Sword Rises from Qingping

"Hou Ji--!!!"

Cheng Xi's roar, infused with newfound strength and heart-wrenching pain, exploded amidst the violent energy currents of Biyou Cave Heaven! The bloody scene from the Xianyang Beacon Tower seared itself onto his newly formed Dao Heart like a red-hot iron. The fallen figures of Witch Clan warriors, Meng Tian's bloody struggle, and the solitary back of Lord Tongtian confronting the Zixiao Divine Lightning before him overlapped. A surge of grief, rage, and desperate resolve, as if all options were exhausted, erupted in his chest!

Hummm--!!!

The Qingping Sword Sheath in his embrace completely awakened! No longer a mere vessel for Sword Intent, it transformed into a source of power! The vast, ancient, all-severing Sky-Severing will poured into Cheng Xi's limbs like a breaching galaxy! This power was overwhelmingly dominant, carrying Lord Tongtian's eternal arrogance and the sharpness that could shatter all laws. It clashed and merged with the gray light of the Chaos Origin Point within him, his Sword Intent that defied the Way, in an unprecedented, fierce collision!

"Ughhh--!"

Cheng Xi's body trembled violently in the void, countless fine bloodstains instantly erupting on his skin! The chaotic "disorderly variable" and the Sky-Severing "shattering edge" clashed and tore within his fragile meridians, as if about to completely rupture and annihilate this mortal body! The pain was like billions of steel needles piercing his soul!

[Warning! High-dimensional energy infusion! Attribute conflict! Chaos Origin Point and Sky-Severing Sword Intent fusion: 17%... Host's physical body bearing limit breaking... Collapse risk: 98%...]

The System's alarm was drowned out by the torrent of power. On the edge of destruction, Cheng Xi's soul, amidst the excruciating pain, erupted with unprecedented clarity! The bloodiness of the beacon tower, the sacrifice of the Witch Clan, the solitude of Lord Tongtian, the cold shackles of the Heavenly Dao... all of it transformed into the hottest fuel, igniting the unquenchable flame deep within his Dao Heart!

"Power... I want power!"

"Not submission! Not escape!"

"It's breaking the deadlock! It's protecting! It's severing these damned shackles!"

"Chaos! Sword Intent! Give me... FUSE--!"

A silent roar erupted from the depths of his soul! No longer passively enduring, but actively controlling! With that Chaos Origin Point as the core, he forcefully guided and blended the rampant Sky-Severing Sword Intent! The "disorderly" nature of Chaos no longer opposed the "orderly sharpness" of the Sword Intent. Instead, it became a peculiar "binder" and "catalyst," allowing the incomparably fierce Sword Intent to develop unpredictable "variables" in subtle ways, making it more elusive, agile, and filled with the potential to destroy established rules!

Chira!

From the bloodstains erupting on his skin, what gushed out was no longer pure blood, but a stream of energy mixed with chaotic gray light and Sky-Severing sword qi, shimmering with a dangerous cyan-gray luster! These energy streams, like living tentacles, twisted and extended in the void, emitting a heart-palpitating aura!

[Chaos Origin Point and Sky-Severing Sword Intent fusion: 39%... 51%... Host's physical body is mutating... Bearing limit breaking!... New energy attribute determined: Chaos Sword Essence (nascent)...]

Boom!

Cheng Xi suddenly looked up! In his eyes, his left eye swirled with chaotic gray light, deep as an abyss, seemingly containing the disorder of cosmic creation and destruction; his right eye shot out white-blue sword light, incomparably sharp, as if to sever all illusions before him! A new, wild power, carrying the foundation of chaotic variables and the beginning of Sky-Severing edge, finally took initial form within him! Though still wild and unstable, it had found an outlet!

He stood on the precarious Sky-Severing single-plank bridge, ignoring the roaring vortex of Chaos below. His gaze pierced through the collapsing chaos of the cave heaven, locking onto the distant direction of Xianyang! There, blood and fire raged, his close friend had fallen, and... that dark golden demonic egg that was about to devour everything!

"Lu Buwei! Demonic Evils! Just you wait...!"

Cheng Xi's voice was hoarse, like grinding metal, filled with bone-deep killing intent. He laboriously raised his hand, fingers together like a sword, and the nascent, wild Chaos Sword Essence within him converged madly towards his fingertips! The cyan-gray light flickered, and the surrounding space distorted and wailed!

However, just as he was about to recklessly unleash this immature power, attempting to strike the Mount Li Demonic Lair from afar--

"Foolish child!"

Lord Tongtian's figure, confronting the Zixiao Divine Lightning, suddenly trembled amidst the destructive light! His eyes, reflecting eternity, pierced through space and landed on Cheng Xi, carrying a trace of imperceptible fatigue and a deeper resolve.

"Your Dao Foundation is unstable, forcefully urging immature power, do you wish to destroy yourself?!"

