Chapter 306: The Temptation of the Demon Abyss Realm's Will

[The two passages between realms in the Western Desert and the Northern Plains were barely held off only because two Deity Transformation Late Stage Heavenly Monarchs, wielding Upper Realm foundations, had joined forces with seven other Heavenly Monarchs to form a grand array.]

[Now that the third passage between realms had formed, it was bound to face the strongest wave of attacks from the Demon Abyss Realm yet, and you were the only one in the Soul Capital region. Facing the strongest Demon Abyss Realm offensive to date all by yourself? Heavenly Monarch Xingmang was naturally anxious and worried.]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang had glimpsed a blurry future through his Divination skills, realizing that you might be the Human Realm's only chance of survival. He absolutely could not let anything happen to you.]

["I'm already on my way."]

[Upon receiving Heavenly Monarch Xingmang's warning, Heavenly Monarch Juezhen—currently in the Array Dao Lineage holy land—immediately took control of the Quasi-Tier 6 killing array and rushed toward the Soul Capital.]

[The Array Dao Lineage holy land was separated from the Soul Capital by nearly half a continent. Even with Heavenly Monarch Juezhen continuously using spatial teleportation, dozens of breaths had passed by the time he arrived.]

["Heaven-Severing Grand Array..."]

[Burning his mana, Heavenly Monarch Juezhen arrived near the Soul Capital on his final teleportation and deployed the Quasi-Tier 6 Heaven-Severing Grand Array without a second thought.]

["Huh?"]

[After deploying the killing array, Heavenly Monarch Juezhen suddenly froze.]

[Above the Soul Capital, a spatial rift did indeed stretch across the sky, but the surroundings were completely empty. There was no trace whatsoever of any invading demon lords.]

[Heavenly Monarch Juezhen carefully observed the spatial rift. In both depth and size, it fully qualified as a passage between realms, and it was only stronger than the two in the Northern Plains and the Western Desert. But...]

[Where were the monsters and demon lords of the Demon Abyss Realm?]

[At the two passages in the Western Desert and the Northern Plains, massive hordes of monsters constantly poured in, and demon lords frequently descended.]

[Why was this passage between realms so completely empty? Could it be that the Demon Venerables of the Demon Abyss Realm had torn this spatial rift open just for fun?]

["Sword Lord?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Juezhen also spotted you standing not far from the spatial rift.]

[At this moment, a Small Black Mountain floated in front of you. You stared at it as wisps of Sword Intent continuously surged inside to refine it.]

[Even just looking at that Small Black Mountain from a distance made Heavenly Monarch Juezhen's heart tremble, as though a towering mountain were suppressing everything.]

[Heavenly Monarch Juezhen steadied his mind, faintly forming a guess. Perhaps the bizarre scene at this passage between realms was related to the Sword Lord?]

["Sword Lord?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Juezhen took a deep breath, retracted his deployed Quasi-Tier 6 killing array, and approached your position, calling out a greeting in advance.]

["Mm."]

[You glanced at Heavenly Monarch Juezhen but paid him little attention, continuing to suppress the Small Black Mountain in front of you.]

[Seeing this, Heavenly Monarch Juezhen didn't dare to ask any further questions or disturb you.]

[A moment later, spatial fluctuations rippled nearby again as Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons hurried over as well.]

["Huh?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang was also stunned. He had assumed there would be an incredibly tragic battle here, one that would shatter the world and wipe out the mountains and rivers. Given the power of Heavenly Monarch Juezhen's Quasi-Tier 6 killing array, if they had really clashed with a group of demon lords, such an outcome was entirely possible.]

[Yet upon arriving and taking a look, he found it completely quiet. Heavenly Monarch Juezhen stood in the distance, evidently without having made a single move.]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang pondered for a moment, glanced at the terrifying spatial rift in the sky, and also approached you.]

["Sword Lord, what just happened here?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang asked in a low voice, simultaneously observing the Small Black Mountain in front of you.]

