Having entered the city, Zong Shou once again unleashed the Spirit Refining Sword Spirit. Guided by this half-step Divine Weapon, they proceeded forward.
However, the direction pointed not towards the palace at the city's center, but eastward. And the east is where the sun rises— "So, ten thousand years ago, when Xi Zi entered the Tomb of the First Emperor of Qin, he went to that Altar of Heaven for the grand sacrifice?" Zong Shou speculated internally, yet dared not lower his guard.
The one hundred and ninety swords remained scattered within a hundred zhang radius around him, while the Primordial One Soul Sword was also manifested outside his body. After being reforged, this Primordial Spirit sword artifact, founded upon the Primordial Purple Profound Gold Qi, was immensely stronger than before.
Yet, Zong Shou had only recently refined it; the process of nurturing the sword was incomplete, so it remained in the form of a sword blank. Nevertheless, this sword was barely usable at this moment.
Upon manifestation, a faint humanoid shape, utterly identical to Zong Shou in appearance, could be seen wielding the swords. This was Zong Shou’s True Form Dharma Manifestation, but it was transformed from his Second Primordial Spirit.
The significance of the Second Primordial Spirit sword artifact was essentially equivalent to a clone, another Zong Shou. Besides nearly doubling his strength, it possessed other profound uses.
As long as this Primordial One Sword remained intact, even if his own soul were completely scattered, Zong Shou could be resurrected through this sword artifact. He could even project an external body to act on his behalf, miles away.
However, his Void Spirit Sword Forging Art was not yet truly complete, nor had he achieved a fully formed Second Primordial Spirit; for now, it could only be used as an additional source of combat power, like an ordinary sword artifact. The greatest advantage was that even without Zong Shou consciously directing it, it could still exert sixty percent of the sword techniques' divine power.
Because it was a sword of the Kingly Way, when employing Kingly Way martial arts, its might could even surpass the main body. In truth, deploying this sword artifact so early was somewhat reckless.
A misstep that damaged its foundation would inevitably affect the future quality of the Primordial One Soul Sword. Yet, at this very moment, the perilous situation within the First Emperor of Qin's Tomb compelled him to utilize every fragment of his combat power to the extreme.
It was not only him; Yuan Wushang, Shen Yuexuan, and the three, including Chu Xue, were all in the same plight. Even Su Xiaoxiao had taken out several immortal treasures she usually kept secret, using talismans to construct a small protective spiritual formation around herself.
And the deeper they ventured, the stronger the suppressive force of the Two Extremes Dragon Gathering Formation became. It was practically another world, establishing an entirely different set of laws outside the original world's principles.
Zong Shou’s expression grew increasingly solemn. He was beginning to understand why the Supreme Sages of the era ten thousand years ago held such deep apprehension toward this First Emperor of Qin.
In this world, regardless of what immortal treasures one possessed, what military might was amassed, or what spiritual formations were deployed, no one could forcibly cross that threshold into the Realm of the Supreme. At best, these powers could only provide augmentation up to the peak of the Half-Step Supreme Realm.
Unless one commanded a mighty national destiny, governing hundreds of millions of subjects—like the Lu family, whose sovereign commanded over eighty intermediate great worlds—or like the First Emperor of Qin, who held the entire Cloud Realm. Additionally, Divine Venerables were capable, but once they reached the Supreme Realm, few were not overwhelmed by the collective will of hundreds of millions of believers, losing their own sanity in the process.
Therefore, once one achieved Supreme Sage status, achieving an eternal, undying soul body, they became virtually invincible. Except for those of the same Supreme Realm or Supreme-level divine treasures, no one could contend with them.
A ruler of a nation could be mighty, but once they left their borders, they amounted to nothing. However, the Qi Refiners and Legalists summoned by this First Emperor took a different path.
They established alternative laws, binding the power of the Supreme Realm under the 'regulations' they formulated. Since crossing the threshold of the Supreme Realm was impossible by any means, they decided to drag the Supreme Sages, who sat atop the pinnacle, down with them!
And this Two Extremes Dragon Gathering Formation must certainly have incorporated elements created by the Legalists of that time! Zong Shou guessed that in this location, the stronger one’s innate power and the higher their cultivation realm, the greater the suppression they would face.
Simply put: the more one adapted to, mastered, and relied upon the rules and structure of this domain world, the more limitations they would face here. So, it wasn't that Zong Shou suffered less suppression merely because his cultivation was only at the peak of the Immortal Realm.
The late-stage Soul Realm sword intent he mastered was the ultimate manifestation of his understanding of laws such as slaughter and absolute termination. In this place, which was almost reconstructed from scratch, any adjustment meant his attainment could only reach the early Soul Realm.
Consequently, within this 'Xianyang City,' nearly thirty percent of his combat power was diminished! And every time they approached the central palace, that feeling of powerlessness became even more pronounced.
If a Supreme Sage entered here, they would likely be suppressed down to the Saint Rank. Once completely severed from the Great Dao they relied upon, true annihilation would become a possibility.
"But speaking of which, that Saint Venerable Xi Zi was truly audacious. Entering this Tomb of the First Emperor, wasn't he afraid of being ganged up on and beaten to death by the Twelve Bronze Men?
But if he hadn't possessed such a temperament, he wouldn't have dared to enter the Cloud Realm back then to seize that Heaven-Opening Divine Artifact." Those Twelve Bronze Men, combined with the Two Extremes Dragon Gathering Formation here, were a perfect match. And whatever compelled Xi Zi to risk entering this forbidden area of the Supreme Realm must have been for a cause beyond the ordinary.
