Chapter Sixty: The Seal

“Heavenly Dao, prepare to die!”

Within the seventh radiant halo, a force transcending the world was concealed. With a single strike, the Primordial Sacred Emperor pierced the maw of the Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao, tearing open the distance between them.

“Those who overstep their bounds shall be forsaken by the heavens.”

No sooner had the Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao spoken than thunder rumbled across the nine heavens and ten earths. Thirty-three layers of thunderclouds descended from the heavens, unleashing a deluge of lightning that shrouded the entire world in radiance.

“The will of heaven is the will of the people!”

The Primordial Sacred Emperor spoke, his voice equally vast and resounding, his words carrying the mandate of heaven. In that instant, the demonic thoughts of the Demon Aspect seemed to fragment into countless ideas, transforming within Xu Zhong’s mind into the images of all living beings.

The lightning dissolved as well, breaking apart into fine motes of dust that scattered with the wind.

“Unite!” The Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao fused itself anew, and a shadow of dread flashed in its gaze.

The Primordial Sacred Emperor gripped the Emperor’s Sword. Across the nine heavens and ten earths, the might of mountains and rivers surged forth, coalescing into him alone. A power more terrifying than the Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao erupted from his being.

His eyes flickered, emitting two beams of divine light—one black, one white—yin and yang, filling the expanse of heaven and earth.

“The will of heaven is the will of the people.” Under the Emperor’s sword, the mountains and rivers of the nine heavens and ten earths were reflected, as were the myriad living creatures.

Sensing something, these beings raised their heads to the sky.

Their gazes fell upon a single gleaming sword.

“Above the will of the people, how could there stand a single god?”

The Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao sensed danger. It devoured the demonic thoughts of the world in great gulps, expanding in might, and then unleashed a terrifying spell, releasing a thousand kinds of demonic light. Waves of demonic intent permeated the world.

It extended a hand, weaving fate, reversing the sky, turning back the sun, inverting yin and yang.

All of creation changed beneath its palm.

The Demon Aspect sought to sever the Primordial Sacred Emperor’s past, present, and future.

But he had no past, no present, no future.

“The same old tricks.”

The Primordial Sacred Emperor sneered. With a shake, his past, present, and future stepped forth from his seventh radiant halo.

“Even the Heavenly Dao, if it clings to old ways, will only be forsaken by the times.”

He struck with his sword.

This blow belonged neither to past, present, nor future.

It appeared from nothingness, arising in the previous instant, vanishing in the next—within the current of time.

With it, he severed all the means of the Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao.

The Demon Aspect, together with its influence, was cut from Xu Zhong’s body by the Primordial Sacred Emperor.

Split in two, the Demon Aspect reformed itself in the next moment.

“You gave me a fright!” The Demon Aspect laughed malevolently. “The times have changed, but not so much that the Heavenly Dao can be slain. You cannot kill me; you only make me stronger.”

“Then I shall seal you away, until the day I can destroy you.”

The Primordial Sacred Emperor dismissed the sword in his hand.

His ten fingers danced in intricate signs.

Countless chains extended from his body—each a mountain, each a river, and between every mountain and river, a divine sword.

These chains bound the Demon Aspect tight, compressing it further and further, until it became a small, square box, which the Primordial Sacred Emperor placed into Xu Zhong’s mind.

“This is your heart’s demon; naturally, you must resolve it yourself.”

With a gesture, he restored the space to normal.

The tangible form of the Four Jade Cities trembled, then dissipated into nothingness, concealing itself once more.

The Primordial Sacred Emperor laughed heartily. “Having fought the Heavenly Dao, is the Lord of the Jade Capital going to hide as well?”

“I thought the Lord of the Jade Capital would seize this chance to fully awaken and descend!”

No one answered him.

The Primordial Sacred Emperor sneered thrice, took only a few steps, then collapsed to the ground with a thud, struggling to breathe, deathly aura clinging to his form. The seven radiant halos scattered into glimmering motes, his very soul flickering like a candle in the wind, on the verge of fading away.

Xu Zhong’s heart clenched, and he was about to rush forward to help.

At that moment, a giant hand reached down from the sky.

With a thunderous crash, it descended, grasping at the Primordial Sacred Emperor.

With a sudden leap, the Primordial Sacred Emperor drew the Emperor’s Sword anew, and with a single slash, cut the descending hand in two.

The severed hand fell onto the Field of Nightmarish Grasses, instantly transforming into a five-fingered divine mountain.

Blood seeped, staining the earth, and in an instant, the wildflowers and weeds below seemed to undergo ten thousand years of cultivation, transforming into potent medicinal plants. Some grasses even gained sentience, becoming squat little dwarves who scurried about the field, pursued by many survivors.

After this strike, the Primordial Sacred Emperor collapsed utterly.

In that moment, his soul dissipated entirely, as if he had truly died.

Beneath him, the aura of the Underworld surfaced, and the Lord of Mount Tai in the Underworld opened his eyes, reaching out to seize the Primordial Sacred Emperor.

“Feng Yang, are you truly dead?”

Resonant voices echoed from every direction, thoughts drifting toward Tianyong City, coalescing in the sky above.

A long river poured forth from the void, surging into a bronze divine coffin, within which dwelled a terrifying will, sweeping toward the Primordial Sacred Emperor.

He lay motionless, letting these wills fall upon him, analyzing the profound truths within his body.

