The purple-gold Tribulation Lightning of Heaven slowly faded, leaving behind scorching heat and a vortex of pure Qi swirling around Xiao Chen's body. Above his chest, the Ancient God-Demon Golden Core spun gracefully, radiating a sacred aura built upon absolute darkness. Its presence had become so dominant that the fifty elders of the Three Great Sects trembled violently, as though they were standing before a Heavenly Sovereign.
"I-Impossible... He just broke through to the Golden Core Realm, Third Level, all of a sudden!" shouted the Great Elder of the Immortal Sword Sect, clutching his chest as Xiao Chen's aura constricted his breathing. "Kill him now! Before his Golden Core foundation stabilizes!"
"Attack together!" roared the Grand Envoy of the Heavenly God Sect.
The fifty top-tier experts unleashed every last reserve of their Qi. Dozens of high-level techniques tore through the sky—giant fire dragons, storms of murderous sword slashes, and enormous lightning bolts all surged toward Xiao Chen at once. The air over the border exploded apart, creating shock waves that brought down the surrounding stone mountains.
Yet Xiao Chen merely curled his lips into a cold smile. He did not even raise his mystical shield.
[God-Demon Destruction Sword Art: Eternal Fortress]
*BOOOOOM!*
The entire wave of deadly attacks from the fifty elders struck Xiao Chen's body head-on, yet they did not even scratch his skin. Instead, the attack energy was absorbed by the aura of his Golden Core and reflected back with three times the force!
*CRACK! BLAR!*
"AAGHHH!"
The reflected wave of black-and-gold energy erupted in a spiraling blast. Twenty senior elders from the Green Cloud Sect and the Immortal Sword Sect were torn apart instantly, their bodies exploding into blood mist before they could even cry out their final prayers. The twenty flying warships behind them were smashed to pieces by the energy storm.
The battlefield instantly became a slaughterhouse from hell. Blood and fragments of warships rained down through the air toward the earth.
"Monster! He's not human! He's a demon!" the Grand Envoy of the Heavenly God Sect shrieked hysterically, his eyes wide with terror as he watched his comrades die in a single instant.
Xiao Chen stepped through the empty air. Every footfall sent out golden ripples that shattered the bones of the remaining elders. In the blink of an eye, Xiao Chen vanished using [Untraceable Shadow Step] and appeared directly before the Grand Envoy of the Heavenly God Sect.
"You..." Xiao Chen whispered right beside the old envoy's ear. His hand, wrapped in dragon aura, immediately clamped around the Grand Envoy's neck and lifted him high into the air. "Your sects used the energy from my mother's seal for thousands of years to reach this realm, and now you have the nerve to call me a demon?"
The Grand Envoy stared at him in agony, immense regret shining in his eyes. "P-Please spare me... Our Sect Master... won't let you go..."
*CRACK!*
Without the slightest trace of pity, Xiao Chen snapped the senior envoy's neck and crushed the Golden Core Dantian inside his body into pieces.
Seeing their strongest envoy die like a slaughtered chicken, the dozen or so remaining elders immediately dropped their weapons and fled in panic through the clouds. The arrogance of the Three Great Sects was utterly destroyed before the rise of the Young Lord.
Xiao Chen swept his gaze over the fleeing elders. He sent the God-Demon Sword soaring into the air and lightly tapped its hilt.
[God-Demon Destruction Sword Art: Thousand Vengeance Swords]
*BZZZZZT!*
The God-Demon Sword split into thousands of purple-gold sword-light shadows. Within seconds, the thousands of swords shot after the fleeing elders, piercing through their chests one by one in midair. Cries of death echoed throughout the night sky before an oppressive silence once again descended upon the Northern Border.
Xiao Chen landed atop the rocky hill. The entire Three Great Sects army stationed at the border had been slaughtered, without a single survivor left alive.
Xue Ling'er emerged from within the sword and gazed at Xiao Chen with shining eyes. *"My Lord, your Ancient God-Demon Golden Core has stabilized perfectly. Our next step is to seize the final two map fragments kept at the headquarters of the Three Great Sects!"
Xiao Chen sheathed his sword and looked toward the center of the Tianyuan Continent, where Imperial Alchemy City and the Three Great Sects stood.
"The Three Great Sects..." Xiao Chen murmured, the murderous light in his eyes burning ever more fiercely. "This slaughter feast has only just begun!"