Chapter 389: Slaying a Tier Nine

SPURT!!!

Both its palms were severed at the wrist!

Black blood gushed out like a fountain!

ROAR—!!!

A wretched scream echoed between heaven and earth.

The Three-Eyed Demon Ape was finally afraid.

It turned and fled.

But it had only taken three steps before a figure appeared, blocking its path.

Liang Cheng stood suspended in midair, looking down on it from above.

He held the Zhenxian Saber, its tip pointed toward the ground, blood dripping down the blade.

His gaze was still calm, but the Three-Eyed Demon Ape trembled all over.

It opened its cavernous mouth and let out a low whimper, its massive head hanging low like a stray dog with its tail between its legs.

Liang Cheng slashed down with his saber.

The moment the blade’s light fell, space itself was torn asunder!

SPURT!!!

The saber’s light flashed across its neck.

A massive head flew high into the air.

Black blood gushed forth, raining down upon the earth like a dark fountain.

The headless corpse crashed to the ground.

The earth trembled, and dust filled the air.

The hurricane-force winds kicked up by the fall of its hundred-zhang body sent surrounding rubble rolling like a tide.

Liang Cheng sheathed his saber and landed on the ground. He walked over and looked at the head that had rolled to a stop.

The Three-Eyed Demon Ape’s eyes were still open, still blood-red, but they had lost their light.

It could not rest in peace.

Liang Cheng knelt and split the head open with his saber.

A fist-sized Demon Core rolled out.

It was black as ink, faintly glowing with a bloody light, and emanated terrifying energy fluctuations.

It was more than ten times stronger than the Human-faced Spider’s Demon Core.

Liang Cheng weighed it in his hand, then placed it in his Storage Pouch.

He stood up and surveyed his surroundings.

The gray fog churned.

The Fierce Beasts hidden in the fog had all fallen silent.

Not a single one dared to make the slightest sound.

Liang Cheng looked at the crimson eyes, barely visible in the mist, and the corner of his mouth curved into a slight smile.

He suddenly took a step forward, rising to stand in midair.

BOOM!!!

An utterly terrifying Blade Intent erupted from his body and shot toward the heavens!

The Blade Intent solidified, transforming into a hundred-zhang Battle Saber that hovered above his head!

It was archaic and heavy, emitting a faint golden light.

Wherever the golden light passed, space itself trembled slightly!

At this, countless terrified screeches and hisses came from within the gray fog.

The Fierce Beasts no longer bothered to hide. They turned and fled!

Scattering and fleeing!

A stampede!

A crush!

Wretched cries!

It was utter chaos!

Liang Cheng did not pursue them.

He simply watched in silence.

A moment later, he retracted his Blade Intent and returned to the ground.

The Fierce Beasts had fled completely.

Within a hundred-li radius, not a single Demon Beast’s aura remained.

Liang Cheng shook his head.

‘They bully the weak and fear the strong. It’s the same everywhere.’

He turned, took one last look at the grand hall, and then walked over to the stone tablet.

He hadn’t had time to make a rubbing of the tablet’s inscription before the Three-Eyed Demon Ape attacked. But now that there were no interruptions, he would naturally copy the entire text.

Once he finished the rubbing, he put it into his Storage Pouch and looked out at the dense fog.

‘What is this place?’

‘And how do I get out?’

…

Just as Liang Cheng was battling the Three-Eyed Demon Ape, the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda trembled once more.

Jun Linyuan acted again to suppress the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

But before he could exert his full power, the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda fell calm once more.

He couldn’t help but frown.

‘The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda has never been this erratic in the past sixty years.’

‘But no matter what, as long as I, Jun Linyuan, am here, the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda will not fall into chaos!’

…

The grand hall was silent.

Liang Cheng put away the stone rubbing and turned to look around.

The gray fog still churned outside the hall. The Fierce Beasts, terrified by his Blade Intent, had scattered and would not dare to return anytime soon.

‘But the question is, how do I get out?’

He stood his ground and fully extended his Divine Sense, probing in all directions.

Three thousand zhang.

Five thousand zhang.

Eight thousand zhang.

Even at the limit of his Divine Sense, there was only a gray, deathly stillness.

No exit.

No direction.

Nothing.

Liang Cheng’s brow furrowed slightly.

‘Am I trapped?’

He had been dragged into a turbulent spatial current by the Human-faced Spider and had only fallen here after unintentionally slicing open a rift. This meant the Ancient Wilderness Battlefield was a shattered space attached to the Demon Suppression Array.

These kinds of spaces were often one-way trips—easy to enter, but impossible to leave.

Liang Cheng opened his eyes and looked toward the grand hall.

He turned and stepped into the grand hall once more.

Inside, it was still silent.

Liang Cheng fully extended his Divine Sense and finally discovered a massive Rune on the ceiling of the hall.

The Rune was ancient and complex, shimmering with an ethereal blue light that rippled like water.

At the center of the Rune, the faint silhouette of a tall pagoda was visible.

He had seen that pagoda before.

The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda!

Liang Cheng’s pupils contracted.

“This is…”

Liang Cheng took a deep breath and gently placed his hand on it.

The Rune suddenly flared, and a pillar of light descended from the ceiling, coalescing into a swirling Light Gate in front of Liang Cheng.

Beyond the Light Gate, a stone staircase was faintly visible.

‘The Demon-Suppressing Pagoda is the core of the Demon Suppression Array, suppressing countless Ancient Fierce Beasts.’

‘This place is connected to the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda?’

‘And I’m supposed to just walk right in?’

Liang Cheng stared at the Light Gate, his brow tightly knit.

‘To enter, or not to enter?’

‘If I don’t enter, I might be trapped in this Ancient Wilderness Battlefield forever.’

‘If I do, it’s a one-in-ten chance of survival.’

‘But…’

‘I’m already in the Golden Core Realm.’

‘My Blade Intent has reached Peak Perfection, the Unity of Man and Blade.’

That being the case, Liang Cheng took a deep breath.

Then, he smiled.

“Trapped here as I am, if I don’t take a risk, I’m just waiting to die.”

“And waiting to die is not my style.”

The mayfly strives for the lead; one must always fight for a glimmer of hope!

He raised his head, looked at the Light Gate, and strode forward.

The next moment, he took a step and walked through the Light Gate.

…

「Beyond the Light Gate.」

A stone staircase stretched upward, its destination unknown.

Ancient Runes were carved into every single step.

The Runes glowed faintly, illuminating the path ahead.

Liang Cheng tightened his grip on the Zhenxian Saber and ascended step by step.

Ten steps.

A hundred steps.

A thousand steps.

He lost track of how long he had been walking.

Finally—

A massive stone gate appeared before him.

Three words were carved upon the stone gate.

Demon-Suppressing Pagoda.

‘Just as I thought.’

Liang Cheng couldn’t help but shake his head. Everything was just as he had predicted. Without hesitation, he reached out and pushed the stone gate open.

BOOM—

A vast, ancient aura washed over him.

Beyond the gate lay a gray, hazy expanse.

In the distance, countless massive, dark silhouettes could be seen roaming about.

Farther still, a higher stone staircase led to the Third Layer.

But at that moment, none of that mattered.

What mattered was—

Not far beyond the gate, a human figure was slowly turning its head toward him.

Liang Cheng froze.

‘There’s someone else in the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda?’