The Stone Blade Descends

A cataclysmic roar shook all the heavens and myriad worlds.

Even in this secluded, time-forgotten continent, every cultivator felt the aura of great extinction, as if several worlds were collapsing at once.

A second blast shattered the formless chaos that shrouded the ancient continent. An overwhelming pressure billowed forth, shaking this entire land.

From the eternal unknown, a boundless divine power surged forth, vast and unfathomable as an ocean.

"Disaster!"

Everyone cried out in alarm. The Otherworld was under attack by an unimaginably powerful being. Someone was using supreme divine force to hammer the heavens themselves, unleashing a power of sheer annihilation.

"The final step..."

A furious roar shook the starry firmament. An existence roared in rage, its voice piercing through the ages and traversing all space-time!

At this critical moment, it was caught between life and death—unable to take that final step forward.

"What being has such terrifying power, to disrupt our world's supreme one as he attempts to take that final step?!"

On the ancient continent, every cultivator went mad. After enduring countless tribulations and facing infinite perils, to be just one step away and have it forcibly interrupted—this was the cruelest fate imaginable.

A dull, muffled explosion rolled across the void. The sound transcended space and time, shaking past and present. Time and space could not contain that madly erupting aura of destruction. An unimaginable cataclysm raged in fierce collision, its source deep within the Otherworld!

"Kill!"

At that moment, every Ancestral God of the Otherworld, gathered at their primordial birthplace on the ancient continent, erupted with heaven-shaking killing intent. Their combined wills collided, generating a primordial sound of slaughter that shook the chaos beyond the heavens.

"All of you, heed my command—fight your way back!"

In that instant, the most powerful Ancestral God presiding over the assembly roared out this order.

Killing intent shattered the void and annihilated chaos. In the next breath, the Otherworld Ancestral Gods surged out of this ancient continent. Their earth-shaking divine power obliterated all obstacles; the great chaos collapsed before the charge of the Ancestral Gods.

How dire the situation had become!

An unimaginably powerful being had broken into the Otherworld, blocking the supreme Ancestral God at the very pinnacle from taking that final step. All of their stalwarts had failed to stop him—a chilling testament to how terrifying the intruder truly was.

Xiao Chen reached out a giant hand, enveloping the Undying Sect Leader and Yan Qingcheng. In an instant, he drew them into his acupoint space, then soared into the sky after the gods.

Streaks of divine light shot up toward the heavens. Even cultivators below the Ancestral God level felt their blood boil as they charged toward the eternal unknown where the energy fluctuations trembled.

"It's as if a whole sky has come crashing down. Even the Ancestral Gods feel their qi and blood churning as if a titan wielding a world-cleaving axe were hacking at the very roots of heaven and earth, blocking their path."

"What is happening? It must be enemies from the Primordial Celestial Realm!"

Another Otherworld Ancestral God bellowed in fury. They had been halted—a yellow, hazy light had sealed the road into their world.

"Reverse the flow of time! Let all phenomena be revealed!"

The presiding Ancestral God displayed a shocking divine art, forcefully breaking through the yellow mist to replay the events of moments ago, showing everyone clearly what had transpired.

Within a pure land of the Otherworld, an ancient divine city stood towering. Suddenly, a dazzling beam of divine light rushed up from its central region. Then a stone body broke through the earth and slowly grew forth. A world-shaking divine power instantly radiated to all realms.

But at that critical moment, the sky trembled. A destructive force tore through time and space, striking across the ages!

A colossal stone blade split the firmament of the Otherworld, smashing down upon that towering divine city!

A hazy yellow light flowed over the ancient, massive stone blade, instantly becoming the eternal and the one within heaven and earth!

Its aura pierced the rainbow, its majesty overwhelmed the sky. The entire Otherworld shuddered, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Though Otherworld Ancestral Gods rushed into the sky, exhausting every effort to stop it, the irresistible stone blade could not be withstood.

The blade severed the sky!

It struck deep into the ancient divine city. In a single stroke, it destroyed the age-old indestructible walls. The city walls, stretching like a mountain range, crumbled as easily as sand and dust. The divine energy that the city had accumulated over endless ages began to drain away, its sacred radiance scattering in all directions.

And the human-shaped stone body that had been growing in the center of the city let out a roar of unwilling fury. It reached toward the stone blade in the sky with a terrifyingly huge hand.

That stone palm blotted out the sky. It seized the stone blade and shook it with violent force, trying to shatter it.

A ten-thousand-zhang yellow light split the Otherworld continent. Even an Ancestral God flying too close suffered a destructive blow—the seemingly immortal divine body cracked open, god's blood stained the sky, raining down like a scarlet storm.

"I..."

In the sky, a stone statue materialized above the divine city, wielding the stone blade as it pressed down, appearing atop the city.

And the stone body growing within the city had eyes filled with an eternal, insurmountable hatred. Its stone face twisted in near-madness, roaring toward the heavens.

