Chapter 190: Chapter 188: Upper-level Holy Sword

After bidding farewell to Tang Ni, Xia Qing, and the other women, Jiang Jichen headed east.

The landscape was one of sand dunes and oases, a vast land of endless quicksand. The majestic scene called to mind a lone plume of smoke rising straight from a great desert, or a round sun setting over a long river.

As he walked, he tended to his injuries.

However, after several life-and-death battles, his Realm had reached a point that was difficult to suppress. Even with the use of a Sealing Skill, he felt the seal could shatter at any moment, forcing him to break through to the next Realm.

’I can suppress this for one more day. Tomorrow, I have to find a place to break through!’

He traveled at a moderate pace. After half a day, he spotted a magnificent, massive ancient city in the distance, standing amidst an endless sea of golden sand.

Its dilapidated walls were etched with the marks of time’s passage.

Amidst the swirling sand and wind, it seemed to bear witness to the world’s cycles of change.

The city was so vast that its end was out of sight. The air above it was filled with countless ancient Restrictions, making it impossible for anyone to fly in. The only way was to find a gate and enter on foot.

This was the Ancient Ruined City!

What lay before Jiang Jichen was the West City Gate of the Ancient Ruined City.

He had learned that the Ancient Ruined City had two entrances: the East City Gate and the West City Gate. Depending on the path taken, travelers would end up at one or the other.

When Jiang Jichen arrived, he saw that over two hundred people were already gathered before the West City Gate of the Ancient Ruined City.

He quickly ducked behind a sand dune to observe the situation outside the Ancient Ruined City’s West Gate from afar.

A casual glance turned into a startling shock. The sight was enough to make his scalp tingle.

He saw too many familiar faces. The problem was, they were all his mortal enemies—the kind who would immediately fight to the death. Worse, many among them were strong enough to crush him outright.

’Damn it, why have they all gathered at the Ancient Ruined City’s West Gate? Are the heavens messing with me?’

Jiang Jichen cursed inwardly. The path ahead seemed treacherous, his chances of survival slim. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Seeing those faces, both familiar and unfamiliar, only one phrase could describe Jiang Jichen’s mood: the road ahead was more difficult than climbing to the heavens.

Before the Ancient Ruined City’s West Gate, the terrain was open. The various sects and Noble Families were gathered there, standing in clearly demarcated groups.

The Cang Family had over fifty members present. Aside from the accompanying Lin Qing and others from the Lin Family, every one of them possessed a cultivation at or above the Grandmaster level. They were led by a man and a woman whose cultivation was far stronger than it had been in Fenggu Town. Before, they hadn’t even reached the Foundation Establishment Realm, but now they were at the Pseudo-Heaven-level Dao Platform Foundation Establishment Realm. They had clearly found a supreme Foundation Establishment Pill in the Ancient Training Illusion Realm and achieved a breakthrough. Jiang Jichen could sense that even with their power suppressed, their cultivation was still at the Foundation Establishment Middle Realm. Only one word could describe them: terrifying.

The Guo Family was led by Guo Qishan. He had few men left with him, only five or six, but each was an expert at or above the Foundation Establishment Middle Realm. They had also brought ten people from the Sealed Ancient Land.

The Wei Family was led by Wei Xiaolang, with Zhongg Li and Wei Xiaohao at his side. They numbered around sixty people in total, including ten from the Sealed Ancient Land.

The Nangong Family was led by Nangong Jinjie, with Nangong Zhao and Hua Xiaoling at his side. Jiang Jichen could see the reluctance on Hua Xiaoling’s face. Including ten members from the Hua Family, their group numbered over seventy. Their cultivation levels ranged from the Innate Eighth Layer to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Realm.

The Blood Refining Alliance had twenty members, led by the red-caped Blood Hand. With them were ten disciples from the Profound Ancient Lake Hai Family of the Sealed Ancient Land. Yee Youmeng and Luoo Long were also among them. Seeing that they, along with Hua Xiaoling, were unharmed, Jiang Jichen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The rest were powerful Loose Cultivators, nearly twenty of them in all, each at or above the Foundation Establishment Middle Realm.

