Time and space vanished, the mist and cloud sea swirling in confusion. This was another realm entirely, yet it possessed the same blue skies and white clouds as the mortal world—this was the Geodetic Interspace, a place where infinite miracles were born.

Ye Xiu only recalled being swept into the cloud sea by the gale generated from Yi Tianxing’s wings. Shaking his head, he stood up only to find himself amidst a mountain range. Towering ancient trees dominated the scene, radiating a harmonious verdancy. “Old Liu! Have we reached the Interspace?”

The surroundings offered only the rustling of grass, with unseen strange insects crawling on the branches, occasionally dripping viscous green fluid. The place was silent; there was no human sound other than that.

“Old Liu?” Ye Xiu turned around. Giant trees filled the area, and the scent of grass permeated the air. “Hey, Old Liu, are you there? Old Liu!”

The strange insects slowly wriggled along the branches; some spread wings that made them look like butterflies, while others continued to crawl, sucking at the sweet sap on the trees. But there was no reply from Old Liu here.

Did we fall in different places? Ye Xiu struggled to recall the preceding moments. That gust of wind had been truly chaotic. He only remembered losing sight of Old Liu after entering a cloud formation that resembled a cavern. It seemed he had arrived in the Interspace, but Old Liu must have fallen somewhere nearby; he should be close.

“Rumble…” Just then, he heard a tremendous sound. Looking toward the distance, he saw massive trees continuously collapsing, the entire forest instantly transformed into a lumberyard.

“My Thirteen Swords of the Dao Sect have finally caught up to your pace, Demon Shadow Thousand Years!” A figure resembling a Daoist swordsman, drenched in blood and gasping for breath, declared, “We have fought for decades without resolving victory or defeat. It seems this time, I have the slight edge, hahahaha!”

The other person leaned on his sword plunged into the earth, barely supporting his body. He was tall and lanky, looking more like a bipedal wolf. “A slight edge? Heh, Tian Dao Yi, look at your own injuries. Do you even have a chance to live past tonight?”

“So these two just finished a duel. Looks like they both suffered heavy losses.” Ye Xiu moved stealthily toward the sound, hiding within the woods. Observing their attire, he understood their identities: one was likely a Daoist from Myriad Dao Mountain, and the other probably hailed from the Corpse Demon Forest.

“Who!” Ye Xiu’s mutterings instantly drew Tian Dao Yi’s attention. He suddenly swung the longsword in his hand. The sword, somehow enhanced by some Daoist magic, instantaneously grew longer, winding its way forward and snatching Ye Xiu right up.

“Ah! Yah!” Ye Xiu’s heart leaped in alarm. He hadn't expected a person to possess such incredible speed. He was completely unprepared when that sword struck, stumbling directly before Tian Dao Yi.

“This kid’s abilities are strange, I feel like I’ve encountered them somewhere before?” Demon Shadow Thousand Years, a top talent from the Corpse Demon Forest, sensed Ye Xiu’s aura for a moment and knew his origins. “Several energies flow through him, and none of these energies exist in the Interspace. Could it be…”

“Death God!” Tian Dao Yi was gravely wounded. As he reached this conclusion, his entire body collapsed into a pool of blood. “Hahahaha, it must be fate. I never imagined that an outsider would witness the ultimate battle between you and me.”

Demon Shadow Thousand Years could no longer maintain his stance and knelt before Ye Xiu. He looked sideways at Tian Dao Yi and sneered, “What’s wrong, can’t stand up anymore? Or perhaps, I have won this battle?”

Ye Xiu sprang up from beside them, coldly observing the two. Both must have endured the opponent's final blow at the start; based on their injuries, neither would survive. “Excuse me, who are you two?”

“We are…” Tian Dao Yi tried to rise, but the movement unsettled his heart meridians, causing him to spew blood. He bowed his head low and spoke slowly, “Who you are is unimportant. What matters is that I will now pass on the Thirteen Swords of the Dao Sect, the study of my entire life, to you.”

“The Thirteen Swords of the Dao Sect?” Ye Xiu was completely bewildered; he had stumbled into this stretch of woods by mistake. Furthermore, various energies were already intertwined within his body; accepting Daoist power now might cause his body to reject it. “I’m just passing through; you can treat me as if I don't exist.”

“How could you just be passing through when you encountered an unparalleled duel in the Interspace, nearly equivalent to the Heavenly Emperor’s Cyclical Return?” At this moment, Demon Shadow Thousand Years grabbed Ye Xiu’s leg. His speed was so immense that Ye Xiu had no time to react. “I can clearly see that your body integrates powers from various factions. What does one more power from the Corpse Demon Forest matter? Death God!”

“You… Waaah…” Ye Xiu tried to move his single leg, but Demon Shadow Thousand Years held it firmly in place. He felt a sharp, stinging pain spreading from the sole of his foot up, and soon both legs went numb. “You… What are you doing…”

“Demon Shadow Thousand Years, I didn’t expect you to resort to such tactics. Good!” Tian Dao Yi roared forcefully, striking the ground. His body vaulted into the air and inverted, aiming his head directly at Ye Xiu’s. A strange white light zipped back and forth between their two bodies. “Since you wish to bestow your vaunted speed upon him, I shall impart my unique Thirteen Swords of the Dao Sect to him as well. Let’s see who prevails.”

“Waaah…” Instantly, strange light flickered throughout the forest. The purple radiance of Xuan Tian ascended from Ye Xiu’s legs, while a dense white light radiated outward from his skull. He felt these two forces colliding within his body until, finally, they transformed into an explosive aura, shaking the surrounding forests for several miles, causing tree after tree to fall. “Hoo…”

Tian Dao Yi, covered head to toe in ash, looked smugly at the equally weakened Demon Shadow Thousand Years beside him. “After years of fighting, did you ever imagine a youth would simultaneously possess both our strengths?”

