Chapter 2050: Bright Moon

Enslaved?I am the Sacred Ancestor, my name is Sheng Xin. How could I ever be enslaved?

All paths under heaven originate from the Sacred, and all myriad laws of the Five Domains return to the Demonic. All cultivators are slaves of the Sacred and the Demonic; how can there be any talk of transcendence?

"A sword?""Who says the Sacred Demon doesn't wield a sword?"

As the Great Buddha's sword strike slashed towards him, Sheng Xin, standing on the Divine-Demonic Dao Sea, momentarily lost his composure, but then managed to withstand the immense pressure and stand upright.

At the same time, roaring sword intent surged from his body, and with a flick of his sleeve, twelve swords whistled in from beyond the sky.

"Wrathful Slaying of Delusion, Separation from the Underworld, Enduring Protection and Tranquility!""Twelve Swords Suppress the Pagoda, By Decree!"

With a long cry, the Twelve Swords of the Sword Pagoda, arranged by decree, clanged into place around him, suppressing the divine Buddha that Sheng Xin had barely managed to erect in his heart, using the same method that the Sword Ancestor once employed to suppress inner demons.

The Great Buddha's sword strike slammed directly onto the sword array, obliterating the Dao Laws within a ten-thousand-mile radius. Yet, the four swords—Enduring Protection and Tranquility—chanted loudly, forming a magnificent sword domain, which helped Sheng Xin forcefully withstand this destructive sword intent.

"Mm!" Sheng Xin grunted, blood seeping from the corner of his lips, but he was not fundamentally harmed.

"Shattering Illusion Finger (Charge Value: 1281)." Xu Xiaoshou, who had been charging for a long time, simultaneously launched this finger attack from a distance; a dark blue black light pierced through the clear sky and arrived in an instant.

Sheng Xin had just barely managed to suppress the divine Buddha in his heart and was struggling to maintain control. Naturally, he had no remaining strength to counter this rapidly approaching second attack. Fortunately, the four swords—Separation from the Underworld—chanted again, forming a dark blue sword domain, which helped Sheng Xin block most of the damage. Even so, Sheng Xin groaned again, a clear black mark appearing on his brow, his very soul having been wounded by the remote attack.

"Is that all?" Flicking his hand and turning, his robes billowing, Sheng Xin laughed sinisterly. Sustained effort brings initial vigor, then decline, and finally exhaustion. Having withstood these two attacks, Xu Xiaoshou clearly had no more tricks up his sleeve and could only retreat, eyes wide with shock.

At that moment, the Twelve Swords of the Sword Pagoda fully unleashed their pervasive black sword energy, summoning a demonic Sword Pagoda beneath Sheng Xin's feet, pushing him from the depths back to the pinnacle of swordplay. The silver moon hung high, the solitary pagoda loomed precariously, and a lone black silhouette stood. Suddenly turning back, the figure at the peak of the solitary pagoda finally revealed its true form; it was not the Sword Ancestor Gu Mu, but the Demonic Ancestor Sheng Xin.

"Xu Xiaoshou, do you truly believe you are worthy of meddling in the Way of the Sword?" To use his own methods against him! Sheng Xin knew that Xu Xiaoshou had once cultivated the Heart Sword Technique, "Divine Buddha in Sight," whose imagery was that of the Sword Ancestor's solitary pagoda shadow. In other words, now that the Sword Ancestor's Way had fully returned to Sheng Xin, the sword Xu Xiaoshou once borrowed, the cause he had sown, had now brought forth the fruit of him having achieved success in the Dao, but also having a demonic mark branded prematurely upon his heart.

"Heart Sword Technique, Divine Buddha in Sight!" Sheng Xin stood atop the solitary pagoda, hands raised high. Xu Xiaoshou's sword and finger attacks had little effect; he immediately retreated rapidly, stepping out of the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom's range in advance, yet under Sheng Xin's technique, a burst of demonic energy was remotely ignited on his body.

"What?" Now, it was Xu Xiaoshou's turn to be horrified. He seemed to have utterly failed to anticipate that Sheng Xin could still employ ancient sword techniques, and his face showed uncontrollable astonishment. He had never imagined that the Sword Ancestor's imagery he had utilized back then would now become his stumbling block.

