Layers of dark Sword Qi surged into Ming Ye's body, and his entire body trembled.
Suddenly, a trickle of blood escaped the corner of Ming Ye's mouth. For his current cultivation realm, the Holy Sword of Darkness's Sword Qi was far too powerful.
"Damn it, why did I only swallow this little?!" Ming Ye's gaze darkened, his cold malice plain to see.
The corners of Ye Wushuang's lips curled slightly. He no longer even bothered pretending, letting the mockery show on his face.
Just as Ye Wushuang had expected, if the power obtained through this devouring ability was too fierce, there was a risk of turmoil within the user's body.
It was unlike his Chaos Physique, which could convert power directly.
Ming Ye seemed unwilling to accept this and still wanted to try.
The Gravekeeper Elder flashed to Ming Ye's side and held his arm down.
"Young man, you've overstepped," he said in a low voice. "If you continue to act without knowing how high the heavens are or how deep the earth is, I'm afraid your body will explode today, and you'll die here."
Helpless, Ming Ye lowered his head and apologized. The Old Gravekeeper's suppressive might was too powerful, leaving him unable to attempt devouring the Sword Qi again.
He drew out the Holy Sword of Darkness and returned to the Nine Nether Imperial Dynasty's side.
At this point, only the final two demon saint swords remained unclaimed.
Everyone's gazes gathered on these two sage swords of the Demon Race.
Even those who had previously tried to seize the other holy swords all drew closer.
Nie Qingcheng remained composed, standing quietly where she was.
It was as though Nie Qingcheng was declaring to everyone that these two demon saint swords could only end up in her possession.
Jin Zhan slowly approached and said ingratiatingly to Nie Qingcheng, "Qingcheng, if we join forces, we'll definitely seize the holy swords."
"Get lost."
A wisp of fire flared, knocking Jin Zhan straight to the side.
Nie Qingcheng could not even be bothered wasting words on Jin Zhan. One word and one action gave him her answer.
Jin Zhan's expression turned ugly, and he vowed viciously to himself, Once I become a Holy Son, we'll see whether you can still act so proud.
Little did he know that even among Holy Sons and Holy Maidens, there were differences.
"If I don't act, let's see how you fight all these heroes." A cold glint lit up Jin Zhan's eyes.
He sent a voice transmission to the Heavenly Demon Mountain disciples.
"Listen carefully, all of you. Unless Holy Maiden Qingcheng's life is threatened, none of you are allowed to use your full strength."
He planned to wait until Nie Qingcheng could no longer contend with the gathered heroes before stepping in, forcing her to submit and agree to seize the treasures together.
A wisp of flame lit up at Nie Qingcheng's fingertip. She played with it without the slightest hint of panic.
Nie Qingcheng raised her eyes toward the crowd, her tone calm.
"Don't waste my time. Come at me together."
Those calm words nevertheless struck a nerve with the group.
"Your Highness, we know you're strong, but are you really so confident you can withstand our combined strength?" someone called out to Nie Qingcheng.
As the words fell, they had already attacked, their assaults filling the sky.
"True Phoenix Dao Body!" Nie Qingcheng actually wove through the sky-filling attacks.
As she strolled, the temperature in the surrounding space gradually rose.
Every place where her foot landed left behind a wisp of flame.
Xie Qianli hurriedly said to Ye Wushuang, "Aren't you going to hurry over and help Sister Qingcheng? Isn't she just dodging the whole time?"
Ye Wushuang folded his arms and merely smiled. "Idiot, watch closely. She's not as stupid as you. She's attacking."
The flames left at each of Nie Qingcheng's footsteps gradually began connecting, trapping all those cultivators inside.
Nie Qingcheng's figure flickered as she spun in midair.
Golden flames danced in her eyes as she shouted, "Now, offense and defense have switched!" The connected flames began to revolve, and a cry rang out overhead as a Fire Phoenix phantom manifested.
These interconnected flames had actually formed an array.
Xie Qianli could not help exclaiming, "Holy shit, Sister Qingcheng is amazing! She wasn't frantically dodging at all. She was setting up an array!"
