Chapter 1052: Chong Chong Guang Zi and This One—Who Is Fairer?

Nine great powers each unleashed world-shaking techniques.

One after another, spells of terrifying might unfurled across the star river, drowning worlds, drowning billions upon billions of living beings, burying their memories at the deepest level.

As all this happened, the top-tier sixth-order grand array shrouding the Blazing Stone Star Domain continued transmitting information outward as usual—administrative matters, such as the supervisory envoys left behind in these worlds by the Cangyan Ancient Emperor's clan, spies from other Ancient Emperor factions, asteroid belt movements, the currents of the Netherly Gale Ocean… and so on, astronomical signals of every kind, all perfectly normal.

In the end, the countless billions of beings across the eleven Minor Thousand Worlds returned to peace, living under the order of the Blazing Stone clan, just as they had for tens of thousands of years past, with nothing amiss.

The nine great powers, meanwhile, hastened to inhale and exhale the world's spiritual energy, scouring away the foreign auras clinging to themselves, striving to merge as one with the heaven and earth of Jiao Jiao Mingyu.

This was of the utmost importance.

It was not only a matter of concealing their initiative—it was even more a matter of unleashing their full strength.

Although the Heavenly Dao of a foreign realm had no self-awareness and would not reject outsiders, it still differed in many ways from one's home domain; without understanding and comprehending it, one's strength would be indirectly diminished.

Of course, the nine great powers were swamped with duties, but no matter how busy they were, they could never forget their own sect's Dao Child.

Nine streaks of flowing light unfurled, and the nine Dao Children each returned to the side of their own great power.

On the side of the Immortal Gate's Home Star Near-Guard Starfleet, a single beam of gentle light carried back toward the fleet's center a delicate youth's head, a clump of charred rotten flesh, and a flying sword twisted like a pretzel.

Countless starry fortresses and aerial fighters swirled around him in protection, while countless chaotic military-formation runes blazed forth.

With guards of this caliber, let alone a Great Emperor—even an Ancient Emperor coming here alone would die in short order!

In an instant, his sense of security skyrocketed.

"Yo!"

"Isn't this our Great Sun Sword Child? How is it that only a head is left?"

Mie Ri Canghai Tianjun was the first to rush over, checking him over and over, then bursting into laughter, even feeling the urge to pat that head once—only to be fixed with a stern glare from Zhenjun Shenji Canghai Tianjun.

"Hahaha, long time no see, the Immortal Gate's Sword Child!"

"…Back then, for the Immortal Gate to have won was truly far too lucky…"

"Our very own Sword Child…"

Numerous Immortal Gate Tianjuns, Zhenjuns, and many Jin Dan and Foundation Establishment cultivators cheered and shouted loudly; not having seen each other for several hundred years, they weren't shy in the slightest, exchanging all manner of greetings and snapping photos with a click.

"Hahaha!"

"Greetings, seniors, greetings, fellow Daoists!"

Jiang Ding, with only his head remaining, laughed heartily and boasted: "This one—sword-slashed a Void Refiner at Nascent Soul stage, and wounded him by a single hair!"

"In this world, can there still be a fierce man like—"

"—me?"

"Can there be?!"

"Can Chong Chong Guang Zi even compare with this one?"

He said, utterly narcissistic.

"Hahaha!"

The many Tianjuns laughed loudly: "Our Great Sun Sword Child is the fairest of them all—what is Chong Chong Guang Zi, that he dares compare himself with our Great Sun Sword Child?"

"He's far beneath him."

"He's nothing but a single hair on our Great Sun Sword Child's thigh!"

A bunch of Tianjuns and the head of a sixteen-year-old youth reunited after a long parting, bragging, chatting, shooting the breeze—every sort of embarrassing line poured out free of charge, without the slightest awkwardness.

In truth, speaking objectively, in terms of swordsmanship alone, Jiang Ding Zi was still somewhat inferior to Chong Chong Guang Zi, the strongest Great Sun Sword Child in the history of the Great Sun Sword Pavilion.

Chong Chong Guang Zi had already completed the sword dao challenge of single-handedly slaying the nine great Dao Children, and was already able to comprehend the power of Order.

"Seniors, fellow Daoists, you truly have the eye to recognize talent."

Jiang Ding sighed admiringly, utterly shameless.

"Hahaha!"

