Chapter 50: All Things Perish, Heaven and Earth Entombed

With a single sword strike, he sent numerous warrior monks flying. As the sword’s radiance withdrew, it was that fleeting moment when old strength had faded and new force had yet to rise—the perfect instant for two masters to strike, their assault arriving in a hair’s breadth.

Their timing was nothing short of masterful.

Most terrifying of all, these were both grandmasters.

Yet Jiang Ming’s expression did not change. His sword flashed again, leaving behind a myriad of afterimages; the tip seemed to appear simultaneously beneath the fingers before him and at the palm behind, forcing both masters to retreat in shock.

But in that moment, four more martial artists attacked from all sides, their auras bursting with power enough to topple mountains and shatter peaks. Even above his head, two figures descended, one wielding a blade, the other a sword, each strike raining down from the heavens.

They assailed him from every direction, from the earth and the sky, closing off every path of escape.

“Six peak grandmasters!” Jiang Ming’s gaze sharpened. His long sword spun, and a torrent of slaughterous intent erupted; in an instant, a dense lattice of sword energy forced every assailant back.

Even the two grandmasters who had attacked once more retreated in haste.

The chaotic sword qi shredded dozens of staff-wielding monks on the spot.

Compared to his battle against the Vajra Sage Monk, his killing sword intent had grown many times more potent. The chill of his murderous aura was enough to freeze the hearts of even the most seasoned martial artists.

The many strong opponents who sought to kill him faltered for a heartbeat, terror written across their faces.

After the staff formation’s attack came the assault by two grandmasters, then the combined force of six peak grandmasters—yet all were forced to retreat?

It was unfathomable.

Just how powerful had he become?

This question flashed through every mind present.

“Haha!” Jiang Ming’s laughter rose, hearty and unrestrained. He flipped his long sword and sheathed it, shaking out his arms and shouting, “Now this is more like it! Come, let me kill you all!”

His blood burned, battle spirit soaring.

This was the first time the fight had truly aroused his interest, and he had no intention of using weapons.

He would kill with his bare fists.

“Guangming Sage Monk, I’ll kill you first!” Jiang Ming charged forward.

His fists were wreathed in dense, blazing energy. With a mighty motion, they turned red, friction with the air igniting flames, and the radiant power of the blazing sun surged through him.

The very air was torn asunder.

The temperature around him rose by more than twenty degrees in an instant.

For the onlookers, it seemed as if, behind him, suns were rising one after another, blazing overhead, their majesty so overwhelming that none dared look directly.

“Demon, today I shall send you to your next life!” Guangming Sage Monk roared, golden light bursting from within him, weaving into a tide of energy outside his body. As his palms struck, countless spectral hands appeared around him, swarming downward to annihilate all.

This was the Thousand-Hand Tathagata Palm.

Each imprint radiated an aura of suppression, yet Jiang Ming punched straight through, the currents from his strike forming a vortex that shattered all the palm prints.

His fists did not pause.

Guangming Sage Monk’s expression changed once more; he struck again with the Demon-Subduing Palm, but nothing could slow Jiang Ming’s advance.

At that moment, the attacks of the other experts arrived.

Jiang Ming paid them no heed.

Energy surged within him, intertwining to form a Yin-Yang Taiji diagram, dissolving every force that struck at him.

“The first sun rises, the second sun soars like a dragon, the third sun brings fortune!”

Jiang Ming unleashed three consecutive punches, distorting the air and piercing even space itself.

His blood raged, his vitality reaching to the heavens.

Boom, boom, boom...

Under the force of three punches, even with others trying to shield him, Guangming Sage Monk was hurled through the air, blood spraying across the sky. Had he faced Jiang Ming alone, he would have been utterly destroyed.

“Retreat, now!” Master Pudu shouted, then bellowed, “Demon-Subduing Circle, suppress!”

Before Jiang Ming could pursue, whip shadows swept through the air, lashing at him and forming vortexes that trapped his movement, as if he were mired in quicksand.

The many experts swarmed to attack once more.

Guangming Sage Monk tried to retreat completely.

