Chapter 846

The frigid wind on the snow plains tore at Yan Buji's robes, the third pattern on the Man-slaying Sword blazing blindingly in the wind and snow. Those cyan-gold specks wove before his eyes into a star chart, each trajectory pointing to a spatial node deep in the northern ice plains. The aberrant Dao Mark in his left eye burned with pain, yet clearly marked three crucial coordinates on the star chart—the very spatial coordinate diagram needed to enact Heaven Gate Law.

"Youming Jie?"

Yan Buji gripped the Man-slaying Sword, and to be frank, it wasn't he who controlled the sword; rather, the sword controlled him.

It seemed to sense something; the Man-slaying Sword did not lead Yan Buji deeper into the northern ice fields, but instead directed him toward Youming Jie.

"Alas."

We have no choice but to go.

Now bearing the Demon King's mark, plus the aberrant Dao Mark, the events he's faced lately have been too chaotic and complex, leaving Yan Buji no time to sort truth from falsehood one by one.

Moreover, this sword—Yan Buji suddenly recalled it was related to someone named Jian Fan, though he couldn't remember anything else about it.

"It seems my dwindling magical power might also be tied to this Jian Fan?"

Recalling Xiao Lu's parting words, Yan Buji's heart sank.

But he had no chance to verify it; for now he could only see where the sword wanted to go.

Yan Buji wiped the frost from his face, the sword tip slicing his left palm. Blood dripped onto the snow, intertwining with the residual demon-blood imprint that had formed a deer silhouette, gradually tracing out an intricate sigil.

As the Man-slaying Sword pierced the formation's eye, the entire snow plain fell silent. Drifting snowflakes froze mid‑air, as if an invisible hand had hit pause. Yan Buji saw the broken deer‑head carving on the sword's hilt open its eyes; cyan‑gold flames spread along the blade to engulf his whole body. Space began to warp, countless bronze chains sprouting from the void to drag him toward an indescribable abyss.

The agony of breaching the world‑wall far surpassed imagination!

"Heaven Gate Law is this powerful?!"

Yan Buji felt his bones restructuring, the aberrant Dao Mark rampaging from his left eye down his neck, violently clashing with the deer‑head pattern formed from the demon‑blood seal.

When I used Heaven Gate Law before, it wasn't torturous at all!

In a daze he heard Xiao Lu's voice: "Remember the third line on the sword's hilt..." followed by countless fragmented images: a bronze altar, twelve trembling coffins, Jian Fan's resolute expression as he drove the sword into his own chest...

"Boom!"

The weight of reality suddenly crashed down. Yan Buji plummeted from a hundred‑meter height; below lay a collapsing bronze forest. Countless towering ancient trees snapped at the trunk, the star‑bone lanterns hanging from their crowns exploding in succession, splashing azure fire across the battlefield. He barely adjusted his posture, planting the Man-slaying Sword into a fallen giant to slow his fall, yet still carved a pit several zhang deep upon landing.

Yan Buji gritted his teeth against the pain and rushed toward the place the sword indicated.

And at that moment.

Within the Sea of Reincarnation Trees.

"Rumble!"

"Underworld God‑Emperor? You're crazy, daring to aid those false Netherworld cultivators against us?!" Several Great Vehicle Stage Asura and Rakshasa elders widened their eyes, staring at the sky‑covering colossal beast!

The Underworld God‑Emperor is the sole entity in Youming Jie that achieved the Great Vehicle Stage in the form of a netherworld beast, having survived six ten‑thousand‑trial catastrophes, yet to those present, in the Great Vehicle Stage their strengths cannot differ greatly.

Thus numbers are crucial; of course, the Underworld God‑Emperor already surpasses the Great Vehicle Stage, having entered the Tribulation Crossing Stage, where quantity poses him some trouble but not enough for outright defeat.

However, the situation is not favorable.

The Underworld God‑Emperor looked at the Netherworld cultivators behind him and that feeble Void‑Refinement Stage Yama king, and was left speechless.

"How could I be so foolish as to fall for the Netherworld cultivators' grand trick!"

The Underworld God‑Emperor was somewhat annoyed, but if repelling these Star‑Sky Sect lackeys brought him no benefit, he couldn't be blamed for turning on them.

"Talk is useless—come if you've got the skill!"

"Afraid you can't?!"

Just as the two sides were about to clash again, two figures suddenly appeared in the battlefield's sky—two human martial cultivators!

"It's you?!"

The Underworld God‑Emperor's pupils constricted—wasn't that the pair of human martial cultivators who had previously coveted his Earth‑Soul Essence and, outside the Sea of Reincarnation Trees, fought the Asura high priest Chang Wu?

The Underworld God‑Emperor had also watched that battle earlier, marveling at how shameless those two humans were, relying on numbers to bully the lone Chang Wu and actually snatching the Huang Tian Soul amid the melee.

But what do they mean by showing up now?

"Human Martial Konghou."

"Human Hong Yuan."

Two ancient martial‑dao masters who founded their own sects appeared, emanating an extremely dangerous aura.

The Underworld God‑Emperor's gaze turned icy; he sensed their killing intent and battle‑will aimed at him, and silently thought, "Not good."

"We have come here by order of the Star‑Sky Sect's high priest to lend the Asura and Rakshasa daoists a helping hand!"

"Good!!"

The Asura and Rakshasa elders' faces lit up; even though the Underworld God‑Emperor had progressed farther along the Great Vehicle path than they, the prowess of these human martial cultivators needed no elaboration—indeed, one Rakshasa elder recognized Hong Yuan as one of the ancient martial artists who had once invaded Youming Jie.

But that's all past; the Rakshasa elder wasn't foolish enough to start internal strife before battle, so everyone unanimously turned their sights on the Underworld God‑Emperor!

The great battle begins!

On the outskirts of the Sea of Reincarnation Trees, the Underworld God‑Emperor stood alone against five formidable foes, a heart‑pounding battle unfolding. Each of the five adversaries was a Great Vehicle Stage expert, their depths unfathomable, each wielding world‑shattering power.

The Underworld God‑Emperor stood before them without fear, his aura exuding a palpitation‑inducing presence. Every of his movements appeared calm and unhurried, as if this were merely a trifling affair.

Yet only when the battle truly commenced could one grasp its terrifying scale.

A clash between Great Vehicle Stage cultivators is nigh a heavenly catastrophe! Any casual spell they unleash can trigger landslides, fissures, tsunamis, and gales—its destructive might is staggering.

In this world‑destroying battle, the Underworld God‑Emperor revealed his true strength; each of his moves contained boundless power, every strike like a thunderbolt of ten thousand jun, impossible to withstand.

A tremendous metallic clang rang out from the thick smoke!

Three hundred zhang away, the mountain‑sized Underworld God‑Emperor was locked in fierce combat with five silhouettes!

The beast's coral‑like horn crown atop its head had two prongs snapped off, cyan‑gold blood pouring down like a waterfall; each drop that hit the ground corroded it into a smoky pit.

As the battle grew ever fiercer, Yan Buji, following the Man-slaying Sword's guidance, also spotted the dreadful combat ahead from afar.

"Better not go over there for now."

Yan Buji released the Man-slaying Sword, and saw it shoot forward at great speed!