1802

Around the altar.

The Wraiths were conducting their summoning ritual once again.

The Wraith realm Ruler spoke with a stern voice:

「 With the dragon race’s aid, I shall offer the treasures accumulated by the Wraith realm over the countless years to conduct this summoning 」

His hands were also continuously shifting into various hand seals as he grunted: 「 Life Hex Offering! 」

From behind the Wraith temple’s main hall, hundreds and thousands of treasures flew out by themselves and became assimilated with the altar.

All of these were rare treasures even within the Samsara, each of them possessing miraculous abilities and functions, but they’d all been sacrificed by the Wraith realm Ruler for the ritual.

A second later.

A burst of red light exploded from the top of the altar.

Rays of red light shot into the sky one after another, manifesting into a long summoning runic scripture in the air.

The silver dragon woman looked at the runic scripture and exclaimed: “The Summoning Mystery Script! This is a supernatural phenomenon that can only manifest when the summoning power has been condensed to an extreme”

Another dragon with a tall muscular build spoke: “How very rare—— so be it, since we are already here, let’s give him a hand”

The dragons nodded in agreement.

They all then slowly stepped forward to surround the altar and began chanting an incantation.

Clusters of light then emerged from their bodies to form a rainbow-colored ray of light that slowly entered the summoning runic scripture as well.

As if it had received support, the invisible fluctuations suddenly emanated an explosively into the depths of the Boundless Void.

Seeing that, the Wraith realm Ruler became ecstatic and began to chant the incantation more rapidly.

At some point, he abruptly uttered as if he sensed something: 「 We here sacrifice all of our offerings, for the continuation of living beings, in search for the power to cooperatively venture forth—— 」

In the sky, all the invisible fluctuations vanished and were instead replaced by a radiant solemn divine light that filled every corner of this world.

Boom!

All the runes in the sky once again condensed into a red streak that descended onto the altar, which then manifested into a summoning gate.

After a few moments.

A ringing voice echoed from within the gates:

「 I, from the edge of the Boundless Void, hereby arrive at your call 」

The Wraith realm Ruler was surprised.

He was a bit hesitant, so he turned to the dragons.

The dragons had already gathered and all of them appeared very excited.

The silver dragon woman turned towards the Wraith realm Ruler and mouthed without making a sound:

[—-not a deficit this time]

The Wraith realm Ruler became more assured right away.

He then drew a mystical rune in the air using his finger and uttered:

「 The summon is established! 」

Bam!

The crimson gates swiftly swung open.

A sword glowing with a golden jade texture flew out from the gates, circled a few times around the Wraith realm Ruler, then silently hovered in front of him.

The Wraith realm Ruler observed the sword, then hesitantly said: 「 Tomorrow will be our decisive battle against the Apocalypse, your power—— 」

Before he finished his words, the sword abruptly erupted with an intense sword will.

Strong gusts of wind blew in every direction.

The wind howled with an almost harrowing tone.

The altar, the hall, the palace, and the statues——-

All the surrounding structures were swept away like dust on the ground and blown away in a similar manner.

The ground was as reflective as a mirror surface.

This whole vast area was the same.

But not a single hair was hurt on anyone’s body.

“So strong…” the silver dragon woman muttered blankly.

“It truly is rare to see such a weapon” another dragon commented.

While observing this sword from a distance, Gu Qing Shan could sense the presence it gave off and said with a heavy tone of voice: “What do you have to say to me?”

A golden jade-textured sword appeared from the void of space next to him.

The Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword.

Turned out it was the exact sword that the Wraith realm Ruler had summoned from the Boundless Void!

But if it was originally a sword from the Boundless Void, how did it become the ‘Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword’?

What exactly happened?

The sword sighed, but still tried to convince him: 「 You still have one last chance to leave, I can still bring you away with me right this instant 」

“What exactly are you afraid of?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

「 I merely feel that this is already history so there’s no need to relive it again, but it’s probably too late now 」the sword answered.

Gu Qing Shan turned his gaze back to the summoning area.

The ritual has concluded, and the Wraith realm Ruler wielded the sword in his right hand as he bid farewell to the dragons.

Once all the dragons had left, the Wraith realm Ruler turned to look at Gu Qing Shan.

「 After I received this divine sword, what did you think happened next? 」the Wraith realm Ruler asked.

