The Sacred Vein had no choice but to help Ye Xuan grow stronger. If he couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with the Defier, the Sacred Vein would be completely overwhelmed—a death sentence for them!
For Ye Xuan, this was also a chance to have others help him identify his weaknesses.
He was forging a path entirely his own. No one could guide him on the grand direction of the Dao, but they could refine the details.
In the days ahead, Ye Xuan began learning how to borrow momentum.
This “borrowing” shared some similarities with how the Child of Destiny had once called upon the myriad realms for aid. The difference was that Ye Xuan had his own core—his personal momentum and sword intent—while the Child of Destiny leaned entirely on the power of those external realms.
When the Defier shattered that borrowed force, the Child of Destiny became a fangless wolf, defenseless and at the mercy of others!
In the starry void, Ye Xuan sat cross-legged, the three Supreme Elders nearby.
Elder Mu said, “The *Great Dao Canon* we just taught you is a mental technique for gathering momentum, ranked second in our Sacred Vein. You need to master it thoroughly!”
Ye Xuan frowned slightly, “Second? What’s the first?”
Elder Mu hesitated, then replied, “It’s not that we won’t teach you the first, but you might not be able to cultivate it!”
Ye Xuan looked puzzled, “Why not?”
Elder Mu said gravely, “The first technique has an exceptionally strict condition: when gathering momentum, you must traverse spacetime—not just one or two layers, but countless ones. That’s nearly impossible to achieve. Even if you succeed, condensing it once could take half a month…”
Traversing spacetime!
Ye Xuan asked solemnly, “To borrow momentum from the myriad realms, you need to cross countless spacetime barriers, right?”
Elder Mu nodded, “The *Great Dao Canon* is simpler, though far less potent. It only lets you borrow momentum from nearby worlds. Both techniques were created by the same predecessor. He devised the *Canon* because the first method was too demanding for most cultivators to handle.”
Ye Xuan grinned, “Give me the first one!”
Elder Mu hesitated again, “I’m worried that if you cultivate it and can’t use it, you’ll waste time!”
Ye Xuan laughed, “No worries, just hand it over!”
Ignoring spacetime!
With the Qingxuan Sword, didn’t he already transcend all spacetime barriers?
Elder Mu studied Ye Xuan for a moment, then acquiesced. With a flick of his finger, a white light sank into Ye Xuan’s brow.
*Boom!*
Instantly, a torrent of information flooded Ye Xuan’s mind.
*The Divine Law of the Great Dao!*
This was a mental technique for gathering momentum—and it was awe-inspiring. Per its description, once mastered, it could instantly condense the momentum of the myriad realms!
But it came with steep requirements. First, the practitioner had to bypass the spacetime barriers of those realms.
The predecessor who created it succeeded because he possessed a Spacetime Divine Physique—not fully ignoring spacetime, but merging with many of its layers!
Ye Xuan, however, outright ignored spacetime—a feat more formidable than that physique!
Over the next few days, with the elders’ guidance, Ye Xuan immersed himself in the *Divine Law*, advancing at a breakneck pace.
Ten days later, he began gathering momentum!
In the starry void, Ye Xuan sat with eyes closed. After a long, silent stretch, he snapped them open and commanded, “Come!”
As his voice rang out, countless planes and spacetime layers quaked violently. Moments later, torrents of terrifying momentum surged from the surrounding dimensions, converging like rivers into the Qingxuan Sword in his hand!
Endless momentum!
The three elders’ faces grew solemn as they watched.
The speed of this gathering was unreal!
Elder Shen, beside Elder Mu, eyed the Qingxuan Sword. “Can that sword handle it?”
Elder Mu glanced at it and said, “It should be fine!”
In the starry expanse, the Qingxuan Sword quivered faintly. The surrounding space boiled, and endless streams of momentum rushed toward Ye Xuan. At that moment, the momentum within the sword reached a terrifying magnitude.
Ye Xuan’s thumb rested lightly on the hilt, eyes still closed. He didn’t strike.
He wanted to test his limits!
Soon, he realized he had none—or rather, the Qingxuan Sword had none!
The momentum pouring into the sword felt like rivers flowing into an ocean!
Noticing this, a faint smile curved Ye Xuan’s lips.
He was using the Qingxuan Sword as a vessel for this momentum. As long as the sword could bear it, there was no cap to what he could gather!
