Chapter 1382: Bonus Chapter 1381: The Broken Sword

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Bonus Chapter 1381: The Broken Sword

True-Person Zhuge’s figure flashed, arriving beside Mo Hua. Seeing evil qi coiling around Mo Hua’s entire body, his flesh already eroded by the power of the abyss, with sinister and ferocious patterns still etched across his skin, he immediately asked with concern:

“Mo Hua? How did you end up like this?”

In a flash, several other escaping lights arrived, True-Person Huá, True-Person Jiang, and True-Person Cui also appeared before Mo Hua. Seeing his current state, their hearts were filled with shock.

The power of the abyss was still step by step eroding Mo Hua’s flesh.

Once the flesh was eroded, it would inevitably damage the foundation. If it became severe, the very foundation of him as a “human” might be ruined.

True-Person Zhuge immediately took out several jade-green medicinal pills and fed them into Mo Hua’s mouth to stabilize his blood qi.

Then he summoned a strand of starlight to suppress the Abyssal power around Mo Hua’s body. At the same time, he infused the pure and righteous spiritual power of the Zhuge clan into Mo Hua’s heart meridian from his back. Following the circulation of the cultivation method, the power spread throughout his entire body, washing away the contamination in Mo Hua’s flesh and blood.

The Abyssal power inside Mo Hua’s body was gradually suppressed. Much of the evil qi in his flesh and blood was cleansed away.

The hideous patterns on his skin also retreated back into Mo Hua’s bones.

Previously, when those patterns were contaminated by Abyssal evil qi, True-Person Zhuge had not paid much attention to them. But now, as the starlight suppressed them, the patterns flashed briefly before disappearing again. True-Person Zhuge glanced at them unintentionally and felt his heart tremble.

However, the situation was urgent. Concerned about Mo Hua’s safety, he did not investigate further. Instead, he shook Mo Hua’s shoulder and called out:

“Mo Hua… wake up!”

Mo Hua slowly opened his eyes.

Inside his pupils there was also darkness, and faint, vicious lines flickered within them before vanishing again. These patterns were even more concealed, and no one else noticed them.

Mo Hua’s Divine-Sense gradually returned to clarity. His Sea of Consciousness felt somewhat sluggish, and his flesh transmitted waves of tearing pain.

Inside the Abyss, the chaotic power formed from mixed blood qi, demonic qi, killing qi, baleful qi and evil qi had eroded him.

Mo Hua’s physical body was still relatively weak. Being corroded like this had extremely serious consequences.

Mo Hua understood this clearly, but at this moment he had no time to care. Seeing True-Person Zhuge in front of him, he suddenly grabbed True-Person Zhuge’s arm and said anxiously:

“Run… quickly!”

His throat had also been contaminated, so his voice came out extremely hoarse.

True-Person Zhuge’s heart trembled.

“What happened?”

Mo Hua’s throat burned with pain. He could only repeat:

“Run… quickly…”

True-Person Zhuge frowned.

True-Person Huá, standing nearby, spoke with a stern expression:

“How did you come back alone? Where are the Ancestor Patriarchs?”

Mo Hua was anxious, but his throat had been corroded and speaking was difficult. He could only say the most important words, one by one:

“The Patriarchs… are in grave danger.”

“The Strange Daoist… is Profound-Hollow-Void…”

The moment these words came out, everyone present felt a chill in their hearts and their expressions changed drastically.

True-Person Huá’s gaze flickered, then his face turned cold as he scolded:

“What nonsense are you talking about? How could that Daoist possibly be Profound-Hollow-Void?”

“And besides, the Patriarchs possess profound cultivation. If even they are in grave danger, what about you? How did you escape?”

True-Person Huá looked at Mo Hua with suspicion.

Not only True-Person Huá, True-Person Zhuge, the other True-Persons present, and even the cultivators from the Imperial Celestial Bureau all stared at Mo Hua with serious expressions.

