Chapter 1687: World Communities Sovereign: Dao Merging · Great Sun Sword Sovereign

An unknown divine Sovereign!

He wields the Punishment Thunder rule-branch, and has reached the absolute extreme of this rule-branch!

In punishment, in the torment of judgment, this Sovereign has reached the extreme — none can compare.

In an instant, violent agony erupted within Jiang Ding's divine soul — torment from the deepest layers of spirituality, sword intent, sword soul, and flesh. This Thunder Punishment Sovereign had done profound research on sword cultivators; sword intent absolutely could not be exempted.

What was even more terrifying was that this Thunder Punishment was not merely punishment.

So long as one lingered for even a single instant, so long as one could not break free of this prison of punishment in an instant, the Heavenly Thunder Hand within the heavenly tribulation would instantly crush the living being undergoing Tribulation Crossing, never to be reborn for eternity!

"Pain…"

Jiang Ding could not help but let out a howl.

This was agony that pierced to the marrow — the stronger the sword soul, the deeper the torment cut into the bone.

In a single instant, the sword soul endured mountains of blades and seas of flames, boiling oil cauldrons, tongues being ripped out, and every manner of cruel torture — the eighteen layers of hell cycled through countless times, every method brought to bear upon the sword soul.

"Evil beast!"

"Do you confess your crimes?"

From above the eighteen-layered Thunder Prison came a stern yet compassionate interrogation.

As though an utterly just and righteous judge were questioning him — a judge who yet harbored compassion, unable to bear seeing living beings suffer, and so left an opening, speaking to ask.

Heaven and earth are merciful — so long as one confesses, there may be a thread of life.

One after another, unmistakable crimes appeared within Jiang Ding's sea of consciousness.

There was the scene of him slaughtering the billion-strong army of the Horn Demon Imperial Clan; the scene of him shattering the immortal artifact puppet army, freeing countless living beings tortured and controlled by the Immortal Artifact Sect to their deaths; the scene of the World Communities of the Ancient God Domain, where countless races that did not conform to the Immortal Gate's order were brutally suppressed, their populations plummeting, teetering on the brink of extinction…

These crimes were ironclad, irrefutable!

"Do you confess your crimes?!"

After a long silence with no response, another interrogation came from above the Thunder Prison.

"Confess…"

"Confess…"

Within the eighteen layers of hell, countless youths in blue endured billions of torments — each crime was a torment, and pitiful, shrill wails of agony rose one after another.

"Confess your mother!"

But at this moment, these youths in blue, suffering inhuman torments, opened their eyes at the same time — their pupils utterly cold.

"Hm?"

A voice came from above the Thunder Prison.

"Crime?"

"How could this lord possibly have committed a crime?"

Jiang Ding smiled coldly: "Crime and law stand together. In this lord's life, have I ever violated the Immortal Gate's laws, the Immortal Gate's statutes? Where did you mangy servant come from, and whose laws do you enforce?"

"Who gave you the right to enforce the law?"

"You cur!"

"Evil beast! Hold your tongue!"

"This Heavenly King follows the laws of Heaven's Dao!"

An angry roar came from above the Thunder Prison: "The laws of a chaotic, lowly place — how dare they contend with the laws of Heaven and Earth? You are seeking your own death!"

"The laws of Heaven and Earth?"

"And you dare speak of Heaven and Earth?"

Jiang Ding sneered coldly: "Law is nothing but the will of the ruling class. Whose will do the laws of Heaven and Earth come from? From Heaven and Earth themselves? Or from a handful of so-called servant deities?"

"Ridiculous."

"Truly ridiculous…"

Clang!

A dim yellow sword-light rang out within the eighteen layers of hell.

Upon every blue-clad youth enduring torment, a dim yellow sword-light appeared — with supreme, unwavering will, it slashed at the demons and monsters around them that borrowed the name of law to commit evil.

This lord has broken no law — what dogshit are you pulling?!

Countless dim yellow sword-lights bloomed like starlight, illuminating this eighteen-layered hell, falling upon the so-called judges of hell. Sword-light after sword-light pierced through these judges' brows, and with brutal, forceful power, they blasted apart this heaven and earth, cleaving through the eighteen layers of hell.

Countless phantoms dissolved, and heaven and earth stood empty.

Jiang Ding opened his pupils, brimming with savage killing intent, and looked toward the sky.

That finger of Heavenly Thunder Punishment was still there, gathering boundless, terrifying thunder-force to press down — as though everything that had just happened were an illusion, affecting nothing at all.

This terrifying Sovereign's finger of punishment pressed down upon the four corners of the universe, intent on shattering his skull with a single finger.

"You cur!"

"Remember this — using so-called laws to bind this lord, to torment this lord, will come at a price in the future…"

Jiang Ding let out a low, guttural roar.