The demonic seed took root in his heart. After just one use of the Divine Buddha in Sight sword, it grew into a towering tree.

"Master Shou..." Everyone in the Apricot Realm watched with bated breath. No one could believe that Master Shou would be defeated by the Demonic Ancestor in swordplay due to such a trivial detail.

Sheng Xin, having succeeded in his strike, revealed a look of triumph, and without pausing, he decreed the Twelve Swords of the Sword Pagoda around him to attack again.

"Myriad Sword Technique, Wrath of the Great Red God!" In the form of the second realm of ancient sword techniques, leveraging the myriad demonic powers of the Divine-Demonic Dao Sea, and with the four swords of Wrathful Slaying of Delusion as the vanguard. This sword technique appeared to be only at the second realm, but its destructive power had long surpassed the threshold of the third realm.

"Who but I can unlock the profound mysteries of the sword?" Atop the solitary pagoda, Sheng Xin's arrogant voice resounded. The illusory black Gate of Profound Mystery opened its doors, and thousands of Dao rhymes and sword energies surged from within, converging behind him into a single black demonic wing.

"Kill!" With a flick of the Myriad Sword Technique's wing, millions of black demonic feather-swords swept through the air, striking down. In the blink of an eye, Xu Xiaoshou, controlled by the Divine Buddha in Sight, was riddled with holes.

"Body shattered, spirit vanished, will extinguished.""This Ancestor desires your three Paths to perish, leaving only your demonic self to aid me in cultivating my renown!" Sheng Xin laughed sinisterly, and after the Wrath of the Great Red God, he unleashed a sword, Prajna-less, piercing through the gate of Fengdu and striking at his spirit. Then, he joined his fingers in a decree, summoning forth the bright day, abandoning Xu Xiaoshou's Sea of Will directly, in a manner of heaven's abandonment, aided by the Divine-Demonic Dao Sea.

"No—" The void cried out in lament. In just the blink of an eye, the situation took a drastic turn. Master Shou, in a single moment of stunned distraction, couldn't even borrow the power of the River of Swords, and was utterly defeated by Sheng Xin; his body, spirit, and will were all severed? The spectators in the Apricot Realm were stunned, the Medicine Ancestor was also stunned when he looked up, and even Dao Qiongcang on Zero showed a look of profound disbelief.

"Karmic Inner Demon Seal, Return!" Sheng Xin leaped up, traversing the void from the Sword Pagoda, daring not to delay, intent on seizing Xu Xiaoshou's defiled "self." As expected, that mass of illusory demonic energy, struggling and twisting, swept in from outside the realm, directly entering the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom, intending to drill into Sheng Xin's glabella.

"No!" Sheng Xin's movement suddenly paused; he felt that this was a little too smooth. Logically, even if Xu Xiaoshou's mastery of the Way of the Sword wasn't as profound as the Eight Venerables, having cultivated the River of Swords, he should have been able to challenge the Sword Ancestor to some extent. Moreover, with his Sea of Will, how could he be completely controlled and defeated by a single move of Divine Buddha in Sight? Coincidence? Was he completely unprepared? Or was it that he, suddenly revealing himself as an ancient sword cultivator, appeared a bit too strong?

Regardless, Sheng Xin remained cautious; when Xu Xiaoshou's demonic self was swept in, he used the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom to sever all Dao Law power that could be borrowed by it. This way, even if there were any imprints of the Way of Will or anything similar within it, they should have been completely "purified."

"Don't devour it." It felt strange; Sheng Xin, to be safe, dared not let this mass of demonic self enter his body, fearing unforeseen changes. One person can create myriad incarnations; it's hard to discern whether their techniques are righteous or evil. This was certainly not just talk; perhaps this mass of Xu Xiaoshou's demonic self was one of his avatars?

"Once I have completely subdued Medicine, Calamity, and Dao, and am fully prepared, only then will I devour this self of Xu Xiaoshou. At that time, even if he possesses myriad wondrous techniques, he will be no match for me in my prime..." As these thoughts flashed through his mind, the mass of demonic self had already flown into Sheng Xin's hand and was about to be sealed by his palm.