Mo Hua, a Golden Core cultivator, had entered the Endless Abyss together with seven Profound-Hollow-Void Ancestor Patriarchs.

Yet now he had come back alive, while the Profound-Hollow-Void Patriarchs were supposedly in grave danger?

That simply made no sense.

Mo Hua was extremely anxious. His throat burned like fire and he could not explain further. He could only say urgently:

“Run… otherwise… everyone will die!”

He had seen the true form of the Endless Abyss.

He had seen the terrifying Strange Dao Demonic Manifestation.

He had no doubt that his Martial Uncle’s scheme was far more terrifying than anyone imagined.

Even Profound-Hollow-Void cultivators were merely “fish” in his Martial Uncle’s net, unable to escape. Once his Martial Uncle finished dealing with those Ancestor Patriarchs and freed his hands, everyone here would die… no, perhaps they would suffer a fate worse than death.

True-Person Zhuge stared at Mo Hua seriously and deeply sensed the anxiety and fear in Mo Hua’s eyes.

This was an emotion he had never seen on Mo Hua before.

In the past, even when Mo Hua had only been at Foundation Establishment, he had always acted calmly and skillfully. Occasionally he was even clever enough to be infuriating, but never once had he been this nervous or frightened.

For something to make even Mo Hua feel fear…

True-Person Zhuge’s heart sank.

Immediately he said:

“Everyone, withdraw from the Endless Abyss!”

True-Person Huá frowned.

“Brother Zhuge, you truly believe this boy?”

True-Person Zhuge replied firmly:

“Withdraw first!”

The expedition into the Endless Abyss and the campaign against the Strange Daoist had been placed under True-Person Zhuge’s command. True-Person Huá could not openly oppose him, so he ordered the Dao soldiers and the cultivators of the Imperial Celestial Bureau to begin retreating, moving away from the edge of the Endless Abyss and returning to the White Bone Plaza.

Although many people did not understand the situation, they still began withdrawing.

Not long after the retreat began, the Endless Abyss suddenly trembled.

Several strands of black flames shot into the sky. Then the entire Endless Abyss seemed to come alive, erupting with an extremely terrifying aura filled with twisted, living evil thoughts.

Before everyone’s astonished eyes, the Endless Abyss—silent for countless tens of thousands of years—suddenly surged like a boiling sea.

Then the black flames that filled the sky roared toward them like an avalanche.

In only a few breaths, vast areas of the Ancestral court were swallowed by the Abyss.

Everyone’s expressions changed in terror. If they had retreated even a little later, they would already have been completely devoured.

Within those avalanche-like waves of black fire was mixed evil, chaotic power that would instantly contaminate them all.

And within the Endless Abyss were countless Strange slaves and Abyssal creatures that would tear them apart alive.

What exactly… had happened?

The Endless Abyss, which had been silent for countless ages… had suddenly gone out of control?

And it was spreading even faster?

True-Person Zhuge stood stunned for a moment before suddenly realizing something and shouting loudly:

“Everyone, hurry! Leave the Great Wilderness Ancestral Court!”

Meanwhile, True-Person Huá crushed the jade command token given to him by Ancestor Huá.

But nothing happened.

The unfathomably powerful Ancestor Huá did not appear to help, nor did he respond in any way, as if he had sunk into silence deep within the Endless Abyss.

Mo Hua’s earlier words echoed in his ears.

A boundless fear suddenly rose in True-Person Huá’s heart.

Could it be… the Ancestor had already fallen?!!

But the black flames roaring like collapsing mountains left him no time even to be afraid.

The Endless Abyss was expanding at an astonishing speed, like a monstrous mouth stretching across heaven and earth, attempting to devour the entire Great Wilderness Ancestral Court and all living beings within it.

Perhaps in less than half an incense stick’s time, it would swallow them all.

They had to escape quickly.