Before his words fell, Lord Tongtian, enduring the terrifying pressure of the Zixiao Divine Lightning, grabbed towards the phantom image of the World Purifying Green Lotus in the spiritual pool below with his free left hand!

"Qingping as the guide! Chaos as the boat! Go--!"

Hummm!

The phantom image of the giant green lotus suddenly erupted with unprecedented light. Petal by petal detached, transforming into streams of condensed green light! These streams were not attacks, but instantly wrapped around Cheng Xi, forming a mysterious cyan lotus platform phantom that enveloped him and the Sky-Severing single-plank bridge beneath his feet!

Simultaneously, a beam of supremely condensed sword light, containing a trace of Lord Tongtian's origin mark, shot from Lord Tongtian's fingertip and instantly entered the Qingping Sword Sheath in Cheng Xi's hand.

"This is a trace of my origin mark, it can help you temporarily control the Chaos Sword Essence and protect your Dao Foundation from collapsing! Return to Xianyang quickly! There... is where you will hone your sword, and also the source of the calamity!"

Lord Tongtian's voice was filled with unprecedented urgency. Clearly, confronting Hongjun's Heavenly Dao will was also a heavy burden for him!

Rumble!

The might of the Zixiao Divine Lightning surged again! The light of the Green Lotus beneath Lord Tongtian flickered violently, and a subtle crack quietly appeared at the edge of the lotus platform!

Cheng Xi felt a vast, irresistible, gentle force envelop his entire body. The Sky-Severing single-plank bridge beneath his feet instantly transformed into a cyan-gray stream of light, piercing through layers of collapsing space, speeding towards Xianyang at a speed that surpassed thought!

"Master!" Cheng Xi looked back, only seeing the apocalyptic scene of the cave heaven completely collapsing under the Zixiao Divine Lightning, and Lord Tongtian's solitary, sword-like back, still straight amidst the destructive light! An indescribable sense of tragic grandeur and responsibility pressed heavily on his heart.

He knew that Lord Tongtian was buying him the last bit of time, and also... a blood-soaked path!

Shady Ravine of Mount Li, Bone Altar.

The heartbeat of the dark golden giant egg was like a war drum, shaking the entire cave with a hum. The scale-like patterns on the eggshell writhed frantically, greedily absorbing the calamity qi that permeated the air due to the loosening of the Heavenly Dao shackles. The intent emanating from within the egg was filled with ferocity, greed, and impatience to hatch.

"Soon... very soon..." the black-robed demonic person prostrated himself at the altar, his emerald eyes filled with fanaticism and reverence.

Lu Buwei stood beside him, his face flickering under the emerald phosphorescence. The trace of "looseness" he had felt on his fingertips had long since vanished, replaced by a deeper oppression. Had the sounds of shouting from the direction of Xianyang weakened? Had Meng Tian and those three damned Witch Clan brutes... been dealt with? Why was the unease in his heart growing stronger?

Suddenly!

At the top of the altar, the dark golden giant egg, which had been pulsating to its limit, suddenly paused!

Immediately after--

Crack!

A crisp yet heart-stopping cracking sound rang out!

At the top of the eggshell, a huge, ferocious claw covered in dark golden scales violently pierced the tough shell and extended out! The tip of the claw was curved like a hook, shimmering with a metallic cold light, and was entwined with viscous black-red evil qi! An aura of primordial ferocity, hundreds of times more terrifying than the black-robed demonic person, filled with chaos, destruction, and extreme hunger, swept through the entire cave like a tangible storm!

"Holy Lord!!!" The black-robed demonic person trembled all over with excitement, prostrating himself completely.

Lu Buwei's pupils contracted, his heart pounded wildly! It succeeded! The Holy Lord was finally about to descend! However, looking at the ferocious claw that broke out of the egg, neither human nor beast, and feeling that aura of pure destructive ferocity, the unease deep in his heart instantly turned into icy coldness. This power... seemed somewhat... different from the power he imagined would help him control Great Qin?

Before he could ponder further--

Whoosh--!

A cyan-gray stream of light, like a meteor tearing through the night sky, ignored the thick obstruction of the mountain, carrying an edge that severed all things and a tremor of chaotic disorder, violently pierced through the rock layer at the top of the cave, and descended with a roar! The stream of light dissipated, revealing the figure within, standing on a phantom cyan-gray single-plank bridge, enveloped by the halo of a cyan lotus platform, his eyes flashing with chaos and sword light--Cheng Xi!

His gaze instantly locked onto the ferocious claw breaking out of the egg at the top of the altar, and the starving shriek that made his soul tremble, emanating from within the eggshell!

"Monster! Your death day... has arrived!" Cheng Xi's voice was chilling to the bone. The Qingping Sword Sheath in his hand erupted with unprecedented light! Within the sheath, that trace of Lord Tongtian's origin mark was completely activated!