Within the five-colored star in the realm called the Ninefold Hell, a white-haired youth flew among the misty clouds. Beside him was a blazing phoenix and an onyx cat. He wielded a pair of longswords, one gold and the other black, and both of them were covered in blood, albeit green, blue, and white instead of red.
âThereâs more there! Letâs go!â Ying Huo cried. Tianming immediately flapped his wings and changed direction.
From the direction he was headed before, a wave of black humanoid creatures about three or four meters in height came swarming over. They were all specters. Tianming didnât even dare to let Xian Xian and Lan Huang out to ensure he had the highest possible mobility.
Even though the specters were large, ugly, and fierce, they were incredibly calculating and intelligent, and all too happy to vent their combined hatred of all humanity on Tianming. Ever since he had been discovered, they started coming at him in a suicidal fashion.
âHow many have we killed?â
âAround ten thousand, Big Brother,â Feiling said in a tired voice.
âIf it werenât for the Greenspark Tower, I wouldâve died a hundred times over!â He gasped coldly at the prank fate was playing on him. Fate was a cruel and callous mistress indeed.
âWeâre blocked off from above! Head down! Letâs pray that none of their elites are on my tail!â
There were definitely even more terrifying beings within the Ninefold Hell. Tianming was forced into low altitude. There were at least a hundred thousand specters behind him, most of them samsarans. Although they didnât have lifebound beasts, they could still cultivate. Even more terrifying was that they had stars within their eyes, a sure sign that they could evolve using manna.
All sorts of abilities began to rain down on him nonstop.
âWhatâs that?â He suddenly noticed a lot of gigantic cocoons scattered all over the ground. A good number of them gave off signs of life, while most others seemed incredibly weak. âLetâs give it a try!â
He unleashed the Imperealm Sword Formation and blasted the cocoons apart, causing fresh blood to spill.
âAre they dormant?!â Tianming was shocked. They were indeed non-human and had all sorts of interesting appearances he hadnât seen before. âSo it must be some sort of hibernationâŠâ
He stopped thinking too much and went down to slaughter them. The cocooned specters had no way of resisting at all. Wherever his sword ki went, death followed, causing the specters chasing him to go even wilder with rage.
âKill him!â
âItâs a human! A human managed to get in!â
âHe might have the secret to leaving this place!â
Tianming was like a fire that set everything ablaze wherever he went. All of a sudden, he felt a fatal premonition. Furrowing his brow, he managed to avoid a white beam. He turned back and saw a specter that made him feel a really bad omen. The specter didnât look too old, and was about Tianmingâs size. Oddly, he looked far more human than specter. He was entirely pale white, including his hair and eyes, and looked almost sickly. Though, despite his human-like appearance, the aura he gave off was demonic, to say the least. He was definitely an elite specter.
âCrown Prince!â All the specters immediately knelt.
âHeâs a human!â
âSurround him,â said the pale-white man.
âCrown prince, eh?â Tianming narrowed his eyes as he observed him. No matter how the specter society was organized, anyone that could bear that title was definitely of a supreme bloodline. Despite his youthful appearance, his aura was a sure sign of the threat he posed.
Tianming narrowed his eyes. âItâll take some time for me to unravel the formation and leave. Iâll only stand a chance if I take him hostage first!â
The moment he had that thought, he charged straight in for the kill.
âMove aside. Iâll take him down!â the prince said. He grasped in the air and a white, bony warblade appeared in his hand. It had fifteen tribulation patterns. Without another word, his blade clashed with Tianmingâs Animacorpus Eradication. An ear-piercing clang rang out as sparks flew.
âHow powerful! It isnât just tribulation force, but his physical body too!â Even though Tianmingâs Ancient Deepstar Godbody was powerful, it couldnât compare to the princeâs.
âHmm, you donât look that old, yet youâre so powerfulâŠ.â The crown prince seemed just as impressed. âGang up on him!â
The fellow was quite smart and immediately decided not to fight alone. âThis humanâs trying to take me hostage.â
He was immediately able to figure out Tianmingâs intentions. However, that didnât mean he could do anything about it. There was only one chance!
