Cultivation: When you take things to the extreme

"A single move?"

"A sword strike?"

"This...!"

Upon these words, reactions from all around varied, and the cultivators from South Observance thousands of miles away were especially shocked beyond measure.

The Emperor of the North Pole made such a bold declaration because, as a Nine Tribulations True Immortal, he had the capital and the strength to decide the outcome of the battle with one move.

But his sword...?

From where did his confidence come, and where was his capital?

Could it be that he also possessed the capability of the Nine Tribulations or the power of a True Immortal?

The cultivators found it hard to believe. Though the situation had developed to such an unforeseen and even unimaginable extent, they still couldn't believe this possibility existed.

Just as the South Observance cultivators were astounded, so too were the celestial beings of the Heavenly Court. They even scorned and looked down upon it.

"Humph!"

"Bluffing!"

"If he had the ability of a True Immortal, why bother with such mystification?"

The celestials disdained not out of arrogance but from rational suspicion.

If the opponent truly possessed the strength of a True Immortal, there would have been no need for all these actions, and the situation would not have escalated to this point—one gesture of their cultivation and a display of their might would solve everything.

Therefore, it must be bluffing, to intimidate others...

"Vroom!"

Their minds still unsettled, they heard an inexplicable sound, barely perceptible.

Thousands of miles away, amongst the cultivators, one of them suddenly grasped at his waist, his face full of indescribable astonishment.

His sword artifact, worn at his waist, was now clanging and struggling to unsheathe itself.

Unbeknownst to him, everyone was similarly affected, all were the same!

"How could this be?"

"Qingming!"

"My magical treasure!?"

The cultivators from South Observance were utterly shocked. Even Mahayana cultivators couldn't help but panic, hurriedly grasping their weapon-treasures—swords and spears, axes and hooks, alchemy cauldrons, bells...

All sorts of weapons, all kinds of magic artifacts, no matter the quality or design, whether they were borne on the body or contained within mustard seeds, they all clanged and rattled, desiring to break free from their masters and soar forth on their own.

Even life-bound treasures were not immune.

Given that life-bound treasures were involved, no wonder the cultivators felt panic; acting on their instinct, the crowd scrambled to hold onto their treasures, even using mana to suppress them.

However...

"Vroom!"

Despite the suppression through mana, the disturbances were somewhat quelled, yet there were still unexpected changes—a wisp of breath expelled, imbued with mana and spirit, solidifying into sword shapes.

"This...!"

The crowd's pupils shrank as they realized the key point, seeing swords' energies forming among tens of thousands of people and tens of thousands of weapons.

And not just the people and the weapons, but even...

"Boom, boom, boom!"

Heaven and earth roared, and thunder rumbled.

In the sky above, the gathering winds and clouds, the bolts of lightning streaking across...

Then, the wind too turned into swords, the clouds too formed swords, and the flashing lightning took on the shape of swords.

Wind, clouds, thunder, lightning, the sun and the stars—even the sunlight and the obscured stars began to coalesce in the skies, emitting sword energies and shining with sword light.

Eventually, even in the void of space, in the expanse of nothingness, the Yuan Spirit Qi transformed into sword shapes.

Wind and moon became swords, thunder became swords, sun and stars became swords, the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirits became swords.

Looking down at the earth, despite the formations being destroyed and the land being scarred, there were still billions of swords' energies arising.

Each mountain and peak, each handful of soil and stone, each blade of grass and tree...

All things in heaven and earth, all living beings saw the rise of swords.

Even the grass and stones emitted a verdant radiance, a pure yellow breath expelled.

Thousands of miles away, amongst the Buddhist radiance, amidst the auspicious clouds...

Great Mercy stood upon a lotus dais, lowering his gaze, only to see the willow jade branch in his cleansing bottle trembling slightly, emitting a wisp of emerald sword Qi, unexpectedly coming to life and leaving of its own accord.

"What is this...!?"

In the midst of the battlefield, amid the formations, the celestial beings of Heavenly Court were even more unsettled.

"What's happening?"

"A formation?"

"How could this be possible!"

The celestials were in disarray, looking out over a world where swords sprouted everywhere, covering this realm of ten thousand miles.

Was this a formation or divine power?

If it were a formation, hadn't the Emperor acted earlier to shatter the formations in this place?