Suddenly, a drastic change occurred. The mass of demonic self seemed to suddenly gain sentience, leaped up, formed a palm, and slapped Sheng Xin hard across the face.

"Slap!" A crisp and loud slap exploded by Sheng Xin's ear. And through the Apricot Realm's preaching sky-screen, it directly made the eyes of the major spectators in the Apricot Realm pop out.

What happened? Under the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom, Master Shou could still move? And openly slap the Demonic Ancestor Sheng Xin in front of the world?

"Impossible!" Sheng Xin covered his ear, retreating step by step, his heart churning with immense shock. He had been extremely cautious! He had verified it more than once! This thing, under the power of the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom, absolutely could not have had any resistance left, after all, the Way of Will, the Way of the Sword, the Way of the Body, the Way of Renown... All borrowable powers had been forbidden! Why could it still jump out and slap someone?

"Why?!" Sheng Xin was terrified, looking at that demonic hand as if he had seen the most horrifying thing. After all, this meant Xu Xiaoshou had a way to bypass the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom and harm him?

"Tsk!" The demonic self wriggled, transforming into a miniature Xu Xiaoshou, with a large head, small body, and a chubby round face. It extended its lotus-root-like arms and short fingers, with the other hand on its hip, standing in the void, angrily rebuking Sheng Xin in a childish voice:

"Why didn't you choose to eat me?""Am I not delicious? My guiding power is so strong, how did you break free?"

As soon as these words were uttered, the Apricot Realm erupted. It truly was Master Shou; did he really have a way to pull off such audacious tricks within the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom?

"You!" Sheng Xin's face alternated between green and pale, one hand still covering his face. There was an air of humiliation, a trepidation from failing to grasp the essence, and even panic from being startled by the mini Xu Xiaoshou before him, to the point where he just stared at the small Xu Xiaoshou without advancing.

"What 'you'?" "I slapped you, did you enjoy it so much you want a reward?" The mini demonic Xu Xiaoshou put both hands on its hips, then suddenly shook its head, stubbornly spouting flowery classical prose in an old-fashioned tone:"A clam nurtures a pearl, comparing itself to moonlight.""Sheng Xin, have you ever considered whether borrowed moonlight can ever contend with the true radiance of the bright moon?"

This... What did that mean? Before Sheng Xin could decipher the hidden meaning, the demonic mini Xu Xiaoshou let out a "Hmph!" puffed up its belly, and then exploded itself.

"Boom!" The Five Domains, however, followed with a rumbling roar. Over the shattered lands and turbulent Four Seas, hallucinatory gray smoke arose everywhere, making it impossible to distinguish reality from dreams.

Wait! Dream? Sheng Xin's face paled with horror; he finally realized something.

But... It was too late! Outside the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom, Xu Xiaoshou's long-dead body, spirit, and will, along with the appearance of the dream's gray smoke, reformed. He actually stepped gracefully and willingly, with a faint smile, into the range of the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom.

"Suppress!!!" How could Sheng Xin dare to be careless again? He immediately pushed the Divine Court's forbidden law power to its extreme, primarily suppressing illusionary sword techniques, dreams, even directly targeting the Divine Court's area to prevent the appearance of "Grand Dream of Ages"!

But... It was ineffective! For some reason, this time, although the Divine Court's mighty power was vast and rumbled down, Xu Xiaoshou strolled through the void completely unaffected.

"I have entered the dream.""Even this Divine Court is an illusion fabricated by him?" Sheng Xin's face turned pale; he couldn't recall when Xu Xiaoshou had actually used the illusionary sword technique, but it must have been before his body, spirit, and will were shattered!

"Your divine soul is boiling." Xu Xiaoshou smiled and raised Cang Ku, slowly lifting it to his chest. As the Sword Observation Technique was activated, Cang Ku groaned with satisfaction."The Dao also comes from a dream..."

Stop! Stop him! Sheng Xin's expression drastically changed upon hearing this, reacting as if from a stress response. Only now did he finally understand the meaning of "A clam nurtures a pearl, comparing itself to the bright moon."

