Chapter 1936: True King Sword

The situation, which should have been clear by now, turned murky again after Little Immortal Honglian’s sudden betrayal.

Watching the agonizing expressions of the Ancient Demon, Saint Jinyang, and the rest, as though the black water inside their bodies was about to drown and devour them, everyone felt a trace of dread toward the mysterious fluid.

"What kind of evil path did they actually take, and what exactly is that black water? Has their immortal essence undergone a mutation? Or is it something else?"

The elders of the various top-tier factions present all manifested traces of perplexity. Subconsciously, their gazes shifted toward Chen Feifei and the others. Perhaps only these ninth-transformation immortals, who possessed extraordinary backgrounds themselves, would know the truth behind it?

Fang Chen asked out of curiosity, "Master Yun He, old man, what exactly is that black water inside them??"

The rest of the crowd also looked inquisitively toward the two elders. Given the vast knowledge of Yang Gods, they should be able to give an explanation everyone could understand.

Fang Zhentian gave a cold sneer. "These fellows wanted to take a shortcut so they used various Ancient Forbidden Zones as a foundation, refining them into their own Inner Domains. This is entirely different from the Heavenly Dao Path of the Nine Realms. After all, the Nine Realms can still be considered a living entity. But the Ancient Forbidden Zones are, in fact, already thoroughly and utterly dead. By forcibly refining a dead realm into their Inner Domains, they naturally incur a severe backlash.

“This black water is the manifestation of that backlash. It is a composite entity born from the combination of immortal essence, Limit Breaking power, and death qi. Just think about how many eons those Ancient Forbidden Zones existed within the Qingming? How many living beings perished upon them? And how many bonds and attachments of those dead beings are carried within all that death qi?"

Fang Zhentian continued, "Furthermore, the demise of a realm inherently harbors numerous bizarre anomalies that even Saints find difficult to comprehend. By forcing their way through, the backlash they suffer is vastly greater than they ever imagined. Saint Jinyang and his group were at least clever enough to never dare take the final step. But this Ancient Demon is clearly foolish to the absolute extreme, personally delivering himself into an unsalvageable predicament."

"So that's how it is!"

Understanding dawned upon the crowd. However, their curiosity toward the Inner Domain only grew more intense. It appeared that the later stages of cultivation all revolved around this so-called “Inner Domain.”

Nanming Ruyue murmured to himself, "The Inner Domain... just what kind of existence is it?"

Despite being the fifth core disciple, even he had never been exposed to information concerning this subject beforehand. At this moment, he was almost like a cultivator from some remote backwater who had never heard of Immortal Boat Formations and outsiders.

Shao Mengyuan muttered softly to himself, "That fellow surnamed Dai has clearly been plotting to seek revenge on us all along. Though back when they were suppressed, it didn't have much to do with us..."

Otherwise, he couldn't fathom why this Ancient Demon would feel the need to take such a perilous risk. Clearly, having already nurtured a genius who might have a shot at becoming a Saint under his wing, the God Slaying Army or the Saint Demon camp would have chosen an entirely different method to resolve the current problem.

Lang Daochun said indifferently, "He's completely lost his mind to do this."

Fang Chen suddenly shot a glance at Lang Daochun.

Lu Fengshen and the True Immortal He possessed Limit Breaking Power because they were spiritual treasures to begin with. Upon awakening, they naturally attained such strength.

Motian Dizang, on the other hand, had survived in the Nine Realms for far too long. As Saint Jinyang had put it, she had barely broken through the limits. But Saint Jinyang and the others had taken an evil path, sacrificing Ancient Forbidden Zones to achieve Limit Breaking.

What about Lang Daochun then?

He possessed the strength to slay the True Immortal Ancient Mirror. He couldn’t be any weaker than Saint Jinyang.

Which path had he taken to obtain his current power?

Motian Dizang suddenly raised her head to look at the monument. "The power of the Soul Suppressing Stele still hasn't diminished in the slightest.”

Her voice was freezing cold.

