"Hahaha…
Zhou Duantian, do you see the might of Old Man Shoudi now?
Years ago, you deceived me into coming to the Sword Realm Continent, only to stab me in the back, joining forces with the Blade Realm to ambush me from behind, imprisoning and torturing me for so many years.
I tell you, settling accounts with you, the Divine Sword Sect, has only just begun!"
Shoudi Laoren stood with his hands behind his back atop the head of a massive earth dragon. Watching the Divine Sword Sect forces being slaughtered one after another, he couldn't help but roar with laughter.
"Think back to when I, Shoudi Laoren, commanded such prestige and glory within the Chaos Void Sea.
Wherever I went, I was treated as an honored guest, only to be reduced to such a wretched state by you of the Divine Sword Sect and the Blade Realm.
This vengeance, I will have it!"
Shoudi Laoren continued, speaking in a loud, ringing voice.
"Old Man Shoudi, if you insist on clinging to past grudges, then our Divine Sword Sect is willing to oblige. Our Divine Sword Sect is not to be trifled with either," Mo Chenzi snorted coldly and spoke.
"You scoundrels of the Divine Sword Sect truly are masterful at shamelessness!
Clearly, it was your Divine Sword Sect who attacked Senior without cause or grievance all those years ago, and now you claim your sect is not to be trifled with. Your Divine Sword Sect, with hearts of wolves and lungs of dogs, colluded with outside enemies, bringing a cataclysm upon the Sword Realm Continent, then turned on your word and harmed a senior.
All along, it has been your Divine Sword Sect bullying others! If your Divine Sword Sect is not to be trifled with, does that mean others are easy to bully?"
Ye Yunfei stood amidst thousands of earth dragons, with nine massive cauldron phantoms slowly revolving around his body. He spoke clearly and resonantly.
"Well said!
These fellows of the Divine Sword Sect are all scoundrels and rascals.
They think only they, the Divine Sword Sect, can bully others, and others cannot bully them.
Where in the world can such good fortune be found?
From this day forward, I am determined to bully the Divine Sword Sect!"
Shoudi Laoren threw back his head and laughed heartily.
Ye Yunfei pointed a finger. Once again, the dense cluster of Foundational Treasures erupted, targeting the retreating forces of the Divine Sword Sect and blasting toward them.
Mo Chenzi and the few other Chaos Gods of the Divine Sword Sect gritted their teeth and rushed forward together. Swinging the long swords in their hands, they unleashed billions of dazzling sword radiances to block the Foundational Treasures.
But even though they were Chaos Gods, facing such a vast number of Foundational Treasures still made their scalps prickle.
Gathering together, bolstered by the countless Earth Veins, the densely-packed Foundational Treasures surged forward, looking like a mighty, resplendent river of stars.
And besides those Earth Veins, behind each Foundational Treasure, numerous Remnant Souls within the various headquarters were joining forces, channeling energy into these treasures.
Each Foundational Treasure was intrinsically linked to a sect's fortune, its significance far surpassing ordinary magical artifacts.
The Remnant Souls within the sects possessed secret techniques to remotely transmit their own energy into these treasures. Consequently, the power contained within these Foundational Treasures became even more terrifying.
BOOM…
The mass of Foundational Treasures whistled forth, obliterating everything, instantly forcing Mo Chenzi and the other Chaos Gods to retreat step by step.
Then, some of the Foundational Treasures circumvented these Chaos Gods and smashed into the retreating forces of the Divine Sword Sect.
Aah… Aah…
Screams of agony rang out incessantly as another batch of Divine Sword Sect members were blasted into scattered pieces on the spot.
The ordinary members of the Divine Sword Sect could not withstand the onslaught of these terrifyingly powerful Foundational Treasures at all, falling prey to a one-sided slaughter.
"Damnit, everyone, speed up the retreat!"
Zhou Duantian had originally been standing within the headquarters, trying to halt the continued ascension of this patch of land. But seeing so many of his sect's members being slaughtered, he could no longer remain composed.
His figure blurred as he rushed out from the headquarters.
