The towering statue of Emperor Jitian, hidden within the deity's ear, trembled as the sword intent rushing towards it was perceived.
"How did you find me!"
To prevent Bai Shengyi from damaging the Emperor's statue, the Universal Realm was forced to flee from the ear. However, this escape coincided with Bai Shengyi's sword strike.
"Kill!"
The Heavenly Mechanism Sword, imbued with the cyclical intent that pierced through the rules of time, descended upon the spiritual body of the Universal Realm with increasingly profound and silent killing intent.
"Tianji!"
The Universal Realm watched in heartbreak as its spiritual body was cleaved in two by its former "friend."
The Heavenly Mechanism Sword pulsed with blue light.
"You know the Heavenly Mechanism Sword?" Bai Shengyi raised the sword again and swung.
This time, Bai Shengyi's sword was even more formidable, inadvertently grazing the nearby statue. Seeing this, the Universal Realm, which had just begun to reform its spiritual body, didn't hesitate and moved to shield the statue.
"You are not allowed to harm Emperor Jitian's statue!" the Universal Realm roared. "You are using Emperor Jitian's personal sword, why are you not showing the Emperor any respect!"
"Emperor Jitian?"
Bai Shengyi murmured the four words. For some reason, although she had never heard of this person before, she felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
This must have been a deity from before the gods had fallen, so what relation could they have to her?
Bai Shengyi's sword-wielding hand faltered, sensing a slight hesitation in the Heavenly Mechanism Sword.
"Who is Emperor Jitian?" Bai Shengyi asked.
The Universal Realm was incredulous. "You truly do not know Emperor Jitian?"
While shocked, it also felt a pang of sorrow. "Emperor Jitian was the foremost among the gods, the object of aspiration for all gods and sentient beings..."
So much time had passed. After the gods fell, all news pertaining to them became taboo, unspoken, and gradually, people forgot the glorious era when deities were numerous.
"Once I kill you today, I can use your spirit bone and the Heavenly Mechanism Sword to resurrect Emperor Jitian." Since so much had already been said, the Universal Realm didn't mind revealing more. "You should feel fortunate, being a mere mortal, to have such a grand opportunity to contribute to the Emperor..."
"Swish!"
The sword light severed a portion of the Universal Realm's spiritual body. This time, it wasn't scattered but entirely cut off.
"Ahhhh!" the Universal Realm raged. "What are you doing!"
Bai Shengyi was also furious. "You intend to kill me, and you still ask what I'm doing? Of course, I'm killing you!"
The thought of the Universal Realm disregarding human life and its condescending attitude, as if Bai Shengyi should be grateful for contributing to a celestial monarch, infuriated her. She unleashed her ultimate move!
"Spring Swallow's Fifth Sword, Yuanshi!"
The power of time's rules flowed onto the sword without restraint. The Wheel of Reincarnation Pen spun, inscribing elegant and sharp strokes onto the Primordial Chaos Paper.
"Kill!"
No further words, only this one!
With overwhelming killing intent, she dared to kill even a spiritual entity!
The Universal Realm had initially dismissed Bai Shengyi. Caught off guard and having lost another third of its spiritual body, it began to panic.
"Huan Yu!"
With a roar from the Universal Realm, Bai Shengyi was instantly transported into the cosmos.
This was the source of the Universal Realm's innate power and its trump card. The vast, infinite power of the stars became the secret realm's most distinctive method of attack.
Indeed, upon entering, Bai Shengyi stumbled heavily.
"Be careful, Shengyi!" the Wheel of Reincarnation Pen's warning had not yet been uttered when a beam of starlight shot down, instantly corroding Bai Shengyi's hand down to the bone.
The piercing pain made her flinch, and she instinctively released the pen.
Fortunately, the Nine Revolutions Wheel of Reincarnation Pen possessed its own consciousness and immediately maneuvered itself to hover before Bai Shengyi.
However, in that brief moment, more starlight continuously rained down.
"Dodge quickly!"
These star beams were utterly chaotic. Even with the guidance of the Wheel of Reincarnation Pen and the Primordial Chaos Paper, Bai Shengyi suffered significant damage. Within mere breaths, her body was corroded, revealing bone in multiple places.
"If not for the body of a Void Breaking Realm cultivator being as resilient as tough black gold ore, able to withstand such abuse, I would be dead by now," Bai Shengyi said with a wry smile.
The Wheel of Reincarnation Pen chided her with frustration. "You still have the mood to smile! If you don't find a way out quickly, you'll really be finished here!"
This stellar energy was incredibly potent. Any contact resulted in injury, and the wounds could not be healed.
Back then, even the Mountain Lord Hu Yu, upon enduring only a portion of the stellar energy, had directly perished. The current stellar energy was even more terrifying, highlighting its destructive power.
The Wheel of Reincarnation Pen felt a pang of grief as it looked at Bai Shengyi's wounds.
When had its master, the Wheel of Reincarnation Pen, ever suffered such mistreatment!
"Hong Meng, do you have any ideas?" the Wheel of Reincarnation Pen asked the Primordial Chaos Paper.
The Primordial Chaos Paper hesitated.
"Hong Meng!" the Wheel of Reincarnation Pen emphasized. "If Shengyi perishes here, we will also be trapped here. And looking at the Universal Realm's madness, who knows how many more people it will harm!"
"But the stellar energy..." the Primordial Chaos Paper stammered. "The stellar energy is as mighty as the prehistoric era and will last for eternity. Only a spiritual entity can extinguish it. Unless you can find a spiritual entity now, you would have to shed your mortal form, my lord."
"Shed my mortal form?" Bai Shengyi was puzzled. "I am just a person."
The Primordial Chaos Paper, having inadvertently let slip a secret, quickly closed its mouth.
Fortunately, Bai Shengyi was too busy evading the stellar energy to pay much attention. Instead, upon hearing that a spiritual entity was needed, the Wheel of Reincarnation Pen immediately moved to shield Bai Shengyi, only to be grasped by her hand.
"Don't be rash! Little Wheel!"
The Wheel of Reincarnation Pen said agitatedly, "You are going to die! How can you still be so unreliable and not at all anxious!"
Bai Shengyi touched her nose. "I won't die. What Hong Meng said gave me an idea. Let's hold on a little longer, and you'll see."
The Wheel of Reincarnation Pen believed Bai Shengyi was merely trying to comfort it. Just as it was preparing to fall into slumber once more for Bai Shengyi's sake, it suddenly sensed a familiar aura.
"Black Mist?"
The Wheel of Reincarnation Pen looked forward and saw the significantly grown Black Mist swimming joyfully towards Bai Shengyi.
Even though they knew this Black Mist was an dark spirit, they still preferred to call it by its name, Black Mist.
The Black Mist's intelligence had also clearly improved. It even knew how to call Bai Shengyi's name.
"Bai... Bai..."
It circled around Bai Shengyi. Upon seeing a star beam approach, it "guzzled" it down in one gulp.
In a short while, the Black Mist let out a satisfied burp.
"Why is it here?" With the threat to its life resolved, the Wheel of Reincarnation Pen had the leisure to voice its confusion. "Wasn't it at the Four Directions Array?"