Jiuyou Shisai roared, black light erupting from his eyes. He only had time to raise his right hand, which shimmered with dark light, and strike the crown of his head! A dense surge of black energy burst forth! At this moment, the expression on Jiuyou Shisai’s face was one of intense hatred and utter helplessness.

Inside his body, black mists suddenly surged again! This was a method of self-destruction, forcing out the potential locked within him! Even in his past, he had never resorted to this trick! Yet now, he was driven to such extremes! But it was already too late… how swift was the speed of the sword’s flight? Swish—!

One sword passed straight through his left chest, the gleaming blade punching clear through his back! Black blood poured out in a torrent!

Jiuyou Shisai cried out, twisting his body; his muscles, bones, and blood vessels had turned like refined copper. Before the formidable Xuan energy of the sword could detonate, it snapped clean off at the hilt! His body was actually harder than this steel! And, using the momentum of that very long sword, he shot away diagonally! A sweep of twenty zhang! He was still fleeing! Slice!

Another strike—this time, the sword pierced his back and emerged through his chest! Jiuyou Shisai coughed violently, twisting his body again, and with a crisp snap, another sword, sharp enough to cleave gold and shatter jade, broke upon him!

Just then, the third sword, the final, fatal blow, arrived!

This sword pierced through his lower abdomen and emerged near his shoulder blade on his back! From bottom to top, spanning almost his entire body!

Three swords, every single one capable of inflicting a fatal injury! All landed true!

But Jiuyou Shisai roared toward the heavens, the black energy enveloping him suddenly thickening to completely obscure his entire form. Then, snap, the third treasured sword! Broke!

Then, he viciously thrust a hand stained with black blood forward, his five fingers brutally impaling the head of the master who had delivered the third strike. When he yanked his hand back, the black gore had turned a vivid scarlet!

And where that master’s fine head had been, after Jiuyou Shisai withdrew his hand, it resembled nothing more than a skull desiccated over millennia! His body fluttered like a falling leaf, plummeting from the high altitude!

Then Jiuyou Shisai let out a long, piercing cry. The three long swords remained embedded in him, gleaming brightly, casting thousands of rays of golden light under the sun. But he, bearing these three swords, swept forward nearly a hundred zhang in a dash, and suddenly, his figure vanished!

From beginning to end, he never once touched the ground; his body remained airborne, without any visible means of support, utterly traversing the void. After a ferocious battle, he disappeared! This is how he fulfilled his promise to Jun Mobang! The price was a body riddled with mortal wounds! At this very moment, the eleven figures on the ground had just landed and were preparing to spring up again! But it was already too late.

Everything had transpired in that single instant! One could imagine the terrifying speed of that engagement! In the blink of an eye, nearly thirty masters had exchanged blows; some dead, some wounded, some fled!

This was the true meaning of the saying: oceans shift and mountains change in a moment! Only those who witnessed this battle could truly grasp the implication of that phrase! Far off in the sky, only Jiuyou Shisai’s venomous voice drifted back: “You wait and see!”

A legend truly lives up to its name. Jiuyou Shisai, suffering continuous, grave injuries, his profound power utterly depleted—yet even in such a desolate situation, he still managed to slip away in the ensuing chaos! Moreover, he escaped pursuit from those who cornered him! Remarkable, truly remarkable!

Jun Mowo, who had been observing the battle invisibly high in the air, saw Shisai was in mortal danger and intended to lend aid, hoping to curry further favor, as Shisai’s assistance in shouldering the pressure from the Three Great Sacred Lands was ultimately more beneficial than detrimental.

But the subsequent battle unfolded in a manner that left him dumbstruck, breaking out in cold sweat! This wasn't from fear, but from sheer astonishment!

He watched Jiuyou Shisai, relying solely on his own strength, fighting twenty-six of the world’s top masters, severely wounding the enemy, personally killing six, and ultimately escaping with injuries intact. He nearly stuck his tongue out and dropped it on the ground. Moreover, throughout the entire ordeal, the brute had remained mindful of the pact between them, fighting the entire battle in the air, preferring to suffer disadvantage rather than land…

This… this was a genuine monstrous prodigy! They all claimed to be prodigies, but his current meager skill, compared to Jiuyou Shisai, was like a drop in the ocean compared to the vast sea. There was simply no comparison; they weren't even on the same technical plane!

The allied forces of the Phantom Mansion and the Three Great Sacred Lands—those two or three dozen peak experts who had seemed as ethereal and detached as immortals—despite the multi-layered planning and the advantage of calculating against the unsuspecting, had six killed by him, seven or eight severely wounded, and almost everyone lightly injured!

These peak powerhouses, who rarely assembled in one lifetime, could only stare at one another, every face etched with extreme shock! And a strange, inexplicable sense of defeat!

With such a massive aggregation of peak experts, such meticulous planning, and the determination of everyone present to fight regardless of cost—with all these advantageous factors combined—they still failed to annihilate that scourge of the age, allowing the fiend to escape... Looking at the bloodstains coating their bodies, everyone was momentarily struck mute!