Yet there was one even more critical issue:

“The Ancient Stellar Great Teleportation Grand Formation!”

Time was running out. If they left now, the formation could not be taken away and would be destroyed here.

This was an extremely rare ancient inheritance, a fifth-grade stellar teleportation formation capable of crossing entire Provinces. The number of such formations could be counted on one hand. Its value might even exceed that of an entire fourth-grade sect.

True-Person Zhuge felt deep pain.

Mo Hua also felt pain in his heart. Both of them were formation masters and understood the value of formations.

But at this moment, with life and death hanging by a thread, they could only grit their teeth and abandon it.

“Go!” True-Person Zhuge said coldly.

With one hand he grabbed Mo Hua, activated Feathered Ascension movement technique, and rushed toward the outside of the Great Wilderness Ancestral Court.

True-Person Huá, True-Person Jiang, True-Person Cui, the Daoist soldiers, and the cultivators of the Imperial Celestial Bureau followed closely behind, fleeing with the Endless Abyss at their backs.

However, after running for a while, they suddenly saw a black figure appear ahead of them.

It looked like a cultivator, but its face had been eroded by Abyssal power and was blurred. Strange ghostly flames covered its body, and it held a broken sword in its hand.

It looked ordinary.

Yet for some reason, Mo Hua’s heart suddenly tightened.

True-Person Jiang frowned.

“What is that? A Strange slave? When did it appear?”

Previously they had not noticed this Strange slave standing at the entrance holding a broken sword.

The aura it emitted was not strong, so at first it was treated as an ordinary Strange slave and no one paid it much attention.

Several Golden Core Dao soldier commanders casually stepped forward, intending to stab it to death with a single thrust.

But the Strange slave raised its broken sword and casually drew a line through the air.

There was no visible sword light, no obvious momentum.

Yet those commanders’ eyes instantly lost focus. They collapsed onto the ground, already dead.

Mo Hua seemed to see something. His pupils suddenly shrank.

True-Person Cui of the Feathered Ascension realm flew into a rage.

“Damn evil creature!”

He immediately activated the Primordial Yang Mirror, preparing to suppress the Strange slave.

Mo Hua’s heart jumped.

“Careful! Don’t look at its sword light!”

But it was already too late.

Facing True-Person Cui, the strange Strange slave gripped the broken sword with both hands and swung it.

To everyone else, there was again no trace, no trajectory.

But in the next instant, True-Person Cui—an expert of the Feathered Ascension realm—turned pale as paper and collapsed lifelessly.

The Primordial Yang Mirror was still in his hand.

There was not a single wound on his body.

Yet he was dead.

For a moment the air itself seemed frozen.

“Brother Cui!”

True-Person Zhuge and the others were both shocked and furious. They had never imagined that a Feathered Ascension True-Person could die so silently.

True-Person Jiang’s eyes turned red.

He and True-Person Cui had been close friends.

Ignoring everything, he activated his natal Purple Qi Banner, summoning the Feathered Ascension Purple Cloud True Qi and attacking the broken-sword Strange slave.

The Strange slave did not move.

It simply raised its broken sword and slashed again at True-Person Jiang.

From the outside, there was still no visible sword mark and no sword qi could even be seen.

But in Mo Hua’s eyes, a terrifying invisible sword intent burst forth from the darkness, heading straight toward True-Person Jiang’s Sea of Consciousness.

Mo Hua was only Golden Core and could not keep up with the speed of a Feathered Ascension cultivator. At this moment he could do nothing.

Fortunately, True-Person Zhuge stepped forward first, shielding True-Person Jiang.

He unleashed the Seven-Star Sword Light, slashing toward the broken-sword Strange slave.

At the same time, True-Person Huá also activated the Nine-Petalled Sword Light, cutting through the air toward the Strange slave.

In an instant, three Feathered Ascension True-Person of the Dao Court attacked simultaneously, unleashing three fierce Dao techniques in an attempt to kill the Strange slave.

