Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Celestial Demon Canyon was located within the borders of Yulan Mansion.

Ever since the Celestial Demon Ancient Realm had vanished, the mountain range containing Celestial Demon Canyon had become a desolate and seldom-traveled wasteland.

However...

Occasionally, a few Demon Hunters would still pass through the area.

Although the Six Mountains Dynasty had regained control of the Cloud Domain, their focus was primarily on the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect, leaving remote places like Yulan Mansion in a state of rare tranquility.

「On this day.」

A group of Demon Hunters was preparing to enter Celestial Demon Canyon to hunt Demon Beasts.

Their leader was a man at the Martial Arts Eighth Stage, followed by a dozen or so Demon Hunters of the Martial Arts Realm.

The men were chatting and laughing.

”With Boss Hu leading us today, we’re guaranteed a huge haul!” a Demon Hunter at the Sixth Stage of the Martial Arts Realm said flatteringly.

”Of course!”

”Boss Hu is an expert at the Martial Arts Eighth Stage, after all!” a few others chimed in.

Boss Hu wore a smug grin. ”Don’t you worry. As long as you follow me, I guarantee you’ll live well. Hmph, you probably don’t know this, but that legendary expert from the Heaven-Soaring Saint Sect, Lord Jiang Chen, once had a fierce battle right here in Celestial Demon Canyon.”

”Lord Jiang Chen? He’s our idol!”

”Not just yours! Who in the entire Saint Martial Dynasty doesn’t idolize him now?”

The crowd laughed.

A look of admiration crossed Boss Hu’s face. Suddenly, his expression changed, his pupils constricting violently.

The others, who had been chatting and laughing, were also taken aback.

They saw Boss Hu trembling all over as if he had witnessed something unbelievably terrifying. Following his gaze, they saw that the mountain range ahead, which should have been covered in towering trees and lush green grass, had now turned into a desolate wasteland.

The vegetation had withered, the earth had cracked, and the mountains had collapsed.

It was a tragic sight, like the aftermath of a wildfire that had scorched the plains!

They could even see the carcasses of Demon Beasts, reduced to desiccated corpses of skin and bone.

”Wh-what is going on?”

”Could a great Demon have descended upon the world?”

”Look! The wasteland is spreading! It’s like something is devouring everything around it! We have to go, quickly!”

The men cried out in alarm and turned to flee.

The desolate zone was indeed spreading rapidly. Everywhere it passed, all life was extinguished and all things withered, as if it were the end of the world.

Its range already covered a hundred-mile radius...

And it was still spreading.

A thousand miles.

Ten thousand miles...

It nearly reached Yulan City. All the experts in Yulan Mansion panicked, flooding out of the city and fleeing even farther away.

No one noticed that as the wasteland spread, the Life Force from the Ten Thousand Spirits it extinguished was converging into torrents, flowing rapidly beneath the ground toward Celestial Demon Canyon.

...

Inside the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle.

Within the massive Holy Blood Spirit Pool, Jiang Chen sat cross-legged, his body erupting with blinding golden light.

The Holy Blood Spirit Pool contained infinite power.

And even more, it held a vast amount of Mystical Essence!

This was the Mystical Essence refined by the Holy Blood Spirit Pool after it had devoured all the plants and living creatures within a ten-thousand-mile radius.

One must understand...

Martial Arts Secrets were, in essence, insights into the Laws of nature!

The Secrets of Fire, Secrets of Water, Secrets of Earth, Secrets of Wind, and so on—all were comprehended from nature.

The myriad worlds were a whole constructed from countless Laws!

The Holy Blood Spirit Pool, however, possessed the ability to transform these Laws into Mystical Essence and merge them into the Holy Blood. But the cost was immense. With Celestial Demon Canyon as its center, all living beings within a ten-thousand-mile radius had been devoured and refined into Mystical Essence.

However...

Jiang Chen was completely unaware of this.

He was immersed in the Holy Blood Spirit Pool, devouring the Holy Blood and Mystical Essence, and his comprehension of Mystical Techniques was constantly improving.

The Mystical Powers Jiang Chen now mastered were Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Light, Darkness, and Time!

The Secrets of Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Light, and Darkness had all reached Tier Five High Level. As he devoured the Mystical Essence, these six great Sword Dao Secrets were also rapidly advancing.

They were only a step away from the realm of Tier Six Secrets.

Only his Time Sword Intent had merely advanced to the Tier Three level.