Ye Wushuang also gave a mischievous smile. "In a moment, these people will get to experience how it felt when you were burned back then."
"Phoenix Flame Blazing Prairie Array!"
The cultivators within the array all let out wails. As prodigies of the major factions, they had means of preserving their lives, but they could not escape this suffering of the flesh.
Those who tried to break the array and escape were all suppressed by the Fire Phoenix phantom in the sky, unable to make much headway.
A pair of phoenix wings unfurled behind Nie Qingcheng, and she flew above the Fire Phoenix.
She loosely closed one hand, and a fiery-red longbow manifested in her grasp.
Dao rhythms formed from golden phoenix flames flowed across the bow.
The majesty of this bow actually far surpassed the might of these sage swords.
At the sight of the bow, everyone exclaimed, "It's actually a quasi-emperor artifact that has already taken on the embryonic form of an emperor artifact! It's only one step away from becoming an emperor artifact!"
"It seems Holy Maiden Qingcheng's standing in Heavenly Demon Mountain has still been underestimated. She's so young, yet she's already been bestowed such a weapon."
"You have to understand, even the leaders of many first-rate factions aren't worthy of possessing a weapon like that."
Nearby, Jin Zhan also gritted his teeth and growled, "I haven't even obtained a single sage weapon, yet she already has a quasi-emperor artifact? How is that possible?!"
"Even Heavenly Demon Mountain's very best Holy Sons and Holy Maidens aren't necessarily bestowed weapons like this."
Seeing Jin Zhan suffer this humiliation, Xie Qianli could not help laughing. He spread his arms and shouted toward Jin Zhan, "Little blondie, you're already crying from frustration!"
In the sky, Nie Qingcheng's gaze sharpened as she drew the longbow.
Flames condensed into phoenix-feather arrows, and the flaming shafts tore through the air one after another.
Wherever the arrows passed, space seemed to ignite and twist.
The crowd below had long since fallen into disarray. Not only were they trapped by the array, but arrows were also raining down overhead.
Those with shallow cultivation who lacked life-saving trump cards had their chests pierced by the falling arrows.
The fiery feathers erupted inside them, burning their bodies into nothingness.
Nie Qingcheng had never been indecisive. She showed absolutely no mercy to those who offended her.
The path of cultivation had never been playing house. Since they had chosen to enter this final floor and compete for opportunities, they had to be prepared to encounter danger at any moment.
Since these people had chosen to attack Nie Qingcheng, they had to be prepared to lose their lives.
The remaining people were also forced to use the life-saving secret treasures bestowed by their sects and lineages before they could escape.
They retreated far away, not daring to provoke this Holy Maiden of Heavenly Demon Mountain again.
Above the sea of fire, Nie Qingcheng stood in the air, her phoenix might cold and imposing, like a goddess of war.
Beside Ye Wushuang, Xie Qianli said, "That's why I say you two are the best match, brother. With Sister Qingcheng's strength, an ordinary person really couldn't keep her in check."
Seeing Nie Qingcheng display such divine might, Ye Wushuang's eyes also lit up, and he thought to himself.
The little phoenix is usually so gorgeous and charming. I never expected her to look so valiant in battle.
In the distance, Nie Qingcheng activated her bloodline power, and the two demon saint swords immediately withdrew their sharp sword intent.
Even their masters had been far inferior to this superior bloodline of the same origin.
The Fire Phoenix lineage was already a top-tier bloodline, capable of firmly suppressing the bloodlines of the red-crowned crane and Golden-Feathered Heavenly Peng.
What was more, Nie Qingcheng's bloodline had mutated, rising another level.
She had become a Sun-Shining Saint Phoenix, a creature that had not appeared for a very long time in later ages and existed only in legends.
Rumor had it that this kind of sacred beast was not merely born with an affinity for the power of flame.
As its cultivation advanced and its bloodline divine abilities gradually manifested, it could even comprehend the legendary power of the sun.
If it could fuse the power of flame with the power of the sun, it would rarely meet its match even among sacred beasts.
Nie Qingcheng called softly, and the two demon saint swords flew over of their own accord, landing in her hands.