Keh-keh, my ass!

"I rolled a Crimson Yang spirit physique. These Trial Takers truly are a windfall for us!"

Outside Rockhold Commandery, beneath the darkened sky.

The soil was black, giving off a foul, bloody stench.

A sinister cultivator wreathed in demonic energy held a severed head and roared with laughter.

But just one breath later, astral flames descended from the sky and burned him to cinders.

"Damn you, evil fiend! Give me back my junior brother's life!"

Yet the Trial Taker had only an instant to grieve before a black arrow shot from the shadows, pierced his forehead, and shredded his soul.

Scenes like this played out every moment.

Higher in the heavens lay the battlefield of Golden Core powerhouses.

On the ground below were hundreds of thousands of Qi Refining cultivators.

"The world our people have lived in for generations has become a trial ground for these outsiders. How tragic!"

A thunderous voice sighed in sorrow as the aura of the nascent soul realm spread.

"This is a blessing. Otherwise, who knows how many years my Myriad Venom Dynasty would have needed to conquer your Heavenly Origin Dynasty?

"Now, under the laws of heaven, our demonic path is destined to flourish.

"They are all prodigies willing to pay any price to cultivate faster.

"That accords perfectly with our demonic path. Our rise is only natural!"

"But have you considered what those outsiders said? This world is destined to merge into their Nine Provinces. When that happens, will you still slaughter living beings without restraint? Do you not fear that so-called Sword Alliance of the Nine Provinces?"

"Keh-keh-keh! Fuck the Sword Alliance. What are sword cultivators worth? My magic treasure is a sword too, so I can be a sword cultivator myself. Perhaps I could even join the Sword Alliance!

"Enough talk. You won't hold out much longer. I can hardly wait to raise my Soul Banner to the hundred-thousand level.

"I admit I'm no match for you, and we're losing on the Golden Core battlefield too.

"But once the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment battlefields are swept clean, if ten Foundation Establishment cultivators can't kill one Golden Core cultivator, then we'll use a hundred! A thousand! Ten thousand!

"With their strength combined, even you and I would have to yield before their edge!"

The sinister voice brimmed with a sick, feverish excitement.

Suddenly, its speaker looked toward one corner of the Foundation Establishment battlefield. "Are those the Sword Alliance sword cultivators you mentioned? Aside from stronger attacks, I don't see any other advantages. And they seem to attract plenty of hatred. Looks like the other Trial Takers want to silence them."

His gaze fell upon a sword formation made up of a dozen or so people.

Most of the sword cultivators wore Sword Alliance Tokens at their waists, guardians who stood steadfastly along Rockhold Commandery's defensive line.

They had only recently come from Rockhold Commandery and knew that behind it lived hundreds of millions of mortals.

If Rockhold Commandery fell, it would become a hell on earth!

Yet they were far too insignificant on this vast battlefield.

The strongest among them were Nascent Soul True Persons-but that was in the outside world.

Here, their highest cultivation was only the foundation establishment middle stage. Some were even at Qi Refining, relying on Sword-Riding Talismans to fly.

They were indeed strong and had already slain over a hundred demon cultivators.

Among those were demonic path cultivators as well as Trial Takers who had sided with the Myriad Venom Dynasty.

"Damn it, they're targeting us!" Their leader was an elder from a sword sect, whose true cultivation was in the nascent soul realm and who possessed ample combat experience.

He keenly scented danger. Besides the evil fiends nearby, a large group of Trial Takers was converging on them, clearly intent on targeting them.

Their objective was simple-

As Sword Envoys of the Sword Alliance, they kept their Recording Stones active at all times, which would record proof of these people's alliance with evil fiends.

Although grudges of life and death within a secret realm were not carried outside, the charge of colluding with evil fiends alone was enough to make them suffer.

"Senior, you're in the nascent soul realm! Hurry up and drive your sword!" a young man shouted urgently from within the sword formation.

The leading Nascent Soul sword cultivator frowned. "I already am, but I only have Foundation Establishment cultivation now. This is my limit. If we don't put some distance between us, we'll all die once we're surrounded!"

Hearing this, the young man sighed.

