Chapter 292 - 172: Venerable Realm Senior Sister, Holy Sect’s Eldest Senior Brother of the Mortal Transformation Realm?

Chapter 292: Chapter 172: Venerable Realm Senior Sister, Holy Sect’s Eldest Senior Brother of the Mortal Transformation Realm?

Feeling the boiling, scorching blood within his body, Jiang Hao was both shocked and thrilled. Perhaps this was an opportunity to unlock the secrets of that drop of blood.

Ever since he learned that the Celestial Sword Sect and the Ten Great Daoist Lineages were hunting him down because of an inherited drop of blood, he had tried countless times to sense that inheritance, but all his attempts had ended in failure. Yet, the very moment he sensed that wisp of Demonic Fire, the bloodline inheritance—which carried boundless killing intent—seemed to awaken on its own.

"Could it be that the key to awakening this bloodline is this wisp of Demonic Fire? Or perhaps, whatever lies behind it?" he wondered.

Either way, Jiang Hao felt it was necessary to delve deeper into the Demon Ridge to find out. If his previous goal for heading into the Demon Ridge was to fulfill his duty as the Eldest Senior Brother of the Beardless Sect and prepare for the Thousand Sects Secret Realm, then right now, his purpose for venturing deeper had become crystal clear.

Snapping back to reality, Jiang Hao looked at the beast tide frantically lunging at the group, a trace of coldness gradually rising in his eyes. If he wanted to know why that bloodline inheritance suddenly awakened, he would likely only find the answer deep inside the Demon Ridge. But given their current predicament, if this dragged on, let alone investigating the depths of the Demon Ridge, just reaching the Beardless Sect’s border defense would cost them an eternity.

After a brief moment of thought, Jiang Hao finally decided to stop holding back. The Sword Embryo in his hand began to tremble violently.

"Junior Brothers and Sisters, step back. Let me handle this."

The moment Jiang Hao’s voice rang out, Jun Yichen and the others cast their gazes over. They didn’t understand why he suddenly spoke up, but they still stepped back behind him.

Gazing at the endless army of demonic beasts ahead, the young man slowly rose into the air. His robes fluttered without wind, and his long hair whipped about as the Power of Transcendence boiled throughout his body. Staring at the ocean-like beast tide, Jiang Hao’s pupils contracted slightly.

Just as Jun Yichen and the others were feeling bewildered...

BOOM!!!

Wielding the Chaos Sword Embryo, Jiang Hao shot into the sky. The terrifying Extreme Sword Realm surged through heaven and earth, filling the universe.

In the next moment, accompanied by the young man’s light shout of "SHATTER THE HEAVENS!", the figure in white robes suddenly descended from the sky. The ancient sword in his hand burst with blinding light, radiant enough to illuminate the ages.

Facing forward, Jiang Hao slashed down with his sword.

BOOM!!!

A terrifying, arcane power erupted, godlike in its intensity.

Seeing this scene, Jun Yichen and the others all paused slightly, a trace of imperceptible astonishment flashing through their eyes. However, the moment after that sword strike landed, the group instantly froze, their faces filled with utter bewilderment.

Their Eldest Senior Brother’s strike had clearly possessed earth-shattering might just a second ago, but after the sword fell, it was as if everything had returned to a dead calm. The vast beast tide ahead continued to lunge at them, completely unscathed.

Just as the group, full of confusion, looked at Jiang Hao with perplexed eyes, a jaw-dropping scene unfolded in the very next second.

Following that brief moment of tranquility within the endless jungle, suddenly...

BOOM!!!

The earth trembled as everything shattered and turned to ash. Ahead of the young man, the ocean-like beast tide was blasted backward in an instant, as if struck by some terrifying, invisible force. Countless sword marks materialized on the beasts, their bodies fracturing with visible cracks.

When that power fully erupted, deafening rumbles echoed out. Endless towering ancient trees and demonic beasts were instantly reduced to powder. The destruction spread outward in a godlike display of devastation.

In just a few short breaths, the entire Demon Ridge seemed to quake. In the visible distance ahead, a sword trench—thousands of feet wide and over a hundred thousand feet long—had seemingly cleaved the earth in half. If one were to look down from high in the sky, they would see a massive scar running through the entire mountain range within the boundless, primeval Forest Sea.

The instant this scene unfolded, everyone was completely dumbfounded—from the deeply anxious Mu Yunshang to the previously bewildered Jun Yichen, Fan Tian, and the others. Staring at that world-shocking sword strike, their eyes were filled with horror, monstrous waves of shock surging within their pupils.

"Sword... Sword Intent? Is... is this Sword Intent?"

As fellow Sword Cultivators, Mu Yunshang and Jun Yichen immediately sensed the terrifying nature of that strike—one that could make the entire world tremble.

The latter, in particular, was instantly short of breath. His eyes were wide with disbelief as he exclaimed as if he had just seen a ghost, "The Fourth Realm of Sword?!"

BOOM!

The moment those words were spoken, the crowd felt as if they had been struck by lightning. They stared blankly at the godlike sword trench carving through the earth.

The realm of Sword Intent, the Fourth Realm of Sword?!

While Jun Yichen and the others stood rooted to the spot in absolute shock, Jiang Hao’s voice rang out.

"Junior Brothers and Sisters, there’s no time to lose. Take advantage of this opening in the beast tide and let’s go, now."

Having unleashed that strike, Jiang Hao was already flying toward the depths of the Demon Ridge. Turning into a streak of light, he soared over the massive sword trench, crossing hundreds of feet in the blink of an eye. However, as the group watched his gracefully departing figure, their mouths hung wide open. They couldn’t help but gulp hard.

This caused Jun Yichen to recall their conversation from that night on Great Ming Peak, half a month ago.

"Eldest Senior Brother is also a Sword Cultivator? You know the sword?"

"I know a thing or two. I’ve practiced a bit, but I wouldn’t say I truly understand it!"

"I see. In that case, Eldest Senior Brother choosing the Sword Dao Secret Realm is to shore up your weaknesses and make up for your flaws in the Sword Dao."

"Rest assured, Eldest Senior Brother! Junior Brother Jun and I have made quite a few achievements in the Sword Dao. I’m sure we’ll definitely be able to help you in the future."

"Yun Shang is right. Eldest Senior Brother, if there’s anything you don’t understand about the Sword Dao in the future, feel free to ask Yun Shang and me. We definitely won’t hold back."

"Like hell you ’know a thing or two,’" Jun Yichen thought. "You call this ’knowing a thing or two’?!"

For a moment, Jun Yichen was completely and utterly dumbfounded.