"Today, I'm going to save this demon. Let's see who can stop me," Xu Zimo said calmly.
He stood tall, demonic energy soaring around him. Absolute Sword Ancestor snorted coldly and said, "Enough talking, just capture him."
Immortal energy surged from his body, and a massive sword slashed through the air, tearing the void apart as it flew toward Xu Zimo.
Just as the sword was about to strike, a massive hand appeared from the void, grabbing the blade and stopping it in midair.
With a light flick, the sword shattered into two pieces with a loud explosion.
Absolute Sword Ancestor let out a muffled groan and was thrown backward.
Everyone turned to look, God Emperor stood calmly in the sky, cloaked in a wide black robe that completely hid his figure.
There wasn’t a trace of spiritforce from him. He had stopped Absolute Sword Ancestor’s weapon with nothing but brute physical strength.
Everyone's expression turned serious. Absolute Sword Ancestor steadied himself and wiped the blood from his mouth.
That sword was his life weapon, deeply connected to him. Now that it was damaged, he also suffered.
"Who are you?" someone asked.
"Just a nobody," God Emperor replied calmly.
"Are you part of the Ancient Demon Race?" Lan Jiulin asked with narrowed eyes.
"Strictly speaking, no," God Emperor shrugged.
"Then you'd better stay out of this mess," Lan Jiulin said.
"Right and wrong means nothing to me. Whether I'm a demon or a saint, it all depends on my mood," said God Emperor. "As for this so-called mess, your Lan Clan isn't qualified to be called that."
"A coward who doesn't even dare to say his own name, what's there to brag about?" Sword Demon Dugu Wenchang mocked.
"I'm not bragging. Even if your ancestor, the Heaven-Slaughter Emperor, were here, he couldn’t make me back down," God Emperor replied.
"We at Beyond Heaven Sword Mountain have more than 3,000 sword immortals. We don’t need our ancestor to destroy you," Dugu Wenchang declared proudly.
"There are thirty million sword immortals in this world, yet they’d still bow to me," God Emperor replied.
With one palm strike, the space in front of him collapsed entirely. A hundred-mile radius of sky twisted out of shape.
"Stop him!" Dugu Wenchang commanded coldly.
He wore a blue-gray sword robe styled like a kimono. His long hair was messy, but his eyes were sharp and radiant.
Known as the Sword Demon, he had become one with his sword through obsession.
Hovering in midair, Dugu Wenchang slowly drew his longsword from his back.
It was a four-foot black blade, engraved with countless tiny stars.
"This is the Star-Slaying Sword. It weighs two-thousand kilos and was forged from a meteorite from beyond the skies. Its star-patterned blade shines across the world."
As he wielded the sword, his sword aura turned into a hellish sea, rising into the sky.
The storm of sword intent covered half the heavens.
When he drew his sword, countless swords below began to hum and ring as if trying to respond or fly to him.
"One sword to crush the eight realms, one sword to ascend the nine provinces," Dugu Wenchang’s icy voice rang from the sky.
Sword intent formed a massive celestial sword, merging with his Star-Slaying Sword.
As the sword fell, it seemed even the heavens cried out.
Explosions rang out as it slammed down.
God Emperor didn’t dodge. He let the overwhelming sword force crash into him.
With another deafening boom, the shockwave spread, and the sky itself trembled.
"This man… he took that blow head-on," Dugu Wenchang’s eyes widened, unable to believe it.
As the shattered sky began to heal, everyone looked up to see God Emperor still standing calmly, not even his robe wrinkled.
"You’re not even worth taking seriously," God Emperor said quietly.
"How…?" Dugu Wenchang stood frozen, unable to speak.
Xu Zimo kept walking toward the Demon Execution Formation, still active and filled with baleful energy.
"Everyone, stop him together!" Lan Jiulin shouted, quickly reacting.
Ten figures surrounded by boundless immortal energy rose into the sky, launching toward Xu Zimo and God Emperor.
"A candle dares to compete with the moon," God Emperor scoffed.
He waved his right hand, and the space before him twisted as if the laws of reincarnation were spinning around him.
The space around him distorted at strange angles.
As the ten opponents entered this twisted space, God Emperor clenched his fist.
Ten whirlpools appeared in the sky, five spinning clockwise, five counter-clockwise.
A powerful suction came from the whirlpools, pulling all ten figures into the void.
"Everyone, be careful!" Lan Jiulin shouted. He poured all his power into resisting the suction force of the whirlpools.
Xu Zimo looked up and stepped toward the Demon Execution Formation.
"My lord," said Paimon, the imprisoned demon, his voice trembling.
"You underestimated the people of this world," Xu Zimo said calmly.
"If it came down to the end, I would’ve opened my tenth pulse gate and destroyed the Lan Clan even at the cost of my life," Paimon said, ashamed.
Xu Zimo smiled and shook his head. He slowly drew Shadow Tyrant from his back, its aura slicing through the air.
A pure, timeless blade intent fell from the void.
With a thunderous crash, the blade struck the array.
The formation trembled, and cracks appeared on its surface barrier.
"Don’t let him break the formation!" Lan Jiulin roared from above.
But they were all busy trying to escape the whirlpools and couldn't stop Xu Zimo.
Down below, the Lan Clan disciples looked grave. Lan Juntian took a deep breath.
He turned to the panicking disciples and shouted:
"From the Desolate Era to now, our Lan Clan has survived for countless generations. Our ancestors gave their lives. One generation after another built the Lan Clan we see today. Now, our family faces life or death. Are you afraid to die?"
He didn’t wait for an answer before continuing.
"It’s human nature to fear death. There’s no shame in it. Who doesn’t want to live a good life?"