War Swords and the Trial of the Demon Cave

Xiao Chen's skin blazed with radiance, arcane and profound patterns emerging and attaching to his body like a suit of divine armor.

Clang... Clang...

The two ancient war swords embedded in the abyss wall trembled and hummed, as if resonating with Xiao Chen from afar.

Flame Emperor was like a phoenix bathing in fire, his divine light dazzling, surging with immense spiritual power as billowing inferno swept toward Xiao Chen.

"Dare to covet this emperor's war swords? Your crime is doubled! I will extract your soul and refine it in the fiery hell for ten thousand years!"

If he had truly faced an Earth-Penetrating realm emperor, Xiao Chen would have surely died. But at this moment, he realized that this so-called Flame Emperor was merely at the Perfected Man realm—far less terrifying than he had imagined.

Relying on the Eight Aspect Extreme, Xiao Chen dodged the fatal strike. The massive cliff where he had stood instantly melted into magma, turned into boiling liquid, and then vaporized into nothingness.

In the towering inferno, Flame Emperor's body rapidly expanded until it was like a mountain peak, looking down at Xiao Chen and roaring, "Hell Reincarnation Flame!"

The fire annihilated the surrounding space, turning the entire abyss into a sea of flames surging toward Xiao Chen.

This fire was so terrifying that Xiao Chen had to focus every ounce of his energy to deal with it; one slip and he would be annihilated, body and soul.

Swish, swish—

Streaks of firelight flashed past, annihilating all physical substance. There was no resisting.

Finally, Xiao Chen used the Water Aspect World from his Eight Aspect Worlds, unleashing surging blue light to barely block the space-annihilating inferno.

Although he had held off Flame Emperor, Xiao Chen discovered with frustration that he could not destroy him. He could only barely defend himself.

The azure flames were inextinguishable, endlessly regenerating, as if they would burn forever even if the world itself perished.

"I am immortal! A mere Perfected Man of the Divine Tribe dares to contend with me? A firefly daring to compete with the bright moon! Watch how I refine you into nothing!"

Flame Emperor completely trapped Xiao Chen. The azure fire towered, blazing fiercely, slowly pressing inward from all directions. Xiao Chen was trapped inside, using his divine power to resist. His entire body shone with rainbow light, nearly three hundred divine acupoints blazing like stars, forming a cocoon of divine power around him.

In the following days, Flame Emperor's demonic flames raged as he sealed Xiao Chen within and began to refine him with endless hellfire.

It was a purgatorial trial. Xiao Chen continuously unleashed his potential in the magic flames that could burn gods to ashes, struggling with all his might to resist.

At the same time, his powerful divine consciousness swept across the abyss, seeking Flame Emperor's true body. The mountain-sized giant shadow in the sky was not his real form; otherwise, he would not have been impossible to kill.

After several full days, Xiao Chen finally eliminated three thousand two hundred and seventy-five puppet avatars in the underground magma and located Flame Emperor's true body.

Success or failure hinged on this moment. Divine power suddenly surged around him. The enormous cocoon shattered completely, and Xiao Chen transformed into a beam of divine light, charging at the two war swords embedded in the cliff wall.

The arcane patterns on his body blazed even more brilliantly, streams of light flowing like water toward the war swords.

Clang!

The war swords shattered the massive cliff wall and shot out from the abyss, flying toward Xiao Chen.

"Dare to take my war swords, boy? You're dead!" Flame Emperor's booming voice rumbled, shaking the entire abyss.

In the endless fire, the two war swords shot out two blinding beams of sword-light, slashing at Xiao Chen. The mere fluctuations of sword energy were enough to nearly collapse the entire abyss. Countless massive boulders tumbled down, and millions of streams of magma burst up from beneath the earth.

Flame Emperor could indeed bring out part of the war swords' power. The annihilating, violent force seemed almost unstoppable, capable of destroying everything in this world.

But Xiao Chen did not charge toward the two ancient war swords radiating heaven-shaking power as Flame Emperor had imagined. Instead, he dove downward and plunged into the magma.

Flame Emperor had set a trap, waiting for Xiao Chen to seize the war swords, but Xiao Chen had feinted and instead charged straight for his true body.

"Damnation!" Flame Emperor immediately understood his opponent's intention.

Deep in the magma beneath the abyss, his true body moved like a divine rainbow. He was a cautious emperor, unwilling to reveal his true body even against an opponent of similar strength.

But Xiao Chen had already locked onto his aura and soon caught up using the Eight Aspect Extreme.

Rolling magma churned like a surging great river. The two mighty experts seemed utterly unaffected by the earth's infernal heat, flying at extreme speed.

Whoosh—

The two war swords also plunged into the earth's core magma, hacking and thrusting at Xiao Chen with earth-shaking sword energy that made even him shudder.

He did not parry, instead choosing to flee, pursuing Flame Emperor's true body.

It was a strange contest. Flame Emperor hid deep in the magma, Xiao Chen ceaselessly searched and hunted him, all while being constantly attacked by two terrifyingly powerful war swords.

