Early morning.
The first ray of sunlight fell upon Clear Void Peak.
As if sensing something, Han Yuyao opened her eyes, two faint streaks of sword light flashing through them as she awakened from her state of sword comprehension.
Looking at the vibrant morning sun on the horizon, she gently stroked the Chaos Sword Bone in her chest, its radiance now withdrawn. Han Yuyao felt a sense of ease, as though she had been reborn.
The power of the Sword Dao's origin drawn forth by the Chaos Sword Bone returned to the deepest reaches of heaven and earth. Through it, Han Yuyao had brought her mastery of No Dao in the Heavens to the utmost limit currently possible for her. There was little point in continuing her secluded contemplation, so she simply returned to wakefulness.
Divine power wound around Han Yuyao as she rose into the air and landed on the vast platform before Jiang Chen's cave abode.
"Master, this disciple has developed her first Chaos Sword Bone, opened her Wheel Sea, and obtained a great Sword Dao divine ability, No Dao in the Heavens! Please offer your guidance!" Han Yuyao bowed respectfully toward Jiang Chen's cave abode.
Jiang Chen appeared out of thin air before the cave abode and said with a faint smile, "How thoughtful of you!"
"This great Sword Dao divine ability possesses the power to turn the miraculous into decay. With your aptitude and this great Sword Dao divine ability, you should be invincible among those of the same realm!"
"If you strike with all your strength, killing enemies above your realm should be no problem either!"
Jiang Chen naturally understood Han Yuyao's intent. She wanted to use asking for guidance as a pretext to pass No Dao in the Heavens on to him!
What a pure, innocent girl!
Who knew how many times better she was than those selfish protagonists in certain novels who measured everything by their own interests!
"Master, No Dao in the Heavens is a great Sword Dao divine ability born alongside this Chaos Sword Bone of mine. How do you know so much about it?" Han Yuyao's face was full of surprise.
Calm and unruffled, Jiang Chen looked at Han Yuyao with a smile. "I was the one who taught you the Chaos Sword Scripture."
"Naturally, I understand No Dao in the Heavens."
"Attack me with everything you have. Don't hold back. Let me see how strong you are now."
Boundless admiration welled up in the depths of Han Yuyao's clear eyes. She felt that her master was becoming ever more unfathomable.
"Master, pardon my offense!"
After offering that apology, Han Yuyao's entire presence abruptly changed.
At that moment, Han Yuyao's essence, Qi, and spirit united as one, and her entire body radiated the unstoppable sharpness of the Sword Dao.
She was like an unsheathed divine sword. Invisible Sword Qi shredded the drifting clouds above Clear Void Peak, revealing a powerful conviction that with her here, no foe could prevail.
Sword Intent!
Although Han Yuyao had only mastered the most ordinary Mortal Realm Sword Intent, it absolutely could not be underestimated!
Normally, only experts of the True Spirit Realm could comprehend Mortal Realm Sword Intent. Most inner disciples of the Purple Firmament Holy Land had yet to comprehend it.
Han Yuyao formed a sword seal with her fingers, pouring all her essence, Qi, and spirit into the Chaos Sword Bone within her breastbone.
Whoosh!
The Chaos Sword Bone slashed toward Jiang Chen, carrying a streak of deep, boundless chaos sword light as its Sword Intent surged severalfold.
Extremely indistinct images flashed within the chaos sword light: winds and clouds shifting, lofty mountains collapsing, seas of fire extinguished, rivers evaporating...
With the magnificent momentum of a sword strike that shattered myriad Daos, the Chaos Sword Bone reached Jiang Chen in an instant.
No Dao in the Heavens!
Jiang Chen swept his hand through the air, and a three-foot blade formed from calamity runes appeared in his hand. He slashed out to meet Han Yuyao's strike.
Jiang Chen likewise used only Wheel Sea Realm cultivation. Yet in Han Yuyao's perception, his sword strike held an invincible might capable of annihilating myriad Daos.
With one sword strike, heaven and earth wailed, the sun and moon fell together, stars ran with blood, mountains and rivers collapsed, and myriad beasts perished...
This was the true No Dao in the Heavens!
Moreover, Jiang Chen's No Dao in the Heavens contained King Realm Sword Intent a hundred times more profound than Han Yuyao's, turning everything within a hundred-zhang radius into a Sword Dao domain filled with killing intent.
Before their attacks even met, Han Yuyao felt her essence, Qi, and spirit being unraveled. Even the Sword Dao contained within her Chaos Sword Bone seemed on the verge of returning to annihilation.
"I've lost! We're both using No Dao in the Heavens, but my execution falls far short of yours, Master!
"Han Yuyao withdrew her sword and stood still, her clear eyes filled with shock.
Master was simply too powerful!
He had used only Wheel Sea Realm cultivation, yet it was enough to threaten true Kings!
Han Yuyao could not help wondering what sort of might her master would display if he attacked with all his strength.
"To comprehend the first level of Mortal Realm Sword Intent just after opening your Wheel Sea is truly remarkable."
Jiang Chen offered his assessment with a smile. "But you've encountered too few sword techniques and divine abilities. Your foundation in the Sword Dao is rather thin."
"In a real battle, you cannot unleash the power that the Chaos Sword Physique and No Dao in the Heavens ought to possess."
"You need to absorb the essence of other sword techniques and divine abilities and incorporate it into your own Sword Dao. Only then can you deepen your Sword Dao foundation and forge a supreme Dao foundation."
