Chapter 101: Opening the Immortal Gate

The fall of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain was like a Category 12 storm sweeping across the entire Tianqian Domain.

The former "Number One Sword Holy Land" fell apart within a single day.

The majestic main peak, Ten Thousand Sword Peak, was split open by a single sword strike from Chu Chang, revealing the collapsed Spiritual Vein and ruins within.

However, a behemoth with a Legacy spanning thousands of years, with such deep Foundations and extensive reach, could not be completely eradicated just by killing a few Old Ancestors and main peak Disciples.

Ten Thousand Sword Mountain's thirty-six branches in the Tianqian Domain, seventy-two affiliated Families, and hundreds of thousands of scattered Outer Sect Disciples and secret guards did not surrender after learning of the fall of the two Supreme Old Ancestors, Tiankui and Disha.

Instead, driven by despair and hatred, they broke into smaller groups and went into hiding.

"Your Excellency, this is the intelligence collected over the past three days."

Above the ruins of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain, in the remaining Golden Luan side hall, the Divine Sword Sect Leader knelt respectfully before Chu Chang, presenting a Jade Slip emitting a faint fluorescent glow with both hands.

At this moment, Chu Chang was sitting on a grand chair carved from spirit jade, toying with the black-gold ancient book that recorded the truth about Ascension.

Although he did not deliberately release his Aura, the invisible pressure of the Undergoing Tribulation stage still made the Divine Sword Sect Leader feel breathless, his Soul trembling.

"Speak."

Chu Chang did not even lift his eyelids, his tone as calm as water.

The Divine Sword Sect Leader swallowed, lowered his head, and replied:

"Although the Grand Elder of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain, Jian Wuya, is dead, his True Disciple, the Cold-Hearted Sword Han Wuji, has led over three thousand elite death squads, seized nearly thirty percent of the resources from the Ten Thousand Sword Mountain Treasure Pavilion, and fled into the mist of the Black Wind Great Canyon."

"In addition, the Ten Thousand Sword Mountain's Cold Heaven Branch in the North Sea is attempting to contact the North Sea Yao Race, seemingly wanting to exchange the essence blood of the Human Race in the Tianqian Domain for the protection of the Yao Race's Old Ancestor."

"Furthermore, some remnants of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain are spreading rumors in Mortal kingdoms, claiming that Your Excellency is a world-destroying Devil Head, and that you are secretly blood-sacrificing Mortal towns to gather resentment…"

Hearing this, Chu Chang sneered.

"Blood sacrifice? Spreading rumors?"

He stood up slowly, walked to the front of the hall, and looked down at the devastated site of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain below.

"Why would I need to explain my actions to the ignorant Mortals? As for these remnants… they are merely dust kicked up when the old order collapsed."

Chu Chang turned around, looking at the Divine Sword Sect Leader, his eyes cold:

"Issue my decree: order the Divine Sword Sect and the remaining Cultivators of the Great Yuan Dynasty to blockade all cross-border teleportation arrays in the Tianqian Domain.

As for those hiding remnants, I will send them on their way personally."

"I want to smash open this Heavenly Gate; I will not leave a single grain of sand by my side."

"I will obey your decree!"

The Divine Sword Sect Leader trembled all over and backed away.

Half a day later.

Southern Tianqian Domain, Black Wind Great Canyon.

This place is covered year-round by pitch-black gale winds and toxic miasma; the terrain is treacherous, Divine Sense is difficult to pass through, and it is a refuge for Loose Cultivators and vicious criminals.

At this moment, the deepest part of the canyon, inside a natural karst cave, was brightly lit.

"Senior Brother Han, are we really not going to escape the Tianqian Domain?"

A Ten Thousand Sword Mountain Disciple covered in blood had a pale face, his eyes full of terror.

At the head of the group, a young man wearing a tattered sword robe with a sinister face was sitting cross-legged; it was Han Wuji.

The Sword Intent within his body was chaotic; clearly, he had suffered heavy injuries in the previous turmoil.

"Escape? Where can we escape to?!"

Han Wuji gritted his teeth, his eyes full of resentful blood light: "The Tianqian Domain is only so big, and that Devil Head is now at the Undergoing Tribulation stage; his Divine Sense covers the sky!

As long as we show our faces, we will surely die!"

"But staying here is just waiting to die!" another Disciple shouted in despair.

"Who said we are waiting to die?"

Han Wuji's face showed a look of pathological madness. He took out a black jade talisman covered in ancient patterns from his bosom: "This is the Heaven-Connecting Demon-Summoning Talisman left behind by the two Supreme Old Ancestors before they died.

As long as we blood-sacrifice the thirty thousand Loose Cultivators in this canyon, we can forcibly communicate with the Heavenly Demons outside the realm!

