Sand... Sand...

Four members of the Dragon Clan took step after step toward Wu Xiaode.

Wu Xiaode watched their identical movements and expressions, feeling a chill creep up his back.

He couldn't wait any longer!

"Use card 'Eternal Night's Star,' target: 'Heir of the World Tree.'"

Wu Xiaode chanted silently in his heart.

He held the Book of the Dead in his hands but did not open it; instead, lines of prompt runes appeared on the pages:

"Card 'Eternal Night's Star' used."

"Effect:

"Causes 'Heir of the World Tree' to skip the cooldown period, reaching the best result: completely rested."

"Current card can be released three times, after which it will enter a cooldown of seven days."

"Please note:

"Card 'Heir of the World Tree' activated."

"Cover this card over one of your skills; it will instantly increase the skill by one level for an hour."

"Please select the target you wish to release."

Wu Xiaode was silent for a moment.

In fact, he had many powerful skills.

If he unleashed the card's power on "Eternal Night's City," could he escape from the four Dragon Clan members in front of him?

Or should he release it on "Rage"?

Amidst hesitation, the four Dragon Clan members had already approached him.

"Respected Great Mage, please lead the way. We must find that young girl."

"Rest assured, should any temple stand in our way, I will take action."

They said in unison.

Wu Xiaode barely managed a smile and said, "Alright, let's go."

—He could almost feel his body becoming immobile.

This was strange.

The opponents hadn't made any move, nor had they released any power.

But he felt somewhat unable to move.

...An instinctual fear?

It was ridiculous—why was something like this happening to him?

"Great Mage, that book in your hands seems to have the rare power of the Death World... quite a rare sight indeed."

"Join us."

The four spoke together.

A sense of unnamed crisis emerged in Wu Xiaode's mind.

The feeling was like a fog enveloping him, causing everything about him to begin fading away.

Wu Xiaode felt his consciousness start to blur.

Damn it!

The opponents had only said a sentence!

Why was it affecting him to this degree?

In a trance, the Human Emperor's voice echoed in Wu Xiaode's ears again:

"...Enhance the swordsmanship you know. That is your only way to survive."

The only way to survive.

Normally, Wu Xiaode would never easily trust others.

But the Human Emperor was his mentor.

As the saying goes, one can eat well just by listening to others.

When you're in the jianghu, you should heed the advice of the big shots.

Wu Xiaode took a deep breath, trying hard to focus his last thread of thought.

Lines of prompt runes immediately appeared in the Book of the Dead:

"You used 'Heir of the World Tree.'"

"Your swordsmanship 'Long Moon Sparse Shadows' has been forcefully elevated by one level."

"Current swordsmanship raised to:

"Secret Sword: Torrent."

"—Reincarnation Swordsmanship."

The whole world became silent.

The winds and snow seemed to have lost their sound, and all things and beings maintained their silence.

—As if some fate that could sway the entire world was happening, they had no choice but to hold their breath and wait for the outcome.

"Sword Intent."

The four Dragon Clan members said, surprise in their eyes.

The next second.

Boom—

A skyward Sword Qi tore the dream apart, revealing layers of illusory lights and shadows outside.

Wu Xiaode gritted his teeth, grinning and said:

"What are you, neither human nor ghost?"

Before he could finish speaking.

The Desert Sword "clang" flew up from his waist and he grasped it in his hand, swinging with all his might—

—Secret Sword, Torrent!

The vast sword aura surged from the blade, turning into a majestic river, enveloping everything around it as it soared into the sky, tearing through layers of Void and world, flying towards the unknowable end of space.

The world struggled to heal for a long time.

Wu Xiaode stood in place, staring at the four Dragon Clan members struggling within the endless sword aura.

In the face of such an unreasonable force—

No matter how bizarre, terrifying, and powerful they were, they could only helplessly be swept away by the torrent of Sword Qi.

Dozens of breaths later.

Wu Xiaode came back to his senses from the shock beyond imagination.

The sky—

was healing at an incredibly slow pace.

Yet within tens of miles around, the mountains had not been touched by the sword aura at all.

—Truly a subtle and exquisite sword strike!

"Buzz."

The Desert Sword flew back and forth in the air, seemingly excited about that strike, still reveling in the grandeur of a moment ago.

Only when Wu Xiaode waved his hand did it fly back and settle into its scabbard.

Lines of glowing text followed:

"'Heir of the World Tree' effect has expired."

"Your swordsmanship has fallen back."

"Current swordsmanship: Long Moon Sparse Shadows."

A deep regret emerged in Wu Xiaode's heart, leading to a sudden enlightenment.

"What an incredible strike..."

"I guess that strike was just the beginning, it must have been meant for some purpose."

"Pity... I cannot see it."

Wu Xiaode shook his head, steadied his mind once more, and was about to go find Chris and Gjestastav when the Book of the Dead suddenly flipped open.

On the altar wall, a slip of paper appeared out of nowhere.

What?

There are still Heroic Spirits issuing missions in this dreamscape?

