Chapter 183: Chapter 176: He’s Here

The path of cultivating the Sword Dao is, in essence, an ascension from "wielding the sword" to the "Heart Sword."

Once the Heart Sword is cultivated, the concept of the Sword Pill as a physical vessel is completely transcended.

The sword is no longer an external object but is completely integrated into the Cultivator’s heart and mind.

Therefore, once a Sword Cultivator achieves the Heart Sword, their will connects with the Dao of Heaven and Earth. Every thought becomes an application of the Heaven and Earth Law, perfectly integrated into their attacks.

This is the apex of the Dao of Sword Transformation.

At the same time, a Heart Sword Cultivator’s attacks no longer need to travel physically.

With a single thought, the Sword Intent descends instantly, completely ignoring spatial distance and physical defenses.

By the same token, as long as a place is within the Cultivator’s spiritual perception, they can instantly appear there just by thinking it.

This could be called the apex of the Dao of the Extreme Sword.

Beyond this, the Heart Sword can not only sever the physical body but also sever causality—cutting an opponent’s causal threads and causing them to lose their previously mastered Divine Techniques, memories, or even their very existence.

A Heart Sword Cultivator can make it so ’their past self receives the sword light,’ meaning no matter how an opponent dodges, they can never truly escape the blade.

This is because the strike may have already existed in your past.

This type of Swordsmanship, which involves causality and timelines, has far surpassed the scope of ordinary combat techniques; it is an application of the most fundamental laws of Heaven and Earth.

This is also the apex of the Dao of the Killing Sword.

In summary, the Heart Sword is the ultimate form, where these three paths of the Sword Dao are perfectly fused and evolved to their apex.

This realm perfectly embodies the principle that the Great Dao is supremely simple.

There is no longer a need for complex maneuvers; a single thought is all it takes.

Therefore, to reach the realm of the Heart Sword, cultivating all three paths simultaneously is a prerequisite.

Generally speaking, most Sword Cultivators focus on cultivating a single path.

After all, a person’s energy and lifespan are limited. Biting off more than one can chew and dividing one’s focus too much will likely lead to becoming a jack of all trades but a master of none, ultimately limiting one’s achievements.

But Anton was different. His lifespan was nearly a thousand years longer than that of Cultivators at the same tier, giving him more than enough time to cultivate the Sword Dao.

On the path of the Sword Dao, he had a greater advantage than other Cultivators.

The path of cultivation has always been a struggle against others, against the heavens, and against oneself.

One must strive with all their might even with no advantages, or even when at a disadvantage.

Let alone the fact that he possessed the advantage of a longer lifespan.

If he didn’t dare to strive for greatness with such an advantage, then he might as well give up on the path of cultivation entirely.

"The road ahead is long and arduous."

Anton sighed, reining in his thoughts and pushing the matter aside for now.

Cultivating three paths at once was not something that could be accomplished overnight; it required an extremely long time to gradually comprehend and master them.

For now, he needed to focus on stabilizing his new realm.

Once he had mastered his Magical Power, he could then consider matters of the Sword Dao.

’My Golden Core is formed. It’s time to head back.’

Anton stretched, got up, and walked out of the meditation chamber.

A Golden Core Cultivator could already fly with their physical body, without relying on any external aids.

He didn’t use Sword Escape, intending to try out physical flight instead.

In the next instant, Magical Power surged from his Golden Core, spreading around him like a cloud of mist, lifting him up until he hovered in midair.

At a glance, Anton appeared to be wreathed in a smoky haze and auspicious clouds, giving him a truly ethereal and otherworldly presence—the very picture of an immortal.

’Flying with Magical Power is pretty eye-catching.’

Anton clicked his tongue in amazement. After hovering for a moment, he then flew toward the exit of the Dark Nether Realm.

At first, his speed wasn’t fast; he seemed to ride the wind, floating lightly without a hint of worldly effort.

