Heavenly Void Opens

The Heavenly Void was boundless, with countless alternate dimensions hidden deep within it. Demons, fiends, ghosts, goblins, and all manner of chimei-wangliang monsters were far from rare there, and all of them were mindless beasts. Once one of them latched onto you, it truly meant death without life. So having too many people was not necessarily a good thing; groups of four or five were the best choice. Besides, when entering the Heavenly Void, it was very easy to get separated.

Just as everyone was discussing this in a clamor, dozens of torrents of Magic Tools had already arrived above the island. Upon each torrent stood several Spirit Transformation cultivators, and their abyssal, oceanlike pressure bore down so hard that the cultivators on the island could not raise their heads.

Just as the pressure gradually intensified, an even more terrifying pressure suddenly appeared in the sky, annihilating those dozens of pressures in their entirety. A string of muffled groans rang out, followed by a stern, killing voice: "In the West Sea, outside cultivators are forbidden from fighting. Violators die. Did your elders not tell you that?"

"Senior, please calm your anger. We merely wished to give the cultivators of the West Sea a little guidance, lest they lose their lives inside the Heavenly Void and bring down the West Sea's reputation," a young cultivator in golden Daoist robes, carrying a massive sword on his back, said proudly toward the void. Though his words spoke of guidance and consideration for the West Sea, anyone with ears could hear the utter disdain in them.

"Boy, do not think that just because you are the inheritor of One Sword Sect's Spirit-Binding Sword, I would not dare kill you. If you dare say one more word, I will kill you immediately," the killing voice rang out again.

When the crowd below heard this, they began discussing it heatedly. "One Sword Sect's Spirit-Binding Sword, known as one of the ten greatest treasured swords under heaven—'When one sword emerges into the world, even Gods and Devils may be bound.'"

"Within it is an unparalleled sword art, the Spirit-Binding Sword Art, said to be a method that points straight to Grand Unity. It is an extremely rare technique between heaven and earth."

"I never imagined this sword would actually appear in the world. Legend says that when this sword emerges, it must be a time of great change in heaven and earth."

"I remember now. This person is a true disciple of One Sword Sect, Jian Tiansheng, the son of one of One Sword Sect's elders. Legend says that when he was born, ten thousand swords rang in unison, startling the sect master of One Sword Sect, who took him in as his final disciple. Later, before he was even a hundred years old, he had cultivated to the Spirit Transformation Realm. He is a genuine, peerless genius."

While those below were discussing noisily, the golden-robed youth in the sky, Jian Tiansheng, had originally wanted to argue another sentence or two after hearing that killing voice. But he seemed to receive some kind of message and lowered his banners and stilled his drums, though his face was filled with indignation.

Seeing that even Jian Tiansheng, the inheritor of the Spirit-Binding Sword, no longer stirred up trouble, the great sects in the sky had no one willing to be the bird that stuck its head out.

The owner of that killing voice no longer spoke either, but that pressure never dispersed, continuing to envelop the entire sea region.

Wang Ding and the other three conversed quietly. Wang Ding said, "Now that heroes from everywhere have gathered, although only cultivators of the Qi Refining Realm can enter the Heavenly Void, the great sects have strength in numbers and are certain to take a great advantage. If conflict breaks out, we will undoubtedly face a calamity that blots out our heads. I think that if we encounter only one small team, then once we strike, we absolutely cannot leave anyone alive. Otherwise, we will surely invite great disaster. If we encounter multiple teams, we should immediately avoid them and must not show our faces, lest others treat us as prey. These great sects are all the sort who kill without blinking. What do you all think?"

The other three also looked grave. Dongfang Riyue said as well, "Brother Wang's concerns are reasonable. There is one more matter: Junior Sister Long must find a way to cover her appearance. Once we enter the Heavenly Void, it is very possible that someone will be moved by lust at the sight of her beauty."

Long Lingyu also knew that her appearance would inevitably draw covetous eyes, and she readily nodded in agreement.

