Chapter 530

Chapter 530: Another Me in the World

Blood flowed from Nian Chao Sheng’s mouth and nose, but a smile appeared on his face without him realizing it.

The ordinary people in this great world of Jiu Province only know that True Immortals are terrifying.

They do not know that the reason True Immortals act this way is simply because they are struggling to survive in the face of the Great Collapse.

True Immortals are indeed the strongest beings that have emerged over countless years in all realms, but clearly, they have no solution to the Great Collapse.

Nian Chao Sheng’s actions are also about searching for unknown variables before the Great Collapse.

Fifty years ago, the mysterious member of the Qiao family who made a name for himself in Jiu Province was an unknown variable that even he could not fully understand.

Knowledge and secrets could give Nian Chao Sheng a sense of security.

Faced with a Qiao family member who is so mysterious and exhibits countless contradictions to common sense, he feels only deep-rooted apprehension and fear.

Until this moment.

The difference in information is a powerful but invisible force. Nian Chao Sheng, who knows how frightening this is, has been carefully controlling himself, following the principle of only listening to the tide and not stirring it, to avoid bringing trouble upon himself.

As the Great Collapse approaches, he begins to show his talent, creating a powerful effect.

Emperor Wuping chose to reveal his plan, leading to the formal downfall of the Great Yan Imperial Court; the Founding Emperor Yan wielded the Human Emperor Sword and set out with his followers, embarking on a path of no return.

The end of the Great Yan Imperial Court was certainly a result of their own choices, but Nian Chao Sheng also played a part in it.

Meanwhile, Qiao Mu, in his presence, made his own choice.

From the moment he chose the Human Emperor Sword and decided to become human, Nian Chao Sheng seemed to hear the tides of history rushing towards an unknown direction beneath the descent of the True Immortal and the shadow of the Great Collapse.

The silent echoes, like thunder, stirred around him, making him tremble slightly. In that moment, there were no gods being crowned, only a devastated land and the ruins of cities.

At this moment, Qiao Mu, holding the Human Emperor Sword, stepped forward, standing at the edge of the sunken pit, looking down at Nian Chao Sheng.

"Nian Chao Sheng," he said.

"Do you know where Immortal Lord Qingxuan is?"

Nian Chao Sheng couldn’t help but tremble slightly, not out of fear, but from a kind of uncontainable excitement.

"Immortal Lord Qingxuan, his true self is not present in this realm, but stands beyond the greater world, reaching out from afar." Nian Chao Sheng looked towards the lingering dark clouds above the ruins of the city and continued:

"Founding Emperor Yan and the thousands who followed him, along with the hundreds of thousands of citizens in the city, all died at his hands. Perhaps Senior Qiao should not ask me, but should ask the sword."

But at this point, Nian Chao Sheng couldn’t help but ask:

"Senior Qiao Yi, are you planning to save this broken Jiu Province?"

Qiao Mu fell silent for a moment.

"So, at this point, you are still waiting for a savior," Qiao Mu said slowly.

"Nian Chao Sheng, fifty years have passed in the world, but it seems you have not made any progress at all."

Nian Chao Sheng paused.

Qiao Mu placed his hand on the blade of the Human Emperor Sword, and overwhelming emotions surged like roaring waves.

He recited, "Members of the Qiao family have once killed many cultivators and personally destroyed several Immortal Gates."

"Unmatched power can kill off the ancestors of small worlds who keep Immortal Gates hidden from the world, and it can lead to the downfall of many Immortal Gates."

"So, what happens next?"

"After we leave, the return of the inhuman is merely a matter of time."

Nian Chao Sheng forced a smile and said:

"That is because the small world of the Immortal Gate still exists… so it can rise from the ashes…"

Qiao Mu cast a faint glance at him, and Nian Chao Sheng immediately stopped talking.

"So, do you think that if the Qiao family member had completely destroyed the Nine Immortal Gates, killing every cultivator, it would have solved everything forever?"

Nian Chao Sheng did not answer, he just remained silent.

Wildfire cannot burn everything away; it will sprout again with the spring wind.

Many years later, in the vast world of Jiu Province, new inhumans will eventually appear again; whether they cultivate the path of immortality or some other strange way is hard to say.

"So, you think I am the savior, but I believe…"

Qiao Mu ran his fingers over the sword body of the Human Emperor Sword, and as his fingers swept past, a faint yellowish light spread out; he spoke deeply:

"In the troubled land of Jiu Province, ravaged by the Immortal Gate, the ordinary people have already saved themselves during the long struggle of nearly a hundred years."

"They are their own saviors."

As the words fell, Xue Changhe and the others behind him were all taken aback and exchanged silent glances.

Fifty years later, after the Qiao family members returned to Jiu Province, Qiao Mu was merely a witness; whether he was there or not, he could no longer change the final outcome of the Inhuman War.

