Chapter 174: Destiny is Forged by Oneself

The disciples of the Upper Profound Heaven Sect and the Netherworld Dao Sect were all dead, save for Wang Qi, who was severely injured, and Huang Yuyi, who remained unconscious. However, the rest of the allied sects—the Nine Poisons Gate, the Hundred Flowers Valley, the Ghost Mother Sect, the Departing Fire Cult, and the Reincarnation Gate—still had a large number of surviving disciples. Meanwhile, the Shadow Dragon Guards had fought to mutual destruction with the five seal-envoys of the Five Elephants Gate, rendering them incapable of providing any support to Lu Xin.

At this moment, the young man's meridians were completely shattered, and his magical power was almost entirely exhausted. Forget about resisting; even if no one made a move against him, he might not survive. The dark-yellow Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword lay quietly in the snow before the youth, stripped of the slightest trace of luster. Everything pointed to the boy's desperate end, his lifeline completely severed!

As Lu Xin opened his eyes and cast his gaze around, Wang Qi suddenly coughed twice and laughed loudly. "Knowing it would come to this, why did you bother in the first place? Since ancient times, those who set themselves against the entire world have never met a good end. Because of you, that brat seized the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron first. Shouldn't you give the major sects an explanation?"

"Hahahahaha... An explanation for what? Wang Qi, isn't it this sword you really want? Now that the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron is gone, isn't there still the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword, one of the five great divine weapons of Taoism?"

Clang!

Lu Xin flicked a finger, sending the Wandering Immortal Sword sliding several meters away. The moment his words fell, an uproar swept through the crowd. The mere mention of the five words "Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword" was known to every single master of Yin and Yang. It was an object covetously desired by all major sects, and its status among the five great divine weapons of the cultivation world was by no means inferior to the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron. Wang Qi had never expected that Lu Xin would proactively expose the existence of the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword. Regaining his composure, his expression shifted through several shades, his gaze turning pitch-black with gloom. Now that all the major sects knew of the Wandering Immortal Sword's existence, he had lost all his early advantages. Looking at the slight, upturned curve of the youth's lips, Wang Qi burned with the urge to kill him on the spot.

"The Wandering Immortal Sword—so it is the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword! No wonder, no wonder his cultivation could unleash such terrifying power. A low-tier Yin-Yang master at the third tier of the Contemplating Emptiness Realm could actually trade blows with a sword immortal like Huang Yuyi. What right does a mere rogue cultivator have?"

"Hmph, this world is truly unfair. The likes of us toil in arduous cultivation for decades, studying diligently day and night, yet we cannot compare to a shred of another person's destiny. Be it the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron or the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword, they all end up in the hands of such reckless scoundrels. Truly, the heavens are blind."

"Hahahahaha... The Heavenly Dao has always been impartial, yet fate is decreed by heaven while fortune is forged by oneself. In my view, as long as one survives a great disaster, boundless blessings are sure to follow. The personal sword of Guo Pu, the peerless master of the two Jin dynasties, possesses marvels no less than the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron."

Gazing at the three-foot-long sword upon the ground, the members of the various sects muttered amongst themselves while their eyes flashed with greed. High-level masters of the ninth tier of the Contemplating Emptiness Realm, such as Ji Yu, Jiang Yan, and Hong Qixuan, immediately scanned their surroundings, remaining on guard against those beside them. Ji Yu, in particular, having crossed paths with Lu Xin back in Chang'an City, was well aware of the terrifying might of the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword. At the time, he had merely assumed it to be a powerful magical treasure, never suspecting it to be a divine weapon. Recalling it now, Ji Yu unconsciously tightened his fists into a posture of absolute determination to claim it. And this was precisely the outcome Lu Xin desired.

Chaos—the major sects slaughtering one another in the scramble for treasure—was his only lifeline at present. Even if that lifeline was so minuscule as to be negligible. The scene suddenly fell quiet. The vast mountaintop was eerily silent. The members of the various sects stood mute as statues, neither speaking nor daring to make the first move.

"Hahahahaha! Brother Lu, oh Brother Lu, you truly play a brilliant game! It is a pity that your desperate gamble is so clever that none of us will fall for it."

The death-like silence lasted for a dozen seconds before being shattered by Wang Qi's loud laughter. As he spoke, he took a fierce step toward the Wandering Immortal Sword. That single step triggered over twenty streams of magical energy to erupt simultaneously.

"Wang Qi, what are you trying to do?"

Ji Yu barked a stern reprimand, but received no reply from Wang Qi. The next instant, countless shadowy figures reappeared atop the mountain peak, their pitch-black light blotting out everything like the descent of the apocalypse.

"What am I doing? I am the one who carried the brat fused with the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron away from this place and saved all your lives. Naturally, this Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword belongs to me. Your Nine Poisons Gate is not among the five great sects, so you had best stay out of these muddy waters."

The terrifying might of the Myriad Souls Devouring Immortals Formation was by no means something these Contemplating Emptiness Realm Yin-Yang masters could handle alone. Wang Qi had calculated the precise moment when the ghosts of the Qin army would return, launching his sudden assault. Given his speed and proximity to the Wandering Immortal Sword, two breaths of time were all he needed to secure it.

Although Ji Yu and the others reacted immediately, they were instantly entangled by countless shadowy figures, rendering them utterly incapable of stepping forward to stop him in time. Yet just as Wang Qi bent down to pick up the Wandering Immortal Sword, a figure clad in black robes abruptly materialized in the empty space beside him. Without a word, the figure spread five fingers toward Wang Qi, instantly lifting him off the ground, turning him upside down, and freezing him mid-air. Even as Wang Qi was struck with terror, Lu Xin drew in a sharp breath, forcing three words through his clenched teeth: "Nai He Tian."

