Sunlight shone on Gu An, and You Yingying felt as if he were draped in a layer of rosy clouds, his whole being radiating with splendor.
She actually believed that Gu An was speaking the truth.
Gu An’s gaze fell on her, and he raised an eyebrow asking, “What? Are you intimidated by my aura of righteousness?”
You Yingying snapped back to reality and glared, “Who can’t say things like that? If your sword is really that powerful, would you still be holed up here?”
“Heh heh, what do you know! Hurry up and leave, don’t disturb my cultivation!”
Gu An smiled, then sheathed his sword smoothly, believing himself to look quite dashing, sadly You Yingying was blind to it.
You Yingying snorted and turned to leave.
As she turned around, a smile appeared on her face.
Talking with this silly boy had indeed had an effect; her heart felt much better.
At the same moment, under the tree, Shen Xinzi opened his eyes, his gaze profound. His hand clutching the prayer beads moved faster, clearly anxious.
Next to him, Wu Xing and Nine-Finger Divine Lord, who were playing chess, stood up.
“Let’s call this game a draw,” declared Nine-Finger Divine Lord without room for doubt.
Wu Xing’s eyes widened in disbelief, “You’re almost wiped out by me, and you dare call it a draw?”
Nine-Finger Divine Lord said nonchalantly with a straight face and unwavering confidence, “The outcome is uncertain until the end!”
Wu Xing shook his head with a smile but said nothing more, disappearing into thin air.
Nine-Finger Divine Lord’s gaze swept over Medicine Valley, landing on the distant figure of Gu An.
“What a pity, I haven’t won a single game against you yet.”
Nine-Finger Divine Lord muttered to himself before he, too, disappeared on the spot.
Gu An, who was stretching his limbs, felt numerous cultivators and demons taking flight across the continent, rushing towards its edges.
Before the cataclysm, some wished to flee while others wished to fight.
Those wishing to fight were driven by courage, righteousness, or compulsion, but at this moment, they had all made their decision.
The question was whether they could maintain that courage once they witnessed the true might of the Great Cold Demon Sect.
Gu An turned and walked toward the Transmission Array Platform. Along the way, the number of disciples who greeted him diminished, everyone preoccupied with their thoughts.
After reaching Mystic Valley, Gu An made his way toward the outskirts of Medicine Valley.
Entering the woods, he drew out the Heavenly Residence Sword in one hand while unsheathing the Qinghong Sword with the other.
The Qinghong Sword buzzed faintly as Gu An used his own mana to sever its connection with the White Spirit Sword.
He could sense his junior sister’s unease.
“Do not fear, junior sister; it will soon pass,” Gu An murmured to himself, and as his words dropped, he was shrouded in a dark purple Demonic Qi that quickly engulfed his body, blazing furiously.
His figure vanished into the depths of the forest, leaving no trace behind.
…
At the edge of the continent, towering waves crashed against the shore.
Above the mountains, Great Cultivators hovered in the air, with the vast landscape behind them and the endless ocean ahead.
They hailed from different sects—Supreme Sect, Three Pure Ones Mountain, Cangtian Sect, Daotian Sect, Sword Sect, Candle Sky Peak, Flame Sect, Juhua Sect, and more.
Sects across the world continuously dispatched cultivators to different edges of the continent. They were just one group gathering rapidly beyond a hundred, with more cultivators on their way.
As their numbers grew, a newfound confidence began to swell inside them.
Qiao Dai, a cultivator from Supreme Sect with a Cultivation Level of the Ninth Layer of the Mahayana Realm, became the leader, calming the surrounding cultivators and beginning to give battle instructions.
Just then, an overwhelmingly terrifying pressure descended, prompting them to turn their heads in shock. In the next second, their faces paled, and even the ever-confident Qiao Dai gaped in despair.
A vast black fog rolled in from the horizon like a wave of darkness, unstoppable and devouring the skies and earth.
Before the black fog, islands and demon beasts appeared insignificantly small, like dust. Even flying beasts were engulfed by the fog from behind, their fates uncertain.
