Chapter 992: One Sword Splits the Real and Illusory Realms

Waiting may yield nothing, or it may not.

If it yields nothing, then seek another opportunity.

The Imperial Heir must eventually leave; with the passage of time, change is inevitable.

Waiting will surely bring results.

After an unknown length of time, Jiang Ding gradually awoke under the influence of the preset spiritual mechanism.

Through windows-like pupils, he saw a scene.

Several powerful Horned Demon Imperial Heirs flew out of the Firestone Imperial Palace, surrounded by admirers, heading toward the lake beyond the city, laughing and playfully brawling.

Among them, the most striking in appearance was a female Imperial Heir with a gentle demeanor.

She wore a blue-and-white long robe, her features exquisite, a single flame horn curling from her forehead toward the sky—born a favored child of fire in heaven and earth.

“Flower Flame Imperial Heir, first meeting—I am Jiang Ding…”

Jiang Ding whispered within his heart.

A joy, a killing intent, wove and entwined within him, together forming an emotion called delight.

Flower Flame Imperial Heir—one of only two heirs worthy of the title from Emperor Flamestone.

The other stood beside her: a Horned Demon Imperial Heir with a flamboyant, unrestrained aura, his bare chest muscular, his horn thick and deep, crawling with flame patterns.

His name was Flame Flow, the other heir of Emperor Flamestone.

Beside them stood five more Imperial Heirs.

One among them possessed the strongest aura, his horn entwined with azure flame patterns—he was surely an Imperial Heir, yet no specific details were known; the Shadow Abyss cultivators had not uncovered them.

This was a newly emerged Imperial Heir.

Jiang Ding’s gaze flickered.

He saw at a glance: these five Imperial Heirs carried a tense, hostile atmosphere toward Flower Flame and Flame Flow.

Though the Imperial Heirs laughed and chatted, appearing harmonious, Jiang Ding felt it plainly—no illusion clouded this truth.

This Horned Demon cultivator named Horn Flame had somehow attached himself to serve these Imperial Heirs.

This was no coincidence.

Jiang Ding had sought many, filtered many; in his calculations, Horn Flame had the highest success rate—nearly fifty percent higher than the second-ranked candidate.

“Seven Imperial Heirs…”

“Seven.”

A surge rose within Jiang Ding—an urge to ignite the Realm War himself.

Then he would no longer need to worry; he could simply storm in, kill each of these seven Imperial Heirs one by one, instead of lingering in hesitation, constantly fearing discovery, suffocating in restraint.

Yet, in the end, he held back.

They were merely seven Imperial Heirs—too petty, too narrow-minded.

Jiang

Ding examined Horn Flame’s mind-sea memories, cross-referenced identities, and discovered the Imperial Heir with azure flame patterns on his horn was named Sky Void, from the Sky Flame Ancient Emperor’s lineage.

Instantly, he knew: the catalyst to spark war had appeared.

…

Have the nine from the Ming Xu Sacred Land—Ming Hua and others—returned?

Flower Flame Imperial Heir frowned: “The duration of the Xuan Huang Void Realm is uncertain, but at most three hundred years. Now it has far exceeded the limit—has not a single one returned?”

Ming Xu Sacred Ground.

One of the Nine Sacred Grounds of the Horned Demon Imperial Clan, founded by the Ming Xu Ancient Emperor, equal in status to the Sky Flame Sacred Ground.

The Nine Sacred Grounds were not rigidly separated; many Ancient Emperors were related by blood, their children frequently interacted and moved between them. Ming Hua Imperial Heir was Flower Flame Imperial Heir’s close friend.

All turned to Sky Void Imperial Heir.

Sky Void Imperial Heir came from the Sky Flame Ancient Emperor’s lineage; though publicly a collateral branch who became an Imperial Heir through bloodline awakening, rumors claimed he was the Ancient Emperor’s illegitimate son, for he received far greater support than even the Emperor’s own legitimate heirs.

An Ancient Emperor’s favor, however irregular, dared no one defy.

“No news yet.”

Sky Void Imperial Heir paused, then said: “Exploring a newly formed Xuan Huang Void Realm is inherently high-risk, holding the hope of ascending to Emperor status—yet the entire realm could vanish in an instant.”

“Now four hundred years have passed… perhaps…”

He did not continue.

This matter had stirred great debate within the Horned Demon Imperial Clan—nine Imperial Heirs, all from illustrious Ancient Emperor lineages. They had desperately searched for a long time; multiple Ancient Emperors had attempted intervention, yet to no avail.