"Has his mastery of the sword already reached that height? Only in real combat, with life and death at stake, can one truly experience the art of sword-driven slaughter."

The leading Nascent Soul sword cultivator glanced at the young man, displeasure in his eyes.

"You're a disciple of the Heaven-Earth Sword Sect, aren't you? The Heaven-Earth Sword Sect has a great Dao lineage, so naturally it possesses the true art of sword-driven slaughter. But you're only in the foundation establishment realm. It isn't something you can master.

"Don't think you're so remarkable just because an elder took you along to experience it once.

"At your stage, I was a sword prodigy too. You might not even be stronger than I was."

But as he spoke, his attention slipped, and the sword formation came under attack. All dozen or so of them looked grim, while the Sword Envoys who were only at Qi Refining coughed up great mouthfuls of blood.

"This won't work. We have to leave!"

The young man gritted his teeth.

"Leave if you want. I already fled once before. This time, I'd rather die than leave!"

At that same moment-

"Formation, rise!"

Countless formation patterns suddenly emerged across the body of a black-robed cultivator, while more appeared in several areas around them.

"This is bad!" The Nascent Soul sword cultivator's expression changed drastically. Even he had failed to notice when this formation had been laid.

"This person is at least a fourth-grade formation master!"

The sword formation rammed outward, but the formation barrier had already taken shape. They were trapped within this patch of the world.

"Everyone, get inside. Execute these damned Sword Alliance sword cultivators first. Otherwise, when the Sword Alliance investigates later, we'll all be held responsible." The black-robed figure's voice gave no indication of whether the speaker was male or female.

This formation allowed entry, but no exit.

Immediately, over a hundred cultivators from the Myriad Venom Dynasty's camp charged inside.

The formation had clipped the sword cultivators' "wings," leaving them to fight like cornered beasts within a confined space.

"Heh. Those first few moves really did scare me, but these so-called sword cultivators aren't much after all. No wonder our world doesn't have that cultivation system."

"Indeed. Though we're bound by this world's laws, the arts we cultivate are no weaker than those of these Trial Takers. It seems there's a reason that immortal's inner grotto-heaven has no sword cultivators. Probably didn't think much of them."

Meanwhile.

The entire Foundation Establishment battlefield had become a one-sided rout.

The Myriad Venom Dynasty's cultivators pushed the battlefront all the way to the gates of the mountain pass at Rockhold Commandery, where formation patterns appeared one after another to withstand the attacks spilling toward them.

Someone had even used a secret art to slip through the pass's formation, brought out a Soul Banner, and rushed straight toward the rear.

"These Sword Alliance Sword Envoys are dead for certain, so there's no need for me to hide anymore. Mortals, sink into my Soul Banner and savor the torment of your souls burning day and night! Keh-"

But before he could let out his "keh-keh-keh" laugh-

With a ringing clang, a sword descended from the sky.

Its blood-red sword intent was sharp beyond resisting.

It easily sliced through the Soul Banner and cut its wielder in two along with it.

"Keh-keh, my ass!"

Li Yang arrived at Rockhold Commandery. Gazing at the brutal battlefield ahead, shrouded in bloody mist, he felt the blood-colored spiritual energy in his dantian boiling.

He immediately drove his sword forward, only to remember Qin Feng.

He grabbed him by the back of his collar.

"If it weren't for your father, I wouldn't bother with a bootlicking dog like you."

While everyone else scrambled to avoid the fighting, the Heavenly Origin Dynasty cultivators, some already routed and fleeing, saw another man arrive to help-a stark contrast to themselves.

They saw no resolve to face death nobly on Li Yang's face, only a thirst for slaughter and a sick, feverish excitement!

And the ever-rising howl of his sword seemed to become a horn calling for a counterattack.

Clang-!!!

P.S. Fellow Daoists, please don't let the chapters pile up unread!

A book is like a child. You can tend to it carefully every day or let it roam free, but either way, you still have to check on it.

So I beg you, fellow Daoists, to tap the update reminder and leave your footprints at the beginning of Chapter 1. A five-star review would be even better.

My deepest thanks!