Elaina Cloud was deeply curious and asked, "God-Knife Logan, haven't you cultivated the Neither Thought Nor Non-Thought state?"
Logan Cross shook his head and said, "As long as I am loyal to the blade and loyal to my Dao, there is nothing in my heart to fear. Why should I fear the Grand Void Expanse?"
Elaina Cloud praised, "God-Knife Logan truly has an unshakable Dao heart. No wonder he is Heaven's number one divine blade."
She turned to Quinn Shepherd and said, "God-Knife Logan is just like you—doomed."
Quinn Shepherd laughed, "I've been bold since I was a child—I've never been afraid of anything."
Elaina Cloud sneered, "You two are like newborn calves unafraid of tigers. You have no idea how terrifying the Grand Void Expanse truly is!"
Logan Cross glanced at her, then looked at his nose and focused inward. "Little lady, you simply don't understand my Dao heart's sincerity—I fear nothing at all."
Elaina Cloud was left speechless with anger.
Quinn Shepherd, bold as ever, had once called her 'little vixen,' but as Shepherd Heavenly Venerable, he had the standing to do so. Logan Cross, on the other hand, actually dared to underestimate her and call her a 'little lady.'
Still, she was the Empress and a Heavenly Venerable, so she wouldn't stoop to quarreling with him over such a thing.
Quinn Shepherd's gaze flickered and landed on Logan Cross. Sensing it, Logan snorted coldly and said flatly, "I won't kill you here, but once we're in the Grand Void Expanse, your life is mine. If you're afraid, go beg the little lady to teach you the Neither Thought Nor Non-Thought state."
Quinn Shepherd smiled faintly, ignored him, and turned his attention to the other young talents aboard the ship.
These young people were all of extraordinary background—disciples of Heavenly Venerables and Emperor's Throne experts, their cultivation incredibly profound.
He examined each one, secretly amazed. Although the Everpeace Reform had produced a steady stream of young talents, the number of prodigies from Heaven was like fish crossing the river—countless. Judging by their cultivation and bearing, every one of them was remarkable and highly skilled.
The Heavenly Court governs myriad worlds; selecting outstanding disciples from these realms is hardly difficult.
"Huh?"
Quinn Shepherd's eyes lit up as he noticed a young woman whose features bore a striking resemblance to the true forms of the Empress Sisters. He couldn't help but ask Elaina Cloud, "Do you have another younger sister?"
Elaina Cloud was puzzled, but followed his gaze. Suddenly, her brows lifted and she let out a cold laugh.
She too saw the girl—indeed, the resemblance to herself and Madam Yuanmu was clear. However, this girl looked quite young, just as youthful and beautiful as Elaina herself.
Elaina Cloud walked over to the girl, her cold smile vanishing and replaced by a look of pure, innocent sweetness as she approached her side.
The girl looked surprised to see her, but soon the two were chatting and laughing together, as if they were old friends.
Quinn Shepherd watched them with interest, curious about the relationship between this girl and Elaina Cloud.
Madam Yuanmu had died at the hands of the Empress. After eliminating Madam Yuanmu, the Empress used her body to return to Heaven and continue as Empress, then later became Absolute Dust to plot against the Heavenly Emperor.
Later, Venerable Skysoar tried to assassinate her, stabbing a hairpin into the back of her head. But the Empress's primordial spirit escaped, gained a new life, and infiltrated the Heaven Alliance to become one of the Ten Heavenly Venerables.
Madam Yuanmu's body was sealed in a crystal coffin, which ended up in Quinn Shepherd's hands. Yet the corpse seemed not truly dead—after Quinn obtained the coffin, Madam Yuanmu's body even turned into a corpse demon and tried to harm him, only to be suppressed and sealed by Wei Suifeng.
Could this girl, who so closely resembled the Empress and Madam Yuanmu, be Madam Yuanmu reborn?
