"Yun Xiao, you heinous criminal!"
The sound of anger sweeps across the imperial city, shaking its walls.
"How could you, a monarch of a country, unexpectedly raise such an evildoer to harm innocent people?"
The voice comes from a young man in a sword robe, his figure stepping forward on a long sword wreathed in mystical energy.
"An immortal has arrived in Yun Kingdom to aid the suffering!"
Suddenly, countless citizens fall to their knees, weeping in sorrowful gratitude.
For at this moment, both inside and outside the city walls, hordes of venomous snakes have attacked, claiming the lives of over ten thousand people. Blood flows through the streets of the entire city.
"A sword immortal?"
In the middle of the snake swarm, a young man in a white robe with dragon patterns is fighting a massive snake demon. He is the young monarch of Yun Kingdom, Yun Xiao!
Today is the day Yun Xiao was to appoint his empress. On this important day, strange events have unfolded one after another. First, the prime minister's daughter, Jiang Yue, who was set to be crowned early in the morning, mysteriously vanished. Then, millions of venomous snakes flooded the city, and a hundred-year-old snake demon emerged, slaughtering civilians indiscriminately.
Yun Xiao personally led the city guards to defend the palace, fighting the snake demon and its horde. Just as he was about to slay the snake demon, the sword immortal appeared!
"Something isn't right! Who would claim in front of everyone that I raised this monster to harm others?"
Yun Xiao felt an overwhelming sense of injustice.
Suddenly, from above, a beam of sword light shot down from the heavens! The sword light was ice-cold, piercing the snake demon's forehead, causing its flesh to explode and spatter blood onto Yun Xiao.
"Incredible power!"
Such an overwhelming display of might left Yun Xiao shaken, while the officers and commoners of Yun Kingdom bowed in reverence.
"The snake demon has been defeated, and the people are saved!"
"The immortal's mercy is boundless!"
The grateful citizens fell to their knees, kowtowing devoutly.
"Yun Xiao!"
In the midst of their cries, a voice thundered with anger.
Somehow, the sword immortal had already arrived beside Yun Xiao, looking at him with cold, piercing eyes. The sword beneath his feet radiated turbulent energy.
With just the wind from his sword, a bloody mark appeared on Yun Xiao.
"You, a ruler of this country, raised a monster to harm your own people. Such a crime must be punished!" The sword immortal's gaze was sharp as he reprimanded him.
"What?"
"Is this snake demon truly the creation of His Majesty?"
The crowd gasped in disbelief.
Hidden within the deep palace, Prime Minister Jiang Shang stepped forward, pointing an accusatory finger at Yun Xiao with a look of outrage. "Yun Xiao, you've truly lost your way! The people trusted you as their ruler, yet you have committed such heinous acts, causing the death of thousands of innocent citizens."
Kneeling and wailing, Jiang Shang continued, "First Emperor! It was my own failure to guide him properly that led this young ruler astray. I, too, am guilty!"
Suddenly, Yun Xiao was bombarded with accusations, each one a painful blow to his heart.
"Sword immortal!" Yun Xiao gritted his teeth and declared, "Please allow me to prove my innocence! I had nothing to do with this snake demon…"
Before he could finish, the sword immortal scoffed, "Silence! My sight penetrates to the heavens themselves. Your wickedness is clear for all to see. There's no need for excuses; today, I shall enforce justice on behalf of Heaven and send you to Hell!"
Buzz!
Yun Xiao staggered backward.
His bloodshot eyes stared at the sword immortal in disbelief. He understood.
"'Sight that reaches the heavens'? Foolish words to deceive the masses! You're just a sword cultivator – this snake demon must be your doing! I don't even know you, yet you, a so-called 'immortal,' have schemed against me so viciously? Just wait until your own sect hears of this; you'll face punishment according to your own rules!"
Yun Xiao, as a monarch, understood far more than the average person. The commoners saw this sword-wielding figure as a deity and worshipped him without question. But Yun Xiao knew these people were merely ascetics, training for their own gains.
"Yun Xiao, hold your tongue!"
"You're raving like a madman, daring to blaspheme a deity."
"This man lives but dares to disrespect gods, bringing calamity upon Yun Kingdom!"
The officers and citizens were united in their anger, shouting in outrage.
The sword immortal flew down to Yun Xiao, his gaze filled with contempt and ridicule, and said with a sneer, "Hear the people's cries? To you, a mere mortal insect, I, Ye Guying, am an immortal god!"
With those words, he raised his hand like a sword, his gaze icy as he thrust it towards Yun Xiao's forehead.
He truly intended to kill Yun Xiao!
"Hold on, sword immortal!"
At this moment, a woman's voice rang out, and the crowd turned to look.
A beautiful woman in a white dress, her skin fair and her figure graceful, stepped forward with lotus-like steps. It was Jiang Yue, the prime minister's daughter.
