Chapter 636: The Unraveling of the Luofu Sword Sect

Song Chi was all too happy to see this happen. It would significantly boost his chances of acquiring high-tier Oddities and top resources in the future.

After all, when death comes knocking, no creature keeps its cool. With the Omniverse Market offering them a final lifeline, they’d throw out every last hidden treasure, desperate to grab onto that sliver of hope.

…

Maybe Zhang Lingxuan simply wasn’t ready to re-enter the Immortal Continent, or maybe the Luofu Sword Sect had too many random matters to handle lately. Either way, the Projection Emperor Stone still hadn’t been activated.

Song Chi wasn’t in any rush, though. That Immortal Continent ruin had drifted for hundreds of thousands of years in the Shadow Side of the Void Sea. Who could tell what was there now, or what kind of unimaginable dangers waited? He’d never risk sending the real Heavenly Ruin in for a blind search. That would be asking for disaster.

He understood better than anyone: a man of great wealth never sits under a precarious roof.

To truly explore those ruins, he’d at the very least wait for Mirror Image Split to finish cooling down. After that, he’d use the Mirror Warship to scout things out, slowly and safely.

But it wasn’t long before he had the chance.

Primeval Continent. Luofu Domain. Luofu Sword Sect.

The Luofu Sword Sect stood deep within the Luofu mountain range, boasting dozens of main peaks and a top-tier spirit vein. It was one of the rare spiritual havens in all the world.

On this day, the sect’s grand Main Hall filled with figures from across the sect. Both Zhang Lingxuan and Zhou Ping were present.

“Sect Leader, gathering all Nascent Soul and above cultivators—are we preparing to re-open exploration of the Immortal Continent?”

Once everyone was present, a senior Elder in the Soul Formation realm was first to speak.

The Luofu Sword Sect was no longer what it once was. With the Omniverse Market connecting them to the limitless Sea of Stars, the sect’s power had soared over the centuries.

It wasn’t just Zhang Lingxuan who broke through to Return-to-Void. Several veteran Nascent Soul elders had since ascended to Soul Formation, surpassing anything from the past.

As the Soul Formation Elder finished, dozens of Nascent Soul elders in the hall all reacted in unison, their expressions changing.

Soon, someone else spoke up:

“Sect Leader, this cannot be! Our sect may have grown in recent centuries, but we can’t hope to withstand a true Immortal expert. Entering the Immortal Continent right now is far too dangerous.”

“He’s right, Sect Leader. Please reconsider!”

…

Throughout the hall, as the wave of urgent pleas echoed, Zhang Lingxuan’s hand tightened under his robe around the golden Market Projection Token.

He’d been back at the sect for some time, yet hadn’t revealed the Market Projection Token to anyone.

There was a reason for that: there were spies for other factions hiding in the sect.

Ignoring the pleas below, Zhang Lingxuan spoke firmly.

“That’s enough. My mind’s made up. In three days, I’ll lead a new expedition to the Immortal Continent. Prepare yourselves!”

The elders throughout the hall let out quiet sighs, their faces darkening.

No one argued further. Everyone knew that once their Sect Leader set his mind to something, nothing would change it.

But in one shadowy corner, an elderly Nascent Soul cultivator watched, a subtle, cold smile flickering in his eyes.

Three days flew by. Under the watchful eyes of countless factions, the Luofu Sword Sect assembled a team of elites. They set off in a powerful fifth-tier spirit vessel, heading straight toward the Ascension Platform—with Zhang Lingxuan at the lead.

No other force dared make any sneaky moves.

After all, since the Pure Yang Sword Sect faded into obscurity, the Luofu Sword Sect had carried the mantle of the strongest in Primeval’s martial world. Sword sects had always dominated in combat among cultivators.

Within the cultivation world, sword cultivators always stood a cut above the rest at their level.

Zhang Lingxuan might be a relatively new Return-to-Void cultivator, but his strength was monstrous. Even facing ancestors who’d lived for ten thousand years, he felt no fear. Now that he was fully recovered, the other sects didn’t dare make a move.

Primeval Continent. Taiyi Domain.

Deep within the Taiyi Immortal Sect’s headquarters, an ancient voice spoke out.

“Upstart sects remain upstarts. So what if they’ve climbed to the top of our world? If Zhang Lingxuan dies, the Luofu Sword Sect will be finished!”

“He just got lucky. No one thought he’d survive wounds that severe, but this time, there won’t be any surprises. Taiyi, Zixiao, and Heart Demon—the old monsters of all three factions—will join forces. That black Cauldron will be ours!”

Zhang Lingxuan didn’t know the details of the other sects’ plotting, but he could guess as much. His eyes flashed cold, mixed with a trace of excitement.