[The more he observed, the more shocked Heavenly Monarch Xingmang felt. This Small Black Mountain was clearly not a Deity Transformation Stage treasure. It possessed lingering demonic energy, making it highly probable that it came from the Demon Abyss Realm.]

[But how could a heavyweight treasure from the Demon Abyss Realm fall into your hands? And be suppressed and refined by you, at that?]

["This spatial rift was torn open just now, and a group of demon lords came through. I took care of all of them..."]

[You said in a flat tone.]

["Took care of all of them?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons exchanged a glance, feeling that something was not quite right about that statement.]

[What did you mean by 'took care of all of them'?]

[Could it be that the Demon Venerables over in the Demon Abyss Realm hadn't sent many demon lords down through this passage between realms?]

["The corpses are all here. I'm giving them to you."]

[With a wave of your hand, you brought out all the corpses of that group of demon lords.]

[Crash—]

[Corpse after corpse fell. The aura emanating from every single demon lord was incredibly terrifying. In particular, over a dozen of them radiated auras no weaker than the Deity Transformation Late Stage. The lingering auras on two of the corpses even surpassed the Deity Transformation Late Stage, reaching the level of Deity Transformation Perfection.]

["This..."]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang widened his eyes. Of these hundred-plus demon lord corpses, over fifty percent were at the Fifth Tier Early Stage, thirty to forty percent were at the Fifth Tier Middle Stage, and the rest were at the Fifth Tier Late Stage and Tier 5 Consummation. Such a terrifying force, whether appearing at the passage in the Northern Plains or the one in the Western Desert, had a high chance of heavily injuring the Deity Transformation Late Stage Heavenly Monarchs stationed there; even wielding Upper Realm foundations, they might not have been able to retreat unscathed.]

[Furthermore...]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang stared at the Small Black Mountain floating in front of you, which you were currently refining.]

[If his guess was correct, the demon lords invading the Human Realm this time also possessed a trump card to counter the Human Realm's Upper Realm foundations—this very Small Black Mountain. It was just that this trump card had now fallen into your hands.]

["You can't have this. I still have use for it."]

[You glanced at Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and shook your head as you spoke.]

[Keeping those hundred-plus demon lord corpses was useless to you. In this simulation, you had no time to comprehend puppet arts; all your energy would be spent on perfecting your Sword Dao and cultivating.]

[Therefore, you didn't mind gifting these hundred-plus demon lord corpses to Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons. After all, the dozen or so Heaven and Earth Origin Stones they had sent you over the decades had helped you quite a bit, so this could be considered returning the favor.]

["Sword Lord must be joking. We wouldn't dare ask for it..."]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang immediately explained. He was merely curious about this Small Black Mountain; how could he possibly dare to ask you for it?]

[But immediately after, Heavenly Monarch Xingmang felt a jolt of shock in his heart.]

[From your words, his guess was confirmed: this Small Black Mountain indeed came from the Demon Abyss Realm.]

["Sword Lord, your current strength..."]

[Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons couldn't help but ask. So many Tier 5 demon lords, including two at Tier 5 Consummation, had all died by your hands? Just how terrifying was this strength?]

["My strength..."]

[You thought for a moment. "It should be somewhat stronger than the Deity Transformation Stage, but not on par with the Void Return Stage."]

[You spoke in a casual tone. This was the truth; with your current strength, you were indeed no match for a Void Return Stage Venerable.]

[Of course, the Void Return Stage Venerable referred to here was a Venerable outside of the demon race. If it were a Void Return Stage demon venerable from the Demon Abyss Realm? Even if you were no match for them, you could still withstand a few moves.]

[If a Void Return Stage demon venerable wanted to kill you, they would still have to use a second or third move.]

[The "Natural Enemy of Demonic Cultivators" combined with the "Surpassing Oneself by Half a Move" talent, along with the Human Realm's number one Sword Dao talent, allowed your true combat power to far exceed your simple realm. This was even more true when facing the demon race.]