If it were divine power...what kind of divine power could possess such might?

Shock upon shock, change upon change!

Swords stretched for ten thousand miles in the heavens, ten thousand miles on the earth, and there was also...

"Vroom!!!

With a clear ringing sound, amidst the array of the Wandao School, swords' energies began to take shape.

From the bodies of the people, from the forms of the armored units, from all that was part of Wandao.

Flying boats and warships, thunder drums and mana altars, and the armored mecha formations—the countless magical treasures and instruments, in this moment, spawned swords and emitted sword light.

People as swords for Wandao!

In the heavens above, amidst the winds, the clouds, and the lightning, with the sun and the stars!

Upon the earth below, the plants, the mountains, the rivers, and the seas!
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In the hearts of the people, their divine souls and their thoughts, the Taoism and the Yuan Spirits!

Sword Qi, sword Qi, everywhere you looked, it was filled with piercing sword Qi.

The Celestial Soldiers were shocked, the Calamity Immortal was appalled!

Only the Emperor of the North Pole was unflustered, merely letting out a deep sigh, "Indeed, to command the heavens and the earth, the Nine Rites and Three Talents, you've reached such a realm. My visit here has not been in vain!"

As he spoke, he raised his right hand, stirred the winds and the clouds, and with thunder flashing and roaring, he seized the power of the Heavenly Earth Prime Spirits and invoked a supreme divine power of a True Immortal.

"To command the heavens and the earth?"

"The Nine Rites and Three Talents?"

Thousands of miles away, Great Mercy's gaze hardened as he finally discerned the key point.

In the midst of the battle, among the formations, Xu Yang silently spoke, only raising one hand.

With one hand held aloft, sword light burst forth from the palm of his hand.

The sword light was resplendent, and the sword intent was piercingly cold.

Connecting heaven and earth, the man and sword united as one.

In an instant, the heavens and earth shook, human hearts boiled with fervor, and sword Qi from all directions converged into myriad rushing streams, flowing in like hundreds of rivers merging into the sea.

With one hand raised, Xu Yang held a dazzling and sharp sword artifact in his palm.

The sword was golden-yellow, double-sided: one side engraved with the sun, moon, and stars, the other with vegetation and mountains; one side inscribed with the techniques of farming and husbandry, the other with the strategy of uniting all lands under heaven; shining brilliantly, its majesty appeared unparalleled as if it was the prime Holy Divine Weapon from ancient to present times.

Xuanyuan!

"Boom!!!"

The sword light soared dazzlingly, its force grew torrentially—ten zhang, a hundred zhang, a thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang—the divine sword's brilliance rose like a mountain into the clouds, thousands upon thousands of feet piercing the sky, cleaving the universe in two and creating a spectacular scene that separated heaven and earth by a mere thread.

Exercising control over heaven and earth, the Nine Rites and Three Talents!

The Xuanyuan Divine Sword Jue, the Nine Rituals Heavenly Sword—what is the highest realm of this sacred Taoist practice?

Just as the name suggests, the Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate!

The Holy Divine Emperor Weapon, the Divine Sword Xuanyuan, holds sway over heaven, rules the earth and controls human hearts. These 'Three Talents' forge the Nine Rites, thereby earning the supreme imperial authority and the utmost honor of a Sacred Emperor.

The highest realm of this sword technique is to govern heaven, earth, and human hearts with the way of the Sacred Emperor, to control all laws across the cosmos,

And so within it lies a formation, known as the Nine Rites and Three Talents Sword Formation, capable of commanding the power of the 'Three Talents' entirely for the sake of the Nine Rites.

The final outcome thus presented is this spectacle—exerting authority over heaven and earth, the Nine Rites and Three Talents, whether it be the prime spirits of nature or the wills of human hearts, all within the range of this formation, spanning thousands of miles, now fall under the command of the Nine Rites.

The sun, moon, stars, plants, mountains, rivers, and even the hearts of all beings...

Xu Yang had long ago set up this array of formations, having laid it down a thousand years ago, or perhaps even ten thousand years ago.

What is the direction to which all hearts aspire? What is the great force that unites all?