“You killed all your enemies, settled the Apocalypse, and took the position of Heavenly Emperor” Gu Qing Shan calmly answered.

The Wraith realm Ruler looked straight at him without saying a word for a long while.

「 Ahahahahaha! 」

He abruptly burst out into maniacal laughter and wailed sorrowfully: 「 Of course, that’s what I wanted to do as well, but unfortunately, life doesn’t always play out the way one wishes and fate is a tease! 」

「 Come, witness the events of that decisive battle with me—— you should learn of the secrets of that day 」

Gu Qing Shan asked: “Secrets are the most precious thing within the Boundless Void, what’s the price I have to pay for learning them?”

The Wraith realm Ruler suddenly stopped laughing and stared straight at him with a cold gaze.

「 The price? The price is that you will die 」

He gave Gu Qing Shan a gaze filled with malice and swiftly formed a set of hand seals with both hands.

The scenery around them started changing.

It was now daytime.

The Wraith realm Ruler was wielding the divine sword in his right hand while leading a seemingly endless army, preparing to march towards the decisive battle.

The Delimitation Divine Sword sighed and muttered: 「 There is nothing else to say—– since you refused to listen to my warnings and insisted on watching the events of the past, you will soon face the same circumstances 」

Gu Qing Shan became cautious and started looking around himself.

Nothing was happening at all.

The sword continued: 「 Your wits are far above that of a normal person, so once you witness anything, I assume that misfortune will swiftly descend 」

—–but still nothing happened.

Not only did nothing happen at all, even the scenery and time around them seemed to have been frozen.

The Wraith realm’s army was frozen in place.

Time itself had stopped.

The Wraith realm Ruler had also become petrified.

“Huh? Why did time stop?” Gu Qing Shan muttered in surprise.

The Wraith realm Ruler seemed to be exerting all of his strength to form his hand seals, but couldn’t complete it no matter what.

The only part of the body he could move were his eyes, which displayed clear confusion.

The Delimitation Divine Sword suddenly took flight by itself and circled around the frozen illusion before returning to Gu Qing Shan.

「 How strange, why can’t he display the secret to your eyes? 」

The sword was also confused.

And Gu Qing Shan was naturally clueless as well.

Lines of bloody red text then started appearing in the void of space:

[In the past, the Wraith realm Ruler had formed an alliance with the dragon race]

[The dragon race had enforced an extremely strict Causality Skill on him that made it permanently impossible for him to perform any act that would cause direct harm to a dragon]

[—–Your body is that of a dragon]

[For that reason, his Divine Skill: Exhausted Life Reincarnation had been halted at this moment, unable to proceed any further]

[You are safe]

So that was the case.

It’s because I’m a dragon that the Wraith realm Ruler had to stop.

Gu Qing Shan shrugged and walked up to the Wraith realm Ruler as he said: “So it turns out you were an ally of us dragons, if I knew that beforehand, I wouldn’t have tried to mess with you in the first place”

The Wraith realm Ruler stared at Gu Qing Shan with a stiff expression, but was still unable to move his body at all.

Gu Qing Shan asked the divine sword: “Where is your sword hilt?”

「 Inside his sleeves 」the Delimitation Divine Sword replied.

Gu Qing Shan reached into the Wraith realm Ruler’s sleeves and pulled out a heavy and cold sword hilt made of jade.

He handed the sword hilt to the Delimitation Divine Sword.

The Delimitation Divine Sword gently shifted and placed itself back inside its hilt.

—–the sword was now complete.

“It seems our mission is complete, let’s return” Gu Qing Shan said with a relaxed tone.

I didn’t think being a dragon would also have this benefit.

So this is what it means to stand on the shoulders of one’s predecessors, truly an easy job to complete.

「 Aren’t you going to kill him? 」the sword asked.

Gu Qing Shan appeared hesitant: “He’s a contractor of our dragon race, I don’t know if I can actually get myself to do it”

「 But he almost killed you just now, using a method that you couldn’t have predicted 」the sword replied.

Gu Qing Shan was a bit surprised: “That’s true, but aren’t you going to stop me?”

「 I’d rather he die as soon as possible 」the sword coldly said.

“But why?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

「 Do you want to know what happened back then? 」the sword asked.