Zong Shou shook his head, pulling his gaze away from the direction of the 'E’fang Palace' to the west. His heart filled with renewed anticipation, watching the unusual behavior of the Spirit Refining Sword Spirit.
His master might have truly left something behind in this Tomb of the First Emperor. He didn't expect anything that could drastically boost his combat power and instantly reverse the predicament.
Any clue left by Xi Zi—information regarding the Twelve Bronze Men, the Two Extremes Dragon Gathering Formation, the life and death of the Dao of All Beings, or other buried spiritual treasures in the tomb—would suffice. Among the five people, Zong Shou was relatively fine; with his dual-vein body and dual-soul constitution, his magical power was nearly inexhaustible.
Even maintaining the Illusory Heart Path and Life-Death Transformation simultaneously, he could barely sustain it. However, fine beads of sweat were already forming on Su Xiaoxiao’s forehead.
Continuously employing the Seven Emotions Demonic Art over a large area, compounded by the suppression of the Two Extremes Dragon Gathering Formation, was clearly taxing her. Her complexion flushed as vital energy surged upward.
Yet, Su Xiaoxiao showed no sign of complaint or imminent collapse. Her resolute expression seemed to convey that she was willing to die for her beloved.
It was Chu Xue, however, who couldn't bear to watch. She casually tossed the Blood Moon Blade she held over to Su Xiaoxiao.
At that moment, not only Yuan Wushang and Shen Yuexuan were astonished, but even Su Xiaoxiao, who caught the blade, was stunned. Within this divine weapon was half of the 'Borrow' divine technique.
In her hands, it could precisely and powerfully borrow the malicious sentiment of Seven Emotions lingering in the city to maintain the Seven Emotions Demonic Art. But how could such a divine weapon be given away so lightly?
Casting a look of surprise, she saw Chu Xue snort and nonchalantly turn her head away: "Don't misunderstand anything! I just worry that there are too many Baleful Corpses here, and if you can’t hold on, you’ll implicate the Master.
I wouldn't care if you, this demonic woman, died." The implication was that her action was out of concern for Zong Shou, not sympathy for Su Xiaoxiao. Then Chu Xue added, puzzled: "Why are there so many Baleful Corpses in this city, both male and female?
Did the First Emperor not only replicate Xianyang City but also bury all its citizens along with it?" Though the city streets lacked an army of corpses, they were not deserted. There were many male and female pedestrians, and although dense with corpse energy, their every action appeared no different from ordinary people.
This made the interior of Xianyang City seem quite prosperous, which was the reason Su Xiaoxiao was struggling so much. Zong Shou smiled without answering at Chu Xue's words; this young lass had a hard exterior masking a soft heart.
However, at this point, whether the Blood Moon Blade was in her hands or not was irrelevant. In this place, Chu Xue should face the least restrictions.
This was because Chu Xue had never truly understood the normal world to begin with; she fought purely on instinct, without any preconceived notions. Even a peak Saint Realm expert fighting Chu Xue here might not necessarily be her match.
"How is that possible?" Shen Yuexuan stated calmly: "Years ago, the First Emperor conscripted three hundred million convicts to build this Tomb. Afterwards, most vanished.
At the time, the world speculated that the First Emperor had them all executed to guard the secrets within the tomb. This was also one of the reasons the empire rebelled shortly after the First Emperor’s death." As he spoke, the five of them simultaneously saw a Daoist in green robes strolling toward them from the opposite direction.
He appeared young, yet the surrounding Baleful Corpses did not perceive him at all. His figure hovered between solid and ethereal, radiating an incomparably sharp sword intent.
With just one glance, Zong Shou recognized the identity of the person approaching. "Gong Yuan?" This person had actually entered the Tomb of the First Emperor as well!
Gong Yuan’s gaze was fixed solely on Zong Shou, his eyes seemingly burning with fire. "Gong Yuan has been waiting here for a long time!
Why has my Lord arrived only now? Truly disappointing—" Each step he took struck the mind like a drumbeat.
For every zhang he advanced, his sword momentum grew stronger. A full twelve swords now manifested behind Gong Yuan, making his vital aura position even harder to gauge.
"My Lord's illusion techniques are formidable! Combined with this Seven Emotions Demonic Art, it is truly seamless.
Even I almost missed you without a rare treasure capable of stabilizing the mind and spirit. What fortune, what fortune!
I only hope that today, within the Tomb of the First Emperor, we can settle all our past grievances! What does my Lord think?" As the last sentence was uttered, a beam of sword light, as if cut down from beyond the heavens, tore through the void.
It was clearly right before his eyes, tracing a dazzling arc before striking Zong Shou. Yet, all five present found it impossible to gauge the trajectory of the sword light, or the location of the blade itself.
It was a shift between substance and illusion, vanishing without a trace! Zong Shou’s Ten Absolute Dao Extinction Sword Array simultaneously activated autonomously, unleashing countless sword auras and sword fields, infinitesimally slicing the void.
This only caused the sword light to momentarily falter, but it continued as before. However, Chu Xue also drew her sword at the same moment.
Others could not sense or confirm the trajectory of the sword light. She, however, paid it no mind, her sword light raining down like an intricate shower, agile and natural.
In the void, a continuous series of ding-ding-dang sounds forced several incoming Heavenly Escape Hidden-Dagger swords to reveal their forms before snapping them back.