Chapter 323 : Foundation of a Great Sect

Chapter 323: Foundation of a Great Sect

Deep within the Mirror Moon Sect’s grand protective formation, the Eight Wastelands Water Mirror Subduing Dragon Formation.

An ancient mirror—neither metal nor jade, of unknown material, yet exuding an aura of primordial antiquity—was trembling faintly.

Its frame bore the dual hues of Yin and Yang, at times evolving into earth, water, fire, and wind, at times reverting once more to chaos.

The mirror surface curved slightly inward, vast as an endless sea, upon which nine innate divine patterns were inscribed.

If a cultivator observed it with divine sense, they could, through its Primordial Chaos spiritual radiance, comprehend the Great Dao of Water formed when heaven and earth first separated and Yin and Yang divided.

At the base of the ancient mirror was a hollow aperture, like the source of the Northern Abyss, within which a Tianyi True Dragon could vaguely be seen swimming and transforming.

This dragon was not any known dragon species of the world, but rather the Primordial Chaos manifestation of the Great Dao of Water—it was also the artifact spirit incarnation of the Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact 【Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror】.

It could command all waters under heaven, issue edicts to rivers, lakes, seas, rain, dew, frost, and snow, transform into three thousand streams of Weak Water, overturn the Four Seas, and render immortals and buddhas unable to cross.

Seeing such a divine object stir, Zhu Wuya’s ambitions surged wildly within his heart.

He had secluded himself in cultivation for a thousand years and was already a True Monarch Perfection Realm grand cultivator. He stood only half a step away from the Divine Transformation True Venerable realm and was the well-deserved strongest of the Mirror Moon Sect.

Now that the sect’s foundation had awakened of its own accord, if he could by chance obtain the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror’s recognition—even if only to draw a single thread of Dao’s Rhythm and establish preliminary communication—it would be a heaven-defying fortune. The probability of breaking through to Divine Transformation could even surge by twenty percent.

At this thought, Zhu Wuya took a deep breath, circulated the Heavenly-Gang Suppressing Qi within his body, and formed an ancient and complex hand seal with both hands.

This seal was a secret transmission of the Mirror Moon Sect, a supreme art capable of awakening and communicating with the sect’s foundation.

Without this seal, even a Divine Transformation True Venerable standing here would find it difficult to shake the Primordial Chaos Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror in the slightest and might even suffer backlash and perish on the spot.

“Buzz!”

The seal formed. Zhu Wuya activated his divine sense and mana, cautiously extending it toward the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror.

Yet before his divine sense and mana truly touched the mirror body, a sudden change occurred.

The originally excited and jubilant Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact paused slightly. The Tianyi True Dragon’s eyes suddenly opened and cast a detached glance at Zhu Wuya.

Boom!

Zhu Wuya felt as though struck heavily and retreated three steps. The Heavenly-Gang True Qi within his dantian’s qi sea fell into disorder and rampaged chaotically.

Of course, though disheveled, Zhu Wuya was after all the contemporary patriarch of the Mirror Moon Sect and was protected by the secret seal. The sect’s inherited Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact could not possibly act in earnest against him; it merely issued a slight warning.

Even so, the Heavenly-Gang Nascent Soul within his Purple Mansion dimmed considerably, clearly having suffered a minor injury.

“Buzz.”

After warning Zhu Wuya, the Tianyi True Dragon shifted its gaze toward the direction of the Rotating Star Hall.

Seeing this scene, Zhu Wuya clenched his teeth, a surge of exceedingly complex emotion rising within him—regret and disappointment, unwillingness and acceptance intertwined.

‘As expected… it wasn’t me!’ Zhu Wuya sighed inwardly.

The sect’s foundation had long remained dormant and impossible to communicate with. This resonance opportunity could be said to be once in a thousand years.

If he had not tried, this matter would have remained an unresolved knot in his heart for life.

Unfortunately, even after attempting, he still failed to obtain the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror’s recognition.

‘I wonder which sect prodigy has broken through to cause the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror to tremble.’

Following the phenomenon stirred by the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror, Zhu Wuya’s eyes sharpened as he probed toward the Rotating Star Hall.

……

At the same time, Earth Proliferation Territory.

Profound Sword Pavilion, Sword Tomb Abyss.

Countless broken swords were embedded into the ground and cliffs like tombstones, forming a graveyard of blades.