Those wills became more and more distinct.

Xu Zhong saw a hand extend from the bronze coffin, endless black dust billowing forth.

The Lord of Mount Tai in the Underworld grasped the soul of the Primordial Sacred Emperor.

But in the next instant, a shard of sword light flew from within Xu Zhong, slashing at the gathered gods.

This shard was like the primordial light at the dawn of the cosmos, suddenly bursting forth, its power rising inexorably, draining all the spiritual energy from Tianyong City.

The Primordial Sacred Emperor revived, inhaling vital energy, drawing the breath of the nine heavens and ten earths into himself, flooding every aperture within, refining them into stars.

“Feng Yang, how devious you are.”

The gathered wills trembled, their forms shattered by a single stroke.

The Primordial Sacred Emperor struck again.

This sword pierced through the void along their thoughts, falling upon countless places across the nine heavens and ten earths.

Spurt!

Spurt!

Spurt!

On that day, the ancestors of every clan in all realms coughed blood in unison.

Even the Lord of Mount Tai in the Underworld suffered a blow.

The sword severed one of his fingers, which became a new mountain range in the Underworld.

His finger regenerated, and the Underworld vanished from sight.

Clang!

The bronze coffin was scored with countless marks, each imprinting sword intent upon its surface.

Within, the mighty being withdrew his will, taking the long river with him into concealment.

“Primordial…” Xu Zhong murmured.

Then, with a dull thud, the Primordial Sacred Emperor collapsed once more.

Xu Zhong did not move.

For the time it takes to burn a stick of incense, no one arrived, and Xu Zhong remained still.

“Come, help me up!” The Primordial Sacred Emperor’s voice sounded in Xu Zhong’s mind, weak and feeble.

Xu Zhong’s heart skipped. He looked around.

“No one else is coming,” the Primordial Sacred Emperor’s voice came again. “My last strike has cowed them. They can’t gauge my true condition, so they dare not act. Come help me—I’m gravely injured.”

Xu Zhong, alarmed, looked at him. Seeing the Emperor nod, he hurried forward to help him up.

He was light, almost weightless, like a leaf lifted from the ground.

“You ought to have helped me sooner,” the Primordial Sacred Emperor said weakly.

“I thought you were still fishing for bigger prey.”

“Who fishes while sprawled on the ground for a quarter of an hour?”

A thunderous rumble shook all of Tianyong City.

“The Lord of the Jade Capital suffered a sword wound from me,” the Emperor remarked, glancing once. “Now he’s closing Tianyong City to evade old enemies.”

The city was sealing itself, bit by bit.

Xu Zhong saw that, save for the Shouyi Jade Tower, every other jade tower had cultivators being teleported away by the Jade Capital Platform.

In the next instant, a flash of light, and Xu Zhong found himself transported out of Tianyong City by the Lord of the Jade Capital.

Beside him stood Jiang Xuanyi, the Old Mother of the Hu River, and the Primordial Sacred Emperor.

“You don’t look well,” Jiang Xuanyi said, seeing through the Emperor’s condition at a glance.

“It’s true. I’m in poor shape,” the Emperor replied.

From sky and earth, countless demon lords tore through space, appearing at this spot.

Resolved to die, they had come only to test the Emperor’s true condition.

After a battle with the Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao, it was impossible to emerge unscathed—let alone unleash a sword strike that wounded hundreds of ancestors.

“Feng Yang, you are injured. Today is your death day. This place, this mountain, shall be your grave!”

No one knew who spoke, or who struck first, but over a hundred mighty beings charged at the Primordial Sacred Emperor.

Jiang Xuanyi and the Old Mother of the Hu River—man and demon—struck together.

Two blades flashed.

In the sky, a downpour of blade light slashed toward the hundred foes.

Both were at the Inner Realm, yet could not suppress so many foes.

One after another, they were beaten back, coughing blood.

Reluctantly, the Primordial Sacred Emperor acted.

He seized the Emperor’s Sword.

With a sweeping strike, he felled more than half of them.

Bodies, souls, indestructible spirits, and inner realms were all buried by that single blow.

Yet, the other half lost only their bodies and souls.

They reconstituted themselves within their inner realms.

“Feng Yang, it seems you are gravely injured indeed!” A voice sounded overhead—a dragon god gazing down from the clouds.

“Yes, I am grievously wounded!” the Emperor replied, spitting blood as he spoke.

“What can be done?” The dragon god descended from the sky.

“Old friends, come forth!”

Figures emerged from the void.

Over a hundred supreme beings appeared in the nameless valley, their auras clashing, shattering the valley, Dao resonance searing itself into the earth.

“Yinglong, will you shield Feng Yang’s path?”

“I will,” Yinglong replied, standing before the Emperor. “I will guard his way.”

For a moment, the air was thick with tension.

“Tell me, did you not come here for the Demon Aspect of the Heavenly Dao?” the Emperor asked, pointing.

At once, all eyes fell upon Xu Zhong, their gazes nearly erasing his existence.

“Had your injury not come from the Heavenly Dao, you would not have survived us,” declared the ancestor of the Golden Crow tribe, who contended with Yinglong.

As he spoke, the surviving demon lords were set ablaze with the true fire of the sun.

Bodies, souls, indestructible spirits, and inner realms all burned to ash.

“You, are you the Heavenly Dao?” he asked, his gaze sharp with the hint of impending death.