Chapter 1745
Chapter 1745. If one does not enter the Dao Realm, one is ultimately an ant; my Dao shall flourish day by day
The black, oppressive horde of dark creatures surged endlessly, as if they could never be completely slain, flowing from the other side of the embankment.
The sky itself was battered by the pitch-black mists, layer upon layer like towering waves, a scene suffocating and despairing to behold.
Lan Xin and a group of her fellow disciples and senior masters rushed here to defend the front lines. They fought desperately, never retreating even a single step.
But as time went on, she watched disciple after disciple and master after master fall, their blood staining the skies, consumed by the dark creatures, gradually disappearing from sight.
The reinforcements they had been waiting for never arrived.
Although Lan Xin was fearless in the face of death, at this moment her heart was filled with sorrow and bitterness. It seemed they had truly been abandoned by the Zhengyi Alliance.
They had been promised that if they could hold out for seven days, the Zhengyi Alliance’s reinforcements would arrive.
But now, half a month has passed. The news of embankments falling and territories being lost spread everywhere, yet no sign of the Zhengyi Alliance’s aid could be seen.
“Senior Sister, you don’t need to overthink. We will survive,” Gu Xian’er said, leaning on her sword, her usually carefree demeanor replaced with a solemn, serene expression.
Threads of sword energy converged behind her like the great rivers of Yang, and with a single strike, the entire sky thundered, as if billions of sword streams roared across the cosmos, slicing through the void.
Vast numbers of dark creatures fell before her, shattering into black mist.
The entire world was filled with the will of the sword. At this moment, she appeared as a true female sword immortal, fierce and overwhelming. With a light whistle, her sword energy became a rainbow, piercing the void like lightning and thunder, like fleeting shadows of a startled phoenix, boundless and infinite, devouring rivers, sun, and moon alike.
This was also the first time she had revealed her true formidable strength to outsiders. Even when facing ordinary Dao Realm beings, she seemed capable of holding her own.
Lan Xin, though not seeing this for the first time, could not help but feel deep admiration and amazement.
“I should have known. Back then, I shouldn’t have brought you along. With your talent, you deserve a wider sky, not to remain here while we cling to the embankment, spilling our blood,” she sighed bitterly.
As a senior sister, it was supposed to be her role to protect Gu Xian’er.
But in this war, it was Gu Xian’er who repeatedly saved her—and their fellow disciples as well.
Gu Xian’er’s strength far exceeded what they had imagined. In ordinary times, she simply kept her abilities hidden, never displaying them before others.
“Senior Sister, don’t say that. Perhaps the Zhengyi Alliance has already decided to abandon us. Why cling to this place? I sense powerful and terrifying energy approaching from distant realms. The big players among the dark creatures may soon descend.”
“At that time, even the elders themselves would be in danger.”
Gu Xian’er came to Lan Xin’s side, her small face heavy with gravity.
“Why would the Zhengyi Alliance abandon us? Our Master was also killed by them…” Lan Xin’s face darkened with grief and despair.
Gu Xian’er shook her head silently. From the start, she had never believed the Zhengyi Alliance to be as righteous and virtuous as the rumors claimed.
Seeing them act this way now did not surprise her.
“Clinging here to the end isn’t wise. If I had the ability, I would protect everyone, but alas, even I cannot ensure my own survival…” Gu Xian’er could not help but sigh softly.
It was not that she was cold or indifferent to the lives of the other disciples. It was simply that, at her current level of cultivation, she could not play a decisive role in such a massive war.
If this were like back in the Daochang True Realm, she might still have the strength to turn the tide. But this vast expanse was no Daochang True Realm. Even Dao Realm beings could fall at any moment.
“If one does not enter the Dao Realm, one is ultimately an ant.”
At that moment, her resolve in the Dao only strengthened, and her desire to break through to Nirvana and transcend her limits became more urgent than ever.
Boom!
Suddenly, an endless black energy appeared, like a wave driven by a giant, surging and overwhelming, shattering the stars.
In the distant universe, the star clusters trembled, stones scattered through the void, as if a vast, boundless river had appeared. A being clad in dark iron armor floated there.
He gazed coldly in their direction. His eyes were chilling, like two pale green moons hanging outside the world. His true form was immense, as if the universe itself could not contain him.
As this being appeared, all the dark creatures let out earth-shaking roars and knelt toward him, fanatically devoted.
All the cultivators and creatures on the embankment felt the coming of a bitter winter, a chill that froze the soul, shaking them to their core.