He was eager to see just how those people would react when the Master of the Omniverse Market finally got involved.

In the ancient days, only Return-to-Void cultivators could activate the Ascension Platform and soar to the Immortal Realm. Now, with the Immortal Realm shattered and the rules changed, that was no longer so.

Even a Golden Core cultivator could use the Ascension Platform to reach the Immortal Continent ruins.

Before long, the Luofu Sword Sect began ascending the platform in waves, teleporting group after group to the Immortal Continent.

Zhang Lingxuan was among the first, determined to scout ahead in case things turned ugly on the other side.

To his surprise, no attack came. Even after over 200 sect members completed transmission, all was still and silent.

“All elders and disciples, proceed immediately toward our sect’s—”

He never finished. Out of the eternal darkness high above, three howling roars erupted. Immense oppression—belonging to tribulation-crossing True Immortals—poured down from three different directions, trapping all two hundred Luofu Sword Sect disciples in a crushing grip.

“Taiyi Immortal Sect, Zixiao Sect, Heart Demon Sect… you waited for all our disciples, then struck. You really plan to wipe out every last Luofu Sword cultivator?”

Zhang Lingxuan didn’t sound the least bit surprised. His voice was cold as ice.

Two of the attackers, both elderly men in Daoist robes with immortal airs, said nothing. The third—a Heart Demon True Immortal, gaunt with a dark, oppressive aura—let out a sinister chuckle:

“Your mistake was taking what never belonged to you, boy!”

“Hand it over, and I’ll spare you the agony of being devoured by ten thousand demons!”

Just as he finished, a figure shot out from behind Zhang Lingxuan.

“Yin Li, 128th disciple of the Heart Demon Sect, greets the Ancestor!”

Zhang Lingxuan narrowed his eyes immediately, recognizing the newcomer—it was a Luofu Sword Sect elder, newly advanced to Nascent Soul.

“Perfect. Now that the mole’s shown himself, there’s no point in keeping up this act.”

Without waiting for the stunned reactions from the three True Immortals above, Zhang Lingxuan pulled out the golden Market Projection Token.

“Zhang Lingxuan of the Luofu Sword Sect welcomes the arrival of the Master of the Omniverse Market!”

Power surged from within as he poured spiritual energy madly into the token.

Buzzzz!

Thick purple mist exploded into being, blotting out the eternal sky in a blink. From within this haze, a giant Market Projection began to form.

Most of the Luofu Sword disciples were still too stunned to react. Only Zhou Ping’s face was lit with excitement—after all, he’d spent centuries in the Omniverse Market and knew its master’s power better than anyone.

Predictably, as soon as the Market Projection formed, the three True Immortal ancestors of the Taiyi Immortal Sect, Zixiao Sect, and Heart Demon Sect managed only a few words:

“That’s a Golden Immortal—”

Before they even finished, three massive purple handprints shot from the projection, slamming down on each of their heads.

No one got away. Actually, there were four in total—all obliterated in a single instant.

It wasn’t that the Market Projection’s power had suddenly increased. It was simply that these three had only been True Immortals for just a century or so and were still weak compared to ancient dominators.

And since they were native to the Primeval Continent, the lack of Floating-land Origin support in the Immortal Continent made them even easier to kill.

To be honest, Song Chi hadn’t expected them to go down quite so easily. He’d hoped to leave a survivor or two and maybe enslave them. For all their dominator-level strength, they turned out remarkably fragile.

Still, although the enslavement experiment failed, Song Chi had no intentions of wasting three fresh True Immortal corpses. He’d stash them in Void Beast hide and take them home—never mind whatever treasures they carried, even just the three drops of Dominion Origin Blood were worth a fortune.

Below, Zhang Lingxuan’s eyes gleamed. Watching the True Immortals be obliterated with a wave, he felt the power of the Master of the Omniverse Market firsthand. Bound to the market himself, the master’s strength meant a higher ceiling—and brighter prospects—for him.

For Zhang Lingxuan, this couldn’t have been better news.

“Alright, everyone—move to our base!”

Once the sect’s disciples departed, Zhang Lingxuan, under the gaze of the Market Projection, pulled out the Projection Emperor Stone.

Channeling his energy into it, the stone soon began to emit thick Dark Energy, and beneath the Market Projection a warship phantom—dozens of miles long—began to take shape.

As Zhang Lingxuan watched in amazement, the warship image swiftly took on substance, becoming a real, streamlined steel vessel right before his stunned eyes.

But it didn’t end there. No sooner had the warship solidified than a crisp hiss split the air—the hatch swung open, and a gray shadow darted swiftly out through the open door.