It was a stalemate. On the eighth day, Xiao Chen finally found Flame Emperor's true body and directly unleashed the Four Killing Hands and the original power of the Eight Aspect Worlds.

An unrelenting great battle erupted, nearly destroying the abyss. Magma shot up thousands of feet. The light of the two war swords had long dimmed. After controlling them for one final strike, Flame Emperor watched in fury and grief as the war swords were taken from him.

Swish—

Sword energy soared, brilliant light stretched for thousands of feet. The contained power was unparalleled, sweeping across Flame Emperor.

"You… how can you also activate the war swords?" Flame Emperor revealed a look of shock. Earlier he had thought Xiao Chen was merely using powerful divine power to seize the swords, never imagining it was a resonance between two souls.

Xiao Chen was greatly agitated. He had never expected that after the mysterious patterns appeared on his skin, he would establish a subtle connection with the war swords, allowing him to simply drive the two ancient blades.

A thousand-foot sword-light swept out. Even Flame Emperor could not withstand it. The boundless azure fire was instantly suppressed.

Sword energy shot into the sky, sweeping back and forth. Although Flame Emperor was powerful and fought back with all his might, he ultimately fell into the disadvantage.

Shing!

Suddenly, a third war sword appeared, transforming into a long rainbow that stabbed straight into Flame Emperor's true body, tearing him apart.

"Impossible… how is there a third war sword?" He revealed an expression of utter shock, muttering, "I expended all my effort to infuse flame power into the war swords to drive them for a short time. You…"

He had no chance to say more. Xiao Chen had no intention of letting this fearsome opponent escape. The three war swords blazed with light ten thousand feet strong, simultaneously crisscrossing to shred Flame Emperor's remnant body, annihilating him body and soul.

When all was calm, the patterns on Xiao Chen's body gradually faded, and the three war swords seemed to lose their vitality, slowly dimming.

Xiao Chen stroked the three war swords, a hint of excitement showing. The war swords that could be driven by another had such terrifying power. He believed this was only the tip of the iceberg.

Half a month later, Xiao Chen began a new great escape. Countless flame creatures surrounded and pursued him, launching an unrelenting extermination campaign.

Within the Demon Cave, there were flames everywhere and powerful monsters—more numerous than grains of sand in the desert, denser than wild grass on the plain. Endless flame powerhouses came from all directions to intercept and kill him.

"Damn it, the worst luck in eight lifetimes!" Xiao Chen cursed bitterly. The Flame Emperor he had killed truly was a genuine "Emperor," but two years ago, after a mortal battle with the Undead Emperor, he had been wounded and still had not recovered.

This great pursuit lasted a full half year. The flame creatures were inexhaustible, wave after wave. Under the command of several Heavenly King-level humanoid flame beings, they nearly burned Xiao Chen to ashes.

His clothes and beard were burned clean. Even his peerless martial body was nearly roasted through.

After half a year of bad luck, Xiao Chen finally killed three Heavenly Kings one by one among millions of flame creatures before he thoroughly shook off this pursuing army.

Though bedraggled and having narrowly escaped death countless times, obtaining two war swords made it all worthwhile!

Day after day hovering between life and death, even his peerless martial body nearly collapsed. Xiao Chen's potential was forced out under pressure, advancing his cultivation to Perfected Man Fifth Heaven.

The increase in strength was entirely bought with lives—and not just one life. Nearly a hundred times he had nearly died before earning that single heaven of cultivation. This achievement was truly fearsome.

He did not know how long he could hold out. He could not always crawl back from the brink of death. If he made one mistake, he would fall into eternal damnation, utterly obliterated here.

With less than a year and a half left before the agreed time, Xiao Chen planned to use the remaining time well and begin a new round of desperate training.

But this time, his luck was truly terrible. He charged straight into the abyss of the One-Horned Devil King race.

Millions of devils roared; over a dozen Heavenly King-level devils shrieked…

The entire Demon Cave trembled. Many other kinds of powerful demon kings charged in. Xiao Chen was completely submerged in an ocean of evil spirits and monsters.

"Why isn't Xiao Chen coming out yet?" Keke pestered the old skeleton nearly every day, nagging him to open the sealed gate. The little creature's voice was childish, and the Seven-Colored Skeleton King could not bring himself to feel annoyed. He patiently comforted it every day.

The little one found it unbearably dull and monotonous. At first, staying in Sovereign City had been acceptable, but after nearly four years of living here, it was far too stifling for a naturally lively and active little beast.

Listless, it pulled up all the "weeds" in Paradise Lost to pass the time, tidying the divine garden into perfect order, making all the sacred trees lush and verdant. Such industrious behavior from this little creature was nothing short of a miracle.

Over the four years, Keke had transplanted the "weeds" of Paradise Lost to every corner of the Sovereign Palace. On this land of deathly stillness, radiant immortal grasses actually grew—it was certainly a remarkable sight.

