Numerous flying swords converged their power into a fearsome sword light, fiercely cleaving through the sky toward the six-legged golden mantis.
Boom! The mantis quickly retreated as countless streams of golden light resembling flying swords converged. They began to block the advancing green sword light.
However, the golden streams were effortlessly cut into two, as if slicing through soft tofu. As the green sword light approached, four blade-like limbs rose up, meeting the light in a shower of sparks.
Slowly, the sword light faded away, revealing visible fractures on the four blade-like limbs of the six-legged mantis.
Several more sword lights shot forth immediately, aiming at the six-legged golden mantis, Qiong Sea King, and Mountain Devil King.
“Withdraw!” ordered the six-legged mantis.
Qiong Sea King reacted quickly and fled swiftly, but how could he outpace the speed of the sword light?
“Be gone!” Qiong Sea King roared furiously as he struck the sword light with his enormous tail. The collision caused an explosion that might have fractured his tail if he hadn’t been wearing spirit battle armor.
The sword light then landed on Mountain Devil King’s back, on a giant turtle shell that acted as a formidable shield. Instantly, the shell cracked open, causing countless streams of blood to gush out.
Whoosh! It was quickly followed by another streak of sword light. Mountain Devil King was the weakest among them.
A tall, golden figure quickly intercepted the assault of sword light, allowing Mountain Devil King to retreat.
Clang! Clang! Blade rays clashed against sword lights as the six-legged Mantis fought to resist its power.
Finally, the three powerhouses broke free from the array.
“Hmph! If you are willing to surrender to Great Jin, submit your declaration of surrender before June 1st.” His chilling voice echoed throughout the air, “Otherwise, once I conquer the Middle Land, no one will be spared.” Jin Quan did not leave the boundary of the array.
“Jin Quan, you’re just depending on the power of the array. I’ll be waiting for you at Cloudhill,” Fang Xia’s bone-chilling voice echoed far and wide in response.
The six-legged golden mantis, Qiong Sea King, and Mountain Devil King quickly retreated, closely followed by numerous Heavenly Rankers.
With their departure, peace returned to the Holy Capital.
“Your Majesty!” The city erupted with excitement, as countless citizens and martial artists bubbled with exhilaration.
They did not understand how this battle came about. All they saw was their revered imperator showcasing his might, effortlessly defeating dozens of Heavenly Rankers who were trying to ruin their empire. Naturally, they were overwhelmed with joy.
In the sky above, Jin Ji and Zhao Xing, the former in green and the latter in black, soared through the clouds.
“Your Majesty,” Zhao Xing saluted respectfully, not daring to show a hint of disrespect.
In the past, he and Jin Quan treated each other as equals. But now, he acknowledged that Jin Quan’s strength far surpassed his.
Stepping from the ninth-stage Qi Sea phase to the first-stage Golden Core phase was no less difficult than scaling the heavens.
“Daoist Zhao, there’s no need for such formality,” Jin Quan said casually. He still needed a few subordinates, and Zhao Xing had shown enough obedience. Hence, he treated the man with a level of politeness.
“Father,” Jin Ji interjected, “Why didn’t you assemble a sword array with your lifebound flying sword? You could have killed them.”
“Naive. Sword arrays are meant for long-range attacks. With each additional sword light formed, the weaker the power imbued in each sword light, but its mana consumption is negligible.” Jin Quan glanced at his son as he explained, “My lifebound flying sword is quite powerful, but it hasn’t reached the level of a sixth-grade flying sword. What if the enemy destroys it with a close-range attack?”
“Keep this in mind. A qi refiner’s top priority in battle is their own self-preservation. The primary purpose of a lifebound flying sword is to defend the sword cultivator.”
“Even if I send my flying sword to attack Fang Xia’s array, it won’t be able to shatter the array in a short time,” Jin Quan said with a shake of his head.
“That Fang Xia is truly a force to be reckoned with. Even with our defense array, defeating him and Qiong Sea is still a challenge. They were capable of slaying the worm devil after all, we must not underestimate them.”
Jin Ji and Zhao Xing both nodded in agreement.
“Father, what should we do next?” Jin Ji asked.
“It hasn’t been long since I made a breakthrough and my power has yet to stabilize. There’s no rush. After my flying sword is upgraded and I’ve learned a few more arcane arts, we’ll head to Cloudhill.” Jin Quan replied quietly.
“After my breakthrough, my soul had grown much stronger. If I can reach the Domain stage in skill, that would be even better.” Jin Quan declared. “When that happens, the Cloudstride Sect will undoubtedly be the first to crumble.”
Jin Ji and Zhao Xing listened intently. The worm devil calamity had greatly cut down the number of peak powerhouses in the Middle Land. Currently, Fang Xia was the biggest threat to Great Jin.
“Are you certain that Wu Yuan is dead?” Jin Quan asked abruptly.
“No, not entirely,” Zhao Xing admitted, shaking his head. “At the time, all we saw was Wu Yuan charging into the core of the worm devil’s lair.”
“However, body refiners have immense vitality. If Wu Yuan is still alive, why didn’t he join the fight?” Zhao Xing wondered aloud. “It is highly probable that he lost his life in the worm devil’s final counterattack.”
Jin Quan’s brow furrowed slightly. There was nothing much he could do about Wu Yuan for now.
Visit the Huang Continent to investigate the matter? Jin Quan didn’t dare to leave the Holy Capital until he was completely confident in his strength.
If Wu Yuan did survive, he would definitely join Fang Xia and Qiong Sea King to surround Jin Quan, creating a perilous situation that could lead to his downfall.
There’s also Wan Liu. What level of strength does he have? A cold gleam shone in Jin Quan’s eyes.
Yet, he has never truly made an appearance. The Wu Sect controls the Middle Land Immortal Hall. Could it be that Dong Pan, Fang Xia, and Wan Xing created a character called Wan Liu to deceive me?
With each passing moment, Jin Quan found the thought more plausible.
…
Shortly after, in a location far from the Holy Capital, Fang Xia, the Arctic King, Wu Nonghan, and a group of Heavenly Rankers were gathered. The atmosphere was tense.
Arctic King said in a frigid voice, “Jin Quan has actually reached the Golden Core phase.”
He was met with silence, as the Heavenly Rankers’ minds raced.
The Golden Core phase!
Previously, they had only heard rumors about a Golden Core Superior’s power, but today they finally witnessed it firsthand. With just a few sword lights from the sword pellet, Jin Quan effortlessly repelled the combined attacks of the peak powerhouses of the Middle Land.
“All this time, he had this much power. Yet, he refused to join the battle. If Jin Quan had lent us his support, Daoist Wan Xing and the others might not have fallen during the worm devil calamity.” Wu Nonghan’s eyes turned red as he voiced his thoughts.
The atmosphere grew even more somber. Jin Quan’s abilities were undeniably strong, but it was precisely because of this that the Heavenly Rankers were angered to no end.
“Fang Xia, can we ask Senior Wan Liu for help?” The Arctic King’s voice broke through the tense atmosphere.
Wan Liu. Everyone looked at Fang Xia, feeling a flicker of hope in their hearts.
“He has left Middle Land,” Fang Xia responded with a bitter chuckle. Since Wu Yuan could not be present, this was the only answer Fang Xia could provide.
Many Heavenly Rankers looked at each other in confusion.
“Actually, the situation isn’t as bleak as it appears.” Fang Xia scanned the crowd. “A Golden Core sword cultivator is indeed strong.”
“However, it doesn’t mean we can’t kill him.”