Chapter 1041: Half-Saint Status A New Storm Has Emerged...

Sleepy Valley.

"Clank, clank..."

Xiao Kongtong dragged a large burlap sack across the dusty, desolate land. Desolation stretched as far as the eye could see.

"Legend has it that in ancient times, Void Island was a kingdom of giants, a race that lived solely in the heavens and never descended to the mortal realm. They lived self-sufficiently, wanting for nothing. But one day, a demon god descended, seeking to claim this pure land. Consequently, the giants and the demon god clashed in the most desolate part of Void Island. Both sides ultimately fell, perishing on this very land. This battlefield of their final showdown later became one of Void Island's nine Forbidden Zones, Sleepy Valley!"

These legendary tales flashed through his mind. The scruffy uncle dragging the sack glanced again at his surroundings. Uneven boulders, stone mountains hundreds of feet wide resembling dead giants, petrified broken swords capable of piercing the sky... He unconsciously swallowed.

"Why, though..." Xiao Kongtong was perplexed. He had merely been under the deep sea, faced with that glistening ancient door, and unable to resist his curiosity, he had given it a little push. How did he end up on Void Island?!

"It's all because Senior Water Ghost wasn't serious enough when he told me not to push the door, nor did he tell me the specific reason, and he made me wait so long. Right? Anyone would want to push that door, wouldn't they? You really can't blame me for this!"

Xiao Kongtong comforted himself, continuing to drag the sack forward. He had been wandering in Sleepy Valley for a long time, yet he hadn't found a single sign of life, not even a blade of grass. This was truly a land of death!

"That's why it shouldn't be called 'Sleepy Valley.' It should be 'Land of the Fallen.' Calling a place where things have been dead for millions of years 'Sleepy Valley' feels really creepy. It's like the giants and demon god might wake up if you're not careful..." Xiao Kongtong muttered silently to himself.

Soon, as he progressed, he arrived before a dark cave. "A commotion?" His brow furrowed, and he entered the cave.

After walking a short distance, Xiao Kongtong stopped before a gigantic, half-open door. Unlike the dead silence outside, a powerful force seemed to slumber within the door. Even a sliver of power leaking from the crack made Xiao Kongtong's heart pound.

"Cannot enter, cannot enter! This door, absolutely cannot be pushed!" Xiao Kongtong had already been tricked once by a "door" in the deep-sea world. He told himself a thousand times in his mind that he absolutely could not make the same mistake again. Not to mention that the Sacred God Continent had Seven Deadly Sanctuaries, which were fatal for ordinary people to enter. Now, in Sleepy Valley, one of Void Island's nine Forbidden Zones, he had stumbled upon a door... He didn't even need to think; this was also a forbidden, deadly place!

"Sorry for the disturbance, I'll leave now." Xiao Kongtong took a full stick of incense's time to make his decision, then turned and walked away. But just as he reached the cave entrance where he had come in, he stopped again.

"No movement has occurred yet. What if this is just a lucky opportunity, with no risk?" Looking out from the cave, the sprawling mountains looked even more like slumbering giants. Perhaps this cave was the legendary sleeping place of the demon god. He was very nervous... But...

"Having come all the way to Void Island, being so cautious might mean missing out on a golden opportunity, wouldn't it?" Two little dwarves began to wrestle in Xiao Kongtong's mind: one advised him to leave quickly, while the other argued that since he had already come this far, leaving empty-handed would be a pity.

"I am the Senior Disciple of Three Moons Immortal City. Who under heaven can stop me? On the path of the sword, we advance bravely! We sword cultivators don our armor and sharpen our blades!" Xiao Kongtong tightened his grip on the sack, feeling as though the little fellow in his mind who was advising caution was about to be talked to death by the other.

"Just a little push!" Finally, he made his decision. He'd give it a try!

Returning to the half-open door, Xiao Kongtong mentally prepared himself, extended his hand, and began to knock. "Knock, knock, knock." The echoes reverberated through the cave, but no abnormality appeared.

