On this day, Ye Xuan, who was cultivating, suddenly opened his eyes.
Divine Shepherd appeared before him.
Divine Shepherd looked at Ye Xuan. “Let’s go.”
Ye Xuan didn’t waste words and stood up.
Divine Shepherd walked into the distance, glancing at Ye Xuan. “Outer Path Realm?”
Ye Xuan looked at Divine Shepherd. “Can I have my sword back now?”
Divine Shepherd smiled. “Is there any point?”
Ye Xuan frowned. Divine Shepherd continued, “For a man about to die, what’s the use of giving it back?”
Ye Xuan was speechless. “Fine, keep it.”
Divine Shepherd glanced at Ye Xuan. “Your fearless attitude is really annoying. Who gave you such courage?”
Ye Xuan replied, “My sister.”
Divine Shepherd chuckled. “Will she show up later?”
Ye Xuan nodded. “She will.”
Divine Shepherd smiled. “Then let’s see if you’re the clown, or we are.”
Ye Xuan nodded. “Alright.”
Soon, Divine Shepherd led Ye Xuan to a starry expanse. Not far ahead, there was a massive starry vortex.
From within the vortex, waves of terrifying auras constantly spilled out.
Seeing this, Ye Xuan’s brows furrowed slightly.
At that moment, Southern Emperor and Yi Tian appeared before Divine Shepherd, bowing respectfully. “Lord Divine Shepherd.”
Divine Shepherd nodded slightly. “Is everyone here?”
Southern Emperor nodded. “Yes.”
Divine Shepherd said, “Let’s go.”
With that, he walked towards a grand hall in the distance.
Ye Xuan glanced at the hall. Above it were three large characters: Defying Heaven Path.
Ye Xuan suddenly said, “I’m a bit curious. Why are you so determined to defy heaven and the path?”
Divine Shepherd turned to glance at Ye Xuan. “We are already unrivalled in the mortal world. If not against heaven, who else would we fight?”
Ye Xuan’s expression froze.
Moments later, they entered the hall.
Inside, over a hundred people had already gathered.
Ye Xuan noticed that the weakest among them were at the Past Path Realm.
The weakest.
This lineup was undeniably terrifying.
At that moment, a middle-aged man suddenly laughed. “Is this the Backing King?”
All eyes in the hall turned to Ye Xuan.
Ye Xuan looked at the man. Divine Shepherd smiled. “Young Master Ye, allow me to introduce. This is Kuxuan, the Deputy Path Master of Defying Heaven Path.”
Kuxuan.
Divine Shepherd smiled again. “Kuxuan has now reached the Future Path Realm.”
Future Path Realm.
This meant Kuxuan could sever past, present, and future.
Such a powerhouse was undoubtedly among the top tier in this world.
Divine Shepherd continued, “Kuxuan entered the martial path at six, became unrivalled in the New World by seventeen, reached the Past Path Realm by thirty, and the Present Path Realm before a hundred. Now, at three hundred, he’s at the Future Path Realm. His talent is said to be the greatest in the history of the New World.”
Kuxuan.
Indeed, he had astonished an era in the New World.
That era, three hundred years ago, was called the Kuxuan Era.
But after becoming unrivalled in the New World, Kuxuan vanished, and no one knew where he went.
Kuxuan shook his head. “All just empty titles.”
Divine Shepherd smiled. “Kuxuan, Young Master Ye’s sister might show up later. I’ll leave her to you. How about it?”
Kuxuan glanced at Ye Xuan and smiled. “No problem.”
Divine Shepherd sat to the side. “Are all our people here?”
Kuxuan nodded. “Chu Xian hasn’t arrived yet.”
Chu Xian.
At those words, subtle changes appeared in the expressions of those in the hall.
Divine Shepherd frowned.
Chu Xian.
In the Defying Path Alliance, in terms of strength, he was on par with the Path Master.
Notably, he had reached the Future Path Realm tens of thousands of years ago.
His current strength was unfathomable.
Divine Shepherd said, “He will show up.”
Kuxuan suddenly said, “I heard Wubian is back.”
Wubian.
At this, everyone in the hall was somewhat surprised.
They naturally knew Wubian, who had once been part of this place and was a former Chosen One.
Divine Shepherd nodded. “I sent Southern Emperor to find him, but sadly, he fears the Master of the Great Path Pen and refused to join us.”
Kuxuan frowned.
Divine Shepherd shook his head. “No matter. We won’t force him.”
Kuxuan said gravely, “His strength is considerable. If he joined us, he’d be a great asset.”
Divine Shepherd said lightly, “Not necessarily. His strength is indeed impressive, but he’s timid and hesitant. Such a person won’t achieve great things.”
He glanced at an old man below. “Lian Jue, is the formation alright?”
Lian Jue nodded. “No issues. The formation contains three thousand six hundred paths. Once activated, even someone in the Unknown Realm would be instantly killed.”
Instantly killed.
At those words, the expressions of everyone in the hall grew solemn.
Divine Shepherd looked at Ye Xuan. “The Immortal-Slaying Formation is an ancient, peerless killing array, the most powerful known. It’s said that even the Master of the Great Path Pen feared this array and sealed it to prevent it from appearing in the world.”
Master of the Great Path Pen: “???”
Ye Xuan glanced at Divine Shepherd. “Why are you telling me this?”
Divine Shepherd smiled. “Didn’t you say your sister is invincible? Soon, we’ll see if she truly is.”
