Chapter 196: Birth (1/2)

The Sword of Chaos!

Against all odds, it began to move. A terrifying aura burst from the blade, cracking the sky and threatening to crush the realm itself in its potency. Fissures spread upon the earth in all directions, echoing the cracks in the firmament. The already-shaky ground began to cave and crumble.

“This is very bad!” The giant panicked. “The Sword of Chaos is about to be born. It is the last hope of the ancient divines. If someone of that race claims it, the dao of immortals will surely be overthrown and the rule of the divines restored!”

His chest heaved as he expanded to an even greater size, threatening to encompass this world altogether. A colossal palm grabbed at the sword.

Buzz!

Fierce vibrations from the Sword of Chaos drove him back. Shadows coalesced, walking out from the void into the plane of existence.

“With heaven as the sheath and earth as guard… O Sword of Chaos… bless the divine race!” The thought-chant repeated with real grandeur through the sphere.

“Divine obsessions!” Lu Yun was just as dismayed as the giant. True to their name, divine obsessions were the lingering obsessions of dead divines. “The divine obsessions are being absorbed into the Sword of Chaos… to be forged into the sword’s will!”

His eyes sparkled with wonder to be witnessing such a sight. The extinction of the ancient divines meant that the Sword of Chaos was still incomplete. Though it looked like a finished product, it was missing the most important component of a divine sword: a will of its own.

Here and now, these gathered divine obsessions were finishing the last step in the forging of the blade. Refined obsessions would bestow upon it a will!

A fountain of black will welled up from the sword—a crystallization of the hopes and dreams of a long-lost people, the passing wishes of a bygone era. At the same time, it heralded the impending return of a glorious race that’d long been sealed in the annals of history!

Once upon a time, the ancient divines had ruled the world with an iron fist. They severed the dao of immortals, establishing in its stead the dao of divines. There was no dao of immortals, only the path of godhood!

If they did manage to return, the entire world would be thrown into chaos.

Fwoosh.

Lu Yun’s body suddenly quavered as the Sugato Sword in his hand erupted with a will of its own, surging with reckless abandon toward the Sword of Chaos’ torrent.

The Sugato Sword was the pinnacle of artifice. Forged by man, it could even sever connate treasures. Now, its competitive spirit was roused by the detection of a will matching its own from the Sword of Chaos that’d just been born into the world.

A battle! Which would emerge on top?

If the Sword of Chaos was a connate treasure, the Sugato Sword wouldn’t have champed at the bit so. Indeed, the sword of the ancient divines had detected the presence of an opponent as well, and its will aggressively intensified in response. As luck would have it, the two swords were perfect rivals for each other in almost every way.

Two stupendous sword wills engaged in battle, their sparring ground the sky overhead. The duel of swords was a hundred times fiercer than the previous one between the coffins.

“This world will soon be destroyed.” Lu Yun paled, noting the worsening spatial collapse. He didn’t have much attention to spare for the Sugato Sword; instead, he darted toward the door at the edge of the realm as quickly as he could.

The destruction of any plane, even a small realm like this one, was too much for a contemporary immortal to bear. Even a real celestial emperor would be reduced to dust when facing down such overwhelming power.

The giant grabbed the Exalted emperor’s body and slowly disappeared as well.

……

Rrrumble…