Chapter Forty: Ten Thousand Cuts and a Thousand Blades Battle the Ten Demons (Part 2)

Yellow sand swept the sky, smoke billowed in all directions, and countless deep craters pitted the barren desert. Even the Five Elemental Heavenly Lords, among the Five Supreme Lords of the Ninefold Heavens, were inwardly alarmed by such a spectacle; even if all nine heavens and ten lords combined their strength, they could not have slain the desert storm dragon in an instant like this. This alone proved the overwhelming power of the Eastern Emperor Bell, one of the three primordial treasures of antiquity, and the might of its spirit, the Eastern Lord. At that time, the Eastern Lord had only possessed Hao Dan; if Hao Dan were to fully fuse his three souls and awaken the power of his past life as the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, then, combined with the Eastern Lord’s abilities, his strength would be unfathomably monstrous!

No wonder the myriad gods of the Eastern Heavens bowed in awe before the divine might of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Without such unparalleled strength, how could one command so many powerful beings and subdue the very Dao of Heaven itself?

The Five Supreme Lords did not linger in the wasteland; having witnessed this scene, they immediately invoked the five-element escape arts and sped off in the direction of the Lower Five Lords.

At this moment, Hao Dan was utterly spent; after unleashing the myriad cuts and thousand blades, his body felt completely hollowed out, his spirit dangerously weak.

Suddenly, a golden figure streaked toward him—it was Huang Xian, the Crimson Pine Immortal.

“Is this the one we seek?” Crimson Pine halted, seeing Hao Dan crouched on the edge of an icy pit, and asked uncertainly.

“We have already crossed swords with him. This youth is exceedingly strange, able to erupt with sudden bursts of power. We cannot yet judge the true depth of his cultivation,” Lilian Qiansisi replied, addressing Crimson Pine.

Seeing the opposing ranks grow by one, Hao Dan’s heart hardened. If they fought to the death, how could Xiao Bailing escape to rescue her? A wise man knows when to retreat; he resolved to use his escape technique and flee.

“Not good! He’s trying to escape. Let us combine our strength and activate the Lower Five Lords’ Immortal Array to trap him here until the Supreme Lords arrive! Hurry!” Fox Immortal Miao Qianxun made a snap decision; seeing Hao Dan spring up, she knew he intended to flee.

“Fox, wolf, white snake, and rat—Five Immortals’ Fusion Light Art! Enter the array and become the subject, bind with a thousand nets and slay!”

“Five-Colored Heavenly Net, Lower Five Lords’ Immortal Array—activate!” Golden Fox Immortal immediately chanted the incantation, summoning the array’s binding power.

Before Hao Dan could escape, he was instantly shrouded by the five-colored immortal lights of the array cast by the five upper immortals. The radiance was wondrous and mysterious, and as Hao Dan was caught within, he found himself immobilized, unable to move as if the light itself could bind and imprison him.

...

“Useless!”

An utterly contemptuous voice echoed in Hao Dan’s mind.

The Heavenly Soul of the Eastern Emperor had no wish for Hao Dan to perish here. As the strongest of the three souls, he was unwilling to fuse with Hao Dan, and his independent will looked down on Hao Dan from the depths of his being.

Heaven, Earth, and Human Souls:

“Heavenly Soul corresponds to innate nature, Earth Soul to reincarnation, Human Soul to memories of past lives.”

“Heavenly Soul ascends to the heavens, Earth Soul enters the cycle, Human Soul remains in the world.”

As a reincarnated being, Hao Dan possessed only his primal force and absolute will, but the Heavenly Soul inherited not only the innate instincts of his past life but also the prideful will of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi. Subconsciously, he resisted merging with Hao Dan; even if bested, he would never submit to the Earth Soul’s control.

Thus, for Hao Dan to subdue and merge with the Heavenly Soul was no easy feat!

“Give this body to me at once!” the Heavenly Soul demanded impatiently.

“No! Absolutely not! My lord, you must not relinquish control!” The Eastern Lord’s voice sounded, urgent and anxious.

“Silence, both of you!” The two voices bickering within drove Hao Dan to frustration and rage.

