Chapter 156: Insignificant Mortals

Beneath the boundless, dark canopy of the sky, those tentacles carrying dark and evil powers were reduced to absolute dust and scattered across the earth under the joint efforts of the elders and sect masters of the four major sects.

In just a short span of time, the entire battle had turned into a one-sided rout.

A ray of afterglow pierced through the parting clouds.

At that very moment, unnoticed by anyone, the robed figure in black that had been shielding the Huahan Sect vanished from the spot the instant a dawn light fell.

Beneath the black-robed figure, a golden token was rebuffed from the void by a massive fluctuation of energy, fluttering down with the wind to land right beneath the dozen figures fiercely battling beneath the firmament.

"You! Cough, cough, are you all truly capable of nothing more than ganging up on the few..."

Han Anshan's ferocious face betrayed a look of reluctance, his pupils dilated. In the end, his energy spiraled out of control beneath the sword of the foremost purple-robed figure standing before him.

"..."

Facing such a traitor to the continent whose hands were stained with blood and demonic filth, not a single member of the four major sects uttered a word. Instead, they all glared angrily at the crumbling figure of Han Anshan.

"Step aside, all of you. Since he demands justice, let us grant him justice."

A cold voice that echoed through the heavens rang out. With the flash of a sword light, the gigantic dark energy sphere swung from Han Anshan's hands was instantly cleaved into two halves, falling away to the earth below.

"Then we leave this to Sect Master Tian!!"

Hearing this upright voice, Qin Yu, Gongzhong Ruixin, and the others cupped their fists in salute before transforming into streaks of light and retreating more than ten miles away.

As for the elders of the Tianjian Sect, they had been reluctant to strike in the first place; after all, they had shared the same sect. Now that Han Anshan had been reduced to this state, it was even harder for them to make a move.

"Let's go." Shaking his head inwardly, Le Zhengheng cast a glance at several elders before following the figures ahead and landing above the Huahan Sect.

...

A moment later, amidst countless breathtaking energy explosions, the dark figure dodged a nearly invisible sword qi, raising the Scepter of Dominion. "Dark Movement!"

Bang!
Boom!! Boom!!

Endless dark energy exploded continuously like a musical movement beneath the feet of the purple-robed figure. The purple-robed figure moved as swiftly as a bolt of lightning, transforming into illusory streams of energy before finally raising the three-foot-long sword in his hand.

Barrier of Darkness!

"The legendary Sect Master of the Tianjian Sect? In my eyes, you are nothing much!" With a cold snort, Han Anshan hurled out an ancient text that formed a massive ring-shaped bloody array to envelop him. The energy barrier formed by the Scepter of Dominion instantly blocked the incoming sword qi.

"Is that so?"

The entire body of Tian Haoming, who had just been holding the three-foot-long sword, gradually faded. At the same time, a purple-robed figure radiating supreme sword intent manifested in the firmament.

Heavenly Sword Domain: Incarnate Cold Light Sword!

Burst, shatter the ice!!

Circles of sword realms expanded beneath Tian Haoming's feet, covering a radius of a thousand miles. The vast sword intent erupted instantly at this moment, encasing the ruthless sword qi attached to Han Anshan in an extreme, bone-chilling frost before it shattered like glass.

"This! This is impossible! How... how do you possess... the sixth-layer sword intent?" Reflected in Han Anshan's blood-red pupils was a fatal flash of sword light piercing straight through his body.

The sword qi transformed by the deep purple-robed figure into the tangible manifestation of heaven and earth descended like Pangu cleaving mountains. The deceptively simple sword qi penetrated all matter, striking straight through Han Anshan's heart.

Already at the end of his tether and suffering unimaginably heavy wounds, Han Anshan tried desperately to drive the Scepter of Dominion, but under this vast sword intent, his energy shattered and instantly dried up.

Bang! Bang!!

Explosions followed one after another, and the rampaging dark mists instantly bloomed, drifting and lingering in mid-air.

