The Sword Dao's Final Breath

Outside the Three Realms, a mountain peak drifted through the endless void.

This towering mountain was a million miles across—it was the location of Daofather Crimsonbright’s immortal estate.

At this moment, an elder with flowing cyan hair sat cross-legged. Below him, on both sides, stood a group of powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Among them was an incarnate projection of the ‘Blackrobed Xia Emperor’.

“The Fiendgod army is finished.”

Daofather Crimsonbright let out a soft sigh.

A luminous sphere hung in midair before him—it was Daofather Crimsonbright himself casting a spell to observe the battlefield.

“Finished.”

“One of the three Fiendgod armies is going to be lost.”

“How can things continue like this?”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals below were all filled with anxiety. The incarnation of the Blackrobed Xia Emperor simply watched coldly.

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, our major worlds have been breached. Is the Grand Xia world about to fall as well?” A simple-looking bear-headed Empyrean God asked anxiously.

“We’ve lost some Fiendgods, but at least Empyrean God Hanzheng is still alive,” the Xia Emperor said coldly. “Our side’s strength hasn’t suffered too much. And the Seamless Gate has already lost eight Bloodcloud Puppets.”

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, there’s no need to be stubborn.” The Evergreen Sword Immortal beside him spoke blandly. “At this point, you must have realized it too. The Seamless Gate clearly holds the advantage. As the war continues, your side will keep suffering heavy losses! The Seamless Gate may have lost eight Bloodcloud Puppets, but those eight Bloodcloud Puppets cost you one Formation of Xingtian and an entire Fiendgod army. The strong grow stronger, the weak grow weaker. The gap between you and the Seamless Gate will keep widening until the Grand Xia side can no longer hold and completely collapses.”

The Xia Emperor frowned.

The Evergreen Sword Immortal’s words were unpleasant. But they were the truth.

Because True Immortal Baiji of the Seamless Gate had single-handedly pinned down the Fiendgod army led by Empyrean God Hanzheng. When the new White-Faced Flood Dragons arrived, Baiji immediately ordered a full-strength assault on Hanzheng’s army. All the Bloodcloud Puppets were thrown in as well. Concentrating every advantage, they focused entirely on that one Fiendgod army.

In just a short while, although four more Bloodcloud Puppets were lost, bringing the total to eight, the Seamless Gate had succeeded.

All the Xia Emperor could do was take out his Innate spirit-treasure, a red gourd, and collect the scattered Fiendgods who had fled—but many others were already slaughtered by the Bloodcloud Puppets.

“We’re going to lose?” The Xia Emperor sighed silently in his heart.

His only remaining plan was to beg his master, Daofather Crimsonbright, along with Daofather Yinglong and the Ancient Imperial Clan for help.

But the situation across the Three Realms was extremely dangerous. Would the Daofathers be willing to send troops? The Xia Emperor himself wasn’t sure. His request had surely reached Daofather Crimsonbright and Daofather Yinglong. Whether to dispatch forces was up to them.

“If my master, my elder brother, and the Ancient Imperial Clan all refuse to intervene… this battle is lost.” Resentment burned in the Xia Emperor’s heart.

He really couldn’t accept it.

This was the world he had established. This was the foundation of his Xiamang clan! To be driven out like a dog—hunted down and humiliated?

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang has one very important combat asset,” said a golden-eyed, muscular man in a dragon robe, staring at the luminous sphere. “The strongest Formation of Xingtian—Ji Ning. He alone can handle two White-Faced Flood Dragons. But he’s being held back by that True Immortal Chibi. Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang… those black chains trapping Ji Ning—can’t they be broken?”

“They can’t,” the Xia Emperor shook his head helplessly. “In the middle of this frenzied slaughter, we can only give Ji Ning that much aid. Unless we send far more powerful forces, there’s no way to break those black chains.”

“What kind of spell is that? How can it be so powerful?”

“Yes, those black chains… I’ve never seen such a spell before.”

“Neither have I.”

“It seems to be the same black chains that Seamless City sinks into the void. I always thought those were just forged war cities. I never knew they could produce such a spell.”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals present came from dozens of major worlds under Daofather Crimsonbright’s command. Their experience was vast, yet none had witnessed such a technique.

The Xia Emperor closed his eyes.

Pain.

He couldn’t bear to watch any longer. His honored avatar was still in the thick of battle, fully aware of the worsening situation… The enemy was strong, and they were weak. The enemy could keep securing victories while the gap widened, until his side was completely annihilated.

“Master, elder brother… what are you waiting for?” The Xia Emperor could only fume in silence.

“Senior apprentice-brother Xiamang, that Ji Ning—he was the one I took as a disciple on your orders, wasn’t he?” the Evergreen Sword Immortal suddenly remarked.

The Xia Emperor glanced at him. “Right.”

“I’d forgotten about that,” the Evergreen Sword Immortal said with a laugh. “It just came back to me. I hear Ji Ning has become a Daofather’s disciple. As a Daofather’s disciple, even if he’s only a Celestial Immortal and a bit weak, he’s still made himself useful on the battlefield.”

“A Celestial Immortal isn’t exactly weak,” the Xia Emperor shook his head. “He’s only been cultivating for a short time. Ji Ning’s potential is truly extraordinary.”

“Potential?” The Evergreen Sword Immortal said blandly. “There are plenty with great potential. How many are stuck at the Celestial Immortal level? The entire Three Realms are full of them. Becoming an Empyrean God or True Immortal—is that so easy?”