Yet the Strange slave ignored them.

Its invisible sword intent shot forward, heading straight toward True-Person Zhuge, who stood in front of True-Person Jiang.

For a brief moment, the Seven-Star Sword Light and the sword intent collided head-on.

But strangely, although the two sword lights met, they seemed to exist in different spaces and passed through each other.

True-Person Zhuge’s Seven-Star Sword Light pierced through the ghostly sword intent and struck the Strange slave’s body.

True-Person Huá’s Nine-Petalled sword light and True Person Jiang’s Purple-Qi flames also enveloped the Strange-slave.

Yet all these killing techniques seemed to strike empty air.

The Strange slave’s figure fluctuated between illusion and reality like ripples on water. After swaying briefly, it returned to normal, completely unharmed.

Instead, True Person Zhuge was struck by the invisible Strange-Dao sword light.

On his chest, a mysterious Bagua heart-mirror suddenly lit up, then shattered instantly.

True Person Zhuge’s face turned pale. Before he could react, the Broken-Sword Strange slave cast a cold glance at him, drew its broken sword, and another sword light slashed out.

This strike was even faster than the previous one.

True Person Zhuge’s Bagua heart-mirror had shattered, and he suffered backlash. His true qi circulation faltered, making it impossible for him to dodge.

Moreover, he had no idea what he was supposed to dodge. In his vision, he could not see any sword form at all.

This was a kind of invisible sword intent, far more bizarre than ordinary sword techniques.

At that moment, True Person Zhuge caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye and saw Mo Hua standing in front of him.

True Person Zhuge was horrified and shouted,

“Dodge!”

But in that instant, Mo Hua’s body also erupted with a sword intent that shocked him.

At the same time, Mo Hua pointed at his brow and slashed out with a single sword.

True Person Zhuge, in the Feathered Ascension realm, could faintly see that Mo Hua seemed to release a dazzling pure-gold sword intent, mysterious and boundless.

Being from the Great Void Sect himself, he immediately thought of the sect’s long-lost Forbidden Divine-Sense sword technique.

Yet now, that forbidden sword art seemed to be used by Mo Hua, a mere Golden Core cultivator?

Just as True Person Zhuge was still in shock, Mo Hua’s sword intent had already collided with the Strange slave’s invisible sword intent. A violent Divine-Sense tremor erupted in the air.

But in the next instant, Mo Hua’s golden Divine-Sense sword intent was shattered from the invisible realm.

In this clash of Divine-Sense sword techniques, Mo Hua lost.

After dissolving Mo Hua’s sword intent, the invisible Strange-Dao sword intent instantly slashed into Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness.

True Person Zhuge could not see the form of the Strange-Dao sword intent, but he could vaguely sense an extremely deadly Divine-sense intent entering Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness. His entire body turned cold.

Yet after the sword intent—capable of killing Feathered Ascension cultivators—entered Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness, Mo Hua did not die. Instead, he shook his head and shuddered.

True Person Zhuge stood there in stunned disbelief.

True-Person Huá and the others were also filled with shock.

Meanwhile, inside his Sea of Consciousness, after “digesting” that strange sword intent, Mo Hua immediately understood.

“Great Void Divine-Sense Sword Manifestation True Art!”

The sword intent released by that broken sword was precisely the Great Void Sect’s Divine-Sense Sword Manifestation True Art… except now it should be called:

Strange-Dao Divine-Sense Sword Manifestation True Art.

As for that broken sword…

Mo Hua glanced at it. Though eroded by the abyss and corroded along the blade, it still carried faint traces of familiar karmic ties along the strands of sword intent.

Some very ancient memories began resurfacing in his mind.

A small fishing village…

an Evil God…

a broken sword…

a white-robed senior…

“Dugu… Xuan!”

A senior of the Great Void Sect, the direct descendant of Ancestor Dugu… he had been refined by his Martial Uncle into a Strange slave.