In the end, they could only reluctantly abandon hope, waiting for a miracle—the Imperial Heirs returning unharmed.

Now, over four hundred years later, many hearts held their answer.

“The Dao is so arduous…”

Flower Flame Imperial Heir’s expression darkened.

Even an Imperial Heir, if not an Emperor, perishes before danger, powerless to control fate—this gave her a sense of drifting, rootless destiny.

“Why be disheartened, little sister Flower Flame?”

“As long as you and I stand together, what Dao barrier can stop us?”

Sky Void Imperial Heir openly revealed the burning affection in his eyes.

He was handsome, his bearing noble, his hair and horn infused with Sky Flame—this direct expression of love deeply moved female Imperial Heirs.

History recorded several Horned Demon Imperial Clan women who ascended to Emperor status through their husbands’ strength.

Flower Flame Imperial Heir blushed slightly, hiding behind her brother Flame Flow Imperial Heir, silent.

“Sky

Void, you are impolite!”

“You cannot represent the Sky Flame Sacred Ground.”

Flame Flow Imperial Heir, by contrast, was furious, rebuking sharply.

An illegitimate son overstepping the legitimate heir—no matter the reason—filled him with deep revulsion.

Worse still, everyone knew why Sky Void Imperial Heir had come here.

He came for the Imperial Heir Crown, which Emperor Flamestone would forge within a thousand years!

If Emperor Flamestone could not withstand the pressure, the crown meant for him might be given to another.

The victor, as compensation, might wed Flower Flame Imperial Heir—keeping the crown within the Flamestone family, barely avoiding its loss.

This was highly plausible; Emperor Flamestone himself had once won his crown through similar rivalry.

“Flame Flow, it is you who is impolite.”

Sky Void Imperial Heir’s expression turned cold.

He no longer smiled; between them lay a fundamental conflict, unsolvable by words.

He must appear dominant, or many followers might defect to others.

“Flame Flow, what I share with Flower Flame need not involve the Sky Flame Sacred Ground?”

Sky Void Imperial Heir unleashed a heavy aura, manifesting a ten-zhang-wide unbreakable Chaos Space of the Horned Demon Imperial Clan, pressing downward.

“Flame Flow, I’ve heard your Flame Heaven Spear is peerless in offense, capable of burning mountains and boiling seas. I beg you to instruct me.”

“Hah!”

“Why not?”

Flame Flow Imperial Heir laughed loudly.

He stepped forward, growing into a hundred-zhang-tall black-armored giant, gripping a flame spear in both hands, merging his ten-zhang unbreakable Chaos Space with his body, and brought down a strike with pressure more terrifying than many Kings—shattering clouds, rending void.

He understood the pressure his father faced from the Sovereign.

But if he could defeat Sky Void Imperial Heir openly, utterly, crushing him like dry grass, all schemes and tricks would be torn apart—even the Sky Flame Ancient Emperor would no longer dare insist a weakling inherit the Imperial Heir Crown.

It was impossible.

The Imperial Heir Crown would never acknowledge a weakling.

BOOM!

Two hundred-zhang black-armored giants clashed, Sky Void wielding the Azure Spear against Flame Flow’s Flame Heaven Spear—each weapon utterly distinct, their furious strikes radiating pressure that made even Kings wary.

The surrounding Imperial Heirs watched without blinking.

In the unseen, a sigh echoed.

“Here.”

“The moment—”

“The moment I’ve waited for—has arrived.”

Within Horn Flame’s soul, Jiang Ding murmured.

CLANG!

His hand gripped the sword hilt,

stepping forth from the depths of Horn Flame’s soul, using the Illusory Sword Art of the Taiyin Sword Sect, his peak Immortal Realm sword cultivation, and centuries of accumulated sword Dao mastery, he slashed forth a hazy blade of light.

Instantly, heaven and earth seemed to dissolve into nothingness.

Invisible light enveloped all Imperial Heirs, all slave Kings, all attendants.

The next moment, heaven and earth returned to normal.

Aside from two or three Imperial Heirs slightly puzzled, the rest—even slave Kings, Horned Demon Imperial Clan Kings—remained utterly unaware.

Even puzzled Imperial Heirs like Flower Flame Imperial Heir shook their heads, found nothing amiss, and resumed watching the battle.

Yet, the true world had indeed changed.