She had just tried once more to exert Consort Yan’s authority, only for it to be blocked by the Soul Suppressing Stele’s power yet again.

"This indicates the Ancient Demon's strength... hasn’t truly been suppressed."

Receiving the reminder from the Motian Dizang, Fang Chen immediately directed his gaze toward the “struggling” Ancient Demon. No matter which angle one looked at it from, his current state appeared highly unfavorable. Yet, the power of the Soul Suppressing Stele remained completely unyielding, suggesting a very high probability that he was merely putting on an act.

"Fellow Daoist Hongzhi is in danger."

Fang Chen looked ahead.

Before the Ancient Demon could even strike, the First Emperor of the Black Sun Empire, Shi Xinghai, and Lu Fengshen, all suppressed by the zither music, had turned their crosshairs squarely toward Little Immortal Honglian.

"How dare you defect at the last moment and ruin our grand plans! Even if you are the Ancient Demon's adopted daughter, I will cut you down regardless!"

Lu Fengshen was furious. She immediately led the God Decree Ranking cultivators to launch an assault against Little Immortal Honglian. Shi Xinghai and the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire struck simultaneously as well.

Just as Li Shanzi, Ji Sheng, and the others started to sweat profusely on Little Immortal Honglian’s behalf, invisible ripples spread out in every direction with her at their center.

Lu Fengshen and the others instantly froze. Even the dazzling, multicolored techniques were frozen dead in mid-air.

Ji Sheng blurted out, "No way... Junior Sister Hongzhi is this strong!?"

The Enlightenment Core disciples, the core members of the various factions, and even all the elders were thoroughly shocked by this scene. Chen Feifei and the other ninth transformations also wore heavy expressions.

To instantly withstand the joint offensive of Lu Fengshen, the first emperor of the Black Sun Empire, Shi Xinghai, and a horde of ninth transformation experts. Just how terrifying had Little Immortal Honglian’s methods become?

Meanwhile, the zither music she played grew increasingly rapid and hurried. Her complexion turned pale, and a sudden flush rushed to her cheeks. A trace of brilliant crimson blood slowly trickled from the corner of her mouth.

In that instant, Lu Fengshen and the others regained their mobility. But just as their attacks advanced a step further, another ripple violently surged out, restricting their assault once more.

The onlookers could faintly tell that Little Immortal Honglian was desperately holding on. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before she suffered a catastrophic backlash from the force.

Fang Chen glanced at the Eighteen Heavens Prison Tower. "Just another day or two..."

Today he learned just how long two days could feel.

***

Time trickled by bit by bit.

Lu Fengshen and the others' attacks drew closer and closer to Little Immortal Honglian. Every time Little Immortal Honglian plucked the zither strings, blood would trickle down her lips. By now, the strings had turned blood red.

Between heaven and earth, nothing remained except for the terrifying music of the zither, the roars of Saint Jinyang, and the continuous, unceasing curses of Lu Fengshen.

Shi Xinghai looked at the condition of Saint Jinyang and the others. His expression darkening, he reached into the void and drew a divine sword radiating brilliant golden light.

The moment this sword emerged, the God Slaying Sword in Shao Mengyuan's hand began to hum and vibrate. Little Sword, who was standing not far from Fang Chen while holding the ghost infant, also frowned slightly. Her face turned paler.

Shao Mengyuan's expression shifted slightly. "This fellow..."

Looking at the long sword in Shi Xinghai’s hands, Wang Chongsong’s expression turned strange.

“How does this fellow... also possess a Destiny Sword left behind by a Sword Divine Ability Saint?”

He couldn’t understand how the Shi family had managed to get their hands on something like this.

"That is the True King Sword, the most powerful treasure of the True King Clan. It has always been an unconfirmed legend. I never expected it to truly exist," Xie A'man murmuredز

True King Sword?

Everyone looked at Shi Xinghai, who now held the True King Sword. His aura broke the shackles of the ninth realm and stepped into the Limit Breaking Realm.

The crowd fell into a profound, dead silence.