Zhi Xuan closed his eyes within his Sea of Consciousness, slowly withdrawing himself back to the physical realm. When his eyelids opened in the real world, the horizon of the Sacred Heaven Secret Realm appeared different to his eyes. He no longer saw the black sand desert as an enemy, but as a blank canvas ready for him to paint with his will.

  He raised his right hand, his palm facing toward the sky that still held remnants of red crystals. "Eternal Star," he whispered softly.

  Seketika, in the middle of Zhi Xuan's palm, space seemed to shrivel. A black dot as small as a grain of dust appeared, yet it emitted a suction force so massive that the black sand particles around him were lifted, hovering and sucked into the dot with a loud whirring. The air around him distorted as he raised the black dust higher, which slowly wove into a spiral.

  The tremors felt like the heartbeat of a dying world. Every time the black dust pulsed, the space surrounding Zhi Xuan seemed to be forcibly folded. The pressure of the suction in the black sand crater suddenly became chaotic; several bone rock fragments from the distance floated into the air before eventually shattering into fine atoms swallowed by the dark vortex in Zhi Xuan's hand.

  "Everything Returns To Origin," Zhi Xuan said softly as he gripped the spiral, and the space around him froze for a moment before an explosion erupted from the black hole.

  The explosion did not produce flames, but rather a dark shockwave like a stellar burst that swept in all directions. The black sand hit by the wave did not fly away, but instead vanished, leaving behind fine dust and elements that were swallowed, as if even the light around Zhi Xuan dimmed for a moment before returning calmly.

  The echo of the silent explosion was still traveling through the air as Zhi Xuan lowered his hand. He stared at his own palm, which still held remnants of thin, glowing black energy. This power did not come from the spiritual essence he gathered, but from the void he created within his Dao Heart.

  "This power is capable of swallowing other essences," Zhi Xuan murmured, clenching his palm. "At the very least, it is as if I have created a technique that can counter the five elements. It is like swallowing every attack, capable enough to suppress other techniques if directed at me."

  After the echo completely vanished, the silence that returned to the black sand desert felt far more meaningful. Zhi Xuan stood still, feeling the remaining vibrations in his hand slowly merging with his blood flow. He no longer felt the exhausting tension; instead, there was a strange sense of relief, as if the heavy burden he had been carrying had found its resting place within that black hole.

  "Even so, this is just a technique," Zhi Xuan murmured hoarsely. "Perhaps, if one day there truly is a place where with just a wave of a hand, one can swallow the entire universe. I might find the answer to that."

  Zhi Xuan took a deep breath, letting his breath mingle with the cold air that still held the scent of nothingness. He looked down, adjusting Mei Hua who was still fast asleep within the embrace of his robe. The little girl's sleep seemed so peaceful, as if the storm of destruction recently unleashed by her brother was merely a gentle breeze on a calm afternoon.

  "Twenty years," Zhi Xuan whispered to the silence. "There is still more than half the journey I must travel under this mirrored sky."

  He slowly tightened his hold on Mei Hua in his arms, then he lunged forward without knowing his destination. The environment around him constantly changed as he stepped, appearing truly as a reflection of his Dao which was now silent and shrouded in the chaotic and heavy aura that arrived.

  Zhi Xuan sped across the endless expanse, letting his black robe flutter like a raven's wing in the dim horizon. Every time his feet touched the ground, ripples of transparent energy spread, suppressing the black sand that tried to rise due to the dimensional storm. This Secret Realm, which was previously a prison, now felt like a servant submitting to his will.

  Zhi Xuan's footsteps brought silence wherever he went. If previously this desert was filled with the shadows of corpses and the screams of the past, now everything became a majestic quiet. The bone trees he passed no longer creaked threateningly; they stood stiffly, as if paying homage to the figure who had united the sword blade with his own heartbeat.

  Suddenly, he stopped at the peak of a high sand dune. In front of him, the blood-red sky slowly faded, replaced by a deep purple color with a nebula resembling the sight within his Sea of Consciousness. It seemed that as Zhi Xuan's enlightenment grew purer, this Secret Realm began to resonate with his soul.