Finally, the little one used the planted immortal grasses to spell out two crookedly large characters on the training ground: Qingqing. Only then did it stop, satisfied.

Day by day passed, and the four-year agreement finally arrived.

Keke happily followed the old Skeleton King to the Demon Cave. Having been disappointed for four years, the little creature desperately hoped to see Xiao Chen and leave this place as soon as possible.

When the sealed gate opened, monstrous demonic energy surged out in an instant.

"Impudent monster! How dare you try to force your way out of the Demon Cave? Seeking death!" the old Skeleton King bellowed.

"Old sir, don't get it wrong—it's me, Xiao Chen! The big one behind me is the Devil Emperor. Quickly stop him!"

A towering devil with a single horn, purple pupils, and a body covered in gleaming white scales radiated demonic flames that turned to solid black mist. This was the terrifying aura of one who had killed hundreds of thousands of evil spirits.

Bang!

The devil's entire body split open. A man shimmering with crystalline light burst out from the devil's shell like a butterfly emerging from a cocoon. It was Xiao Chen.

"Boy, you really know how to cause trouble!" The Seven-Colored Skeleton King hurriedly worked to seal the Demon Cave. Fortunately, the young woman sovereign had personally laid down formations here; he only needed to activate imperial-level divine power.

Inside the Demon Cave, two Devil Emperors at the Earth-Penetrating realm were fiercely trying to break the seal.

After a full three hours of effort, the old Skeleton King managed to seal the Demon Cave, though not without danger.

For Xiao Chen, the last year or more had been like a nightmare, with not a moment's rest, constant life-or-death battles.

He had slain so many evil spirits and devils that he bathed daily in devil's blood. That was the source of the fully materialized baleful aura covering his body.

He had long lost count of how many evil spirits he had killed and devils he had slain. A conservative estimate would be in the tens of thousands.

And half a year ago, the young devil he had killed turned out to be the youngest son of a pair of Devil Emperors.

From that day on, he had begun a horrific great escape. Without the Eight Aspect Extreme, he would have died hundreds of times over.

He fought through armies of evil spirits, charged among millions of devils, encountering evil spirits, skeletons, flame creatures, devils—every kind of evil race imaginable. Of course, the most terrifying was being relentlessly hunted by those two Devil Emperors. It was a true case of no way to heaven, no door to earth.

He had transformed into a devil, impersonated an evil spirit—tried every possible method. Even now that he was safe, Xiao Chen did not want to recall that miserable experience.

If he had escaped just a few days later, even if the two powerful Devil Emperors had not killed him, he would have collapsed and gone mad on his own.

Though the sky of the Death World was gray and gloomy, at this moment Xiao Chen still felt the brightness of a sunny day. To the shock of Keke and the old skeleton, he planted a deep kiss on the ground, leaped up like a child, and shouted, "Damn it, Xiao has finally made it out!"

Then he happily hugged the little beast and rubbed it, and gave the old Skeleton King a warm embrace, startling the two of them into retreating a hundred zhang.

"Don't be afraid! I'm just excited! These four years have been worse than death, nearly driving me mad…"

Every day had been shrouded in the shadow of death; taut nerves could snap at any moment. It had been a purgatorial ordeal.

The life-and-death trial was finally over!

Xiao Chen's strength had reached Perfected Man Seventh Heaven, and the "Duo" sound had become perfect, fully comprehended.

The cost had been enormous, but the gains were substantial.

"Going to rest for a while? Still want to enter the Demon Cave for life-and-death training?" the Seven-Colored Skeleton King asked with a grin cracking his jaw.

Hearing this, Xiao Chen instantly changed color. The shadow of death, the cold devil's blood, the ferocious undead Heavenly Kings—it all seemed to reappear before his eyes. He shook his head. "I'd rather go deep into the continent than ever enter the Demon Cave again."

Three days later, Xiao Chen bid farewell to the old Skeleton King. He wanted to return at once to the vibrant, life-filled Nine Provinces to relax his mind and body after the nightmare.

"Next time, I'll return to the Nine Provinces with you. I truly miss it!" The old Skeleton King seemed a little lost.

Xiao Chen was grateful to this old skeleton, so he did not hide the secret of his return to the Nine Provinces.

Ten days later, Xiao Chen emerged from the depths of the Death Continent and came with Keke to the Bone Well.

That same day, his figure appeared beside the Dead City in the Nine Provinces.

"Duobao Heavenly King Wu Ming appears—who can compete?"

"Five Elements Heavenly King dominates the world, invincible, no match found!"

"Celestial Fairy Ye Jing, a fairy beyond the heavens, can shake the nine skies!"

"When the Heavenly Human race appears, all other clans retreat!"

"Yaksha Heavenly Queen roars, moving mountains and rivers; Snow Dance does not appear—who can match?"

"Curse World Divine Master emerges to command the Nine Provinces!"

"Soul World…"

In just half a day, Xiao Chen heard all of the above rumors.