I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

"ah--!"

Lu Zhao let out a suppressed growl, his face instantly turning ferocious! His body was like a battlefield! On one side was the icy, sharp, and incomparably cold sword power, like ancient ice, threatening to freeze and pierce his meridians, flesh, and even his soul! On the other side was the scorching and violent burning sword intent erupting from the "Burning Heaven" sword, like a volcanic eruption, threatening to burn everything to ashes!

These two forces, one yin and one yang, one ice and one fire, have completely opposite attributes, yet are equally domineering! They clashed, tore, and devoured wildly within Lu Zhao's body, causing excruciating pain wherever they passed, as if his meridians were being slashed and burned! One half of his body was covered with a thin layer of frost, while the other half was crimson, emitting wisps of heat, as if it might spontaneously combust at any moment!

"Damn it! These two forces... are fighting for control of my body?!" V Zhao was terrified. He had never encountered such a dangerous situation. Neither of these forces belonged to him, yet they were raging within his body, seemingly trying to turn his body into their own vessel!

"We must suppress them!" V Zhao bit his tongue, forcing himself to stay awake. He frantically circulated the "Nine Dragons Controlling Qi Technique," attempting to use the higher-level power of the Annihilation Dragon Qi to control and suppress these two external sword forces.

"Nine Dragons Controlling Qi—Suppressing All Laws!"

The gray-gold annihilation dragon energy, like an awakened, furious dragon, roared out from the dantian and rushed towards the two forces of ice and fire! The annihilation dragon energy contains the meaning of annihilation and end, and theoretically can devour and annihilate all energy.

However, both the ice and fire forces were of extremely high quality, especially the chilling sword force, which seemed to originate from some ancient sword tradition. While its sword intent differed from the Annihilation Sword Intent, its level appeared to be quite high. The Annihilation Sword Intent of the "Burning Heaven" sword was also extremely domineering. The combined force of the two against the Annihilation Dragon Qi actually made it difficult for the Annihilation Dragon Qi to completely suppress them for a time.

"This can't go on!" Veins bulged on V Zhao's forehead, cold sweat mixed with frost and heat dripping down. He could feel his meridians being damaged by the impact of these three forces. If this stalemate continued, he probably wouldn't need anyone else to kill him; he'd explode and die on his own!

"We must find a balance, or... guide them away!" V Zhao's mind raced. He cultivated the Sword Intent of Annihilation and had some understanding of the Way of Destruction and Ending, but he was not adept at the two extreme attributes of ice and fire. Forcibly fusing them was too risky.

"Since they can't merge, let them consume each other!" A crazy thought rose in Lu Zhao's mind.

"You want to fight? Well, I'll let you fight to your heart's content!"

He no longer forcibly used the Annihilation Dragon Qi to suppress the ice and fire forces. Instead, he contracted the Annihilation Dragon Qi to firmly protect the three vital points: his heart meridian, dantian, and sea of ​​consciousness. Then, he deliberately released some control over his meridians, guiding the icy sword power and the burning sword intent to collide more directly and intensely within his body!

"boom!"

Ice and fire, yin and yang, two extreme forces, no longer hindered by the annihilating dragon energy, collided violently within Lu Zhao's body like two enraged beasts!

"Pfft!" V Zhao spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood was half ice blue and half crimson. When it fell to the ground, it made a "hissing" sound. It froze into ice on one side and burned a small pit into the ground on the other.

Excruciating pain! Indescribable pain swept through his entire body! It felt as if countless ice needles and fire needles were frantically piercing, cutting, and burning inside him! His skin was sometimes covered with a thick layer of ice, and sometimes turned bright red and scalding hot, even flaming with flames.

"Ah—!" V Zhao roared in agony, his body convulsing and contorting violently from the excruciating pain. He clenched his teeth, blood seeping from his gums, but his eyes held an unwavering determination and a crazed rage.

"Let's fight! Let's see who can beat whom!"

He knew he was playing with fire—no, he was playing with ice and fire! One wrong move, and he would be dead. But he had no choice. If he allowed these two forces to ravage his body, he would ultimately perish. He might as well take a gamble, let them consume each other; perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope.

Time seemed to stretch out infinitely amidst the excruciating pain. Each breath felt as long as a year.

But gradually, Lu Zhao discovered that the two conflicting forces seemed to be... beginning to weaken.

The icy sword force and the incinerating sword intent, like two ferocious beasts tearing at each other, utterly wrecked Lu Zhao's body, but they themselves were also constantly being consumed and annihilated in this fierce collision. The icy sword force, in particular, seemed to be consumed even faster because it was rootless.