But among the nine great Sword Dao Secrets, this was the most difficult and powerful. Reaching the Tier Three level was already enough to double the power of Jiang Chen’s Time Freeze, allowing him to stop an opponent for a third of a breath’s time!

SPLASH!

Countless streams of Holy Blood continued to be devoured by Jiang Chen at a rapid pace.

One day!

Two days!

Three days!

A full five days passed before the Golden Holy Blood in the Holy Blood Spirit Pool finally ran dry. As the last drop of Holy Blood entered his body,

Jiang Chen’s eyes shot open, each bursting with a brilliant divine light.

”ROAR!”

Jiang Chen let out a deafening, thunderous roar.

Shrouded in a mass of golden light, Jiang Chen shot up into the sky, leaving the Holy Blood Spirit Pool.

He flew out of the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle.

And appeared in midair.

RUMBLE...

Terrifying bursts of energy erupted from Jiang Chen’s body. The dazzling golden light made him resemble a golden Blazing Sun suspended in the sky.

Secrets of Earth, breakthrough—Tier Six!

Secrets of Water, breakthrough—Tier Six!

The Secrets of Wind, Secrets of Fire, Secrets of Light, and Secrets of Darkness all advanced, reaching the initial level of Tier Six!

The Four Great Secrets of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind merged, their four-colored light pulsing erratically, flickering in and out of existence.

The Secrets of Light and Darkness fused. Black and white light coalesced above his head into two fish, one black and one white, intertwining to form the symbol of Yin and Yang!

He unleashed a hint of the Secrets of Time.

The roaring gales before him paused for a moment before resuming their course...

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH!

SWOOSH...

The aura rippling from Jiang Chen’s body grew stronger and stronger. After devouring so much Holy Blood, it wasn’t just his Mystical Power that had improved; more importantly, his cultivation was also soaring.

The light of his nine Life Palaces pulsed as they rapidly merged into his Dao Origin Void.

The Human King Realm involved opening the Dao Origin Void and merging one’s Life Palaces into it to absorb the Power of Origin.

He had already merged one Life Palace before; now he began with the second, then the third...

A total of four Life Palaces merged into his Dao Origin Void!

Jiang Chen’s cultivation also rose to the Fourth Stage of the Human King Realm. His Qi Blood completely transformed into Golden Qi Blood, and every drop of it that fell to the ground could transform into a Spirit Lake brimming with Spiritual Qi.

This was thanks to the Holy Blood!

And it was also the power that all living beings within a ten-thousand-mile radius had bestowed upon him!

”ROAR!”

Jiang Chen threw his head back and let out a long cry. The light surrounding him shot ten thousand feet into the sky before slowly receding back into his body.

A sharp light flickered in Jiang Chen’s eyes, and the corner of his mouth curved up slightly. ’Five months of hard training, and my cultivation has finally advanced to the Fourth Stage of the Human King Realm. Now, I’m confident I can even slay an expert at the Human King Realm Eighth Stage. I could even put up a fight against a Ninth Stage! The legacy left by the Celestial Demon Emperor Venerable is truly extraordinary!’

The Celestial Demon Emperor Venerable!

This was a being capable of forging a Divine Soldier. His strength must have been absolutely terrifying. On the Qiankun Continent, he was likely one of the most supreme existences.

How could the opportunities he left for his successor be anything but extraordinary?

Jiang Chen felt his body brimming with explosive power, but a hint of confusion crossed his face. He flipped his hand, took out his Communication Token, and raised an eyebrow. ”Afa sent me so many messages? ’Did something major happen?’”

He hurriedly activated the Communication Token.

”Boss, come back quickly! The Six Mountains Dynasty is counterattacking!”

”Boss, we can’t hold on...”

”Boss, Black Yama from the Six Mountains Dynasty has led a huge army and captured millions of civilians outside the Holy City. We don’t know what he’s planning...”

”Those bastards from the Six Mountains Dynasty... they’re actually going to slaughter tens of millions of innocent people? Boss, we can’t wait any longer! Little Black and I have decided to fight our way out.”

”Boss... We... lost...”

”What?”

Jiang Chen’s entire body trembled. The surging power within him caused the Communication Token in his hand to shatter. His eyes instantly turned crimson, his breathing grew heavy, and a terrifyingly savage light gleamed within them. With towering rage and killing intent that shot to the heavens, he gritted his teeth and roared, word by word...

”Six Mountains Dynasty... Black Yama... If I don’t kill you, I swear I’m not human!”