Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

Within the endless swarm of Corpse Ghosts.

Jiang Chen was completely enveloped by the ferocious Corpse Ghosts, surrounded so tightly he couldn’t move a muscle.

It felt as if his body was being torn apart, and his soul was suffering a tremendously violent assault.

If his Divine Demon Tyrant Body hadn’t advanced to the Late Stage of the Third Stage, granting him physical strength comparable to a High-grade Earth Tier Profound Weapon, he would have already perished beneath the corrosive touch of the Corpse Ghosts.

The spiritual assaults from the wraiths were another matter, causing him immense trouble.

Just a moment ago, his head had felt like it was about to explode, leaving him completely dazed.

His mind had gone blank, and he had lost all consciousness.

It was during that brief, death-like state that both the Ghost Emperor and Dugu Xue became convinced he had fallen within the Nine Demons Sky Demon Array.

Glancing at the endless Corpse Ghosts around him, Jiang Chen quietly sighed in relief and thought, ’Thankfully, the Ten Thousand Laws Golden Pupil protected my soul. Otherwise, that last assault would have been enough to shatter it completely. But my body is bound by this Grand Array, and I can’t move. The number of Corpse Ghosts is still increasing. I have to find a way to break out, and fast!’

Just then, a series of rumbles echoed from outside the array.

Jiang Chen’s mind jolted. A brilliant cyan-gold light burst from his Ten Thousand Laws Golden Pupil as he directed his gaze outside the array.

His gaze pierced through the countless Corpse Ghosts to the scene outside the Nine Demons Sky Demon Array. His entire body trembled, and his eyes surged with unparalleled, blazing fury and an ice-cold killing intent.

There in the void, Sima Qingling—her hair now as white as snow and her body as withered as an old woman’s—was drenched in blood, locked in a desperate battle with Dugu Xue.

Although her strength was massively boosted by the Great Burning Yuan Technique, she was still no match for Dugu Xue.

Her body was already covered in gruesome wounds, dripping with so much blood she looked like a figure sculpted from it.

But Sima Qingling fought on, bathed in her own blood, repeatedly roaring, "I will avenge my Master!"

’That foolish girl...’

Jiang Chen’s heart trembled as he watched.

After all the time they had spent together, their relationship was no longer the simple one of master and servant it had been at the start.

It had blossomed into a genuine friendship.

He watched Sima Qingling get knocked away by Dugu Xue again and again, covered in blood, yet still launching fearless counterattacks. He saw the smug, hideous expression on Dugu Xue’s face. He saw the experts from the Yinluo Sect and the Nine Sins Hall battling the masters from the Three Major Sects, watching as familiar faces fell, one by one, into the bounds of the Nine Demons Sky Demon Array, only to rise again as Corpse Ghosts.

It felt like his heart was bleeding.

’Damn it... Dugu Xue! Ghost Emperor! I’ll kill you both!’

’I, Jiang Chen, swear I will tear you to pieces while you’re still alive! I’ll make you beg for death, but never grant it!’

Jiang Chen’s rage reached its absolute peak.

Rage was always the most powerful catalyst for unlocking one’s potential.

As his fury blazed, the cyan-gold light in his eyes grew ever more intense, nearly condensing into tangible flames that swirled within his irises.

His consciousness began to sharpen and ascend.

His rage continued to soar!

Streaks of crimson slowly converged toward his Ten Thousand Laws Golden Pupil. The whites of his eyes turned blood-red, and in the very center of his deep, dark pupils, a dot of cyan light appeared. At the same time, a faint trace of gold rimmed the outer edge of his irises.

The cyan point of light began to spread from the center of his pupil.

The golden light spread inward from the edges, closing in on the center.

Just as the cyan and gold completely eclipsed the black of his pupils, a flash of light suddenly pierced the chaos in Jiang Chen’s mind.

It was like the first ray of dawn breaking over a dark horizon.

BOOM—

His Tier Three Advanced Divine Thought Power surged like boiling water, madly converging on his eyes.

RUMBLE!

As terrifying waves of energy erupted, a trace of cold indifference appeared in Jiang Chen’s cyan-and-gold-streaked eyes.

It was the apathy of a supreme being gazing down upon all of creation.

