CRACK! CRACK!

The next moment.

All the surrounding black palaces reacted in an instant. Their gates swung open, and from within, black-armored battle generals charged out one after another.

However,

These black-armored battle generals all wielded different weapons.

Among them,

Shang Ying faced a black, saber-wielding general; Murphy Rain, a black, spear-wielding general; Kong Desheng, a crimson, club-wielding general; Si Yu, a gray, hammer-wielding general; Gongsun Zhi, a blood-red, axe-wielding general; Lv Buwei, a black, dual-saber-wielding general; and Xu Xing, a black, halberd-wielding general.

This time,

a total of nine black palaces had appeared, unleashing nine different powerful battle generals. Though Shang Ying and the others were strong, they could only hold back seven of them.

As a result,

two black-armored battle generals charged toward Xu Qing from different directions. One of them wielded a pitch-black longsword, its mastery of the Sword Dao unleashing countless streams of Sword Qi.

The other battle general wielded twin swords and also possessed an exceptionally powerful Sword Dao. The two formidable enemy generals closed in for the kill.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!!!

Countless collisions rang out.

Xu Qing’s expression was calm as he wielded his Level 10 Meridian Seven Star Sword. In his grasp, the long, slender blade transformed into countless sword phantoms, like a field of Sword Lotuses blooming at once.

And so,

all the attacks and Sword Qi from the single-sword and twin-sword generals were completely blocked by Xu Qing, who appeared to be handling them with ease.

"Hah..."

Xu Qing shook his head, his gaze calm and unwavering as it swept over the two black-armored generals. In a perfectly level tone, he said, "Too weak."

BUZZ! BUZZ!

PFFT! PFFT!

Pitch-black blood splattered.

A flash glinted in Xu Qing’s eyes. With a mere thought, the Meridian Seven Star Sword in his hand changed, splitting into a mother sword and seven accompanying child swords.

"Meridian Seven-Star Sword Array!"

SHING!

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Xu Qing unleashed the Mighty Power of his Level 10 Meridian Seven Star Sword. With a wave of his right hand, the Magic Sword in his grasp manifested a Sword Array that enveloped both black-armored generals.

As countless flashes of Sword Light streaked past,

in just an instant,

the two black-armored generals were dead at Xu Qing’s hand. They were shredded into a cloud of ash by the endless Sword Qi, leaving not even a bone behind as they dissipated into the world.

RUMBLE!!!

Xu Qing swung his sword twice more. The terrifying Sword Aura nearly tore the Void apart, demolishing the two black palaces with unstoppable force.

"What?"

"This..."

"Master Xu, he..."

"Hiss..."

"Two black-armored generals... those were two black-armored generals! Master Xu dealt with them so easily, while we’re still locked in a bitter struggle."

"Master Xu’s strength is just too immense."

"..."

Shang Ying and the others had naturally noticed the situation on his side. Shock was written all over their faces, their voices filled with astonishment as they were plunged into a state of profound disbelief.

DONG! DONG! DONG!!!

Xu Qing looked up. He heard the sound of different war drums. After finishing off the two black-armored generals, he had planned to help Shang Ying and the others deal with the rest.

But,

Xu Qing sensed a stronger aura, a more terrifying Power. Looking up, he saw the very top of the "World Array." Countless vortexes swirled and black clouds roiled, forming a coiling black flood dragon.

The next moment,

a pitch-black throne descended. This throne was majestic to the extreme, radiating an incredibly powerful pressure.

And,

upon this pitch-black throne, a black-haired man lay languidly. He looked down from on high, his eyes a bloody-black color, his gaze sweeping over Xu Qing and the others.

"So it is you who dares to obstruct this Emperor?"

Atop the pitch-black throne,

the languid black-haired man spoke with a majestic tone. His voice seemed to come from all directions as his eyes fixed on Xu Qing. "And you... you dared to kill the Netherworld Battle Generals under this Emperor’s command."

