Chapter 168
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Chapter 168: Arrival of the Ten Saints
As Yi Ren Zui had informed Zhang Yang, the Seventh Prince indeed set out once more. Initially, he had planned to confront Zhang Yang again in Mo City. However, he had not yet completed the final refinement within the enigmatic Nightstone Mine. By the time he achieved this, Zhang Yang and Yi Ren Zui had already departed. Unaware that Zhang Yang was heading to the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins, the Seventh Prince immediately summoned the Demon Slayer Team and set off for the Vast Forest, determined to reclaim his lost honor.
Upon arriving in Silver Moon City, the nearest city to the Vast Forest, he gathered forces from the three other major cities surrounding it, preparing for an assault. However, just as war loomed, news of Zhang Yang’s presence at the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins reached him, forcing him to reconsider.
After much contemplation, the Seventh Prince made a decisive choice. He entrusted command of the Demon Slayer Team to Qiu Lingshui of the Golden Cauldron Sacred Land, while he himself set his sights on the ruins. To him, eliminating Zhang Yang was far more critical than destroying the Vast Forest. Without Zhang Yang, conquering the Vast Forest would not restore his lost dignity.
Qiu Lingshui was chosen for her exceptional abilities and status. Following the death of Jiang Chao, the Son of the Golden Cauldron Sacred Land, she had become the region’s most prominent young talent. Backed by the full support of her sacred land, she had undergone a complete transformation, officially ascending as its new saintess.
Despite his urgency, the Seventh Prince did not leave immediately, nor did he use the ancient teleportation array. Instead, he lingered in Silver Moon City for another day before departing alone. As he stepped beyond the city’s borders, the clear sky abruptly darkened. Dense clouds gathered overhead, flashing with lightning and rumbling with thunder.
With each step, his aura intensified—until, suddenly, a bolt of blue lightning cleaved down from the heavens. The spectacle startled the city’s inhabitants. Not long ago, Zhang Yang had triggered a black lightning tribulation at the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins, shaking the entire Southern Region. Now, it seemed the Seventh Prince was undergoing a similar trial, though his lightning was blue.
With a resounding roar, the Seventh Prince leaped to meet the tribulation head-on. Wielding a blood-red God-Slaying Sword that seemed on the verge of dripping blood, he executed a devastating slash.
Crack!
The blue lightning was severed.
Yet, as if enraged by his defiance, the heavens responded with even greater fury. A deafening explosion echoed as countless bolts of lightning rained down, engulfing the Seventh Prince and the surrounding three hundred meters in a storm of destruction.
No one could see through the blinding cascade of lightning. The tribulation raged on for ten full minutes. Then, at last, a figure emerged from the chaos—drenched in blood but exuding an even more terrifying presence. Black light surged around the Seventh Prince; his blood, bones, and even his sword were shrouded in darkness.
He sat cross-legged amidst the scorched earth, plunged the God-Slaying Sword into the ground beside him, swallowed a healing pill, and entered a meditative state. As he cultivated, the black glow surged around him, absorbing even the lingering remnants of blue lightning.
His aura expanded, signaling a breakthrough. The black energy refined his body further, strengthening his core. The power within his dantian roared, taking form as the essence of world-destroying might. The God-Slaying Sword quivered, gradually absorbing the surrounding darkness until its original blood-red hue was restored. Sharper than ever, it had already begun laying the foundation to transform into a holy weapon.
At a certain moment, the void around him stirred. He opened his eyes, and an oppressive might radiated from his body, causing the very air to wail in submission.
He had broken through.
He had officially stepped into the Ascending to Heaven Realm, reborn as a world-destroying demon.
A cold smile stretched across his lips as he lifted the God-Slaying Sword.
“Zhang Yang, I’m coming for you.”
With those words, he set off for the Daybreak Phoenix Ruins.
At that instant, in the direction of the Vast Forest, the air rippled, forming intricate Forbidden Law Patterns.
A figure emerged—the master of the Divine Forbidden Gate, Shang Zhu.
“This is your burial ground,” Shang Zhu declared. “There’s no need for you to go anywhere else.”
As he stepped forward, countless Forbidden Law Patterns spread from his body, attempting to seal and annihilate the Seventh Prince within this space.
Yet, the Seventh Prince merely chuckled. “Indeed, it is a burial ground,” he said. “But not for me.”
Even as he spoke, four figures in black materialized in the void—the Great Boundless.
They were assassins from the Black Cloak Pavilion, the only organization capable of rivaling the Underworld Assassin Organization.
Shang Zhu sneered, and the Forbidden Law Patterns surged, attempting to entrap the Great Boundless assassins.