"Yue, don't come!" Yun Xiao shouted in panic.
Since childhood, Yun Xiao had trained with her in martial arts, and he couldn't bear to see her involved in this mess. Today, it was clear the ascetic cultivators intended to kill him. How could Jiang Yue save him?
But before Yun Xiao could finish, Jiang Yue's expression turned cold as she passed by him indifferently, standing beside Ye Guying.
A man and a woman, clearly in collusion!
"You?" Yun Xiao was stunned.
"Yun Xiao, you misunderstand. I didn't come to save you." Jiang Yue's expression was strange, her gaze cold as ice. "In fact, it's the opposite. I'm the one who wants you dead today."
"You… want me dead?" Yun Xiao felt as if he'd been struck by lightning.
"Yes."
"Why?" Yun Xiao clenched his teeth, flames of anger rising in his eyes. He had shown nothing but kindness to her and her family.
"Because of this."
As Jiang Yue spoke, she raised her right hand. In her palm, sword energy gathered, and a three-inch silver sword made of radiant light suddenly formed.
The sword's cold radiance filled the air, lowering the temperature of the entire palace and sending chills down everyone's spines.
"A Sword Soul!" Yun Xiao's pupils contracted.
Jiang Yue laughed, "Even as a mortal, you know your stuff. Yes, I have indeed awakened the 'Ice Moon Sword Soul,' a 'Kaiyang-level' sword soul."
An inborn Sword Soul!
Yun Xiao had heard of it, and even yearned for it. Among cultivators, the presence of a Sword Soul provided immense power, creating a 'dual power structure' with one's dantian. The dantian is one's foundation, while the Sword Soul is the weapon.
A Sword Soul grants its possessor power equivalent to thousands. Jiang Yue, gazing fondly at her 'Ice Moon Sword Soul,' spoke with a cold arrogance: "Soon, Senior Brother Ye will take me to the Blue Soul Sword Sect to become a disciple. After that, I'll be immortal, and you will remain a mere mortal. Naturally, we must part ways."
"In the future, mortals like you will bow and pay homage to me."
She looked expectantly at Ye Guying, who also wore an air of invincible pride.
Yun Xiao's anger grew. "You have such talent for cultivation. Go if you want! I don't lack for women. But if you have a personal grudge, come at me directly. Why involve the city's common people, forcing over ten thousand of them to die for your ambition?"
As a ruler, Yun Xiao was enraged at the snake calamity that had killed so many of his people.
"It's necessary," Jiang Yue replied, glancing toward her father, Prime Minister Jiang Shang. "Senior Brother Ye said that only noble disciples with royal bloodlines are granted favor by the sect. That's why I want my father to ascend the throne, making the Jiang family royalty. So, not only must you die, but you must die in disgrace!"
The Jiang family planned to seize power and found a new dynasty with Jiang Shang as emperor. As a princess, she could thrive in the immortal sect, something she couldn't achieve as empress.
As she finished speaking, Jiang Yue's face remained cold and indifferent. With Ye Guying's backing, she felt invincible.
Yun Xiao laughed in anger: "An immortal kingdom ruled by scoundrels like you, calling yourselves immortals?"
With an air of finality, Yun Xiao grabbed his sword and faced the two with unyielding eyes.
Ye Guying's face turned grim. He gave Yun Xiao a scornful look and sneered, "You're merely a mortal, a nobody. Today, you dare stand against me. But let me tell you, in the eyes of an immortal, all mortals are ants. Even if you're the monarch of this kingdom, you're no different."
Yun Xiao's expression darkened. He understood the disparity in strength but refused to show fear. He tightened his grip on his sword, his knuckles whitening.
"You may be stronger, but that doesn't mean I'll cower. Even if I die today, I will die fighting!" Yun Xiao's voice rang out resolutely. His sword emanated a faint, fiery glow, and he stood his ground.
Ye Guying smirked. "Die fighting? A pity. With your strength, you are barely qualified to entertain me for a few moments. Very well, I shall grant you a dignified death in battle."
The crowd gasped. The citizens, seeing their monarch standing up to the mighty sword immortal, felt a mixture of awe and sorrow.
However, Jiang Yue stepped forward, her voice laced with disdain. "Yun Xiao, why waste your breath? Today, both the throne and this kingdom will belong to my family. You should accept your fate rather than struggling meaninglessly."
Yun Xiao's heart clenched with pain and anger. The person he had once trusted most now revealed herself as a traitor, harboring malicious intentions toward the kingdom and its people. Yet, he gritted his teeth and faced the two enemies with undaunted resolve.
"Jiang Yue, I once cherished you, trusted you. Even if you wished for power, you could have sought it in a fair manner. But you chose to stain your hands with innocent blood, betraying not only me but the people who looked to you as their future empress. Such treachery will not go unanswered!"