The spiritual currents filling the air contained a never-dissipating, razor-sharp sword intent.

This place was a forbidden land of the Profound Sword Pavilion. Ordinary Foundation Establishment disciples and Golden Core elders who entered without sect tokens for protection would have their souls annihilated instantly by the endless sword intent.

At the very depths of the Sword Tomb, countless treasured swords and mystical blades—enough to drive sword cultivators mad—lay piled together like discarded scrap iron, densely stacked into a towering sword mountain that shot cold radiance toward the heavens, emanating sword intent that would not disperse for eternity.

At the summit of the sword mountain, a longsword was embedded at a slant.

This sword bore an ancient and simple design. Over four feet in length, broad and heavy, its blade was mottled with rust. It appeared utterly ordinary, even dilapidated, like a spiritless mortal sword utterly out of place among the surrounding treasures.

Yet if a cultivator of heaven-reaching cultivation stood here, they would faintly perceive that beneath the rust was not ordinary iron, but an ultimate purity—peerless sharpness capable of slaying immortals and massacring demons.

“Clang!”

At that moment, the long-silent rusted sword trembled faintly, emitting a sword cry. The very space around the sword mountain fractured into countless dense spatial fissures.

Taiyi Severing Karmic Sin Sword!

This Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact, dormant for countless tens of thousands of years, sensed the fluctuation of a Dao Artifact of the same origin and awakened of its own accord.

A middle-aged man with long hair draped loosely over his shoulders, dressed in a plain gray robe, his face appearing about thirty years of age, opened his eyes.

He was the stabilizing pillar of the Profound Sword Pavilion, acknowledged by the Five Great Sects of the Earth Proliferation Territory as the number one in the sword path—Carefree Sword Lord.

“Strange. Why has the Severing Karmic Sin Sword suddenly stirred?”

Carefree Sword Lord murmured softly, his tone carrying a rare hint of astonishment.

He had accompanied countless sword intents and cultivated for a thousand years in the depths of the Sword Tomb, sitting in meditation day and night, communicating with the Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact Taiyi Severing Karmic Sin Sword with his mind and spirit, attempting to gain the sect foundation’s recognition.

Yet although he had devoted his life to the sword, been extreme in the sword, and brought his sword Dao cultivation to the realm of one sword breaking ten thousand techniques, he still failed to obtain the Taiyi Severing Karmic Sin Sword’s recognition.

This Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact, inherited by the sect for hundreds of thousands of years, had always stood upon the sword mountain’s peak without any fluctuation, like a lifeless object.

Carefree Sword Lord had originally believed he would need to step into the fifth realm of the sword path, merging body and sword as one, before he would have a chance to stir it.

Yet today, the Taiyi Severing Karmic Sin Sword had suddenly moved.

‘So that is the case.’

Carefree Sword Lord activated his divine sense, carefully sensing the joy contained within the sword cry, and could not help but be slightly startled.

The Taiyi Severing Karmic Sin Sword’s tremor did not originate from him, but from the resonance between Dao Artifacts of the same origin within the Taiyi Dao Sect lineage.

‘In this era where Dao’s Rhythm has waned, the Mirror Moon Sect actually has a cultivator capable of obtaining the recognition of a Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact!’

Carefree Sword Lord slowly rose, his gaze turning toward the direction of the Mirror Moon Sect.

Across the ten realms of the Earth Proliferation Territory, he was among the foremost supreme powerhouses.

Even if a Divine Transformation True Venerable personally arrived at the Profound Sword Pavilion, Carefree Sword Lord could rely on the sect’s foundation to personally slay a Divine Transformation True Venerable.

But borrowing and being recognized were two entirely different matters.

Even he could not obtain the Taiyi Severing Karmic Sin Sword’s recognition—how could that old undying man of the Mirror Moon Sect, Zhu Wuya, possibly obtain the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror’s recognition?

“Pass down the order.”

Carefree Sword Lord’s divine sense thundered into the sea of consciousness of the Profound Sword Pavilion’s upper echelon.

“From this day forth, the Profound Sword Pavilion shall appear relaxed outwardly but remain vigilant inwardly. Closely monitor all movements of the Mirror Moon Sect.”

After issuing the order, Carefree Sword Lord formed his fingers into a sword gesture, slashed through the air, condensed qi into threads within the void before him, and turned those threads into characters, preparing three sword letters.

“Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!”

The three sword letters instantly tore through space and vanished.