Han Yuyao nodded in wholehearted agreement and asked, "That's true! I've encountered far too few sword techniques and divine abilities! Master, may I ask what sword techniques and divine abilities our Clear Void Peak has?"
Jiang Chen considered for a moment. "Our Clear Void Peak's Scripture Repository does have several dozen sword techniques and divine abilities, but they would be of little use to you. Since you've already cultivated Sword Intent, you could go temper yourself in the Sword Ruins of Creation."
"The Sword Ruins of Creation?"
Confusion appeared on Han Yuyao's face. Clearly, she had never heard of the Sword Ruins of Creation.
Jiang Chen flicked a finger, sending a jade slip shrouded in a hazy blue-green glow floating toward Han Yuyao.
"The Sword Ruins of Creation is a sea-of-consciousness illusion realm exclusively for sword cultivators. It can allow your Sword Intent to transform rapidly."
"This jade slip records what our Purple Firmament Holy Land knows about the Sword Ruins of Creation. Take it and have a look."
Jiang Chen spoke softly.
In truth, Jiang Chen had never entered the Sword Ruins of Creation.
Before taking Han Yuyao as his disciple, Jiang Chen had not mastered any Sword Intent. Everything he knew about the Sword Ruins of Creation came from the Purple Firmament Holy Land's Scripture Repository.
Although Jiang Chen now possessed extremely profound Sword Intent, he did not want to go to the Sword Ruins of Creation to comprehend the sword.
After all, when Han Yuyao comprehended the sword in the Sword Ruins of Creation, Jiang Chen could receive a hundredfold comprehension. Wasn't that more suitable than comprehending it himself?
The master led one through the door, but cultivation rested with the individual.
He had already taught Han Yuyao the Chaos Sword Scripture. She would have to walk the road ahead herself.
Jiang Chen was only responsible for protecting her path and did not want to interfere too much.
"Thank you, Master!"
Han Yuyao accepted the jade slip, thanked Jiang Chen, and left.
Returning to the meditation chamber in her courtyard, Han Yuyao pressed the blue-green jade slip to her forehead and immediately gained a basic understanding of the Sword Ruins of Creation.
One had to comprehend Sword Intent before one's consciousness could enter the Sword Ruins of Creation.
Comprehending the sword within the Sword Ruins of Creation could rapidly transform one's Sword Intent. Once one's consciousness returned to the physical body, all insights gained there could be brought back.
If one's consciousness died in the Sword Ruins of Creation, one's soul would suffer severe damage, requiring ten days to half a month of recuperation before one could enter again.
Simply put, the Sword Ruins of Creation was a paradise for sword cultivators!
What she read set Han Yuyao's heart ablaze. She sat cross-legged, closed her eyes, and focused her mind.
Following the jade slip's instructions, Han Yuyao merged her mind with the Sword Intent she had comprehended and slowly sank into the depths of her consciousness.
A moment later, Han Yuyao faintly sensed a pulling force coming from the endless void.
Hum!
A ripple of spacetime seemed to spread through the void. Han Yuyao's vision blurred, and she appeared in an unfamiliar world.
Before her lay a boundless world of ruins: mountains and rivers broken, great lakes dried up, divine trees leaning and toppled...
Everywhere stood the shattered walls and remnants of collapsed palaces and giant cities. An ancient, weathered Sword Intent suffused the entire world.
Han Yuyao carefully sensed her surroundings and discovered that the entire world was constructed from pure Sword Intent.
Even the broken blue bricks and rubble contained extraordinarily dense fluctuations of Sword Intent.
"So this is the Sword Ruins of Creation? The Mortal Realm Sword Ruins alone is comparable to a genuine great world!"
A gleam of sword light flashed through Han Yuyao's clear eyes.
From the jade slip her master had given her, she had learned that the Sword Ruins of Creation was divided into the Mortal Realm Sword Ruins, King Realm Sword Ruins, Emperor Realm Sword Ruins, and so on.
These sword ruins corresponded to Mortal Realm Sword Intent, King Realm Sword Intent, Emperor Realm Sword Intent, and so on.
Having only just comprehended the first level of Mortal Realm Sword Intent, Han Yuyao had entered the Mortal Realm Sword Ruins within the Sword Ruins of Creation.
The Sword Ruins of Creation allowed one's Sword Intent to take form. Creating things with the Sword Intent one had comprehended would draw nourishment from the Sword Dao power of the Sword Ruins of Creation, allowing one's Sword Intent to transform rapidly.
The longer a Sword Intent creation existed, the greater the benefits to its creator's physical body.
If the Sword Dao aptitude and talent displayed when making a Sword Intent creation were sufficiently powerful, it would draw the recognition of the Immortal Sword Intent deep within the sword ruins, standing within the ruins for countless ages.
Moreover, a Sword Intent creation recognized by Immortal Sword Intent would absorb dozens of times more Sword Dao power from the Sword Ruins of Creation each day than ordinary Sword Intent creations.
Over time, the Sword Dao mastery of those who made these Sword Intent creations would inevitably reach an extremely terrifying level.
Of course, if one's Sword Intent was weak, the Sword Intent creation would soon collapse and dissipate, and the benefits gained would be extremely limited.
The broken mountains and ruined cities before Han Yuyao were Sword Intent creations left behind by Sword Dao prodigies countless years ago.
Even though these Sword Intent creations had all been indestructible at the time, after countless years of change, the Immortal Sword Intent within many of them had vanished for various reasons. They had ultimately decayed and collapsed, pushed out to the outer reaches of the Sword Ruins of Creation.
As time passed, they had formed the desolate, vast expanse of ruins before her.