Chapter 162 Cultivation Breakthrough, Entering the Eighth Realm

The Elven Empress was dead.

This time, Jiang Ming did not rely on pure physical strength alone; instead, he used his martial arts cultivation to execute her.

It was the absolute suppression of the martial arts domain.

The Myriad-Line Stream technique maximized the Dao of Space, creating an effect akin to being besieged by nine opponents simultaneously, which effortlessly obliterated her.

"The Myriad-Line Stream is merely an application of the Dao of Space, yet it is this powerful. Does this not mean that a single Dao can truly suppress ten thousand Daos?"

"Is ten thousand Daos stronger, or is a single Dao stronger?"

"It lies entirely in its application."

Only now did Jiang Ming achieve a truly profound and deep realization.

In the past, fusing numerous artistic conceptions together could bring about the most direct enhancement in combat power, and while he had traveled further and further down this path, it had also become increasingly difficult.

Yet now, he saw another clear and distinct path.

"It is not that a single Dao is not strong enough, but that one's comprehension of it is insufficient!"

Jiang Ming experienced a true and sudden enlightenment.

Swish...

Ji Yunning transformed into a sword beam and arrived, stopping beside him. Looking at the Elven Empress—who was practically dismembered—she was filled with extreme astonishment. "You killed her so quickly? Brother Jiang, you are amazing. Previously, I still had hope of catching up to you, but now you make me feel a sense of despair."

"What is this compared to!" Jiang Ming laughed. "I can slay the eighth realm, but can I kill the ninth realm? If you surpass me from behind and your realm advances by leaps and bounds, reaching the ninth realm directly, wouldn't you easily suppress me then?"

"Oh, please! As if I advance and you stand still!" Ji Yunning gave a light snort.

"You are welcome to progress faster!" Jiang Ming appeared exceptionally relaxed.

Along this journey, they had witnessed far too many unimaginable and unspeakable cruelties, leaving their hearts weighed down with depression. Now, encountering an old friend from the past, coming through a fierce battle, and having comprehended the Myriad-Line Stream, his mood inevitably turned much lighter.

Shortly after, the two of them embarked on a massive slaughter, exterminating all powerful beings above the sixth realm in this forest.

As for the survivors, they would simply serve to add a bit of color to this world.

Afterward, the two traveled in company.

"Brother Jiang, how should I walk my path from now on? Killing enemies above my realm used to be effortless, but now it is becoming increasingly difficult."

"As our strength increases, the gap between realms widens, so surpassing realms to kill enemies naturally becomes harder and harder. Fellow student Ji, you can manipulate metal; you might as well cultivate this aspect deeply. Moreover, you possess the Sword Bone and have comprehended the Heavenly Sword intent, so you can also continue to exert effort in this direction. Metal is renowned for its sharpness, and the Heavenly Sword focuses primarily on offense. Combining the two should unleash unimaginable might."

"I have thought about this and even acted on it. Initial integration is not difficult, but deepening it is hard. Recently, I have been contemplating the Dao of Space. If I can succeed, fusing the power of space will multiply my attack speed and destructive power exponentially. Unfortunately, it is even harder; I have only initially sensed spatial fluctuations. I have even considered contemplating the Dao of Causality—with a single sword strike, regardless of whether you are at the ends of the earth or the corners of the sea, you are directly obliterated according to the power of causality. Just thinking about it is thrilling, but it is even harder. Ah, cultivation is difficult, harder than ascending to the blue sky."

"You are already at the peak of the seventh realm, alright? Look at this cultivation speed; how many in this world can compare to it?"

"Hearing you say that, my mood improves quite a bit."

"As we travel next, I will manifest the spatial artistic conception; you can try to see if you can step through the threshold."

"Brother Jiang, there's no need. Your time is precious, and it concerns the power guarantee of whether we, the descendants, can truly establish a foothold in this world. You should focus on yourself."

"It won't waste much time!"

Time always slips away unnoticed.

Along this path, Jiang Ming and Ji Yunning witnessed far too many terrifying alien races. For instance, the Headless Knights possessed invincible physical bodies and could manipulate the power of death.

There were also the Soul Clans, which were merely a mass of eerie soul power and exceptionally difficult to destroy. Though few in numbers, they were terrifying; only the Dao of Space or the power of True Intent could truly kill them.