Invite the Heavenly Demons to descend and perish together with that Devil Head!"

The Ten Thousand Sword Mountain remnants in the cave gasped upon hearing this.

Inviting Heavenly Demons was equivalent to destroying the entire Tianqian Domain!

But at this moment, blinded by hatred, they could no longer care about that much.

However, the moment Han Wuji was about to activate the jade talisman, the temperature in the entire cave dropped to freezing.

"Summoning demons?"

A mocking voice sounded without warning in the depths of the cave.

"Who?!"

Han Wuji felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar, stood up abruptly, and his life-bound Flying Sword unsheathed instantly.

A black figure slowly walked out from the shadows of the cave.

With every step he took, the surrounding violent black wind and miasma seemed to encounter a nemesis, instantly dissolving completely.

Chu Chang had arrived.

"Chu… Chu Chang!"

The moment Han Wuji saw the person, he was so scared that he retreated several steps, almost collapsing to the ground.

"Senior Brother, let's fight it out! Fight him!"

Several Ten Thousand Sword Mountain death squads around him who knew there was no way out roared, burning their Golden Cores and Nascent Souls, turning into several dazzling sword lights, crazily rushing towards Chu Chang.

Chu Chang had no expression, not even drawing the duanchen ancient sword in his hand.

He just flicked his sleeve.

"Whoosh."

A vast Immortal energy, like the sky collapsing, roared out.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Those few Soul Transformation Stage death squads who rushed up didn't even touch the corner of Chu Chang's clothes in mid-air, their bodies exploded into mists of blood instantly as if hit by a ten-thousand-foot giant mountain.

"You… you devil!"

Han Wuji completely collapsed, crazily pouring all his magic power into the black jade talisman in his hand: "Go to hell! Let's all die together!"

The black jade talisman glowed brightly, and a pitch-black space channel was faintly about to tear open above the cave.

"Dabbling in the Law of space in front of me?"

Chu Chang flicked his finger.

A golden Sword Qi shot out, instantly piercing through Han Wuji's forehead, and incidentally shattering the black jade talisman into powder.

The space channel that had just cracked, under the suppression of the Undergoing Tribulation stage Law, let out a wail and instantly closed.

Han Wuji's eyes widened, his body fell straight down, and his life was extinguished.

"The first place."

Chu Chang didn't even look at the corpses all over the floor, his figure flashed, and he disappeared again.

In the following three days, Chu Chang swept through the Tianqian Domain with his supreme Divine Sense.

Above the North Sea, three thousand Cultivators of the Cold Heaven Branch were trading with the strongmen of the Yao Race.

Chu Chang's Dharma form was towering, and with one foot, he crushed most of the North Sea's glaciers, wiping out the branch and the tens of thousands of Yao Race who had come, and the water of the North Sea was dyed a glaring scarlet.

In the Mortal kingdoms of the Central Plains, several Ten Thousand Sword Mountain secret Families that attempted to incite rebellion and spread rumors were uprooted by Chu Chang with thunderous means, leaving no one alive.

Three days.

The last trace of Bloodline and lineage of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain scattered in the Tianqian Domain was completely erased from this world by Chu Chang with the bloodiest and most iron-fisted means.

Since then, there was no more noise in the Tianqian Domain.

Having cleared all the hidden dangers, Chu Chang returned to the ruins of the Great Yuan Dynasty palace.

He stood in the Void Realm, spreading out the black-gold ancient book in his hand.

"The Heavenly Gate is locked, and there are five array bases."

According to the ancient book, the founding Old Ancestor of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain and the leaders of several other Sects, in order to completely cut off the Heavenly Gate, set up five array bases for the "Heaven-Locking Great Array" at the five extreme points of the Tianqian Domain.

These five array bases were continuously extracting the Origin of the Tianqian Domain, condensing an indestructible "Heaven-Locking Great Array" outside the Heavenly Gate.

To forcibly smash open the Heavenly Gate, one must first destroy these five array bases, allowing the world's Origin to return, and only then would the Heavenly Gate reappear.

"The Green Wood of the East, the Geng Metal of the West, the Li Fire of the South, the Kui Water of the North, and the Qilin of the Center."

Chu Chang muttered to himself.

These five array bases each correspond to an attribute of the Five Elements.

"Then let's start from the East."

Chu Chang's figure turned into a golden rainbow, instantly cutting through the sky, and sped towards the easternmost end of the Tianqian Domain.

One day later.

On the coast of the East Sea, above an endless ancient forest.

This place is known as the "Forest of Ten Thousand Woods," shrouded in rich life Origin all year round; ordinary Cultivators practicing here can increase their speed several times.

But very few people know that in the core of this forest, stands a thousand-foot-tall ancient bronze tree.

