The First Immortal of Destiny

A glimmer of enlightenment arose in his heart.

When he transmigrated, more than a hundred years had passed since the closure of the last Heavenly Demon Passage.

The cultivation world of the Red Flame Country had once again regained its tranquility and peace.

Thus, Shen Mo, who had not experienced such turbulence, was particularly shocked by the scene before his eyes.

The endless Heavenly Demons were like oppressive, city-destroying storm clouds; wherever they passed, whether cultivators or mortals, they would have their essence blood sucked dry and be turned into skeletons.

Is this not Hell?

The more he looked at the cruel and brutal scene before him, the more grateful Shen Mo was for the timing of his transmigration.

He did not have to experience such a cruel battlefield.

Although, in the absence of an invasion by foreign clans, cultivators in the cultivation world would still fight each other openly and secretly for various reasons, engaging in internecine conflict.

But however much they fought, at least they maintained a superficial peace.

It was far less bloody and terrifying than during the Heavenly Demon invasion.

Just as the scenes were constantly changing and the Heavenly Demons were wantonly slaughtering, a gust of wind suddenly rose with a soughing sound.

A white-robed, long-bearded old man had, at some unknown point, arrived.

Looking at the scene below, his face filled with compassion, he declared, "The Big Dipper, annihilate all Heavenly Demons!"

As soon as his words fell, short swords, each about an inch long, rose up around him.

There were seven short swords in total. Under the old man's control, they each took up different positions, eventually forming a Supreme Sword Array.

An overwhelming and irresistible, terrifying sword intent suddenly surged.

All the Heavenly Demons trapped within the Sword Array were slaughtered, reduced to dust.

So strong...

Upon seeing this, Shen Mo was secretly astounded.

But before he could ponder further, the old man turned his head and looked in Shen Mo's direction.

"Successor, having received my Cloud Sword Sect's Supreme Sword Array, you must contribute to the peace of this world."

This voice, like a clap of thunder, struck Shen Mo with such force it was deafening and enlightening.

The old man's eyes seemed to penetrate all things, looking at Shen Mo across infinite space-time.

CRACK!

Afterward, the space before Shen Mo gradually collapsed, shattered, and finally broke down completely into nothingness.

PHEW!

He let out a long breath. When he opened his eyes again, he was back on the stone bridge in the northern part of the Cloud Sword Sect ruins.

This Sword Array... is extraordinary!

From the old man's final words, it was obvious that this was the Cloud Sword Sect's ultimate treasure.

I really did stumble upon a treasure!

Once again, using his sense to explore the jade slip, various details about the Sword Array unfolded before him.

This The Big Dipper Array, if it's to be fully deployed, needs to be reinforced with seven Dao swords!

According to the names of The Big Dipper, the seven Dao swords are named Tianji, Yaoguang, Kaiyang, Yuheng, Tianquan, Tianxuan, and Tianshu.

The most basic material needed to forge these seven Dao swords is Divine Iron!

But Divine Iron can only forge them into an embryonic state. To truly form the Dao swords, they need to be reinforced with various attribute elements.

After some study, Shen Mo finally discovered that The Big Dipper Array was not only extremely powerful, but mastering and deploying it was also extremely difficult.

Gold, wood, water, fire, earth, light, and darkness—these seven special attributes, when used to augment the seven Dao swords, allow the Dao swords to fully form.

This looks like a big project, Shen Mo muttered to himself.

To fuse these elemental attributes into the Dao swords, one would naturally need Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures possessing extreme elements for smelting.

But those things are rare Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that one might encounter but cannot actively seek, making them extremely hard to find.

Who knows how many cultivation resources it would take to gather them all and set up the Sword Array.

Just the Divine Iron is probably incredibly precious and hard to find.

However... the Cloud Sword Sect in its heyday must have been a top immortal sect. The ultimate treasure it left behind should be enough for me to use up to the Golden Core Realm, or even higher!

The path to immortality is long; I'll take it one step at a time. Even if I first forge the embryonic forms of two Dao swords, it will greatly increase my power when forming an array to kill enemies.

After securing the jade slip containing The Big Dipper Array, Shen Mo turned his attention to another jade slip.

[Control Sword]

The aura of this jade slip, Shen Mo had clearly sensed at the time, was not at all inferior to that of [The Big Dipper Array].

[The Big Dipper Array] was so formidable that it naturally raised Shen Mo's expectations for this [Control Sword].

Control Sword, this core Magic, can allow cultivators who comprehend it to grasp the True Intention of the Sword Path.

The jade slip record about [Control Sword] seemed much more ordinary.

There was no shocking illusion like the one for The Big Dipper Array.

Grasp the True Intention of the Sword Path?

Shen Mo continued to probe with his sense to learn more.

Soon, the content he uncovered made his heart leap with joy.

According to the introduction in the jade slip, this [Control Sword] was the fundamental compendium for sword cultivators of the Cloud Sword Sect.

The various profound insights contained within it could allow a cultivator to quickly activate the True Intention of the Sword Path, and even condense a sword heart.

Besides activating the True Intention of the Sword Path and enhancing the power when I draw my sword, this Control Sword can also help cultivators better command their Spirit Swords.

This deepened level of command will also apply to the effects of sword kinesis flight. If I cultivate this [Control Sword], my future Flying Escape speed can also be greatly enhanced.

This was something Shen Mo valued highly.

An increase in sword kinesis flight speed meant one could advance to attack or retreat to defend. If a critical moment arose, like when he was chased by disciples of the Ghost Corpse School such as Xun Tian in the Mountain River Realm and needed to flee for thousands of miles, he could escape easily.