However, that being said, human strength can sometimes run out.

Simply promoting a person’s fighting spirit is of no help; True Immortals stand at the peak of all worlds and possess eternal life, creating an unbridgeable gap between them and mortals.

The arrival of the Great Collapse and the emergence of True Immortals are like natural disasters, such as earthquakes and tsunamis, which mortals cannot resist; promoting personal fighting spirit is of no use.

"Heaven helps those who help themselves."

"They should not have such an ending, and what I want to do is really just…" Qiao Mu let out a long sigh, tightened his grip on the Human Emperor Sword, and looked up at the sky.

"Let this chaotic world return to its rightful path."

"If heaven does not help, I will step forward."

As the words fell, he raised the Human Emperor Sword in his hand and struck at the sky.

Behind him, the shadow of a collapsing world appeared again; mountains overturned, oceans pulled back, and the continent broke apart in the raging tide, falling into the Return Ruins.

A heavy, dark yellow light rose from the sword, reaching up to the heavens, seemingly cutting through the clouds above.

No, this was not an illusion; when the dark clouds covering the city finally cleared, a deep and narrow chasm suddenly appeared in the sky.

The narrow chasm quickly widened, revealing a giant hand that blocked the sun, and beyond it was an endless void.

The soaring dark yellow sword light plunged into it, landing on that giant hand, where a long sword mark quickly appeared on the giant hand that blocked the sun.

"Oh?"

The giant hand moved slightly, and the vast void behind it began to change, revealing a figure of a Taoist with a size difficult to estimate, surrounded by several large stars, as if he were the center of this starry group.

Amid the swirling stars, Immortal Lord Qingxuan looked over.

Just the gaze alone felt like invisible mountains descending, and the air seemed to freeze in an instant.

It was as if a corner of a box had been opened, revealing a glimpse of someone from beyond the sky.

"He is Immortal Lord Qingxuan," Immortal Diyuan said softly.

The volume of the voice meant nothing to Immortal Lord Qingxuan.

She simply moved this way without thinking.

"After the Immortal Realm shattered, the surviving immortals naturally did not want to die; each made their own choices, and Immortal Lord Qingxuan chose the path of sacrificing living beings to strengthen himself."

"The term Immortal Lord refers to the king among immortals; it is just a title, and their essence of life is no different from the other True Immortals, but the difference in strength can be as vast as the sky and the earth."

Though Immortal Lord Qingxuan, Immortal Yanshen, and Immortal Diyuan all ascended from the Great World of Jiu Province, they each established the equally ranked Nine Heavens and Ten Earths sect within Jiu Province.

However, the so-called Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Immortal Gate has a fixed limit.

The highest level of spiritual power is just the Mahayana Stage. After the great change in the world, the most advanced humans can only reach the Soul Changing Stage.

The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths Immortal Gate stood side by side for a time, but that does not mean Immortal Lord Qingxuan is equal to Immortal Diyuan and Immortal Yanshen as True Immortals.

The nineteen founding masters of the ascending immortal realms were not from the same era, but rather the sum of all ascenders born over countless years in the Jiu Province world.

Immortal Lord Qingxuan is not only older than Immortal Diyuan but also has taken the path of blood sacrifice to strengthen himself, making his magical powers naturally superior to the latter.

Immortal Diyuan lowered his voice to explain, "Immortal Lord Qingxuan, after ascending, also practiced physical cultivation, using a method that imitates the Ancient Gods and Demons—"

"Earth Origin?" As Immortal Diyuan spoke, Immortal Lord Qingxuan turned his gaze toward him, his expression a mix of amusement and skepticism:

"Has he escaped to the Jiu Province world?"

"Hmm? After his self-inflicted death, he is no longer considered a True Immortal; he is quite decisive." Immortal Lord Qingxuan looked at Immortal Diyuan for a moment, seemingly a bit disappointed.

On the path of blood sacrifice to all living beings and the plundering of the essence of life, the other True Immortals are naturally better as "heavenly materials and earthly treasures" than ordinary people.

As for the True Immortal Immortal Diyuan, it is said that the current Immortal Diyuan is no longer worthy of his attention, causing him to quickly lose interest and finally his gaze fell on Qiao Mu.

To be precise, his gaze was not on Qiao Mu, but on the Human Emperor Sword that Qiao Mu was holding.

The massive hand that blocked the sky became slightly blurred, and the long, narrow blood mark had completely healed in an instant, leaving no trace of a wound.

"Come to take revenge?" Immortal Lord Qingxuan said with a hint of disappointment.

"Not exactly," Qiao Mu replied lightly.

"I just came to kill you."

Immortal Lord Qingxuan did not respond, clearly not taking it seriously.

