The Eternal God Emperor and the Demon Ancestor

Chapter 8 Endless Abyss 4

"Xue Renxian, your Supreme Sacred Artifact is indeed formidable, but each strike consumes a vast amount of your sacred energy! Most of your life force has been devoured by my Blood-Devouring Curse; your meridians are practically empty shells!" Ji Chi wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth, his voice soft and ghostly, yet his eyes held a greedy glint for the Blood Spring Sword. "Submit to the Netherworld Clan, and I will inform my master to accept you as a personal disciple and transform you into a member of the Netherworld Clan. The Kunlun Realm has long since severed the path to godhood; its divine veins are depleted. If you remain here, even with extraordinary talent, you will ultimately amount to nothing more than a pile of withered bones in a desolate grave!"

Xue Renxian ignored him, his face ashen, his lips cracked and bleeding, his knuckles gripping the sword turning bluish-black from the force of his grip. His Qi Sea was already shriveled like a withered sac, his holy energy so thin it was almost gone. He gripped the Blood Spring Sword tightly, and the Blood Spring Sword, sensing Xue Renxian's will, emitted a rapid hum. He suddenly took a step forward, his figure like a streak of crimson light, his longsword sweeping horizontally, a condensed, tangible crimson rainbow tearing through the void, carrying the remaining holy energy, aimed straight at Ji Chi's vital neck.

"You ungrateful wretch!" Ji Chi roared in fury, his voice shaking the void. "The destruction of the Kunlun Realm is inevitable. The gods of Heaven are too busy to even look after themselves. What are you still doing guarding this ruined place?!"

"Since you are so determined to die, I will grant your wish!"

The vertical line between Ji Chi's brows suddenly split open, and a strange black light overflowed from it. His spiritual power, reaching the level of sixty-nine, surged forth like a black sea, sweeping across the sky. This spiritual power was so strong that it caused ripples to spread across the surrounding space, even distorting the light. He formed complex Netherworld hand seals with both hands, fully activating the ancient cyan-black lamp in his palm—the Soul-Guiding Lamp.

This Soul-Guiding Lamp is an ancient treasure of the Underworld Clan. Its body is forged from an unknown divine substance and is covered with densely packed Underworld Clan runes. As Ji Chi activated it, the runes on the lamp instantly lit up, and the dark blue lamp base transformed into an eerie blackish-purple at a visible speed. Endless evil Netherworld energy soared into the sky like smoke from a wolf's tail, instantly turning grass and trees to ash, and causing rocks to decay and crumble. The space within a radius of hundreds of miles was completely assimilated into the Netherworld Purgatory, and the air was filled with a dense aura of death, making people tremble with fear.

"The Eyes of the Underworld, Annihilate All Souls!"

The instant the shriek faded, the boundless evil energy of the underworld coalesced into a vertical pupil a thousand feet in diameter. Ghostly flames flickered within, and countless vengeful spirits howled and struggled within, their fragmented souls being torn apart and devoured by the gaze. This vertical pupil, like the eye of an evil god from the depths of hell, affected the flow of time around it, even seemingly freezing space itself into a tangible form.

The next moment, a materialized, dark purple gaze, carrying terrifying power capable of shattering thousands of miles of void, shot out like a divine spear. The void along its path crumbled inch by inch, leaving behind a pitch-black spatial rift. From within the rift came the wails of countless vengeful spirits, as if even the laws of nature had been torn apart by this gaze.

Xue Renxian's pupils constricted sharply, his hair stood on end, and a chilling sense of death shot from his feet to the top of his head. He could clearly feel that this gaze contained a power that could easily obliterate even a Great Saint of the Supreme Realm. There was no way to avoid it, no way to retreat; his only option was to fight to the death!

He gripped the hilt of the Blood Spring Sword tightly with both hands, spitting out a mouthful of scalding blood essence. The blood essence landed on the sword and was instantly absorbed by it. Immediately afterwards, the last remaining holy energy in his dantian poured into the sword like a flood bursting its banks. The Blood Spring Sword emitted a deafening hum, and the supreme inscriptions on the sword body faintly glowed.

"With my divine soul, I offer sacrifice to my sword spirit!"

Xue Renxian slammed his hand against his brow, and a phantom sword shadow burst forth from his body—it was the Heavenly Sword Soul, which he had condensed using his own divine soul as a guide, drawing upon his life's insights into the sword path. Within the sword soul lay his ultimate pursuit of the sword path. At this moment, the Heavenly Sword Soul solidified, transforming into a three-foot-long green blade, carrying a chilling sword intent, and merged with the Blood Spring Sword with a thunderous roar.

hum-

The moment the Heavenly Sword Soul merged with the Blood Spring Sword, the power of the Blood Spring Sword tripled! All the supreme inscriptions on the sword lit up, and the crimson-gold light illuminated the entire sky.

