Chapter 268: Chapter 266: Profound Light Realm

Within the Endless Abyss.

Slaughter was everywhere. Even the Abyss Demons fought and devoured one another.

In a mountain range shrouded in darkness.

A young man in black, wielding a longsword of black and red, carved a path through the mountains, leaving a trail of corpses in his wake.

Whether Dark Creature or Abyss Demon, any who crossed the young man’s path were utterly slaughtered.

The young man seized the Demon Cores and Demon Crystals from their bodies.

He used the Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique to devour the essence of their energy, causing his own cultivation to skyrocket.

In the blink of an eye, he had already spent ten full days in the Endless Abyss.

Over the past ten days, the number of Dark Creatures and Abyss Demons Jiang Chen had slaughtered surpassed ten thousand. The crimson fuller of his Dustfall Sword now gleamed a brilliant, wet red, reeking with the thick stench of blood.

"ROAR! Human! Kill him!"

"Eat him!"

"Human flesh... so delicious..."

More than thirty Abyss Demons materialized before Jiang Chen. Each one had a ghastly face and long fangs, their mouths filled with razor-sharp, serrated teeth capable of chewing through solid steel.

Jiang Chen’s expression was glacial. "Then die!"

Flashes of his sword danced through the air, unleashing one Sword Qi Lotus after another.

The lotuses blossomed mid-air, each petal exploding outward in all directions. Wherever they passed, the hideous Abyss Demons were sliced into chunks of flesh, their bodies left utterly dismembered.

’Thirty-six Demon Crystals? Once I devour these, I should be able to break through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm Second Stage!’ A look of excitement crossed Jiang Chen’s face.

He activated the Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique, and a golden vortex began to slowly turn within him.

He devoured every last one of the Demon Crystals in his hand.

One...

Two...

The essence from all thirty-six Demon Crystals was completely devoured, and the Life Palace within his Dantian erupted in a dazzling golden light.

The Life Palace suddenly trembled.

It flew out from his body, the great gate of the Life Palace slowly swinging open.

Streams of golden Profound Yellow True Essence surged forth, converging into a golden Sea of True Essence. The waves churned violently, and the deafening roar of crashing breakers filled the air.

RUMBLE!

The waves churned, and a massive Golden Palace slowly rose from the Sea of True Essence.

The two Life Palaces shone, mirroring each other.

Heavenly Destiny Realm Second Stage!

’I’ve finally broken through. The Celestial Fate Hunting starts in thirteen days. I’ll have to find a way to go deeper into the Endless Abyss and hunt even stronger Abyss Demons...’ Jiang Chen took a deep breath, sword in hand, and sped toward the depths of the Endless Abyss.

...

While Jiang Chen was training arduously in the Endless Abyss, a world-shaking change was taking place in the Profound Light Realm, another Void Realm controlled by the Saint Martial Sword Sect.

The Profound Light Realm.

Of the fifteen Void Realms controlled by the Saint Martial Sword Sect, it was the smallest, yet also the richest.

The access Token for the Profound Light Realm was worth one million Contribution Points.

At this moment...

In the very center of the Profound Light Realm, a colossal island floating tens of thousands of feet in the air erupted with a dazzling, brilliant light, like a blazing sun suspended at the apex of the heavens.

This single floating island provided all the light for the entire Profound Light Realm.

In the center of the island stood a tower-like structure.

The structure was thousands of feet tall, piercing the clouds, its top disappearing from sight.

Its crystal-like walls emanated a sacred white light.

A man and a woman sat cross-legged in the center of the tower. Before them hovered a hexagram as transparent as crystal. Sacred radiance flowed within it, and the energy it emanated was incomparably pure and clear. Training in its vicinity could boost one’s cultivation speed by more than tenfold.

The man on the left, clad in a blue robe, radiated a sacred and inviolable, supreme aura. A single glance at him felt like being swallowed by a vast sea or gazing up at the boundless sky.

Wherever he was, he was the focal point.

The very center of the world.

This was an incredibly dominant master.

He was the number one disciple of the Saint Martial Sword Sect’s Inner Sect, the Sword Sect’s sole Saint Child, and the peerless prodigy ranked first on the Earth List—Lan Haichen.

The young woman sitting cross-legged before Lan Haichen was none other than Jiang Ziyou!

The Jiang Ziyou of today was even stronger and more terrifying than when she had challenged the Earth Martial Hall. It was as if a terrifying beast lay dormant within her slender frame. Her every look and her charming smile could captivate the world, but when her delicate brows knitted in anger, she was like an awakened primordial beast, inspiring bone-deep fear.

The young woman maintained the Five Hearts Facing Heaven posture as streams of incomparably pure energy from the hexagram poured into her body.

If Jiang Chen were here, he would discover that Jiang Ziyou’s cultivation had astonishingly reached the Heavenly Destiny Realm Fourth Stage.

"Hooo..."

Exhaling a long breath, Jiang Ziyou opened her limpid eyes. She looked at the handsome young man before her, a hint of excitement on her face. "Senior Brother Lan, I can already feel a connection to the Profound Light Realm."

"Excellent!"

Lan Haichen’s voice was calm, a gentle smile on his face. "Ziyou, at your current rate, you will certainly be able to completely refine this Void Realm Heart of the Profound Light Realm before the Celestial Fate Hunting begins. When that time comes, you’ll be able to use the Profound Light Treasure Technique. Even a Union Palace Realm expert would find it difficult to kill you!"

"This is all thanks to Senior Brother Lan’s benevolence. Ziyou will never forget it!" Jiang Ziyou said quickly.

Lan Haichen smiled faintly. "There is no need for such words between us. Continue your training. The Celestial Fate Hunting starts in thirteen days. I hope you won’t disappoint me."

"Rest assured, Senior Brother Lan. Ziyou will not disappoint you!"

A confident smile graced Jiang Ziyou’s lovely face. As Jiang Chen’s image surfaced in her mind, her expression turned sinister. ’Jiang Chen, you could never have imagined that with Senior Brother Lan’s help, I’m already on the verge of refining the Void Realm Heart of the Profound Light Realm, could you? Just you wait. The Celestial Fate Hunting will be the day you lose your head!’

Jiang Ziyou closed her eyes and resumed refining the Void Realm Heart before her.

Watching Jiang Ziyou resume her cultivation, a flash of deeply concealed greed and fervor flickered in Lan Haichen’s calm eyes. He muttered to himself in a voice only he could hear, ’Soon. It will be a success very soon. Once she breaks through to the Peak of the Heavenly Destiny Realm, this Furnace Cauldron will be truly complete. The Union Palace Realm... I can hardly wait!’

Just as Lan Haichen was lost in thought, a sinister voice suddenly echoed in his mind: "How are things progressing?"

Lan Haichen jolted, his eyes flickering. He seemed to hold the owner of the voice in great dread.

His light-blue, sword-like brows furrowed slightly as he responded in a low voice, "I have some leads. That thing seems to be closely related to the Celestial Fate Hunting." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Hmph. You don’t have much time left. If you fail to obtain that thing by the deadline, you know the consequences." The sinister voice was utterly devoid of emotion.

A cold glint flashed in Lan Haichen’s eyes. He replied in a heavy tone, "I will naturally do my utmost to accomplish what I promised you. However, that does not mean you can order me, Lan Haichen, around as you please."

"Then I shall await your good news."

The sinister voice in his mind gradually faded.

Lan Haichen let out a long sigh of relief, his fists clenched tightly. His gaze grew even more frigid, filled with resolve. ’I must get that thing!’