At that moment, a massive green serpent appeared above the burly man's head.
This was his True Fate, a serpent over a hundred meters long, its dark green scales gleaming brilliantly.
As it opened its bloody maw, drops of cyan-colored venom dripped from its fangs.
The serpent stretched its colossal body, nearly covering half the village.
Its overwhelming beastly aura spread outward in every direction.
Seeing this, the short man beside him quickly shouted, “Snake Monarch, be careful! Don’t destroy the village!”
The burly man turned his head slightly, and now his pupils had morphed into inverted triangles, eerily strange.
As the Shadow Dragon charged at him, the giant serpent let out a screech, wrapping its massive body around the dragon.
With a tight squeeze everything was turned to dust.
After crushing the Shadow Dragon, the serpent turned its head and locked its gloomy eyes on Xu Zimo.
Its massive form barely touched the ground, yet it caused countless cracks to form across the earth.
“Boy, you’ll pay for your disrespect,” the burly man said coldly.
His eyes now radiated an emotionless, reptilian coldness.
Looking at the massive serpent, Xu Zimo shook his head and muttered, “That green’s enough to make someone dizzy.”
At that instant, the Power of Creation surged violently around him, and the space behind him collapsed under the force.
White mist dispersed, revealing a blue planet slowly appearing behind him.
As the planet emerged, the sound of the Grand Dao echoed, and its profound aura filled the sky.
It was as though an entire world was evolving within that planet, carving the essence of both emptiness and splendor into existence.
The spinning planet carried an unstoppable momentum as it hurtled toward the green serpent.
Even before it landed, the serpent collapsed in terror, trembling on the ground, no longer daring to resist.
The Power of Creation flooded the heavens, and the sound of the Grand Dao resonated like a beautiful melody in everyone’s hearts.
The planet descended only halfway, yet its might was enough to completely crush the serpent into oblivion.
The burly man’s face turned to shock. He felt his entire body bound by an invisible force, as if he was moments from being wiped out of existence.
The four onlookers nearby, all previously enjoying the spectacle, suddenly changed expressions.
The old man stepped forward, passing through layers of space in an attempt to rescue the burly man.
But the moment he emerged, the overwhelming power also descended on him, binding him in place, unable to move an inch.
“How… how could this be?” the old man muttered, his face pale and full of dread.
“Respected one, please spare us. We meant no harm,” the other three quickly pleaded.
Xu Zimo narrowed his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the blue planet disappeared, and its crushing pressure dissipated.
The burly man beneath let out a long breath, his forehead soaked in sweat as if he’d just emerged from a downpour. He collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
That pressure had nearly suffocated him. Since reaching the Empyrean Meridian realm, he hadn’t felt anything like that in years.
And now, this pressure came from someone only at the Imperial Meridian realm.
“What on earth was that True Fate?” he muttered, swallowing hard in fear.
As Xu Zimo approached, both the old man and the burly man quickly stood up and bowed.
“Thank you for showing mercy,” they said respectfully.
“Where is this place?” Xu Zimo asked, eyes narrowing.
“This is a small world hidden within the Infinite Void,” the burly man quickly replied.
“A small world?” Xu Zimo was surprised.
He’d assumed that after the spatial chaos and interrupted teleportation, he would’ve landed somewhere on the Eastern Continent.
He didn’t expect to stumble into a hidden small world tucked inside space itself.
Only someone at the Immortal or Dao realm could open such a space.
After some explanation, Xu Zimo also learned the identities of the five people.
The burly man was called Snake Monarch, the short one was Dog Monarch, the tall one was Deer Monarch, the woman was Fox Monarch, and the old man was Tiger Monarch.
“What are you five doing here?” Xu Zimo asked.
“We were all once rogue cultivators from the Middle Continent,” Tiger Monarch explained. “We grew tired of constant conflict, and by chance discovered this hidden world. So we chose to retire here in seclusion.”
“You’re still not telling the truth, are you?” Xu Zimo said with a faint smile, grabbing the old man by the throat. “Am I being too soft?”
Hearing this, Dog Monarch quickly forced a laugh and said, “Please don’t be angry, respected one. We really had no intention to deceive you, it was desperation.”
“What kind of desperation?” Xu Zimo asked, frowning.
In the vast and dramatic history of the Primordial Heartlands, emperors have always been crowned with the greatest glory.
The title of Grand Emperor carried the weight of unimaginable honor, of ending wars and heralding eras.
But nothing in this world, or among its people, is ever absolute.
There have always been those who defy fate, who fight the heavens and find joy in the struggle.
This is the story of Grand Emperor Qing Tian.
During the era when he bore the Heaven's Will, in an autumn soaked by torrential rain...
When Qing Tian stood atop the firmament and declared, “In this world, I alone am invincible,” it felt as though an age was coming to an end.
It was near the end of this era that the Sword Immortal Jiang Yun was born.
His destiny was bittersweet.
With his mind and talent, he would’ve been the most suitable candidate to carry the Heaven's Will.
But unfortunately, he was born too late.
Before he even turned fifty, the Heaven's Will had already chosen its bearer.
Fate never gave him a chance. At that time, he was only in the Empyrean Meridian realm, not even qualified to contend for the Heaven's Will.
The greatest victor of the era, naturally, was Grand Emperor Qing Tian.
People pitied Jiang Yun. They thought he would seal himself away, waiting to fight for the Heaven's Will in the next era.
But he shocked everyone.
He became an Immortal.
He gave up the illustrious Path of Dao and chose instead to walk the Path of Immortality.
“Must the Path of Immortality be weaker than the Path of Dao?”
With his sword in hand, he stepped into the heavens to seek his answer.
Grand Emperor Qing Tian carried the Heaven's Will for seven hundred years, eventually reaching the Fifth Step of Dao Realm.
To progress further, to open the Tenth Meridian Gate, he would need to ascend to the upper realm.
On the day of his ascension, Jiang Yun stood atop the heavens, waiting with his sword.
What followed was a battle for the ages.
For the first time in the history of the Primordial Heartlands, someone fought a Grand Emperor for three days and three nights, without losing.
Not even falling behind.
The battle ended in a draw.
Before ascending, even Grand Emperor Qing Tian sighed and said:
“Since this world already has a Sword Immortal, why was there ever a need for me, Qing Tian?”
From that day on, the name “Sword Immortal” resounded across the entire world, becoming legend throughout all five continents.