As he spoke, his entire body was engulfed in a burning aura, the force of his conviction radiating outward.
"Silence!" Ye Guying erupted in fury. In the path of cultivation, losing one's composure was frowned upon, yet his face twisted with fierce anger, ruthless and sinister. "The path to immortality is sacred; who are you, a mere mortal speck, to speak of it so blasphemously?"
"Life may be fleeting, but even the smallest may aspire to roam the vast seas. I stand upright in this world—who are you to deny my pursuit of immortality?" Yun Xiao retorted coldly.
"Oh? You intend to lecture me on immortality?" Ye Guying jeered.
Yun Xiao gripped his sword tightly, standing on the skeleton of the snake monster. His gaze was intense, his determination burning like a volcanic eruption.
"To know oneself, to serve the people, to protect the world—for this is the path to immortality!"
He clenched his teeth, unwavering.
He knew well that he was no match for Ye Guying.
Yet, with his sword in hand, Yun Xiao faced Ye Guying boldly, standing atop the snake's corpse, charging forward to fight.
"To slay monsters, eradicate demons, bring fortune to the people, and uphold peace—this is the path to immortality!" With those words, Yun Xiao's entire body surged with energy, his sword's shadow cutting through the air like roaring waves.
*Buzz!*
Suddenly, there were gasps of astonishment from all around!
"Haha!" Ye Guying laughed mockingly. He had not expected this mortal, whom he had already suppressed, to dare challenge the might of an immortal.
"I warned you! My sword obliterates; that is the power of an immortal!"
Facing Yun Xiao, Ye Guying merely lifted a finger, and his Sword Soul flashed, piercing directly through Yun Xiao's forehead.
*Thud!*
Yun Xiao, sword in hand, came to a halt.
He stood there, on the brink of death.
Even as blood trickled from the wound on his forehead, his eyes remained locked on the two before him, filled with unyielding rage. His gaze, like a curse, held fast.
"Heh, did you think that as a king, you were destined to live and would never die?" Ye Guying sneered. "Did you think you could oppress the young forever?"
Yet, even in death, Yun Xiao's gaze caused Ye Guying a flicker of unease, making him reluctant to look directly at him.
After that, he and Jiang Yue departed triumphantly, their departure filled with self-righteousness.
Thus, the Yun Kingdom changed hands.
Jiang Shang ascended the throne as emperor, and Yun Xiao's name was condemned for a thousand years.
What is immortality?
What is the path to immortality?
Even in death, Yun Xiao's spirit roamed, endlessly questioning both himself and the world.
The body may perish, but the spirit endures.
He could not accept it!
He would not accept it!
From the age of six, Yun Xiao had dedicated himself to martial cultivation. By eight, he had achieved mastery in circulation techniques; by twelve, he had become a rare martial talent in the Yun Kingdom, and by fifteen, he was undefeated among mortals!
The world he yearned to conquer was vast.
Ye Guying! Just because you come from a higher realm, do you really have the right to trample on my life's work, my devotion?
"If given another chance, if I could live again, I would do whatever it takes to walk the path of immortality!"
Yun Xiao's spirit, unyielding and full of determination, soared, rising high above the heavens.
"Where am I to go?"
His soul, freed from his mortal form, drifted through the void, gazing down at the world, which now appeared to him like a diminishing speck.
Suddenly!
"What is that?"
Turning his head, Yun Xiao was struck by a sight that left him speechless.
From his perspective, the land he had known for sixteen years—the land he had called home—looked like an endless tomb!
Across the vast landscapes, the mortal nations, the sacred mountains, and the realms of gods and demons, all formed this boundless grave.
For countless generations, trillions of people had lived, multiplied, and thrived on this grave of a world!
At the heart of this endless cemetery, a colossal tombstone stood, surrounded by mystical mist. It towered thousands of feet high, like a pillar of heaven, fixing the heavens in place!
But the sight that shook Yun Xiao the most was the enormous, ancient bronze coffin beneath that tombstone.
The great coffin floated within the starry sky, encompassing his homeland's "graves" like an endless sea, its overwhelming aura filling the universe, eternally daunting!
"Is this world… merely the illusion of a grave and an ancient bronze coffin?" Yun Xiao's shock was profound.
In his distraction, he failed to notice as his soul began descending, drawn by a powerful force toward the bronze coffin.
*Boom!*
Thunder roared in his ears!
As he entered the coffin, a mighty, eternal voice resounded in his mind:
"This coffin subdues the heavens and imprisons the mortal realm, refining the spirits of those who once pursued the path of immortality. It has swallowed over ten thousand supreme immortal sects! Within this coffin are a million lost souls, all on the path to becoming a Creator Immortal."