The sword’s capacity determined how much momentum he could wield.
And right now, the Qingxuan Sword showed no limit!
Suddenly, the starry void churned violently, and countless starlights winked out!
The three elders’ expressions shifted.
Even they now felt a hint of danger!
Then, the spacetime around Ye Xuan began to burn and collapse.
This dimension could no longer withstand the momentum he’d borrowed!
Elder Mu hesitated, then asked, “Not at your limit yet?”
“Limit?” Ye Xuan turned to him with a grin. “I’m just getting started!”
Elder Mu: “…”
Elder Qiu interjected urgently, “You can’t borrow more!”
Ye Xuan frowned, “Why not?”
Elder Qiu said gravely, “If you keep going, you’ll damage the origins of many worlds.”
Ye Xuan sensed it and confirmed Elder Qiu’s words. Continuing would indeed harm those worlds’ foundations!
With a thought, Ye Xuan prepared to sever his connection to those planes. But then, Elder Shen called out, “Wait!”
Ye Xuan turned to Elder Shen, who fixed him with a steady gaze. “Feel the momentum of the myriad realms now. Analyze how it differs from your personal momentum and sword intent. Then see if you can perfectly fuse all three into a new kind of momentum!”
Ye Xuan froze.
Right!
What was his true goal? To use this momentum to elevate himself!
With that, he closed his eyes again, immersing himself in the endless flow of momentum.
How did it differ from his own?
Soon, he pinpointed a core distinction: his momentum was singular. His personal aura and sword intent were pure and unadulterated, free of other influences. But the momentum of the myriad realms was vast and multifaceted—not one entity, yet united as a whole.
Fusion!
After a moment’s silence, Ye Xuan began merging the myriad realms’ momentum with his own!
But he found it difficult.
Two entirely different forces resisted blending!
Elder Shen noticed and asked, “Having trouble?”
Ye Xuan nodded.
Elder Shen pondered briefly, then said, “Try merging with them, instead of forcing them to merge with you!”
Ye Xuan blinked, “That’s possible?”
Elder Shen replied, “Give it a shot!”
Ye Xuan considered it, then let his sword intent and personal momentum actively blend into the myriad realms’ momentum. To his surprise, when he took the initiative, the myriad realms’ momentum didn’t resist—it welcomed the fusion!
Puzzled, he looked to Elder Shen, who mused, “The myriad realms embrace all, including you. But you can’t contain them… It’s like the sea accepting a river, but can a river hold another river?”
Ye Xuan fell silent.
Elder Shen continued, “Over these past few days with you, we’ve noticed your sword path is unique—not a typical breakthrough. It’s unconventional, unlike anything we’ve seen!”
He paused, then added, “But all paths of the Dao lead to the same end! Our advice: don’t focus too much on yourself in your cultivation. Try connecting with the heavens and earth! The Defier walks a path against the heavens, opposite to most cultivators. It’s countless times harder, but his strength surpasses theirs by just as much!”
Ye Xuan interjected, “You’re suggesting I align with the Heavenly Dao?”
Elder Shen hesitated, then nodded, “I know you might resist. Most capable cultivators prefer to defy the heavens. Aligning with the Dao can feel like submitting to it…”
Ye Xuan quickly shook his head, “No, no! You’ve got me wrong! I don’t feel that way!”
The Heavenly Dao?
He had no issue with it. After all, wasn’t Nian Jie the Five-Dimensional Heavenly Dao?
Elder Shen stared, stunned. “You…”
Ye Xuan said earnestly, “From what I know, many Heavenly Daos are perfectly fine. It’s often the beings who stir up trouble, prattling about defying the heavens… I despise that sort of thing. The Dao usually minds its own business, yet some creatures love picking fights with it for no reason. That’s just boredom talking!”
As his words fell, the Qingxuan Sword trembled violently. In an instant, the boundless momentum within it surged out, flooding into Ye Xuan’s body!
*Boom!*
His aura rocketed to its peak. The three elders before him were blasted back tens of thousands of feet. Beyond that, countless stellar forces from the vast starry void rushed toward Ye Xuan like tidal waves…
Ye Xuan blinked, dazed, then swiftly raised his sword to the sky. “I, Ye Xuan, swear to stand against the Heavenly Dao—no, wait! I mean, to coexist with it! Coexist!”
The three elders: “…”