This is not a real tree, but the Eastern Wilderness array base created by the ancestors of Ten Thousand Sword Mountain in conjunction with the "Shennong Valley" using bronze mother gold.

Chu Chang landed in front of the ancient bronze tree.

Feeling the vast life force and Heaven-Locking Law within the ancient tree, he took a deep breath.

[part:gemini-3.5-flash]

"The Heaven-Locking Array Foundation has suppressed the Luck of the Tianqian Domain for three thousand years."

Chu Chang drew the duanchen ancient sword.

The ancient sword let out a crisp chime, seemingly eager for the destruction to come.

"Shatter!"

Chu Chang gripped the sword with both hands as the Chaos Immortal Essence within him surged wildly. The duanchen ancient sword erupted with a dazzling, blinding golden radiance, transforming into a physical sword shadow a thousand Zhang in size that slashed down fiercely toward the ancient bronze tree.

Boom!

The Eastern Desolation shook violently.

Dense green runes erupted from the ancient bronze tree, attempting to block the strike. However, before the destructive power of the Tribulation Stage, these runes collapsed in an instant.

Crack!

With a crisp, thunderous crack, the thousand-Zhang ancient bronze tree was split right down the middle by Chu Chang's sword, turning into countless shards of scrap metal that splattered in all directions.

Whoosh!

The moment the ancient bronze tree shattered, a stream of green life Luck, pure to the absolute limit, soared into the sky and merged into the Void Realm.

Between heaven and earth, the dull sound of a breaking shackle faintly echoed.

"The first location is done."

Chu Chang wiped the nonexistent sweat from his brow. Without pausing, he continued on to the next location.

Over the next month, Chu Chang's figure appeared in every corner of the Tianqian Domain.

In the desert of the Western Desolation, he severed the towering Gengjin Divine Pillar with a single slash, unleashing a torrent of golden Qi that instantly transformed the Western Desolation's desert into a sea of golden sand;

In the volcanic lava ranges of the Southern Border, he dove into the core of the earth and crushed the Lihuo Divine Cauldron that suppressed the earthly fire with his bare hands, causing lava to spew across the sky and instantly turning the climate of the Tianqian Domain scorching hot;

Beneath the abyssal depths of the Northern Sea, braving ten thousand Zhang of water pressure, he cleaved through a piece of Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice Marrow, the Kuishui Array Foundation, with a single strike.

With every array Foundation destroyed, the Spiritual Qi between heaven and earth grew richer, and the invisible shackle that had weighed heavily on the hearts of all Cultivators eased.

Within Qianjing City, countless meditating Cultivators suddenly discovered that the Bottlenecks they had been unable to break through for so long had inexplicably loosened.

"The Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is reviving?!"

"What on earth is going on?!"

Countless powerhouses emerged from seclusion, staring at the sky in shock.

They knew this had to be the work of "Sword God Chu," who stood high above the Nine Heavens.

One month later.

Chu Chang arrived at the location of the final array Foundation—the Qilin Mountain Range in Middle Earth.

This was the gathering place of the Tianqian Domain's Dragon Veins, as well as the hub of the Five Great Array Foundations.

As long as this final Qilin Array Foundation was destroyed, the Five Elements Great Array would completely collapse, and the Heavenly Gate would descend upon the world once more.

On an ancient altar atop the main peak of the Qilin Mountain Range.

A Qilin stone carving sculpted from yellow clay stood quietly in the center, emitting thick, mountain-like fluctuations of the Earth Law.

Chu Chang stepped onto the altar.

However, before he could even draw near, the eyes of the Qilin stone carving suddenly lit up with two beams of earthy-yellow divine light.

"Roar!"

A low growl echoed from within the stone carving.

Immediately after, the Void Realm around the altar began to distort violently. Countless earthy-yellow runes intertwined, condensing in front of the stone carving into an illusory figure clad in a yellow Daoist robe.

Although this figure was merely a remnant Soul, the Aura radiating from his body had reached the terrifying Late Stage of the Mahayana Stage.

"Latecomer, halt."

The illusory elder looked at Chu Chang, his voice carrying supreme majesty: "I am Daoist Zhenyue, the guardian of the Five Elements Great Array's hub. This array concerns the life and death of all living beings in the Tianqian Domain. If you destroy it, the Heavenly Gate will reopen, Immortals will descend, and the Tianqian Domain will be turned into a living hell!"

"Do you wish to become an eternal sinner?"

Facing the elder's questioning, Chu Chang merely smiled coldly.

"An eternal sinner?"

Chu Chang raised the duanchen ancient sword, pointing it diagonally at the ground. "Keeping Mortals penned up like pigs and dogs in a pigsty might be safe, but it is still a pigsty in the end. To save your own skins, you severed heaven and earth, cutting off any hope of Ascension for future generations. Is this your Dao?"

