The Absolute Immortal Sword shot toward Zhong Shan, arriving at his face in the blink of an eye.
This was Li Si's gift? Thoughts flashed through Zhong Shan's mind. From Li Si's actions, Zhong Shan didn't see any sign of celebration. On the contrary, he saw deep scheming. Li Si was plotting against him. But how? What did giving the Absolute Immortal Sword mean?
In that brief moment, Zhong Shan couldn't fully understand Li Si's deeper intentions. However, he knew this was an open plot. Li Si seemed to know Zhong Shan desperately wanted the Absolute Immortal Sword.
"Attack with the orthodox, win with the unorthodox." The same principle applied here. No matter what cunning plans Li Si had, as long as Zhong Shan remained vigilant and left no gaps, Li Si would have no opening.
Though he couldn't grasp Li Si's intent in that short time, Zhong Shan resolutely decided to accept this grand gift.
"Snap!"
The Absolute Immortal Sword, which had flown toward Zhong Shan's face, vanished in a flash of colorful light before everyone's eyes. It was so fast that almost no one saw the Baji Heaven Tail swallow it in one gulp.
With the lesson from last time, Zhong Shan didn't hesitate to seize and slowly consume the sword. Last time, he had lost a cooked duck. This time, he had to be quick. The Baji Heaven Tail had to digest the Absolute Immortal Sword as fast as possible.
The sword's disappearance immediately caused a change in the expressions of the onlookers in the sky.
Panic appeared on Ye Qingcheng's face. The same feeling as last time in the Black Sea—was it happening again?
Ye Qingcheng repeatedly cast spells to summon the sword back, but in just a moment, the spells were ineffective.
Impossible. Ye Qingcheng didn't believe it. Could the Absolute Immortal Sword really be lost again? But the spells were indeed ineffective, and the sword couldn't be summoned back.
"Zhong Shan!" Ye Qingcheng roared furiously, but everyone could hear the traces of despair mixed with the anger.
"Thank you for the Great Qin's gift!" Zhong Shan shouted.
The Raven Dao Lord's figure blurred as he shot toward Zhong Shan with a fierce aura. Ye Qingcheng also charged toward Zhong Shan as if driven mad.
"Whoosh!"
The two stopped abruptly. Jian Ao, moving faster, appeared in front of Zhong Shan, staring coldly at the two Dao Lords.
They stared at Jian Ao, filled with unwillingness.
"Zhong Shan, hand over the Absolute Immortal Sword, or my Changsheng Realm will destroy your Lingxiao Heavenly Court and fight you to the death!" the Raven Dao Lord said in a deep voice.
"Hahaha, Raven Dao Lord, you're being unreasonable. When did I take the Absolute Immortal Sword from your Changsheng Realm? The one I took was a gift from the Great Qin. Making such baseless accusations doesn't harm your reputation?" Zhong Shan replied coldly.
The Raven Dao Lord's eyes were filled with anger. He glanced in the direction where Li Si had been. Li Si had long disappeared, clearly anticipating the chaos and leaving early.
"Zhong Shan, I know you're good with words, but the Absolute Immortal Sword ultimately belongs to my Changsheng Realm! Hand it over now!" the Raven Dao Lord demanded coldly.
"The property of the Changsheng Realm? Haha, you're mistaken. The Absolute Immortal Sword belongs to Saint Tongtian. Why don't you hand over the Immortal Execution Sword?" Zhong Shan retorted coldly.
"You're courting death!" the Raven Dao Lord glared, preparing to unleash the Immortal Execution Gourd.
"Zhong Shan is my friend. What, Raven Dao Lord, do you wish to continue the battle from before?" Jian Ao said calmly.
Jian Ao was now a formidable deterrent. The Raven Dao Lord's eyes flashed with resentment, but with Jian Ao present, continuing the fight would be futile.
"Raven Dao Lord, Shen Qitian is dead. You should leave; no one here welcomes you!" Zhong Shan said coldly.
"Realm Lord!" Ye Qingcheng looked at the Raven Dao Lord.
The Raven Dao Lord's expression constantly changed as he stared at Zhong Shan. They had met many times before, and he regretted not killing him earlier. This would have prevented such a formidable threat.
"With Jian Ao here, it's unwise to confront him directly. But the Absolute Immortal Sword cannot be lost again," the Raven Dao Lord said coldly.
At that moment, Ye Qingcheng's pupils suddenly contracted, and his face changed dramatically.
"Realm, Realm Lord!" Ye Qingcheng exclaimed in horror.
"What is it?"
"The Absolute Immortal Sword has been annihilated!" Ye Qingcheng said with a trace of terror.
"What?" the Raven Dao Lord's eyes widened.
Meanwhile, Zhong Shan let out a long breath of relief.
Not only had Ye Qingcheng tried to summon it earlier, but Zhong Shan had also felt another powerful summoning force trying to tear the Absolute Immortal Sword away from the Baji Heaven Tail. However, with the full power of digestion, the strongest pull was resisted. Success! All restrictions on the Absolute Immortal Sword were dissolved. Now, it was only a matter of time.
At the entrance to the Changsheng Realm.
"Roar~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
Another earth-shaking roar, filled with violent anger, caused the surrounding heavens and earth to darken.
The Absolute Immortal Sword had now become part of history.
