Chapter 1971: Chapter 870: Peak Grave Beast, High-level Qingping

Han Yi sat cross-legged on the edge of the Tao Trace’s depths, just as he had for the past four thousand years. The difference was that during the previous four thousand years, he had deployed the Sword Domain, concealing his true visage from all, but now, he retracted all aura and faced others with his true face.

Not far away, three Venerable Sages memorized Han Yi’s appearance and aura while using their own methods to seek out his true identity.

Before long, these three Venerable Sages linked Han Yi to a certain cultivator who had risen to prominence in the Chaos.

This cultivator was known to have battled an Outer Path Realm cultivator from the True Holy Palace outside of the Ten Thousand Travel Palace.

The cultivator was called Han Yi, from a Great World with numerous Venerable Sages.

What these three Venerable Sages found hard to believe was that when Han Yi made his move outside the Ten Thousand Travel Palace years ago, he was merely at the Daoist Fruit Realm. Yet, in less than fifty thousand years, he had not only surpassed the Venerable Sage stage but also reached the might of a High-level Venerable Sage.

Such a grotesque rate of ascension made them subconsciously deny the possibility; in their knowledge, no cultivator, no matter how defiant of the heavens, could achieve this feat to such an extent.

But the reality stood in front of them, leaving no room for disbelief even if they couldn’t accept it.

In the end, the three Venerable Sages could only sigh that before any great calamity, monsters were bound to emerge, and Han Yi was undoubtedly one of them, and very likely the most outstanding one.

The confirmation of Han Yi’s identity by these three Venerable Sages meant that, over time, the name Han Yi would inevitably become known to more Venerable Sages.

Soon, the news spread to the Primordial Demon Dao Domain, and people from the Emperor Xuan Sect who had encountered Han Yi, including Li Zhan Venerable from the Primordial Demon Hall, finally understood who that mysterious young cultivator with combat power at the level of a high-ranking divine sovereign was four thousand years ago in the Primordial Demon Hall.

All these matters were of little concern to Han Yi; the great calamity was imminent, and he did not value such vain reputation.

He had merely used the Transcendent Tao Trace to stabilize his cultivation for a thousand years. After those thousand years, the gains from the Tao Trace had dwindled to a negligible extent.

This insignificance was specific to him, as he was accustomed to rapid progression and felt an urgency for the impending great calamity, unwilling to waste time here.

Yet for any newly advanced Venerable Sage, the harvest could still be substantial, warranting another thousand years of stay.

But after another thousand years, the epiphanies would generally draw to an end.

This demonstrated the function of the Transcendent Tao Trace, which was useful to cultivators breaking through stages and only for an initial period, not permanently.

This was why cultivators near the Transcendent Tao Trace changed frequently; few remained here long term.

A thousand years later.

Han Yi left the edge of the Tao Trace’s core. Instead of returning to the Great Wilderness Dao Palace, he headed north, crossing the Tao Domain passage, on his way to the Ancestral God Star.

He had initially planned to return to the Great Wilderness Dao Palace, but changed his plans before setting off.

Although he had been away from the Great Wilderness Dao Palace for over five thousand years, a spiritual incarnation had always presided over the Tao Palace, and the Wan Ming Incarnation constantly sent numerous messages, so he was well aware of everything there. Therefore, returning was not a pressing matter.

However.

As the power of the Tao Tomb became increasingly violent and more Great Worlds in the Chaos were obliterated by the Grave Beast calamity, Han Yi felt a growing sense of anxiety.

Hence, on this trip, he planned to purchase a powerful Tao Array from the Ancestral God Star or Chaos Divine City, to serve as the protective Array for the Tao Palace, with mighty enough to temporarily withstand High-level Venerable Sages.

Of course, his visit to the Ancestral God Star had a more pressing purpose: to exchange the various Strange Treasures acquired from the Primordial Demon Hall for Origin Crystals to break through to the rank of a High-stage Divine Sovereign.

Only by ascending as a High-stage Divine Sovereign could he hope to protect the Great Wilderness Dao Palace and the cultivators of the Ancient Age Candle through the calamity of the Tao Tomb.

Crossing the Tao Domain passage and before reaching the Chaos Divine City, Han Yi encountered a mature Tomb Beast.

Han Yi had previously encountered a mature Tomb Beast, but it had merely entered maturity and was nowhere near the scale of this one, whose sheer size rivaled that of an entire Great World. Its aura of destruction and corruption was so dense that even the Chaotic Power was polluted.

“A peak mature Tomb Beast requires even late-stage Venerable Sages to be cautious.”

“However, for me at the moment, it is a perfect opponent to test my sword skills.”

Han Yi’s eyes grew heavy with resolve, he stood upon the Chaos, and with a wave of his hand, a blackish-green longsword hovered in front of him. This sword was the Green Reed Sword, which had fully merged seven hundred years ago and ascended to the rank of high-level Ancient Artifact.

The Green Lotus on the Green Reed Sword shone with a glittering green light while Chaotic Power wreathed around the hilt, seemingly bowing under the domination of this sword.

Elevated to the rank of a high-level artifact, the aura of the Green Reed Sword had changed from before, especially since its advancement spanned across ancient artifacts straight to the level of a high-level ancient artifact.

Han Yi could sense that the sword’s Spiritual Nature, while still loyal to him, was not quite the same as before in terms of complete and wholehearted allegiance, with a perfect match.

He understood this, but he was confident that as he ascended to a High-level Venerable Sage and with continued use, the compatibility between them would increase.

Standing amidst the Chaos, Han Yi reached out and grasped the Green Reed Sword. Qingping trembled lightly, and wisps of blackish-green Sword Qi rippled around the Sword Blade.

With a swing of the sword in his hand, the Sword Light fell, carrying with it the aura of obliterating Ten Thousand Paths, and it thunderously slashed towards the peak mature Grave Beast.

This strike was not an inherent sword technique of Green Reed, but one that Han Yi had comprehended from the vicinity of the Transcendent Tao Trace a thousand years before.