“Of course, any information, any secret is worth investigating” Gu Qing Shan affirmed.

「 Gu Qing Shan, I ask you, under any dangerous circumstances, have you ever left your sword behind? 」the divine sword suddenly asked.

“—–so long as my sword remains, I shall stay” Gu Qing Shan answered like it was obvious.

「 Have there ever been an exception? 」

“Not once”

「 Then, what if the sword is like me? When faced with a dangerous situation, would you leave me behind? Even though I cannot recognize you as my wielder 」the divine sword asked again.

“Even if I can’t possess you, I wouldn’t want to see you being destroyed—— I will most likely take you with me as I flee” Gu Qing Shan replied.

「 …I can sense that you haven’t lied, if you do not die after this, I will inform you of the truth 」the divine sword stated.

If I don’t die?

In other words, something hasn’t actually ended yet…

Gu Qing Shan thought to himself and grasped the sword tightly before slashing the Wraith realm Ruler.

——-his head was detached from his body.

In an instant, lines of bloody red text appeared from the void of space:

[You’ve killed the past Ruler of the Wraith realm]

[It was several times stronger than yourself]

[—-Following your request, Entropy Solution has been invoked in secret]

[The Sequence has finished communicating with Primal Chaos while hiding outside of any entity’s attention]

[You’ve received the Primal Chaos Reinforcement: Strengthened Body]

[Your dragon body has undergone an evolution, greatly bolstering your endurance and tenacity]

[Congratulations!]

Gu Qing Shan was silently shocked.

——why did Primal Chaos give me such a powerful reinforcement?

Could it be that what the Sequence said was true? That feedback from Primal Chaos is impossible to predict?

Everything was done secretly because I faintly sensed something wrong.

As if things had somehow gone awry.

How come——-

I managed to kill the Wraith realm Ruler so easily?

Just because I was a dragon?

Following the Wraith realm Ruler’s eternal destruction, the illusion around them slowly collapsed and disappeared, together with the world within the fog.

A barren grave, a silent river, and a gloomy forest——

Everything had returned to normal, the same great tomb as before.

Gu Qing Shan suddenly raised his sword.

He appeared absolutely focused and said in a heavy tone: “If you’re already here, why don’t you show yourselves?”

A voice spoke up from within the forest:

“Gu Qing Shan, it’s time for your life to end”

Another voice followed: “Indeed, it turns out all of us had been deceived; you don’t know that secret at all”

Two figures came flying.

One short, one tall.

The two Sequence Envoys from before.

Gu Qing Shan grinned: “It seems like you two aren’t going to give up before you truly give it a try”

He gripped his sword tightly.

Suddenly, another voice spoke up: 『 Of course we aren’t going to give up, all of us are those who stand at the top, leaders of countless Sequence members, and yet we were all deceived by you 』

Another Sequence Envoy appeared a short distance behind Gu Qing Shan.

「 That’s right, only by killing you and grinding your bones to ashes would we be able to wash away your mockery of us 」

Yet another Sequence Envoy appeared a short distance away from him.

More and more Sequence Envoys started appearing one after another.

Practically every Sequence Envoy Gu Qing Shan knew had gathered together to surround him.

Each and every single one of them possessed strength that rivaled a Creator Entity.

Such a level of power wasn’t something that a single individual could go against.

Gu Qing Shan thought briefly and sheathed his sword, then curiously asked: “How did you find out that I was lying?”

A Sequence Envoy answered: 『 We examined and found that you do not possess the qualifications to hold that secret—— if you knew about it, you would have already been erased 』

“Hand over your sword, that is our mission; in return, we will spare you a little bit of torture” another Sequence Envoy demanded.

Gu Qing Shan turned to look at the sword in his hand.

The sword gave off a resolute ringing noise.

Gu Qing Shan shook his head: “My apologies, but it doesn’t seem to be willing”

A Sequence Envoy sighed: 「 For living beings, all of their suffering are self-inflicted 」

He raised his hand——

In an instant, Gu Qing Shan’s own blood exploded from his body.

He was sent flying before crashing into an invisible wall, which made his blood splatter in a horrifying manner.

None of the Sequence Envoys made a single move.

One of them spoke: “Take a look, you shall be tortured until you can no longer handle it, eventually even your soul shall collapse”

Gu Qing Shan gripped his sword tightly as white fog immediately dissipated as soon as it manifested around his body.