Xue Renxian's beard and hair stood on end, his white robe fluttering wildly in the wind. He let out a long, resounding roar that shook the heavens and the earth, his voice filled with unwavering determination and the tragic grandeur of sacrificing himself for his cause.

"Blood God's Sword of No Return!"

The Supreme Realm Perfected Sacred Technique was pushed to its limit, and the crimson sword energy transformed into a blood river that blotted out the sky, rolling forward. Every drop of blood contained the power to destroy divine souls, and every wave could cleave mountains.

The crimson sword river and the dark purple gaze collided violently.

boom!

A deafening roar erupted, and terrifying spatial shockwaves swept across the area like a tsunami. Mountains hundreds of miles away were leveled, and the earth collapsed into abysses thousands of feet deep. Even the clouds in the distant sky were shattered. A shockwave visible to the naked eye spread outwards from the point of impact, distorting the void and disrupting the laws of space wherever it passed.

Ji Chi let out a muffled groan, the flame of the Soul-Guiding Lamp in his palm dimmed considerably, and a thin crack appeared on the lamp's body. He coughed up black blood, but ultimately he was not seriously injured.

Xue Renxian, on the other hand, fell to the ground like a kite with a broken string. He struggled to his feet, picked up his Blood Spring Sword, only to find that the light on the sword was dim, and the Heavenly Sword Soul had completely dissipated. Most of his bones were broken, his meridians were shattered inch by inch, and his Qi Sea was completely dried up, with not even a trace of holy energy remaining.

But he still held onto the blade, struggling to raise his head, his gaze fixed on Ji Chi, his eyes showing no fear, only a burning fighting spirit.

The fierce light in Ji Chi's eyes surged. Seeing that Xue Renxian was already at his last gasp, he had no more hesitation! His five fingers flew, causing the Soul-Guiding Lamp in his palm to shake violently. The ghostly green flames inside the lamp surged, and countless strands of evil and nether energy, like venomous snakes emerging from their holes, roared and gathered in front of him.

The evil aura, carrying a chilling and malevolent power, was further entangled with the billions of sacred rules condensed by the swift demon, forming a hundred-foot-long ghost-head blade. Countless vengeful spirits wailed on the blade, and wherever the blade's light passed, even the void sizzled and was corroded with dark cracks.

"Xue Renxian, today is your death day!"

With a roar, Ji Chi lightly tapped his finger, raising the Evil Nether Blade high. The blade's momentum was like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami crashing down, carrying the power to destroy the world, and slashed down at Xue Renxian!

Xue Renxian's pupils shrank sharply. He tried to activate his Saint Source to resist, but his meridians were broken and most of his bones were shattered. He had already burned out and now he didn't even have the strength to lift his hand.

He gazed at the overwhelming blade of light, a desolate, bitter smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His withered face was filled with resentment, yet also carried a hint of determination.

"Fine... it seems the only option is to self-destruct my Sacred Source and perish together with this bastard!"

The thought had barely formed in Xue Renxian's mind when he was about to activate the Sacred Source deep within his Qi Sea, but just as the Evil Nether Blade was less than three feet from his head, and the chilling blade wind had already sliced ​​through his hair—

hum!

The void trembled violently, and a dark light tore through space, appearing in the arena as fast as a ghost.

Immediately afterwards, a large hand covered with a faint golden light suddenly emerged from the void, its five fingers as thick as mountains, and it grasped the gleaming evil longsword that was slashing down!

"Snap!"

A crisp sound reverberated across the land. The evil Netherworld longsword, which had condensed countless efforts of Ji Chi and was wrapped with the rules of the Holy Path, was as fragile as rotten wood and withered branches in front of this giant hand.

With a slight clench of his hand, the vengeful spirits on the blade instantly vanished, their evil aura annihilated inch by inch, and even the sacred rules contained within were crushed into dust by an incomparably domineering force!

"Hahaha! Brother Xue, you look quite disheveled!"

A hearty laugh resounded throughout the heavens and earth. The person who made the move was dressed in a long black robe with flowing clouds, the hem of which was embroidered with patterns of the sun, moon and stars. He was surrounded by a faint but powerful aura of a Great Sage. It was none other than Dao Body Ling Che!

He stood with his hands behind his back, his posture as upright as a pine tree. His gaze swept over Xue Renxian, and a mocking smile played on his lips.