Looking up, shadows of different figures hovered above the black fog—clothed distinctly, wielding different Dharma Treasures. Some had glowing artifacts floating behind them, some rode fierce mounts, and others stood proudly atop Sword Qi with their hands behind their backs. Each one was shadowed by a towering phantom a thousand feet high, appearing like Demon Gods, their silhouettes a mirror of themselves.
At first glance, there were endless towering demon phantoms of a thousand feet high that could not be counted, creating an overwhelming sense of oppression.
At this moment, the Continent Cultivators were plunged into dead silence, everyone stunned as if struck by lightning, frozen in midair.
Qiao Dai saw behind these thousand-foot demon phantoms an even more terrifying presence, with legs walking forward, the phantoms unable to reach even the ankles of this mysterious existence. It was impossible to imagine the true size.
Some tried to look sideways—wherever the ocean spread, there stood demon phantoms, casting them into despair not only by the disparity in Cultivation Levels but also the sheer numerical difference between friends and foes.
“How can we win…” someone said with a bitter laugh.
No one responded; their courage faltered.
Above the clouds, Nine-Finger Divine Lord and Wu Xing stood shoulder to shoulder, witnessing the entire continent surrounded by the Great Cold Demon Sect cultivators from all directions.
“There are so many; even the Divine Exotic Realm is here…”
Wu Xing clicked his tongue, sensing that the number of Demon Sect cultivators was no less than the Divine Exotic Resentful Ghosts. Most importantly, these demon cultivators’ combined aura was astonishing, with many individual auras strong enough to make him wary.
Nine-Finger Divine Lord took a deep breath and scanned the continent as if searching for something.
“With such commotion, could the Saint World Holy King truly have reincarnated in this land?” Wu Xing couldn’t help but ask.
Nine-Finger Divine Lord looked into the distance and replied, “If the Holy Heart awakens, with the Holy King’s capabilities, rising to power won’t be difficult. But the Great Cold Demon Sect fears that the Holy Court might detect the aura of the Saint World Holy King.”
After hearing this, Wu Xing found it to make sense, and he stepped forward.
“What are you planning to do?” inquired Nine-Finger Divine Lord hastily.
Without turning back, Wu Xing strode forward through the air, raising his hand with a laugh, “Forgot to tell you, I am the Divine Exotic Ghost King Wu Xing; ‘Wu Xing’ is just a pseudonym!”
Nine-Finger Divine Lord frowned but didn’t get angry, just watched as Wu Xing advanced.
“Wu Xing, return to your place at once!”
The voice of the Master of Divine Exotic Realm rang out, loud and clear.
Wu Xing accelerated immediately, but suddenly, his face darkened. He looked up only to see an immensely large hand reaching out from behind the demon army, covering the sky and aiming to seize him.
The size of this hand was beyond what words could describe.
Wu Xing was horrified to discover that he was frozen in place!
This is bad!
Despair filled Wu Xing’s eyes.
At that moment, a powerful sword light forcefully entered his field of vision, and immediately after, the terrifying giant hand disintegrated before him.
Subconsciously glancing over, his eyes widened in shock.
He saw a figure, a figure he would never forget for all eternity.
It was Gu An, who had utilized the Nine Extremes Yin Yang Body back in the Divine Exotic Realm!
Gu An, holding two swords covered in dark purple Demonic Qi, brushed past Wu Xing. As his words hung in the air, Gu An turned into a fleeting shadow, and in a flash, a streak of sword light appeared, boldly piercing through the distant black fog.
Before Wu Xing could react, a terrifying wave of energy struck.
His mouth agape, he looked on in disbelief.
As he watched, a streak of Sword Qi burst from within the demon army, cutting a swath through the thousand-foot demon phantoms at the waist. The light of the Sword Qi stripped the entire world of color in an instant.
The Continent Cultivators were dazzled into closing their eyes, the Mortal Spirits unable to glimpse this sword light.
Above the clouds, Nine-Finger Divine Lord’s face also transformed, his soul shaken by the impact.
In his eyes, the demon phantoms perished, the black fog churned, and a sword light rapidly stretched, as if intent on splitting the very heavens and earth in two.
In that moment, Nine-Finger Divine Lord, who had lived for a hundred and seventy thousand years, witnessed the strongest sword strike of his life!
“Who… are you?”
A voice full of both shock and rage erupted, the tone laced with fear.