Mystic Realm, Human Realm!
Eastern side of Divine Firmament Plain, the boundary of the wasteland.
Following the direction indicated by the Shan Li, Shi Jian traversed the void and arrived; purple-gold lightning flowed silently beneath his feet, and his Divine Sense spread out like a tide, covering an area of thousands of miles.
Before long, he found the three snake demons.
All of them were at the Golden Core stage, their bodies covered in wounds and their scales shattered; two of them had already died, their bodies stiff, while only the last one still had a breath left.
The snake's tail twitched as it struggled to crawl deeper into the wasteland.
Shi Jian landed in front of it and glanced down at it.
The snake demon sensed Shi Jian's presence, its body stiffened, and its vertical pupils were filled with despair; it opened its mouth as if to say something, but only a clump of bloody foam came out of its throat.
Without a word, Shi Jian formed his five fingers into a claw and grabbed the snake demon's crown.
The Purple Pivot Lightning surged in, extinguishing its life force in less than two breaths, and also searching through the remaining fragments of its memory.
My memories are fragmented and scattered, most of them already disorganized.
Shi Jian gleaned a few key details from this: these three snake demons were not vassals of the Heavenly Serpent Race, but rather had wandered over from a more distant place.
They seemed to be delivering messages for someone, but were being chased by an unknown entity along the way, and fled all the way into the territory of Divine Firmament Plain.
As for who he was conveying the message to, I only have a vague memory of him; his aura was strange, neither Fire Dao nor Dao of Lightning nor any kind of Daoist energy commonly found in the Beast Realm.
Shi Jian frowned and casually obliterated the snake demon's corpse.
However, just as the corpse turned to ashes, a dark gray jade talisman fell to the ground from the snake demon's body.
Shi Jian's gaze narrowed slightly as he took the jade talisman into his palm.
The jade talisman was no bigger than a thumb, and its material was extremely strange; it was cold to the touch, and its surface was engraved with a pattern he had never seen before.
The patterns were intricate and complex, unlike either the demonic script of the Beast Realm or Human Race talismans; rather, they resembled the unique Dao inscriptions of some realm.
Shi Jian probed into it with his Divine Sense, and immediately a strange aura rushed towards him.
There seemed to be a very subtle sword intent within that aura?
No, it's not just sword intent.
Shi Jian carefully discerned that the aura contained a faint trace of Metal Dao energy; the two completely different origins of the Great Dao were cleverly blended into this jade talisman, forming a special means of communication.
"It's not from the Beast Realm."
After pondering for a moment, Shi Jian put the jade talisman into his storage Law Treasure and then searched the surrounding area.
No other strange objects were found on the two snake demon corpses; their bodies only contained some Spirit Stone and miscellaneous spiritual items.
These snake demons might just be discarded pawns being used.
But Shi Jian wouldn't mistake the energy within that jade talisman; the fusion of Sword Dao and Metal Dao was unheard of in the Beast Realm.
The Demon King of the Beast Realm primarily cultivate Demon Race traditions such as earth, wood, thunder, wind, cloud, physical body, and Dao of Strength; Sword Dao has virtually no foundation in the Beast Realm.
That leaves only one possibility.
The existence of the outside world has begun to infiltrate the Beast Realm.
Moreover, the penetration has reached a considerable depth; otherwise, such an obvious oversight could have occurred in such a remote place Divine Firmament Plain.
This shows that other regions, and even the entire Beast Realm, are also affected.
Shi Jian's face was gloomy. He turned around and flew towards Divine Firmament Peak. The most famous realms of Sword Dao are none other than the Human Realm and the Mystic Realm.
Meanwhile, there is one of the Nine Realms, the Mystic Realm.
High above, the clouds churned like a sea.
A magnificent palace, entirely made of white jade, floats in the deepest part of the sea of clouds; around the palace, twelve long swords hover in the air, the ancient runes engraved on their blades flickering, radiating the Sword Dao's essence that makes heaven and earth tremble.
The hall was spacious and secluded.