They were like the eyes of a Divine Spirit!

Or perhaps... the Eyes of the Heavens!

"With my eyes, command all life. With my pupils, pierce through eternity! To possess my Eyes of the Heavens is to reign above the Ten Thousand Spirits..." A magnificent voice boomed in his mind.

At the same time, a Secret Technique materialized in his mind, branding itself so deeply into his soul that it felt innate.

’The Devouring Spirit Ten Thousand Dao Scripture? Isn’t this the Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique the God-slaying Sword taught me?’ Jiang Chen froze for a moment.

He was, of course, familiar with the Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique.

It was the Secret Technique the God-slaying Sword had imparted to him after he broke through to the Heavenly Destiny Realm, allowing him to devour things like Spirit Crystals and Dark Power for his own use. But now, after his Ten Thousand Laws Golden Pupil evolved into the Eyes of the Heavens, it had granted him the complete Devouring Spirit Ten Thousand Dao Scripture?

’What’s going on?’

However, Jiang Chen quickly understood the reason.

The Devouring Spirit Ten Thousand Dao Scripture was, in fact, the complete version of the Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique. While the devouring ability of the Sacred Technique was limited by Jiang Chen’s cultivation, the Scripture had no such restrictions—as long as his Divine Thought Power was strong enough.

With it, he could potentially even devour the heavens themselves!

Of course, to reach such a level, Jiang Chen’s Divine Thought would need to be nearly as strong as a Divine Spirit’s!

’This is perfect!’

A look of ecstasy flashed in Jiang Chen’s eyes. ’Now that my Ten Thousand Laws Golden Pupil has evolved into the Eyes of the Heavens, my Divine Thought Power has also improved, bringing me one step closer to becoming a Fourth-Grade Divine Thought Grandmaster. More importantly, with the Devouring Spirit Ten Thousand Dao Scripture, the endless Corpse Ghosts in this Nine Demons Sky Demon Array are no longer an obstacle—they’re my endless supply of nourishment!’

’Qingling, Canghai... just hold on a little longer. I’ll be free soon. When I am, I’ll make anyone who hurt you pay a thousand-fold!’

Jiang Chen snorted coldly. The cyan and gold in his pupils began to spin furiously, forming a vortex of color.

"Devouring Spirit Ten Thousand Dao Scripture—devour!"

BOOM—

A vortex wreathed in cyan and gold appeared before him. Like a giant millstone, it began to devour the endless Corpse Ghosts.

As the hideous Corpse Ghosts came into contact with the vortex, they were instantly distorted.

They then shrank from large to small, continuously being devoured.

The devouring ability of the Eyes of the Heavens was countless times more powerful than that of the Soul-Devouring Sacred Technique.

RUMBLE—

The vortex spun, devouring hundreds, even thousands of Corpse Ghosts in the blink of an eye. Before the Eyes of the Heavens, these tens of thousands of Corpse Ghosts were as fragile as tofu.

As he devoured the Corpse Ghosts, Jiang Chen’s cultivation began to rise steadily: Middle Stage of the Heavenly Destiny Realm Fifth Stage...

Late Stage...

Peak...

These tens of thousands of Corpse Ghosts were equivalent to the energy of tens of thousands of Heavenly Destiny Realm cultivators. Although the energy was greatly diluted after being purified by the Eyes of the Heavens, it still added up, allowing Jiang Chen’s cultivation to rise continuously.

「Outside the Nine Demons Sky Demon Array.」

The Ghost Emperor glanced at Sima Qingling, who was being thoroughly suppressed by Dugu Xue, and at the constantly falling masters from the Three Major Sects. A faint smile touched his lips. "Without your top experts to support you, annihilating the rest is a simple matter. Dugu Xue can handle things here with ease. I should focus on refining Jiang Chen into a Demon Combat Puppet."

However, just as he began to manipulate the Nine Demons Sky Demon Array to perform the final refinement of the Evil Ghost Combat Puppet, a terrifying fluctuation of energy suddenly burst from within the array.

The sheer power of this energy wave caused the Ghost Emperor’s face to turn deathly pale, his expression a mask of profound shock and disbelief.

"H-H-How is this possible?"