Xing Zheng barely contained an exhalation of surprise at hearing that voice and unconsciously he turned his head to the left. As he did so the world seemed to blur as his vision focused on the appearance of a handsome young man. He stood with an imperious demeanor as if his will alone were enough to conquer all that lay before him.

His shoulder-length midnight black hair seemed to flow with the same invisible wind that made his gray robes do the same. Adorned on the trimmings and cuffs of the robes were diverse scenes of swords and lightning. At the center of his chest was the crest of a black sword shaped like a lightning bolt atop a cloud of yellow lightning.

Behind him, the scenery seemed dull as a light drizzle seemed to cover the world in front of a backdrop of mountains that gave way to a set of step-like cliffs. These mountains formed a ring with an enormous mountain at the center that was surrounded by a basin-like depression which was in turn bisected by a calm circular river. All of this was hard for Xing Zheng to focus on though as even with his astonishing mental energy the sight of his brother in the flesh was almost too much.

Moments passed as the impact of Xing Hai’s words seemed to land on him like an avalanche. Fire stirred in his stomach, an ember of anger that he thought was buried under centuries of training. Strangely enough, that fire felt subdued, almost as if its heat were being siphoned off to dull his anger.

Before the sentence even finished Xing Zheng had collected himself and a glint appeared in his eyes as he looked at the other man. For his part Xing Hai seemed to disdain the world, looking out over the cliff edge without even turning to address him.

“Harsh words for such a reunion. Tell me elder brother, since when did such enmity exist between us?” Xing Zheng spoke with a tone of trepidation.

His memories of recent events seemed hazy and it felt like he should be able to process events faster than this mundane mortal speech. As soon as the thought came to him it was like a lightning bolt striking his mind. Instantly he felt with his divine sense and realized that somehow his mind had started thinking of it as mental energy once more.

That had caused him to not notice his reserves depleting rapidly through that link of anger in his belly. Narrowing his eyes Xing Zheng calmed his heart and used his understanding of the flowing of all things, of water that follows the flow of a stream, of the flow sword strikes must follow in accordance with the way of the Azure Rain Sword style. Subconsciously his divine sense shaped into pale imitations of his phantom sword technique.

When they pushed outward it was like his divine sense was a weak stream running into a fortified fortress. Fear slowly started lingering in his mind before Xing Hai turned around, a strange glint in his eyes as a small smile formed on his face.

“Good, good, good! I knew no brother of mine was so weak, to fall to petty tricks and deceit. Show them little Zheng, the pride of the sons of the Xing Empire. Show them that in this world where evil lurks, crouching tigers lay to guard the weak. Show them the hidden dragon that has lain slumbering in this valley full of rain and loneliness!” Xing Hai’s words were filled with pride and familial warmness as his eyes burned with a profoundness he had never possessed in life.

It was as if the Xing Hai standing in this realm were both the man he had grown up with and at the same time some idealized version of himself that had never come to be in this world. Currently, Xing Zheng had no time to think or understand this matter, however, as those words hit him with an even greater mental impact than hearing his dead brother’s voice for the first time in over a decade. In an instant, his eyes revealed realization, understanding that the land before him was the Azure Rain Sword Sect.

That he was Xing Zheng, a proud elder of that sect, and was now on a mission to hunt down demonic cultivators. With a mental roar, his divine sense surged and started merging into countless sword phantom-like shapes which formed the visage of a dragon. As that dragon bellowed to the heavens and charged at the seal in his mind a small smile formed on his lips.

He may not specialize in divine sense techniques however, something he had learned in his brief time with Li Cheng spoke to him at that moment. It had been a sentence that encapsulated the Heavenly Infinite Sword Sect’s general mindset when it came to fighting ‘if brute force isn’t working then you're just not using enough of it’. Viewing the dragon of divine sense bearing down on the seal in his mind he thought that although that particular mindset didn’t align with his path, he could certainly see the appeal.

Sweat mixed with blood and dirt as Sha Mu twisted the force from his seven sabers to separate, enforce and smash through over 100 different sword phantoms. As he did so twice that many attacks thrust forward through gaps in his defense. Right before these attacks made contact a dense rune seemed to appear that roughly depicted a humanoid holding a large saber.