“Insolence!” the Heavenly Soul thundered in fury.

At that moment, Hao Dan sensed five figures rapidly approaching. Outside the Immortal Array, another five colored lights were darting forward, each surrounded by a halo of red, black, orange, gold, and cyan—their arrival marked by the five-element escape technique. Though trapped within the array, Hao Dan could clearly see them.

The five newcomers, seeing Hao Dan caught in the array, burst into laughter: “So, he’s trapped already. Saves us the trouble!”

“Do not underestimate him, Heavenly Lords. This youth’s cultivation is strange; he can shift his strength. When we fought him, he changed his power twice in just a few exchanges!” Fox Immortal Miao Qianxun warned.

In the blink of an eye, from entering the array to the arrival of the Supreme Lords, only a few breaths had passed. Hao Dan’s consciousness began to blur; the array not only bound him but also weakened his spirit. Earlier, in the Eastern Emperor’s world, his soul had already been damaged, and now, as the array’s mysterious five-colored light corroded his essence, he was on the verge of collapse, about to lose consciousness.

No wonder the Heavenly Soul was impatient—he wished to show Hao Dan his true power, but fate had other plans. Hao Dan slipped into unconsciousness; his battered Earth Soul seemed ready to fall into slumber. Within the Eastern Emperor’s world, the Eastern Lord could only shake his head helplessly. Once the Heavenly Soul took control, who knew when Hao Dan might regain it? By then, all would be lost!

“Heavenly Lords, beware! He’s changing again!” Gray Immortal Mo Maomao, being the Mouse Immortal, had an acute sense of smell and instantly noticed Hao Dan’s transformation.

“Ahhh! What is this aura?!” he shrieked.

At that moment, an indescribable power surged around Hao Dan, forming an invisible, soundless, colorless, formless cyclone of spiritual might. In the blink of an eye, it shot skyward, piercing the heavens.

Boom!

This cyclone, pure spiritual force, left the ten Heavenly Lords dumbfounded with disbelief. Even the Grandmaster of the Truncation Sect could not match such power. The ten Heavenly Lords acted without hesitation—the only way to survive was to flee.

“Run! Now!” they cried in terror as the cyclone pierced the clouds.

Yet this dramatic scene, Hao Dan could not witness; he was already utterly unconscious.

“If you’ve dared wound me, then stay here—all of you!” thundered the Heavenly Soul.

The ten figures fled with all their might, terror-stricken. If Hao Dan caught them, they dared not imagine the consequences—the devastation of the desert was still fresh in their minds.

“Eastern Lord, break this array at once!” the Heavenly Soul commanded. He would not allow the ten Heavenly Lords to escape under his very eyes. The Eastern Lord had only wanted Hao Dan to gain experience, never expecting things to escalate so far.

The Eastern Emperor Blade in Hao Dan’s hand shot into the sky, smashing open the Immortal Array. In midair, it transformed into the Eastern Emperor Bell. The Heavenly Soul took possession, stepping atop the golden bell, gazing down at the heavens with unmatched arrogance.

Hao Dan’s once-handsome face now exuded a wicked charm, his crimson eyes glowing with a trace of malevolence. His black hair turned a celestial silvery white, and he gazed playfully at the ten fleeing figures below.

“He’s coming after us—wait, look! What is that? That golden bell—!”

Someone among the Supreme Lords glanced back, and when he saw the Eastern Emperor Bell beneath Hao Dan’s feet, he was struck dumb with shock.

“That’s the first of the Ten Divine Wonders—the Eastern Emperor Bell!”

“The East... Eastern Emperor Bell?!”

Golden Fox Immortal Miao Qianxun, well-versed in the ways of the world, was intimately familiar with the legends. Seeing Hao Dan standing upon the legendary artifact, she was stunned.

As members of the Nine Heavens and Ten Lords, a chill of terror gripped their hearts. Why had Grand Marshal Yan Lietian not told them? Had they known the truth, they wouldn’t have dared offend His Majesty the Eastern Emperor for all the bravado in the world!

“Shatter space!” Hao Dan uttered, his words light and casual.