Their surrounding space had been isolated.

“Ahaha, seems like I really won’t be able to leave today” he muttered.

Bang!

Another thunderous impact resounded throughout the area.

Once again, Gu Qing Shan was sent flying into another invisible wall.

He was bleeding all over, but still kept a tight grip in his sword.

Is there a way out of this?

He quickly thought to himself.

At the very next split second, he was sent flying again.

During the following minutes, he was continuously sent flying again and again, gradually soaking himself in his own blood as if he was bathed in it.

Eventually, one of the Sequence Envoys slightly nodded: 『 At least you’re acting like a real man——- hand over the sword in your hand, make it taste the pain of being betrayed and once again recognize the things it should shoulder, if you do that, I can grant you a swift and easy death 』

Gu Qing Shan could faintly guess the implications of those words.

He wiped the blood from his face and chuckled: “You bunch probably misunderstood something. This isn’t my sword, it and I are complete strangers, so betrayal is impossible”

『 Then why do you refuse to hand it over? 』the Sequence Envoy asked with surprise in their voice.

“Simply because it isn’t willing” Gu Qing Shan curtly answered.

Everyone was speechless.

Suddenly——–

Lines of bloody red text rapidly appeared in front of Gu Qing Shan’s vision:

[Attention, the Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword has made its decision]

[It has regained its identity as a sword of the Boundless Void]

[It is informing you of its Thaumaturgies]

[It has recognized you as its master!]

Gu Qing Shan was sent flying again.

His blood had soaked the barren earth and the silently flowing river.

His body had been practically broken, barely managing to stand back up.

The Sequence Envoy who attacked him said: “You’re being deceived again, that sword had done everything in its power to shield his location earlier, and now he’s refusing to hand it over—— this is clearly a sword and sword wielder’s relationship”

『 You’re right, I didn’t think of that 』another Sequence Envoy agreed.

He raised his hand in preparation to attack Gu Qing Shan again.

Suddenly, the void of space shifted.

An angry female voice echoed throughout the void of space:

“Who dares to harm my disciple!?”

Around the altar.

The Wraiths were conducting their summoning ritual once again.

The Wraith realm Ruler spoke with a stern voice:

「 With the dragon race’s aid, I shall offer the treasures accumulated by the Wraith realm over the countless years to conduct this summoning 」

His hands were also continuously shifting into various hand seals as he grunted: 「 Life Hex Offering! 」

From behind the Wraith temple’s main hall, hundreds and thousands of treasures flew out by themselves and became assimilated with the altar.

All of these were rare treasures even within the Samsara, each of them possessing miraculous abilities and functions, but they’d all been sacrificed by the Wraith realm Ruler for the ritual.

A second later.

A burst of red light exploded from the top of the altar.

Rays of red light shot into the sky one after another, manifesting into a long summoning runic scripture in the air.

The silver dragon woman looked at the runic scripture and exclaimed: “The Summoning Mystery Script! This is a supernatural phenomenon that can only manifest when the summoning power has been condensed to an extreme”

Another dragon with a tall muscular build spoke: “How very rare—— so be it, since we are already here, let’s give him a hand”

The dragons nodded in agreement.

They all then slowly stepped forward to surround the altar and began chanting an incantation.

Clusters of light then emerged from their bodies to form a rainbow-colored ray of light that slowly entered the summoning runic scripture as well.

As if it had received support, the invisible fluctuations suddenly emanated an explosively into the depths of the Boundless Void.

Seeing that, the Wraith realm Ruler became ecstatic and began to chant the incantation more rapidly.

At some point, he abruptly uttered as if he sensed something: 「 We here sacrifice all of our offerings, for the continuation of living beings, in search for the power to cooperatively venture forth—— 」

In the sky, all the invisible fluctuations vanished and were instead replaced by a radiant solemn divine light that filled every corner of this world.

Boom!

All the runes in the sky once again condensed into a red streak that descended onto the altar, which then manifested into a summoning gate.

After a few moments.

A ringing voice echoed from within the gates:

「 I, from the edge of the Boundless Void, hereby arrive at your call 」

The Wraith realm Ruler was surprised.

He was a bit hesitant, so he turned to the dragons.

The dragons had already gathered and all of them appeared very excited.

