Crossing the Cultivation Realm: Two Souls Coexist

The Sword God's gaze lingered on the heavily injured old tortoise for only a moment.

Those icy eyes seemed to pierce through all illusions, directly seeing the raging fire poison within the old tortoise's body and its collapsing, glassy demonic form.

And the embers of life left behind after the forced burning of the source, like a candle flickering in the wind.

He didn't speak, he just extended his right hand.

His fingers were long and slender with distinct knuckles, and his skin was an almost transparent pale white, making him look less like a living person and more like a jade carving.

Bring your index and middle fingers together and gently stroke them in the air around the old turtle.

The movements were casual, as if brushing dust off clothes.

"Sizzle—!"

A sound, extremely faint yet clear and piercing, like the smooth cutting of the most durable silk by an invisible blade, rang out.

The absolute confinement around the old tortoise, formed by vast holy light and which even Chi Kui could hardly shake, actually developed a "crack" silently, following the trajectory of the Sword God's finger!

It wasn't broken by violence, but rather... by some higher-level, sharper concept of "rules," which "cut" a gap that could be passed through from the perspective of the logic of existence!

The old tortoise's massive body suddenly shuddered, as if relieved of an immense burden, and finally regained its ability to move.

However, his severely injured and dying body suddenly lost external support, and at an altitude of 10,000 meters, he was unable to maintain his balance.

The azure-colored tortoise shell swayed in the air, more golden blood seeping from the cracks, its aura becoming erratic, and it was about to fall.

Bai Xiao moved slightly and appeared beside the old tortoise in the next instant.

Still with one hand, he gently pressed on the center of the old tortoise's cracked, incredibly hot shell.

The movement seemed casual, but an invisible force field, as solid as a mountain yet as gentle as water, instantly supported the old tortoise's swaying body, keeping him steadily suspended in the air.

After the old tortoise managed to stabilize its demonic energy, Bai Xiao's hand remained on the tortoise shell.

Beneath his palm, a barely perceptible silver glint flickered.

Immediately afterwards, the old turtle's whole body trembled violently!

He felt thousands upon thousands of strands of "airflow," finer than a hair, yet containing unimaginable sharpness and icy will, surging into his body from Bai Xiao's palm.

That wasn't spiritual power, nor was it elemental energy; rather, it was... "sword intent" refined to its extreme and possessing life!

These wispy sword energies, upon entering his massive demonic body, did not rampage wildly. Instead, like the most skilled healers and hunters, they precisely dispersed.

It traveled rapidly along his riddled meridians, blood vessels, and spiritual pathways.

Their "target" was crystal clear—the Golden Immortal Fire Poison left behind by Chi Kui, which clung to their bones like maggots!

"Sizzle... hiss..."

In the old tortoise's inner vision, those incredibly stubborn poisonous flames, which even a massive amount of earth element could not extinguish, seemed to have encountered their natural enemy when they met these silver thread-like sword energies!

Wherever the sword energy passes, the poisonous fire is either directly "severed," frozen and solidified, or shattered and annihilated by even finer vortexes of sword energy!

The process was incredibly fast and precise, without causing any damage to the old tortoise's already fragile tissues from the sword energy.

"Wow--!"

A moment later, the old tortoise suddenly opened its huge mouth and spat out a large mass of thick, pitch-black blood clots with a few stubborn sparks jumping in the center.

The blood clot left the body and was instantly purified into nothingness by the remaining holy light around it.

At the same time, the old tortoise felt the excruciating pain burning his soul suddenly lessen by more than half.

Although the injuries are still severe and the vital energy is greatly depleted, at least the most deadly threat of "fire poison" has been eliminated!

He dared not delay, nor did he have time to express his gratitude. He immediately took refuge in the void, calmed his mind, and began to circulate his remaining spiritual power.

He began the arduous task of repairing the cracks in the tortoise shell and stabilizing his primordial spirit, which was on the verge of dissipating.

With the Sword God here, he could finally put down all his defenses for the time being and focus on healing.

On the side, Chi Kui, who was firmly imprisoned by the holy light, took in all of this.

A flicker of fear and horror crossed the depths of his crimson-gold pupils.

His "Millennial Fire Poison" was refined with the essence of a Golden Immortal at the peak, and fused with several exotic poisons from beyond the realm and domineering fire-type laws.

Even for experts of the same level, it would take a great deal of effort and a very long time to remove the poison.

But this man in white... he just casually infused some sword energy, and in such a short time, he almost wiped them out?!

This "barbaric land" in his eyes, barren of spiritual energy and with incomplete heritage, actually harbors such a terrifying prodigy?!

This man's understanding of power and his control over the "sword" had reached a level that even he found unbelievable!

The panic that originally arose from the Holy Light imprisonment and the disappearance of the spatial passage.

At this moment, mixed with fear of the man's strength, Chi Kui's arrogant and fierce heart sank uncontrollably.

His face, which was already pale from the exhaustion of breaking the restriction, now lost all color and became ashen, like a dead man.

He subconsciously concealed all his presence, even trying to minimize his own life force, hoping that the terrifying man in white would temporarily divert his attention from him.

Fortunately, the Sword God seemed genuinely uninterested in him. After stabilizing the old tortoise's injuries...