Looking at the Strange slave before him, holding the broken sword, neither fully alive nor dead, Mo Hua’s mind trembled and a bitter pain surged in his chest.

The Sword slave also glanced at Mo Hua. Its muddy eyes suddenly trembled violently.

After Mo Hua released the Divine-Sense sword, its power had already been reduced to less than a tenth and could not harm it. Yet it seemed to awaken some kind of memory.

“Great… Void… Divine… Sword…”

“Ancestor…”

“This disciple… shameful… deserves death…”

The Broken-Sword Strange slave seemed to still retain a trace of human memory. Holding its head, it fell into chaotic turbulence of Divine-Sense.

While Mo Hua felt bitter inside, he suddenly snapped back to reality and immediately shouted:

“Run!”

Dugu Xuan had been refined into a Strange slave by his martial uncle. His Strange-Dao Divine-Sense Sword Manifestation technique was invisible and intangible, with terrifying killing power.

Moreover, his body existed between illusion and reality… Dao techniques could not harm him.

Guarding this only escape path, he alone could block ten thousand foes. It was entirely possible that he could kill everyone here.

Perhaps the True Persons might not all die, but every cultivator of the Imperial Celestial Bureau and every Dao soldier commander would certainly perish.

Now that he had fallen into Divine-Sense chaos because of the Great Void Sect’s Divine-Sense sword technique, this was the only chance for everyone to escape.

Behind them, the Endless Abyss Marsh was still roaring closer. Mo Hua urged True Person Zhuge.

True Person Zhuge also understood that they could not afford to delay any longer and immediately ordered:

“Increase your movement techniques, go!”

This Broken-Sword Strange slave seemed to be the final “threshold.”

Once they passed it, the gate of the Great Wilderness Ancestral Court soon appeared before their eyes.

But at that moment, the Endless Abyss Marsh suddenly erupted in rage and spread even faster.

The ancient Great Teleportation Formation was quickly swallowed by the pitch-black tide.

Within the abyss, some abyssal creatures skilled in movement—or those with wings—leapt out of the tide and attacked the fleeing group.

Several cultivators of the Imperial Celestial Bureau died instantly, devoured by these creatures or dragged into the abyss by Strange slaves.

True Person Zhuge had no choice but to turn back and activate the Seven-Star barrier, blocking the attacking Strange slaves and buying time for the others to escape.

Seeing this, True-Person Huá also turned back to assist.

Under True Person Zhuge’s protection, one Dao soldier commander after another escorted the Imperial Celestial Bureau cultivators through the Jade Balance Star Gate, finally leaving the territory of the Fifth-grade Great Wilderness Ancestral Court.

Seeing that everyone had left, True Person Zhuge condensed the Seven-Star light into a gigantic sword and swept it across, severing countless Strange slaves at the waist.

Then he also set off and passed through the Jade Balance Star Gate.

But at the moment he crossed, he looked back and discovered that the usually clever Mo Hua was still standing inside the Ancestral court.

True Person Zhuge panicked and shouted anxiously:

“Hurry up! What are you dawdling for?!”

The Endless Abyss Marsh was already spreading toward their feet.

Yet Mo Hua did not move.

With a bitter expression and a hoarse voice, he said to True Person Zhuge:

“Take… my Senior Brother away.”

“What nonsense are you talking about—”

True Person Zhuge hurriedly reached out to grab Mo Hua and pull him through the gate.

But halfway through, his hand suddenly froze.

Because in horror he discovered that, at some unknown moment, a pitch-black terrifying hand had already landed on Mo Hua’s shoulder.

Strange ghostly patterns began spreading across Mo Hua’s face.

True Person Zhuge’s pupils trembled, nearly suffocating.

A spatial crack had silently opened behind Mo Hua.

Within the sky-filling black Abyssal Tide, an even deeper and more terrifying black figure was about to step out of the crack.