Xiao Kongtong grew bolder. He tentatively peered through the crack in the door, clasped his fists, and said, "I didn't mean to disturb you, I'm just very curious. If I've offended you, Senior, please just tell me to leave. Please don't harm anyone."

Aside from the echoes, there was still no movement in the cave. "Silence, Senior, I'll take that as permission?" Xiao Kongtong nodded, a fiery passion burning in his eyes.

Adventure! It had been years since he had attempted such a thing, not since becoming the Senior Disciple of Three Moons Immortal City. This was the greatest driving force that had supported his growth from a young boy until now. Otherwise, would he have pushed that door under the deep sea, and now decide to push another?

New world, here I come!

With a burning heart, Xiao Kongtong reached out and pressed. "Rumble, rumble, rumble..." The giant door slowly moved inward, inch by inch, until it opened a gap wide enough for three normal human-sized beings to pass through. He didn't push it all the way open; that was a sign of respect for the ruins. Pushing it open this much was a sign of respect for life. If the giant door were to accidentally close on its own, Xiao Kongtong was confident he could escape through a gap of this size in an instant.

"My apologies," he said, apologizing, as Xiao Kongtong excitedly stepped inside the giant door, still carrying his sack.

"Vroom—" The moment he entered, the surging energy fluctuations inside captured all of Xiao Kongtong's attention. A black giant! An incredibly massive giant corpse sat on a huge throne just inside the doorway. It wore the hardest demon god armor, clutched a great spear capable of piercing the heavens, and even wore a helmet. Even as a corpse, it exuded a powerful, malevolent aura.

"Click, click, click..." Xiao Kongtong's teeth chattered, not from fear, but excitement. A real demon god? The legendary tales, were they all true? He had found the demon god's corpse, right here in the cave in Sleepy Valley. This door didn't even have a seal; it just let him in so easily?

"Could it be that my true destiny isn't to meet my master and become an ancient sword cultivator, but to inherit the demon god's legacy right now?" Xiao Kongtong was slightly agitated. The giant's corpse was invaluable, but he had no intention of desecrating it. Even the demon god's great spear in its hand, Xiao Kongtong didn't want to pry away. After all, he was a sword cultivator, not a spear demon; he had no interest in weapons other than swords.

However... On the demon god's corpse, there was one more item that made Xiao Kongtong's eyes burn with desire. Around the neck of the huge demon god seated on the throne hung a very conspicuous black necklace. Each link was enormous, larger than a normal human body. But the core of the necklace, a crystalline gem, was only about the size of a normal human fist.

"Saint energy!" Xiao Kongtong was moved. That fist-sized crystalline gem radiated intense saint energy fluctuations, resembling a Semisaint's core.

"No way, no way?" He glanced, then again, and again... Xiao Kongtong's expression gradually grew wild, and he scratched his head, unable to believe what he was seeing.

"A Semisaint Rank!!!"

"This wretched place actually contains a Semisaint Rank! How is that possible? Wasn't Void Island said to be from ancient times? Did Semisaint Ranks exist back then? Or is 'Semisaint' merely a title from the Spirit Refining Era that adapted an ancient honored position, and 'Semisaint Rank' just a designation that fits the current era?"

Regardless. Xiao Kongtong was certain he hadn't misidentified the Semisaint Rank on the demon god's pendant. He had established Three Moons Immortal City over thirty years ago, and even if he used all the ancient sword cultivators his influence had trained, he couldn't find even one lost Semisaint Rank on the Sacred God Continent. And now, a single cave had allowed him to encounter one?

"Cannot take it, cannot take it, absolutely cannot take it! Xiao Kongtong, don't be foolish! Think about Sleepy Valley, think about that half-open door, think about the demon god legend... There's no seal here. Who are you? You're not the master of Void Island, nor are you the revered one of the Black-White Twin Veins. What right do you have to obtain a Semisaint Rank so effortlessly? This is a trap!" The little advising figure in Xiao Kongtong's mind stood up again. But in the next second, it was stabbed to death by the evil little figure.