The four assassins retaliated with immense force, seeking to break free from the entrapment.
Just then, a brilliant sword light tore through the air.
The assassins gasped, whirling to face the attack.
Yet, the sword light was too swift. Too sharp.
A heartbeat later, agonized cries filled the air.
Three of the Great Boundless assassins were cleaved in half on the spot, while the last was gravely wounded and sent flying.
A figure descended from the sky—Bing Yuyan, the Incredibly Enchanting Woman.
Upon seeing her, the Seventh Prince’s expression darkened with killing intent. He sneered, his voice laced with cruelty.
“Now that you’ve shown yourself, don’t even think about leaving. Sacrificing the Great Boundless was merely bait—to lure out the strongest expert from the Vast Forest.”
An overwhelming pressure spread across the battlefield.
"Holy Might!"
Bing Yuyan and Shang Zhu exclaimed simultaneously.
The Seventh Prince smirked. “To catch a wolf, one must be willing to bleed. Exchanging the lives of three Great Boundless for both of you is a fair trade.”
His ruthless nature was laid bare—he had never cared for the lives of his foes, nor even those of his own subordinates, so long as he could claim victory.
At that moment, the sky trembled, and an elderly figure with snow-white hair descended.
He extended a hand, his Saintly Power covering the heavens. The void cracked under its force.
Shang Zhu’s expression turned grave. “Saintly Power…” he murmured.
The seemingly simple movement of the saint’s hand carried an unfathomable might—one capable of sealing this entire realm, leaving no possibility of escape.
Bing Yuyan sneered. “A saint alone cannot restrain my palace master.”
Her Ice Spirit Holy Sword trembled slightly, and a chilling aura erupted from within, unleashing a terrifying sword light.
Slash!
The holy sword sliced through the saint’s hand, shattering the seal.
She commanded coldly, “Go!”
The two of them charged straight into the portal woven from Forbidden Law Patterns and vanished.
The sage’s strike not only failed but also resulted in a cut on his palm. Though it was merely a hairline wound, it was enough to enrage him.
To him, all below the saintly realm were mere ants. How could he—one of the exalted—be wounded by an ant? Even though the Ice Spirit Holy Sword contained a secret technique capable of unleashing immense power, it was an unforgivable disgrace.
He roared in fury and struck again.
This time, he aimed to shatter the void with a single punch, seeking to intercept Bing Yuyan and Shang Zhu before they could return to the Vast Forest.
Yet, once again, he failed.
From within the Vast Forest, over a million towering pharaoh trees trembled violently, releasing a radiant divine light that surged into the sky. The beams intertwined, forming an immense, ancient tree that seemed to uphold the heavens themselves. A thunderous voice rumbled through the air.
“I am here. Who dares to act so arrogantly?”
It was the Small Tree King.
By merging his strength with the ancient phoenix trees of the Vast Forest, he wielded saintly power.
The colossal tree swayed, unleashing another wave of divine radiance that forcefully repelled the sage.
The sage staggered back, wounded, his expression grim.
“Ten thousand trees merged as one… not a saint, yet surpassing one. What a marvelous technique.” He sneered coldly. “But before me, it amounts to nothing.”
A chilling, arrogant voice echoed through the void.
Another sage stepped forward.
Demonic intent enveloped his body, and an eerie third eye stood open on his forehead. The sheer pressure of his presence—his Demon Intent mingling with Holy Might—caused even the giant tree to tremble unsteadily.
“Demon Warlord!”
A commanding voice rang out from the depths of the Vast Forest.
It was Saint Liao Qingshan.
The Demon Warlord frowned, his voice laced with disdain. “A true saint? I underestimated the Vast Forest. However…” He paused, turning his gaze slightly to the side. “Brother Mu.”
The void tore open once more, and yet another sage stepped forward. His aura was subtly stronger than that of the Demon Warlord.
The Small Tree King did not recognize him, but Liao Qingshan did. His expression darkened. “The founding emperor of the Great Xia Empire—Mu Kaitian!”
A sage from a thousand years ago—the most powerful in the Great Xia Empire’s history.
But that was not the end.
More ripples spread across the sky as additional figures emerged from the void.
One after another, ten great saints arrived, representing the most formidable forces of the continent—the Great Xia Empire, the Demon Sword Forbidden Area, the Golden Cauldron Sacred Land, the Ziyang Sacred Land, the Burial Dragon Forbidden Ground, the Embrace Moon Tower, and the Liu Family.
Only the Ghostly Divine Platform was absent, still recovering from its near destruction at the hands of the holy corpse in a smaller world.
Even so, the presence of these ten great saints was overwhelming, casting an immense shadow over the Vast Forest.