There were also the Multi-armed Clan, the Golden Eagle Clan, Skeletons, Goblins, and countless others.

A bewildering variety of creatures, each possessing all sorts of bizarre powers.

What left the deepest impression on Jiang Ming was encountering a group of old crones covered entirely in the aura of death. They were short in stature, dressed in black robes, and leaning on crutches.

They seemed as though they would fall at a mere puff of wind, yet such beings had almost caused Jiang Ming to capsize in a drainage ditch because they mastered the art of curses.

It was impossible to guard against, and their attacks were formless and traceless.

At the same time, they were exceptionally cruel, using the dying wails of living beings as nourishment for their cultivation—gloomy and venomous.

After resisting their strongest attack, Jiang Ming suppressed quite a few of them, wanting to use soul- Dao methods to strip their memories and explore the Dao of Curses. As a result, all of them initiated soul self-destruction and perished.

However, he deduced that curses might be related to the power of destiny, causality, creation, and the soul.

They also seemed to be a fusion of multiple powers.

This surpassed his previous understanding of curses.

Crossing into the Dali territory, he had seen peerless powerhouses such as the peerless expert Li Dagang—whom heaven did not produce, leaving the path of the sword as eternal as a long night—and the peerless expert whose sword path remained like a long night through the ages.

Passing through the bitterly defending territory of Daming, he saw Old Zhu drive forth imperial aura to sweep across the cosmos, though his strength was ultimately limited, merely resisting stubbornly. Here, Jiang Ming had slain the mightiest Pig Demon.

The Dayuan territory had completely fallen, with only Wudang Mountain struggling to hold on. Jiang Ming sat and discussed the Dao with Zhang Sanfeng, manifesting the Dao of Yin and Yang into myriad forms, connecting it further downwards to the Five Elements to stage a miniature world. This brought a profound realization to Elder Zhang, allowing him to take a massive stride forward in the Dao of Yin and Yang.

In his own words, at the eighth stage of martial arts, he had already reached the limit and even stepped out half a step further.

Then, with a wave of his hand, the Yin-Yang Taiji diagram swept horizontally across the void, suppressing tens of thousands of alien races besieging the mountain—including three entities of the eighth realm—within the snap of a finger.

Jiang Ming had been to Daqin, where he met the Emperor through the Ages, and with a slight display of strength, he reversed the declining momentum there.

He did not return to Datang, but instead arrived at the Dawu territory.

Standing upon a towering mountain, Jiang Ming stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance.

In this land at the center of the nine domains, the slaughter had never ceased. The most intense battle was still taking place high above the firmament, where lightning flashed, thunder roared, divine lights surged into the heavens, and terrifying power fluctuations swept across the world—a commotion no less significant than the battle between the Master and the Emperor Guizhang.

"Another three years have passed!" Jiang Ming sighed with emotion.

Ever since leaving the Hanging Temple until now, a full three years had passed, meaning they had descended for a full seven years, with only three years remaining until their departure.

In these past three years, stopping and going along the way, the talent mission of slaying ten alien emperors had long been completed, and the Myriad-Poison Immunity talent had also been completely solidified.

The Dao of the Soul, Martial Arts, and the Physical Body had all reached the limit of the seventh realm and could break through at any moment.

Turning around, he looked in the direction of the Datang territory, where the slaughter was still ongoing.

As early as two years ago, Jiang Ming had sensed that the Master's aura had weakened slightly and was preparing to return to help him annihilate Emperor Guizhang, when he sensed the auras of Shi Lei and Fang Qinghan.

The two had soared into the nine heavens, joining forces with the Master to forcibly suppress Emperor Guizhang. Although they had not yet achieved victory, Emperor Guizhang was also at the end of his tether.

As for Shi Lei and Fang Qinghan, they had long since become eighth-realm powerhouses. Merely through the faint residual ripples of power transmitted across space, he could discern that the two were strong—very, very strong.

Thus, he was not in a rush to return.

"Time really flies!" Ji Yunning also sighed with emotion, then joked, "Junior Sister Qingchen is already at the peak of the eighth realm, while you haven't broken through yet, and I am still at the peak of the seventh realm. Aren't the two of us too much of a failure?"

