Some time earlier.
An Jing liberated his own body by violence, scattering the Taibai Dharma Restrictions that composed his flesh into the sea of supernatural abilities unleashed by the imprints of the Heavenly Venerables. In the instant before that—
A thought arose in An Jing's heart, one identical to that of the Heavenly Venerable imprints, yet subtly different.
"Looks like I'm going to lose."
With that thought came regret. "In the end, can I truly not defeat the combined strength of all the Heavenly Venerable imprints throughout history with my strength alone?"
Yes. Just as the Heavenly Venerable imprints believed that "they themselves" had already lost, An Jing too believed that "he himself" was almost defeated.
He had already nearly reached the ultimate limit of the Divine Treasury Realm throughout all of history, a height at which it was nearly impossible to grow any stronger. He truly was a monstrously unfathomable genius, an anomaly unseen in ten thousand ages.
But even so, faced with every prodigy from ancient times to the present, there were still things An Jing could not accomplish.
In truth, when he transformed into a sword, becoming a vessel for power, dissipating force to the utmost extreme, borrowing the enemy's strength and riding the raging waves of the sea of supernatural abilities to scour away the other imprints, An Jing had already reached his limit.
Of the seven standing at the pinnacle among the Heavenly Venerable imprints, he had killed three with every ounce of strength he possessed. One had remained aloof from beginning to end, and once the other three joined forces, An Jing no longer possessed the power to forcibly kill them.
At the root of it all, his Dao of Spirit was not truly one of the Four Immortal Karmas.
If his Dao of