Wu Xiaode couldn't resist and reached out to remove the note, only to see several lines of small characters written on it:

"The dreams of the Ancient Dragon King have always been under strict surveillance; any coveter would be killed without exception."

"Your sword forced the watcher away—"

"But you've got merely about three hours of time."

"Go explore the Ancient Dragon King Ruins, and find the breakthrough for the final seal for Gjestastav in advance."

"If you succeed, perhaps you will have the opportunity to take away something unspeakable."

"—Human Emperor."

It turned out to be a commission from Master.

Rather than a commission, it was more like a hint.

This indeed was a good idea.

While Gjestastav was still breaking through the second layer of the seal, he would go ahead and find the breakthrough point for the third layer.

That way, once Gjestastav broke through the second layer, she could directly move on to the third.

Much more efficient!

However—

Deep down, he still felt a little annoyed.

—Master must know something.

In addition to him, Kaling Yekatina of "Babylon" must also know something.

But they wouldn't say.

These people were really infuriating.

However, he indeed needed to help Gjestastav break free from all the seals as soon as possible.

Otherwise, if that monster came again—

The mere thought was terrifying.

"Commission accepted," Wu Xiaode recited.

The note immediately turned into a ray of light and entered his body.

Instantly.

The information left by the Human Emperor emerged in Wu Xiaode's mind.

Looking towards the north, he murmured softly:

"It's over there..."

After speaking, his figure flashed and he soared away.

This time, Wu Xiaode didn't bother showing off.

He flew at full speed, streaking through the vast Void like a bolt of lightning, battling the wind and snow on his way to his destination.

Twenty minutes later.

Wu Xiaode landed on the icy, snow-covered surface of an icy lake.

This was the place.

By diving along the icy lake, he could quickly find the entrance to the Ancient Dragon King Ruins.

Just as Wu Xiaode was about to act, he noticed a hole appeared on the ice.

A slender figure emerged from the hole.

—It was that Jiao!

It hadn't been long since it had transformed from a one-horned black snake into a Jiao, so its body was still only over two meters long and seemed somewhat weak.

"How come you're here? Did you come especially to greet me?" Wu Xiaode laughed.

The Jiao affectionately circled around him a few times, then suddenly opened its mouth and spewed out.

A stark white cold air streamed from its mouth, materializing directly above the icy lake into an ice crystal door.

"You want me to—go through this door?" Wu Xiaode asked.

The Jiao nodded.

"But I'm heading to the Ancient Dragon King Ruins, can this door lead me there?" Wu Xiaode asked again.

The Jiao nodded once more.

Wu Xiaode pondered for a moment, then nodded and said, "Well, you mean well. I'll go and have a look."

He pushed open the door of ice crystal and his figure vanished inside.

The Jiao immediately followed suit.

…

Elsewhere.

A world entirely composed of a blood-colored expanse.

The world was vast and boundless.

There was only a small raft floating on the surface of the sea.

A man wearing a bamboo hat, holding a fishing rod, sat on the raft drifting with the waves.

In a moment.

The blood-red ocean suddenly roared.

A fierce and biting cold air burst from the depths of the sea, raising rolling blood waters and causing a small-scale rain to fall from the sky.

Seeing this, the man with the bamboo hat casually reached out and captured that cold air.

"This sword…is Torrential," he muttered softly.

"Sir, how did this sword fare? Is there a judgment?" A woman's voice echoed from the Void beside the man.

The man smiled and said, "This Sword Qi is divided into three phases."

"Three phases? Clearly it was one sword, finished with a single slash, yet someone actually divided it into three phases?" the woman's voice said in surprise.

The man explained:

"The first phase of the Sword Qi is half illusion, half reality, with a probing intent. It seems that the person who used it was not a Sword Cultivator, thus, he did not have much confidence in this sword and appeared ready to employ other moves at any moment."

"The second phase Sword Qi is somewhat turbulent and unstable as if the sword user was shaken by his own strike."

"The third phase is where 'it's done with a slash'—"

"The sword user realized no other techniques were needed to win, hence he executed the strike with his full strength."

The woman sighed and said, "Why does this person have so many thoughts for just one sword strike."

"He's quite a character," the man said.

He gently flicked the fishing rod.

Thud.

The hook landed on the raft with something attached to it.

—It was a tentacle with three eyes.

Caught by the fish hook, it landed on the raft, still twisting ceaselessly, as if constantly seeking a way to escape.

"Now that you're here, don't think of leaving," said the man with a smile.

However, the tentacle suddenly spoke:

"Let me go, you Doomsday—"

Hum!

A sound of sword ringing.

The entire tentacle was immediately sliced into blood water, flowing down from the raft and into the blood-colored sea.

"Sir, that creature has infinite identities. Is cutting off this arm of any significance to the situation?" asked the woman's voice.

"It doesn't mean much to me, but… it's to buy that swordsman a bit of time," the man said indifferently as he shook the fishing rod again.

The hook fell back into the blood sea.

—No one knew what it would fish up next.

Under a proud sun.

The sky was clear.

The little raft gradually drifted away with the undulating waves.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.