Chapter 442 - 441: Spirit King Stage
The Netherworld Emperor was meditating to the side, frantically striking the barrier again and again. Ripples of Spiritual Power emanated from him, wave after wave, letting Yi Tianyun feel the terrifying nature of this power.
Once the Netherworld Emperor broke through, he would reach an unprecedented realm and possess the immense power to crush everything.
Although breaking through to the Spirit King Stage was incredibly difficult, it wasn’t impossible. The Netherworld Emperor’s talent was astonishing, and after cultivating for so long, a breakthrough was certainly within his reach. The fact that he was now frantically striking the barrier in an attempt to break through was the best proof of all.
’Looks like I’d better stop him, and fast.’
A cold glint flashed in Yi Tianyun’s eyes. Even if he could deal with the Netherworld Emperor after a breakthrough to the Spirit King Stage, he didn’t want any unexpected complications. If he could eliminate him now, he would do so with all possible speed.
He immediately raised his Celestial Dragon Divine Sword, aimed it at the Netherworld Emperor, and swung. A Celestial Dragon roared to life, opening its massive maw as it lunged toward the Emperor’s position. Just as it was about to connect, BANG! The Celestial Dragon smashed violently against a barrier of light. A thunderous explosion followed, and the resulting shockwave battered the barrier relentlessly, causing a large section of it to cave inward.
After the explosion subsided, the barrier of light remained intact. However, it looked as though it wouldn’t be able to withstand much more before shattering completely.
’Another one of these Defense Arrays... how troublesome.’ Yi Tianyun frowned. Just as he’d suspected, the Netherworld Emperor had hidden inside to buy more time for his breakthrough. If he left this place, he would no longer be able to absorb the Netherworld Fire to cultivate.
He immediately activated his Celestial Eye, searching for the array’s flaw. Brute-forcing his way through would be too slow. By using his Celestial Eye to find a weak point, he could likely shatter it in a single strike at the cost of only a little Spiritual Power.
’There it is!’
The blue light in Yi Tianyun’s eyes faded. He swung the Celestial Dragon Divine Sword in his hand, slashing down toward the spot. A golden light descended from the heavens as another Celestial Dragon was unleashed, crashing down upon the array’s weak point.
The special effect of the Celestial Dragon Divine Sword was astonishing: it could summon a Celestial Dragon with every attack, its power scaling with his own cultivation. Even a casual slash could unleash a Celestial Dragon with the additional power of a peak Void Spirit Stage expert’s attack. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to kill that Earth Nether Ancestor so easily.
BOOM!
With a tremendous bang, the entire Defense Array was compressed to its limit before being blasted to pieces. The resulting whirlwind of energy swept toward the meditating Netherworld Emperor. Yet, this cyclone, powerful enough to send anything flying, was incinerated by the surrounding Netherworld Fire before it could even get close, leaving the Netherworld Emperor unharmed.
He had broken one layer, only to find another. The seemingly endless layers of protection were truly vexing.
’So the Netherworld Fire is his last line of defense? Fine, I’ll break through that, too!’
Yi Tianyun charged forward again and slashed down with his sword. His attack carried the Fire of Supreme Strength from his Immortal Fire, which swept forward in a mad torrent. The single slash cleaved through the billowing Netherworld Fire as if it were nothing. Finally, his attack broke through the fiery blockade and descended upon the Netherworld Emperor, threatening to engulf him completely.
At that moment, the Netherworld Emperor’s eyes snapped open. Two flames flickered within his pupils as an all-devouring tide of Netherworld Fire erupted from his body, forming several Nether Dragons that roared out in all directions!
The Nether Dragons devoured the incoming flames in a single gulp and continued to charge toward Yi Tianyun. The Immortal Fire, which had previously suppressed the Netherworld Fire, had actually been overpowered.
A glint in his eye, Yi Tianyun swung the Celestial Dragon Divine Sword with all his might. The blade was wreathed in a layer of Immortal Fire. With this slash, the charging Nether Dragons were instantly diced into several pieces. The Immortal Fire then devoured the pieces, burning them to nothing.
At the same time, the data refreshed. The Netherworld Emperor’s cultivation and Combat Power had changed drastically: The enemy has broken through to the first level of the Spirit King Stage. Comprehensive Combat Power: 170,000,000! (Boosted by the Nether Array)
After his breakthrough, every aspect of the Netherworld Emperor’s power had taken a qualitative leap. His previous peak was a Combat Power of 120 million, and now he had reached 170 million—an increase of a staggering 50 million!
However, this was the Combat Power he could only achieve after his breakthrough, with the added boost from the abundant Netherworld Fire. His true, unassisted Combat Power was naturally not that high, but it was still around 120 to 130 million, which was already a heaven-defying figure.
The information from the Eye of Investigation indicated that, without the boost from the Nether Array, a peak Void Spirit Stage expert had a Combat Power of 80 to 90 million, 100 million at the absolute most. Now, upon breaking through to the Spirit King Stage, his Combat Power had shot up by 20 to 30 million in one go. The sheer magnitude of this leap was a bit much.
The key factor was that his realm was still unstable. The Netherworld Emperor had only just broken through to the Spirit King Stage and hadn’t had time to consolidate his cultivation, meaning he couldn’t unleash his full power.
If he were given time to adapt, his Combat Power could likely erupt to 140 or 150 million. That was the true power of the Spirit King Stage. It was truly a qualitative leap; the gap between major cultivation stages was like a vast chasm.
"Hahaha... I’ve finally done it! I’ve finally broken through to the Spirit King Stage!" The Netherworld Emperor threw his head back and laughed maniacally. After a moment, he looked at Yi Tianyun, his gaze turning icy. "I really have you to thank for this. If it weren’t for you, I never would have been able to push myself to this level. Part of the credit for my breakthrough to the Spirit King Stage belongs to you."
Yi Tianyun’s expression remained indifferent. ’So he broke through to the Spirit King Stage. Big deal.’ To him, the Emperor was still manageable. After all, Yi Tianyun had more tricks up his sleeve. He had already been crushing the Netherworld Emperor without even going all out, so what was there to fear?
"I get some of the credit, do I? Then I wonder, what kind of reward will you give me?" Yi Tianyun said with a smile as he walked toward the Netherworld Emperor. He had never felt a shred of fear.
’Spirit King Stage, huh? Perfect. This way, I’ll get a bonus reward for killing someone above my level.’
"Your reward, of course, will be to be torn into a thousand pieces! And as a bonus, your entire sect will share the same fate—slaughtered by my hand!" The Netherworld Emperor mobilized the power within him. The surrounding Netherworld Fire flowed into him continuously, beginning to augment his strength.
It seemed that as long as the Netherworld Fire was present, he could keep increasing his power indefinitely. And indeed, his Combat Power began to skyrocket, seemingly without end.
His entire body was shrouded in flames, which even coalesced on his skin to form a suit of fiery armor that looked most peculiar. This was the Nether Fire Body Burning Technique, a method that could drastically enhance one’s Physique and allow every attack to erupt with the extreme power of Netherworld Fire!