The sword is no more than eight. How could the Sword Ancestor possibly defeat the Eight Venerables? He borrowed the Sword Ancestor's imagery to sever Xu Xiaoshou's body, spirit, and will under the illusionary sword technique, while Xu Xiaoshou, with one sword, aimed to invite the Eight Venerables to sever Sheng Xin's true self!

"Qingju, by my heart, I summon..." Shut up! Make him shut up! Sheng Xin stepped onto the Divine-Demonic Dao Sea, directly burning and sacrificing torrents of demonic power, attempting to injure himself through self-harm or backlash to touch his true self and thus escape the dream. But the Divine-Demonic Dao Sea lit up. The Divine-Demonic Dao Sea was dyed black, and the demonic power was sacrificed. Sheng Xin already felt "pain," as if he had escaped the dream; he saw that outside the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom, Xu Xiaoshou had raised his sword, stepping on the River of Swords, and the incantation of "Grand Dream of Ages" was already half-recited.

"Die!" He summoned the Profound Ruler of Dao Extinction, flung it out directly, and smashed Xu Xiaoshou to death on the spot. Dead? Xu Xiaoshou was instantly smashed to bits, truly satisfying, but Sheng Xin's heart suddenly filled with dread. Because from the corner of his eye, he saw the people of the Five Domains either rooted in Jade Capital, standing tall in Crane Pavilion, or directly appearing on the Void Island. Everyone, led by Yu Tu, Mei Siren, Wen Ting, Gou Wuyue, Rao Yaoyao, Hua Changdeng, and Feng Tingchen, knelt down with raised hands, their eyes fervent, devoutly chanting:

"When awakened, the flowers are still blooming..."

Sheng Xin's head was about to explode. The dream was still there, a dream within a dream?! Had Xu Xiaoshou cast "Grand Dream of Ages" twice? Or perhaps, even the Divine-Demonic Dao Sea he just sacrificed was fabricated by him using the power of the dream?

"Inner Demon Incitement!" Sheng Xin's eyes turned crimson; he immediately performed a spell, daring not to display any technique Xu Xiaoshou had ever seen. He actually incited his own inner demons, briefly loosening his mind, allowing himself to fall into a state of qi deviation, and then chose to self-detonate his inner demons.

"Explode!" Boom— This time, it finally worked! The bitter pain of the inner demon's backlash finally pulled Sheng Xin out of the dream. But during that brief loss of consciousness, when he came to, Sheng Xin found that he hadn't returned to reality; he was drowning. He had fallen into an endless ocean. Above and below this sea, like a sea of suffering, floated or sank the myriad consciousnesses of the Five Domains. They were connected to their true selves in the Apricot Realm by faint threads of consciousness, sending the final chants from various locations into Sheng Xin's mind like demonic whispers:

"Sword's End, Solitary Pagoda Shadow!"

The world suddenly fell silent. Sheng Xin, who had sunk into the Sea of Will, was once again pulled back into the Grand Dream of Ages. The Divine Court was still there! The Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom was also there! But he knew that all of it was fake. Because the people of the Five Domains, who had already been brought into the Apricot Realm, were now distributed back across the Sacred God Continent—how was that possible? Yet, in the dream, they truly arrived on the battlefield, kneeling as if under a divine descent, lending their reverence, admiration, and awe for Ancestor Shou. And the power of myriad names converged once more within this gray misty dream world of the Grand Dream of Ages, sketching out figures of ancient sword cultivators, piecing together the River of Swords that stretched from ancient times to the future.

"It's done...""The sword is already complete..." At this moment, Sheng Xin felt only a lucid form of sinking, a helpless despair. He fully knew how this sword had been initiated, how it had been formed, and even knew that Xu Xiaoshou was purely toying with him. He had even given him countless chances to struggle, to break free, thereby proving his power, his invincibility, the unstoppable completion of his sword, such that even the Zero Ancestor God would have to concede. In fact, it was true. He himself was so useless, falling into his trap again and again. Under a sword so slow to form, he still couldn't escape the pull of the dream and allowed Xu Xiaoshou to borrow the power of all ancient sword cultivators from past and present. Figures stood arrayed along the River of Swords, from the small, like Xiao Wanfeng, Gu Qingyi, and Lei Shuangxing, to the great, like the Divine Sword Feng Wuchen and Sword God Gu Louying, and the white-robed figure fluttering in the wind at the very end of the River of Swords.

