Zayden’s heart trembled.
This was the mysterious sword that had become the source of the war for the past few years, a war that had already claimed the lives of countless people.
Many of them were his friends from the battalion.
In truth, he hated this sword.
To him, this was a cursed sword that had brought nothing but chaos to the continent.
Although he did not understand why he was the only one who could reach the sword, he did not think too much about it for now.
He grabbed the hilt of the sword, and at that moment, he felt the sword tremble.
He also felt a strange energy enter his body, making his hand feel slightly overwhelmed.
Zayden gritted his teeth and used all the strength in his arms to pull the sword upward.
He thought that the sword would be difficult to lift, but surprisingly, it moved with ease.
The sword finally left the ground.
For the first time since it had fallen onto this continent, the Heavenly Sword had been lifted from the earth.
Many people witnessed this, and they became even more frantic as they tried to reach Zayden.
Zayden ignored everything happening on the battlefield and instead gazed at the dragon engraving on the scabbard for a brief moment.
Only after touching the sword did he finally feel the tremendous power stored within it.
According to the plan, after picking up the sword, he was supposed to escape using an escape talisman.
But he couldn’t help but feel a sense of wonder.
At that moment, he decided to unsheathe the sword.
The moment the sword finally left its scabbard, a blinding light suddenly shone from it.
The light illuminated the entire battlefield for a moment, causing the battle to come to a sudden halt.
Everyone looked toward the source of the light, their hearts shaken by what they were witnessing.
The Heavenly Sword had finally revealed its full glory!
The majestic heavenly sword left the scabbard, and its powerful aura spread further, sweeping across the entire battlefield.
Zayden felt powerful.
His eyes reflected the brilliance of the sword.
At that moment, he felt like he could fight infinitely.
He could fight anyone, even those much stronger than him.
He lifted the sword toward the sky and turned to look at some of the cultivators who were trying to approach him.
The moment he pulled out the sword, the free interference zone that had been protecting the sword disappeared, allowing anyone to approach him.
There were some among them who had reached the Seventh-Stage of cultivation.
Zayden’s eyes glimmered as he tried to unleash one of his sword techniques.
Splitting Void.
He created a powerful slash using the sword horizontally.
A powerful arc of sword energy was unleashed, flying with incredible speed toward the approaching cultivators.
The incoming cultivators widened their eyes in shock because they could clearly feel the terrifying power contained within the slash.
They knew that Zayden was only a peak Fifth-Stage cultivator, but the attack he unleashed now had already reached the power of peak Sixth-Stage!
“Evade!” one of the Seventh-Stage cultivators shouted to warn everyone.
But even without him shouting such a warning, those who saw the incoming attack would do anything they could to evade or defend themselves.
Unfortunately, not all of the people approaching had enough time to evade or defend themselves.
The sword energy mercilessly cut through more than ten people at the sixth and Fifth-Stages.
Those who could defend themselves were pushed back, with some even having their defensive measures completely destroyed.
Even one of the Seventh-Stage cultivators had his legs severed, while another had his fingers chopped off as his defense shattered.
The sword energy could only be stopped by the combined effort of several Seventh-Stage cultivators in the back.
They united their strength, using their own elements to stop the sword attack.
The people who saw this were truly astonished.
Prince Devron’s eyes glistened.
His gaze showed not only surprise but also a deep, hidden feeling that only he knew.
Zayden looked at the result of his attack, and he was truly stunned.
‘This is truly a powerful sword!
It could enhance my attack power by more than half,’ he thought.
But then he felt a weakness wash over him, making him frown.
‘The sword uses too much of my energy and stamina with only that one simple technique.
It looks like I’m too weak to hold this sword.’
“Attack him! Don’t give him any time to attack again!”
Zayden’s thoughts were cut off by the shout of the Eighth-Stage cultivator who was, at this moment, attacking him.
The others also did the same.
They realized that the situation had already become extremely dangerous!
The sword was already in the hands of the Vermion Empire faction, so they needed to make sure to snatch it!
“Use the escape talisman, Zayden!”
Prince Devron shouted at Zayden, which made Zayden decide that it was no longer the time to play around.
He knew that he would surely die this time if he stayed here.
Suddenly, a talisman covered in runes appeared in his hand, and he quickly crushed it.
“He will escape!”
The enemies trying to reach him became even more panicked, but there was nothing they could do to stop him.
The others from the Vermion Empire faction hindered them from reaching Zayden, making sure that no attacks could reach him.
Zayden’s figure was quickly engulfed in light and instantly disappeared from the battlefield.
His figure reappeared in the middle of an area filled with trees.
According to Devron’s explanation, the talisman had brought him to Ardun Forest, a vast forest region located near the center of the continent, in the far east of the Vermion Empire.
‘If this is Ardun Forest, then that way should be the Abyss of Undying Light.’ Zayden thought as he looked in a certain direction.
The Abyss of Undying Light.
One of the most mysterious and dangerous places on the continent, located at its center.
A vast and dangerous bottomless pit with a diameter of more than a thousand kilometers.
Why was the abyss named as such?
Because there was a strange, shining light at the bottom of the abyss.
It did not entirely illuminate the abyss, but it could still be seen by anyone standing at its edge.
The light was like a ball of light floating in the middle of the abyss’s darkness.
Its existence had been recorded since ancient times, and it had always remained the same.
It shone with the same intensity, remained the same size, and had never disappeared even once.
Many cultivators throughout history had tried to uncover the mystery of the abyss and that strange light.
But once anyone descended into that darkness, the moment their figures were engulfed by the depths of the abyss, no one had ever been able to return.
No one.
Even the strongest cultivators, those who possessed the highest levels of cultivation, shared the same fate.
That was why this place had become a legend across the continent and the most mysterious place whose secrets no one had ever been able to uncover.
‘I wonder why His Highness chose this place as the escape point?’
Although he found it strange, he pushed the thought aside and quickly sat down beneath one of the trees.
He quickly took out an Energy Replenishment Pill from the storage ring on his right middle finger.
The ring allowed him to store many things, as it contained a subspace where he could keep his belongings.
He swallowed the pill before meditating to stabilize his condition.
After using the Heavenly Sword, he felt extremely weak and needed to replenish his energy as quickly as possible.
After a few minutes of absorbing the pill’s effects, Zayden let out a deep sigh and opened his eyes.
He then looked at the sword in his hand.
To be honest, he felt tempted to take the sword for himself.
The powerful sensation he felt at this moment as he touched the sword was truly refreshing, especially when he unleashed his sword strike.
‘The temptation of this sword is really strong, and I can feel it… This sword is still not in its true form.
It’s still sealed.’
Zayden gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
“Well, what am I thinking? I’ll only bring trouble if I take this sword for myself,” he murmured, understanding his own limits.
He knew that the moment he took the sword for himself, he would become the target of many people.
He basically did not have the power to hold them off.
Although he was one of the greatest geniuses in the empire, he was still just a small character in the vast Valdam Continent.
There were countless others much stronger than him who could easily kill him.
Only powers at the level of the high nobles at the very least, or even the imperial family, could hold this sword.
Zayden then sheathed the sword and let out another sigh.
“What a pity. But well, at least we can finally end the war with this sword.”
With the sword now in the hands of the Vermion Empire, there was a high chance that their dream of uniting the entire continent would finally come true.
Zayden was also among those who believed that the key to achieving true peace across the continent, and preventing any war like this from happening again, was the unification of the continent.
All this time, the strained and hostile relationships between nations and factions across the continent had been caused by their differences in views regarding many things.
With unification, all forces across the continent would fall under a single command.
There would be no war without the highest command, which would obviously be under the emperor of Vermion empire.