A heaven-shaking horror was descending.

Even just glancing at it seemed enough to contaminate one’s Divine-Sense.

True-Person Huá immediately slashed out with a sword, severing the locking runes and closing the Jade Balance Star Gate.

The gate shut instantly.

Then the ancient gate of the Great Wilderness Ancestral Court slowly closed as well, completely sealing Mo Hua, the descending terrifying figure, and the raging abyss behind it.

True Person Zhuge’s face changed drastically. He grabbed True-Person Huá by the collar and roared,

“What are you doing?!”

True-Person Huá said coldly,

“That Daoist… has already reached the Profound-Hollow-Void realm. If we don’t close the gate, we will all die.”

True Person Zhuge gritted his teeth, his expression shifting.

But True-Person Huá did not care about that now. He knew clearly that the crisis had not ended.

The ancient gate of the Great Wilderness Ancestral Court had sealing power, but the problem was that such an ancient seal might not be able to contain the rapidly expanding Abyssal Tide, let alone that terrifying Profound-Hollow-Void Daoist.

True-Person Huá said slowly:

“Let’s go. If we don’t leave quickly, everyone will die here.”

True Person Zhuge looked at the gate, thinking of Mo Hua left behind in the abyss… and Mo Hua’s words:

“Take my Senior Brother away.”

His eyes filled with unbearable pain.

At that moment, violent impacts suddenly struck the gate.

The Endless Abyss Marsh was corroding the Star Gate… corroding the Ancestral Court gate.

“The Great Wilderness Abyssal Tide… is going to break the seal…”

Everyone trembled, their faces pale.

True Person Zhuge looked at the dozen surviving Imperial Celestial Bureau cultivators beside him. In the end, he endured the pain in his heart and sighed:

“…Retreat.”

…

Meanwhile…

Behind the closed Ancestral court gate, within the black fires of the Abyssal Tide

A pitch-black hand pressed down on Mo Hua’s shoulder.

From the spatial crack, a terrifying black figure stepped out.

The Strange Daoist.

The Strange Daoist glanced at Mo Hua, whom he had captured. In his chaotic eyes, traces of amusement appeared.

He did not care about True Person Zhuge and the others escaping. Capturing Mo Hua alone seemed sufficient.

Then the Strange Daoist grabbed Mo Hua. With a single step, space shifted, and he left the Ancestral Court, arriving at the bottom of the abyss.

It was that familiar place again.

The Strange-Dao Grand Formation stretched like a vast abyssal net across the sky.

The Strange-Dao Demonic Manifestation towered like a heaven-piercing demonic god.

The path Mo Hua had exhausted himself escaping along for so long was, for the Strange Daoist, merely a single step.

At that moment, the seven Profound-Hollow-Void ancestors were still bound in place by Strange-Dao patterns, struggling to resist the terrifying corrosion. Seeing Mo Hua captured and brought back, their expressions all changed.

Mo Hua himself had been eroded by the power of the abyss. His face was pale, and his fleshly body was already on the verge of collapse.

The Strange Daoist’s deep eyes continued to examine Mo Hua.

After watching for a moment, a hoarse voice—like countless vicious ghosts fused together—slowly sounded:

“Your Dao… is hidden beneath flesh and blood…”

The Strange Daoist’s pupils suddenly shrank.

His black hand pressed against Mo Hua’s forehead.

Black Strange-Dao patterns seeped into Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness. As their aura trembled, the boundary between illusion and reality in the abyss began to blur.

“Let me see… what exactly… you are hiding…”

The Strange Daoist’s black hand grabbed Mo Hua’s forehead and suddenly pulled.

The Profound-Hollow-Void Strange-Dao Thoughts tore open the boundary between illusion and reality, forcibly opening Mo Hua’s Sea of Consciousness.

In that instant, boundless rays of golden light burst forth, illuminating the entire abyss.