Carefree Sword Lord stood with hands clasped behind his back, quietly waiting for responses from the Greenwood Sect, the Blazing Flame Sect, and the Heavy Gold Sect.

There was no other choice. The meaning behind a Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact recognizing a master was far too significant.

Since the great ancient calamity, the heaven and earth of the Earth Proliferation Territory had been incomplete, and Dao’s Rhythm of Creation had been deficient. It had long been regarded by the top sects of the Southern Wastes Region as a ‘Divine Transformation Dead End.’

Fortunately, the Five Great Sects had ancient lineages, originating from the Taiyi Dao Sect of antiquity, with profound foundations. Even a Divine Transformation True Venerable would not dare risk invading.

Conversely, without the suppression of their sect foundations, the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Five Great Sects also dared not enter the Southern Expansion Territory to snatch opportunities from the tiger’s mouth and draw upon Dao’s Rhythm of Creation to break through to Divine Transformation.

However, Carefree Sword Lord understood one thing clearly: the absence of Dao’s Rhythm of Creation in the world of the Earth Proliferation Territory did not mean it did not exist within the Primordial Chaos Dao Artifacts.

It was only that none among the Five Great Sects could currently gain the recognition of a Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact and use its foundation to break through to Divine Transformation.

‘If the Mirror Moon Sect truly produces a Divine Transformation True Venerable recognized by a Dao Artifact, the ten-thousand-year accumulation of the Profound Sword Pavilion—its resources and Dao lineage—will become nourishment for the Mirror Moon Sect to dominate the Earth Proliferation Territory, even the entire Southern Wastes Region.’

At this possibility, Carefree Sword Lord slowly closed his eyes, his fingertips unconsciously brushing the sword hilt.

Though the Profound Sword Pavilion and the Mirror Moon Sect were allies, in matters concerning sect survival and the rise and fall of Dao lineage, such alliances were insignificant.

To prevent the worst outcome, the Profound Sword Pavilion had to change direction and unite with the Greenwood Sect, the Blazing Flame Sect, and the Heavy Gold Sect—four sects joining forces to restrain the Mirror Moon Sect.

……

Blazing Flame Sect, Heaven-Melting Fire Cavern.

Deep within a vast sea of fire, a place where ten thousand flames paid homage.

A crimson-bronze hood of ultimate purity floated in the air, rotating slowly and drawing in the spiritual currents of the entire Heaven-Melting Fire Cavern.

The hood was dark red, its surface engraved with nine ancient true dragons of varying forms, each bearing an aura like gods and demons.

“Buzz!”

Flames surged, dragon roars shook the heavens.

This Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Hood, dormant for untold years, suddenly trembled violently, spewing Great Sun True Flame and manifesting nine blazing suns.

“Interesting. Nine dragons manifest, nine suns shine together. We cannot let you continue raging like this.”

An elderly man in a crimson-gold robe embroidered with dragon patterns frowned slightly, pointing forward with a finger as he uttered a true word.

“Suppress!”

As his voice fell, the nine suns that had ravaged the entire Heaven-Melting Fire Cavern paused briefly before slowly dispersing.

This man was the patriarch of the Blazing Flame Sect, publicly acknowledged as the number one in Arts within the Earth Proliferation Territory—Nine-Dragon True Monarch.

His Fire Control Arts had already reached the divine level; with a single thought he could summon Great Sun True Flame to scour the land. His cultivation was unfathomable, having long reached the utmost limit of the Nascent Soul realm.

Rumors in the outside world even claimed that Nine-Dragon True Monarch had taken a crucial half-step toward Divine Transformation and could at any time advance further to attain the position of Divine Transformation True Venerable.

“To provoke the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Hood into such fury—what variable has arisen in the Mirror Moon Sect?” Nine-Dragon True Monarch pondered inwardly.

The Five Great Sects shared the same roots and knew each other thoroughly.

Although the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror inherited by the Mirror Moon Sect was attribute-opposed to the Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Hood, they mutually restrained and feared one another. It was difficult for the Divine Fire Hood to become enraged merely because of it.

“Whoosh!”

At that moment, a sword letter hovered before Nine-Dragon True Monarch.

With a sweep of divine sense, surprise flashed in his eyes. Immediately after, two Dao letters from the Greenwood Sect and the Heavy Gold Sect appeared abruptly.

‘Four sects joining forces to restrain the Mirror Moon Sect? Not a bad proposal.’

