Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 1757 - 944: Sword Slays Immortals, Life Demon Returns

This sword was too fast, too ruthless—so fast it seemed to outstrip time itself, so fast that even Zhao Sheng and Zhao Xuanjing failed to react in that instant.

At the very moment the two of them sensed something was wrong and were about to strike with all their might, a blood‑stained iron sword suddenly tumbled down from above.

The iron sword’s radiance was dim, yet the blade exuded boundless killing intent. At a single glance it was as if one saw a mountain of corpses and a Blood Sea, countless wronged souls rising and sinking, wailing within that sea of blood, innumerable broken weapons and fragmented blades piled into mountains, ceaselessly releasing a sky‑piercing baleful aura.

At this moment, right in the center of the iron sword’s blade, there was now an all‑new knife mark, three inches long and half an inch deep.

In a flash like lightning and flint, a crystal‑clear little knife appeared out of thin air and hacked viciously onto the iron sword’s body.

The little knife’s appearance was abrupt, and its speed was even harder to imagine.

Although the iron sword tried its utmost to dodge, it still failed to avoid this slash.

Sword Light flared; on the iron sword’s surface another fresh knife mark appeared.

Time Blade!

Seeing this miraculous scene, Divine Light surged in Zhao Sheng’s eyes, and his heart instantly let out a breath of relief.

Suddenly, a strand of Divine Thought rushed over in an instant: "Chonghe, be careful! This is the Heavenly Spirit Treasure, the Immortal Slaying... Sword!"

Before the words had fallen, Zhao Xuanjing had already unfolded his ten‑thousand‑zhang Dharma Body, the Stone Axe in his hand flashing and vanishing.

Boom boom boom!

Within one ten‑thousandth of an instant, a Bronze Bell appeared out of nowhere and dropped down, just so happening to cover Zhao Xuanjing dead‑on.

Zhao Sheng’s eyes almost split as he was about to strike, yet before he could, his vision went black, and he abruptly arrived in a gray, hazy unfamiliar world.

Before he could mount a counterattack, a vast, immeasurable Power descended from nothingness and in an instant bound him in place.

Fury erupted to the heavens in Zhao Sheng’s chest, and the endless Mana within him roared forth. In a single instant his entire being swelled thousands of times, transforming in a flash into a giant ten thousand zhang tall.

In that moment, his Power increased by far more than merely tenfold.

As soon as the Giant Spirit Dharma Aspect formed, it immediately burst this piece of heaven and earth apart.

The next instant, light flooded before Zhao Sheng’s eyes, and he abruptly reappeared in Near Heaven.

His overbearing and unmatched Divine Thought thundered out, sweeping in all directions. Zhao Sheng’s gaze flickered, and he instantly "saw" the existence that had just struck at him.

No—astonishingly, it was not a person, but a dingy, gray cloth bag!

Unfortunately, just as he saw it clearly, that cloth bag vanished into thin air, and he could no longer catch any trace of it.

"Heavenly Spirit Treasure... Human Seed Bag?!" Zhao Sheng’s mind spun rapidly; he had already recognized the origin of that gray pouch.

Dang dang dang!

Countless peals of bell chimes abruptly rang out, instantly drawing Zhao Sheng’s gaze.

Light flashed, and Zhao Sheng had already appeared out of nowhere at Zhao Xuanjing’s side.

It was just a pity he was still one step too late; the Bronze Bell had rushed to flee in flying escape before he shifted over, likewise vanishing without a trace.

When he found that the Bronze Bell had escaped, Zhao Sheng’s heart moved; he suddenly lifted his head and looked around...

As expected, that blood‑stained iron sword had also disappeared without a trace.

The Time Blade could no longer track its fluctuations and could only fly back again to hover above Zhao Xuanjing’s head.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng only felt a choking anger stuck in his chest, yet for the moment there was nothing he could do.

By now, he already understood where Second Ancestor’s "Human Tribulation" had come from.

Immortal Slaying Sword, Human Seed Bag, Manggu Bell... three great Heavenly Spirit Treasures appearing together, all for the sake of slaying Tianyunzi, who was about to attain Ascension to Immortality!

Unlike Zhao Sheng and the other Righteous Great Venerables, Demon Path Great Venerables and outcasts such as these Heavenly Spirit Treasures could not ascend to Immortal Heaven by the orthodox path.

In order to prove the Dao and ascend, these Evil Demons and Outer Path folk could only open up a side path.

And slaying a Righteous Great Venerable on the verge of Ascension happened to be a shortcut that had already been proven effective.

To the Evil Demons, killing Ascenders was nearly equivalent to earning "Infinite Merit."

When the Ascender’s soul was extinguished and body perished, it was no different from an entire lifetime of cultivation being returned to heaven and earth.