The Raven Dao Lord's eyes turned blood-red as he stared at Zhong Shan, filled with a relentless fury.
But Zhong Shan met his gaze with a smile, intending to provoke him.
"Let's go!" The Raven Dao Lord did not take the bait. Even with such intense rage, he held it back, displaying remarkable restraint. Even Zhong Shan was surprised by this.
"Realm Lord?" Ye Qingcheng was slightly taken aback.
"I said, let's go!" the Raven Dao Lord repeated angrily.
"Yes!" Ye Qingcheng and Gu responded simultaneously.
In a flash, the three of them shot off into the distance, disappearing from everyone's sight in an instant.
In this battle, the Raven Dao Lord had completely miscalculated. Both he and Jian Ao had sustained minor injuries, but nothing serious. However, Ye Qingcheng was heavily injured.
And Gu had not sustained any injuries at all.
During the flight, the Raven Dao Lord glanced at Gu, silently labeling him as a "useless person." From start to finish, Gu hadn't participated in the battle at all.
"Realm Lord, what do we do now? How do we explain this to the Ancestor?" Ye Qingcheng frowned.
"I will speak to the Ancestor. Upon returning, I will go into seclusion. You will oversee the Changsheng Realm in my absence," the Raven Dao Lord said solemnly.
"Seclusion?"
"Yes, I must force a breakthrough to the twelfth tier of the Tianji Realm and unseal the Immortal-Slaying Gourd. If this continues, our advantage in the Changsheng Realm will diminish. I must grow stronger quickly. During this time, you will guard the Changsheng Realm. Do you understand?" the Raven Dao Lord commanded.
"Yes!"
"I will entrust you with the Immortal-Trapping Sword. This is your final chance. If you lose it again, you will answer to me with your life!" the Raven Dao Lord said coldly.
"Yes!" Ye Qingcheng responded with a hint of fear in his voice.
Meishan, after the baptism of battle, had turned into complete ruins. Only the valley where Zhong Shan stood remained, with plum blossoms still blooming, thanks to his presence.
As the Raven Dao Lord and the others left, Zhong Shan glanced at Jian Ao with a hint of gratitude. Just then, Li Si from the Great Qin reappeared in the distance.
Li Si looked at Zhong Shan with a slight surprise, while Zhong Shan regarded Li Si speechlessly. Indeed, someone who could become a prime minister was far from being as pedantic as he appeared. Li Si was a cunning old fox.
"Emperor Zhong Shan, did our Great Qin's gift please you?" Li Si asked with a smile.
"Thank you!" Zhong Shan nodded.
"Prime Minister Li, do you have any other business here?" Jian Ao asked, looking at Li Si.
"The Holy Emperor knows that Lord Jian Ao is about to ascend, so he sent me to bid him farewell," Li Si said solemnly.
"Oh?" Jian Ao's pupils contracted. How did Ying know?
Li Si's calm smile appeared strange to both Zhong Shan and Jian Ao. Jian Ao seemed to have thought of something and nodded lightly.
With a wave of his hand, Jian Ao threw out a white light orb, which stopped in mid-air and transformed into a large gate.
"Netherworld Sect disciples, enter!" Jian Ao commanded.
"Yes!" Countless white-robed Netherworld Sect disciples quickly flew into the gate.
In Zhong Shan's small valley, two more people arrived: Liu Wushuang, who had come with Zhong Shan, and another white-robed Netherworld Sect disciple, Xiao Zhongxing, whom Zhong Shan knew as Xiao Wang and Jian Hong's son.
"Girl, Zhongxing will come with me. What about you? Are you sure you want to stay?" Jian Ao asked Jian Hong.
Jian Hong looked deeply at Jian Ao, then suddenly knelt down and kowtowed several times.
"Father, I have ties in this world. When I reach the Grand Thousand World, I will serve you again!" Jian Hong said.
"Hmm, it's not like we won't see each other again. Perhaps it won't be long before we meet again!" Jian Ao nodded.
"Mother, I will serve you again in the Grand Thousand World!" Xiao Zhongxing suddenly knelt down and bowed as well.
Jian Hong helped Xiao Zhongxing up and nodded.
"Zhongxing, go inside!" Jian Ao said.
"Yes!"
Before long, all the Netherworld Sect disciples had entered the light orb. The light orb slowly flew back to Jian Ao's hand and was taken back by him.
Everything had been dealt with. Jian Ao had no more attachments in this world.
Looking around, the countless strong cultivators who had been watching did not leave. They stood at a distance, watching the unfolding events, as if expecting something significant to happen.
With a step, Jian Ao caused the distant ground to rise abruptly. A towering mountain surged from the earth. Jian Ao stepped onto the peak of the sword-shaped mountain, looking up at the sky. Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew around him, his long hair fluttering, and his clothes swaying gently.
Everyone seemed to realize something and held their breath, waiting.
"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~!"
A massive thunderclap echoed across the heavens and earth. Endless dark clouds covered the sky, lightning flashed, and violent storms raged. A powerful heavenly pressure descended from above, making the ground below tremble slightly under the immense weight.
The heavenly tribulation had arrived, and the divine might descended! Jian Ao was about to face the heavenly might and change his mortal fate. If he successfully passed the tribulation, he would achieve the fate of an immortal. Successfully passing the twelfth tier of the Tianji Realm's tribulation would undoubtedly make him a celestial immortal!