"Zhou Duantian was the prime culprit behind our Sword Realm Continent's invasion by foreign enemies!
Let us all fight him together!"
A voice resounded across the Sword Realm Continent.
Within every sword art sect, the phantasmal images of countless Remnant Souls manifested. Each illusion radiated dazzling sword light.
Among these phantom images, some were real Remnant Souls, while others had long since perished utterly—both body and spirit—in the ancient battle, leaving only lingering wills imbued in this continent.
Sword cultivator phantoms appeared one after another: some in blue robes holding swords, some in white clothes gently strumming a zither, some as aged elders stroking their beards, some as young maidens treading upon lotus flowers, swords in hand.
Even the lingering wills of those sword cultivators who had perished utterly were awakened at this moment.
This was the awakening of the collective will of all sword cultivators throughout the ages of the Sword Realm.
Clang! Clang! Clang…
At this moment, countless sword cultivator phantoms across the Sword Realm Continent erupted with rolling waves of sword light, soaring skyward.
Since the ancient battle that saw the Sword Realm Continent destroyed, this land had never shone as brightly, nor been as luminous and translucent as it was now.
The entire continent, along with the vast surrounding void, was illuminated by a dense sea of glittering sword radiance.
The Foundational Treasures were instantly infused with unimaginable sword dao energy, howling as they slashed toward Zhou Duantian.
"Come on then, you drifting ghosts and stray spirits, all of you, come and suffer death!"
Zhou Duantian's face was dark and sullen. He stretched out a hand. From within the Divine Sword Sect Headquarters, a golden longsword shot into the sky and fell into Zhou Duantian's grasp.
Holding the sword, Zhou Duantian's body began to grow taller. He executed the Divine Sword Sect's heritage sword art, bringing his sword down in a mighty slash forward.
Yet, the moment his sword descended, a group of Remnant Soul phantoms manifested within the Divine Sword Sect Headquarters.
"Zhou Duantian, you beast!
I labored diligently to teach you swordsmanship back then, supporting you every step of the way, allowing you to become our Divine Sword Sect's sect master. Yet you repaid kindness with enmity, taking advantage of my unpreparedness to ambush me, robbing me of my life.
And you are cruel and merciless, slaughtering all my disciples without exception—those were your senior and junior brothers, all of whom had shown you kindness during your growth.
Zhou Duantian, you are a cold-blooded, ungrateful little man.
I regret my past mistakes deeply!
Back during the Sword Dao Newcomers Tournament, I had already discerned your crooked heart.
Had it not been for several elders from other sword sects speaking on your behalf, I would have long expelled you from the sect.
All because I was soft-hearted back then, I allowed a calamity like you to remain.
Not only did you bring calamity upon me, but you brought utter destruction upon the entire Sword Realm Continent as well. I am a sinner to the Sword Realm Continent!"
Among them, a white-haired elder pointed a trembling finger at Zhou Duantian, denouncing him with a voice full of venom.
"That's Zhou Duantian's master, Gan Qingyang!"
Upon seeing the white-haired elder, many of the higher-ups of the Divine Sword Sect recognized his identity, expressions of shock appearing on their faces.
Gan Qingyang had once been a core elder of the Divine Sword Sect, and Zhou Duantian's master.
However, after Zhou Duantian became the sect master, he found an excuse to move against Gan Qingyang, slaughtering all of Gan Qingyang's disciples.
"Wasn't it said that Gan Qingyang was imprisoned in the dungeons?
It seems he has perished."
Many Divine Sword Sect higher-ups watched the furious Gan Qingyang denouncing Zhou Duantian, feeling secret alarm.
Everyone could tell this Gan Qingyang was now merely a Remnant Soul; his true body had likely perished.
"Zhou Duantian, you beast!
Back then, you were just an orphan wandering the outside world. It was Master who saw your talent in the sword dao, brought you back to the Sword Realm Continent, and accepted you as his disciple.
Without Master's tutelage, how could you, Zhou Duantian, have achieved what you have today?