Huang Tutian said, "I have a few human-skin masks used by people of the jianghu. They are useless against high-level cultivators, but they should work against Qi Refining Realm cultivators. As soon as we enter the Heavenly Void, we will all put them on and change our outfits. If something goes wrong, we will still have room to switch identities."

Everyone discussed for a while, each putting forward their own thoughts. After settling their plan, the four of them began to wait with peace of mind.

At high noon, the sun rose to the highest point in the sky. Suddenly, large swathes of distortion appeared in the cloudless, ten-thousand-li sky, and countless void rifts began appearing one after another. As time passed, they grew denser and denser, gradually forming a black hollow dozens of li in diameter.

Looking at that deep, dark hole, the cultivators on the island only felt their hearts grow heavy, an indescribable sense of weight rising within them.

The black hole began to descend gradually, and only stopped when it had lowered to barely a dozen li above the sea. By now, the great sects had long since descended from the sky, floating a dozen or so meters above the surface of the sea.

The black hole gradually stabilized, no longer producing void rifts. Only along its edges did illusory shadows still flicker past from time to time.

"The Heavenly Void is open! Charge!"

At this moment, some cultivators could no longer endure it and took the lead in charging toward the Heavenly Void in the sky. Most of them, however, were Rogue Cultivators; anyone with even the slightest background did not act rashly.

Those cultivators had only just rushed into the Heavenly Void when, with a sudden flash, they were sliced into pieces, turning into a rain of blood that fell from the sky. The cultivators behind them were so frightened that they immediately stopped, not daring to charge again.

Seeing this, a disciple of a great sect sneered, "Idiots. The Heavenly Void has only just opened. On the surface, it seems there are already no spatial rifts, but in truth, the space inside has not yet calmed. Once an external force intervenes, it will immediately trigger spatial tearing and cut the intruder into pieces."

Only then did everyone understand the reason. One after another, they came to their senses, no longer daring to let greed control them and commit the foolish act of having profit turn their heads to mush. They all looked toward the great sects, as though if those sects did not move, they themselves would not move either.

Only after an hour had passed did countless specks of starlight suddenly appear within the Heavenly Void. In an instant, the disciples of the great sects drove their respective Magic Tools and charged fiercely into the Heavenly Void. Beautiful streaks of light cut across the sky, and tens of thousands of multicolored rays intertwined into a wondrous sight.

Only then did the Rogue Cultivators on the island react, and one after another, they drove their Magic Tools and followed the disciples of the various sects into the Heavenly Void.

Wang Ding and the other three also mixed into the crowd, slowly flying toward the Heavenly Void. With the thought that caution never led to great mistakes, the four of them stayed at the back of the crowd and did not go be the bird that stuck its head out.

The four advanced side by side and rushed into the Heavenly Void. After passing through it, they seemed to be standing in the void of the cosmos. In the surrounding emptiness, aside from countless dots of starlight, there was only endless darkness. No one knew what exactly was hidden there.

Wang Ding and the other three did not dare be careless. After seeing the disciples of the various sects rush into the starlight in groups of three to five and vanish from sight, they also chose a ray of starlight and charged toward it. The four quickly arrived near their chosen starlight. Seeing that there were only a dozen or so meters left before they could rush in, a burst of screams suddenly entered their ears. The four glanced sideways, and their scalps could not help going numb. From who knew where, black shadows had burrowed out one after another and begun attacking the gathered cultivators. They saw the black shadows pounce toward cultivators and vanish in a flash; immediately afterward, those cultivators would turn into dried corpses and die, all the essence and blood energy in their bodies sucked completely dry.

However, those disciples of great sects and certain Rogue Cultivators had long since prepared. As soon as the black shadows appeared, they brought out yang-aligned Magic Tools or talismans, and those black shadows did not dare approach.

At this moment, a shadow was quietly pouncing toward Wang Ding.