Despair.
Oppression.
The moment Yang Cheng's spiritual power made contact with the Blood Sea Sword Talisman, he was dragged into a strange void.
This void was nothing but endless blood.
A vast sea of blood.
The scale of it was terrifying—grand, overwhelming, and twisted in appearance.
Looking into the distance, red waves surged into the sky, like crimson clouds crashing down, churning endlessly with no end in sight.
The horizon where sea and sky met was all blood-red, indistinguishable and seamless.
What does it mean when people say true terror exists between heaven and earth?
This was it.
To Yang Cheng, this place was no less horrifying than the Death Devil's Den.
Fortunately, he had trained for 500 years in his past life and endured the torture of the Death Devil's Den.
Otherwise, just this scene alone would've scared him to death.
Compared to this blood sea, he felt as insignificant as a speck of dust.
"Blood Sea Sword Talisman, what the hell are you?"
Yang Cheng couldn't calm himself.
This place was too terrifying.
He had the distinct feeling this wasn't an illusion—it was real.
Only because of the suppression of the five innate sword talismans was the blood sea unable to unleash any lethal power.
Otherwise, the moment he entered, he would've been wiped out instantly.
Seeing that Yang Cheng hadn't submitted, the blood sea seemed enraged.
Boom!
Waves thundered like countless bolts of lightning slamming down, shaking heaven and earth and rumbling across hundreds of miles.
Those who heard it felt their souls tremble. Those who saw it were frozen in fear.
"Trying to crush me?"
Yang Cheng's gaze turned cold.
In his past life, he was a useless wreck, yet he still survived the Death Devil's Den.
Now, with all his trump cards, was he supposed to let a sea of blood suppress him?
"Come on then. Let's see if your Blood Sea Sword Talisman is tougher than this crown prince's Ancestral Dragon Sword Body."
Yang Cheng linked his spirit to his body and directly activated the Ancestral Dragon Sword Body.
Buzz!
The intent of the ancestral dragon rippled outward, following his spirit into the sea of blood.
In an instant, a nine-clawed golden dragon appeared above the sea.
"Roar!"
The dragon bellowed at the blood sea.
The sea raged in response.
Massive waves rose like towering mountains, ridge after ridge, layer after layer, all aiming to drown Yang Cheng.
The golden dragon plunged straight into the sea and began battling the colossal blood waves.
No matter how wild the blood sea got, it couldn't get past the nine-clawed golden dragon to touch Yang Cheng.
The blood sea grew angrier.
A tide of waves crashed down like the ground caving into an abyss, dark currents surging beneath, swallowing everything in sight. All light vanished.
The nine-clawed dragon thrashed and soared, but it was starting to lose ground.
"Freak," Yang Cheng cursed silently.
This Blood Sea Sword Talisman was a damn monster.
His Ancestral Dragon Sword Body was ridiculously powerful, and it still couldn't suppress this thing?
That ticked him off.
"Primordial Devouring Sword Body, activate!"
He no longer held back. Today, he was taking this sword talisman no matter what.
Boom!
A black hole appeared around him.
The blood sea trembled violently, as if it sensed a threat.
Immediately, blood mist in the sea surged, forming countless blood swords that blotted out the sky and shot forward.
But as soon as those endless blood swords neared the black hole, they were devoured completely.
Time had no meaning inside the blood sea.
No one knew how long had passed.
Finally, from the depths of the blood sea came a wailing cry, like the howling of ghosts and demons.
The blood water rapidly began to fade away.
Buzz!
All terrifying visions vanished in an instant.
Yang Cheng's spirit jolted, and he found his consciousness had returned to his body.
Looking forward, he was back in that deep cave.
But the blood mist was gone, and the cave now looked ordinary—just a regular stone chamber.
Only at the center floated a plain-looking blood-colored sword talisman.
"Come."
Yang Cheng spoke.
The talisman obediently flew into his hand.