“Think you can stop me?” Jiang Ming’s wildness broke free as he let out a long howl. “Not enough!”

“The fourth sun shines above, the fifth sun dazzles the world, the sixth sun burns the mountains—break for me!”

Boom, boom, boom...

Three more punches shattered the power of the Demon-Subduing Circle. The attackers were blasted back again, one peak grandmaster unable to withstand the force—his body exploded on the spot.

“Meteor Step, Windborne Flight!”

With a movement, Jiang Ming soared into the air like a golden eagle, his speed reaching its zenith as he pursued Guangming Sage Monk.

“The seventh sun boils the sea, the eighth sun brings deathlessness, the ninth sun annihilates all things!”

Jiang Ming’s howl echoed as he unleashed his full strength.

Scorching energy made the air boil, the might of the Nine Suns causing temperatures to soar and twist, three punches landing in terrifying succession.

The aura of destruction was so overwhelming that even Lu Yuan, watching from afar, felt a chill down his spine.

Guangming Sage Monk, more than ten meters away, was suddenly seized by dread, a premonition of death giving him clarity.

He could not evade.

He could not block.

This strike meant certain death.

“Then let me die!” Guangming Sage Monk’s face twisted as he turned to face Jiang Ming head-on. Pressing his palms together, he bowed deeply. In that moment, he was utterly sincere, radiant with the brilliance of boundless faith. “A single bow to the Buddha!”

His joined fingertips pointed straight at Jiang Ming’s brow.

All the strength in his body was drawn forth in an instant; from his fingertips shot a golden ray, the pinnacle of his martial energy infused with a subtle spiritual force.

Bang...

Under Jiang Ming’s fist, Guangming Sage Monk’s body exploded on the spot.

“Amitabha!” Master Pudu cried in grief, then roared, “This demon has been struck by the Sage Monk’s ultimate spiritual art, imbued with the power of Demon-Subduing Buddha Light, at the cost of his own life! His mind is vulnerable—now is the time! Life and death hang on this strike! Attack, attack, all of you attack!”

His fury was boundless, his voice hoarse with rage.

In that instant, all the hidden experts surged forth, each unleashing their mightiest attacks upon Jiang Ming.

Having witnessed his terrifying power and now glimpsing a chance to slay him, how could they hesitate?

A grandmaster, killed as easily as that.

Was this still human power?

Even Elder Zhang would have to back away from such force.

He was so strong, so unfathomably strong, it bred despair. Such a being should not exist. Not even the mighty Forest Monastery dared send just one to fight their way here, forcing the Sage Monk to use the ultimate forbidden technique of death.

It was simply too terrifying.

Thunder crashed, mountains cracked.

Even the thousand-year-old temple atop the peak could not withstand such overwhelming power.

Over thirty grandmasters and above unleashed their full might in that instant, each one a peak among grandmasters. This combined assault could slay even Elder Zhang with ease.

No one in the world could possibly withstand it.

“To have comprehended the mysteries of the spirit and merged them with martial force, making this strike attain unfathomable might—truly, the depth of a thousand-year-old sect’s foundation is astonishing. Had it been any other grandmaster, they would certainly perish. But alas, such a pity they have encountered me!” Jiang Ming’s voice was swift, echoing all around.

The previous strike could not shake his spirit in the slightest.

Not only did he possess the supreme gift of ‘Soul Sovereign,’ but the many insights he had gained through comprehending myriad martial truths had tempered his will to a level unimaginable to others.

As he watched the palm shadows, sword energy, blade light, staff apparitions, and finger strikes—formidable attacks from all directions—they did bring him considerable pressure.

“If I do not defend, no matter how powerful my body is, I would surely be gravely injured, perhaps even killed... no, I doubt even that would be enough to kill me!”

Jiang Ming’s thoughts turned briefly. His energy boiled, and the force of nine martial truths began to merge. As his figure spun, he sent a punch toward each direction.

“Nine Suns as One, Bury Heaven and Earth!”

With that punch, the world dimmed, and heaven and earth lost their order.