"I am the Senior Disciple of Three Moons Immortal City. Who under heaven can stop me? On the path of the sword, we advance bravely! We sword cultivators don our armor and sharpen our blades! If Heaven gives, and you do not take, you will suffer for it!" Each powerful declaration infinitely stimulated Xiao Kongtong, making his blood boil.

With a flash, Xiao Kongtong leaped onto his spatial sword, flying toward the colossal demon god corpse. Before its closed eyes, though he didn't know if he was being watched... "Apologies for the offense!" He reached out. He held the crystal gem.

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom..." The next second, earth-shattering explosions echoed from outside the cave, thundering like the apocalypse had arrived, as if the sky itself was about to collapse.

"Damn it!" Xiao Kongtong had held the crystalline gem, the "Semisaint Rank," for less than half a breath. His expression changed drastically; it was as if he had grasped Death's scythe, and terrified, he threw the gem into the air. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it. I was just curious, curious about what the gem looked like. I'll put it back for you right now, Senior. Return to sender, return to sender. Don't harm anyone, don't harm anyone..."

Xiao Kongtong tremblingly tried to put the crystal gem back onto the necklace, but accidentally touched a nearby link. That link, thicker than a human, "hissed" and weathered away... disintegrated... vanished...

Xiao Kongtong: ???

No link, how am I supposed to put the gem back? Should I put it in your heart?

"Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble..." Outside the cave, the booming explosions suddenly grew louder, like giant footsteps approaching the area.

"I'm so sorry, I really didn't mean to break your necklace!" Xiao Kongtong was on the verge of tears. He looked up at the demon god giant's closed eyes, fearing that in the next second, those eyes would open and the demon god would awaken. Luckily, things hadn't reached that extreme. The demon god did not awaken.

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die..." But Xiao Kongtong dared not delay any longer. No link, but the demon god's corpse was still right there. I'll give the Semisaint Rank back to you. If there's no link, stuffing it into your nostril should be fine, right? Although the demon god's nostrils were huge, a small gem might not get stuck. But a person's seven apertures are connected. Xiao Kongtong aimed and threw, intending to toss the crystal gem through the nostril into the demon god's corpse.

"Hiss!" As a result, the moment the gem touched the demon god's corpse, the corpse turned to dust, weathering away just like the link. The sky-piercing demon god's great spear did not weather away. It tilted and then crashed towards Xiao Kongtong.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!..." The footsteps outside the cave sounded as if they were filled with extreme rage, each impact striking Xiao Kongtong's heart, making his face turn pale.

"Don't you dare trick me!" Xiao Kongtong was on the verge of tears. So the power of this Semisaint Rank was used to preserve the demon god's corpse? He just moved it, and the corpse was gone. Even if stealing the treasure wasn't his intention, it was the result!

"Thump!" He braced with one hand against the crashing demon god's great spear, but was instantly knocked to the ground. The spear was heavier than he imagined; it could easily kill a Grand Void expert with one strike or send a Semisaint flying. Void Island, indeed worthy of being a land of opportunities created by his master, with treasures everywhere. The only pity was... These treasures seemed to require one's life in exchange!

"Since I've taken it, I might as well keep it." Since the crystal gem couldn't be put back, Xiao Kongtong no longer hesitated. Since he had to face the consequences anyway, he wanted the Semisaint Rank, and he also wanted this invaluable demon god's great spear! He strained to support it, but still couldn't lift the demon god's great spear. In the end, he could only use his Sword Control Art to slightly levitate it.

"Run! Run fast! If I don't run now, my lifelong reputation, Xiao Kongtong's heroic name, will truly be buried in Sleepy Valley!"

With the sack over his shoulder, the gem in his hand, and a crooked, wobbling demon god's great spear trailing behind him, in the dark cave, Xiao Kongtong, hearing the "rumbling" outside, suddenly calmed down. His eyelids drooped, obscuring his gaze. At this moment, he resembled a stone statue of a divine Buddha, filled with compassion for all beings.

"Vroom—" A surging sword intent, like a tide, began to well up from his small body, causing the cave to hum and tremble, and loose rocks to tumble.

