation essence and filched the Sword of Slaughter. Here, Sword Divine was on home ground, so who knew what other tricks he might have left up his sleeves?

Thankfully, the holy lord had sealed his essence in time. Any longer and he might truly have been forever unable to return to life again.

Steal Dongfang Hao’s phenomenon of ascension?

Phenomena of ascension were connected to the world itself. Other than the one concerned, the world itself would retaliate against anyone reckless enough to touch them, destroying their body and erasing their dao!

“What happened to me just now? Why did I let that kid drag me into his madness?” Ashu grumbled during his flight. He’d exposed his true self in broad daylight. No one could do anything to him for now, but if the old monsters in the underworld were to find out, they’d certainly show up to drag him back.

……

In the sky, the sword-like phenomenon of ascension coalesced into its final form and gradually merged into Dongfang Hao’s figure.

An empty look in his eyes, Sword Divine lay on his back at the bottom of the sea, letting the enormous phenomenon of ascension wash over him, increasing his strength and healing his wounds.

Pure humiliation!

He’d never been so humiliated in his life!

Starting from the day of his birth, and especially after he’d obtained the Sword of Chaos, today marked the greatest humiliation he’d ever suffered in his life!

“How did it all turn out like this?” he murmured to himself.

1. In the Chinese novel Journey to the West, Sun Wukong, also known as the Monkey King, rebels against the heavens, and is ultimately punished by Buddha and imprisoned under Wu Zhi Shan, the Five Finger Mountain, for five hundred years. The Tang monk, Xuan Zang, eventually frees him so that the Monkey King can escort him on his journey to the west in search of the Sutras.