"Eight... Venerables..." Sheng Xin's lips were dry; he seemed to have resigned himself to fate. But the "Eight Venerables" at the end of the Way of the Sword suddenly turned around, surprisingly bearing Xu Xiaoshou's face, which astonished everyone.

Sheng Xin was startled, then a glimmer of delight surged in his heart. There was still a chance! Xu Xiaoshou couldn't borrow the power of the Eight Venerables!

But at this moment, a faint voice echoed in his ear:"Renowned Sword Technique: I Stab!" With a whoosh, sharp pain struck, and the Grand Dream of Ages shattered.

The people of the Apricot Realm also emerged from the gray dream, abruptly looking up at the preaching sky-screen, where they saw a solitary pagoda under a silver moon, and Sheng Xin standing alone. And Master Shou, at some unknown moment, had appeared before Sheng Xin, thrusting Cang Ku directly through Sheng Xin's head.

"Yingyingying—" Cang Ku shrieked, poking and drilling within Sheng Xin's skull, and voraciously devouring his power, converting it into immeasurable energy.

"Master Shou, he entered the Divine Court!""Master Shou, he stabbed Sheng Xin!" Clearly, Xu Xiaoshou was not content with merely "stabbing" Sheng Xin in a dream. He merely used the Grand Dream of Ages to control Sheng Xin, but then proactively stepped into the Divine Court and delivered a real, vicious stab. This stab was full of brutal force, blowing his head off in front of the world!

"Who told you that the Bright Moon of the Sword is Eight?" Xu Xiaoshou smirked, regarding the Eight Venerables as nothing, "Let me tell you this: even if the Eight Venerables truly returned, his Qingju would still be a bit shorter compared to my Cang Ku!"

Ying— Cang Ku was pulled out, reluctantly. Sheng Xin's entire body was convulsing, and his head shattered into dust after the sword intent spread. But his mind had already sensed Xu Xiaoshou entering the Divine Court!

"Suppress..." This single word, this command, could not yet be uttered. Xu Xiaoshou had already taken a step back, tossing the Suffering Kingdom's Blade in his hand; he had preemptively severed Sheng Xin's consciousness even within the Divine Court. Then, Cang Ku struck again, directly piercing Sheng Xin's heart, this time crushing it.

"Is this your full strength?""Sheng Xin, if this is all you have, you're not even close to satisfying me, Xu Xiaoshou!" Xu Xiaoshou gracefully pulled out Cang Ku again, even taking the time to glide his fingertips over the sword's body, wiping away the bloodstains. Then he tossed Cang Ku into the air, crossed his arms, and with a disdainful gaze, chin slightly raised, watched Sheng Xin, who couldn't withstand two attacks.

Cang Ku returned, employing reverse sword control, carrying Master Shou, who was still looking askance at Sheng Xin, elegantly away, out of the Divine Court. Along with him, the Sword Pagoda and its Twelve Swords were also taken out.

Just at this moment, Sheng Xin broke free from the Suffering Kingdom's Blade, retrieved his previous will, and let out a heartbreaking roar:"Suppress!!!"

Pfft. The spectators in the Apricot Realm couldn't help but burst into laughter. What could he suppress? Master Shou had already left the Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom! Also, Xu Xiaoshou, what are you doing? Ancestors must not be humiliated! Are you trying to destroy Sheng Xin? Looking up, they saw Ancestor Shou standing high in the clouds, beyond the sky, treading on Cang Ku, with the Sword Pagoda and its Twelve Swords all held above his palm-world. At this moment, as he gazed down at Sheng Xin, he truly seemed like an outer-realm deity looking down upon an ignorant ant, moving freely and acting as he pleased, unstoppable even by the Demonic Ancestor.

"Delayed Law Heavenly Kingdom?""I'll kill you seven times in and out, and you won't even be able to react!"