The sword technique named Heaven Splitter carried immense power.
Suddenly, a brilliant light appeared between heaven and earth, rising from below and radiating with dazzling brilliance. It was like the most terrifying stream of light in the world. In front of this stream, the Demon Emperor furrowed his brows. The might of this strike was clearly far stronger than the previous ones. Before him, layers of demonic qi manifested, attempting to block it. But unexpectedly, as soon as a strand of demonic qi touched the radiant sword light, it shattered. The sword light then continued to pierce through several layers of his demonic qi barriers, eventually landing directly on his emperor robe.
The Demon Emperor reached out to press against the sword light that had reached him, intending to crush it. But the moment his hand touched it, the sword light exploded in his palm. In an instant, the Demon Emperor's hand became a blur of flesh and blood, with blood dripping everywhere.
Since the battle began, this was the first time the Demon Emperor had been injured.
The Demon Emperor smiled indifferently and instantly retreated thousands of feet away.
While that sword pursued him relentlessly.
The Sword Sect's Sect Master pressed on without giving an inch, determined to capitalize on this gain.
As the strongest great sword immortal in the world, the Sword Sect's Sect Master's performance in the first half of the battle had been somewhat underwhelming, but it was still acceptable. After all, the opponent before him was not just anyone, but someone recognized by nearly all top cultivators as the number one in the world. Even so, the Sword Sect's Sect Master did not believe this battle would conclude so lightly.
Although Heaven Splitter was indeed one of the most powerful killing moves among his twenty-four sword techniques, it was by no means his strongest sword.
As the Demon Emperor became injured, with blood falling into the wind and snow, a ripple of emotion stirred among the watching great demons. They knew the Sword Sect's Sect Master, who had traveled thousands of miles, possessed an extraordinary cultivation realm, likely approaching that of His Majesty the Demon Emperor. Yet, seeing the Demon Emperor wounded with their own eyes was still very surprising.
The Demon Emperor retreated to a distance, hovering in midair. The wound on his palm was already beginning to heal, and the sword qi that had tried to invade his meridians was instantly shattered by him. Once the wound had fully healed, the Demon Emperor merely glanced at the Sword Sect's Sect Master, who was already closing in on him.
He exhaled a breath of demonic qi.
The Demon Emperor no longer retreated. Instead, he advanced, meeting the full force of that powerful sword strike head-on.
The Sword Sect's Sect Master, with his sword heart clear, paid no attention to anything else. At this moment, his focus was solely on the Demon Emperor before him, with only the intent to unleash his next sword strike.
But in the next moment, it seemed as if the sky had darkened.
The Demon Emperor's emperor robe appeared like a curtain of night, blocking the entire sky at this moment. It obscured the endless wind and snow, and covered heaven and earth.
The Sword Sect's Sect Master sent out a sword strike, and endless sword light swept forward, attempting to cut through this night and reveal the world again.
But in the next instant, a fist appeared before that sword. The fist looked quite ordinary, nothing remarkable, but the Sword Sect's Sect Master could see clearly that the fist had distinct veins, with blood coursing through them like rushing rivers. Within it flowed boundless blood vitality, immense and vigorous.
It was the fist of the Demon Emperor.
That fist seemed to contain the most powerful force between heaven and earth, instantly pressing down and enveloping the Sword Sect's Sect Master entirely. The sword light quickly collided with the fist, but it was smashed apart just as swiftly. The scattered sword light disappearing into the darkness.
Then, the fist descended toward the Sword Sect's Sect Master.
His expression grew incredibly grave as he sensed the terrifying aura from the fist. He knew that if he were struck by this fist, he might not be able to pay the price.
Whether one became a sword immortal or a great sword immortal, their physical resilience still fell far short compared to that of the demon race. Yet at this moment, he was already enveloped by the overwhelming pressure, making it difficult to evade the incoming fist.
Suddenly, a myriad of sword qi erupted from the Sword Sect's Sect Master's eyes, as if he had unleashed another sword strike in that very moment.
At his level, his own body had become one of the sharpest swords in the world. This sword strike tore open a gap within the immense pressure, allowing him to dodge the fist. He then appeared above the Demon Emperor's head, grasped his flying sword with both hands, and forcefully stabbed downward. An endless torrent of sword qi surged like a waterfall from the highest heavens, pouring down relentlessly.
The Demon Emperor raised his head and sent a punch upward. In that instant, two immense and overwhelming auras collided once again.
A massive explosion suddenly echoed through heaven and earth, and an unimaginably terrifying aura rippled outward in all directions.
The Great Liang Emperor reached his hand out and swept his sleeve, blocking the chaotic qi from reaching those around him.
Meanwhile, the other great demons within the wind and snow each acted to disperse the energy. Some of the weaker great demons even retreated far into the distance.
The Sword Sect's Sect Master ascended into the sky, while the Demon Emperor plummeted downward, only managing to halt his descent midway.
When he raised his head, countless rays of sword light suddenly rained down from the sky, as if a sword rain had descended at that very moment.
The endless barrage of sword light fell, instantly engulfing the Demon Emperor. The ground below was riddled with countless deep craters from the impact of the sword light, while the surface of the Onan River boiled violently.
Yu Xiyi’s eyes widened in awe, expressing admiration, "Is this what a great sword immortal is like?!"
As a sword cultivator, there was not a single one who did not dream of one day reaching such a realm. Only a sword cultivator like this could be called truly carefree.