Nine-Dragon True Monarch’s gaze shifted toward the Mirror Moon Sect, though he did not fully trust the words of those three old undying fellows.

In every chaotic era, cultivators bearing great fate emerged, upholding heavenly mandate to suppress all. The world-destroying calamity of antiquity had been such a time.

The Nine-Dragon Divine Fire Hood’s disturbance had two possible causes.

If it was merely that old undying Zhu Wuya gaining the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror’s recognition, that was manageable.

Even with the assistance of a Primordial Chaos Dao Artifact, Zhu Wuya’s chance of breaking through to Divine Transformation True Venerable was only twenty to thirty percent.

But if the Mirror Moon Sect had produced a peerless heaven-defying prodigy bearing the fate of the Southern Wastes, then among the Profound Sword Pavilion, Greenwood Sect, and Heavy Gold Sect, it was not impossible that certain old undying figures would secretly invest their support, follow the heavenly mandate, unify the Earth Proliferation Territory, and seek a chance to break through to Divine Transformation True Venerable and live another life.

“From this day forward, activate all covert lines and secret records our sect has within the Mirror Moon Sect. Thoroughly investigate all of the Mirror Moon Sect’s prodigies—especially those who have encountered fortuitous opportunities and whose cultivation progresses by leaps and bounds each day!”

With a shift of thought, Nine-Dragon True Monarch issued a decree.

……

“Thump, thump, thump.”

While the Five Great Sects of the Earth Proliferation Territory were shaken, Chen Beiwu—the one who had triggered all of this—felt his heart pounding rapidly, his entire being somewhat dazed.

In the unseen, he sensed a special rhythm, as if something were calling him over.

Yet he could not perceive its concrete existence or location, leaving his mind unsettled.

“What is it?” Zhu Shaoyuan asked with concern.

Ever since the thirty-thousand-li purple cloud phenomenon had appeared, he had sensed something was amiss.

The timing was far too coincidental.

The moment his disciple activated Yuanshi True Qi, such a vast and magnificent phenomenon manifested above the Mirror Moon Sect’s mountain gate.

“Something is calling me,” Chen Beiwu came back to himself and answered truthfully.

His master was the Hall Master of the Punishment Hall and surely understood the mystery behind the purple clouds.

Sure enough, Zhu Shaoyuan’s expression grew solemn upon hearing this. “Did you see anything?”

“A very peculiar mirror,” Chen Beiwu said, frowning slightly.

Zhu Shaoyuan’s heart tightened, and he looked at Chen Beiwu with a trace of surprise.

A sect phenomenon might be explained as coincidence, but his disciple seeing a mirror could not be dismissed so simply.

“Master, do you know what treasure that mirror is?”

Sensing the change in his master’s expression, Chen Beiwu asked humbly.

“The Mirror Moon Sect has a long inheritance and possesses many formidable foundations.”

At this point, Zhu Shaoyuan paused slightly, his expression complex. “If I am not mistaken, the one calling you is one of the sect’s foundations—the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror.”

Dao Artifacts possess spirit and choose their masters. The disciple he had accepted was truly extraordinary.

‘Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror?’

Upon receiving the answer, Chen Beiwu’s eyelids twitched, unable to suppress his excitement.

To trigger such a phenomenon and be called a sect foundation, the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror was likely not merely a Heaven-Connecting Mystic Treasure, but a Fortune-Origin Artifact that only a Divine Transformation True Venerable could wield.

As the sect’s Dao Child, holding exalted status and favored by a supreme treasure, could it be that he might even have a chance to refine a Fortune-Origin Artifact?

‘Bring Ziang to Taiyi Hall to see me at once.’

Suddenly, a divine sense transmission sounded within Zhu Shaoyuan’s mind.

He hastily suppressed his shock, not daring to reveal too many sect secrets, and deflected:

“Ziang, I do not know much about the Tianyi Northern Abyss Mirror. Coincidentally, the patriarch has summoned us to Taiyi Hall. If you have doubts, you may directly seek guidance when we meet him.”

“This disciple understands. Many thanks for Master’s guidance,” Chen Beiwu nodded.

“There is no time to lose. Let us go now and not keep the patriarch waiting.”

With a sweep of his sleeve, Zhu Shaoyuan and Chen Beiwu transformed into two streaks of rainbow light and sped toward Taiyi Peak.