"Where the heart wills, there it is... Under my gaze, divine Buddhas guide..."

Bang, bang, bang! Falling rocks crashed down, and the cave began to collapse.

"With a sword of nothingness, create a reality of imagination... With the heart's divine Buddha, extinguish the demon's desires and the transient world..."

Clang— Though there was no sword, a clear sword hum resonated melodiously from within Xiao Kongtong's body. The next second, a golden light blossomed in the cave, and a colossal, hundred-zhang-tall golden Buddha statue, with closed eyes, slowly unfurled behind Xiao Kongtong. It unfurled its coiled body. And opened its tightly shut eyes!

"Heart Sword Art, Divine Buddha in Sight!" Xiao Kongtong also opened his eyes, and brilliant golden light poured from them like a waterfall. With a thunderous roar, the cave was shattered by the immense Buddha phantom that rose behind him, darkness vanished, and light returned.

"This..." With the cave destroyed, Xiao Kongtong could see the thundering world outside. However, after a single glance, his momentum stalled, and he was clearly stunned.

What he saw... The mountains that had sprawled like giants were gone, and the massive broken swords buried in Sleepy Valley had also vanished. Instead, colossal, cloud-piercing stone giants had risen!

"One, two, three..." "There must be three or four hundred of these damn stone giants, right?" "So, Sleepy Valley really just meant sleeping giants, not fallen giants?"

One hundred zhang tall, three hundred zhang tall, a thousand zhang tall... These stone giants, having drawn the power from Sleepy Valley's hundred thousand mountains to rise, each held broken blades and rusty halberds, their eyes crimson as they thundered towards Xiao Kongtong.

"Sh*t!" At this moment, Xiao Kongtong's heart stopped. He was strong. Strong enough to command a realm, build nine cities, create another cultivation holy land for ancient sword cultivators, renowned as the Senior Disciple of Three Moons Immortal City, and even... The Ninth Sword Immortal!

But facing this horde of red-eyed stone giants... Look at that thousand-zhang giant! It ran so fast its legs broke off! But after rolling once, its broken legs reformed, looking even stronger than before. —These were clearly indestructible monsters!

Xiao Kongtong had initially thought that while he might be scared, no matter what happened outside, one move of "Heart Sword Art, Great Buddha Slash" would sweep them all away, easily crushing them. But now...

"What am I fighting for? I must have poked a giant's nest, haven't I? Run as fast as you can!" The hundred-zhang golden Buddha phantom that had just risen behind him was like a little brother in front of these hundreds of stone giants. The shortest of these giants was twice as tall as his golden Buddha phantom.

Without a second thought, Xiao Kongtong immediately dispelled the Heart Sword Art: Divine Buddha in Sight, then gathered the power of his Illusionary Sword Art and leaped onto the demon god's great spear.

"Illusionary Sword Art, Spatial Leap!" With a whoosh, the demon god's great spear shot forward, but at first it couldn't break through the stone giants, startling Xiao Kongtong so much that he almost dropped the crystal gem containing the Semisaint Rank. As hundreds of stone giants brought down their heavy fists and chaotic blades, he no longer dared to attempt an attack.

"Spatial Leap, leap for me!!!" With a single thrust of the spear, he tore through space. Xiao Kongtong had covered nearly half of Sleepy Valley's thirty thousand li during his time there. With this one thrust, he leaped to the stone monument where he had first arrived on Void Island, a distance of approximately tens of thousands of li.

"Phew." "At this distance, they shouldn't be able to catch up, right? As expected of me, in such a situation, only I could escape." Xiao Kongtong breathed a sigh of relief.

But just as he relaxed. "Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump..." Behind him, space shattered, collapsing into endless darkness, and then hundreds of stone giants' massive feet stepped out from within the spatial rift.

Xiao Kongtong: ???

At this, his face turned green. They could tear through space and follow? "What are you creatures made of?!" He dared not pause for breath and quickly leaped back onto the demon god's great spear.

"Spatial Leap... Leap! Leap! Leap! Damn it, why is it so slow? Leap further, already!!!"