The hand it had raised to meet the stone blade dripped crimson blood. It was filled with despair—in the end, it had failed to take that final step!

This was what had just happened. A mysterious stone statue had descended from the heavens wielding a stone blade, broken into the Otherworld, and prevented that terrifying existence on the verge of taking the final step from achieving sublimation and transformation.

The Otherworld gods went mad!

Watching helplessly as the divine city was shattered, its accumulated sacred light soared away. The preparations of eons were swept away in a single moment. The Stone Man who was on the verge of total success felt a hatred as vast as the seas—eternal and unstoppable.

One step. That one step made all the difference. In the end, he had failed!

"Kill him! Kill him!"

At this moment, every Otherworld expert was boiling over. Each one raged with utter madness.

They had watched this bitter fruit with their own eyes and failed to stop it.

All manner of divine abilities and laws descended upon the stone statue that plunged down from the skies. They threw everything they had against him.

"It is not completely hopeless! Use this stone statue's giant body to repair the divine city, and use his limitless divine power as a source—our Stone Man can still successfully take that final step!"

"The stone body hasn't fully grown out of the divine city yet. There is still a chance!"

This was the roar of the Otherworld Ancestral Gods. At this moment, everyone madly attacked, trying to shatter the stone statue in the sky to make up for what had just been lost.

Xiao Chen and the group of Ancestral Gods following him were blocked on their path back. Their fury burned as if it could set the Ninth Heaven ablaze. They shattered the yellow light barrier in front of them, but still could not enter their own world, because a vast ancient city had already taken up a position ahead, blocking the way.

"It is...!"

"Ah!"

"It is actually you!"

At that moment, everyone was driven to the edge of madness. This city was none other than the Dead City that had once stood in the Nine Provinces. It had broken through the great world barrier and flown away from the Nine Provinces, now suppressing this very location and blocking the return path of all.

Its vast divine power shook heaven and earth!

Not even Xiao Chen had expected this: the Dead City had flown here.

Who was piloting it?

"Borrowing a corpse to reanimate the soul!" The presiding supreme Ancestral God roared in fury. He fixed his gaze on the Dead City ahead, a look of seething rage spreading across his face. "Borrowing a corpse to reanimate the soul!" In that same instant, the supreme Ancestral God beside him finally understood what was happening. He bellowed, "There is an Ancestral God from the Nine Provinces who, borrowing the Dead City, stole the soul of the stone body within the city and took its place! It's unforgivable!"

The Otherworld Ancestral Gods howled in fury. Had they known this, they would have paid any price to destroy this city ahead of time.

Inside the Otherworld, the stone statue wielding the stone blade struck with every blow—each stroke carrying unimaginable divine power, shaking the entire Otherworld.

"Why!" The stone body within the divine city howled in agony. He had been only one step away from breaking out of his predicament, but in the end, he had been blocked. This was a hatred that would last for ten thousand ages.

His stone face was twisted with malice. Black qi surged from his stone body, nearly driving him into demonic madness. He roared, "You too were on the verge of taking that final step, yet you did not hesitate to come out ahead of time, completely ruining your own hopes!"

In the sky, the stone statue was half stone body and half petrified—not a true Stone Man at all.

It was an incomplete Stone Man who had destroyed his own hope and emerged before his time. What kind of courage did it take to do that!

"Because you were going to succeed before me, one step ahead. I had no choice but to destroy my own future. If the present world cannot be preserved, what good is the future? Everything would be too late."

That was the answer from the stone statue in the sky. The stone blade in his hand became even more unstoppable, its majestic divine power seeming to pierce through past and present.

"Ah...!"

The Stone Man within the divine city roared in fury. He glared at the sky, his form nearly demonic, tears of blood streaming down his face as he struck back against the stone blade.

"No! Do not pull yourself up! There is still hope!" The Otherworld Ancestral Gods were greatly alarmed. They temporarily halted their attack, shouting with all their might to dissuade him.

The Stone Man inside the divine city was half turned to stone above, but his lower body had not yet fully transformed.

Hearing this, the nearly demonic Stone Man seemed to awaken. He stopped his frenzy and did not pull his legs out of the ground.

The assembled Otherworld powerhouses all launched the most ferocious attacks they could. The stone statue in the sky wielding the stone blade was nearly shattered, but he persisted in attacking the divine city and the Stone Man below.

Outside the Otherworld, on the path of return, the Ancestral Gods who had attended the assembly all roared.

"There is no time! Let us unite our souls' ultimate power, briefly pierce through the ages, shatter the stone statue that is wreaking havoc within our world, and provide a divine source for our Stone Man!"

Hearing this order, the Ancestral Gods who could not return to the Otherworld all responded, erupting with heaven-shaking killing intent.

That stone statue who had entered the Otherworld was as good as dead. The power within the Otherworld alone was enough to destroy him many times over. But at this moment, the key was not a matter of strength but of time. Being even a single moment too slow could lead to eternal regret.

