The moment Chen Beidou saw the deity that encompassed Shen Lian, he knew who he was facing. He was not ignorant, which was why he was trembling – out of excitement.

　　There was no one else who could represent the ultimate stage of swordcraft better than the person before him, even though he did not major in swordcraft.

　　A deity could either be acquired or innate, the one that he was facing was an innate deity. The deity was a great being who was birthed before the creation of Universe. Even the Daoist Master and Buddha attained Dao at a later stage than this deity.

　　Despite he was once a Celestial and was currently a god, but when he recalled secrets as such, Chen Beidou still harbored the ridiculous feeling that legends were coming alive in reality.

　　Of course, the deity in front of him now was not the real deal; he might not even have one-millionth of the power of the real deity. In fact, this might just be a trace that was left behind, which Shen Lian had since combined with.

　　This was precisely why he got to peek into his swordcraft now. In fact, he could feel the excitement and jealousy of the Celestial Trapping Sword, the sword which had been completely subdued by him. The reason behind its emotion was clear – Shen Lian had merged with the deity, and he was holding the Five Elements magical sword.

　　In the entire world, from the past to the future, there was only one sword that was fit to be commanded by him and Shen Lian’s Five Elements magical sword was definitely not it. This statement remained true even if the deity was merely a remnant left behind in the passage of time.

　　Above was what the Celestial Trapping Sword felt.

　　The power of the Celestial Trapping Sword was not even one-thousandth or one-hundred-thousandth of what it used to be back when it was used by that deity. However, so long as he could take even just a look at the shadow of that deity’s swordcraft, he would have a chance to revert the Celestial Trapping Sword back to its original strength. Together, both he and the sword could progress towards the pinnacle of swordcraft.

　　Shen Lian merged with the deity that he visualized, and what he managed to capture was just a small portion of the severed Dao. Despite its unique characteristic, it would not be able to allow him to even make contact with the true power of the great being.

　　Though, it would suffice for now. Even a hint of the shadow would elevate him to a higher state. Right now, he could even perceive everyone in the world who was connected to him.

　　He saw the founding master, Ziling was staring at his direction, he saw his Senior Apprentice-Sister Gu Caiwei praying at the Hall of the Grandmasters, and Zhao Xiaoyu was at Mount Jimo playing a melancholic tune on an instrument that looked like a flute. He also saw Ruoxi riding on Qianmo and was making her way to Mount Zhong.

　　He saw Yanxu, and he saw Huanzhen who was on Ruo Shui.

　　Fang Yanying was somewhere in Mount Zhong, and she was looking ahead at his direction.

　　In fact, he even saw Mr. Su who taught him the Being and Non-Being of Sword Aura.

　　Mr. Su was in an exquisite room. He was drawing the brows of a beautiful woman who was dressed in red. The woman had a mark of the flames on her forehead. Suddenly, he unleashed his sword aura towards the air.

　　“Why?” The woman asked.

　　“Nothing, just felt like someone was peeping at me. Maybe I made a mistake,” Mr. Su smiled.

　　“That is weird. There is only a handful of those who have the capabilities to spy on the Palace of the Undead, and these people are not that rude. Should I look into it?”

　　Mr. Su held her soft hands and replied gently, “It is fine. The reason why we are living in seclusion is to stand aloof from worldly affairs. Mrs., let’s let this slide.”

　　“Looking at you now, no one would believe that you are the famed Sword Saint Ziwei.”

　　After being discovered by Mr. Su, Shen Lian stopped looking at him. Moreover, he realized that the move that allowed him to be fully aware of the world earlier dimmed his self-divine aura considerably.

　　To think that a Daoist Master and Buddha could see through the past and the future by just opening their empowered eyes; they were privy to all causes and effects, this was unimaginably scary.

　　Shen Lian’s thoughts spun faster than the sparks.

　　At the same time, he thrust forward with his Five Elements magical sword; it was a simple pierce without any variation or ingenious Dao. In fact, it was so light that it seemed almost non-existent.

　　When faced with this simple pierce, Chen Beidou behaved as though he had lost his soul. He was unable to react and could only see the tip of the sword closing in.

　　It seemed like the only plausible outcome for Chen Beidou was to perish under the simple pierce of the sword.

　　Not only Chen Beidou thought so, but all the surrounding living creatures who cultivated Dao felt that way too. No one expected Chen Beidou who had the upper hand and was in complete control to lose his advantage so suddenly.

　　However, Chen Beidou was as impressive as ever. He did not give up.

　　Regardless of how strong Shen Lian was, he was no more than a paper tiger. Things had not gotten to the point where Chen Beidou could not put up any resistance. Even if the piercing was akin to the great Dao and could operate the sky full of stars, he was not exasperated.

　　He threw away all the unnecessary thoughts, and he forgot where he was. All he could see was the original heart and nothing more.

　　Chen Beidou seemed to had broken through some sort of restraint and shackle. The shattering sound echoed throughout the world.

　　He finally drew his sword. His divinity, body, heart of sword, and spiritual response – everything about him seemed to have joined as one with the Celestial Trapping Sword. They were together as one and had turned into a pure stream of sword gleam.

　　Shen Lian’s ‘sever’ was simple, to which Chen Beidou had responded with ‘purity’.

　　Chen Beidou was nowhere to be found, and there as only a hint of red. The hint of red was not brilliant, and it did not shine like the Milky Way. However, whoever set eyes on this hint of red would understand the determination of a swordcraft practitioner.

　　His loyalty did not lie with the heaven and earth, his ancestors, or the believers. However, he was absolutely loyal to swordcraft and searched for nothing more.

　　Shen Lian’s ‘sever’ went at a steady pace, but Chen Beidou’s sword gleam tried to circumvent Shen Lian’s sword like a rainbow and was charging directly at the deity that he had morphed into.

　　Shortly after, on top of Mount Zhong, underneath the starry night, a ball of light that shone as bright as the Beidou – The Big Dipper exploded. The world was encapsulated in white; everywhere was clean and the polar lights turned the night into day.

　　At this moment, a giant monster surfaced from the bottom of Ruo Shui. It had two intertwining horns on his head, and there were green scales below its neck. It leaped out from the water. It was a flood dragon. It rose from the water and tried to make its way to the core of the white light.

　　The sword sang and cropped off a portion of the flood dragon’s horn. It moaned painfully and fell into the river again.

　　The endless white light had dispersed and Chen Beidou stepped out from the void. He held the reddish Celestial Trapping Sword and his body gradually turned transparent. At last, along with the Celestial Trapping Sword, he became a blood-red light dot and disappeared without a trace.

　　The void started to mend itself. The night after the intense battle remained clear and beautiful, and not a speck of dust could be seen anywhere.

　　Huanzhen stood on top of the raft. He had kept his Imperial Seal long ago. He thought that he would have a chance to interfere, and now he realized how misinformed he was.

　　Qingyin murmured, “Who won?”

　　Huanzhen replied, “No idea.”

　　“He did not win.” The raft shook gently, creating ripples in the surrounding water.

　　A young Daoist dressed in feathered clothing and star crown was seated next to the coffee table on the raft. He helped himself with a piece of pastry. He seemed to be emitting weak starlight and his physical appearance was blurry.

　　Qingyin looked at him in shock and did not manage to utter a single word.

　　The young Daoist ingested the pastry and helped himself to a crystal-clear spiritual fruit. He smiled, “Your pastry is too sweet. You should try making something savory next time.”