"Earth Mother Yuanjun died but did not truly perish. The Heaven Alliance couldn't kill her, nor could the Ancient-God Emperor or Venerable Vast-Sky fully destroy her. The same goes for the Ancient-God Emperor. So, did Madam Yuanmu really die?"
A smile played on Quinn Shepherd's lips as he watched Elaina Cloud and the girl walk over. He thought, "This girl is very likely Madam Yuanmu. But Madam Yuanmu died long ago, back in the late Dragon-Han Era. She shouldn't still be a practitioner. So..."
His smile grew wider. "Could Madam Yuanmu also be in the Heaven Alliance now? Could she have become a Heavenly Venerable too? The Ten Heavenly Venerables of Heaven are getting more and more interesting..."
Elaina Cloud brought the girl over and said with a bright smile, "Heavenly Venerable, let me introduce a good friend—this is Liana Flowersoul, a disciple of Venerable Vast-Sky. She's very impressive!"
Liana Flowersoul greeted him gracefully. Quinn Shepherd smiled and said, "No need to be so formal, little sister—please, rise. Petals fall, flowers fly, blossoms fill the sky; when beauty fades and fragrance dies, who truly pities the flower? Your name is exquisite, and you are indeed beautiful."
He praised her sincerely.
Elaina Cloud snorted coldly.
Though Liana Flowersoul was beautiful, she paled in comparison to Absolute Dust—a woman created to embody all the world's beauty.
Elaina Cloud's body had been fashioned in the likeness of Absolute Dust, yet Quinn Shepherd had never complimented her appearance, only Liana Flowersoul's. Clearly, this Shepherd Heavenly Venerable has some peculiar taste!
Liana Flowersoul rose gracefully, her beautiful eyes sparkling. She said, "Heavenly Venerable, you are learned and eloquent—your words are poetry itself."
Elaina Cloud sneered, "My name has an illustrious origin too—does Shepherd Heavenly Venerable know it?"
Quinn Shepherd ventured, "Moonlight on water is pure and bright, clouds drifting from the peaks are light and graceful?"
Elaina Cloud shook her head. "Not quite."
Liana Flowersoul tapped her pearly teeth and said with a smile, "Clouds drift out with no mind of their own, playing in the sky and stirring the universe. Sister Cloud's name surely means this—her body is carefree, her spirit unbound, playing among mortals, and her fame shakes the cosmos."
Elaina Cloud clapped her hands and laughed, "Sister Liana understands me best! 'The flower's stem is delicate, unmoved by winter's chill. Morning snow envies, cold winds have blown often.' Liana Flowersoul isn't about who pities the flower, but about how snow and wind make the blossoms fall early. Sister Liana is clever—unlike those foolish men who seem smart but are actually stupid." With that, she shot Quinn Shepherd a glance.
Quinn Shepherd sulked in silence.
The two girls were as close as sisters, calling each other 'sister' so sweetly it was almost cloying.
Quinn Shepherd secretly looked forward to the day these two women would tear off their masks and start fighting—it would surely be explosive!
"They're laughing together now, all sisterly affection and tender words, but when they finally turn on each other, it'll be spectacular!"
The tower ship drew closer to the halo emanating from the Grand Void Expanse, finally reaching its edge.
The officiating priest shouted loudly, "Everyone, be careful! Continuously maintain the Neither Thought Nor Non-Thought state—do not stop for a moment!"
Everyone aboard activated their Buddhist techniques, keeping their minds fixed in the Neither Thought Nor Non-Thought state.
Quinn Shepherd hadn't learned this technique, so he simply held fast to his true self, keeping his thoughts pure and singular.
The tower ship flew straight into the halo, its gentle light soon enveloping all three hundred passengers. Quinn Shepherd immediately sensed faint, elusive waves of thought—the light itself was condensed thought!
Strangely, though, these waves of thought contained no ideas or intentions—just pure, blank consciousness, like a mind utterly empty.
"How is that possible?" he wondered, puzzled.