"Oh, please!" Luo Qingchen curled her lips. "You have completely forged your own path, centered on your innate talent—the Dao of Metal—fusing it with the intent of the Firmament Heavenly Sword, coupled with the Dao of Space, making your sword path peerless and extraordinary. To be able to slay eighth-realm alien races while at the seventh stage is simply unimaginable. Not to mention the future; your future cultivation is bound to be a smooth highway, unlike me, who still follows the step-by-step progression!"

She let out a soft sigh.

Back then, when Jiang Ming and Ji Yunning were traveling everywhere, they happened to encounter Luo Qingchen, who was fighting against alien races.

She possessed the Immortal Spirit Physique, an extremely formidable physical body, astonishing talent, and her strength had also stepped into the eighth stage of martial arts.

After slaying the alien races, she set off on the journey together with the two of them.

During this period, she displayed an unimaginably terrifying talent, her strength continuously climbing until it reached the peak of the eighth stage.

She was entirely capable of contending with alien emperors.

"How about this, do you want to trade your Immortal Spirit Physique for my sword path?" Ji Yunning smiled. "Stop pretending to be hard done by when you've already profited!"

She was in a very good mood.

Over the past three years, her cultivation realm had not increased, but her combat power had skyrocketed.

Especially after comprehending the Dao of Space, she had spent three years blending the power of space into her sword path. Combined with her sword physique and the Dao of Metal manipulation, her swordsmanship had become terrifyingly strong.

Even Jiang Ming found it incomparably stunning.

Luo Qingchen giggled, though her gaze remained fixed on Jiang Ming.

Ji Yunning blinked, looked up at the firmament, and said, "Brother Jiang, Qingchen, I am going to break through. Protect me."

As her voice fell, she sat down cross-legged immediately.

Jiang Ming nodded, but Luo Qingchen's voice rang in his ears: "Brother Jiang, what about you? When will you break through? I feel like you have been suppressing your realm all this time."

"Once Fellow Daoist Ji completes her breakthrough, I will give it a try," Jiang Ming replied.

His accumulation was already sufficient.

All three methods and three Daos had reached their limits.

Although these past few years he had been wholeheartedly contemplating the Myriad-Line Stream, Inch Fist, divine soul techniques, and sword methods, especially the Cosmic Gene Art—whose first two layers had been successfully cultivated, and while the third layer had also been deduced, he had not dared to easily attempt it. Over the past few years, he had been polishing and deliberating upon it, hoping to further refine it to prevent any unexpected mishaps.

Even so, his cultivation accumulation had truly reached its ultimate peak.

His gaze condensed, and the system information appeared before his eyes.

Name: Jiang Ming

Qi Cultivation: Seventh Stage (Heaven and Man Realm, Yin-Yang Classic)

Physical Cultivation: Eighth Revolution (As-You-Will Realm, Dragon-Elephant Suppressing Heaven Scripture, Cosmic Gene Art: 5x)

Divine Soul Cultivation: Seventh Order (Soul Heart, Yin-Yang Soul-Refining Scripture)

Techniques: Myriad Swords Return to Sect, Myriad-Line Stream (Twenty-Seven-Line Stream), Four Swords of诛仙 (Slaughtering Immortals), Heaven-Opening Law, Martial Arts Domain, Zhou Tian Star Guardian Law, Teleportation, Inch Fist (Twenty-Fifth Layer), Soul-Splitting Art, God-Servant Art, etc.

Talents: Hundred-Fold Comprehension, Nirvana Regeneration, Soul Sovereign, Lord of Space, Destiny's Favor, Infinite Genes, Myriad-Poison Immunity

Missions: None

The information had not changed much.

However, the Myriad-Line Stream had been added. When executing movement techniques, he could now simultaneously manifest twenty-seven figures, which was beyond ordinary terror.

Yet, the more figures that condensed, the harder it was to comprehend.

Jiang Ming was not in a rush either.

The Inch Fist had made quite a bit of progress, advancing from the twenty-third layer to the twenty-fifth layer, capable of unleashing twenty-six times the physical strength.

It was still extremely heaven-defying.

It was just that its comprehension had become even more difficult.

In addition, all his talents had been completely solidified, and there were no missions.

"If you reach the eighth realm..." Luo Qingchen bit her lip.

Along this journey, she had witnessed Jiang Ming's terrifying nature.