The silver dragon woman turned towards the Wraith realm Ruler and mouthed without making a sound:

[—-not a deficit this time]

The Wraith realm Ruler became more assured right away.

He then drew a mystical rune in the air using his finger and uttered:

「 The summon is established! 」

Bam!

The crimson gates swiftly swung open.

A sword glowing with a golden jade texture flew out from the gates, circled a few times around the Wraith realm Ruler, then silently hovered in front of him.

The Wraith realm Ruler observed the sword, then hesitantly said: 「 Tomorrow will be our decisive battle against the Apocalypse, your power—— 」

Before he finished his words, the sword abruptly erupted with an intense sword will.

Strong gusts of wind blew in every direction.

The wind howled with an almost harrowing tone.

The altar, the hall, the palace, and the statues——-

All the surrounding structures were swept away like dust on the ground and blown away in a similar manner.

The ground was as reflective as a mirror surface.

This whole vast area was the same.

But not a single hair was hurt on anyone’s body.

“So strong…” the silver dragon woman muttered blankly.

“It truly is rare to see such a weapon” another dragon commented.

While observing this sword from a distance, Gu Qing Shan could sense the presence it gave off and said with a heavy tone of voice: “What do you have to say to me?”

A golden jade-textured sword appeared from the void of space next to him.

The Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword.

Turned out it was the exact sword that the Wraith realm Ruler had summoned from the Boundless Void!

But if it was originally a sword from the Boundless Void, how did it become the ‘Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword’?

What exactly happened?

The sword sighed, but still tried to convince him: 「 You still have one last chance to leave, I can still bring you away with me right this instant 」

“What exactly are you afraid of?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

「 I merely feel that this is already history so there’s no need to relive it again, but it’s probably too late now 」the sword answered.

Gu Qing Shan turned his gaze back to the summoning area.

The ritual has concluded, and the Wraith realm Ruler wielded the sword in his right hand as he bid farewell to the dragons.

Once all the dragons had left, the Wraith realm Ruler turned to look at Gu Qing Shan.

「 After I received this divine sword, what did you think happened next? 」the Wraith realm Ruler asked.

“You killed all your enemies, settled the Apocalypse, and took the position of Heavenly Emperor” Gu Qing Shan calmly answered.

The Wraith realm Ruler looked straight at him without saying a word for a long while.

「 Ahahahahaha! 」

He abruptly burst out into maniacal laughter and wailed sorrowfully: 「 Of course, that’s what I wanted to do as well, but unfortunately, life doesn’t always play out the way one wishes and fate is a tease! 」

「 Come, witness the events of that decisive battle with me—— you should learn of the secrets of that day 」

Gu Qing Shan asked: “Secrets are the most precious thing within the Boundless Void, what’s the price I have to pay for learning them?”

The Wraith realm Ruler suddenly stopped laughing and stared straight at him with a cold gaze.

「 The price? The price is that you will die 」

He gave Gu Qing Shan a gaze filled with malice and swiftly formed a set of hand seals with both hands.

The scenery around them started changing.

It was now daytime.

The Wraith realm Ruler was wielding the divine sword in his right hand while leading a seemingly endless army, preparing to march towards the decisive battle.

The Delimitation Divine Sword sighed and muttered: 「 There is nothing else to say—– since you refused to listen to my warnings and insisted on watching the events of the past, you will soon face the same circumstances 」

Gu Qing Shan became cautious and started looking around himself.

Nothing was happening at all.

The sword continued: 「 Your wits are far above that of a normal person, so once you witness anything, I assume that misfortune will swiftly descend 」

—–but still nothing happened.

Not only did nothing happen at all, even the scenery and time around them seemed to have been frozen.

The Wraith realm’s army was frozen in place.

Time itself had stopped.

The Wraith realm Ruler had also become petrified.

“Huh? Why did time stop?” Gu Qing Shan muttered in surprise.

The Wraith realm Ruler seemed to be exerting all of his strength to form his hand seals, but couldn’t complete it no matter what.

The only part of the body he could move were his eyes, which displayed clear confusion.

The Delimitation Divine Sword suddenly took flight by itself and circled around the frozen illusion before returning to Gu Qing Shan.

「 How strange, why can’t he display the secret to your eyes? 」

The sword was also confused.