Quickly his divine sense worked overtime to separate the force of the return stroke that had followed his original slash. This technique barely countered another 300 hundred slashing sword phantoms that seemed to twist in a flowing river to worm at the gaps in his defense once more. Cutting force raced between his sabers, each one angled just so to run along the path of dozens among dozens of sword phantoms.

Meanwhile, parts of the slash were spread to the runes on his robe, meeting the thrusts head-on while eliciting small shockwaves right above Sha Mu’s robes. The overall result looked like seven red lines curving in complex patterns all around him with dragons at their heads as they crushed endless amounts of small azure swords that seemed to try to avoid and move past them. Closer the force from the runes formed a lattice on his body of slashing red lines that met the thrust like a thin layer of armor formed from effect manipulation slashes.

All of this happened in a blur and the azure sword phantoms twisted at the last moment, combining to meet four of the sabers head-on while only a few were left to clash with the remaining three. Loud booming noises echoed out as the four red saber dragons were broken causing three deep wounds to appear across Sha Mu’s body. The fourth combined attack went wide, scything into the ground below at an angle and continuing into the cavernous ravines for over 2,000,000 km into the ground.

Creaking noises echoed out from the now deep ravines below them as mountains that had formed from natural treasure stone deep in the earth were sheared while stronger material weathered the effect casting wide shadows behind them. Inwardly he was amazed at this effect as the dampening formation should have been reducing the destruction of the battle by half as a side effect of containing energy within this area. Yet already the after-effects of the battle stretched past 1,000,000 km already.

Blood seeped all over his body as similar liquid seemed to flow endlessly from the seal on his saber, attempting to heal him. Beside him, a mountain-sized chunk of earth measuring 1,000km in size was slowly rising into the air. It had been launched with such force that it seemed to still be moving even to his senses and it contained a deep feeling of sturdy earth.

Growling Sha Mu stopped himself from falling as he had slowly been doing and leveled a look at the azure-robed swordsman. Viscousness flashed in his eyes and the wings on his back flashed with a brilliant red as he rushed forward, a crescent arc of red weaving through the debris that seemed to float in the air. In truth none of the falling objects were truly frozen, speed like that would require far higher-level cultivators who could actually fight at such speeds.

All of this debris was just falling incredibly slowly and so Sha Mu had to pay mind to its motion as he moved. Although he could break through much of it with his body that would waste energy and precious time. With a mental shake of his head, he noticed that the next wave of endless swords seemed… off?

The power and volume were still present however, they seemed to lack the life and soul of the powerful swordsman who commanded them. Whereas before each attack would twist, feint, and attempt to angle for weak points these seemed more like the spells of sages that were thrown forth without the skill of a weapon wielder. In only a moment Sha Mu spotted that his opponent seemed to be lost in a momentary daze.

Clarity seemed to be returning to the man’s eyes but it was slow, far too slow in this battle. With a roar he charged forward, not caring for any obstacles as his saber slashes out in a continuous arc as it weaved back and forth in a circular pattern before him while he flourished side to side to keep the attack going. Each of the other sabers did this as well and each one seemed to form a red line that resembled a bloody wing.

That wing shined with domineering sharpness and it ate hungrily at both his internal energy reserves as well as the accumulated Blood Qi in his Blood Seal. In a matter of moments, the skies seemed to turn black and all color drained from the world as those seven blood wings formed a circular razor. Hundreds of years of accumulated slaughter and mental energy that had been imbued into Sha Mu’s seal evaporated faster than any mortal could perceive.

Beastial cries seemed to shake the world and natural treasure rocks hundreds of km in size simply evaporated in front of him. As his divine sense dwindled, Sha Mu let loose one final battle cry and finished the last swing of his saber. Completing 9,999 continuous saber swings with all seven sabers for a total of 69,993 attacks fused into those seven wings.

He had launched this attack from only 1km away, practically touching for cultivators of their level. When only 200m remained between the azure swordsman and the seven wings that seemed to make space ripple with their cutting power, a tyrannical roar seemed to erupt from the man. In a blur, all of the sword spheres collapsed in an explosion of bright light as 9 arcs of silver raced to meet the attack.

Explosions ripped outward and almost everything within a 2,000,000km sphere was turned to dust. Deep in the earth, some monuments of stone that exuded ancient feelings stood stalwart in the face of that destruction. Booms echoed out in the huge expanding crater as these incredibly tough treasures were eroded away dozens of meters at a time.