Facing the combined assault of eight Saint Emperor level experts blocking the front, eighteen Saint Kings taking turns engaging, sustaining three wounds absolutely sufficient to be fatal—and then snapping swords while soaring away… This heaven-shaking, earth-shattering divine skill! It was truly unimaginable! The leading White Robed Saint Emperor sighed deeply, raising his right hand. A dazzling beam of light shot straight up into the sky, climbing several hundred zhang high before exploding in the air with a boom! Immediately afterward, a corresponding sound of explosion echoed from far away.

“The follow-up personnel stationed outside have received the message. They will take over the pursuit of Jiuyou Shisai! Given the Demon’s current condition, he might not actually escape safely!” This man said faintly, frowning. His face suddenly paled, and a wisp of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.

Launching this signal flare rocket was not difficult in itself, but throwing the object several hundred zhang high… that was beyond the capability of an ordinary person. This throw had clearly triggered the internal injuries he had forcefully suppressed earlier!

“Brother Cao, do not worry. Although Jiuyou Shisai is formidable, having expended massive amounts of power to break the seal, and then engaging in a fierce battle with us, he must be reduced to his last dregs. I believe this time he will certainly not be so lucky!” Another man, cross-legged on the ground, circulating his energy to heal, said solemnly.

“We cannot be blindly optimistic… The Jiuyou Clan's unique, powerful regenerative capabilities far surpass those of us in the Saint Realm. We have all witnessed this before. Though this wretch’s current injuries are severe, they have not yet reached the point of being absolutely fatal!” This ‘Brother Cao’ frowned and sighed.

He pondered for a moment before continuing, “Although he forcibly broke the seal ahead of schedule this time, his inherent power must be greatly diminished, reaching at most only sixty percent of his full strength. The combined strike of twenty-six of us was overwhelmingly potent; I believe his internal organs must have suffered severe shock, resulting in extremely critical internal trauma! And the two palms I struck him with, I’m confident, broke several of his ribs… Furthermore, the interception by the Blood Sea Saint Emperors and the formation of six Saint Land masters forced him to unleash the Void Shattering technique… further exhausting his last vestiges of potential… and then those final three swords…”

As he spoke, he gestured upon his own body: “All three swords struck true; two in the chest, and the third pierced directly through his entire abdomen—all fatal wounds! Yet, under such fatal blows, he did not perish on the spot, and he was still able to escape in the ensuing moment, making it impossible for us to follow! Jiuyou Shisai… truly lives up to his name! Meeting him is better than merely hearing of him! Such world-altering strength is something this generation of ours will never attain!”

Another man in purple coughed, clearly suffering internal injuries from the impact, blood staining his lips, yet he remarked, “Indeed. These injuries alone would have been enough to cause the simultaneous demise of three Saint Emperors. Even discounting his special constitution, such cultivation is something we can only dream of possessing…”

“Not to mention he killed six of our men during the skirmish! Two Saint Emperors and four Saint Kings! Remember, the power he displayed just now was at most forty percent of his true capacity…” Calculating this, everyone suddenly gasped, a chill rising from the soles of their feet straight up their backs…

The demon had finally escaped! Although they offered comforting words to each other regarding the outside forces intercepting Jiuyou Shisai, in reality, every single person thought the same: the hope was decidedly slim!

The most elite forces had all been gathered here! The manpower assembled was the most luxurious lineup the Three Great Sacred Lands could muster! As for the hidden strength of the Ethereal Phantom Mansion, they remained uncertain, but the current lineup of the Three Great Sacred Lands represented their absolute peak!

Aside from each faction possessing an ancestor whispered about in legend—whose existence was unknown—the Saint Emperors represented the pinnacle power the Sacred Lands could deploy!

Even if the forces outside chanced upon Jiuyou Shisai, they might not possess the capability to stop him…

Perhaps they would only serve as food for him instead…

Jiuyou Shisai was not meant to die!

If Jiuyou Shisai operating at only forty percent strength was this terrifying, what would the outcome be once he recovered his full power?

They were certain that once he recuperated, he would immediately unleash an unprecedented bloodbath—and that would truly mark the end of the good days for the Three Great Sacred Lands!

No one had expected that gathering so many people, so many peak powerhouses, and deploying such meticulous arrangements would still fail to kill the incomplete Jiuyou Shisai! Looking at the twenty-odd people who had reassembled, everyone wore a bitter smile. Yes, a bitter smile.

At their level, life and death were no longer matters of deep concern. While they felt disappointment or perhaps regret over the six who died in the recent battle, they did not feel intense sorrow. Life and death were just like that! Everyone would eventually face it.

“Saint Emperor Cao, I demand an explanation from your Heavenly Punishment sect!” Among the nine burly men, the one who stepped forward was leading, with a leopard’s head, round eyes, and a tiger’s build, appearing quite imposing, yet his eyes burned with extreme fury: “Years ago, the Three Sacred Lands, One Fiend, and Phantom Mansion jointly made an oath: first, to seize the Heavens; second, to execute Jiuyou Shisai! You and I were both present back then, our words ringing clear, still fresh in our ears!”

(Asking weakly for monthly tickets… it’s the end of the month… ahem, everyone shouldn't waste them… Chairman Mao said: Wastefulness is shameful… To be continued, for future developments, please log on to… m for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!) F