Chapter 408: Two Opposing Extremes of Mortal Sword Dao

*Dong!*

The third bell rang, its ancient sound reverberating throughout the entirety of Kunlun Divine Mountain, spreading across hundreds of thousands of miles before gradually disappearing into the endless rain.

Wang Daoyun slowly closed his eyes.

As the successor of Kunlun Divine Mountain, he naturally understood what three tolls of the Kunlun Heavenly Bell represented; an extremely important event had occurred.

All disciples, elders, and cultivators belonging to Kunlun Divine Mountain were to gather upon the First Summit.

Moreover, the current Saint Lord would personally appear.

Almost immediately after the third bell faded, the previously silent Kunlun Divine Mountain seemed to awaken.

*Whoosh!* *Whoosh!* *Whoosh!*

One streak of divine light after another rose from the countless mountain peaks.

There were hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of divine lights, each exuding a pressure belonging to at least the Nascent Soul Realm!

Cultivators emerged from secluded caves, ancient palaces, cultivation grounds, and floating islands, transforming into countless streams of light as they headed towards the First Summit.

Some appeared confused while others seemed to have already guessed something.

However, regardless of their expressions, the atmosphere remained incomparably solemn.

After all, throughout Kunlun’s long history recorded from over a billion years ago, the Kunlun Heavenly Bell was rarely sounded three consecutive times.

Something enormous must have happened.

Wang Daoyun silently watched the countless disciples gathering in the distance.

He had already guessed what his master intended to announce.

The Sword Venerable’s passing...

Although Wang Daoyun rarely met his great grandmaster personally, it was impossible for him to remain unaffected.

The Sword Venerable had existed for millions of years.

To Wang Daoyun and practically every cultivator still alive right now in the Lower Realm, the Sword Venerable had always existed.

The strongest being in the Lower Realm, the guardian of Kunlun Divine Mountain, a peerless Sword Immortal whose name alone could deter countless ancient monsters.

Those titles had accompanied the Sword Venerable for countless generations.

And for Wang Daoyun, specifically, that wasn’t all.

Every time they met, his great grandmaster had guided him.

Sometimes, it was merely a sentence or a single glance at his sword technique, other times, the Sword Venerable would casually point out some flaw Wang Daoyun himself had failed to notice despite years of contemplation.

The number of meetings between them could probably be counted on two hands, yet every single one had benefited Wang Daoyun tremendously.

In his eyes, the Sword Venerable wasn’t just the strongest being in the Lower Realm, he was also his great grandmaster, a senior worthy of respect.

Now, such a figure was gone.

The Immortal Dao had always been as cruel as it was magnificent.

Wang Daoyun’s fingers unconsciously tightened beneath his sleeves, but he did not say anything.

Beside him, the Heavenly Feather Crimson Monarch noticed the change in his expression, her lips moving slightly as if to speak, however, she ultimately said nothing.

Jiang Chengxuan similarly remained quiet.

As for Jiang Ruyin, she just looked between everyone with confusion, having absolutely no idea what was happening.

Three bells?

Everyone gathering?

Did something happen?

She subconsciously looked at Wang Daoyun, but seeing the faint sorrow hidden within his expression, she wisely decided not to ask.

The Blade Saint was also completely silent, his lavender eyes sweeping across the countless divine lights flying towards the First Summit.

Unlike Jiang Ruyin, he had already guessed what had happened, after all, the strange phenomena throughout the Mortal World earlier was simply too obvious.

Combined with the current atmosphere of Kunlun, there weren’t many possibilities.

Did that old senior truly fall...

This question quietly emerged in his mind, a faint complexity flashing through his eyes before disappearing.

He had never personally met the Sword Venerable, however, every Sword Cultivator of some renown throughout the Lower Realm knew that name.

Whether they be righteous or demonic, human or demon, it did not matter.

For millions of years, anyone who walked the Sword Dao far enough eventually heard about the Wooden Peach Divine Sword and its owner.

Even someone as powerful and arrogant as the Blade Saint had once wondered what would happen if he challenged that existence.

Unfortunately, there would no longer be such an opportunity.

At that moment, Wang Daoyun slowly spoke in a calm voice.

"We don’t need to go to the First Summit."

The Heavenly Feather Crimson Monarch and the others looked at him.

Wang Daoyun continued in an even tone of voice, "We should directly head to the Tenth Summit."

Strictly speaking, only Wang Daoyun and the Heavenly Feather Crimson were truly required to attend the gathering as Kunlun’s successor and a Divine Beast who emerged from Kunlun.

Both Jiang Chengxuan and Jiang Ruyin belonged to the Great Jiang Immortal Dynasty, and the Blade Saint...

Asking him to attend an assembly of Kunlun disciples would be somewhat ridiculous.

More importantly, four of the five had already more or less understood what happened.

Thus, without wasting time, the five figures changed direction, flying deeper into Kunlun.

The First Summit gradually disappeared behind them as they passed through layer after layer of ancient formations. Naturally, no formation obstructed Wang Daoyun.

The further they travelled, the fewer disciples they encountered, and eventually, the surroundings became completely silent, with only the gentle sound of rain remaining.

Before long, an enormous mountain emerged beyond the Immortal mist.

The Tenth Summit was quieter than every other region of Kunlun.

Ancient trees covered the mountainside while numerous waterfalls descended from towering cliffs, disappearing into the clouds below.

The five slowly descended, their feet landing upon a cliff extending beyond the mountainside.

The moment they arrived, everyone immediately noticed someone.

At the very edge of the cliff, overlooking the boundless mountains of Kunlun, a figure sat cross-legged, his back facing them, long hair gently moving with the wind.

