Dark Immortal Light

The Taiyin Old Matriarch’s expression changed drastically.

“Fall back!”

But it was already too late.

A Golden Watchtower Sacred Land Martial God was caught by a chain wrapped around his shadow, and his body instantly froze.

In the next moment, he was dragged toward the Immortal Gate.

“No!”

He struggled frantically.

Golden sacred light erupted from his body.

Yet he could not break free.

A chewing sound came from behind the gate.

Half of the Golden Watchtower Martial God’s body was dragged inside.

Wang Hao’s eyes turned cold.

“New Sword!”

The New Emperor Sword transformed into a streak of silver light and slashed out.

The first of the Nine Heaven-Splitting Swords exploded forth.

The sword light struck the chain.

Clang!

The chain trembled but did not break.

Wang Hao did not hesitate.

Second sword.

Third sword.

Fourth sword.

All the way to the seventh sword!

Golden and silver sword lights layered over one another.

At last, they cut a crack into the dark chain.

The Golden Watchtower Martial God seized the opportunity to wrench half his body free and flew backward, his face filled with terror.

Before he could even offer his thanks, Wang Hao shouted:

“One life-saving favor!”

“Put it on the tab after the battle!”

The Golden Watchtower Martial God’s expression twisted.

“You…”

Wang Hao roared:

“You what?”

“If I hadn’t intervened just now, you would already be a snack behind that gate!”

The Golden Watchtower Martial God fell silent.

It was true.

Being forced to pay a debt was still better than being eaten.

Yet more and more dark chains began to emerge.

One.

Ten.

A hundred.

A thousand.

The entire sky seemed to be covered by a black web.

The Demon Lord stood before the Immortal Gate, his body drenched in blood, yet he threw his head back and laughed.

“Come.”

“Keep attacking the gate.”

“Let’s see whether you shatter the gate first, or the Immortal Gate swallows you first!”

The dark chains blotted out the heavens.

At that moment, the ruins of Black Heaven City seemed to have transformed into a gigantic prison.

The chains did not bind flesh.

They bound shadows.

They bound auras.

They severed the connection between the Martial Gods and the world.

Once dragged into the Immortal Gate, it would not be a simple death.

They would be devoured by the dark Immortal Gate and transformed into nourishment for the Demon Lord to rebuild his Dao Fruit.

That was the Demon Lord’s true ruthlessness.

He did not merely want to kill them.

He wanted to use the lives of all these Martial Gods to complete his half-immortal path.

The Taiyin Old Matriarch shouted:

“Do not let the chains touch your shadows!”

The Yellow Springs Ancestor roared:

“No kidding!”

“There are chains everywhere, above and below! Where are our shadows supposed to hide?”

The White Bone Old Monster screeched:

“Wang Hao!”

“Can’t you confiscate things?”

“Confiscate this gate too!”

Wang Hao’s face darkened.

“Senior, you think far too highly of me.”

“If I could confiscate an Immortal Gate, would I still be wasting my breath with you people?”

He cursed aloud, but his eyes swept rapidly across the battlefield.

The dark chains surged from the cracks in the Immortal Gate.

Their source was still the Immortal Gate itself.

As long as the gate continued to exist, the chains would be endless.

But the Martial Gods were now being restrained by the chains, making it impossible for them to continue focusing their attacks on the Immortal Gate.

The tide of battle was turning.

What the Demon Lord had gained by burning his Dao Fruit was not merely power.

It was also the Immortal Gate’s devouring force.

If they could not break through this situation, within a hundred breaths the Martial Gods would begin falling in large numbers.

By then, after devouring them, the Demon Lord might even be able to suppress the backlash.

Wang Hao took a deep breath.

“Troublesome.”

The New Emperor Sword asked:

“Master, should we run?”

Wang Hao shot it a glance.

“Run where?”

“The Demon Lord wants nothing more than to scatter my ashes.”

The New Emperor Sword asked seriously:

“Master, if you die, can I inherit your estate?”

Wang Hao’s expression remained blank.

“You’ll be buried with me first.”

The New Emperor Sword immediately changed its tune.

“Master, may fortune bless you, and may you live for ten thousand years!”

Wang Hao could not be bothered to answer.

He raised a hand and touched the Thunder Abyss Suppressing Demon Pagoda inside his robes.

He still had one full-power strike from the Ninth Realm left.

The second violet thunder dragon.

This was his strongest trump card at the moment.

But firing it directly at the Demon Lord might not kill him.

Firing it at the Immortal Gate might not shatter it either.

The Martial Gods had to coordinate with him and concentrate their attacks at the most critical instant.

The problem was that these old monsters all had their own schemes.

Now that they were being chased by chains and running for their lives, who would dare risk everything?

Wang Hao’s eyes darkened.

Then he would force them to risk everything.

He raised the Ten Thousand Contracts Sharing One Source Seal, and his voice resounded throughout the heavens and earth.

“Seniors!”

“I have a way to break this deadlock!”

The Martial Gods’ spirits lifted.

The Yellow Springs Ancestor shouted:

“Then speak!”