âGo!â Tianming, Meow Meow, and Ying Huo locked their gazes locked on the prince. âMake way!â
Ying Huoâs flames and Meow Meowâs lightning spread out immediately as Tianming donned the Dragonhide and flapped his Celestial Wings. Then, he used the Soulshaker Eye! Now that he had absorbed the Archaionfiend Eye, the ability had improved at least ten times in power.
The next instant, the crown prince bled from both eyes. Tianming used the Ninesky Beastsoul Formation. The transcendent sword formation came striking with full force. The specter prince coldly watched it unfold. Knowing that he couldnât escape, he immediately counterattacked.
Thousands of specters launched their abilities at Tianming. Tianming relied on Dragonhide to weather the damage and break out of the encirclement, then finally reached the crown prince, battered, bleeding, and charred all over.
âHeâs still alive despite all that?!â The prince was genuinely shocked.
Their blades crossed, once more sending an ear-piercing clash reverberating throughout. The bone warblade shattered, but that was just Tianmingâs first strike. He followed up with a second strike, the power of the sword formation instantly boring nine holes in the princeâs body and dying his pale figure red.
âUghhhâŠâ groaned the prince. Before he could react, Tianming held one of his swords to the crown princeâs neck and pointed the other at the rest. Ying Huo and Meow Meow were badly injured, having taken most of the abilities the other specters launched, and returned to the lifebound space.
âStop now or your crown princeâs head will roll!â Tianming spat out a mouthful of blood and glared at all the rest, who immediately stopped.
âLet the crown prince go!â
âGet out of my way!â Tianming charged upward with his sword pointing up. Initially, nobody wanted to give way, so he cut off the princeâs left arm, causing him to cry out in agony and order the rest to leave.
Being in the Ninefold Hell was no joke. If Tianming didnât play his cards carefully, he would be dead for sure. Covered in blood of varying colors, he looked like a god of war as he dragged the crown prince along.
âHuman, are you going to take me out of here?â The prince smiled coldly.
âOh, you bet.â Tianming returned the smile in kind and immediately began using his left arm to unravel the formation when he reached the borderline. Hundreds of thousands of specters were all gathered behind him, cursing and threatening him nonstop. However, the moment they dared to approach, Tianming would cut off the princeâs head. He wasnât messing around, and his enemies werenât either. Finally, he tore an opening large enough for him to squeeze into.
The specters must think that just because I can leave from here, theyâll be able to as well. Little do they know that openings made by my Plundering Arm close back up automatically! Tianming wasnât breaking the door and leaving, he was using a key to unlock it instead. Since the door was left intact, it could be shut again!
As he squeezed through the formation, the specter prince looked at the opening with a fervent gaze. This was the dream they had held for more than two hundred millennia, and it was happening right before his eyes!
âDo you want to leave?â Tianming asked.
âI do! I do!â the prince answered zealously.
âAlright, Iâll take you out of here!â
Tianming swung his sword and took the princeâs head, then threw the headless corpse back to the crowd. The crown prince died right there with his eyes wide open.
âWonderful. Keep your eyes open just like that as you witness the outside world!â Tianming turned and left, leaving an explosive commotion behind him.
âThe crown prince is dead!â
âWhy is the overlord not here yet?!â
âHeâs awakening the othersâŠ.â
âOh no, the soulpearl is in the crown princeâs eyes! That human took it away!â
âWhat?!â
That instant, their expressions changed completely.
âŠâŠ
An army of five million troops from Nonahall stepped into Pentaphaseâs territory at the border between their divine realms.
âBrothers, the tribulation elders are attacking Taiji Peak Lake! Itâs our turn to make it big!â
âApart from Monorigin, Pentaphase, Triflair, and Octagram have no imperial sons to fight us back, right?â
âHahaha, the elites of their sects have all gone to help Taiji Peak Lake!â
âOur other brothers have gone to the other two divine realms!â
âEveryone, remember: the ghoul king ordered us to kill only beastmasters! Leave the lifebound beasts alive!â
âUnderstood!â
âŠâŠ
In front of the Nine Dragon Formation at Taiji Peak Lake stood a man dressed in gold. He glared at the battle in front of him with his three golden eyes, and there was a glowing trident stabbed into the ground beside him. He watched as Jian Wuyi, Jian Wufeng, and Jian Qingyuan charged toward him with swords raised.