Tenth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm

Xuanyuan Tian took out his Golden Thunder Saint-Breaking Saber once more, while the others also produced their own Sacred Artifacts.

For a time, the entire Hundred Woods Realm was suffused with faint sacred might. Though they could not unleash the Sacred Artifacts' full power, so many of them gathered together made the air grow heavy.

The Sky-Splitting Stone Ape watched the fourteen humans before it solemnly. These humans, tiny as ants in its eyes, radiated powerful auras, and it hesitated over whether to continue.

Just then,

"Ying ying ying!" A heaven-shaking roar rang out, like the cries of an infant. A nine-headed serpent with a pair of wings on its back came speeding over. It was actually an ancient ferocious beast—

The Nine-Infant Dao. It could command water and fire, and the aura it emitted was even stronger than that of the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape.

Everyone's expressions changed drastically. They had not expected a second Great Demon of Tribulation Transcendence to appear.

"It's actually the Nine-Infant Dao!!"

"What is the Nine-Infant Dao?"

"An ancient ferocious beast with an immensely powerful bloodline. Its cries sound like those of an infant, and it is proficient in water and fire arts. It is far beyond the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape!"

"Is there still no response from the Jiang Domain? Two Great Demons of Tribulation Transcendence have already appeared!"

"Who knows what those higher-ups are thinking?"

"Everyone, two Great Demons of Tribulation Transcendence are not something we can contend against. Prepare to retreat," Zhuge Jinyue said.

The others nodded gravely.

"Don't panic. I'm here," Jiang Ming said blandly.

"What are you putting on an act for? You don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!" Xuanyuan Tian said.

Jiang Ming raised a brow. "I hope your wedding goes smoothly!"

With that, Jiang Ming strode forward. With every step, his aura grew stronger by another degree. One step, one layer—after eight steps, Jiang Ming had already broken through to the Tenth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm!

"??? Bro?" Xuanyuan Tian's face was filled with question marks.

"Cheater!!" Xuan Wuying shouted.

Zhuge Jinyue and the others were utterly stunned. Breaking through to the Nascent Soul Extremity had cost them endless time, effort, and resources, yet Jiang Ming broke through just by taking a few steps. Comparing people really could make one furious enough to die.

"What's going on with Jiang Ming?? He just broke through like that?!"

"Damn, now that's a monster. Who could possibly compare with him!"

"Eight steps to break through eight realms—this is so outrageous it's knocking on outrageousness's door!"

Sky Martial City, City Lord's Manor.

"Someone from an Imperial Clan has come. What a delightful surprise!" the black-clothed man said with a smile.

The Sky Martial City Lord scarcely dared to breathe. The black-clothed man before him had been in charge of this grand competition, and he had known nothing about the appearance of a Fifth-Order Great Demon. Now, someone from an Imperial Clan had appeared as well. He truly should never have accepted this competition—though he had never had the chance to refuse.

Under everyone's astonished gazes, Jiang Ming stood in the air and smiled faintly. "Xuanyuan Tian, once this matter is dealt with, come over and take your beating!"

At that moment, Jiang Ming felt as though the whole world lay within his grasp.

"A Sacred Artifact? I have those too," Jiang Ming said indifferently.

Light flowed around his body. His plain clothes vanished, replaced by a Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Robe. The gilded dragon patterns gave off a faint glow, while a scarlet-gold saber appeared in his right hand.

Peak Sacred Artifacts—the Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Robe and the Scarlet-Gold Blazing Saber.

These two Sacred Artifacts had been given to Jiang Ming by Jiang Lingtian during this return to his clan. As an Imperial Heir, how could he lack Sacred Artifacts with enough style?

Strictly speaking, Jiang Ming already possessed an Imperial Artifact—the Imperial Heir Ring. No Great Emperor had appeared for ten thousand years, so the Imperial Artifacts of today were basically the foundations of the Imperial Clans. They generally would not be used, nor was there any need to use them.

"Peak Sacred Artifacts!" Zhuge Jinyue cried out.

Xuanyuan Tian looked at the Golden Thunder Saint-Breaking Saber in his hand, then at Jiang Ming's Scarlet-Gold Blazing Saber. Suddenly, his own saber no longer seemed so appealing.

They had more or less guessed Jiang Ming's identity, but for him to casually bring out two Peak Sacred Artifacts, his status within the Imperial Clan was likely far from low.