"It works!" V Zhao was overjoyed. He endured the excruciating pain and continued to guide the two forces to collide.

He didn't know how much time had passed—perhaps an hour, perhaps a day. Just as Lu Zhao felt his consciousness was about to be overwhelmed by pain, the two opposing forces of ice and fire within his body finally subsided completely.

The icy sword power was completely exhausted, leaving only a faint, pure, and extremely cold sword intent, like a candle flickering in the wind, floating in his meridians. The burning sword intent of the "Burning Heaven" sword had also become much gentler due to the excessive consumption, no longer as violent as before.

"Now!" A glint flashed in V Zhao's eyes. He mustered his last breath, circulated the Annihilation Dragon Qi, and fiercely enveloped the two weakened forces!

"Give it to me—refine it!"

The annihilating dragon energy, like a millstone, began to slowly refine and devour the two remaining forces. This time, there was no fierce resistance. That trace of chilling sword intent seemed to have lost all its spirituality, leaving only the purest true meaning of the sword path. And the annihilating sword intent of the "Burning Heaven" sword also seemed to have become much more docile because it had established a connection with Lu Zhao.

Under the refinement of the Annihilation Dragon Qi, that trace of chilling sword intent was decomposed and absorbed. The sword dao insights contained within it regarding chill, sharpness, and freezing flowed into Lu Zhao's sea of ​​consciousness like a gentle stream. Although different from his own Annihilation Sword Intent, the connection deepened his understanding of the sword dao. In particular, the connotations of "yin" and "cold" subtly shared a connection with the "death" and "end" of "annihilation."

The burning sword intent of the "Burning Heaven" sword was completely devoured and fused with the Annihilation Dragon Qi. The Annihilation Dragon Qi seemed to have gained a trace of heat and violence, but this trace of characteristic was quickly dominated by the more domineering Annihilation intent and turned into its own.

"Huff...huff..." V Zhao slumped to the ground, soaked to the bone as if he had been pulled out of the water. His face was deathly pale, but his eyes held a hint of relief at surviving a disaster and a weary joy.

"Finally... I survived." He checked his internal condition and couldn't help but gasp. His meridians were damaged in many places, his internal organs also had hidden injuries, his spiritual power was almost exhausted, and his soul was extremely tired. This time, he had truly walked through the gates of hell.

"However, the gains are also enormous." V Zhao looked at his palm. He could feel that his understanding of the Annihilation Sword Intent had deepened somewhat. Especially after refining that trace of Yin-cold sword intent, he had a new understanding of the concepts of "Yin," "cold," and "death." Annihilation was not simply destruction; it also contained the coldness and stillness after the end. This gave his Annihilation Sword Intent an indescribable charm.

"Moreover, my physical body seems to have been tempered to some extent under the torment of this extreme combination of ice and fire." V Zhao moved his hands and feet. Although it hurt, he could feel that the strength of his physical body seemed to have increased slightly compared to before. This was probably the only unexpected surprise.

He took out a large number of healing and spiritual energy-restoring pills and swallowed them all at once. Then, he sat cross-legged and began to focus all his efforts on healing and recovery. This Sword Tomb was fraught with danger; he had to restore his strength as quickly as possible.

Three hours later, V Zhao slowly opened his eyes. His complexion had regained some color, his internal injuries had been suppressed, and his spiritual power had recovered to about 60-70%. Although he was still far from his peak condition, he at least had the ability to protect himself.

"What exactly was that black dot?" V Zhao looked towards the Shadow Ashes. At this moment, the black dot had disappeared, clearly indicating that the chilling sword power it contained had been refined by him.

"It seems that Shadow Assassin is also hiding a secret. That chilling sword power is probably an opportunity he obtained from somewhere in this Sword Tomb, or it may be the result of some secret technique of the Corpse Yin Sect," V Zhao speculated in his heart. However, now is not the time to investigate this.

He stood up and looked again towards the core of the Sword Tomb. After this battle, his desire for the inherited sword seal had only intensified. If even a mere remnant of chilling sword energy was so powerful, just how formidable must the true inherited sword seal be?

"I must get there as soon as possible." V Zhao checked the direction, moved, and continued towards the core area. However, his speed was much slower than before, and he was much more cautious. His injuries prevented him from traveling at full speed as before.

As he ventured deeper, the surrounding sword intent grew stronger and more complete. He could even see some broken sword tablets, engraved with ancient characters and patterns, exuding an aura of vicissitude. Occasionally, he could also see the corpses of cultivators, some pierced by sword energy, others seemingly having lost their composure and died from qi deviation while comprehending sword intent.