"Descendant of Guo Pu, I am borrowing your sword for a moment. Should the opportunity arise in the future, I shall return it to you. However, your trial of slaughter has not yet passed, and this is the moment when your destined fortune is at its absolute ebb. Whether you survive it depends entirely upon your own fortune,hehehe..."

"Nai He Tian, all of this—it was all your conspiracy, wasn't it? The Longevity Compass, the Three Palaces and Nine Mansions, the reason every Yin-Yang master in the world gathered in the Ghost Domain of Fengdu—it was all the result of your calculations. Even the Taiyin Youying manifestation in Chang'an City was your handiwork, am I right? An entity who should have died back in the ancient era, what on earth are you trying to do to this world?"

The arrival of Nai He Tian was utterly abrupt, exceeding Lu Xin's expectations. If the Wandering Immortal Sword were taken away by him, it meant his last thread of survival would be severed. How could Lu Xin not feel resentment?

"Hehehehe... You are clever, and you have seen through certain matters. But some things are beyond the touch of an ant like you, let alone something you can alter. Fortunately, I have killed enough people; you and the rest should thank your lucky stars that you were not present in the Hall of Longevity within the Que of Nai He Tian. Otherwise, hahahahaha..."

Accompanied by a raspy, wild burst of laughter, the figure of Nai He Tian vanished back into the void. No one knew how he had appeared, nor how he had departed. Indeed, the manifestation of Nai He Tian was witnessed by Lu Xin alone. Yet he had effortlessly taken away the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword, carrying off Lu Xin's sole lifeline.

Thud!

Wang Qi dropped from mid-air, crashing face-first onto the ground. He frantically scanned his surroundings, but the shadow of the Wandering Immortal Sword was gone. "No, impossible! Where is the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword? What did you just do to me? What did you do?"

Watching the cooked duck fly away without a trace in the blink of an eye, Wang Qi was consumed by a towering rage and grabbed Lu Xin by the collar.

"Hahahah, if I possessed the terrifying ability to stop you, did you really think you'd still be alive right now? Wang Qi, we’ve both been played for fools. And the person behind this is beyond anything you can imagine."

"Who? Who took that sword? I give you three breaths of time. If you don't speak, I will make your soul scatter into dust!" Wang Qi was clearly driven past the point of emotional control; before his words even finished, his right hand clamped tightly around Lu Xin's throat. At the same time, the sky full of ghostly phantoms vanished completely. The members of the various sects, who had intended to swarm forward and eliminate Wang Qi first, saw this scene, turned pale, and quietly withdrew their magical power.

"The Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword has vanished? What is going on? But..."

Ji Yu stared fixedly at Wang Qi's back, watching his infuriated actions, his expression turning ugly to the extreme. Had Wang Qi obtained the Yin-Yang Wandering Immortal Sword, he would never be in such a state. Extreme rage could not be faked. Moreover, he was the sole surviving disciple of the Netherworld Dao Sect present; if he had secured the divine weapon, he would have fled into the distance instantly.

"Ha, hahah, hahahahaha... Wang Qi, for the sake of a sword, you were willing to offend everyone. Now, you share the exact same fate as me. Since I can no longer escape, having you accompany me to the grave is hardly a loss! Cough, cough, cough."

"Speak! Where did you hide the sword?"

Gazing at the youth's tragic and crazed expression, Wang Qi tightened his grip further. Veins instantly bulged on Lu Xin's neck as his face flushed crimson, leaving him utterly unable to breathe. Seeing this, Hong Qixuan of the Ghost Mother Sect stepped forward rapidly and struck Wang Qi squarely in the back with a palm strike. Wincing in pain, Wang Qi released Lu Xin's throat and stumbled back several paces.

"If you kill him, we will never find the whereabouts of those two supreme treasures again. Wang Qi, we'll settle our score later."

"Hmph, a mere Ghost Mother Sect—my Netherworld Dao Sect can wipe you out with the flip of a hand. I'd like to see what answers you can drag out of him."

With that, Wang Qi retreated viciously to the side. Disregarding him entirely, Hong Qixuan flickered his gaze, his pupils spinning like crimson moons. As his fingertip touched Lu Xin's forehead, the youth instantly convulsed violently, his pupils shifting from black to red in an intensely eerie manner.

"Tell me, who is the person that obtained the Eight Desolations Fire Dragon Cauldron?"

"I... I don't know."

"Speak!"

Hong Qixuan roared in fury, yet the youth only convulsed more violently, unable to utter half a word. Seeing this, Hong Qixuan furrowed his brow and slowly withdrew his finger.

"Some power is blocking my spellcasting. This boy's background is extraordinary."

"Even the Soul-Interrogation Grand Art of your Ghost Mother Sect is useless? It seems there are other secrets hidden on this kid."

Seeing Hong Qixuan thwarted, Ji Yu slowly emerged from the crowd. By this time, Lu Xin had collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious. Ji Yu walked a circle around the youth, then suddenly squatted down and unbuttoned the boy's robe. A jade pendant hanging against his chest was emitting a strange blue glow. Frowning slightly, Ji Yu reached out to take it. At that exact moment, the snowy mountain shuddered violently, and the sacrificial altar exploded. Two massive pillars of green light soared up into the nine heavens. Following that, the entire snowy mountain began to split apart, as if some colossal behemoth was clawing its way out from deep within the mountain's core.