He sensed with absolute clarity that the being within this heavenly tribulation thunder possessed a will — that this was in fact a Sovereign, separated by vast starfields, participating in it. The connection between the divine spirits and Heaven's Dao was far too close; they held authority.

This was not a phantom manifested by the Lei Gao Jie, but a true living being — a divine-path deity!

"Law-defying villain — you shall be slain!"

Cold killing intent came from within the endless thunder.

The Dao of Punishment Thunder loathed most those who defied the law — they were the great enemies of their Dao. It was precisely because of the existence of these law-defying wretches that the Dao of Punishment Thunder could advance no further, could draw no closer to becoming a true god.

"The one who shall be slain is you!"

"You damn cur!"

Jiang Ding ignited his essence blood, drew his sword, and the dim yellow sword-light illuminated the universe and the river of stars.

With this sword strike, the heavens, earth, universe, and four directions suddenly plunged into an extremely terrifying state. Countless bolts of Lei Ting instantly dimmed, collapsed, and vanished. Within a radius of several hundred thousand kilometers, spiritual Qi disappeared in an instant, the Dao's rules crumbled, and even the Lei Gao Jie dark clouds seemed unable to hold themselves together.

All things of Xian Dao Shi Gao Jie fell into silence.

This stretch of starry sky became a land of Dharma-Ending!

Within this land of Dharma-Ending, the left pitch-black pupil of the blue-robed youth blazed with terrifying radiance, passing judgment upon all spirituality in heaven and earth, altering the most fundamental thing of Xian Dao Shi Gao Jie—ten thousand laws utterly extinguished.

Great Sun Immortal-Mortal Sword Soul · Dharma-Ending!

For the first time, the sword soul that had stepped out to the Fourth Step Limit revealed its full power. Although its Dharma body was covered in ferocious cracks, like porcelain about to shatter, it truly displayed its complete might—the power of the Fourth Step Limit Nirvana, born from a spiritless universe!

This stretch of heaven and earth sank into the dim apocalypse of Dharma-Ending!

In this heaven and earth, all spiritual things had vanished. Only the finger of the Heavenly Thunder Punishment above kept drawing closer, kept drawing closer, yet was also constantly collapsing. Countless strands of spiritual light spontaneously leaked out and vanished, its might ceaselessly diminishing, unable to resist this Dharma-Ending realm. Even its own existence was gradually fading away.

Nevertheless, even as it faded, the finger of the Heavenly Thunder Punishment would still suppress and slay this law-defying wretch!

Boom—!

The Lei Ting finger suddenly blazed with radiance, its speed surging explosively, stabbing toward the blue-robed youth's brow in a killing strike.

"Hahaha!"

"The Dao of Punishing Lei Ting is nothing more than this."

Jiang Ding slowly drew his sword and said coldly, "The true Dao of Punishing Lei Ting—this sovereign shall experience it in the future. I hope you mongrel cur won't disappoint this sovereign…"

Clang!

The Taiqing Flying Sword leapt from its sheath, delivering a slash.

Heaven and earth, time itself instantly froze, turning into a painting. Within it, the finger of the Heavenly Lei Ting collapsed under the rules of Dharma-Ending, losing all its miraculous nature. All Lei Ting and rules vanished, leaving only a withered yellow finger—an old mortal's finger—then the finger transformed into a snake-scaled sharp claw.

In the end, even the snake-scaled sharp claw vanished, becoming the tail of a common blossom snake.

The very foundations of Xian Dao had utterly collapsed. The finger of this supreme Heavenly Thunder Punishment had returned to its most primal appearance, unable to even maintain a human form!

Boom—!

The terrifying sword-light of Dharma-Ending swept through, shattering this blossom-snake tail—which had returned to its essence—into billions of fragments. Even the most basic spiritual matter was broken apart.

Within the endless Lei Ting, an enraged figure flickered in and out of view, even seeming about to pay a tremendous price to descend in its true form through the heavenly tribulation.

Unfortunately, the rules of Heaven's Dao cannot be reversed.

The seventh bolt of Lei Ting passed. All the dark clouds dispersed, all the Lei Ting dispersed, and along with them, his furiously roaring voice vanished completely, no longer able to affect anything.

This stretch of heaven and earth had completely returned to normal.

"He survived the heavenly tribulation…"

Senior Wanji Shenjun and the others held their breath, looking up at the sky.

A blue-robed youth bathed in the radiance of the sun. Endless light and the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth

gathered toward him, ceaselessly repairing his shattered Dharma body.

A terrifying, boundless, heaven-and-man-suppressing might spread outward.

He Dao Stage · Great Sun Sword Master!

The sovereign being of the world cluster had fully grown!