And Gu Qing Shan was naturally clueless as well.

Lines of bloody red text then started appearing in the void of space:

[In the past, the Wraith realm Ruler had formed an alliance with the dragon race]

[The dragon race had enforced an extremely strict Causality Skill on him that made it permanently impossible for him to perform any act that would cause direct harm to a dragon]

[—–Your body is that of a dragon]

[For that reason, his Divine Skill: Exhausted Life Reincarnation had been halted at this moment, unable to proceed any further]

[You are safe]

So that was the case.

It’s because I’m a dragon that the Wraith realm Ruler had to stop.

Gu Qing Shan shrugged and walked up to the Wraith realm Ruler as he said: “So it turns out you were an ally of us dragons, if I knew that beforehand, I wouldn’t have tried to mess with you in the first place”

The Wraith realm Ruler stared at Gu Qing Shan with a stiff expression, but was still unable to move his body at all.

Gu Qing Shan asked the divine sword: “Where is your sword hilt?”

「 Inside his sleeves 」the Delimitation Divine Sword replied.

Gu Qing Shan reached into the Wraith realm Ruler’s sleeves and pulled out a heavy and cold sword hilt made of jade.

He handed the sword hilt to the Delimitation Divine Sword.

The Delimitation Divine Sword gently shifted and placed itself back inside its hilt.

—–the sword was now complete.

“It seems our mission is complete, let’s return” Gu Qing Shan said with a relaxed tone.

I didn’t think being a dragon would also have this benefit.

So this is what it means to stand on the shoulders of one’s predecessors, truly an easy job to complete.

「 Aren’t you going to kill him? 」the sword asked.

Gu Qing Shan appeared hesitant: “He’s a contractor of our dragon race, I don’t know if I can actually get myself to do it”

「 But he almost killed you just now, using a method that you couldn’t have predicted 」the sword replied.

Gu Qing Shan was a bit surprised: “That’s true, but aren’t you going to stop me?”

「 I’d rather he die as soon as possible 」the sword coldly said.

“But why?” Gu Qing Shan asked.

「 Do you want to know what happened back then? 」the sword asked.

“Of course, any information, any secret is worth investigating” Gu Qing Shan affirmed.

「 Gu Qing Shan, I ask you, under any dangerous circumstances, have you ever left your sword behind? 」the divine sword suddenly asked.

“—–so long as my sword remains, I shall stay” Gu Qing Shan answered like it was obvious.

「 Have there ever been an exception? 」

“Not once”

「 Then, what if the sword is like me? When faced with a dangerous situation, would you leave me behind? Even though I cannot recognize you as my wielder 」the divine sword asked again.

“Even if I can’t possess you, I wouldn’t want to see you being destroyed—— I will most likely take you with me as I flee” Gu Qing Shan replied.

「 …I can sense that you haven’t lied, if you do not die after this, I will inform you of the truth 」the divine sword stated.

If I don’t die?

In other words, something hasn’t actually ended yet…

Gu Qing Shan thought to himself and grasped the sword tightly before slashing the Wraith realm Ruler.

——-his head was detached from his body.

In an instant, lines of bloody red text appeared from the void of space:

[You’ve killed the past Ruler of the Wraith realm]

[It was several times stronger than yourself]

[—-Following your request, Entropy Solution has been invoked in secret]

[The Sequence has finished communicating with Primal Chaos while hiding outside of any entity’s attention]

[You’ve received the Primal Chaos Reinforcement: Strengthened Body]

[Your dragon body has undergone an evolution, greatly bolstering your endurance and tenacity]

[Congratulations!]

Gu Qing Shan was silently shocked.

——why did Primal Chaos give me such a powerful reinforcement?

Could it be that what the Sequence said was true? That feedback from Primal Chaos is impossible to predict?

Everything was done secretly because I faintly sensed something wrong.

As if things had somehow gone awry.

How come——-

I managed to kill the Wraith realm Ruler so easily?

Just because I was a dragon?

Following the Wraith realm Ruler’s eternal destruction, the illusion around them slowly collapsed and disappeared, together with the world within the fog.

A barren grave, a silent river, and a gloomy forest——

Everything had returned to normal, the same great tomb as before.

Gu Qing Shan suddenly raised his sword.