They had to kill that rampaging stone statue within their world in the shortest time possible!

At this moment, all the Otherworld Ancestral Gods who could not return poured their mighty divine minds into the sky, converging them together. This was the sublimation and unification of their ultimate spiritual power.

It possessed an unimaginable mysterious force—it could briefly break through any barrier. Even the Dead City, with its immortal power sealing the road ahead, would be shattered!

A beam of divine light shone for eternity, piercing through past and present. At this moment, the gathered light shot straight toward the Dead City ahead.

With a deafening blast, even the unyielding Dead City was pierced through. The divine radiance condensed by the many Ancestral Gods plunged directly into the Otherworld.

With a great ringing sound, that immense spiritual force struck the airborne stone blade with devastating power—but it did not hit the stone statue itself.

The terrifying stone blade was unimaginably tough. It only cracked but did not shatter or decay. A flash of yellow light and the blade instantly repaired itself.

However, at this moment, the rampaging stone statue was also hit by a destructive attack.

In addition to the stone body growing within the divine city, three more petrified giant hands reached out from a distant unknown location, striking at him. Though they were not true Stone Men, only petrified battle bodies, they were still terrifying beyond imagination, shattering many parts of his body.

The surrounding Ancestral Gods also unleashed their deadliest attacks, piercing him through several times.

A stone body that had not taken that final step, though powerful in battle, was not even as nimble as an ordinary Ancestral God—a fatal flaw. If not for the stone blade constantly intercepting the divine radiance, he would have already been destroyed.

This was the true scene inside the Otherworld at this moment.

The rampaging stone statue would be destroyed sooner or later; all he had bought was time, trying to prevent the Stone Man within the divine city from taking that final step.

"Ah...!"

Outside the Otherworld, the Ancestral Gods who had just attacked the Stone Man displayed a heaven-defying divine power—they briefly pierced through the ages. But in the end, their blow landed on the stone blade, failing to achieve true success.

At this moment, everyone roared. Their divine minds shuddered violently. Piercing through the ages was not an easy feat. Every one of them had suffered some degree of injury, their divine minds damaged.

And right at the moment of their mental distraction, Xiao Chen finally struck!

The boundless Primordial Demon City came crashing down! Its majestic divine power shook all of the heavens!

"Ah!"

Like a mountain of the righteous, the ancient giant city descended abruptly. It directly suppressed an Ancestral God beneath it. An eerie black light shone in all directions, dissolving him into a torrent of blood. A rain of gore splattered across the heavens and the earth.

This was a sudden change. The gods were still dazed in their minds, never expecting such a development.

"Ah!"

A second scream rang out. A second Otherworld Ancestral God was ground down by the black light of the Primordial Demon City.

Only then did the Otherworld Ancestral God named Air roar, "Chou Tian, what are you doing?!"

He saw that "Chou Tian" inside the Primordial Demon City—their own Ancestral God—was piloting the Dead City.

None of them had imagined that there would be a second Dead City.

A shattering boom echoed. Boundless divine force shook heaven and earth. The Primordial Demon City enveloped Air. He tried to escape but could not; the black light filled the sky, sealing all his routes of retreat.

"No!"

A roar of unwillingness rang through the heavens. Air too was ground down by the Dead City. But it was clear that this Primordial Demon City was now showing cracks. The divine power expended to shatter an Ancestral God was too immense. Even an eternal ancient city could not withstand it. After grinding down only three Ancestral Gods, it was on the verge of collapse.

With a flicker, Xiao Chen piloted the Dead City, traversing hundreds of li in an instant, directly appearing on the path leading into the Otherworld. The Dead City that had been pierced a moment ago began to tremble.

At this moment, Xiao Chen had completely thrown caution to the wind. He drove both Dead Cities charging into the Otherworld.

Because he could already sense that the lone stone statue wreaking havoc inside the Otherworld was about to be destroyed. He had to awaken the sleeping existence within that Primordial Demon City he had brought from the Death World and hurl it into the fray.

At this moment, everyone was racing against time.

Behind him, a group of Ancestral Gods gave mad chase.

"Why have the Supreme Ancestral Gods not yet made a move?!"

"They cannot act. They have a far more important duty!"

All the heavens had fallen into chaos. Because of the appearance of the Otherworld Stone Man, the great war that would not have erupted until the future had broken out ahead of time. The stone statue had struck without regard for cost, determined to destroy the Stone Man.

From the eternal unknown, the near-petrified bodies of three Supreme Ancestral Gods began to crack.

"Someone has finally broken through to this place!"

The bodies of the three Supreme Ancestral Gods were attacked and began to crack, seeping traces of blood. But it was not fatal; they quickly began to repair themselves.

They were rapidly restoring their vitality, awakening from their ancient petrified state!

All the heavens were in chaos. The great war had erupted ahead of schedule.