"You truly deserve death!!!"

"Hah..."

Xu Qing took a deep breath. His expression remained calm, unmoved by the immense pressure. In contrast, Shang Ying and the others all wore grave expressions.

It was a known fact.

After the "Ancient Text Incident" broke out in the Supreme Spirit Realm, both the Central Tang Dynasty and the Nine Great Sacred Lands had conducted their own investigations, giving them some insight into the matter.

To be precise,

during this "Ancient Text Incident," the "Ancient Text" had appeared and been discovered in the Imperial Capital of the "Supreme Dynasty." The legacy contained within this "Ancient Text" was exceptionally terrifying.

It was named: the Supreme Fengdu Scripture.

It could be said that,

if one could successfully complete the Cultivation of this "Supreme Fengdu Scripture," they could establish a complete "Underworld System" and manifest an "Underworld Divine Country."

It would be powerful enough to enthrone a multitude of Underworld deities.

This included

the supreme "Fengdu Emperor."

Below that,

there were also the positions of the Five Ghost Emperors.

Further down,

there were naturally the "Luofeng Six Heavens," the Ten Hall Yama, the Judges of the Underworld, Ox Head and Horse Face, and Black and White Impermanence...

Therefore,

if the "Underworld Divine Country" were successfully established, it would naturally mean the complete Devouring of the "Supreme Dynasty," transforming it into the "Underworld Divine Country." The Supreme Spirit Realm would then, as a matter of course, be dragged entirely into the "Earth Realm."

However,

because the "Ancient Text" appeared in the Supreme Emperor Capital, which was home to numerous powerful experts, even the Emperor of the Supreme Dynasty himself took action.

Subsequently,

a great battle erupted.

The "Ancient Scripture: Supreme Fengdu Scripture" was torn into nine pieces by the Emperor of the Supreme Dynasty using his Emperor Dragon Qi. Each piece contained one-ninth of the "Ancient Scripture: Supreme Fengdu Scripture’s" legacy.

And so,

the legacy of the "Ancient Scripture: Supreme Fengdu Scripture" was split into nine parts and obtained by nine different "fated individuals." They had all succeeded in their Cultivation and had even begun secretly establishing their own ’Underworlds’.

In other words,

the enemy Xu Qing and his companions were facing was one of those nine different fated individuals who had obtained one-ninth of the "Ancient Scripture: Supreme Fengdu Scripture’s" legacy.

Therefore,

this languid, black-haired man had only established a fractured ’Underworld’. Xu Qing and the others were trapped inside this fractured ’Underworld’, not a ’World Array’.

However,

in the eyes of Nie Buqun, the prodigy from the School of Diplomacy, this fractured ’Underworld’ was not so different from a ’World Array’. Both were related to the Array Dao and shared a similar ingenuity. That was why Nie Buqun had mistaken it, but it also meant he was confident he could break this fractured ’Underworld’.

Furthermore,

the gray, misty phantoms Xu Qing had encountered were actually ’Underworld Anomalies’ cultivated by that languid, black-haired man. The nine black palaces corresponded to the ’Ten Halls of the Underworld,’ but because his legacy was incomplete, he had only managed to construct nine pitch-black palaces and cultivate nine Netherworld Battle Generals.

Evidently,

this languid, black-haired man did not yet have the qualifications or the ability to cultivate true ’Ten Hall Yama’.

"In the unseen world, it is as if a will is telling this Emperor that I must not let you live. That I must kill you. Moreover, a great power directly pulled you into this Emperor’s ’Underworld’."

The languid, black-haired man took a deep breath, unconcealed killing intent glinting in his pitch-black eyes. "Since that is the case, this Emperor shall grant you death."

"Twenty-First Layer of Sword Dao!"

SHIING!

Suddenly,

Xu Qing looked up. With no wasted words, he raised the sword in his right hand. The Sword Dao Power he commanded erupted, locking onto the languid, black-haired man as he unleashed a strike with his full strength.