He stepped forward, and as the seal sensed the presence of Subdue Evil, it naturally parted a way for him. As An Jing passed the Doulu Fire, the ’Heaven and Earth Root’ within him trembled slightly, conveying a sense of affinity; however, An Jing knew now was not the time to care about such matters.
Because the fragment of Subdue Evil was right in front of him.
This fragment of Subdue Evil was essentially the Sword tip, hanging above Doulu Fire, surrounded by spiritual light concocting illusions of the Sun Palace, Moon Palace, Five Directions Stele, Eight-direction Que Platform, and even the view of Spirit Platform Pavilion. Stray Spiritual Patterns intertwined around it, producing ethereal smoke and blossoming into iridescent nebulas, forming an ambiguous layer of Mixed Element Qi cover, clearly a crucial artifact of restraint by the Immortal Clan, far superior to the treatment of fragments at Hanging Fate Manor.
"Finally, it’s about to be resolved."
Under the guidance of Subdue Evil, An Jing took out its main body, a sword hilt now free of much rust, clearing the path. All prohibitions and illusions along the way dissipated, and An Jing reached it with almost no effort, then extended his hand to try and touch it.
At that moment, just like in Hanging Fate Valley, the fragment of Subdue Evil burst into light the moment An Jing approached, but this time, because An Jing took out the main body of Subdue Evil, it did not fly towards An Jing’s forehead. Instead, the silver-blue halo fiercely condensed and then rushed towards the Subdue Evil in An Jing’s hand.
Buzz—The shadow of a broken sword flickered, and An Jing vaguely saw an ancient and mysterious long sword with a clear color, a mystical blade, and a hazy body, resembling both clouds and snow.
A flash of pure and intense fiendish and killing Qi, then transformed into the most refined intent of Subdue Demons and Exorcise Evil. A piercing cold from emptiness seeped out, strong enough to slice through and shatter the Great Void.
Holding this Divine Sword, An Jing even had an illusion, that he was the Sword Immortal who once slashed Heavenly Demons in the heavens above—but he was not.
Just a moment later, An Jing saw that the fragment of Subdue Evil spun around and flew back above the Doulu Fire, and the main body of Subdue Evil in the sword hilt remained silent.
"What’s wrong, Subdue Evil?"
An Jing knew it was not a time for silence, so he asked, and Subdue Evil, as if awakening from a dream, replied: "Nothing... still no memories... but it’s different this time!"
"An Jing, my memories were indeed taken, taken by the Heavenly Demon—but Bitter Silence didn’t have the time to transfer my memories! My memories are still here!"
This time, Subdue Evil became agitated, having prepared itself that its second fragment would still be memoryless, unlike Broken Blade Mountain and likely the malfunctioning Hanging Fate Valley, the seal here was still intact, even if the memories were stolen, they had not been transferred yet.
"It’s right here, below here! On the side of the sealed Source of Demon Energy!"
Following Subdue Evil’s guidance, An Jing looked at the ground, his brow furrowed: "But... this is already the Earth Vein space, there’s no road going further down."
"It’s not beneath the Earth Vein space; it’s beneath Broken Blade Mountain, the real world!"
Subdue Evil corrected An Jing’s misunderstanding, and indeed, it was almost right, yet An Jing’s face showed difficulty: "But there are also no roads in the real world—beneath the Primordial Spirit Cave is solid Earth Vein, digging isn’t a problem, but how long it will take, could the Source of Demon Energy be dug out too?"
Subdue Evil fell silent, it understood the difficulty of this task, suggesting to plan for the long term: "In that case... I will first reclaim my Spiritual Soul."
"After all, this seal is only maintained with my fragment’s Innate Indestructible essence at the core. The Spiritual Soul is rather unnecessary; by retrieving my Spiritual Soul, I can enhance the ability to shuttle through the Great Void, which is what matters most."
"Alright!" An Jing also breathed a sigh of relief—if it could enhance the Great Void Shuttle ability, then he could spend more time in Linjiang City. After all, he could buy resources and learn Skills in Tianyuan Realm, and if he really wanted to learn the true arts of the Bright Mirror Sect, there was ancestral master Chenyinzi’s remote correspondence, which wouldn’t hinder his cultivation.
But, whether it was An Jing or Subdue Evil, possibly due to their experiences or unwillingness to believe, they inadvertently overlooked one thing.
This fragment of Subdue Evil, hanging in the central Sealing Hall... could be interpreted as ’the core of the seal.’
But it might also be interpreted as ’the true entity being sealed.’
When the main body of Subdue Evil appeared in the center of the Sealing Hall, a sign, an opportunity, a... extraordinarily unusual signal.
It then, with invisible vibrations centered on Broken Blade Mountain, spread throughout the entire world.
Deep beneath Broken Blade Mountain.
Deep and dark, an existence repressed beneath the boundless Wilderness of Northern Border and endless mountains, slowly opened its eyes.
Ancient, lonely, indifferent, despairing, indecisive, deathly still...
Six multi-pupiled icy blue dragon eyes lit up in the deepest, darkest Earth Vein shadows.
It let out a long chant, and in that instant, an intense earthquake occurred across the vast lands centered on Broken Blade Mountain.
Mountains trembled, the Wilderness quivered, majestic mountain shadows shattered the cloud shadows in severe vibrations, cold air and Sword Qi soaring into the sky tore through the clouds of Frost Calamity, as if a Giant God sleeping deep within the earth was uncovering its own blanket and tossing aside the rocks and mountains that once suppressed it, revealing its magnificent body to the world once more.
All the stunned and floundering people were suddenly enveloped by warm sunlight, yet felt utterly chilled by the unimaginable earth movements.