He knew quite a bit about the cultivation methods of the prehistoric Creators—indeed, more than most Heavenly Venerables and Emperor's Throne experts in Heaven. Of course, he couldn't compare to someone like Uncle Jun, a true Creator.
Still, he had already grasped the basic principle behind the Creators' cultivation: visualization—using mental images to strengthen oneself.
When visualizing, one must construct the object of contemplation in one's divine sense. For example, visualizing the Heavenly Duke, shaping his form with thought to empower oneself.
Yet in the Grand Void Expanse, these pure thoughts condensed into light, but contained no intentions or ideas—this was bizarre, beyond his understanding.
"Perhaps the prehistoric Creators had cultivation methods I still don't understand."
Just as he thought this, a prehistoric giant suddenly appeared before the tower ship. Its massive hand reached out, grabbed the vessel, and lifted it toward its enormous mouth!
Quinn Shepherd was dumbstruck. Most of those aboard had never seen such a sight, and panic erupted instantly.
"Who's letting their mind wander?"
Logan Cross soared into the air, his divine blade ringing as it left its sheath. Blade in hand, he slashed straight at the prehistoric Creator!
The blade's light was dazzling and unmatched, its power immense. It severed the Creator's hand that gripped the tower ship. Logan Cross struck again, the blade's light slicing across the Creator's neck!
Logan Cross sheathed his blade and landed at the bow, turning coldly to say, "Keep maintaining the Neither Thought Nor Non-Thought state—do not stop! Otherwise, more phenomena will attack us! And whose mind isn't pure?"
Just as he finished speaking, a tapping sound came from behind him.
Logan Cross looked surprised and turned with difficulty. Amid the radiant Grand Void light, a box with legs came running toward the tower ship, making a tapping sound.
Atop the box stood a young boy with a longsword on his back.
It was the young Quinn Shepherd, his eyes bright as stars.
Logan Cross's body trembled, his single arm shaking as he struggled to lift it and grasp the hilt of his blade.
This was his heart demon—the figure he feared most in his Dao heart.
Logan Cross cried out, drew his blade, and leapt from the ship to confront the boy atop the box.
The boy drew his sword, its light clashing against Logan Cross's blade!
Logan Cross was truly Heaven's mightiest God-Knife—his blade transformed endlessly, profound in myriad ways!
His divine blade had reached the thirteenth heaven of the Blade Dao. With blade in Dao, his techniques unfurled, painting the very sky with the essence of the blade!
Yet the boy atop the box was equally formidable—his sword blocked every changing move, striking at the very weaknesses in Logan's technique!
Soon, Logan Cross was covered in blood!
Aboard the ship, Quinn Shepherd was bewildered: "In Logan Cross's heart, am I really this powerful?"
Ahead of the ship, two figures moved as fast as lightning, their forms weaving through the void. Blade and sword struck, sending dazzling bursts of light—Logan Cross's Blade Dao grew ever stronger, his divine blade spanning the heavens.
Yet young Quinn Shepherd always found the openings in his blade techniques—every time the sword flashed, a new wound appeared on Logan Cross!
In Logan Cross's Dao heart, this was the kind of opponent Quinn Shepherd was.
On that night at the end of the High Sovereign Era, in the darkness, Quinn Shepherd stood atop the box and severed his arm with a single sword!
Quinn Shepherd's image was thus branded into Logan Cross's Dao heart. Even after forty thousand years, becoming the only true Blade God of Heaven—able to challenge even the Divine Execution Blade atop Heaven's Execution Platform—
Logan Cross still could not escape Quinn Shepherd's shadow.
The stronger his power and Blade Dao grew, the stronger the heart demon—Quinn Shepherd—became within him!
Here in the Grand Void Expanse, the demon in his heart stepped out from his Dao heart and became real!
Elaina Cloud exclaimed excitedly, "God-Knife Logan, only by killing the real Shepherd Heavenly Venerable can you free yourself from your heart demon!"