Wang Hao said:

“I need every one of you to charge within a hundred zhang of the Immortal Gate and hold off the chains for three breaths.”

The expressions of all the Martial Gods darkened at once.

The Blood Prison powerhouse cursed hoarsely:

“You call that a solution?”

“You’re sending us to our deaths!”

Wang Hao nodded.

“It is a little dangerous.”

“But I’ll be going too.”

As soon as he said this, the heavens and earth fell silent for a moment.

Even the New Emperor Sword was stunned.

“Master?”

The Martial Gods were even more incredulous.

Wang Hao?

Going personally?

Hadn’t this bastard of an emperor been standing safely at a distance and collecting blood taxes the entire time?

Why had he suddenly developed a conscience?

The White Bone Old Monster said warily:

“You’ve got another trap prepared, don’t you?”

Wang Hao replied frankly:

“I do.”

Everyone fell silent.

He admitted it so quickly that they had no idea how to respond.

Wang Hao raised the Thunder Abyss Suppressing Demon Pagoda.

“I’ll enter the formation and activate the pagoda at close range.”

“The second thunder dragon will blast into the crack in the Immortal Gate.”

“But before the thunder dragon is released, you must block the chains and the Demon Lord for me.”

The Taiyin Old Matriarch’s eyes sharpened.

“If you activate the pagoda at close range, you’ll be dragged in as well.”

Wang Hao replied calmly:

“I know.”

The Yellow Springs Ancestor said darkly:

“You don’t seem like the kind of person who would sacrifice himself for others.”

Wang Hao smiled.

“Of course not.”

“I’ve merely done the math.”

“If the Demon Lord survives, I’ll lose so badly that the national treasury will go bankrupt.”

“If the Demon Lord dies, what all of you owe me will be enough to feed Great Xia for three thousand years.”

The Martial Gods fell silent.

The reason sounded shameless.

But it was very much like Wang Hao.

And it was very believable.

The Sword Ruins powerhouse slowly said:

“I’ll block them for the first breath.”

The Taiyin Old Matriarch said coldly:

“The Taiyin Sacred Land will hold them for the second breath.”

The Yellow Springs Ancestor gritted his teeth.

“I’ll take the third.”

The Blood Prison powerhouse struggled to his feet.

“Count me in.”

The White Bone Old Monster cursed:

“You’re practically dead already, and you still want to join?”

The Blood Prison powerhouse gave a savage grin.

“Even if I die, I’ll die in front of the ledger.”

The White Bone Old Monster fell silent for a moment.

“Then this old man will go too.”

The surviving Martial Gods of the Golden Watchtower, Blood Lotus, Myriad Manifestations, and the other sacred lands exchanged glances before stepping forward one after another.

They all knew.

This was their final gamble.

Half of the time allotted for the backlash had already passed.

If they delayed any longer, the Demon Lord would not be killed by the backlash.

They would be the ones exhausted to death first.

Wang Hao put away the Blood Tax Order.

For the first time, he truly walked toward the center of the battlefield.

His imperial robe was in tatters.

Blood stained his shoulder.

The old wound on his chest still seeped golden-red vital blood.

But his footsteps were steady.

With every step he took, the imperial-robed dharma image behind him grew more solid.

That imperial shadow rose above mountains and rivers, the fortune of the Nine Provinces crowned its head, while an illusory Heavenly Sword rested in its hand.

He was not an immortal.

He was not a god.

He was the emperor of the mortal world.

The New Emperor Sword flew to his side, its tone unusually serious.

“Master.”

“You’re really going?”

Wang Hao replied:

“What nonsense.”

“Do you expect me to wait around and die?”

The New Emperor Sword was silent for a moment.

“I thought you would send someone else.”

Wang Hao smiled faintly.

“When someone else can go, of course I’ll send someone else.”

“But when I have to go myself, I won’t lose my nerve either.”

He looked up at the Demon Lord.

“I’m shameless.”

“But I’m not a coward.”

The body of the New Emperor Sword trembled.

At that moment, it suddenly felt that Wang Hao was beginning to look a little like an emperor.

Of course.

Only a little.

Then Wang Hao added:

“You’ll block the most dangerous attack for me later.”

The New Emperor Sword fell silent.

It had gotten moved too soon.

Wang Hao’s speed suddenly surged.

The full power of a ninth-layer Martial God’s blood and vitality erupted.

Boom!

Golden qi and blood pierced the heavens.

He became a streak of imperial starlight, hurtling toward the Dark Immortal Gate.

The Demon Lord sensed him at once.

“Courting death!”

Dark chains surged forth in a frenzy.

The first breath.

The Sword Ruins powerhouse moved.

He no longer had a sword.

Nor did he have a right arm.

His aura had withered to the extreme.

Yet the moment he took a step, the sound of swords still rang out across heaven and earth.

Not one cry.

Millions.

From the ruins of Black Sky City, every broken sword, every shattered blade, and even the residual sword intent within the bodies of martial artists all rose into the air.

They converged into a river of swords.

Standing atop that river, the Sword Ruins powerhouse said softly:

“There is a sword in the human realm.”