In an instant, the ten Heavenly Lords, who had nearly vanished into the clouds, materialized beneath Hao Dan’s feet. What kind of power was this, to ignore the limits of space and matter, to overtake the fleeing lords with a single step?

“Your Majesty, spare us! We did not know the truth and were deceived by the Grand Marshal Yan Lietian into opposing you! Have mercy, Your Majesty!” Gray Immortal Mo Maomao, the most fearful of the ten, pleaded. As a mouse immortal, his cowardly disposition was on full display.

As his words fell, the other nine joined him in desperate supplication, trembling in terror. Before the spiritual might radiating from Hao Dan, now the incarnation of the Eastern Emperor Taiyi, they could not withstand the pressure.

“You talk too much!” Hao Dan sneered, not even sparing them a glance as he raised his hand. An invisible palm swept toward the Ten Lords.

They saw a massive, invisible hand coming for them. As they turned to flee, crimson, bloodshot eyes suddenly appeared on the horizon, fixing them in place. Instantly, their strength was drained; they could not move. The invisible hand fell, striking them soundlessly. Even as it landed on their bodies, not a sound was heard.

Boom!

As if space itself lagged behind, a delayed, earth-shaking crash resounded, shaking the entire Tianyin World. Even the tower outside quivered in sympathy.

“Wretches, you are no match for me,” Hao Dan declared, his lips curling in a self-satisfied smile as he gazed skyward from atop the Eastern Emperor Bell.

These ten had once been the ten supreme lords of the Ninefold Heavens, the Ten Great Immortals of the Truncation Sect, yet they were stripped of centuries of cultivation by a single blow and a single glance.

Just as Hao Dan prepared to unleash the myriad cuts and thousand blades to finish them off, a violet figure emerged from the clouds, gradually becoming distinct. Only one could wield such unfathomable power—one of the Four Great Guardian Immortal Lords of the Truncation Sect, the All-Knowing Raindrop.

He gazed at Hao Dan, his radiant silver hair contrasting with Hao Dan’s own bright silvery-white locks; the difference was striking, for the All-Knowing Raindrop’s hair was tinged with a dark gray hue, highlighting Hao Dan’s brilliance.

“Your Majesty, I am the All-Knowing Raindrop, one of the Four Guardian Immortals of the Truncation Sect. I greet Your Majesty.”

Facing this graceful and courteous immortal, Hao Dan’s demonic eyes involuntarily contracted. With the Heavenly Soul in control, a strange, indescribable emotion welled up inside him as Hao Dan’s own consciousness began to awaken.

“What brings you here?” the Heavenly Soul demanded, wary of this exceedingly handsome man.

“Your Majesty, perhaps you should first look to the Ninefold Heavens, to see who is bound upon the Execution Platform,” said the All-Knowing Raindrop, waving his sleeve. An image slowly appeared in the mist: Xiao Bailing was being threatened by Black Tiger Immortal Lord Zhao Gongming. Her stubborn head was turned away, but her exquisite face was streaked with countless tears—it was clear she was enduring unbearable torment.

Boom!

As Hao Dan’s mind cleared, his and the Heavenly Soul’s consciousness became one. When they saw a single tear slip from Xiao Bailing’s stubborn, beautiful eyes—whether it was Hao Dan, newly awakened, or the Heavenly Soul’s instinct—a tide of wrath surged to the highest heavens, shaking all of the Thirty-Six Celestial Levels. This fierce spiritual might pierced directly to the Lingxiao Hall, seat of the heavenly assembly, erupting in a pillar of energy that shattered every cloud in the Ninefold Heavens—a spectacle of unprecedented grandeur!

As Hao Dan vanished along with his overwhelming fury, the All-Knowing Raindrop smiled faintly, his handsome face unreadable. He glanced at the fallen Ten Lords, scattered like rag dolls in the desert, as battered as the storm dragon’s lair itself, the sand riddled with great pits, their limbs apparently crippled, a pitiful sight.

He sighed deeply at the scene, his expression impossible to discern.

What happens next? Wait for the next chapter to find out!