Ouyang Yuegui's beautiful eyes flickered. He's rather handsome!

At that moment, Jiang Ming's black hair was tied into a ponytail. He had a handsome yet icy face, a tall and slender figure, and wore the Dragon-Pattern Blackgold Robe. Golden light flashed in his golden eyes as he stood in the air.

After keeping a low profile for so long, I can finally show off. Jiang Ming's face remained expressionless, but his heart was brimming with excitement.

As the Nine-Infant Dao watched Jiang Ming's aura shift from harmless to threatening, gravity appeared in its eighteen humanlike vertical pupils. It let out an "Ying ying ying."

"Attack together!"

The Sky-Splitting Stone Ape also let out a roar.

"No problem!"

As a Fifth-Order Great Demon that had only recently broken through, the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape itself posed a slight threat to the Nine-Infant Dao's status. There had originally been only one Fifth-Order Great Demon in the Hundred Woods Realm, and it had remained asleep year-round.

Someone had helped the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape advance to the fifth order and placed it in the Hundred Woods Realm ahead of time, drawing the Nine-Infant Dao's hostility. Fortunately, the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape had behaved itself ever since entering, so the Nine-Infant Dao had not sought trouble with it without sufficient certainty.

But now, Jiang Ming gave the Nine-Infant Dao a sense of threat. Steady by nature, it decided to first join forces with the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape, a fellow member of the Demon Race, to eliminate him before settling their internal problems.

"Bro? Are you really treating us like air?" Xuanyuan Tian said with a faint smile upon seeing the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape move.

The fourteen cultivators at the Tenth Layer of the Nascent Soul Realm formed a circle and blocked the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape. Though they were not as strong as Jiang Ming, strength lay in numbers.

"Roar!" The Sky-Splitting Stone Ape roared in fury. The stones on its arms cracked apart, releasing icy blue cold air, while ice crystals condensed over its arms.

"What!! This thing can mutate too!?" Xuanyuan Tian exclaimed.

"It's a variant of the Sky-Splitting Stone Ape—the Sky-Splitting Demon Ape!" Zhuge Jinyue said gravely. "This mutation does not merely grant it an ice attribute. It also possesses a fire attribute, and its strength far exceeds that of an ordinary Sky-Splitting Stone Ape!"

"Can we still hold it back?" Xu Nuo'an asked uncertainly.

Xuan Wuying silently retreated behind the others without saying a word.

"Hard to say!" Zhuge Jinyue said in a low voice.

"That guy has already gone to fight the Nine-Infant Dao alone. Are you still thinking of running away?" Xuanyuan Tian said.

"Let's try. We won't die anyway," Zhang Wushuang said blandly. As the pillars of their respective holy lands and Saint Clans, they naturally possessed countless means of protection. At worst, the Saint Realm experts behind them would act and forcibly pull them out of the Hundred Woods Realm.

Though under normal circumstances, their pride would not allow them to do that.

"An infant-crying freak?" Jiang Ming curled his lips. Blazing flames erupted around his body. After breaking through to the Tenth Layer of Tribulation Transcendence, his Sunfire had become even more terrifying, and the temperature of the space around him rose sharply.

Using the Scarlet-Gold Blazing Saber as a vessel, Sun Power surged through his entire body. The spiritual energy of the Hundred Woods Realm rushed toward the Scarlet-Gold Blazing Saber, which began to emanate an aura capable of destroying heaven and earth. Jiang Ming gripped the saber with both hands and slashed down with all his might.

"Sun-Sundering Heaven Technique!" Without another word, he unleashed his ultimate move the instant they met.

Fear appeared in the Nine-Infant Dao's humanlike eyes. I can't take this head-on. That would be certain death!

"Ying ying ying!" The Nine-Infant Dao frantically beat its wings and rapidly retreated.

As the Sun-Sundering Heaven Technique descended, the entire Hundred Woods Realm darkened, leaving only the scarlet-gold saber radiance like a beacon in the night.

With the Scarlet-Gold Blazing Saber as its vessel, the power of the Sun-Sundering Heaven Technique was not overly dispersed.

The saber radiance struck the ground, and a canyon a hundred zhang wide, endless in length, and bottomless in depth appeared within the Hundred Woods Realm. Both sides of the canyon were scorched black earth mixed with crimson flames.

Outside.

"Holy shit! What is that?"

"Damn, what kind of demonic saber technique is that!!?"

"Terrifying beyond belief!!!"