When Xue Renxian saw that familiar face, his tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and the heart that had been hanging in his throat instantly fell back into his stomach. He could no longer hold on and collapsed to the ground with a "plop," coughing violently, coughing so hard that it tore his lungs apart, and black blood kept spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Your Majesty the Demon Emperor... you arrived so quickly... any later... cough cough... I would have had to go to the Blood God Cult's cemetery to keep company with the past leaders..."

Xue Renxian was panting heavily, his voice weak, but he could not hide his relief at surviving the ordeal.

Ling Che walked slowly to him, looking down at him with a smile, and said, "Don't be so discouraged, Xiao Xue. I didn't come here specifically to save you."

He changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat playful: "Having survived this ordeal, it won't be long before you break through to the Supreme Realm. This is an opportunity that countless cultivators dream of. I'm helping you out."

Before he finished speaking, Ling Che flicked his finger, and a pill the size of a longan flew out from his sleeve. The pill was pure white and exuded a rich life force. As the pill's patterns flowed, there was an endless purple aura lingering around it.

"This is the Creation Elixir, which I refined using ten-thousand-year-old Mysterious Jade Marrow and Nine-Leaf Rejuvenating Grass. It is sufficient to heal your injuries."

Ling Che said calmly, "You step aside and watch how I deal with this Netherworld cultivator."

Xue Renxian's eyes lit up, and without the slightest hesitation, he grabbed the pill and stuffed it into his mouth.

The pill entered his stomach and instantly transformed into a vast and powerful torrent of life force, spreading along his limbs and bones. Wherever it passed, broken meridians rapidly healed, shattered bones were reassembled, and even his depleted holy power was recovering at a speed visible to the naked eye!

He felt a warm current flow through his body, and the original pain disappeared without a trace. He immediately sat cross-legged and circulated his internal energy to refine the medicinal power. At the same time, he looked up at the scene with anticipation in his eyes.

Ji Chi watched as Ling Che and Xue Renxian talked as if no one else was around, as if he, a top-level Great Saint of the Underworld Clan, was nothing more than an insignificant speck of dust on the roadside.

"Outrageous! This is outrageous!"

The pent-up rage burst forth from his chest, his eyes turning bloodshot, veins bulging on his forehead, and the Soul-Guiding Lamp in his hand suddenly erupted with a blinding, eerie light. The evil energy within the lamp was no longer a trickle, but transformed into a raging, roaring torrent, breaking free from the lamp's restraints and spreading across the world into a boundless, pitch-black ocean. As the sea surged, countless vengeful spirits struggled and howled, emitting a terrifying aura capable of corroding the soul, even devouring the light of the sun, moon, and stars.

"The God of the Underworld has descended!"

Ji Chi's hands moved swiftly, forming hand seals as he chanted obscure and difficult-to-understand Netherworld incantations. His voice was aged yet contained earth-shattering power. As the incantation ended, the vast ocean of evil Netherworld energy boiled violently. Countless strands of evil Netherworld energy, endless resentment, and the vast rules of the Holy Path intertwined and converged, condensing behind him into a phantom Netherworld God dharma image tens of thousands of feet tall.

This ethereal form of the God of the Underworld is surrounded by nine jet-black rivers of the underworld. Its eyes are closed, yet it exudes an aura of supreme majesty, as if it has existed since the beginning of chaos, holding sway over the cycle of life and death of all things in the world. With each breath, it causes the laws of heaven and earth to tremble violently.

"Xue Renxian! Today I will let you taste the wrath of the God of the Underworld!"

With a furious roar, Ji Chi thrust his hands forward, and the tens of thousands of feet tall Netherworld God's avatar slowly opened its eyes. Its gaze held no emotion, only pure destruction and annihilation. It slowly raised its two colossal fists, which blotted out the sky. Ancient Dao patterns covered its fists, and even before the force of the fists arrived, the entire space creaked and cracked, countless spatial fissures spreading like spiderwebs. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth was completely drained, leaving only a suffocating, deathly silence.

"The form of the God of the Underworld, his fist annihilates chaos!"

The giant fist crashed down with a terrifying force capable of crushing stars and shattering the universe. Like two overturned mountains, it smashed straight toward Ling Che and Xue Renxian. Wherever it passed, even the light was forced to stop, as if it wanted to completely return this world to a state of chaos.

Faced with this earth-shattering blow, Dao Shen Ling Che remained calm and composed, even with a faint smile on his lips, as if what was coming at him was not a powerful punch from the underworld god comparable to a divine power, but a light feather.

"Tsk tsk, getting impatient already?" Ling Che chuckled, his tone tinged with a hint of mockery. "I was thinking of keeping you here a little longer, so that Brother Xue could broaden his horizons."