A phantom figure hovered atop the main seat.
The phantom had no physical form; it was merely an outline formed from an extremely dense mass of Sword Dao energy. Yet, it exuded an unparalleled Daoist might that commanded heaven and earth.
One of the ranks in Sword Dao: [Sword Origin]
One of the supreme beings of the Mystic Realm, the illusory figure slightly raised its hand, and the energy within the hall stirred accordingly.
"The Dao of the Physical Body energy of the Beast Realm is becoming increasingly turbulent."
The illusory voice was flat, revealing neither joy nor anger. "That brat, E Gu, is on the verge of success; if he proves himself as [Barbarian Bone], the Beast Realm will have one more Dao Venerable to oversee it."
The hall was completely silent.
Beneath the illusory image, a figure knelt in submission.
This man was tall and strong, wearing a gray-blue robe, with a sheathless longsword hanging at his waist; on the blade of the sword, there was a faint aura of the Dao of the Physical Body, the intention of seeking the essence of the sword through the sword.
The Spirit Transformation Extreme Stage.
The Six Dao Immortal Foundation to immortality have been fully achieved.
He is only one step away from attaining enlightenment, from seeking confirmation from heaven and earth.
But he was too slow.
E Gu took the lead and was the first to attempt to attain Buddhahood.
The struggle for the Nine Realms ' positions is never an isolated event; the birth of a new Dao Venerable inevitably affects the rules of the entire world.
If the E Gu are proven, his Dao Path will be completely severed.
"This disciple is unworthy and begs for punishment from the Ancestor."
The man in the gray robe spoke in a low voice, his tone restrained yet unable to suppress a hint of bitterness. "Since I began my cultivation, I have perfected all Six Dao Immortal Foundation immortality, but I still lack that final opportunity."
"Now the E Gu have taken the lead..."
"No need to rush," the illusory figure interrupted him, its tone indifferent.
"The E Gu has not yet been proven, so there are still variables."
After a pause, the illusory figure slowly said, "Your Dao heart must not be disturbed. Just cultivate your Dao diligently. When it comes to life and death, I will take care of everything."
"Your disciple obeys."
The man in the gray-blue robe had his forehead pressed to the ground.
The phantom's gaze passed over the palace, reaching beyond the realm, towards that distant, terrifying aura that was frantically absorbing the essence of the Dao of the Physical Body of Heaven and Earth.
"Go take care of something else."
The illusory figure's voice was slightly deep.
From the shadows on the side of the hall, another figure emerged; this person concealed his aura, almost merging with the void, so much so that even the gray-haired man at the Spirit Transformation Extreme Stage did not notice when he arrived.
"Go to the Human Realm and meet that fellow Sword Dao."
The illusory figure seemed to be laughing, "Tell him I have a business deal I'd like to discuss with him."
"As you command."
The figure accepted the order and withdrew, then vanished silently from the hall, as if it had never existed.
In the Human Realm, atop a certain sword peak.
On a sheer cliff, a broken sword is stuck diagonally in a crevice; its blade is covered in rust, yet it faintly exudes a power that can change the very fabric of the world.
Before the broken sword, an old man with white hair sat cross-legged, holding a pot of turbid wine in his hand.
His face was gaunt, his eyes sunken, and he looked like an ordinary mortal on the verge of death; yet within a radius of ten thousand miles around him, there was not a single cloud, not a wisp of wind, and not a single bird dared to approach.
This person is the current holder of one of the highest positions in the Sword Dao, and the supreme being of the Sword Dao in the Human Realm.
Suddenly, a crack silently appeared in the void. A figure stepped out from the crack and stood respectfully before the old man.
The old man raised his eyelids and took a swig of turbid wine.
"People from the Mystic Realm?"
"Reporting to Senior, I am acting on the orders of my master. I have a business deal I would like to discuss with you. What is your opinion?"
"Interesting, even the Evergreen Race, who split off from the Human Race, are coming to the Human Race for help."
"Truly, it's been a once-in-a-lifetime event."