  Night soon arrived, and he did not know what would happen during the night after he attained his enlightenment. He looked around and found a niche. Without lingering, Zhi Xuan descended the hill and dashed into the niche. With a wave of his hand, Zhi Xuan swept the cold floor of the niche, smoothing the grains of sand and ancient dust until they were clean.

  He sat cross-legged, his movements now far more controlled and graceful, as if every joint had been forged by the precision of a heavenly sword. Carefully, he untied the cloth on his chest and laid Mei Hua upon his soft robe.

  The little girl squirmed slightly, hugging the Lulu doll tighter, yet remained asleep. The purple light from the nebula outside the niche reflected on Mei Hua's skin, making her look like a pure little jade statue. Zhi Xuan stared at her for a long time, his fingers stroking Mei Hua's forehead with a tenderness that contrasted with the hand that had just created a destructive black hole.

  "Sleep well, Mei," Zhi Xuan whispered, flicking the Azure Holy Flame which immediately illuminated the niche and radiated warmth. "In this place, time is but a long illusion."

  "What is that?" Zhi Xuan's voice sharpened, interrupted by the sound of churning black sand swirling outside the niche.

  Zhi Xuan rose to his feet with a movement that was almost invisible, his back straight as a line covering Mei Hua's form from the entrance of the niche. His sapphire pupils contracted, catching the anomalous change in the air particles. The black sand out there was no longer just blowing in the wind; it moved in spiral patterns forming a sandstorm as sharp as sword blades.

  "A desert storm, so sudden," Zhi Xuan murmured.

  He waved his hand, closing his eyes as his lips moved in a mantra from the ancient Heaven's memory inheritance. Then, with a smooth motion, he carved a formation rune in the air, floating it toward the niche's entrance which immediately created a divider and protector from the sandstorm beginning to rage outside.

  Violent tremors began to travel through the walls of the niche, causing several bone rock fragments from the ceiling to fall, but they immediately shattered into dust before touching Mei Hua due to the pressure of Zhi Xuan's aura. Outside, the sound of the black sandstorm was no longer just the roar of the wind, but the screams of trapped and clashing souls.

  "Damn it, can't even get some peace, can I?" Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice displeased and annoyed.

  The tremors in the niche walls grew more intense, as if a primordial giant were trying to tear down this bone mountain with bare hands. Zhi Xuan snorted, leaning his back against the wall of the niche, ensuring every traveling vibration did not disturb Mei Hua's sleep.

  "Heavenly Sword," Zhi Xuan called out calmly, his voice oppressive and indiscriminate. "Slash the creatures who know no silence out there, whoever and whatever they are."

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  Instantly, from within Zhi Xuan's chest, a beam of silver light that sliced through the darkness shot out. The Heavenly Sword no longer appeared as an object to be held, but as a manifestation of will that split space. The sword glided through the formation seal at the mouth of the niche without damaging it, as if the blade itself were a ghost crossing dimensions.

  Outside the niche, the black sandstorm that was once wild suddenly split in two. The Heavenly Sword danced in the middle of the darkness, each swing leaving traces of ancient lightning that burned the black sand into shattered glass crystals. The screaming sounds that previously filled the air now turned into roars of pain as Zhi Xuan's Sword Intent, which had reached the stage of Man-Sword Unity, began to skin the entities hiding behind the storm.

  Suddenly, Zhi Xuan felt that the Heavenly Sword hit something solid and deep, like a brush dipped into a frozen ocean while simultaneously being a wind that split the air. The vibration Zhi Xuan felt through the extension of his soul with the Heavenly Sword made him wince.

  "Why... does it feel like the aura of creation?" Zhi Xuan murmured, his eyes that were once cold now radiating a sharp curiosity.