He turned to look at Xue Renxian, who was sitting cross-legged and refining the Creation and Profound Elixir. His gaze swept over the sword intent around Xue Renxian, which had not yet been fully subdued, and he said indifferently, "Your Sword Twelve has more than enough sword intent, but lacks Daoist charm. It's still a bit lacking. Today, I'll open your eyes and let you see what true mastery of the sword Dao is."

"Swordsmanship has reached a divine level... Could it be Sword Thirteen?!"

Upon hearing this, Xue Renxian trembled violently, his actions of refining the pills momentarily halting, his eyes blazing with unbelievable joy and excitement. Sword Dao was his primary sacred path, and Xue Renxian's ability to comprehend Sword Twelve amidst near-death experiences already demonstrated his exceptional talent. Sword Thirteen, however, represented a divine realm where one touched the "origin of the sword," a supreme state coveted by countless sword cultivators. Since the Ancient War of the Gods, no one in the Kunlun Realm had reached the level of Sword Thirteen, not even the current City Lord of Wanxiang City, the Sword Emperor.

Just as Xue Renxian was feeling agitated, Ling Che's aura suddenly underwent a dramatic change.

His posture, with his hands behind his back, remained unchanged, yet he seemed to instantly merge with heaven and earth. His aura vanished without a trace, yet it seemed to permeate every corner of the world. He brought two fingers together, transforming them into an invisible sword finger. At the fingertip, a pure and exquisite sword intent quietly emerged. This sword intent lacked earth-shattering power, but it was lofty and ethereal, containing a resolute will to sever all illusions and cut through all obstacles.

At this moment, Ling Che was no longer the Demon Emperor, but a peerless divine sword unsheathed, its sharpness fully revealed, invincible. His body was the sword embryo, his soul was the sword spirit, his will was the sword energy, and all things in heaven and earth, every blade of grass, every grain of sand, every speck of dust, could become his sword. A terrifying sword intent originating from the primordial chaos and piercing the clouds soared into the sky, breaking through the shackles of the vast evil ocean, causing the sun, moon, and stars to tremble, and the laws of heaven and earth to resonate. Countless sword Dao patterns appeared and flowed around him, as if performing an earth-shattering epic of swordsmanship.

"Sword Thirteen - One Sword Opens Heaven and Earth!"

Ling Che gave a soft shout, his voice calm yet containing the ultimate truth of swordsmanship, and slowly pointed his sword fingers forward.

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a ten-thousand-foot-long sword beam, condensed to its utmost, bursting forth from the fingertip. This sword beam was neither gold nor silver, but purely transparent, as if formed from the most primordial sword principles of heaven and earth. Wherever the sword beam passed, all evil spirits and malevolent energy automatically retreated, and all obstacles of law were severed. It was both as swift and unparalleled as a tiger unleashed from its cage, and as vast and majestic as a reversed galaxy, carrying a magnificent heavenly might, and slashed directly at the giant fist of the Underworld God's Dharma Image.

The ten-thousand-foot sword beam collided with the giant fist of the God of the Underworld!

There was no earth-shattering explosion as expected, only a crisp "crack" sound that echoed across the land. The ten-thousand-foot-long sword light, containing the essence of swords, easily pierced through the Netherworld Clan Dao patterns on the Netherworld God's giant fist as if cutting tofu, and went straight for the body of the Netherworld God's Dharma Image.

"No! This is impossible!"

The demon's eyes widened in horror, letting out an incredulous roar. How could a demigod's divine form, comparable to supernatural powers, be so utterly vulnerable?

The ten-thousand-foot-long sword beam, like a divine axe splitting the heavens and earth, cleaved the sky and earth in two, cleaving the massive body, tens of thousands of feet tall, from the top of the Netherworld God's avatar to its feet. The evil Netherworld energy and holy rules condensed by the swift demons were instantly melted away by the sword beam, like ice and snow meeting the scorching sun, leaving not even a trace.

The sword's edge was unstoppable, piercing straight through Ji Chi's body amidst his horrified gaze.

No blood splattered, only a thin line of blood appeared on Ji Chi's chest, which then rapidly expanded. He looked down at his chest, feeling the holy rules within his body completely severed, his soul severely injured by the sword intent, and his life force rapidly draining away. His eyes were filled with resentment and despair.

"Sword Thirteen... So this is the realm of swordsmanship reaching the divine..." Ji Chi murmured to himself, his voice weak, before his body slowly collapsed, completely losing its life.

Ling Che withdrew his sword finger, and the sword intent around him instantly subsided, as if it had never been unleashed. He turned to look at the dumbfounded Xue Renxian and said calmly, "Do you understand now? The true essence of swordsmanship lies not in the complexity of the moves, but in the comprehension of the origin of swordsmanship."