Ye Xuan thought for a moment, then said, “I seriously suspect you’ve been set up by the Master of the Great Path Pen. Really, don’t you want to check?”
“Haha.”
Divine Shepherd burst into laughter. “Set us up? Ridiculous.”
Ye Xuan looked at Divine Shepherd and sighed inwardly.
What was wrong with this world?
Did living longer make people stupider?
At that moment, Little Tower suddenly said, “Young Master, you’re missing something. It’s not that living longer makes people stupider. They’re trapped in their own worlds. Like in the Milky Way, there are countless trolls who strike hard in the virtual world but cower in reality. Why? Because they live in their own world with limited perception, believing the world is as they imagine. These people are the same. They still think the Master of the Great Path Pen is the strongest in the universe, and everyone else is an ant. So, it’s not stupidity, but a matter of perspective. Plus, your strength is weak, so they won’t take your words seriously. If the Master of the Great Path Pen stood before them and said Sister Destiny is invincible, they’d believe it. But you…”
It sighed softly. “In this world, the strong are taken seriously even when they fart, while the weak can say anything and it carries no weight. The root of the problem is that you’re too weak. They don’t take you seriously, got it?”
Ye Xuan’s face darkened. “Got it, my ass. Stop babbling.”
Little Tower said seriously, “Young Master, this won’t do. A mistake is a mistake, and we must admit it. You’re a scholar. If you don’t own up to mistakes, how can you teach students?”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Little Tower wanted to continue, but Ye Xuan snapped, “Shut up.”
Little Tower retorted, “I won’t. I’ve got more to say.”
Ye Xuan: “…”
Little Tower went on, “While we talk about them, we might be like that too. We believe Sister Destiny is invincible, but maybe there’s someone stronger. Of course, that’s absolutely impossible. Sister Destiny is forever the god. So, sometimes effort alone isn’t enough. You need to follow the right person. I followed Master when I was young, and now I follow Sister Destiny. My life has always been glorious, never in decline.”
It paused, then added, “Follow the right person, and cultivation is all about lying back.”
Ye Xuan was speechless.
Little Tower had fully embraced lying flat.
At that moment, Divine Shepherd in the hall suddenly said, “Everyone, the coming battle is our most critical one. If we kill the Master of the Great Path Pen, we’ll achieve something unprecedented, and the fate of all beings will be in our hands. We’ll break free from destiny’s chains and become truly free.”
Everyone in the hall nodded.
Their reason for uniting against the Master of the Great Path Pen was that he controlled all causes and effects, manipulating their fates in the shadows.
Without killing him, they could never achieve true freedom.
Divine Shepherd suddenly said, “To the Immortal-Slaying Formation.”
With that, he walked outside.
Everyone vanished from their spots.
Ye Xuan followed.
Soon, they reached the depths of the vortex, where an entire world lay.
As Ye Xuan entered, he froze.
The entire world was filled with various blood-red runes.
In the centre of the world floated a massive formation platform, hundreds of thousands of zhang in length and width.
At its four corners stood four swords.
Ye Xuan glanced at the swords, his brows furrowing.
Swords.
The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation?
Divine Shepherd suddenly laughed. “The Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation, an ancient array capable of slaying gods and immortals.”
He turned to Ye Xuan. “This array will soon be consecrated with the blood of you and your sister.”
Ye Xuan nodded. “I’m kind of looking forward to it.”
Looking forward to it.
Divine Shepherd sneered, then closed his eyes slowly. He took out several copper coins and tossed them to the ground. Moments later, the coins trembled and automatically arranged themselves.
Divine Shepherd opened his eyes, looking at the coins with excitement. “The divination shows great fortune.”
He looked at Ye Xuan, thrilled. “I’ve divined at least ten thousand times, and every time, it shows that killing you will end all causes and effects.”
He took out a chess piece, laughing. “They say heaven cannot be defied. Today, I, Divine Shepherd, will challenge heaven. I’ll prove to the world that heaven can be defeated.”
With that, he threw the chess piece towards the formation. When it landed at the centre, the entire array activated.
Boom.
Instantly, a terrifying pressure swept out. Many strong figures in the field paled, some top-tier experts even bending under the force.
Utterly horrifying.
At that moment, the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation trembled violently. A phantom appeared at its centre.
Seeing this, Divine Shepherd grew even more excited. “The Spirit of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.”
The Spirit of the Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation.
A spirit formed from the three thousand six hundred paths, representing them all.
As the spirit appeared, it took a deep breath, and the sound echoed through the New World and all realms, making every being’s heart tremble.
The spirit opened its eyes, looking out. Its gaze pierced straight to the Milky Way.
Moments later, it retracted its gaze, expressionless. “The feeling of invincibility is truly annoying.”
Its voice spread through the entire universe in a strange way.
“Hm?”
At that moment, a voice rang from the depths of the cosmic starry expanse. “Invincible?”
As the voice fell, a terrifying sword aura tore through countless space-time domains, rushing towards them.
Soon, a sword immortal in a cloud-white robe appeared before everyone.
Seeing him, Ye Xuan’s expression froze.
At that moment, the space beside Ye Xuan split open, and a woman in a plain dress stepped out slowly.
Ye Xuan: “…”
But it wasn’t over. Ye Xuan’s bloodline suddenly stirred. The next moment, the sky in the distance split, and a man in a green robe walked out slowly.
Seeing the three, Ye Xuan grew excited, his spirit soaring. He waved his hand grandly, declaring boldly, “I’m invincible. Do as you please.”
Everyone: “…”