  Zhi Xuan waved his hand, ordering the Heavenly Sword to return. The dark blade sped into the niche, spinning once in the air before disappearing back into his chest. With one calm step, Zhi Xuan passed through the formation seal at the mouth of the niche, standing tall in the middle of the sandstorm that was now slowly receding due to the remnants of his sword slashes.

  However, that was not what surprised him. Instead, around the niche and the hill, the ground seemed to press downward and revealed a gaping hole, a giant dark pool appearing just an inch away from beneath his feet. The sandstorm Zhi Xuan was looking at now was above that gaping dark pool.

  "How is this possible?" Zhi Xuan's voice was caught; he jumped back slowly and glanced around. The niche was only an inch away from the pool; if the hill had collapsed because of the sandstorm earlier, then he and Mei Hua would have been buried beneath this pool.

  Zhi Xuan stood stiffly at the edge of the pool's abyss, which seemed to swallow all the purple moonlight above it. The pool was not filled with water, but with a thick, pulsating gray liquid, radiating the scent of wet earth and remnants of primordial creation. Each pulse sent a wave of energy that made the meridians in Zhi Xuan's hands vibrate violently.

  Suddenly, the horizon that was previously silent was shattered by a roar that transcended human logic. The sound was so heavy, as if all the dark liquid below were being squeezed out. It was not just a sound; it was a natural law asserting its presence.

  The sky trembled, and ripples of water began to form a vortex. Dark light appeared and soared high, the sky split and purple light glowed, turning into fragments of dust before the giant figure of Kun Peng truly revealed itself.

  The figure appeared not slowly, but as if it were forcing its existence out from the narrow folds of space. The giant Kun Peng soared high, its wings as wide as the horizon covering the purple nebula, turning the night in the black sand desert into absolute darkness.

  Its scales glistened like millions of wet black jade pieces, while each flap of its wings created a windstorm capable of leveling the surrounding bone mountains. On the left, Kun emitted a low roar like an ancient fish submerging the ocean, while on the right, Peng roared like an ancient bird competing with the sky.

  Zhi Xuan stood frozen, his silver hair fluttering wildly struck by the storm generated by the flap of the sacred creature's wings. The pressure radiated by this Kun Peng far surpassed any existence he had ever encountered in the mortal world; this was the pressure of the law of creation itself.

  "Kun Peng... How could it be released," Zhi Xuan whispered, his throat feeling dry. "The chaos pearl, is it not able to seal it again?"

  Zhi Xuan immediately took a step back, his hand reaching into the air to strengthen the formation seal at the mouth of the niche where Mei Hua was. He knew that one accidental flap of this creature's wings could erase that niche from the map of the Secret Realm.

  "Stay calm, boy," Ruo Xianxue's voice suddenly appeared, calming the turmoil of Zhi Xuan's shock. "The Kun Peng fetus remains safe inside the chaos pearl thanks to my seal. What is in front of you now is a mirror that brings forth the Kun Peng in its form; it carries anger because it is sealed."

  The aura radiated by the reflection of the Kun Peng was so real that Zhi Xuan felt his bones were being forced to submit. Although only a manifestation of the Mirror Dao, the overflowing anger from that giant figure carried the essence from the primordial era, the time when heavenly laws were not yet fully formed.

  "If it is only a mirror, why does its killing aura feel so real that it can tear through my formation seal?" Zhi Xuan asked in his heart, while his hands moved quickly to arrange a new protection rune pattern in front of the niche entrance.

  "Because this Secret Realm does not distinguish between memory and reality, Zhi Xuan," Ruo Xianxue's voice sounded more serious than usual. "You carry the seed of Kun Peng inside that pearl, and this Secret Realm responds to its presence. It is dissecting your fears and ambitions."

  The giant Kun Peng bowed its head, which was as large as a mountain. The creature's eyes, which looked like two cold golden moons, stared straight at Zhi Xuan. Suddenly, the creature dove sharply. Its speed surpassed the limits of sight, creating an explosion that crushed the surrounding sand dune peaks into fine dust.