The Xia Emperor’s expression darkened. His junior apprentice-brother, the Evergreen Sword Immortal, was often described as ‘transcendent’ at best and ‘utterly selfish’ at worst. He never cared about his fellow disciples and always said whatever he pleased, regardless of anyone else’s face. Normally, everyone maintained their composure. But now, with the great tribulation upon them and the Grand Xia about to fall…

Granted, the Evergreen Sword Immortal’s words were brutally realistic.

But couldn’t he say something pleasant for once? Didn’t he know the Xia Emperor was already on the verge of exploding?

“Oh?” the Xia Emperor said flatly. “Then tell me, junior apprentice-brother Evergreen, when you had only been cultivating for a hundred years, had you become a Celestial Immortal yet?”

The Evergreen Sword Immortal’s face immediately changed. Then he let out a cold laugh. “Stubbornness won’t help, senior apprentice-brother Xiamang. Face reality.”

The Xia Emperor was in a foul mood and couldn’t be bothered to argue further.

“The Grand Xia…” pain gripped his heart. “Is it truly finished?”

While Daofather Crimsonbright and his Empyrean Gods and True Immortals observed the battle outside the Three Realms, elsewhere, the towering figure shrouded in black robes was silently watching as well. The Godking was equally invested in this war.

“We’re going to win.”

The Godking tapped his fingers lightly on the armrest. Before him, a mirror formed of mist displayed the battlefield.

At this moment, neither the Godking nor Daofather Yinglong could see through the body of the Formation of Xingtian to perceive the change happening inside—to the ‘Northmount Immortal’, Ji Ning.

Within the Grand Xia world, within Baiji Commandery.

Both sides were already in a frenzy of slaughter. The Seamless Gate was especially fanatical, while the Grand Xia side grew increasingly tragic. Everyone could see that with the destruction of Empyrean God Hanzheng’s Fiendgod army, the gap in strength had grown even larger. The Grand Xia side was barely holding on.

“Break, break, break!”

Trapped by the black chains, Ji Ning’s heart was filled with urgency.

And with rage.

Why…

Why couldn’t he break these chains?

His brothers and sisters were locked in a life-and-death struggle. Ji Ning’s heart burned with impatience.

Yet despite the urgency, his mind remained absolutely calm. Calmness and frantic urgency were not contradictory.

“Rumble…”

Suddenly, Ji Ning’s heart trembled.

He was stunned.

Then, ecstasy filled his eyes.

He could already feel it fully—the vast, boundless Dao. The Dao of the Sword. At this moment, every mystery of the Sword Dao was laid bare in Ji Ning’s heart. Unlike before, when sensing the Sword Dao caused turbulent ripples, now… the Sword Dao before Ji Ning was like an obedient child, offering no resistance whatsoever.

Because Ji Ning had completely understood it. He had fully mastered it. Naturally, not a trace of fluctuation leaked out.

“So this is the Dao of the Sword?”

“What I was missing was simply a true sword-immortal aura?” As he broke through the final bottleneck, Ji Ning immediately understood where his problem lay.

When comprehending a Grand Dao and reaching its final bottleneck, one’s understanding of that Dao is nearly perfect.

Only one last fusion remains.

To perfectly integrate all previous insights into the Sword Dao—that is the Sword Dao itself.

This fusion required an extremely difficult enlightenment. But Ji Ning, first, had a pure sword-heart. He had even already comprehended a trace of Sword Force. Second, he had personally experienced the feeling of a fully realized Sword Dao through his ‘dream of a thousand years’. So he lacked nothing except one thing: an aura. The aura of a true, peerless Sword Immortal.

Every Sword Immortal possesses a unique essence.

Lü Dongbin was transcendent and actionless.

The Evergreen Sword Immortal was utterly self-centered, looking coldly upon everything. He spoke harshly to those on his own level without even bothering to hide it. He knew his words were unpleasant. But he didn’t care. He understood that the root of everything was his own strength.

As for Ji Ning… he would use the sword in his hand to cut through every thorn in his path, truly climbing to the pinnacle. He had understood this in principle before, but to put it simply, he had still lacked that one final breath.

Now, tempered by the war, and with the crushing pressure of those black chains binding him, that very pressure instead caused him to rebound—and it allowed him to break through.

He broke through.

Ji Ning’s gaze changed.

Although his eyes looked much the same as before, deep within them lay a chilling sword-intent.

“The Sword Dao is complete!”

“As for condensing the Five Energies Rising from the Chest—I was already capable of doing so long ago,” Ji Ning said to himself.

What were the Five Energies Rising from the Chest?

Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. The Five Elements! For a Celestial Immortal to become a Pure Yang True Immortal, the most important requirement was to fully comprehend a Grand Dao. The second was to comprehend five ordinary Daos, one for each of the Five Elements. These ‘Five Elements’ Daos served as bridges connecting heaven and earth, because the root of the Three Realms itself was the Five Elements.

Once the Five Energies Rising from the Chest were condensed, one would be nourished by the primordial Five Elements of heaven and earth. After absorbing a massive amount of energy, the Golden Core could truly transform into a Pure Yang Golden Core. Only then could one possess Pure Yang magic power and become a true Pure Yang True Immortal.

“But this is a time of war. I don’t have the leisure to slowly absorb natural energy.” Ji Ning immediately took out a large quantity of Pure Yang Immortal Pills and stuffed them all into his mouth. At this moment, his Golden Core needed to absorb boundless energy; there was no risk of it being overloaded.