But as he grew more familiar with using his Magical Power to fly, his speed increased.

He went from floating gracefully to flying as fast as a bird, and finally, he became a streak of light, zipping through the caves and tunnels of the Dark Nether Realm.

In just a few moments, he reached the entrance to the tunnel connecting the Dark Nether Realm to the surface mining area.

’The speed is decent, but it’s still a lot slower than my sword light.’

Anton shook his head, summoned his Sword Pill, and had it transform into a beam of sword light that enveloped his body. His speed instantly skyrocketed, and like a meteor streaking through the darkness, he vanished into the depths of the tunnel in a flash.

The moment he shot out of the mining area’s fissure, dazzling sunlight poured down, feeling warm on his skin.

Anton didn’t stop, continuing toward the Silver Moon Forest while simultaneously spreading out his Divine Sense without reserve.

After breaking through to the Golden Core realm, the range of his Divine Sense had increased dramatically, now exceeding a radius of two hundred kilometers.

Before long, the entirety of the Silver Moon Forest appeared within his perception.

As his Divine Sense swept over the outskirts of the Silver Moon Forest, he quickly detected a battlefield where a fierce battle was underway.

One familiar figure after another instantly appeared in his senses.

Seeing that Romance, Eleanor, the Great Elder, and the others were all right, Anton nodded to himself.

He had given the Clan Sound Transmission Talismans, making it clear they could contact him to come out of seclusion for support if they encountered a situation they couldn’t handle. With that, and the Great Derivation Cyan Profound Array, they should have been safe for a short while.

But it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Seeing that everyone was unharmed now, he could finally put his mind at ease.

Only then did Anton have the presence of mind to observe the entire battlefield.

His attention was quickly drawn to an enormous creature in the center of the battlefield.

The creature was visually estimated to be over ten meters tall. It had a humanoid torso, shoulders, and arms made of flowing water, but its lower body was a roiling whirlpool, hovering several meters above the ground.

Its facial features were somewhat indistinct. In place of eye sockets were two deep pools that emitted a soft, blue-white fluorescent glow.

Its mouth was a slit that spewed a large amount of seafoam as it roared.

Its entire body was a cerulean blue, the color of the ocean.

’A Water Elemental Spirit.’

Anton’s gaze flickered as he instantly recognized the creature.

It was an elemental creature from the Water Elemental Origin Plane.

The material plane where the Dawn Continent was located was adjacent to the four great Elemental Origin Planes, with natural channels and junctures between them.

Under certain specific conditions, creatures from the elemental planes could enter the material plane through these channels.

The Water Elemental Spirit was one of the most common intelligent creatures from the Water Elemental Plane.

Their power levels varied greatly.

The weakest Water Elemental Spirits were merely at the Black Iron Tier, as naive and fragile as newborn infants.

But the ancient Water Elemental Spirits that had lived for several thousand years could grow to the Golden Peak, or even the Legendary Tier.

In the elemental planes, a Legendary Tier Water Elemental Spirit was known as a Water Djinn. They were overlords in their home plane and possessed nearly immortal lives.

Although the Water Elemental Spirit before him had not yet reached the level of a Djinn, its size suggested it was very close.

Its aura was deep and powerful, and every attack carried an extremely dense Water Element energy, crashing down relentlessly like the tides.

Anton’s thoughts raced, and he quickly guessed the origin of this Water Elemental Spirit.

The chances of a Water Elemental Spirit suddenly appearing on the battlefield were far too low.

It was almost certainly summoned by Kresol Dragon City.

Anton knew of several types of magical items that could summon an elemental spirit from an elemental plane and temporarily command it.

Dragon City had ruled the Eldron Plain for thousands of years. Its foundation was unimaginably deep, so it was perfectly normal for them to have some trump cards that outsiders knew nothing about.