Yet you beast repaid kindness with cruelty, causing the death of your benefactor and slaughtering all of us senior and junior brothers.
Zhou Duantian, you are an ingrate!"
A middle-aged man standing beside Gan Qingyang pointed a finger at Zhou Duantian, shouting loudly, his entire body trembling with rage.
As he spoke, the Remnant Souls that had appeared within the Divine Sword Sect Headquarters simultaneously released a mighty torrent of sword dao energy.
Immediately, the golden longsword in Zhou Duantian's hand was interfered with, because those Remnant Souls within the headquarters were contesting Zhou Duantian for control over the golden sword.
Even though the strength of these Divine Sword Sect Remnant Souls was far inferior to Zhou Duantian's, they were extremely familiar with that golden sword.
Especially Gan Qingyang, who had once been the controller of that golden sword and had personally handed it to Zhou Duantian.
Under the contest from those Remnant Souls, Zhou Duantian could not unleash the true power of the golden sword.
Clang! Clang! Clang…
Like a vast, resplendent star river, the dense cluster of Foundational Treasures howled and crashed into Zhou Duantian.
Zhou Duantian was forced into repeated retreats on the spot. Though his anger soared to the heavens, he was powerless to stop it.
"What are you all waiting for?
Destroy Gan Qingyang's Remnant Soul immediately! He must not be allowed to hinder our Divine Sword Sect's rear!"
Zhou Duantian's gaze swept toward the Supreme Elders of the Divine Sword Sect as he shouted loudly.
"Zhou Duantian, do you see now?
Even your own Divine Sword Sect cannot stand your lawless actions.
Zhou Duantian, you will suffer retribution!"
Sword Elder said coldly.
"Zhou Duantian, you are the sinner of the Sword Realm Continent!"
Shoudi Laoren pointed a finger. A compass that had been hovering above his head shot skyward, erupting with streams of profound runes. Spinning rapidly, it pressed down toward Zhou Duantian.
Zhou Duantian, gripping the golden sword, swung it and blocked the compass.
"Everyone from the Divine Sword Sect shall die!"
Ye Yunfei let out a great roar, once again driving the numerous Foundational Treasures to attack.
Of the Divine Sword Sect forces and the Blade Realm blade cultivators who had earlier attacked the Heavenly Sword Sect headquarters, more than half were dead or injured. The remnants were fleeing in disarray back toward the Divine Sword Sect headquarters.
The Divine Sword Sect headquarters had already been severed and was slowly rising skyward under the continuous assault of the Realm-Stabilizing Dragon Vein Formation. Therefore, the Divine Sword Sect members and blade cultivators could only soar upward, chasing after the ascending headquarters.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM…
Driven by Ye Yunfei's will, the mass of Foundational Treasures howled as they charged toward the Divine Sword Sect forces and blade cultivators.
"Hold it!"
The few Blade Realm Chaos Gods were livid with rage. They turned simultaneously, slashing out massive blade radiances.
Clang! Clang! Clang…
The torrent of Foundational Treasures surged forward and blasted these few Blade Realm Chaos Gods flying on the spot.
The strength of these Blade Realm Chaos Gods could not compare to Zhou Duantian's, so it was even more impossible for them to withstand the assault of so many Foundational Treasures.
Two of the Blade Realm Chaos Gods had their bodies directly blasted into pieces by the Foundational Treasures, narrowly escaping utter destruction.
"We must hurry into the Divine Sword Sect headquarters!"
Terrified utterly, these Blade Realm Chaos Gods knew they simply lacked the power to face those terrifying Foundational Treasures.
"Elder Gan, I know there is history between you and the Sect Master, but now is a critical moment for our Divine Sword Sect to face the external enemy.
You must not cause trouble here. On the contrary, you should join forces with us to resist the enemy."
A Supreme Elder of the Divine Sword Sect spoke to Gan Qingyang.
At this moment, within the Divine Sword Sect headquarters, Gan Qingyang's Remnant Soul and the other Remnant Souls were still contesting Zhou Duantian for control over the golden sword.