Demon Shadow Thousand Years let out a slight chuckle, his lips already devoid of color. “You, Tian Dao Yi, are the current Sect Master of Myriad Dao Mountain. Your master, Dao Sovereign Wuji, has truly poor judgment to pass the leadership to you. How would he feel knowing you died here fighting me?”

“You, Demon Shadow Thousand Years, also sit above the kings of the Corpse Demon Forest, the sect leaders, and the Fox Demon Royal Family. What have you ever done for your Demon Realm?” Tian Dao Yi barely maintained the smile on his face; in reality, his chest had already been torn open by Demon Shadow Thousand Years’ claws. “Which side do you think this fellow will stand on in the future?”

“Hmph, he will stand on neither side.” Demon Shadow Thousand Years clutched his abdomen tightly. Tian Dao Yi’s Thirteen Swords of the Dao Sect were unpredictable; though called sword techniques, they contained ever-changing Daoist magic. “Don't you know this fellow is the Death God? What do you think the Death God will do upon entering the Interspace?”

“How could I not know he is the Death God? As fellow cultivators of the sword, do you think I don't recognize the sword behind his back?” Tian Dao Yi showed a triumphant expression when he mentioned this. He painfully moved over and bumped Tian Dao Yi, knocking him down. “Dao Gate Samsara, how could I not know the Heaven’s Scorn Sword behind him? The possession of the Death Realm Sword Devil Eight Desolations!”

Demon Shadow Thousand Years, determined to compete with Tian Dao Yi even in death, reached out to touch the Heaven’s Scorn Sword on Ye Xiu’s back, but his strength was gone. “Heaven’s Scorn Sword, Death God? Do you realize this fellow is no ordinary Death God? The endless power contained within him cannot be concealed by a mere Death God status.”

Ye Xiu listened to their words in a daze. His mind was chaotic, as if countless unwarranted sword moves were dancing before his eyes, and his legs and feet twitched, feeling as though they might shoot out uncontrollably. He finally managed to sit up and look at the two figures, both near death. “What did you two do to me? Who are you?”

“Who?” Tian Dao Yi smiled faintly and lowered his head. A gentle breeze carried the scent of grass, and the current Sect Master of Myriad Dao Mountain was gone forever.

“You only need to know he is Tian Dao Yi, and I am Demon Shadow Thousand Years. That is enough, hahahaha!” Demon Shadow Thousand Years finished speaking and threw his head back, laughing wildly a few times. “In the end, I still won, Tian Dao Yi! I really am walking ahead of you, hahahaha!”

Ye Xiu watched them fall coldly. He didn't feel gratitude for the powers they had bestowed upon him; rather, he was moved by the feeling of mutual rivalry they shared for each other. Although both were destined for death in the end, in this moment, they were together. “Is this considered some kind of deep bond? This is utterly terrible luck. Encountering such nonsense the moment I entered the Interspace.”

“Awooo…” Suddenly, several silver-gray giant wolves bolted out of the forest. These bipedal monsters were identical to the one they had fled from in the city. They descended from above and immediately surrounded Ye Xiu. The leading werewolf glanced at Demon Shadow Thousand Years’ corpse and commanded, “Take Demon Shadow’s body back; this one is mine.”

“So they came to collect their comrade’s corpse?” Ye Xiu felt unwell, but dealing with these brutes shouldn't be an issue. He summoned his Black Flame, intending to blast them away, but just as the flame emerged from his palm, he felt a blockage of blood in his hand, and his entire arm went limp. “How can this be…”

“Scare ya!” The werewolf leaped over and raked its claws across Ye Xiu’s body. The sheer force of that single blow knocked him sprawling onto the grass. “A fellow with no cultivation or power, yet he managed to survive the ultimate destined confrontation in the Interspace?”

Ye Xiu clutched his abdomen. The wolf claws were incredibly sharp, and that single strike actually forced out some of his Death God’s black blood. “How can this be? The Black Flame won’t work?”

“How can this be? A piece of trash like you thinks he can accomplish anything?” The werewolf snarled viciously, bringing its foot down toward Ye Xiu’s head. “This strike sends you to the West!”

“Whoosh…” Suddenly, several steel needles shot out from the grass. The leading werewolf jumped aside to dodge one strike, but its companions were not so lucky; upon being hit by the slender silver needles, their bodies instantly dissolved into pus.

“Heavenly Needles of Reversal Fate?” The leading werewolf seemed to recognize the diminutive weapon. It glared hatred at Ye Xiu and hastily scooped up Demon Shadow Thousand Years’ corpse before fleeing deep into the forest, realizing how formidable the owner of those divine needles must be.

“Who?” Ye Xiu, in a confused state, saw a slender silhouette approaching him. Without hesitation, he raised the Heaven’s Scorn Sword and pointed it at the newcomer, demanding, “Who are you? What are you?”

“Don’t, you are severely injured; you must not agitate yourself.” A soft, delicate female voice approached Ye Xiu. She was dressed in a long blue gown, her dark hair draped over her shoulders, her exquisite features clearly visible, a comforting gentleness occasionally radiating from her brows. “Don't be afraid; I have chased those demon wolves away.”

Ye Xiu slowly managed to sit up, carefully observing the girl before him. She was pretty, with excellent skin; her delicate and fragile appearance bore some resemblance to Mei Shu. The only thing that amazed him were her ears: long and upward-pointing, clearly those of a fox. “You… Who are you? What is wrong with your ears?”