At this moment, the Water Elemental Spirit was trapped in the center of a Five Elements formation cast by over six hundred Five Camp Divine Soldiers. It was also bound by a great number of green vines.

On the outer perimeter, Eleanor, Romance, Elena, Darian, and the others were lying in wait for an opportunity to strike.

Whenever the Water Elemental Spirit tried to break out of the Five Elements formation, they would attack simultaneously to force it back.

It was clear that Eleanor and the others didn’t have an effective way to deal with the Water Elemental Spirit; they could only rely on the Five Camp Divine Soldiers and the Green Chain Dragon-Trapping Array to barely contain it.

This was normal. Due to their semi-incorporeal nature, elemental creatures were almost immune to physical attacks, making them a natural counter to Warriors.

And because their bodies were essentially made of Elemental Power, they were largely immune to attacks of their corresponding element.

For a Water Elemental Spirit like this one, physical attacks and Water Element energy attacks were almost completely ineffective.

Unless it was a Caster specializing in Fire Element Magic, or a Golden Peak expert who had mastered a lesser law of Fire Elemental Power, it would be difficult to pose a threat to it.

It was precisely because of this that elemental creatures were notoriously difficult to deal with.

It was no surprise that Eleanor and the others couldn’t handle the Water Elemental Spirit, as their tiers were lower and they lacked any means to counter it.

Fortunately, a Water Elemental Spirit could not exist in the material plane for long.

Once creatures from the elemental planes left their origin plane, they would begin to continuously lose energy.

The stronger they were, the slower the loss, but it was ultimately unavoidable.

Given this Water Elemental Spirit’s power, it could exist in the material plane for an hour at most before the Power of Rule forcibly sent it back to its origin plane.

Even if Anton hadn’t appeared, Eleanor and the others would have been fine as long as they held out for a little longer.

His Divine Sense continued to sweep over the other parts of the battlefield.

To Anton’s surprise, only four magistrates from Dragon City remained, and they were engaged in combat with the Great Elder, the Second Elder, Cedric, and Sieg, respectively.

They seemed to have no desire to continue the fight and were single-mindedly trying to withdraw, but they were pinned down by the Great Elder and the other three.

On the flanks of the battlefield, the Dragon Race, the Vassal Army, the Five Camp Divine Soldiers, Oak Guards, and Elves were locked in a chaotic melee.

The entire battlefield was in chaos.

Just then, Anton’s Divine Sense suddenly detected two unusual auras.

He "looked" over and saw a human man and a female Elf watching the battle from a distant ridge, about three or four kilometers away from the battlefield.

’Legendary Tier.’

Anton raised an eyebrow, instantly discerning their power level.

Moreover, based on the strength of the auras he sensed with his Divine Sense, their power likely far surpassed Isaac’s.

Anton’s gaze narrowed slightly, but he wasn’t overly concerned.

Although he was unsure of the two Legendary Powerhouses’ intentions, they clearly held no ill will toward the Silver Moon Race.

Otherwise, with their power, the war would have ended long ago if they had joined the battle.

Just then, the female Elf of the pair suddenly looked in Anton’s direction, as if she had sensed his ’gaze’.

...

On the ridge, Grant’s expression shifted as he noticed the direction Alicia was looking.

"He’s here?"

Before Alicia could answer, Grant sensed a powerful aura rapidly approaching.

The clouds above the battlefield suddenly tore open, revealing a massive rift.

A beam of dark-gold sword light shot out from the rift, descending toward the center of the battlefield with a deafening roar, like a meteor crashing to earth.

Wherever the sword light passed, the air tore with a piercing shriek, and even the light itself seemed to be severed by its blazing edge.

In that instant, the gazes of everyone on the battlefield were drawn to it.

The sword light came to a sudden halt above the battlefield, hovering in midair.

The light receded like the tide, revealing Anton’s tall, slender figure.

He calmly gazed down from above, his pale-gold hair flying in the wind, like a god looking down upon the mortal realm.

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