“It can cut down injustice.”

The river of swords swept across the sky, blocking the chains filling the heavens.

One breath.

Countless dark chains were shredded by the river of swords.

The Sword Ruins powerhouse’s body split open with countless bloody wounds.

Wang Hao passed beneath the river of swords.

He did not look back.

He merely said in a low voice:

“Senior Sword Ruins, if you survive the battle, I’ll give you twenty percent off the right to recover sword-type cursed artifacts.”

The Sword Ruins powerhouse nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

“Get lost.”

The second breath.

The Taiyin Old Matriarch led the remaining Martial Gods of the Taiyin Sacred Land into the air.

They burned their origins simultaneously.

A colossal Taiyin pressed down upon the heavens.

Cold radiance spilled across the sky.

The dark chains froze into frost.

The Taiyin Old Matriarch’s white hair transformed into snow-colored flames.

Watching Wang Hao sweep through the cold light, she said coldly:

“Wang Hao.”

“If you survive today, you will personally write the stele for that fallen junior of the Taiyin Sacred Land.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“I will.”

“Make it a good one.”

“The best.”

The Taiyin Old Matriarch said nothing more.

The cold light shattered with a thunderous crash.

They had blocked the second breath.

The third breath.

The Yellow Springs Ancestor roared:

“Open the way with the Yellow Springs!”

He completely merged his own soul into a tributary of the Yellow Springs.

A turbid river stretched across the space before the Immortal Gate.

The Blood Prison powerhouse, the White Bone Old Monster, the Golden Watchtower Martial God, the Blood Lotus Valkyrie, and the Martial Gods of the Myriad Manifestations all charged onto the surface of the Yellow Springs at once.

They held nothing back.

The sea of blood burned.

White bones shattered.

The golden palace fell.

The blood lotus withered.

The myriad manifestations were destroyed.

Every ounce of power was used for one purpose only: to hold back the Demon Lord and his chains for a single breath.

The Demon Lord flew into a rage.

He brought his fist crashing down.

The Yellow Springs exploded.

The Yellow Springs Ancestor let out a shriek as half of his soul was shattered.

The Blood Prison powerhouse was blasted away once more, his life or death unknown.

Only thirty percent of the White Bone Old Monster’s skeleton remained.

The Golden Watchtower Martial God’s golden body was covered in cracks.

The Blood Lotus Valkyrie coughed up blood, and only two petals remained on her ninth-grade blood lotus.

But they had held the line.

The third breath ended.

Wang Hao had already reached within a hundred yards of the Dark Immortal Gate.

Close.

Far too close.

The aura of the Immortal Gate was like billions of icy insects, burrowing into his marrow.

The colossal shadow behind the gate lowered its head and looked down at him.

That was not the Demon Lord.

It was something deeper.

A shadow from beyond the Immortal Path.

Wang Hao’s soul throbbed with pain.

The will of the countless common people automatically emerged, transforming into a golden shield that blocked that gaze.

The shield trembled violently.

It seemed liable to shatter at any moment.

Wang Hao grinned.

“What are you staring at?”

“Never seen an emperor investigate illegal construction before?”

He raised the Thunder Abyss Suppression Demon Pagoda.

The Demon Lord’s expression finally changed.

“No!”

He lunged forward in a frenzy.

But the assembled Martial Gods clung to him desperately, holding him back.

The power of Wang Hao’s blood and qi poured into the thunder pagoda.

The gate of the ninth level opened once more.

Purple lightning illuminated heaven and earth.

A second purple thunder dragon slowly poked its head out.

At this moment, Wang Hao did not release the thunder dragon immediately.

He gripped the pagoda in his left hand.

In his right, he held the New Emperor Sword.

The Nine Swords of Opening Heaven began to form.

First sword!

Second sword!

Third sword!

…

The nine swords merged into one!

At the same time, the Heaven-Imprisoning Earth-Covering Palm began to circulate.

One palm!

Two palms!

Three palms!

…

The nine palms fused into one!

Sword, palm, and thunder—three powers merged before him.

The New Emperor Sword cried out:

“Master!”

“It’s too much!”

“I’m going to split!”

Wang Hao gritted his teeth.

“Endure it!”

“Once this strike is over, I’ll feed you so much demigod blood you’ll be sick of it!”

The New Emperor Sword roared:

“Deal!”

The purple thunder dragon coiled around golden and silver sword light.

The Imperial Palm lifted the thunder.

At this moment, the imperial phantom behind Wang Hao also raised its hand.

It was as if the emperor of the human realm were delivering judgment upon the Immortal Gate.

“By the authority of the Great Xia Emperor, I hereby declare…”

“The Black Sky City Immortal Gate an illegal structure.”

“Demolish it!”

Boom!

The thunder dragon roared.

Sword light split open the heavens.

The Imperial Palm covered the earth.

Three layers of devastating power slammed into the largest fissure in the Dark Immortal Gate.

Heaven and earth fell silent for an instant.

Then—

Crack.

A crisp sound, one that made everyone’s scalp go numb, rang out.

The Dark Immortal Gate…

had cracked.