In total, over two hundred people were gathered before the West Gate of the Ancient Ruined City.

The number of people at the East Gate of the Ancient Ruined City was likely much larger, probably six or seven hundred. Adding those still scattered throughout the Training Illusion Realm, the total number probably didn’t exceed two thousand.

But considering that over ten thousand Loose Cultivators and disciples from the Noble Families and Sects had entered, fewer than two thousand now remained.

How cruel was the path of cultivation?

Jiang Jichen, however, didn’t dwell on this. His attention was captivated by the scene unfolding before the Ancient Ruined City.

He activated a Secret Technique that allowed him to merge with the void, becoming invisible as he crept forward. He finally reached the nearest sand dune outside the Ancient Ruined City’s West Gate, completely undetected. He was now only a hundred meters away from the crowd.

With his sharp eyesight, hearing, and Divine Soul Sensing, Jiang Jichen could perceive everything happening before the West Gate with perfect clarity, not missing a single detail.

In the distance, he saw that everyone’s eyes were fixed on the space above the Ancient Ruined City’s West Gate.

An ancient sword hung there, suspended over the gate, but it was enveloped in a blood-red Restriction, making it impossible for anyone to take it.

’It’s above the Celestial Level... a Holy Artifact!’

Jiang Jichen was secretly startled as he looked at the ancient sword and sensed the aura it emanated.

Ancient patterns swirled around it, and it glowed with a faint purple light. He could faintly make out the image of a soaring dragon. It was truly extraordinary.

This ancient sword had clearly hung above the Ancient City’s gate for countless ages, yet no one had ever been able to reach it. The Restriction was simply too terrifying, leaving the sword tantalizingly out of reach. Even those from the Sealed Ancient Land would face certain death upon contact.

’But that’s a Holy Artifact! Who wouldn’t want something like that, hanging right there above the gate?’

After all, Holy Artifacts were extremely rare in the entire Southern Continent—fewer than a hundred in total. There were only ten Upper-level Sacred Artifacts, with one held by each of the Seven Great Families and Three Major Sects.

And that ancient sword was an Upper-level Sacred Artifact!

If any Noble Family or Sect were to obtain another Upper-level Sacred Artifact, they could absolutely reshape the balance of power in the Southern Continent.

For this reason, the Seven Great Families and Three Major Sects had schemed for countless years, but none had ever succeeded in acquiring it.

This time, however, an opportunity seemed to have presented itself. There was a real hope of breaking the Restriction and claiming the Upper-level Holy Sword.

The great gate of the Ancient Ruined City was now open, but no one went inside. All eyes were glued to the Upper-level Holy Sword suspended above the entrance.

If anyone could obtain the Holy Sword, even a mere Junior Cultivator, they would experience a meteoric rise. By activating the sword, they could slay experts far beyond their own Realm.

For example, an ordinary cultivator at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage could, with the Holy Sword in hand, kill anyone within the Foundation Establishment Realm and even severely injure those in realms above it.

Different people could wield the Holy Sword to varying effect, but its power was always absolute.

The man leading the Cang Family suddenly spoke, his voice cold. "The blood sacrifice for the Restriction is reaching its limit. If we offer up thirty more people, we can surely weaken its power to a minimum. It would be enough for someone from the Sealed Ancient Land to retrieve the Holy Sword."

"To perform the blood sacrifice, it must be with the lifeblood of those with the Sealed Ancient Land bloodline. Heh heh... So, which of you is willing to offer up the people from the Sealed Ancient Land under your command?"

A Loose Cultivator at the Late-stage Foundation Establishment Realm had spoken up abruptly. His words struck like a thunderclap, and the expressions of everyone from the Sealed Ancient Land changed drastically.