The terrifying being’s gaze swept across, and even the star clusters trembled. The laws of the Dao, thick and unyielding like chains, appeared beneath his feet.
As he took a step, the sounds of the kingly way resounded, as if a dark sovereign was surveying and dominating the heavens.
“So powerful…” Gu Xian’er gasped, struggling to breathe.
That realm was still far away, at least separated by a section of the universe, yet his oppressive presence had already spread here, as if the sky itself would collapse and crush them all.
“My premonition was correct. The dark creatures are about to launch a ferocious attack.”
Lan Xin’s face was pale, trembling. Her usually delicate features were filled with sorrow and anguish. “Master… your disciple is coming to be with you.”
In the distant universe, black mists churned like a towering sea, strange omens terrifying to behold. One dark creature after another appeared.
Each exuded a terrifying aura, like deities that had existed since ancient times. They seemed to be chanting some long-forgotten sacrificial rites, and across the heavens and earth, the sounds of primordial offerings and prayers resonated.
A vague blood-red altar appeared in that shattered, distant cosmos.
The blood light surged skyward, like a dragon drawing water, or like rolling smoke and flames, rising from star clusters and converging on that indistinct altar.
These were the spirits and essences of beings and cultivators who had died in this battle. After death, their scattered vital energies had lingered in the world, becoming the purest form of energy.
“The Great Sacrifice begins…”
Amid the blur, everyone heard a cold, merciless voice, like an ancestral demon whispering—a sound that made hair stand on end and froze the soul.
All beings on the embankment were horrified. They felt their souls and vital energies wanting to escape, to drift toward the altar.
Many grew dazed, their minds hazy, no longer obeying themselves. They began walking toward the altar like living corpses, leaving the embankment.
“Run!”
A sharp command suddenly rang out, carrying a fury that shook the heavens.
A middle-aged man rode a sword toward them. His sharp, detached features were filled with anger.
Lan Xin and the others, who had momentarily lost themselves, snapped back in shock, nearly dropping their weapons as they had been about to leave the embankment.
“Elder Zhou…”
Many disciples of the Oblique Moon Sect turned toward the approaching middle-aged man, their hearts surging with excitement.
He was a renowned elder of the Oblique Moon Sect, his mastery of the Sword Dao peerless.
“The Zhengyi Alliance has already abandoned us. They intend to make peace with the dark creatures, willingly ceding territory, letting us become nourished for their sacrifices,” Elder Zhou said, his face dark, his voice trembling with immense grief.
He looked at the remaining cultivators and beings still defending this place. His body trembled with rage at the horrific scene. These were disciples of the Oblique Moon Sect and surrounding civilizations—living beings, vibrant and full of life.
They had been ordered to hold the line, to fight to the death, without retreating. And now, they were met with the abandonment, betrayal, and treachery of the Zhengyi Alliance.
“What?”
All those who had believed reinforcements had arrived were now frozen in place, stiff as statues, unable to believe their ears.
Even Gu Xian’er widened her clear eyes in shock.
Could it really be true? The Zhengyi Alliance had truly abandoned everyone? They intended to make peace with the dark creatures, ceding both territory and life?
For them, it was unbearably cruel. Many of the remaining cultivators and beings, still clinging to a sliver of hope, froze in place. That final flicker of hope shattered, and they nearly collapsed.
“It’s over… completely over…”
“Hahaha… So this is the Zhengyi Alliance we’ve been dying to defend? So righteous indeed…”
Many laughed bitterly, stumbling, hollow-eyed and despairing. Some clutched blood-stained garments or shattered armor in corners, silently weeping.
Their fellow disciples and masters had thrown themselves into the fray to buy time, to let others survive—like moths to the flame, perishing alongside the dark creatures.
Lan Xin’s face turned even paler, her body trembling. She had suspected betrayal, but she never imagined the Zhengyi Alliance would be so cold and cruel as to truly abandon everyone.
“Everyone, leave… leave at once. There is no need to continue defending this place. The internal ranks of the Zhengyi Alliance are likely already infiltrated by dark creatures. They intend to begin the Great Sacrifice.”
Elder Zhou’s voice was filled with grief, his face equally full of rage, along with deep helplessness. When he heard the news, he too had been stunned, unable to believe his ears.
Various sects and civilizations had been ordered to defend their embankments with their lives, resisting the dark creatures’ invasion. Yet the Zhengyi Alliance leadership had turned to seek peace with the dark creatures, abandoning them and ceding territory.
How heart-wrenching this was.
Desperation and fury spread across the embankment. Everyone lost their courage and will to fight.