The Great Dao Sect in the human realm has a grand formation that can capture the souls of warriors who died in the Hundred-mile Desert; the more courageous the warrior, the higher the quality of the heroic soul that emerges.

Not to mention the already True Immortal Immortal Lord Qingxuan.

He has a deep impression of Founding Emperor Yan.

Although he did not want to involve himself with this kind of "bad luck," he ultimately experienced the taste of such a heroic spirit.

But in the moment he locked eyes from a distance with Qiao Mu, who held the Human Emperor Sword, he suddenly felt a spark of inspiration, realizing this person was different from Founding Emperor Yan.

Even if he died at his hands, he would never become the "precious resource" he could use.

"Those who cannot become useful are just useless dust; killing or not killing makes no difference."

Immortal Lord Qingxuan looked past Qiao Mu and directed his gaze toward Xue Changhe and others behind him.

Setting aside Qiao Mu, who cannot achieve greatness, the rest, while not many in number, are indeed the top experts born from the Jiu Province world.

These people are survivors from the Soul Predicting Path Immortal Gate battlefield and almost encompass the vast majority of martial arts masters in the entire Jiu Province world.

"Though you cannot become useful, they still can."

The Immortal Lord Qingxuan did not feel like talking to Qiao Mu and the others; as soon as he finished speaking, the giant hand that covered the sky came crashing down.

As the giant hand approached, the entire sky suddenly turned black, as if endless dark clouds were ruling the land.

The Human Emperor Sword trembled slightly, its ringing sound clear and high.

Qiao Mu, holding the Human Emperor Sword, felt a bit dazed, as if he saw the scene of Founding Emperor Yan and countless others going to their deaths behind him.

At this moment, it was just like that time.

Immortality does not mean being all-powerful; if it did, Qiao Mu would not have been trapped by Immortal Yanshen’s Immobilization Skill.

The Immortal Lord Qingxuan might not be able to completely kill Qiao Mu, but if he attacked not just Qiao Mu but everyone on the ground, Qiao Mu would likely not be able to stop him.

Just as Qiao Mu raised his sword to the sky and was about to strike.

That giant hand, which covered the sky, suddenly went from moving quickly to completely still, halting in mid-air, with only a strong wind pushing down, blowing away the ruins on the ground.

The figure of the Immortal Lord Qingxuan appeared blurry at the break in the sky.

In his calm, indifferent eyes, which were as deep as a still pond, a sudden turbulence shook them.

"Undead Immortal Lord?" he slowly whispered this name.

In the next moment, his towering, immense body, like a dream or a bubble, shattered and vanished into the sky.

Behind him, silently and quietly, another person suddenly appeared, gazing down at the world just like Immortal Lord Qingxuan.

This was a young immortal, with white hair like frost, a robe as white as snow, and a face that bore a faint resemblance to Qiao Mu, but he spoke little and looked down with indifference.

He was not only watching Qiao Mu but also observing everyone beside him.

Qiao Canxue and Qiao Feixian both trembled slightly, while the Immortal Diyuan next to them felt a chill run through her.

Although she was no longer a True Immortal, she still felt that gaze was somewhat familiar…

When Qiao Canxue and Qiao Feixian merged into one, becoming the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor for a brief moment, she sensed that more than one gaze from a distant unknown place was watching her, looking across countless worlds.

One of them was the Undead Immortal Lord in front of her.

"An Immortal Lord who is watching the daughter of the Heavenly Emperor?" Immortal Diyuan naturally knew that she could not be the only True Immortal thinking of seeking a way to survive from the Empress Reincarnation.

However, she had not heard of this Undead Immortal Lord before… Perhaps she was too new to being an immortal to know about the powerful beings from the ancient immortal world.

Of course, there is also another possibility… that this person has been an immortal for an even shorter time than her.

Moreover, there was one more thing that caught Immortal Diyuan’s attention: the face of this Undead Immortal Lord seemed somewhat similar to several members of the Qiao family she had seen before.

It should be noted that while this True Immortal can change into many forms, she wondered to herself if this Undead Immortal Lord would change her appearance just to confront them.

Qiao Mu instinctively tightened his grip on the Human Emperor Sword.

From the perspective of Immortal Diyuan and others, the face of the Undead Immortal Lord could only be said to resemble that of the Qiao family members.

But Qiao Mu clearly remembered this face, because the faces of Qiao Yi, Qiao Yan Qiao Huo, and the previous Qiao family member were actually adjusted to look like Qiao family members using the Shape Changing Skill, not Qiao Mu’s true appearance.

And now the face in the sky…

"It seems we are very close to the answer," Qiao Mu murmured, looking up to meet the gaze of the Undead Immortal Lord in the sky.

The Undead Immortal Lord also looked down, but it was clear that he was more interested in the Heavenly Emperor’s daughter than in Qiao Mu.

"Another one," he said, shaking his head slightly, and pointed from the sky.