It wouldn't be like that time in the Mountain River Realm, where he fled for several Shichen but still couldn't shake them off.

Let's cultivate it first and see.

Shen Mo held the jade slip, his heart itching with impatience. "[Martial Performance], activate!"

He activated the [Martial Performance] Destiny, sacrificed the only one hundred Spirit Stones he had left, and quickly reached the entry-level of cultivating [Control Sword].

PHEW!

As he gradually mastered the essence of the Magic, Shen Mo held the Dragon Sparrow Sword again and felt a significant difference.

Previously, when holding the Dragon Sparrow Sword, no matter how attuned he was, there was still a sense of separation between man and weapon.

But now, with his comprehension of the Sword Path greatly increased, Shen Mo vaguely felt a sense of becoming one with the sword.

Time to go back!

After reaching the entry-level of cultivation, Shen Mo hadn't yet had a chance to examine the final treasure he had obtained—the bottle of spiritual medicine.

Before he could inspect the spiritual medicine inside, Lu Ming arrived, urging him to gather with the others.

Everyone had been out for three Shichen already.

They had mostly finished taking stock of their treasures, so they were all preparing to depart.

However, Shen Mo was nowhere to be seen, which prompted Lu Ming to actively search for him.

"Understood."

Upon hearing this, Shen Mo hurriedly packed all his things and went to meet up with the group.

「At the plaza before the Cloud Sword Sect ruins」

Lu Yao and the others nodded in acknowledgment when they saw Shen Mo and Lu Ming approaching.

"Let's go!" Lu Ming said to the group.

"There's no rush..." Lu Yao and the others, however, seemed to have encountered something and had lost their eagerness to leave.

"Why is there no rush?" Shen Mo was slightly taken aback; they were the ones who had previously insisted on returning to the sect.

"You should come look at this well. It seems to hold some mystery," Lu Ming said. He, Fang Ming, and the others were gathered around an ancient well, staring at it intently.

"Senior Brother Fang, are you certain this place has a spatial barrier?" Lu Yao asked.

"Yes." Fang Ming nodded confidently. "I can sense it. It must be a spatial barrier, no doubt about it."

Hearing this, Lu Yao grew excited. The Riverside Sect had the Mountain River Realm, a special spatial Realm. Thousands of years ago, the Cloud Sword Sect was also an upper sect; it wouldn't necessarily lack something similar. If this well was indeed, as they suspected, an entrance to a special spatial realm, then they might have stumbled upon a great opportunity.

This well...

Shen Mo drew closer, carefully observing the ancient well.

The inside of the well was pitch black, dark and bottomless.

An indescribable aura continuously billowed out from within.

He felt an inexplicable familiarity with this aura, as if he had encountered it somewhere before.

This was no ordinary ancient well; it indeed looked like an entrance to a passage.

However...

Shen Mo finally remembered why this aura felt familiar.

Heavenly Demon... this is the aura of a Heavenly Demon!

When he had activated The Big Dipper Array just moments ago, he had witnessed the scene of Heavenly Demons sweeping across the mortal realm, slaughtering all living creatures. The Abyssal Demonic Qi surrounding those Heavenly Demons was similar to this aura.

"Junior Brother Shen, did you notice something amiss?" His unusual expression quickly caught everyone's attention, and Lu Ming asked with concern.

"I feel... the place this well leads to might not be some spiritual realm, but... the Outer Zone of the Lower Realm where the Heavenly Demons reside." After a moment's silence, he decided to reveal some information, lest they, seeing the well's mysterious nature, recklessly decide to rush into the passage to investigate.

"The... Outer Zone of the Lower Realm where the Heavenly Demons reside?"

"Nonsense!" Lu Yao frowned, retorting coldly.

Obviously, he didn't believe such a thing. Although he had never personally seen what a Heavenly Demon Passage looked like, the ancient well before them showed no trace of Demonic Qi. How could it possibly be a passage to the Lower Realm?

"Let's go down and take a look!" Fang Ming, Lu Yao, and Duan Rui, confident in their strength, actually intended to descend into the well to investigate.

Seeing this, Shen Mo took a few steps back, an ominous premonition rising in his heart. He didn't try to dissuade them, because at this moment, his words carried little weight among these senior brothers; they likely wouldn't listen.

Just as they were about to descend into the well, suddenly, it sounded as if something had shattered.

The sound was faint, but everyone heard it clearly.

At the same time, from the dark well they had their backs to, a monstrous surge of Demonic Qi erupted, shooting straight into the sky.

"This is..."

Shen Mo and the others all focused their gazes. Within that bloody light, towering figures dressed in black robes were strikingly visible.

These figures were wreathed in an endless, malevolent Demonic Qi.

"All excellent blood meals!" one of the figures croaked, its voice hoarse and sharp, its eyes filled with insatiable greed.

Its appearance struck everyone like a heavy hammer.

"Foreign... Foreign Realm Demon? It really is a Foreign Realm Demon!"

Lu Ming, Lu Yao, and the others felt as if they had been plunged into an icy cavern upon seeing these figures.

They only knew of Heavenly Demons from records in Manuals.

This was the first time they had ever seen one alive!

Why could it come out... Has the seal on the spatial passage shattered?

Soon, an even more terrifying thought dawned on everyone.

This matter... was significant enough to shake the entire cultivation world of the Red Flame Country!

The shattering of the spatial passage meant there was no longer any barrier to the Heavenly Demons' descent!

After a brief peace of just over a hundred years, the mortal world was about to be plunged once more into endless slaughter!