It had clearly been completely subdued by him.
Right after, the talisman sank into Yang Cheng's flesh and vanished without a trace.
[What just happened? The host actually... actually subdued the Blood Sea Sword Talisman.]
[Three years ago, a Shattering God-level powerhouse tried to seize the Blood Sea Sword Talisman and was turned into dust.]
[But the host not only withstood the talisman's power, he even subdued it with methods no one can comprehend—something not even a Shattering God could do.]
[Across all the heavens and realms, there are barely any who can match the host's brilliance. The host possesses the makings of an ancient supreme sage.]
[Congratulations to the host! Epic-level achievement unlocked. Reward: Soul Refining Ancient Method, Tier Nine. Please claim it at your convenience.]
Yang Cheng didn't have time to claim the reward yet.
He activated the Space Teleportation Talisman again and reappeared in the outer cave.
Floating in mid-air was the Taiyi Sword Talisman.
Before Yang Cheng subdued the Blood Sea Sword Talisman, the Taiyi Sword Talisman had used its sword pressure to suppress him.
But now—
The moment Yang Cheng appeared, the Taiyi Sword Talisman reacted like a rat seeing a cat.
Clearly, it had sensed the aura of the Blood Sea Sword Talisman on him.
"Tangtang, come here. I've got a toy for you."
Yang Cheng sent a message to Tang Xingyu.
She trusted him completely and ran over without hesitation.
That drew more focused stares.
Tang Xingyu hadn't really shown much so far, so no one had paid attention to her.
But the moment they saw how fast she moved, they realized this three-year-old girl wasn't simple either.
Once Tang Xingyu stepped into the cave, Yang Cheng gave the Taiyi Sword Talisman a cold smile. "From now on, she's your master. If you dare to disobey…"
The Taiyi Sword Talisman actually trembled slightly.
Then it started flying around Tang Xingyu like a little fish.
"So fun, so fun!"
Tang Xingyu clapped in delight. "Chengcheng, Tangtang loves this little fish, and I love you too!"
She waddled over to Yang Cheng, puckered her soft little lips, and planted a big smooch on his cheek.
Yang Cheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
He said, "Tangtang, don't let anyone else see this little fish. Otherwise, they'll try to snatch it. From now on, just play with it in private."
Tang Xingyu's tiny face turned serious. "Chengcheng, Tangtang's not dumb. There're lots of people outside trying to snatch these little fish. I'll hide it really well."
Then she turned to the Taiyi Sword Talisman and cooed, "Little fishy, I'm gonna hide you now. When we get home, we'll play again."
After taking the Taiyi Sword Talisman, Yang Cheng looked at the remaining sword talismans.
He originally wanted to take the Taichu Sword Talisman too, but Yang Xiu lived up to being the Heaven's Mandate Emperor in his past life.
His speed was insane.
While Yang Cheng was seizing the Blood Sea Sword Talisman, Yang Xiu had already subdued the Taichu Sword Talisman.
Meanwhile, Leng Qianyu subdued the Taishi Sword Talisman, and Kongxing took the Taisu Sword Talisman.
Only the Taiyi Sword Talisman hadn't been claimed yet.
That was because Nangong Yi and Baili Guan were still fighting over it.
These two had teamed up against Yang Cheng earlier, but now they were at each other's throats for the sword talisman.
None of the other top prodigies joined the fight.
The sword talismans repelled each other.
Since they had already claimed one, there was no point going for a second.
Right now, everyone thought the Taiyi Sword Talisman would end up with either Nangong Yi or Baili Guan.
No one expected it—when suddenly, a figure descended.
Boom!
That figure struck straight at Nangong Yi and Baili Guan.
One punch blasted out.
The punch force hit like a crashing star.
Both Nangong Yi and Baili Guan sensed danger and blocked it together, then were forced back.
Their eyes immediately locked on the attacker.
"Yang Cheng, what the hell are you doing?" Nangong Yi shouted.
