"Great Emperor, please, this way."
The Sword Sect's sect master dared not be careless. He stepped forward with a smile and hurriedly invited Duan Lang inside.
The Sword Sect lay deep within a great mountain shrouded by a formation. Without formidable strength, even standing right before it, one would not know this was the Sword Sect.
"Is this a Great Emperor? A Great Emperor of this era?"
"Wasn't it said that no one could attain the Dao and become an emperor in this era? What's going on?"
"Who knows? What if he's a Quasi-Emperor posing as one?"
"Do you have a death wish? He's a Great Emperor! If he hears you, do you want your entire clan wiped out?"
The moment they entered the Sword Sect, voices rang out all around.
Duan Lang was somewhat surprised as well. The Sword Sect was no weaker than the Saber Sect, only stronger.
But the very next moment, he was stunned.
Four longswords appeared around him, then erupted with terrifying power.
Under the control of several experts, they instantly formed a terrifying formation.
Roar! Roar! Roar!
Roars rang out one after another.
They sounded like dragons crying out.
"Primordial Forbidden Zone, do you really think our Sword Sect is somewhere you can come and go as you please? No Great Emperor has appeared in this world for tens of thousands of years. You must have used some special means to possess such strength temporarily. This Dragon-Slaying Formation was prepared especially for you."
The Sword Sect's sect master now appeared above everyone, looking down at Duan Lang.
Duan Lang smiled faintly.
He said nothing.
The Dragon-Slaying Formation manifested a giant dragon that slashed toward him.
Duan Lang did not move at all.
"An Emperor Formation. Not bad, not bad. Your Sword Sect really is much stronger than the Saber Sect."
As Duan Lang spoke, his gaze swept across it.
The giant dragon instantly exploded wherever his gaze fell.
Pfft!
"Brat, even if you're currently a Great Emperor, you can't do anything to us. How could the likes of you understand the power of an Emperor Formation?"
"Dragon Slash! Die!"
The two Quasi-Emperors and two Peak Supremes unleashed their strongest power, frantically driving the formation.
In an instant, heaven and earth changed color.
Hearing this, Duan Lang gave a mischievous smile.
A mere Emperor Formation might not unleash the might of a Great Emperor even under a Quasi-Emperor's control, let alone when he himself was a Great Emperor.
They were simply courting death.
"Since you're courting death yourselves, I'll grant your wish."
As he spoke, he struck out with a palm.
Emperor Formation or not, it shattered instantly.
The sight was so bizarre that all four were left dumbfounded.
The instant it shattered, all four suffered a backlash.
"You..."
Pfft! Pfft!
Duan Lang was not about to indulge them. After a savage beating,
the four had faces like pig heads, and their backsides were swollen like balls.
At that moment, Duan Lang looked at his handiwork with great appreciation.
He confiscated the four swords and stripped off their clothes and trousers, leaving only their briefs.
At that moment, all four wanted to die.
"Where's the treasury? Lead the way."
"Brat, that's our Sword Sect's foundation! You can't do this! You can't do this!"
As he spoke, he burst into tears.
It ended with another savage beating before they obediently led the way.
Everyone in the Sword Sect, however, stood frozen, their faces deathly pale.
Even the Great Saints were the same.
It was too brutal. The Sword Sect's pillars were beaten so miserably that their heart-rending screams made everyone's scalps prickle.
"Damn it, he's utterly despicable! A mighty Great Emperor, yet he tortures the ancestors like this and even strips them naked. The damage isn't great, but the humiliation is extreme."
Some disciples still had hot blood in their veins and felt somewhat furious at the sight.
Yet they were powerless to do anything about any of it. Before a Great Emperor, everything was futile.
They soon arrived before the treasury.
Without caring about anything else, Duan Lang struck out with a palm, instantly shattering the gates.
The treasury inside was revealed, glittering with golden light and piled with mountains of spirit stones. He was positively overjoyed.
"Not bad, not bad."
As Duan Lang spoke, he directly searched their souls.
"You have no martial honor! Ah..."