He appeared absolutely focused and said in a heavy tone: “If you’re already here, why don’t you show yourselves?”

A voice spoke up from within the forest:

“Gu Qing Shan, it’s time for your life to end”

Another voice followed: “Indeed, it turns out all of us had been deceived; you don’t know that secret at all”

Two figures came flying.

One short, one tall.

The two Sequence Envoys from before.

Gu Qing Shan grinned: “It seems like you two aren’t going to give up before you truly give it a try”

He gripped his sword tightly.

Suddenly, another voice spoke up: 『 Of course we aren’t going to give up, all of us are those who stand at the top, leaders of countless Sequence members, and yet we were all deceived by you 』

Another Sequence Envoy appeared a short distance behind Gu Qing Shan.

「 That’s right, only by killing you and grinding your bones to ashes would we be able to wash away your mockery of us 」

Yet another Sequence Envoy appeared a short distance away from him.

More and more Sequence Envoys started appearing one after another.

Practically every Sequence Envoy Gu Qing Shan knew had gathered together to surround him.

Each and every single one of them possessed strength that rivaled a Creator Entity.

Such a level of power wasn’t something that a single individual could go against.

Gu Qing Shan thought briefly and sheathed his sword, then curiously asked: “How did you find out that I was lying?”

A Sequence Envoy answered: 『 We examined and found that you do not possess the qualifications to hold that secret—— if you knew about it, you would have already been erased 』

“Hand over your sword, that is our mission; in return, we will spare you a little bit of torture” another Sequence Envoy demanded.

Gu Qing Shan turned to look at the sword in his hand.

The sword gave off a resolute ringing noise.

Gu Qing Shan shook his head: “My apologies, but it doesn’t seem to be willing”

A Sequence Envoy sighed: 「 For living beings, all of their suffering are self-inflicted 」

He raised his hand——

In an instant, Gu Qing Shan’s own blood exploded from his body.

He was sent flying before crashing into an invisible wall, which made his blood splatter in a horrifying manner.

None of the Sequence Envoys made a single move.

One of them spoke: “Take a look, you shall be tortured until you can no longer handle it, eventually even your soul shall collapse”

Gu Qing Shan gripped his sword tightly as white fog immediately dissipated as soon as it manifested around his body.

Their surrounding space had been isolated.

“Ahaha, seems like I really won’t be able to leave today” he muttered.

Bang!

Another thunderous impact resounded throughout the area.

Once again, Gu Qing Shan was sent flying into another invisible wall.

He was bleeding all over, but still kept a tight grip in his sword.

Is there a way out of this?

He quickly thought to himself.

At the very next split second, he was sent flying again.

During the following minutes, he was continuously sent flying again and again, gradually soaking himself in his own blood as if he was bathed in it.

Eventually, one of the Sequence Envoys slightly nodded: 『 At least you’re acting like a real man——- hand over the sword in your hand, make it taste the pain of being betrayed and once again recognize the things it should shoulder, if you do that, I can grant you a swift and easy death 』

Gu Qing Shan could faintly guess the implications of those words.

He wiped the blood from his face and chuckled: “You bunch probably misunderstood something. This isn’t my sword, it and I are complete strangers, so betrayal is impossible”

『 Then why do you refuse to hand it over? 』the Sequence Envoy asked with surprise in their voice.

“Simply because it isn’t willing” Gu Qing Shan curtly answered.

Everyone was speechless.

Suddenly——–

Lines of bloody red text rapidly appeared in front of Gu Qing Shan’s vision:

[Attention, the Samsara Delimitation Divine Sword has made its decision]

[It has regained its identity as a sword of the Boundless Void]

[It is informing you of its Thaumaturgies]

[It has recognized you as its master!]

Gu Qing Shan was sent flying again.

His blood had soaked the barren earth and the silently flowing river.

His body had been practically broken, barely managing to stand back up.

The Sequence Envoy who attacked him said: “You’re being deceived again, that sword had done everything in its power to shield his location earlier, and now he’s refusing to hand it over—— this is clearly a sword and sword wielder’s relationship”

『 You’re right, I didn’t think of that 』another Sequence Envoy agreed.

He raised his hand in preparation to attack Gu Qing Shan again.

Suddenly, the void of space shifted.

An angry female voice echoed throughout the void of space:

“Who dares to harm my disciple!?”