Yang Cheng looked calm. "This sword talisman is mine."
"You already claimed the Taiyi Sword Talisman. You can't absorb another," Nangong Yi snapped. "So the Taiyi Sword Talisman is useless to you."
"It's useless to me, but useful for my maid."
Yang Cheng didn't care about the stares around him. "Lin Shu, go refine that sword talisman."
As soon as he said that, the others were dumbfounded.
Even the other top talents frowned.
There were only five sword talismans, and too many prodigies—a classic case of not enough meat for too many monks.
Yet Yang Cheng actually wanted to give one of them to his maid?
That was basically taunting every genius here.
It was like saying, 'You guys aren't even as good as my maid.'
Nangong Yi and Baili Guan were fuming, eyes burning with rage.
In this moment, their hatred for Yang Cheng reached the bone.
"Everyone!"
Nangong Yi suddenly shouted, "You're really going to let the Crown Prince of Great Zhou do whatever he wants?
He's only three years old and already took the Taiyi Sword Talisman. Just imagine how terrifying he'll be once he grows up. Today, let's join forces and kill him. That way, we eliminate a future threat. Plus, we can exchange the sword talismans we've got for the stronger Taiyi Sword Talisman."
At those words, the other prodigies clearly hesitated.
Nangong Yi's proposal was very tempting.
"I'm in."
The first one to agree wasn't Baili Guan—but Yang Xiu.
Leng Qianyu and Kongxing didn't speak.
Even if they were a bit unhappy too, they had their pride and didn't stoop to ganging up on someone.
"I'm in too," Baili Guan added.
"This sounds fun. Count me in."
A green-robed youth stepped forward.
He was Gao Yun, a prince of Great Yue, a twelve-year-old Ninth Layer Martial Master, one of the top talents just under the elites.
"I'll join as well."
That was Prince Donghe of Great Yu.
In a blink, five top prodigies were preparing to take on Yang Cheng.
Great Zhou posed the biggest threat to both Great Yue and Great Yu.
And compared to the other great nations, they weren't as strong. They were the most afraid of Great Zhou growing even more powerful.
If Great Zhou got too strong, they might one day just swallow Great Yue and Great Yu whole.
Besides, if they killed Yang Cheng, and the rest all went after the Taiyi Sword Talisman, they might just have a shot at grabbing it.
"Yang Cheng, this is what they call 'you won't die if you don't court death!'"
Nangong Yi sneered, like he was already seeing Yang Cheng's corpse.
"Finally, something interesting."
Yang Cheng didn't panic, giving off the air of someone who wouldn't flinch even if the sky collapsed.
Buzz!
A terrifying, razor-sharp aura surged out from within him.
Yang Cheng didn't use his blade this time.
Facing five top-tier prodigies—even he had to take it seriously.
So he chose the sword.
He possessed two sword bodies, the innate sword intent, and the Blood Sea Sword Talisman.
Compared to his blade, his sword was far more terrifying.
"What's going on? I think I sense sword intent from the Crown Prince of Great Zhou."
"But his cultivation path is the blade. He even used blade intent earlier. How can he have sword intent?"
"This sword intent is insane—way stronger than his blade intent. If it were me facing him, I wouldn't even have the guts to attack."
The others were shaken.
While they whispered, the aura exploding from Yang Cheng kept growing stronger and more intense.
Roar!
A dragon's roar shook the sky. A golden dragon phantom appeared above him.
"I remember now—there were rumors that the Crown Prince of Great Zhou has the Divine Dragon Sword Body."
"Oh my god… that means his sword path is even more powerful than his blade path."
"He actually commands two kinds of sword intent—what kind of freak is this?"
All the top talents felt like they couldn't breathe.
Now they truly understood what it meant for someone to outshine an entire generation.
Everyone chosen to enter the Ancient Desolation Tower was supposed to be the elite of the elites from every major force.