The many Tianjuns laughed loudly.

During the idle chat, even in his extreme weakness, Jiang Ding still forced his divine soul to operate, transmitting the Great Emperor scripture "Dao Heart Demon Slave Sutra" over a long distance to Yuan, the Immortal Gate's ruler and supreme commander of the great army, delivering this Immortal Gate's hope for breaking through to Void Refining to the Immortal Gate at the greatest possible speed, doing his utmost to forestall any accident.

"This…"

Yuan's expression shifted slightly.

A Great Emperor scripture!

A scripture for breaking through to Void Refining!

A Void Refining scripture the Immortal Gate had pursued tirelessly for ten thousand years without fully breaking through—now appeared whole and complete before his eyes!

At the center of the Thirty-Six Heavenly Spirits and Seventy-Two Earthly Fiends Starfleet, amid countless swirling chaotic runes, Yuan was commanding the Immortal Gate fleet legions to inhale and exhale star-river spiritual energy, scouring the foreign auras from himself and his comrades—unmoved even if Mount Taishan crumbled before him, for he had passed through countless life-and-death trials.

But at this moment, his heart trembled, surging like overturning seas and rivers, his stirred emotions nearly showing on his face.

With a Great Emperor scripture in hand, then—the Immortal Gate's Void Refiner was about to appear!

On this single point alone, the Immortal Gate had not come in vain to this realm war; it had already gained the greatest harvest.

Yuan's heart churned for a moment, then quickly calmed.

He made no fuss, gave an almost imperceptible nod, and continued commanding the Immortal Gate's strongest Home Star fleet—in wartime conditions, in a dangerous foreign realm—without diverting even a sliver of his attention outward, disciplined to the utmost.

Zhenjun Shenji Canghai Tianjun and the many Immortal Gate Tianjuns might chat and jest as they pleased, but proper business had not been delayed.

The many starry fortresses, with extreme efficiency, erected a sixth-order Void Refining-grade healing grand array, which, working in concert with a Void Refining-grade healing treasure, formed a hazy, purple-tinged miniature world-shadow.

Innate Purple Qi Yi Wood Green

Spirit Array!

This was the highest-grade healing formation the Immortal Gate possessed; paired with it was a starry medical fortress equipped with a sixth-order healing void treasure—the emergency-treatment fortress of the battlefield, where the treatment, settlement, and recuperation of the Immortal Gate's wounded took place.

At this moment, the many Immortal Gate Tianjuns joined hands, driving the might of the starry medical fortress to its absolute peak.

"Brat, hold on a little longer…"

Mie Ri Canghai Tianjun carefully cradled a delicate head, along with a pile of rotten flesh and a flying sword twisted like a pretzel, lowering them into the purple-tinged world above the starry medical fortress.

Jiang Ding felt only a warm surge of energy flood into his body; it was not a crude resurrection repair, but a meticulous sorting of his meridians, bones, flesh and blood, dantian, and skin from the very source, striving to leave no aftermath.

He was entirely immersed in the purple qi.

Within the mass of rotting flesh beside him, much of it instantly turned to ash; some had already been eroded by the Flame Order of the Flame Stone Emperor, rendering it useless and even harmful to the wounded, so the Divine Mechanism Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun, who commanded the healing formation, was slowly picking out every bit of it.

"Jiang Ding,"

"Your injuries are not light; you nearly died."

While healing him, the Divine Mechanism Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun soothed the patient's emotions and chatted idly: "Actually, we could have intervened earlier; it would have made no difference, and you would not have suffered such severe injuries then."

"Then why..."

Jiang Ding's head bobbed, and he stared in bewilderment.

At that time, he had been completely berserk, having entirely forgotten that reinforcements existed.

"Sword Disciple,"

"I did it!"

The voice of Yue Ling of the Great Sun Heavenly Pool rang out; she was extremely proud, wearing an expression that begged for praise: "I stopped them. I threatened that if they dared interrupt your sword duel, I would immediately attack the hidden formations of the Nine Great Immortal Sects, effectively intimidating them, so they dared not act."

"How is it? Am I impressive?"

"During your blood battle with the Emperor, did your Sword Dao realm advance?"

She asked excitedly.

At the Nascent Soul stage, engaging in a blood duel with an Emperor.

This was an achievement unlocked by no Great Sun Sword Disciple in history!

Jiang Ding: "..."