But even if they fled, where could they run?
If the embankment fell, how could the forces behind them survive? Their families, friends, lovers, fellow masters and disciples?
If they retreated, who would protect those left behind?
“Return to the Oblique Moon Sect quickly. The sect leader and other elders are discussing the Flame-Passing Plan. If our sect’s legacy is to continue, we must preserve the spark. You are the hope and future of the sect. Do not perish here.”
Elder Zhou looked at Gu Xian’er, Lan Xin, and the others, his voice grave.
He was deeply impressed with Gu Xian’er. Though the girl was considered unlucky by some, her talent in the Sword Dao was extraordinary, inspiring in him a genuine admiration for her abilities.
Now that the sect had suddenly encountered calamity, faced this disaster, it could only be seen as the will of Heaven, fate decreed that such a trial would occur.
He did not wish for such a seed of the Sword Dao to perish here.
She was meant to shine brilliantly in a broader world, to soar and spread her wings, to compose a glory that belonged to her alone.
And the other disciples of the Oblique Moon Sect—surviving until now under such circumstances already testified to their excellence.
“The Black Tide is coming again.”
“Go now. The future of the Oblique Moon Sect rests upon you.”
Elder Zhou turned, speaking no more. Leaning on his sword, he coldly gazed at the distant universe. With a horizontal sweep of his blade, a rift in space-time appeared.
He took a step forward. Radiant sword light swept outward, instantly leveling the surging dark creatures in the distance, creating a void.
The space-time rift expanded, forming a portal. With a flick of his broad sleeves, he sent many of the remaining cultivators and beings through it.
“Elder Zhou…”
The figures of Gu Xian’er, Lan Xin, and the others vanished rapidly into the portal.
Watching Elder Zhou’s figure blur into the distance, their hearts were heavy with sorrow and grief, their noses stinging.
This Elder Zhou was normally taciturn and solemn. Though he had long admired and pursued Lan Xin’s Master, his feelings had never been returned.
Even so, he never complained. Through his actions, he had quietly protected Elder Chen Yi.
Even now, knowing that Elder Chen Yi had perished at the hands of the Fate-Seizing Alliance, he still upheld his original intent, safeguarding Chen Yi’s disciples and the people of the Oblique Moon Sect.
Across the embankment, the blood-red altar grew ever more solid, ever taller, as if it could envelop that entire universe.
The black mists surged skyward, boundless and more violent than before.
Elder Zhou’s expression remained detached. He stepped forward several paces, channeling the Dao Sword he had nurtured for countless years.
With a single, calm shout, the sword was drawn. Its song moved across the nine heavens, billions of threads of sword energy filling the star clusters, vast and unbounded.
“The heavens tremble, yet my Dao shall flourish day by day!”
A crisp, commanding shout reverberated throughout the cosmos. Elder Zhou strode forward like his sword itself, unstoppable, charging into the boundless black mists with the intent to tear them apart.
Within the suffocating, dense blackness, Wuyang—clad in dark iron armor—watched coldly.
Beside him, a young girl with her hair tied in a bun held a paper umbrella, green like lotus leaves, shielding herself from the endless black mists raining from above.
“The path of humans is fleeting, the path of immortals vast, the path of ghosts joyful! Human life treasures existence, immortal paths value life, ghostly paths honor the end…”
Beneath the umbrella, a graceful, delicate young woman, as if from the water towns of Jiangnan, slightly curved her beautiful eyes. Her rose-petal lips parted gently, reciting softly.
The news that the Zhengyi Alliance had chosen to abandon all the border defenses and seek peace with the dark creatures quickly sent shockwaves across the vast expanse, stirring endless uproar.
No one had anticipated that the Zhengyi Alliance would act this way.
To seek peace at such a time, abandoning the border defenses—wasn’t this tantamount to sacrificing entire civilizations, sending countless people to their deaths?
How did this differ from the Fate-Seizing Alliance? What had happened to the promises of unity and mutual aid? How could they betray those assurances at this crucial moment?
Naturally, the Zhengyi Alliance’s actions caused immense shock and uproar, as well as widespread backlash.
Its reputation and influence suffered a sudden reversal, drawing countless curses and contempt.
Yet even in such circumstances, the Zhengyi Alliance paid no heed. It continued to shrink its territory, ceding lands deemed unimportant.
Meanwhile, powerful figures appeared, negotiating with the higher ranks of the dark creatures, forging a peace agreement and agreeing to fulfill many of the dark creatures’ demands.