Seeing this, Tian Haoming swung the cold sword in his hand once again, slashing those black mists into icy vapors that dissipated into nothingness.

When the two masterless demonic artifacts fell, two beams of black light flashed in the air with an overbearing luster, radiating two scarlet battle lights that pierced the clouds and shocked everyone present.

The red light could do nothing to halt the descent of the sword qi; in the blink of an eye, the world was filled with a realm of swords.

Whoosh!

Another unadorned sword light flashed by, instantly enveloping a radius of a hundred miles. Frost rose abruptly, and waves of white mist dyed the entire world pure white.

The lingering dark energy was utterly pulverized under the sword intent of the white-haired middle-aged man. The Tianjian Sect Master's eyes flashed with cold stars like frost, his brows sharp as drawn blades, and the righteous energy within him soared into the clouds.

"The traitor Han Anshan is dead!!"

His ethereal voice, like rolling thunder, spread across the entire realm. All the disciples of the Huahan Sect below burst into instant cheers. At this moment, the sword in the Tianjian Sect Master's hand shone brilliantly across the sky.

The sword's edge was as white as frost, and surging, ruthless sword qi continued to rage and ascend. This was an extremely sharp, blood-stained ice sword.

...Was this considered a victory?

Looking at the fragments of Han Anshan blasted apart by the sword qi, everyone felt a bitter taste in their mouths. It appeared they had eliminated another demonic cultivator, but in truth, this was not an outsider, but a former ally of theirs.

The legendary Demon Lord possessed the ability to corrupt human minds and stir up the darkest aspects within people's hearts.

They did not know whether they could triumph over these Dark Demons, but they knew that before that moment arrived, they were resolved to guard the continent with all their might.

"Who goes there? Show yourself!" Tian Haoming's expression suddenly turned stern. His sword brows locked slightly as he whipped his head around, swinging the three-foot-long sword in his hand and slashing toward the northwestern firmament.

The pierced space generated a series of ice-explosive sounds under the enhancement of the sixth-layer domain.

Energy fluctuations of the tenth-grade Golden Core spread beneath Tian Haoming's feet, and profound soul fluctuations swept toward a crater in the firmament a moment later.

What?!

The melancholy expressions of the crowd turned tense once more. Their gazes swept toward the spot where the sword qi had landed, and various elemental laws condensed in the hands of everyone present.

Just as all eyes converged on the firmament, a golden light flashed below.

The shattered ice fragments instantly coalesced into a golden energy sphere that plummeted to the earth.

"Hehe! These two items... cannot be left to you!"

Out of the pitch-black crater, a demonic hand a hundred zhang wide suddenly extended. When the sword qi, reinforced by vast laws, descended, the hand merely flicked a finger and shattered the mighty sword qi into nothingness.

The explosion of shattered space raised nothing more than a speck of dust for the giant demonic hand.

...

After a dizzying and rapid series of changes, a black-robed figure shot straight from the ground into the depths of the purple clouds.

All of this happened in barely a second.

What just happened?

At this moment, this was the greatest question haunting the black-robed figure. His body had been completely uncontrollable, yet amidst the terrifying spatial turbulence surrounding him, he had not suffered the slightest injury.

The sudden sensation of his feet touching solid ground caused the black-robed figure to stumble and fall to the ground. He climbed up with a trace of pain on his face, his astonished gaze darting all around. "Where is this...?"

Could it be?

Within his field of vision, there was no earth and no sky, only endless purple clouds, a golden palace radiating brilliant light, and a gloomy abyss. At the same time, the air was filled with an abundance of mysterious energy.

Seeing this, his right eye twitched rhythmically. He suddenly recalled the words spoken by the former Primordial Heavenly Star Lord back then. Could it be...

"A tiny mortal, your name is Tianming, is it? You certainly weren't easy for Us to find, though it was worth the effort of searching for you."