If there were not the teaching of the Tao to govern the world, a myriad of civilizing influences; had not the Wuzhuang founded their practices, upholding the righteous laws of heaven and earth; had the great union sought by all hearts not been formed, then surely this sword formation could never be accomplished.

This is indeed the way of the Sacred Emperor!

Previously, when the Emperor of the North Pole made his move, though he broke through the tangible formations spread between heaven and earth, he could not destroy the intangible formations deeply engraved within human hearts.

This sword, this formation, gathers the power of the 'Three Talents' of heaven, earth, and mankind, mobilizing all prime spirits across thousands of miles of territory, including the cultivators of South Observance, everyone at the Wandao School, all mechas, and the force of every Immortal Spirit and Magical Treasure.

In addition, there was Xu Yang himself, the power of the Nine Rituals Heavenly Venerate, and the amplification of various other characteristics.

With the teaching comes the ancestral master, with the formation comes the Three Talents, with the sword comes Xuanyuan...

All skills and various characteristics act in conjunction.

With such a sword...

"Boom!"

Xuanyuan stood erect, the Nine Rites dominated the heavens, the Divine Sword split the cosmos, piercing the outer space above.

The Eastern Victory Heavenly Court felt a tremor, and its glorious palaces shook.

"What happened?"

The Jade Emperor's complexion changed, all the immortals were shocked and turned to look in haste, only to see a resplendent sword light rise from the land of South Observance, challenging the Dipper Department and intimidating the Heavenly Court.

"Amitabha!"

At West Bovine He Continent, within the Buddhist Pure Land, amidst the domain of saints, various Buddhas were in meditation, when suddenly, the seated Tathagata Buddha sighed, his compassionate gaze faintly tinged with sorrow.

"Hm!?"

"South Observance?"

"True Immortal!"

In Beiju of the Thatch Continent, the realm of demons and monsters.

The Great Saint of Heavenly Demons was startled out of the Monster Nation, the Nine Serenities Demon God emerged from the Demon Abyss.

Nine Tribulations powerhouses, supreme sovereigns of demons and monsters, looked towards the land of South Observance from afar, only to see the sword's might splitting the cosmos as if it were the scene of a True Immortal proving the Dao.

"South Observance?"

"The Human Clan?"

"Such formidable power!"

The ranks of Immortals were in disarray, the Buddhas were in anguish, the Demon Saints were alarmed, and the Demon Gods were enraged.

A change in one region startled the Earth Immortals, affecting the balance of the Four States and the two domains.

...

Their gaze shifted back to the battleground.

The Emperor of the North Pole held winds and thunder in his hand, and his body harbored a myriad of stars.

The power of Nine Tribulations, the strength of a True Immortal, had already been pushed to the limit, intent on struggling with the enemy for dominion over heaven and earth.

However, where the hearts align, where momentum unites, armed with the Nine Rites and Three Talents to command heaven and earth, even the might of a True Immortal couldn't snatch away the authority of a Sacred Emperor.

It was highly disadvantageous—losing every bit of favorable timing and geographical support, not to mention that human hearts had gone beyond reach.

Even so, a Nine Tribulations True Immortal remained extraordinary.

The Emperor of the North Pole raised both hands, where winds met thunder, the Purple Forbidden Enclosure appeared as if it was an emperor star, ascending against the heavens.

His opponent, needing no further words, raised the Xuanyuan in his palm, the Cosmic Divine Sword cleaved through from outer space, striking directly at the Emperor Venerable of the North Pole, at the Purple Forbidden stars.

"Boom!!!"

With a colossal noise, the heavens were shocked, the earth moved, Xuanyuan cleaved heaven and earth, and the Purple Forbidden was destroyed at the sound. As mighty as the Emperor of the North Pole, a venerable True Immortal, he was forced back several steps, his blood of a True Immortal shed tears, causing the heavens and earth to grieve with him.

"Rumble!"

With one sword, heaven and earth were divided, all directions obliterated. If not for both parties' troops having retreated tens of thousands of miles away earlier, countless would have been killed or wounded, and lamentations would have covered the land.

Even so, it was still a scene of total destruction, with incessant upheaval, the world facing ruin, and the prime spirits falling silent.

In the midst of such devastation, amidst the rising dust, amid the startling changes of heaven and earth, only the victor stood coldly, beholding the desolation of the world, as all beings shed their tears.