The Great Liang Emperor said calmly, "At the pinnacle of the Sword Dao, this is the scenery one sees."
In his youth, even he had dreamed of becoming an unrivaled sword immortal someday.
Chen Chao, however, felt the least moved by this. He had never imagined becoming such a sword immortal himself. He simply tightened his grip on his saber, thinking that becoming such a sword immortal was not interesting, what would be interesting was one day being able to kill such a sword immortal.
Cloud Mud seemed to sense Chen Chao's thoughts and let out a faint hum.
Chen Chao smiled.
His gaze happened to meet the Great Liang Emperor's.
This uncle and nephew pair exchanged a glance, and the emotions in Chen Chao's eyes softened considerably. He felt many more thoughts and feelings towards this uncle who had come all the way to the demon territory to bring him home.
The Great Liang Emperor turned his head, calmly looking toward the battlefield ahead.
Chen Chao also shifted his gaze.
……
……
The Demon Emperor ascended through the sword light, reaching the sky above, allowing the sword lights to strike him as he prepared to unleash an immensely terrifying punch.
An incomparably terrifying aura erupted from the Demon Emperor, pressing upward. Countless rays of sword light began to shatter, and soon an overwhelming aura replaced the sword qi that had filled the heavens and earth, drowning out all the sword qi.
In an instant, the Sword Sect's Sect Master emerged from the countless rays of sword light.
That fist had already arrived in front of him.
The Sword Sect's Sect Master sent out a sword, its brilliant light instantly illuminating the heavens. The Sword Sect's Sect Master's handsome face was now clearly visible.
The ribbon he used to tie his hair had long since broken, and his black-and-white hair flowed freely in the wind, looking like countless sharp flying swords.
Facing that fist, the Sword Sect's Sect Master was unwilling to dodge any longer, choosing instead to face it with his sword.
The sword light that blotted out the skies and covered the earth converged before the Sword Sect's Sect Master at that moment, clashing with the unrivaled, domineering fist. A terrifying sword cry echoed throughout heaven and earth.
Although no peerless, domineering sword appeared, it felt as if one had arrived.
The Sword Sect's Sect Master unleashed his entire lifetime cultivation in an instant, releasing an incomparably berserk surge of sword qi.
The Demon Emperor's expression remained calm, but several cuts had already appeared in his emperor robe.
Looking at the endless sword qi rushing towards him, the Demon Emperor started to laugh instead.
A terrifying aura pressed forward, devouring much of the sword qi.
It was clear that neither of these two pinnacle experts of the current era intended to let this battle drag into a prolonged struggle.
As more and more sword light appeared within the wind and snow, many people could no longer see the two figures clearly. The countless sharp auras filled the snowstorm, and the terrifying aura made even the Great Liang Emperor's expression grow serious.
No one knew how much time had passed, but eventually, the sword light began to fade, and the terrifying aura dissipated significantly.
The Sword Sect's Sect Master fell from the sky, crashing into the ground, creating a massive crater.
The Demon Emperor's figure reappeared, still towering as before, but everyone could see the shocking wound on his shoulder.
It was a sword scar.
As for the Sword Sect's Sect Master lying in the snow crater, his chest was sunken in, his complexion deathly pale. His flying sword had already broken in half, with one half even missing entirely.
The world became incomparably quiet.
Yu Xiyi muttered, "He still lost..."
Chen Chao turned to look at the Great Liang Emperor, who shook his head and said, "He held back."
Chen Chao was somewhat skeptical.
Against the Demon Emperor, the Sword Sect's Sect Master actually did not go all out but instead held back?
The Great Liang Emperor did not say much more. In this battle, both sides had actually held back.
How much the Demon Emperor restrained himself was unclear, but the Sword Sect's Sect Master had withheld a certain sword strike.
That strike, the Great Liang Emperor had sensed the beginnings of it earlier, but just as it was about to take shape, the Sword Sect's Sect Master had forcibly held it back.
The Great Liang Emperor was certain that it was the strongest sword of this Grand Sword Immortal's lifetime.
But unfortunately, in the end, he did not bring it out for the Demon Emperor to see.
The Great Liang Emperor laughed self-deprecatingly, but he was not too disappointed, because he knew he would see it eventually.
The Demon Emperor hovered in midair, looking toward the Great Liang Emperor. The Great Liang Emperor also looked back, and the two monarchs of the world stared at each other quietly for a moment.
The Demon Emperor descended from the sky, not sparing a glance at the Sword Sect's Sect Master, and turned to leave.
"Your Majesty, you mustn't!"
A great demon spoke from within the wind and snow. Though it was just a single sentence, the meaning was clear to everyone. Now that the Grand Sword Immortal was seriously injured, it was the perfect opportunity to strike and kill him.
Even if they could not kill the Great Liang Emperor, as long as the Demon Emperor blocked the Great Liang Emperor, they could naturally attack together and finish off the Sword Sect's Sect Master.
Killing him would mean one less powerhouse among the humans; a great advantage for the demons.
Perhaps they could even take this chance to kill the Great Liang Emperor.
The Demon Emperor did not speak, nor did he turn around. He simply walked quietly in the direction of the demon race's royal city.
Autumn glanced at Chen Chao, then also turned and left.
The Great Liang Emperor smiled slightly, unsurprised by this outcome. He looked at Chen Chao and said softly, "Come back home with Us."