To be honest, Xu Qing himself didn’t know what level the Twenty-First Layer of Sword Dao represented. He had no reference point, so he naturally couldn’t determine the extent of its Mighty Power.

Moreover.

Ever since Xu Qing stepped into Absolute Transcendence and comprehended Transcendent True Intent, his understanding of the Sword Dao Rules had been steadily improving, stacking and amplifying their mysteries and Mighty Power layer by layer.

As of now.

He had reached the 21st Layer.

Furthermore.

An intuition had taken root in Xu Qing’s understanding of the Sword Dao. Once it was stacked to the 99th Layer, a brand-new transformation would occur, allowing him to step into a higher Realm and level.

CRACK!!!

Xu Qing swung his sword. It was an indescribable strike, as if one could glimpse the great river of the Sword Dao itself, and it locked onto the languid, black-haired man.

However.

At this moment.

Upon feeling the Mighty Power of Xu Qing’s strike, the languid, black-haired man who called himself "This Emperor" could no longer maintain his lazy and arrogant demeanor.

Now.

His face was a mask of horror.

"Fengdu Emperor’s Seal!"

BOOM!

At the moment of crisis.

The languid, black-haired man roared, summoning a pitch-black Emperor’s Seal. It looked somewhat incomplete and was carved with nine black Five-Clawed True Dragons.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!!!

The Mighty Power of the Fengdu Emperor’s Seal erupted in full, producing countless draconic roars. Majestic black True Dragons could be seen roaring and coiling in the air.

Immediately after.

The Power of the incomplete Underworld was fully channeled into the Fengdu Emperor’s Seal. An immense Mighty Power also surged from the languid, black-haired man, pouring completely into the seal.

"Suppress!"

RUMBLE!

An explosion sounded.

Accompanied by a furious roar.

Countless rumbles echoed.

The Fengdu Emperor’s Seal shot across the sky like a descending primordial mountain, shattering the surrounding space-time as countless waves of Energy rippled outward.

CLANG!

A crisp clang echoed.

Xu Qing’s sword struck the Fengdu Emperor’s Seal. A roar of Energy erupted at the moment of impact. Incredibly, Xu Qing’s sword cleaved the Fengdu Emperor’s Seal directly in two, right down the middle.

"PFFFT!!!"

The languid, black-haired man’s previous arrogance was gone. As the Fengdu Emperor’s Seal shattered, he suffered a terrifying backlash. The dreadful Power of the backlash ran rampant through his body. He spat blood, his face turning deathly pale, his expression a mixture of horror and terror.

"You..."

A spray of blood followed.

He had just looked up.

An incomparably sharp Sword Light lopped off the head of the horrified and terrified black-haired man. His head flew into the air, the expression of horror and terror frozen on his face.

One strike.

It took just one strike.

Xu Qing had slain the black-haired man, the Inheritor of one-ninth of the Ancient Texts, with the ease of a landslide. The Mighty Power of the Twenty-First Layer of Sword Dao had been truly revealed.

"Master Xu, I’ve found a way to break this World Array!"

Just then.

Nie Buqun looked up, his face filled with joy. He looked toward Xu Qing, but his gaze also took in the situation across the battlefield.

CRACK! CRACK!

The next moment.

Countless shattering sounds echoed. Following the death and fall of the black-haired man, the Lord of this incomplete Underworld, the entire incomplete Underworld itself began to break apart.

It was possible to see.

Countless cracks spread out in all directions like a spiderweb. Shang Ying’s and the others’ enemies, the Netherworld Battle Generals, stiffened. From foot to head, they slowly turned into clouds of Nether Qi that dissipated into the air...

"This... this..."

"He’s... he’s dead!!!"

*HISS!*

"To think Master Xu’s strength has reached such a Realm... He took care of the enemy, the one who inherited a ninth of the Ancient Texts, with just a single sword strike."

"The Mighty Power of that last strike... it must have reached the very Extreme of the Fifth Realm."

"He’s too strong."

"..."

Shang Ying and the others were endlessly amazed.

"Let’s go!"

SHING!

Another sword hummed.

Sword in his right hand, Xu Qing raised it and swung again. A terrifying Sword Aura ripped the Underworld to shreds, tearing open a massive rift.

Everyone looked. Through the massive rift, they finally saw the true world outside. Night had fallen, and the sky was filled with twinkling stars.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!!!

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Qing stepped forward to leave the crumbling Underworld. Shang Ying and the others exchanged a look and quickly followed.

"Uh, what..."

Nie Buqun’s eyes widened in a daze. He opened his mouth and couldn’t help but mutter, "So... all my hard work was for nothing? I didn’t get to do anything at all. Master Xu already took care of the enemy himself, and he tore the whole World Array open so easily."

"..."

He shrugged.

Nie Buqun quickly followed.

However.

Just then.

In that very instant, everything changed.

Just as Xu Qing and his companions were about to rush out of the crumbling Underworld, just as they neared the massive rift, the sky outside suddenly darkened. The countless stars began to swirl like a vortex as strange black clouds gathered. Then, from an unknown place, a single, Slender Hand, as white as jade, reached out.