Despite merely sitting there without releasing even the slightest aura fluctuation, his existence seemed to naturally merge with the entire Kunlun Divine Mountain, appearing peerlessly ethereal, like an Immortal God.

Jiang Ruyin immediately recognised him.

The Saint Master of Kunlun Divine Mountain, known as the Nine Extremities Sword Celestial, the master of the current Kunlun Saint Lord and Wang Daoyun’s grandmaster, Tian Yun!

In the original novel before she transmigrated, he was only mentioned a few times and made two or three appearances at most, recognized as the most powerful character by most fans.

Now that she thought about it, it was indeed quite weird; there was little to no explanation about realms beyond Half Immortal in the novel, and even the strongest characters in the Lower Realm were limited to Half Immortals such as the Nine Extremities Sword Celestial and the Blade Saint.

As she was lost in thought, Tian Yun also did not immediately acknowledge them.

For several moments, he simply sat there, watching the rain fall beyond the cliff as clouds slowly drifted through the valleys below.

After a while, Tian Yun slowly turned his head.

His gaze passed over Wang Daoyun and his group, landing on the Blade Saint.

At that very instant, the atmosphere changed immediately.

The Blade Saint also looked down, his calm eyes meeting Tian Yun’s gaze directly.

Neither of them spoke first, yet, for one brief moment, everyone present felt something terrifying.

*Buzz!*

The surrounding space trembled almost imperceptibly, causing Jiang Ruyin’s face to immediately pale.

What the hell!?

She couldn’t see or sense anything even with her Divine Sense.

There was no spiritual pressure or fluctuation, and no sword had been drawn from the very beginning, yet for that brief moment, she felt as if two invisible swords had appeared between heaven and earth.

One seemed capable of splitting the heavens and the earth, while the other seemed capable of severing all life beneath it.

Two incomparably terrifying Sword Intents collided in a world unseen by mortal eyes, at the highest layer of the spiritual world accessible to cultivators under immortality.

There was a righteous Sword Dao, composed of brilliant starlight, carrying a sense of finality, representing ultimate judgement.

There was also a demonic Sword Dao, containing overwhelming killing intent soaring through the heavens, one that bowed to neither heaven nor earth, representing supreme defiance.

Neither of the two opposing Sword Daos representing the extreme yielded.

Just then, the clouds above the Tenth Summit suddenly separated, tearing open a perfectly straight gap across the gloomy heavens, even causing the sky to brighten momentarily.

The Heavenly Feather Crimson Monarch’s expression changed drastically, cold sweat dripping down her forehead as Jiang Chengxuan’s pupils constricted.

Wang Daoyun’s eyes widened, a hint of shock and longing emerging simultaneously in his heart.

Is this... the true representation of mortal cultivation’s Sword Dao taken to the extreme?

It’s so different from the Eternal Lord’s, yet looking closely, there are actually many similarities!

These two people, one was the strongest Sword Cultivator of the righteous path, and the other was the strongest Sword Cultivator of the demonic path.

Both had reached the Perfect Half Immortal Realm, standing at the absolute summit beneath Immortals for countless years.

And yet, they had never truly fought.

It couldn’t help but make one wonder, who exactly would win if these two ever clashed?

The Blade Saint’s calm eyes gradually sharpened.

For the first time since joining the group, something resembling genuine interest appeared within those eyes.

On the other hand, Tian Yun’s expression was as calm as ever. He was clearly in no mood to be excited.

Almost simultaneously, both of them withdrew their gazes.

The invisible pressure vanished as the clouds above slowly closed again, the rain beginning to fall once more.

Everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.

The Blade Saint was silent for several breaths before speaking.

"Nine Extremities Sword Celestial."

Tian Yun calmly replied.

"Blade Saint."

From this alone, they had already acknowledged one another.

Perhaps under different circumstances some other day, the two would have immediately found somewhere to exchange swords, but today was definitely not that day.

Tian Yun’s gaze shifted away from the Blade Saint and finally landed upon Wang Daoyun.

Seeing his granddisciple again, his expression softened almost imperceptibly.

"You’re back."

Wang Daoyun cupped his fists, "Grandmaster."

He hesitated briefly, having countless questions in his mind but knowing not where to start.

However, before Wang Daoyun could utter anything, Tian Yun spoke first.

"My master and your great grandmaster, the Sword Venerable, has passed away."

As soon as he said these words, Wang Daoyun froze, sighing softly as he lowered his gaze.

Even though Wang Daoyun had already known, hearing the words directly from his grandmaster was different.

The Heavenly Feather Crimson Monarch finally understood why the atmosphere throughout Kunlun had become so sorrowful and why it was suddenly raining across presumably the entire world.

Her expression changed again.

"The Sword Venerable..."

As a Divine Beast of Kunlun, how could she not know who this legendary person was?

Jiang Chengxuan gaze also turned complex.

As the crown prince of Great Jiang Immortal Dynasty, a Immortal Ascension cultivator, and Wang Daoyun’s friend who had even cultivated in Kunlun Divine Mountain for a period of time, he naturally knew about the living legend of the Lower Realm.

Hearing his guess being confirmed, the Blade Saint’s eyes lowered slightly. It was unknown what he was thinking.

Only Jiang Ruyin seemed genuinely stunned.

Sword Venerable?

Who?

Because of her low realm, she truly did not know anything about the Immortal levels or even the names of Vagrant Immortals in the Lower Realm.

She was not a Sword Cultivator, thus she did not study the Sword Dao, including all past Sword Cultivators, as obsessively.

And since the original novel did not mention these beings either, she was truly clueless at this moment.

The Nine Extremities Sword Celestial’s master, wouldn’t that be a genuine Immortal God!?