He withdrew his hand, then raised his head, his cold and indifferent gaze falling upon the still blazing, and seemingly more "active" holy light surrounding him.

These holy lights seemed to possess their own will.

After he appeared and was "cut open" and imprisoned, the demons did not dissipate but instead surged towards him like a tidal wave.

They gently surrounded and touched him, not aggressive, but carrying an irresistible sense of "guidance".

It was as if urging him, inviting him, trying to lead him to a higher place where the holy light originated—

The top of the sky was completely submerged in sacred golden light.

Bai Xiao's face remained expressionless.

He did not resist this guiding force, and even... slightly relaxed his "anchoring" to this world.

He also wanted to see this so-called "divine guidance," which was clearly different from the extraordinary phenomenon that Hu Qing and Gu Yang experienced during their breakthroughs, and whose scale and level far exceeded expectations.

What exactly do they want to do? And what comes after the source?

Thus, amidst Chi Kui's astonishment and the old tortoise's healing, and surrounded and guided by billions of holy lights, the figure of Sword God Bai Xiao began to slowly rise towards the highest point of the sky.

The higher you go, the more intense the holy light becomes, almost solidifying into a golden liquid, within which flow indescribable runes of order and fragments of laws.

The concept of space becomes blurred here, and time seems to slow down.

Finally, at the moment he reached a certain limit—

“Buzz——!!!”

At the center of the torrent of holy light ahead, a "gateway" whose magnificence, holiness, and majesty cannot be described in words suddenly appeared!

It was a colossal gate constructed purely of light and laws, its entire body radiating a magnificent divine glow. It stood tens of thousands of feet tall, seemingly connecting the ends of heaven and earth.

Instead of dragons and phoenixes, the pillars on both sides of the gate are covered with countless indescribable phantoms of "creatures" that swirl, swim, and crawl!

Some of them have wings of light on their backs, some ride on auspicious clouds, some are as big as mountains, some are as small as dust, some are humanoid, and some are strange forms that are completely beyond our comprehension...

Without exception, they all exuded a pure, powerful, and ancient aura, as if they were projections of some kind of "perfect life" or "manifestation of the law".

They circled the gate, emitting a deep and majestic chant that directly affected the soul, full of allure and call.

The moment the golden gate burst open—

A "throbbing" that originates from the deepest part of life, the most fundamental source of the soul, and transcends all reason and will.

Like the most violent electric current, it instantly shattered the Sword God's eternally frozen calm!

eager!

An indescribable longing!

Every inch of his flesh and blood, every strand of his soul, and every sword intent rune he had condensed through cultivation was screaming, trembling, and roaring wildly!

Behind that wide-open golden gate, there seemed to lie the ultimate "answer"—the ultimate power, the sublimation of life, and the "perfection" and "eternity" that transcended everything!

Passing through it will allow you to reach a completely new level and become... a "god"!

This instinctive calling is so strong, so pure, so irresistible that it can instantly make any practitioner lose themselves and throw themselves into it without regard for anything else.

however--

The Sword God's face, which was both extremely handsome and extremely cold, showed no signs of longing, excitement, or infatuation. Instead, his brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

A clear hint of...disdain flashed in those icy eyes.

Yes, disgust.

It was like seeing a beautiful yet vulgar, alluring yet empty ornament.

He stopped his ascent and hovered quietly in front of the golden gate, his gaze sweeping calmly over the billions of illusory figures of living beings hovering above it.

Sweep past the alluring, hazy glow behind the door, a glow that seemed to hold endless possibilities.

Then, under the incredulous gaze of Chi Kui and the shocked look of the old tortoise, who was also momentarily distracted from healing—

The Sword God quietly turned around.

He was actually leaving!

Reject the "divine guidance" that countless cultivators dream of but cannot reach, and reject the "godhood" opportunity that is within easy reach!

"Zheng——!"

The holy light surrounding him seemed to be enraged, or perhaps confused and anxious, and suddenly burst forth with a light a million times more dazzling than the sun.

Countless tentacles of light spread out, attempting to entangle and hold back his departing figure.

Bai Xiao didn't even turn around.

Just as he turned and took a step, a barely perceptible ripple silently spread across the void around him.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle—!"

Countless invisible sword intents, even more refined, purer, and colder than when he detoxified the old turtle before.

Like billions of exquisite silver needles, they burst forth from him in all directions!

There was no earth-shattering sound, no dazzling brilliance.

The tentacles of holy light that tried to entangle him stopped the moment they touched the ripples of sword intent.

Just like morning dew exposed to the scorching sun, it didn't even have a "melting" process; it was directly annihilated into the most basic light particles and dissipated into the void!

Centered on him, the dense holy light within a radius of a hundred feet was cleared out, creating an absolute "nothingness" domain!

He continued to walk on air, step by step, calmly heading towards the direction where the old tortoise and Chi Kui were below.

The footsteps landed in the void, yet it felt as if they were stepping on invisible steps, steady and resolute.

The golden gate seemed to be thoroughly enraged by this unprecedented "desecration" and "rejection"!

“Rumble——!!!”

The enormous portal suddenly trembled, opening and closing with a deafening roar, as if the heart of the world were pounding!

Each opening and closing generates an indescribable, terrifying suction force!

That suction force is not directed at matter, but directly affects the soul, cultivation, and the origin of life!