In less than three minutes, everything had been cleared out.
He did not even spare the ancestors in their coffins.
When they tried to resist, he slapped them back.
In an instant, wails rang endlessly through the Sword Sect.
Countless people roared, never having imagined things would turn out this way.
"Damn it! Damn it! How could this happen? How could this happen? Ah!"
Looking at the utterly empty treasury, scripture pavilion, and weapons pavilion, all of which had been stripped bare,
the Quasi-Emperor sat on the ground and burst into tears.
After this, the Sword Sect would be unable to recover for a thousand years.
Ten thousand years of foundations, reduced overnight to the days before liberation.
Duan Lang continued on to the next establishment.
Meanwhile, the Human Ranking shook once more.
"Sixth on the Human Ranking: Xie Wen. Qualification: Nascent Soul Middle Stage Peak, slew an Early Spirit Transformation cultivator, bearer of the Pill Pavilion's Human Emperor Physique. Ranking rewards: one drop of Human Emperor blood essence, Human Emperor Spear (sacred weapon), Sovereign's Hegemonic Art, five Hegemon Pills, three Realm-Breaking Pills, five vermilion fruits."
The instant everyone saw it,
they all grew excited.
Their earlier unhappiness over Duan Lang vanished in the blink of an eye.
"Heavens! Even the Human Emperor Physique has appeared! This age is destined to be one of countless heavenly geniuses, with innumerable powerful physiques taking the stage of the era."
"The Human Emperor Physique is said to be the physique possessed by the Human Emperor. It can gather all the imperial Dao's fortune under heaven into one body and rule heaven and earth. It's terrifying beyond measure."
"Yes, and now Xie Wen has even obtained a drop of Human Emperor blood essence. Xie Wen is far too impressive."
"Wait, that name sounds like a girl's."
All sorts of discussions arose.
When they reached Duan Lang's ears, however, he grew incredibly excited.
That's Human Emperor blood essence! I have to get my hands on it.
Time passed swiftly.
"Fifth place: Dugu Qiubai, heavenly genius of the Dugu Family. Qualification: reincarnated Quasi-Emperor, whose Dugu Sword Art stands proudly above the world, invincible within the same realm. Ranking rewards: Dugu Nine Swords, Cold Iron Heavy Sword, one portion of sword heart insights, five Realm-Breaking Pills, three stalks of sword grass."
Seeing the information announced by the Human Ranking,
everyone erupted in excitement once more.
Dugu Qiubai had been a peerless Quasi-Emperor a thousand years ago, with heaven-defying mastery of the sword Dao.
The foremost sword Dao practitioner of that age had actually reincarnated.
Such boldness shocked everyone.
"This Dugu Qiubai has extraordinary daring."
"It seems the Dugu Family is about to produce another peerless sword cultivator."
"The Dugu Family has lived in seclusion for many years. Now that the great tide has arrived, could they be about to return to the world?"
All sorts of discussions arose.
Within the Primordial Forbidden Zone, Ye Changge had nothing to do that day and listened to music in the pleasure quarters.
Beauties accompanied him on either side, while Hua Qianyue massaged him. Before him, a group of lovely women danced gracefully, their varied movements each displaying their own charms in a dazzling spectacle. It could truly be called one of life's great pleasures.
The instant Dugu Qiubai's name appeared, he too looked toward the Human Ranking.
"Dugu Qiubai? The reward is the Dugu Nine Swords. I hope you won't be too weak."
After speaking, he glanced at his eldest disciple, Lei Qianshan, and his youngest disciple, Shi Hao.
Both were cultivating diligently at that moment.
Afterward, he paid it no further attention.
Meanwhile, the Sword Sect and Saber Sect both announced that they would withdraw from worldly affairs.
The news instantly plunged the Southern Region into endless speculation.
"Heavens! The Sword Sect actually chose to withdraw from the world in an era when the great tide is descending. It's truly unbelievable."
"That's not much, really. At least they haven't sealed their mountain."
"True. If they sealed their mountain, they'd disappear completely."