Enormous areas of calm appeared behind them as if these areas were the shadows of immortal champions who had used their bodies to shoulder the heavens for the land itself.

Sha Mu’s pupils shrank as the edge of the explosion approached him as a wall of silvery destructive light. Gritting his teeth he made six hand seals and shouted.

“Blood vessel maidens, offer your power in accordance with ancient oaths!” As he spoke the six sabers alongside him exploded in novas of blood-red light.

Inside those novas, the twisted visages of beautiful women writhed in agony as their shrill voices echoed outward. Each of them was ethereal as if they were only spirits left over as remnants in this world. Even with this, their mournful wails spoke of the torment they had endured in life and of the power they wielded.

All of these red novas and wails converged on Sha Mu and formed a red orb with him at the center. Crimson blood seemed to suffuse his being as the sounds of the spirits echoed outward with great pressure and power. With each sound, a dense dome of crimson lines was released that seemed to contain the softer wails of crimson dragons.

These dragons carried the wisp of the lineage of a true dragon and even with them being mere remnants exuded a pressure that surpassed any of his previous saber techniques. Soon the entire world turned white and the shockwave enveloped this brilliant sight, the deafening noise drowning out even those mournful cries.

Xing Zheng breathed out a mouthful of turbid air as he quickly pointed to several places on his body. Small explosions echoed out in the relative quiet that the previous clash had left. All across his body, red scars could be seen pulsing with the crimson light of Blood Qi that was constantly reforming and slashing once more with remnant energy.

This was effect manipulation on a level that he had never seen before, something that imprinted divine sense on the technique to make the remnant energy self-perpetuate until all energy was expended. All of this didn’t even mention the Qi that he had lost control of inside himself from the forceful stripping of his divine sense. As the energy injected from those points rushed through his body it purged much of the remnant rampant Qi as well as blood Qi while causing Xing Zheng to cough up multiple mouthfuls of bile and blood.

Gritting his teeth he endured the pain as he worked as fast as he could to regain his wits. Moments felt like minutes that stretched into hours but eventually, he gathered himself. In all this process had only taken two seconds however, at the speed with which the battle had commenced this was actually a long time! Now that his senses were back to him he understood that there had never been a demonic cultivator that held a spear.

Instead, there was an older man dressed in resplendent yellow robes that were now stained with blood. His kneeling form stood atop one of the many spires that had formed into the wreckage of the fight. Around him were the refuse and flesh of a giant pulsating yellow eye.

All around the battlefield similar eyes could be seen near where the cultivator who had controlled the centipedes had placed some of his formations. This man had hidden his strength and made an illusion that his attacks that siphoned divine energy were spear attacks. By using the cover of the black blood formations and insects his eye constructs were able to hide in plain sight and slowly weaken Xing Zheng.

Had the fight continued at an even pace for some time that drain would have ultimately resulted in his death. Using his pseudo-Dao-foundation level attainment had forced that yellow-robed cultivator to activate his life-saving technique and burst forward with his hidden 10 meridian Qi condensation strength. At the same time, that eye’s primary attack was the illusion where he had seen Xing Hai.

If that was the case though what was that last sentence from the illusion? A trick? With a growl he refocused on the fight, knowing there was no time to figure these things out. Using an effort of will the last remaining energy in his body gathered as his meager mental energy marshaled forth. Although he was cycling energy from the environment he knew it would take time to recover. Knowing this he slapped a storage bag that was hidden deep within his robes.

As he did this tens of thousands of low-grade spirit crystals appeared around him, ever increasing in number. The moment they appeared these glowing crystals would dissolve into dust as pour poured into Xing Zheng’s body. This would introduce a large number of impurities into his body and likely give him even further wounds that would take decades to heal.

Thinking of this his mind went to the talisman filled with his master's energy. He could solve all of this by simply using that life-saving treasure however, Xing Zheng knew what consequences would go along with that. With determination, he marshaled his remaining mental energy, which had only four-tenths remaining after that illusion attack, as he would need it for this technique.

Cracking sounds issued throughout his body as several of his meridians flared with agonizing pain that made being hit by heavenly lighting seem mild in comparison. Those were clear signs that his foundation was damaged making using his meridian inscription formation much harder. Calming breaths passed his lips as the enemies gathered themselves and began to approach.