That kind of strength made one feel despair, especially since he could teleport and practiced the three paths simultaneously with no shortcomings. She had secretly compared herself to Jiang Ming, but even with the Immortal Spirit Physique, she had not a shred of chance of winning.

"After breaking through, are you planning to sweep across the world?" Luo Qingchen asked again.

"This tribulation should come to an end, shouldn't it?" As Jiang Ming spoke, he looked at Ji Yunning. At this moment, her aura surged violently.

With herself as the center, she also began frantically plundering the vital energy of heaven and earth, fusing it into her body.

Above her head, a strand of sword intent surged forth, reaching a height of a thousand feet, piercing the firmament and splitting the white clouds. The powerful aura carried an edge of extreme sharpness as it swept across all directions. The wild beasts, fierce beasts, and demonic beasts in the vicinity instantly prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling with fear.

Clang...

Vaguely, thousands of sword rings seemed to resonate, congratulating the arrival of the sovereign among swords.

In the Dawu territory, the Chinese Pavilion—though affected by the ripples of war—still maintained a relative safety and independence. After countless battles, Nameless had also returned here.

Sensing the powerful sword-path aura, his figure flashed and he appeared atop the pavilion, gazing far into the distance at Ji Yunning's location with a solemn expression. "Another heavenly sword is born, yet it conceals an even more terrifying sword path, making even my heart yearn with longing. A peerless talent has emerged within the sword path; how gratifying and to be congratulated!"

Elsewhere.

The Sword Saint was engaged in a fierce battle with a centaur. Sensing the sword intent in the void, his eyes could not help but narrow. "Another Nameless?"

His sword Qi erupted, blasting the centaur flying away, before he activated Sword Twenty-Four, directly forming a sword domain that obliterated the centaur.

Upon the mountain peak.

Ji Yunning's aura gradually converged, finally turning calm and breezy. She opened her eyes, revealing a smile.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough in cultivation!" Jiang Ming congratulated her.

"Sister Yunning, from now on you are a peak powerhouse. Congratulations, congratulations!" Luo Qingchen also chimed in.

"I can finally say I haven't fallen too far behind," Ji Yunning said as she stood up. "The eighth stage of martial arts, condensing the martial arts golden elixir, is very, very difficult. A moment of carelessness and there is the danger of one's body exploding. Brother Jiang, your accumulation is profound beyond precedent; your breakthrough will likely be even harder, so you must be careful when the time comes."

"Rest assured!" Jiang Ming said. "I have read records before. Breaking from the peak of the seventh stage of martial arts into the eighth stage—according to statistics, half fail, resulting in destroyed techniques and death, while one-fifth of those who luckily survive still suffer irreparable damage to their dantian, cutting off their future path. The eighth realm concerns life and death; one can never be too careful. However, for us, it shouldn't be too difficult."

"If it's too difficult for us, it would mean cutting off the path for ordinary martial artists," Luo Qingchen joked.

What she said was also the truth.

After all, they were all peerless geniuses and supreme prodigies; casually pulling out any one of them could sweep across the younger generation, and they could not be measured by conventional standards.

At this moment, Jiang Ming had already closed his eyes.

For him now, breaking through in the Dao of Physical Body was the easiest.

The eighth revolution of physical cultivation allowed for severed-limb regeneration.

He possessed the Nirvana Regeneration talent, which was even more powerful than the ability to regenerate severed limbs, so there were no bottlenecks in this aspect.

Furthermore, his physical body had long been excavated to its limit. For him, the realm barrier was already extremely weak.

Now focusing wholeheartedly on his cultivation, with a snap of a finger, Jiang Ming's blood Qi suddenly surged by a massive margin.

Without any unexpected mishaps, he easily stepped into the realm of the eighth revolution of physical cultivation, yet the surging blood-Qi power did not dissipate, instead climbing continuously.

The vital energy of heaven and earth also swarmed over like bees, being inhaled into his body and fusing into his flesh and blood.

Jiang Ming's skin, flesh, tendons, bones, internal organs, and blood marrow underwent miraculous transformations alongside the breakthrough.

His vitality and activity were rapidly increasing, and the Nirvana Regeneration originating from the depths of his bloodline also bestowed miraculous changes upon his flesh and blood.

At this moment, his physical body seemed to have reorganized once again, giving birth to unimaginable capabilities.

The ninth talent was about to arrive...