"We did it to preserve a sliver of hope for the Tianqian Domain!" Daoist Zhenyue said angrily.

"A sliver of hope?"

Chu Chang took a step forward. His Tribulation Stage Aura erupted with a boom, instantly crushing the other's Mahayana Stage pressure to pieces.

"That sliver of hope is not something to be begged for, let alone hidden away for!"

"If Immortals wish to devour humans, I shall slay Immortals! If the heavens wish to destroy me, I shall defy heaven!"

"You bunch of tomb keepers hiding in dark corners have no right to block my path!"

"Stubborn fool!"

Daoist Zhenyue bellowed in anger, and his remnant Soul merged into the Qilin stone carving behind him.

Buzz!

The entire Qilin Mountain Range seemed to come alive at this instant.

The gravity within a radius of tens of thousands of miles increased ten-thousand-fold in an instant, and space creaked under the immense pressure. The Qilin stone carving transformed into a thousand-Zhang-tall yellow beast, bringing down a colossal paw toward Chu Chang with world-destroying power.

This strike gathered the Earth Law of the entire Dragon Vein, weighing more than hundreds of millions of tons!

"Break!"

Chu Chang's black hair whipped wildly as the Chaos Immortal Essence within his body was pushed to its absolute limit.

He did not dodge. Instead, facing the massive Qilin paw, he thrust his sword upward against heaven.

[Chaos Nine Heavens, One Sword Breaks All Laws!]

An indescribably dazzling golden sword beam, like a reverse-flowing waterfall, slammed violently into the massive Qilin paw.

Rumble!

The entire Middle Earth Continent heard this terrifying boom at this moment.

Before the golden sword beam, the massive Qilin paw shattered inch by inch like paper. The sword beam's residual force did not diminish, directly grinding the thousand-Zhang Qilin stone carving, along with the entire ancient altar, into a sky of fine powder.

Pfft!

Daoist Zhenyue's remnant Soul tumbled out from the powder, his figure dimmed to the extreme, looking as though it would dissipate at any moment.

He stared at the young figure radiating supreme Immortal light in the Void Realm, his eyes filled with bitterness and shock.

"The Tribulation Stage… Haha, so the Tianqian Domain really did birth a Tribulation Stage Cultivator…"

"I hope… your sword is fast enough…"

Daoist Zhenyue let out a self-deprecating laugh, and his remnant Soul completely dissolved into the world.

With the shattering of the final Qilin Array Foundation…

Buzz!

An indescribable, strange fluctuation instantly swept across the entire Tianqian Domain.

The earth roared, rivers boiled, and the invisible barrier that had suppressed the Void Realm of the entire world completely collapsed at this instant.

"Rumble!"

In the Void Realm directly above the Tianqian Domain, a dull rumble suddenly sounded.

Immediately after, the sky was torn open by an invisible hand, revealing a massive crack ten thousand Zhang wide.

Behind the crack, the original dark starry sky vanished, replaced by a strange world radiating a soft white glow, shrouded in white clouds.

At the end of that strange world, a majestic colossal gate, ten thousand Zhang tall and carved entirely from white jade, slowly manifested from the nothingness.

Engraved upon the colossal gate were countless profound runes of the Immortal Dao Law, and Immortal music faintly drifted from behind the gate, exuding a supreme Aura that tempted one to ascend.

The Heavenly Gate had reappeared in the Mortal world!

However, the moment the Heavenly Gate reappeared, a terrifying thundercloud tinged with dark red suddenly condensed over the entire Tianqian Domain.

That was no ordinary Heavenly Tribulation thundercloud.

It was the backlash generated by the residual restrictive power and world Laws after the collapse of the "Heaven-Locking Great Array," known as the "Nine Underworld Immortal-Slaying Tribulation."

Any existence attempting to force their way through the Heavenly Gate would suffer a devastating blow from this backlash.

"It's finally out."

Chu Chang stood in the ten-thousand-Zhang Void Realm, his white robes fluttering, holding the duanchen ancient sword.

He looked up at the majestic Heavenly Gate and the roaring dark-red thundercloud before it, the Battle Intent in his eyes burning to its peak at this moment.

"Disciples of the Divine Sword Sect, and all living beings of the Tianqian Domain, today, this seat shall cleave open this Immortal Path for you!"

Wrapped in Immortal Essence, Chu Chang's voice instantly resounded across the entire continent.

Countless Cultivators looked up at that solitary, proud figure, their eyes filling with tears.

It had been three thousand years.

In this world, someone was finally challenging this godforsaken heaven once again!

Chu Chang took a deep breath. The Chaos Primordial Spirit within him let out a long howl, and his entire being transformed into a dazzling golden stream of light, soaring straight up toward the Heavenly Gate against the dark-red thunderclouds filling the sky!