Having gained this "great benefit," heaven and earth would, in accordance with mysterious rules in the dark, feed back that Infinite "merit" to the one who struck down the target.

Demon Path Great Venerables and outcasts like the Heavenly Spirit Treasures would also use this opportunity to attempt to ascend to Immortal Heaven.

Since ancient times, those of the Righteous Path who ascended were too many to count, but examples of Evil Demons and Outer Path ascensions were almost unheard of.

Only because blocking the Dao is easy, but slaying is hard!

The Immortal Slaying Sword had waited countless years, and at last its opportunity for attainment had arrived.

Yet the result was all but success wasted at the final moment.

Tianyunzi’s skill was superior by a notch; he had brought the Time Blade to his side in advance and thus dodged the tragic fate of being beheaded in a single sword strike!

Seeing the culprits escape, Zhao Xuanjing was filled with wrath and could not help but coldly snort: "Hmph, count it their luck to flee fast. Otherwise, this old man would certainly suppress them all."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng immediately soothed him, saying, "Ancestor, please quell your anger. Now Second Ancestor’s Ascension is what matters most; all else is but trifles. Besides, this debt will be settled with them sooner or later. For today, let them off—for now."

Before his words fell, a graceful figure silently appeared before the two of them: "Ancestor, Hongyun is not seriously harmed. By now, he should already have smoothly ascended to Immortal Heaven."

The moment Zhao Sheng saw who had come, he immediately bowed respectfully with a formal salute: "Chonghe pays his respects to Great Ancestor!"

"In this unforeseen upheaval, you handled matters exceedingly well." Zhao San Yue looked at Zhao Sheng with appreciative eyes and softly praised him.

Zhao Sheng was about to offer a few humble words when he suddenly sensed an anomaly above.

He snapped his head up, just in time to see the Auspicious Light of Immortal Heaven once more sprinkling down upon the Lower Realm.

The Taiyi Stars shone again, and strands of Divine Thought pierced through the void, all congratulating Tianyunzi on his Ascension to Immortality!

"Our congratulations to Fellow Daoist Tianyun... for... proving... the... Dao... and... ascending..."

"Congratulations to Fellow Daoist Tianyun on proving the Dao... and ascending..."

"Congratulations to Fellow Daoist Tianyun..."

"Congratulations..."

As voices of congratulations echoed through the Star River, endless Ganlin Jade Dew fell from Near Heaven, then passed through Divine Palace Heaven and Dark Sky, until it finally descended upon the Taiyi Spirit Realm.

In an instant, over the vast and boundless Taiyi Spirit Realm sweet spirit rain began to fall as well. Trillions upon trillions of Life forms were simultaneously nourished by Spirit Mechanism; those who opened wisdom and gained insight were innumerable, and those whose strength advanced by leaps and bounds were everywhere.

Countless Life forms with extraordinary Talent also seized this once‑in‑ten‑thousand‑epochs immortal destiny to break through the shackles of their own bloodlines, greatly elevating the upper limit of their future potential.

The Dragon Ancestor Zhao Jin Ao likewise manifested his immense True Body stretching for ten thousand miles, wildly devouring the endless Ganlin Jade Dew.

Zhao Sheng and Zhao Xuanjing were different. The two of them gazed into the distance at the Ascension Gate Tower as it slowly receded, their hearts surging with heroism, their ambitions soaring.

Just as all the Great Venerables were jointly voicing their congratulations, an anomaly arose once more!

In a certain instant, a heaven‑covering great fog descended out of thin air.

The moment the gray‑white fog appeared, time immediately came to a halt.

The fog shrouded a Star Domain spanning over ten thousand Constant Years, its range far exceeding the limits of what mortals could imagine.

This fog was inconceivably strange. It did not merely appear in Near Heaven, but simultaneously manifested in Divine Palace Heaven and Dark Sky.

Even the Taiyi Spirit Realm was enveloped by the fog.

Yet the beings of the world were all, paradoxically, utterly unaware of it.

No—there were two exceptions!

One of them was Tianyunzi, who was on the verge of Ascension; the other was Zhao Sheng, who was terrified to the extreme.

At the instant the heaven‑covering fog descended, the Hundred Generations Book, lying dormant in the depths of his Soul Sea, suddenly blossomed with a faint radiance.

The radiance pierced out of the Soul Sea, isolating the fog’s intrusion.

At the same time, the Life and Death Pen also suddenly emitted an extremely weak clear light, likewise blocking the fog outside.

"This... th‑this this..."

Zhao Sheng was like an insect frozen in amber of time, his body completely unable to move, with only his consciousness and thoughts remaining clear.

The familiar gray‑white fog made him instantly recall the bizarre encounter of his Sixth Life.

Life Demon!!!