"It seems quite a few people have already arrived," V Zhao thought to himself, becoming even more vigilant.

After traveling for about half a day, a sudden burst of intense energy fluctuations, along with faint sounds of fighting and angry shouts, came from ahead.

"Are people fighting?" V Zhao frowned and silently approached **.

After passing through an area of ​​"sword rain" composed of countless tiny flying swords, the view suddenly opened up before us.

Here lies a vast circular plaza. The plaza's surface is paved with an unknown black metal, covered in crisscrossing sword marks. In the center of the plaza stands a colossal sword monument, hundreds of feet tall! The monument is entirely dark gold, inscribed with countless profound and complex sword-shaped runes, radiating an ancient, desolate, yet incomparably sharp aura.

At this moment, beneath that enormous sword monument, several figures are engaged in a fierce battle!

One side consisted of Zhao Wuji, Lin Jingyu, and others from the Qingyun Sect! The other side was comprised of disciples from the Xuantian Sect, led by a young man in a purple robe with a cold and stern face. He was the senior brother of the rugged young man from the Xuantian Sect who had been forced away by Zhao Wuji earlier, and it seemed that his cultivation level was also at the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Zhao Wuji! This Inheritance Sword Stele was discovered first by my Xuantian Sect! Does your Qingyun Sect intend to forcibly seize it?!" the purple-robed youth roared, a purple lightning sword flashing in his hand, its power astonishing.

"Bullshit! My Qingyun Sect arrived first!" Although Zhao Wuji was injured, his momentum remained undiminished. His Blazing Sun Sword Qi surged, and he fought the purple-robed youth to a standstill. "Treasures belong to the capable! If your Xuantian Sect is not satisfied, then come and fight!"

"Senior Brother, why waste words with them! Just rob them!" another disciple of the Xuantian Sect shouted.

"Just a few wounded soldiers like you?" The purple-robed youth sneered. He had naturally noticed that Zhao Wuji and the others were injured.

"And what about me?"

A cold, clear voice suddenly rang out.

Following the sound, everyone looked and saw a woman dressed in white, with an exquisite face and a cold, aloof demeanor, slowly walking towards them from the other side of the square. In her hand, she held a crystal-clear ice sword, and her entire being exuded an icy aura that kept strangers at bay.

"Snow Moon Fairy, Su Ning Shuang!" someone exclaimed.

"The people from Xuanbing Valley have arrived too!" Zhao Wuji and the purple-robed youth's expressions both darkened. Xuanbing Valley was also a major sect in the Eastern Continent, its strength no less than that of Qingyun Sect and Xuantian Sect. This Su Ningshuang was the most outstanding of the younger generation in Xuanbing Valley, her cultivation had reached the peak of Foundation Establishment, and her Xuanbing Sword Technique was unfathomably powerful.

"Fairy Su, do you also want to interfere?" the purple-robed youth said in a deep voice.

"The inherited sword seal will be obtained by the destined one." Su Ningshuang's voice was cold, her gaze fixed on the enormous sword monument, a hint of longing flashing in her eyes. "I am also very interested in this sword monument."

"Good! Good! It seems we're going to have a showdown today!" Zhao Wuji's eyes turned cold; he hadn't expected the competition to be so fierce.

"Gentlemen, why resort to fighting?" another gentle voice rang out. A refined scholar in white robes, holding a folding fan, appeared at the edge of the plaza. He smiled, his gaze sweeping over the crowd before finally settling on the sword monument. "This inherited sword imprint doesn't seem to be fully revealed yet. Why don't we wait until it is fully revealed, and then each of us can rely on our own abilities?"

"The Deadly Scholar, Liu Suifeng!" came another low exclamation. This Liu Suifeng was a famous expert among the rogue cultivators. He appeared weak, but his sword-wielding fan was unpredictable and treacherous. Many cultivators had died at his hands.

For a moment, a delicate standoff ensued on the plaza between the Qingyun Sect, the Xuantian Sect, the Xuanbing Valley, and the rogue cultivator Liu Suifeng. The atmosphere was tense and on the verge of conflict.

Meanwhile, in the shadows, Lu Zhao, who had just arrived, looked at the scene in the square, his eyes flickering slightly.

"It seems I've arrived just in time." His gaze fell upon the enormous sword monument, which exuded an ancient aura. At the top of the monument, a dazzling sword-shaped light was slowly condensing and taking shape.

That is the Inherited Sword Seal!