["Stronger than the Deity Transformation Stage..."]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang swallowed hard. The Deity Transformation Stage you mentioned definitely didn't refer to the Deity Transformation Early Stage or Deity Transformation Middle Stage, but the entire Deity Transformation Stage realm itself.]

["Sword Lord..."]

[Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons was also frightened.]

[Somewhat stronger than the Deity Transformation Stage? If Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons remembered correctly, you were only at the Deity Transformation Middle Stage, right?]

[If you were already stronger than the Deity Transformation Late Stage while only at the Deity Transformation Middle Stage, what would happen in the future?]

["Alright, leave this passage between realms to me. You all can go busy yourselves with your own affairs."]

[You looked at Heavenly Monarch Xingmang and Heavenly Monarch Nine Dragons, before finally glancing at Heavenly Monarch Juezhen.]

["Understood."]

[Heavenly Monarch Xingmang stored away the hundred-plus demon lord corpses you had brought out. "If the Sword Lord has any other needs, just ask. Our Ethereal Peak will definitely do everything in our power to fulfill them."]

[These hundred-plus demon lord corpses could tremendously relieve the current pressure on the Human Realm. With these materials, the Human Realm's puppet grandmasters could produce at least ten or twenty Tier 5 puppets; deploying them to the battlefield would be of no small use.]

[Very quickly, news of you striking once again—blocking the third passage between realms that the Demon Abyss Realm had long plotted to tear open, and slaying over a hundred demon lords, including two Tier 5 Consummation demon lords and over a dozen late-stage demon lords—rapidly spread through the circles of Heavenly Monarchs in the Human Realm.]

["The Sword Lord... is this strong?"]

["Rumor has it that at the third passage between realms, the Demon Abyss Realm even deployed a higher-level foundation, yet they were still suppressed and killed by the Sword Lord."]

["A higher-level foundation? Could it be a Void Return Realm weapon?"]

[One Human Realm Heavenly Monarch after another was deeply shocked. Less than a century had passed since you first made a move, yet you possessed such combat power. Across the millions upon tens of millions of years in the ancient era, apart from the two reincarnated immortals who pioneered the Dharma and Body Lineages, was there any Heavenly Monarch who could be your match?]

["How can this Sword Lord's strength be so great?"]

[Hiding in the shadows and cultivating with all his might, Heavenly Monarch Diming also learned of this matter. Over these past few decades, he had gotten in touch with a certain former Heavenly Monarch friend.]

["I originally thought that as long as I cultivated to the Deity Transformation Late Stage, I would be confident in surviving against the Sword Lord, but now..."]

[Heavenly Monarch Diming felt as if his hopes had been shattered.]

[Deity Transformation Late Stage? According to the news his Heavenly Monarch friend had told him, even two Tier 5 Consummation demon lords had died.]

[So what did the Deity Transformation Late Stage count for?]

["Is there still a place for me in this Human Realm?"]

[Heavenly Monarch Diming felt some despair in his heart. He immediately changed his location.]

[From now on, he trusted no one, not even that Heavenly Monarch friend he had secretly contacted.]

[Who knew if the other party would sell him out to the Sword Lord? With the strength the Sword Lord had displayed, it was enough to pressure the entire Human Realm. Under these circumstances, it was entirely possible that his Heavenly Monarch friend would sell out his information just to curry favor with the Sword Lord.]

[The Vast Demon Abyss Realm]

[Demon Venerable Guixu fell silent, losing any thought of continuing to send the demon lords under his command.]

[Even a demonic treasure like the Myriad Demon Mountain had fallen into your hands. To you, no matter how many more demon lords were sent, it was merely a question of how many breaths they could last.]

[At this time, the other eleven Demon Venerables also noticed the anomaly and turned to look at Demon Venerable Guixu.]

["Guixu, what's wrong?"]

["What happened?"]

[Demon Venerable Guixu immediately recounted the scene that had just occurred.]