  Zhi Xuan felt his heart almost stop beating as the giant shadow swallowed his entire field of vision. The diving speed of the Kun Peng created air pressure so dense that the ground beneath Zhi Xuan's feet began to crack and sink several meters deep. In that crucial second, his instincts, forged over twenty years, screamed loudly.

  "Ruo Xianxue!" Zhi Xuan roared; he would not have time to do anything faced with a manifestation more majestic than any celestial.

  "It is not the time to call names, you fool! Face it!" Ruo Xianxue's voice exploded inside his head, accompanied by a thud of energy that forced Zhi Xuan to move beyond his mortal limits.

  Zhi Xuan had no time to curse. In front of him, the Kun Peng's beak, capable of swallowing the ocean, approached like a heavenly disaster descending from the sky. In a calculated panic, Zhi Xuan no longer used his hands to form seals. He released his intent irregularly out of panic.

  "Wait! Stop! Don't eat me, you crazy bird!" Zhi Xuan's voice shrieked high, breaking the deathly silence with a tone that did not reflect the dignity of a future number one swordsman at all.

  The voice was so loud and full of pure panic that it echoed between the bone cliffs, sounding like a chick stuck in the door of hell. Instantly, as if time itself suddenly choked, the giant Kun Peng froze.

  Its sharp beak, as large as a city gate, stopped exactly one inch in front of Zhi Xuan's nose. The air pressure generated from the sudden stop was so powerful that Zhi Xuan's face swayed, his cheeks flapped hilariously, and his silver hair stood straight up in all directions like an exploded broom. An awkward silence enveloped the black sand desert.

  Zhi Xuan remained frozen with wide eyes, his right hand still raised in front of his face in a completely useless blocking pose, while his left hand trembled violently behind his back. Cold sweat dripped from the tip of his nose, falling right onto the black scales of the Kun Peng beneath his feet.

  The Kun Peng blinked its giant golden eyes. There was a very human flash of confusion on that primordial creature. It seemed not to expect that a prey carrying such a thick and heavy slaughter aura would emit such a pathetic scream.

  "Gods and Devils," Zhi Xuan's voice trembled violently and did not lower the intensity of his shock. "This creature is incredibly massive."

  Zhi Xuan was silent for a moment, then he jumped back a step to keep his distance, his breath panting as he tried to continue his voice. "I, who carry you and seal you in my Sea of Consciousness, if I die, you will also die."

  The giant Kun Peng emitted a low snort, a breath strong enough to blow Zhi Xuan away if he did not immediately plant his heels into the ground. The creature's golden eyes narrowed, staring sharply toward Zhi Xuan's chest, piercing through layers of robe, skin, and bone, directly toward the Chaos Pearl pulsing within his Sea of Consciousness.

  "Great Emperor Hua, Forbidden Plains," the voice did not come from the bird's beak, but a vibration traveling around Zhi Xuan even if it was just a Dao reflection. "The vast river of time truly knows how to cast away sacred creatures."

  The shock from the voice traveling through spatial vibrations made Zhi Xuan stagger. He felt every joint of his body being forced to acknowledge an existence far more ancient than any human history. The Kun Peng did not speak with a mortal tongue, but with the resonance of natural laws that made the dust particles around them vibrate in a frequency of worship.

  "I know," Zhi Xuan replied with a slight tremor, trying to stand tall even though his knees were shaking. "Great Emperor Hua has taken you away from the Forbidden Plains, and I took you out from Great Emperor Hua's Tomb at that time. And also, I along with the Ancient Sacred Devil, sealed you so that your birth would not be at an inappropriate time."

  The golden eyes of the Kun Peng, like two dim sun pillars, seemed to absorb all light in the black sand desert. The creature tilted its head, a simple movement that caused wind vortices around it to destroy several sand dune peaks into dust in an instant.

  "Ancient Sacred Devil," the voice echoed again, now with a mocking tone that made Ruo Xianxue within Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness snort in anger. "Great Emperor Hua stole my fetal form to bring me back to the Nine Heavens, and you, a mortal with fragile bones, dare to consider yourself as my carrier?"