Probably Not Dead

However, he did catch a key point—this small world was absorbing the divine souls and life essence of the cultivators who entered.

Ye Chuan stroked his chin, instantly understanding the situation.

So this wasn't the tomb of some mighty figure who passed away in meditation; it was fundamentally a fishing trap!

This Almighty Xuanqiong might not be dead at all. He was hiding in this small world, waiting for the cultivators of the Four Great Divine Continents to enter, treating them as nourishment for his breakthrough to the upper realm!

"I see." Although Ye Chuan didn't understand all those analyses, he nodded pretentiously, looking as if he had everything figured out.

"The Sword Master's analysis makes sense. Looking at it this way, this Almighty Xuanqiong might not be dead at all."

As soon as these words came out, the Sword Master's expression drastically changed!

He had only felt that something was wrong before, but he had never thought in this direction!

If a peak Ascension Realm mighty figure who had half-stepped into the immortal path wasn't dead at all, but was hiding in this small world...

Then wouldn't all the cultivators who barged in be prey throwing themselves into the net?!

The Sword Master's back instantly broke out in a cold sweat, and the look he gave Ye Chuan was full of shock and lingering fear.

But Ye Chuan acted like nothing was wrong, patted his shoulder, and said with a smile, "Don't panic. We're already in, and we can't leave anyway."

The Sword Master recovered his wits. Looking at Ye Chuan's careless and fearless appearance, his heart was filled with endless admiration.

Even he was shaken to the core upon learning that Almighty Xuanqiong might not be dead, yet this Sacred Lord Ye remained as calm as a gentle breeze. Such composure and confidence were far beyond that of ordinary people.

Just then, a deafening roar suddenly came from deep within the canyon!

"Roar!!!"

The tiger's roar carried the power of wind and thunder, exploding in the canyon like rolling thunder. The sharp sound waves even caused ripples to form in space.

A fierce and overbearing demonic beast pressure swept out from the depths of the canyon like a tidal wave. Even from several miles away, it made the faces of the several Tribulation Crossing Realm elders from the Divine Sword Sacred Land turn pale, instinctively tightening their grip on the swords at their waists.

The Sword Master instantly snapped back to reality, looking gravely toward the canyon's depths, and said in a deep voice to Ye Chuan:

"Sacred Lord Ye, this is the fierce beast guarding the canyon. This canyon is called the Sword Burial Valley; it was Almighty Xuanqiong's sword-forging ground back in the day. Rumor has it that his sword dao origin inheritance is hidden inside."

He paused, looking at Ye Chuan with a somewhat probing tone. "I wonder if the Sacred Lord would be willing to go in and take a look with me? If we can obtain Almighty Xuanqiong's sword dao inheritance, my Divine Sword Sacred Land will surely reward you heavily."

Ye Chuan stroked his chin. He wasn't really interested in any sword dao inheritance—if he had to be interested in something...

That would be Sword Saint Sauron he met on the Aether Continent. His trick of dying and resurrecting, resurrecting and refreshing to resurrect again, and stepping on his right foot with his left foot to ascend to the heavens left a very deep impression on him.

Speaking of which, the Aether Continent was full of gimmick monsters, which was quite perverted in a sense.

"Alright, I'll accompany you to take a look." Ye Chuan waved his hand casually. "Let's go. I want to see what kind of beast is making such a racket."

The group quickly stepped into the Sword Burial Valley.

As soon as they entered the canyon, a sharp, bone-piercing sword intent hit them in the face.

The mountain walls on both sides were covered with sword marks of varying depths. Each sword mark contained the dao charm of the ancient sword dao; even after ten thousand years, they still exuded a sharp pressure.

On the ground of the canyon lay many rusty ancient swords and the dry bones of cultivators. Clearly, these were the cultivators who had barged in over the years to hunt for treasure, only to ultimately perish in the jaws of the fierce beast.

The deeper they went, the more violent the surrounding wind and thunder power became. A scorching aura rushed at them, even causing the air to distort slightly from the heat.

"Roar!!!"