[If he had merely been thwarted by an ordinary Deity Transformation Perfection creature, he might have kept it a secret to save face.]

[But right now, your existence made Demon Venerable Guixu realize the severity of the problem. Under such circumstances, Demon Venerable Guixu naturally wouldn't hide anything.]

["A single move shook that Myriad Demon Mountain of yours, Guixu? How is that possible?"]

["Logically speaking, this realm shouldn't be able to give birth to Void Return level creatures..."]

["He's not a Void Return level creature. Perhaps he just used other means to boost his combat power beyond the level of an ordinary Tier 5 demon lord..."]

[One Demon Venerable after another spoke up, voicing their thoughts.]

[In the Demon Abyss Realm, Tier 5 Consummation demon lords with formidable combat power were not uncommon. Because of their respective fortuitous encounters, these Tier 5 Consummation demon lords had already condensed embryonic inner worlds.]

[The embryonic inner worlds mentioned here were fully formed embryos. The two Tier 5 Consummation demon lords that Demon Venerable Guixu had previously sent into the Human Realm hadn't fully formed their embryonic inner worlds yet; they merely showed a tendency to do so.]

["The Demon Abyss Realm's Will... is currently looking toward that realm..."]

[Suddenly, one Demon Venerable spoke. The other Demon Venerables had also noticed an extremely obscure gaze falling from the vault of heaven, peering toward the Human Realm on the other side of the spatial rift.]

["The Demon Abyss Realm's Will... seems to be interested in that creature?"]

["This is rather rare. No wonder he possesses such combat power."]

[The twelve Demon Venerables conversed secretly. As Demon Venerables, they were no strangers to the Demon Abyss Realm's Will; they could even glean some of its thoughts from its behavior.]

[Somewhere in the Human Realm, at an ordinary spatial rift.]

[A curvaceous demoness of the Demon Moon Clan descended upon the Human Realm.]

[This Demon Moon Clan demoness only gave off a Tier 3 aura, clearly indicating she wasn't the true body.]

["Under the orders of the great Demon Moon's Will, I descend upon this realm..."]

[This Demon Moon Clan demoness looked toward the direction of the Soul Capital and rapidly approached.]

[Having finished suppressing the Small Black Mountain, you were just about to return and study it for a while.]

["Hm?"]

[Your expression shifted as you looked into the distance. Before long, the Demon Moon Clan demoness drew near.]

[You carefully sized her up. This demoness was different from the other demons you had encountered; she carried a kind of innate, noble aura.]

["Respected dao creator..."]

[The Demon Moon Clan demoness stopped a short distance away and bowed slightly toward you. "The great Demon Moon's Will invites you to join the Demon Abyss Realm. As long as you are willing, you shall become the eleventh "creation demon lord" of the Demon Abyss Realm, governing the entire realm..."]

[After the Demon Moon Clan demoness finished speaking, she raised her right hand, and a pure black crystal appeared.]

["This is the Heart of the Demon Abyss. As long as you refine it, dao creator, you can become the highest-ranking entity in the Demon Abyss Realm..."]

[The Demon Moon Clan demoness kept her posture very low, her tone soft.]

[You, on the other hand, fell into thought. The other party's words had given you a lot to digest. A dao creator, for instance? This was a title you had never heard of before. Dao creation? Did it refer to creating the Sword Dao?]

[Even the Demon Abyss Realm's Will placed great importance on this so-called dao creator, going so far as to invite you into the Demon Abyss Realm? Why was that? Was the Dao created by a dao creator beneficial to the Demon Abyss Realm?]

[Many questions arose in your mind. At this moment, the Heart of the Demon Abyss brought out by the Demon Moon Clan demoness floated over to you.]

[Staring at this pure black crystal in front of you—the item that, once refined, would make you the highest-ranking entity in the Demon Abyss Realm—]

[—you operated the "Foreseeing Good and Bad Fortune" talent without a second thought, "appraising" it on the spot.]