An Eye for an Eye

Between Star Regions.

Two streaks of light flashed by in an instant, plummeting downward with an astonishing momentum.

A Great Saint stood at the top of his Star Region observing, his expression hesitant. After frowning in thought for a moment, he turned to ask another Great Saint beside him.

"If I'm not mistaken, those who just passed by were two Zhun Di affected by the Dark Invasion, right?"

"It seems... they really were."

"What do you think, should we intervene? Judging by their trajectory, they seem to be heading straight for the bottom of All Heavens. Could they be planning to coordinate with the Way of Heaven at the highest level for an attack from both inside and out?!"

The Great Saint shook his head, "Forget it, we can't handle Zhun Di anyway. Let's just watch. I expect it won't be long before a Great Emperor notices and personally moves to eliminate them."

As the two Great Saints discussed in low voices, the black streaks of light had already fallen to the bottom of All Heavens, about to crash into the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

The Avatar instantly rose, staring at the sky above expressionlessly. Only a vast expanse of black mist could be seen violently swirling, emanating a murderous aura.

Inside the small house.

Qiu Li abruptly stood up, his gaze extremely serious. A faint light flickered across the great formation encompassing the entire Star Region.

He sensed that someone had arrived, and the newcomers were not friendly.

So Qiu Li hurriedly turned, wanting to inform Chen Xia first and let him make the decision.

But a hand had already pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. Then came a calm voice, chuckling softly.

"It's alright, just continue sitting quietly."

Qiu Li turned his head, intending to explain, but before he could speak, his pupils suddenly dilated.

The figure before him still wore a blue robe, but instead of appearing as a youth, he now looked like the young man from their time in the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

"What happened to you?" Qiu Li asked hesitantly.

"I evolved," Chen Xia casually replied, then lifted his head to look at the sky, smiling as he said.

"One White Emperor and one second-level Zhun Di. After so many years, they still dare to come. Very well, let their spiritual energy scatter across the Blue Sky Sword Sea. It will serve as a blood sacrifice for the retracing to come."

After speaking, Chen Xia turned back to Qiu Li with a smile and asked, "Do you think that's appropriate?"

"It's... it's appropriate," Qiu Li stammered in response.

"Good then." Chen Xia nodded. His blue robe fluttered slightly, and a faintly red flying sword kept circling around him, as if acting coy.

Chen Xia reached out to pat the sword hilt, as if soothing it, then said with a light laugh.

"Come, I'll take you to kill some people."

His figure flickered, and he was already in the River of Time, using three million flying swords as a boat to calmly cross the river, heading towards the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

Qiu Li's face was blank with shock. He felt that Chen Xia just now was quite different from usual, not just in appearance, but in many deeper aspects as well.

Qiu Li couldn't put it into words, but he felt that when he saw Chen Xia earlier, his heart trembled, and he couldn't help but have a thought.

He felt that Chen Xia was like...

Heaven above!

"Hey, dummy, what are you thinking about?"

Qiu Li's head was suddenly slapped, making it buzz. He turned to look and saw Emperor Capital standing with his arms crossed, grinning at him.

"What are you doing?" Qiu Li frowned and asked.

"Hitting a dummy, of course," Emperor Capital replied with a laugh, going for blunt honesty mixed with smugness.

But Qiu Li wasn't in the mood to banter. He waved his hand dismissively, saying, "Go play somewhere else."

"What, you're not happy?" Emperor Capital inquired curiously, then began to explain himself.

"I hit you for your own good. Between brothers, we shouldn't fuss over these little things. As the saying goes, 'If you don't teach your child, it's the father's fault.' When I hit you, it actually hurts me more!"

Qiu Li gave him a long look and replied, "You should sort out the difference between brotherhood and father-son relationships first."

Emperor Capital was about to say something else.

Boom!

Suddenly, a massive sound came from the direction of the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

Without a second thought, Emperor Capital leapt to his feet, spiritual energy covering his body, ready to charge towards the Blue Sky Sword Sea!

"No need," Qiu Li quickly called out to stop him, adding, "Chen Xia has already gone. He told us not to move and just wait quietly. He..."

"He should be back soon."

But Emperor Capital paid no attention to this, continuing to rush towards the Blue Sky Sword Sea while shouting loudly.

"Brother Chen, I'm coming to back you up!"

Qiu Li smiled helplessly. Although Emperor Capital often spoke nonsense, when it came to loyalty, he was truly admirable. This was the key reason why Qiu Li had been willing to partner with Emperor Capital for thousands of years.

He sat in the small house, his expression turning worried again.

While being loyal and fearless was good, when true battles came, it was often these types of cultivators who died the easiest.

Fortunately, Emperor Capital himself was a Saint, not far from becoming a Great Saint, so he had the ability to protect himself. Surviving in a major battle shouldn't be too difficult for him.

Yes, it shouldn't be difficult.

Qiu Li could only comfort himself this way.

In the direction of the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

The White Emperor had already engaged in battle with the Avatar. He was fighting across realms, which would normally result in suppression by the plane itself, but now that he had succumbed to the Dark Invasion, it was as if he had merged with the Way of Heaven, so this suppressive force had minimal effect on him.

To the extent that the White Emperor could now vaguely suppress the Avatar.

The second-level Zhun Di stood at a high vantage point, looking towards the inner part of the Blue Sky Sword Sea. He spotted the Old Fisherman holding half of an Immortal Sword.

A half-dead man, also affected by the Dark Invasion.

Heh, nothing special.

Thinking this, the second-level Zhun Di began to consider how to take the sword.

If he took it by force, it would be quick, but he might suffer some injuries. After all, it was an Immortal Sword, even if only half remained.

But if he took his time, there were other dangers. Not to mention whether the top cultivators of this Star Region would notice, if Great Emperors from other Star Regions discovered him and came to hunt him down, he likely wouldn't be able to escape.

So it was better to end this quickly.

Having made up his mind, the second-level Zhun Di hesitated no longer. He let the White Emperor keep the strange black mist figure occupied while he went to retrieve the sword from within the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

His figure blurred, dissipating like smoke, then reappeared within the Blue Sky Sword Sea, face to face with the withered Old Fisherman. He smiled and said,

"That Immortal Sword is quite nice. You've already died in body and spirit, clinging to life by a thread. What use is it to you? Why not give the Immortal Sword to me? It would be finding a worthy new owner."

Whoosh!

There was no verbal reply, only a fierce sword intent slashing towards him.

The second-level Zhun Di's figure retreated, landing far away in the sword sea. Light gathered in his hand, coiling like smoke. His eyes flashed with killing intent as he said in a deep voice,

"For a dead man, you sure have a temper. It's really irritating. After I take that flying sword, I'll tear you to shreds and completely destroy what's left of your soul. I'll use your dried-up head as a lantern and hang it high above this sword sea. Even in death, you'll keep watch here forever!"

"Good idea," a calm voice responded.

Drip.

It sounded like a water droplet falling.

A long, grayish-white river appeared above the sword sea, slowly opening up into a portal large enough for a person.

A blue-robed figure stepped out, smiling lightly at the second-level Zhun Di.

"I think I'll use that method on you instead."