Another deafening tiger roar sounded. A huge black shadow suddenly lunged out of the darkness deep in the canyon, landing heavily in front of the crowd, causing the entire canyon to tremble slightly.

Appearing before everyone's eyes was a giant tiger hundreds of feet long.

Its entire body was covered in crimson-gold scales. Its bell-sized tiger eyes burned with raging flames, and the tips of the claws on its four limbs gleamed with a cold, sinister light. Visible wind blades swirled around it.

Above the giant tiger's back, streams of purple lightning continuously roamed, emitting crisp crackling sounds. Just looking at it made one's scalp tingle.

The Sword Master recognized the beast. "An ancient mutant, the Wind Thunder Divine Fire Tiger!"

And the pressure exuded by this giant tiger had already reached the level of a quasi-Ascension Realm, only one step away from the true Ascension Realm!

It landed on the ground, its tiger eyes staring intently at the crowd before it. A threatening low growl came from its throat, and the three powers of wind, thunder, and fire around its body surged madly, churning the surrounding space into a chaotic mess.

"Sacred Lord Ye, be careful," the Sword Master said in a deep voice to Ye Chuan.

"This is the Wind Thunder Divine Fire Tiger, an ancient mutant born to control the three origin powers of wind, thunder, and fire."

"Its lightning-attribute spiritual power naturally counters cultivators' magical treasures and spiritual swords. Once our sword cultivators' sword intent is struck by its lightning, it will instantly dissipate. It is one of the demonic beasts that all sword cultivators fear the most."

Although the Sword Master's realm was much higher than its, this fierce beast was not easy to deal with, especially since the Sword Master was countered by its divine lightning.

Moreover, this small world was filled with weirdness everywhere. Even Almighty Xuanqiong might not be dead. If he exhausted his power here and truly encountered fatal danger later, he wouldn't even be able to protect himself.

However, after hearing this, Ye Chuan only cast an interested glance at the fiercely posturing Wind Thunder Divine Fire Tiger.

"Actually, I'm also quite good at summoning fierce beasts," Ye Chuan smiled.

The moment his voice fell, thick chaotic black mist instantly surged out from around his body!

Dozens of figures suddenly stepped out from the black mist. The aura of each avatar was at the perfect Tribulation Crossing Realm, and the chaotic power swirling around them carried an overbearing pressure that could devour everything.

"Roar?!"

The Wind Thunder Divine Fire Tiger sensed the threat from the chaotic avatars. It instantly let out a furious tiger roar and took the initiative to attack!

It opened its mouth and spewed out heaven-burning flames. At the same time, the purple lightning on its back poured down like a rainstorm. With its four feet treading on the wind, its figure instantly turned into an afterimage, viciously lunging toward Ye Chuan with a claw wind that tore through space!

The three powers of wind, thunder, and fire erupted simultaneously, instantly sealing off all of Ye Chuan's escape routes!

Yet Ye Chuan stood in place, not moving a single inch.

Della beside him had already rushed forward, wielding the Hammer of Twilight.

"Clang!!!"

The Hammer of Twilight smashed fiercely onto the giant claw of the Wind Thunder Divine Fire Tiger. The violent chaotic power instantly erupted. The Wind Thunder Divine Fire Tiger let out a painful howl, and its massive body was directly smashed flying backward, crashing heavily against the mountain wall and sending shattered rocks flying everywhere.

Its hard scales, which it was so proud of, were actually smashed into densely packed cracks by a single hammer strike!

Meanwhile, the other chaotic avatars also moved at the same time.

The various bizarre magical beasts that Ye Chuan had tamed wrapped around the limbs of the Wind Thunder Divine Fire Tiger like poisonous snakes. No matter how much it struggled, it could not break free in the slightest.

The chaotic black mist surged forward like a tidal wave. The heaven-burning flames and torrential purple lightning it unleashed crashed into the dark mist, failing to stir even the slightest ripple before being instantly and utterly devoured.

Wind, lightning, and fire—the three elemental powers it relied upon for survival—were as useless as child's play before the mighty power of chaos!

"Roar!! Roar—!!"

The Wind Thunder Divine Fire Tiger let out a terrified and furious roar.