This sword strike contained the full power of the Heaven and Man as One Realm, Perfect World combination of the power of the Human Emperor's origin and the Power of the Heavenly Dao. The golden sword light pierced through heaven and earth, splitting the dark clouds in the sky in two.
The cracks began to heal rapidly under the impact of the sword light. The Demon Venerable's true form let out an unwilling roar, desperately trying to stop the cracks from healing, but the Human Emperor's seal, empowered by the Snow Empress's Power of the Heavenly Dao, regained its strength and forcefully pushed his true form back.
"No--!"
With a desperate roar, the crack completely healed, and the sky returned to clarity. The black Demonic Qi dissipated, and sunlight once again shone on the sea, its golden light warm and peaceful.
"We've won!" the crowd cheered, tears welling in their eyes.
The Snow Empress stood on the sea, a golden token hovering beside her, emitting a faint light. Her face was pale, her Power of the Heavenly Dao once again exhausted, but a victorious smile graced her lips.
"Finally... it's over..."
The abbot approached Snow Empress, his eyes filled with satisfaction. "Girl, you've done very well. The Demon Venerable's true form has been resealed, and he won't be able to cause trouble for at least several thousand years."
Snow Empress shook her head. "Abbot, this is only temporary. The Demon Venerable won't give up easily; he'll find a new way to invade the mortal realm sooner or later. We need to use this time to completely seal the Gate of the Demon Realm and eliminate this threat forever."
"That's right." The abbot nodded. "But now, you need to rest. You've done enough; leave the rest to me and the other sect leaders."
The Snow Empress nodded and put away the golden token. She looked around at the tired but excited faces of the 100,000 cultivators, and a warm feeling welled up in her heart.
They won this battle. But the road ahead is still long.
In the Spirit Source Secret Realm, the old man stood by the Spring of the Spirit Source, watching the healing crack in the sky, and smiled slightly. He turned around and walked towards the thatched hut, his figure gradually blurring until he finally disappeared.
The Spring of the Spirit Source continued to gush forth, and golden lotuses bloomed in the pool, emitting a faint glow. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth began to slowly recover; though slow, it was indeed recovering.
The crisis in the cultivation world has been temporarily averted.
Ziwei Sect, Ziwei Grand Hall.
The Snow Empress sat in the main seat, with reports of good news from various places laid out before him. The trend of spiritual energy depletion had been reversed, spiritual fields were beginning to recover, spiritual herbs were sprouting again, and everything was developing in a positive direction.
"Holy Maiden, the Abbot of Shaolin Temple has sent word that he has found a way to completely seal the Gate of the Demon Realm," Qingyunzi said respectfully as he entered the main hall.
Snow Empress looked up. "What method?"
"The abbot said that we need to collect the relics of the five ancient emperors and use their power to strengthen the seal. The relics of the five emperors are scattered throughout the Divine Land and need to be found one by one," Qingyunzi replied.
The Snow Empress pondered for a moment, "The relics of the Five Emperors... the Yellow Emperor's Xuanyuan Sword, the Flame Emperor 'Chiyou Shennong Cauldron, Chi You's Tiger Soul Saber, Fuxi's Fuxi Zither, Nuwa's Nuwa Stone. These five treasures are all ancient divine artifacts, possessing boundless power. If we can gather them all, reinforcing the seal shouldn't be a problem."
"The abbot also said that the process of searching for the relics of the Five Emperors will also be a valuable experience. He suggested that you personally lead the team and select the best disciples from each sect to accompany you, so that you can both search for the relics and train the younger generation," Qingyunzi continued.
The Snow Empress nodded. "The Abbot is right. Qingyunzi, issue the order: in three days, each sect will select its elite disciples to gather at the Ziwei Sect. Together, we will search for the Five Emperors' relics, completely seal the Gate of the Demon Realm, and eliminate any future threats!"
"Yes!" Qingyunzi accepted the order and left.
The Snow Empress stood up, walked to the entrance of the main hall, and looked at the distant sky. The setting sun and the fiery sunset painted the entire sky gold.
The relics of the Five Emperors... A new journey is about to begin.
Snow Empress murmured to herself, a determined light flashing in her eyes.
Three days later, elite disciples from various sects gathered in front of the Ziwei Sect's mountain gate.
Shaolin Sect eighteen martial monks, led by a handsome young monk named Huiming. Despite his young age, he had already cultivated to the point of First Manifestation of the Buddha Heart, making him a genius that Shaolin rarely sees in a century. Behind him, the Eighteen Warrior Monks all exuded a calm and steady aura, clearly all experts above the Dragon Transformation Realm.
The Wudang Sect seven true disciples, led by a young swordsman dressed in pristine white robes Ling Feng. He was the most prized disciple of the Wudang Sect Leader, and his True Martial Sword Technique was so masterful that he had reached the level of Clear Sword Heart intent.
Nine female disciples from the Emei Sect, led by a stunningly beautiful woman named Yun Shang. She was the personal disciple of the Emei Sect Leader and cultivated the most profound Jade Maiden Divine Art of Emei. At a young age, she had already broken through to the Peak of the Dragon Transformation Realm.
Twelve disciples from the Qingcheng Sect, led by a stern-faced young man named Leng Yue. He practiced the Qingcheng Sect's Sword Control Technique, capable of simultaneously controlling nine flying swords with astonishing power.
Five disciples from the Kunlun Sect, led by a gentle and refined young man named Yuheng. He was the direct descendant of the Kunlun Sect Leader and possessed an extraordinary sensitivity to spiritual energy, making him the best candidate to search for the relics of the Five Emperors.
Including the disciples of the Ziwei Sect, there are a total of fifty-four people. Adding Snow Empress, there are exactly fifty-five people.
Standing before the mountain gate, Snow Empress looked at the elites from various sects, a surge of pride welling up within her. These people were the future hope of the cultivation world; together they would embark on a journey to find the relics of the Five Emperors and write a new legend.
"Everyone, this mission to find the relics of the Five Emperors is extremely difficult. The relics are scattered throughout the Divine Land, each with a powerful guardian, and some have even developed sentience and become independent life forms. We must be careful and united in order to complete the mission," the Snow Empress said loudly.
"We will obey the Holy Maiden's command!" everyone replied in unison.
Snow Empress nodded and took out an ancient map from her bosom. This map was given to her by the abbot, and it marked the approximate locations of the relics of the Five Emperors. The map was written in ancient script, which ordinary people could not understand at all, but after Snow Empress broke through to the Heaven and Man as One Realm, she had a natural understanding of these ancient scripts.
"Our first stop is Kunlun Mountain. Kunlun Mountain is the ancestor of all mountains and the place where the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven. The Xuanyuan Sword is most likely hidden somewhere in Kunlun Mountain," said Snow Empress, pointing to a mark on the map.
"Holy Maiden, I am familiar with Kunlun Mountain," Yuheng stepped forward. "I grew up in Kunlun Mountain and know every inch of it like the back of my hand."
"Very good." Snow Empress smiled slightly, "Then you will lead the way. Let's go!"
The fifty-five people transformed into streaks of light and flew westward. After breaking through to the Heaven and Man as One Realm, the Snow Empress's speed far exceeded that of ordinary people, but she deliberately slowed down to accommodate the flight speed of the others. Even so, they arrived at Kunlun Mountain in less than a day.