Sha Mu had assumed the entirely red visage of a demon with three pairs of wings that had a single larger wing at the middle of his back. His red skin was marked with countless runes that seemed to gnaw at the mind of the viewer and his saber glowed like it was the blood vein of some ancient primeval god. The black-robed cultivator had transformed entirely as well and now sported three heads that were the bodies of giant centipedes while countless black spell circles floated around him containing bubbling black blood that formed lances.

Fortunately, the young man with the daggers was nowhere to be seen and Xing Zheng couldn’t detect him so either his hiding skills were phenomenal or he had died at some point. For his part, the yellow-robed cultivator continued standing on that peak thousands of km below them although he did seem to be absorbing the eye constructs to reform the giant eye-yellow one that surrounded him. As he opened his eyes to meet their hateful gazes Xing Zheng’s expression was calm and sad.

In his expression almost a thousand years of loneliness were contained, almost a thousand years of pondering in the rain with only a sword in hand. Perhaps they had thought this was the eternal rain, yet he knew inwardly that none of them had truly understood what the rain was. With one last breath the formation within his meridians activated and the entire sky seemed to darken.

Remaining within Xinn Zheng’s body was only a sliver of divine sense and Qi as the rest rushed out, filling the echoes left by his uncountable sword techniques. He could feel each and every one of them as they started to form, filling with the ambient energy of the world as his divine sense worked to seize the leftover power that lingered in the air. In total 98,745,623 sword phantoms were seized… and multiplied 10,000 times.

As this happened the skies darkened under the shade of almost 1,000,000,000,000 attacks, the azure light diluting due to the shape as a gloom was cast over a spherical area of 3,000,000km. With a serene expression and a force of will to stay conscious Xing Zheng slashed down with his Azur Water Sword causing a clear ringing sound to wash over the battlefield. A line appeared before him as if his blade had sundered space itself and it dispersed to head into the sky as the Qi phantoms fell like the rain.

Heaven and earth shuddered as space rippled with fluctuations at the presence of that power.

*An instant births 10,000 Epochs…** Xing Zheng’s divine sense spread out, no longer caged by the constraints of the suppression formations.

That divine sense carried all the sadness he had experienced in his life of cultivation, all of the struggle and triumph, the grief and hardship. In that single moment it felt like the entirety of his being was contained… almost. It was as if something was missing, some part that was so ephemeral even Xing Zheng himself couldn’t detect the unfinished sentiment towards his cultivation.

In the east, a man sitting atop an incredibly tall mountain that overlooked an eternal rainstorm opened his eyes. As he did so the world shuddered at his focused attention as he looked to the north with a complicated expression on his face.

In the northern plains themselves, an old man sat high in the sky on a continent millions of km in size that seemed teeming with life. All around that continent was flat as a sea of endless grass seemed to sway with a wind that was alive. This old man had a narrow gray beard that stretched to his belly button and long white hair.

He sat in a lotus position at the center of the continent with only pants on and a bow slung across his back. As those ripples reached outward for the first time in over two thousand years this old man opened his eyes and a glint appeared in them. Almost immediately as it did a cold harrumphed sounded out next to him and the pressure of a sword seemed to touch his neck.

With a wry smile, the divine sense around the old man twisted to communicate a sense of helplessness and he slowly closed his eyes. Meanwhile in an opulent palace that spanned multiple lesser regions sat a palace that seemed innocuous and hidden. This place carried a quaint atmosphere and the decorations lining the many halls gave off an ancient feeling.

In the grand hall, surrounded by rows of tapestries depicting heroes of a mortal empire, sat the Xing Patriarch. A sword floated in front of him that seemed to shimmer while appearing and disappearing from reality. Suddenly his divine sense detected fluctuations in space itself that seemed to emanate from the border of the empire.

At that moment the sword completely dissolved as the middle-aged-looking man opened his eyes. His long white hair seemed to flow with an invisible wind as a complicated expression seemed to arise on his face.

**A dragon among emperors is it?** This thought was almost a whisper and even if anyone was present they would be unclear if this was a true divine sense message or simply the fluctuations of the world.

All of this happened at the same time as the sky seemed to fall on the central area of the northern plains within the Twisted Territories lesser region. Amid an area that many in the heights of the immortal heavens deemed insignificant a faint waiver seemed to echo throughout the Grand Dao itself as that waiver built into a barely perceptible murmur…