334: Tear Space

At the core of the Ghost Mountain Range, at the entrance to the valley, the air was as taut as a drawn bowstring.

The forces from the Earth Fiend Sect, the Profound Cloud Sect, and various other factions held their breath, their eyes fixed on the shimmering, increasingly turbulent light screen of the restriction.

Everyone was accumulating power, just waiting for the restriction to weaken to its critical point, then they would rush in with the force of a thunderbolt.

The Sect Master of the Earth Fiend Sect and the beautiful female elder of the Profound Cloud Sect stood side by side, their expressions solemn, Dou Qi surging around them, already like an arrow on the bowstring.

"Everyone, the restriction is about to break. Wait for my command, and we will strike together to blast open a gap!"

The Sect Master of the Earth Fiend Sect's voice boomed like a bell, echoing through the valley, drawing responses from everyone.

However, at this highly anticipated, critical moment...

Several hundred feet away from the valley entrance, beneath a seemingly ordinary mountain shadow, space rippled slightly like water.

Jiang Donghua's figure quietly appeared.

He glanced at the group of people waiting in formation in the distance, a faint curve on his lips.

"Waiting? Too slow."

He muttered softly, casually raising his right hand, his five fingers slightly spread towards the void in front of him, then gently swiped!

The movement was light and effortless, like brushing away a cobweb.

Screech—!

A faint, peculiar sound, like silk being torn, emanated.

The space in front of him was directly torn open, revealing a pitch-black crack about ten feet long!

At the edges of the crack, silver spatial energy darted like electric snakes, emitting a chilling aura of nothingness.

A Two-Star Dou Zun's control over spatial power had reached such an effortless level!

Forcibly tearing stable space might be difficult, but this valley, with its restriction about to break, already had chaotic and weak space. For him, tearing open a temporary passage was as easy as turning his hand.

Jiang Donghua's figure flickered, and he vanished into the spatial crack.

The crack then rapidly closed, and the mountain shadow returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened.

In the distance, the Sect Master of the Earth Fiend Sect was about to wave his hand to order an attack when he suddenly felt something, abruptly turning his head to look in the direction where Jiang Donghua had just disappeared, his brows tightly furrowed.

"Was there a strange spatial fluctuation over there just now?"

He murmured suspiciously.

"Sect Master, the restriction can't hold much longer!" An elder beside him urgently reminded.

The Sect Master of the Earth Fiend Sect withdrew his gaze, suppressing a hint of inexplicable unease in his heart, and sternly shouted, "Never mind! Attack!"

Boom!

Countless powerful Dou Qi energy streams, like a torrential downpour, slammed into the crumbling restriction light screen... Meanwhile, within the restriction, deep inside the ruins.

This was not the dark cave imagined, but an extremely spacious and magnificent stone hall.

The stone hall had a rugged style, its walls covered with various overbearing saber technique diagrams. Although covered in dust, the artistic conception of cutting through everything still surged forth.

The air was filled with a rich scent of ancient dust, and an immensely powerful saber intent that, despite decades, remained incredibly sharp!

"Tsk tsk, putting everything else aside, just this lingering saber intent shows that this Mad Blade Venerable indeed had some capital for his arrogance during his lifetime."

Jiang Donghua's figure appeared in the hall. Feeling the pervasive pressure, he nodded slightly.

This saber intent was enough to make even a Dou Zong feel pressure, but for him, it was like a gentle breeze.

He scanned the entire main hall with his gaze.

The hall's furnishings were simple. In the center was a skeleton seated on a stone platform, its bones crystalline, faintly glowing with a jade-like luster. Though dead, it seemed alive, exuding a faint pressure—it was the Mad Blade Venerable, the owner of this place.

In front of the skeleton, three ancient jade boxes were placed.

And most eye-catching was a dark-red long saber phantom, entirely condensed from pure saber intent, suspended above the skeleton's head!

The phantom was almost solid, slowly rotating, emitting a chilling fluctuation. It was the core inheritance of the Mad Blade Venerable, the Sky-Rending Saber Intent!

"It seems coming early indeed has its advantages."

Jiang Donghua smiled, then walked forward without ceremony.

He first slightly cupped his hands towards the skeleton.

"Senior, I apologize. It would be a pity for treasures to remain covered in dust, so I shall accept them."

With that, he waved his sleeve, and a gentle surge of Dou Qi swept out, collecting all three jade boxes into his storage ring without a detailed look.

Then, he looked up at the saber intent phantom.

"Saber intent inheritance is useless to me, but the 'momentum' contained within it might be worth learning from and integrating into my Dou Technique."

He extended his right hand, flames surging in his palm, transforming into a blue flame palm that directly grabbed the saber intent phantom.

The saber intent seemed to have a spirit, emitting a hum and bursting forth with incredibly sharp aura, attempting to resist. But under the suppression of absolute power disparity, it quickly quieted down and was easily collected by Jiang Donghua.

The entire process was as effortless as picking ripe fruit in one's own backyard.

After doing all this, he leisurely surveyed his surroundings, confirming there were no other hidden compartments or mechanisms.

It was also at this moment that distant, violent rumbling and faint shouts of battle could be heard.

That was the people outside finally breaking through the restriction and fighting to be the first to enter the cave entrance.

Jiang Donghua listened to the distant clamor and shook his head.

"Contend, fight, but unfortunately, I've already taken the best things."

He raised his hand again, tearing open a spatial crack beside him, and his figure vanished into it, disappearing.

A moment later, the Sect Master of the Earth Fiend Sect and the elder of the Profound Cloud Sect, covered in blood, were the first to break through numerous obstacles and charge into this main hall with murderous intent.

However, when they saw the empty stone platform, and that not even a skeleton was left for anyone, they both froze.

"How is this possible?!"

"Who?! Who got here first?!"

Their furious roars echoed through the empty hall, filled with disbelief and extreme anger.

They had fought to the death, yet hadn't even had a sip of the soup!

Meanwhile, Jiang Donghua was already above the clouds dozens of miles away, counting the spoils of his opportunistic gains.