What are the specific differences between the seventh and ninth layers of the Sea Inversing Realm?
To make a more concrete analogy:
The seventh layer of the Sea Inversing Realm is like a butcher who can hack a cow to death with a knife.
Whereas someone at the ninth layer of the Sea Inversing Realm would be able to rip a cow apart barehanded.
First of all, the cow has obviously not offended anyone, so this is just an analogy.
Secondly, it demonstrates the huge gap between the seventh and ninth layers of the Sea Inversing Realm.
No one stays stagnant forever.
After Chen Xia's inner demon awakened, he started sprinting forward.
In two hundred years, he broke through two realms in succession, and is now stuck at the threshold of the ninth layer of the Sea Inversing Realm.
He thought carefully and felt it should be because of the inner demon. Previously when he asked the Blood and Flesh Statue, it said inner demons typically appear around the Heaven Mending Realm, yet Chen Xia's inner demon popped out jumping around already at the seventh layer of the Sea Inversing Realm. This was clearly anomalous.
Therefore, Chen Xia's current cultivation level being pulled up to the ninth layer of the Sea Inversing Realm makes more sense.
Cultivators at the ninth layer of the Sea Inversing Realm will encounter inner demons when facing the bottleneck to the Heaven Mending Realm.
The only difference is probably that inner demons at the Heaven Mending Realm stage will not fight the cultivator directly.
Chen Xia's case is still rather unique.
The reason he is now capable of ambushing Yi Huo lies in his cultivation level at the ninth layer of the Sea Inversing Realm, and another important factor -
Yi Huo is injured, with serious wounds.
Otherwise facing Yi Huo at the seventh layer of the Heaven Mending Realm, Chen Xia might have needed to reconsider.
But as long as one is injured, things become much easier to discuss.
Adding flowers to embroidery or sending charcoal in snow, Chen Xia might still consider.
But if you say pouring oil on fire, or kicking someone who's down, then he would certainly take action.
Which is exactly what he did.
Yi Huo took a sword squarely, but due to the strong underlying base as a seventh layer Heaven Mending Realm cultivator, he was not injured too gravely. Frowning in extreme anger, he shouted sharply at Chen Xia descending on a flying sword:
"So what if you are at the ninth layer of the Sea Inversing Realm? I am at the seventh layer of the Heaven Mending Realm. With one hand, I can easily execute you hundreds, thousands of times. You useless weakling only knows sneak attacks, yet dares to spout such arrogance? I will kill you, kill you!"
Every time Chen Xia stepped on a flying sword to descend, that sword would emit a faint moan. Listening carefully, one would realize these moans of the swords had blended into a melody, carrying a rather joyful tune.
Chen Xia chuckled lightly: "You can be more anxious. After you die later, I will personally extract your Supreme Bone and offer it to the Senior Elder."
"Kill me?" Yi Huo's eyebrows twisted tighter as he bellowed furiously: "You think you are worthy to kill me? This trash at the Sea Inversing Realm thinks you can speak of killing me? If it were any regular day I would not even glance at you!"
"No worries." Chen Xia said gently with a smile: "After death, you would no longer need to look at me anyway."
This could also be considered Chen Xia's unique brand of kindness.
*crying to death*
Clenching his teeth, Yi Huo suddenly brought his palms together before his chest, formed a mystic sign, and pushed it against his body. Half his body began glowing resplendently as his eyes exploded with divine light - every breath and movement was infused with the circulation of the five elements, raising hands and feet summoned forth the lights of sun and moon.
This was half of the Supreme Bone!
"Die by my hand!" Yi Huo shouted loudly as he charged straight at Chen Xia, bathed entirely in boundless divine glow. The greyish mist was swept aside by the light.
Chen Xia remained unperturbed. Casually waving the bronze sword in his hand, he first sent out a sword strike to slightly hamper Yi Huo's impetuous charge before raising his arm and snapping his fingers.
Space began to overlap.
A crimson crescent moon hung at the edge of the sky.
Crowned with a blood-colored crown beneath that curved moon, Chen Xia stood tall with slightly raised head, leisurely exhaling pure white mist amidst the crimson hue.
The mist did not dissipate, instead swirling to envelope his entire body.
And that supremely pure white aura grew increasingly richer and stronger.
Until an astounding roar of a dragon resounded from the cycles of reincarnation.
Chen Xia flicked the blood-colored crown on his head, producing a crisp ringing sound as he chuckled lightly: "Cultivators like you - half-strong - are my favorite opponents."
Before Yi Huo could make clear sense of the current scene, a sword was already slashing toward him.
With power rivaling an immortal sword, the bronze sword was sufficient to slay him in his current heavily injured state at the seventh Heaven Mending Realm.
Not daring to be careless, Yi Huo swiftly stirred the protective divine glow of the Supreme Bone to forcibly block the bronze sword as he gathered and unleashed blazing lights toward Chen Xia.
But before the blazing light could arrive, a pure white hand had already grabbed his neck, forcefully pushing it down.
Yi Huo's body crashed heavily into the ground, cratering it. In the flickering of his eyes he caught a glimpse of Chen Xia's visage and that crimson glowing eye.
Closer and closer.
His mind raced urgently as he wanted to escape, only to feel a sudden pain at his waist - the bronze sword had pierced through between his waist and abdomen!
Clenching his teeth, Yi Huo's body instantly flashed to a thousand meters away as he simultaneously consumed a healing pellet to staunch his wounds, staring fixedly at Chen Xia.
This was different from his idea of someone at the ninth layer of the Sea Inversing Realm.
One could hardly even consider this the ninth layer. If this was the full extent of the ninth layer, then his own cultivation base should at most be at the first layer of the Heaven Mending Realm!
"You concealed your level of cultivation to deceive us! You are more than just the ninth layer of the Sea Inversing Realm!" Yi Huo cried out in shock and suspicion.
Still grasping the bronze sword while walking leisurely toward him, Chen Xia's left eye continued emanating that crimson glow as he chuckled lightly: "Do not use your own inadequacy to assess others."
Clenching his jaw, Yi Huo's body abruptly flashed to appear right in front of Chen Xia as he took the initiative to attack, sending divine lights beyond compare smashing toward's Chen Xia's head!
Boom!
The tremendous divine light exploded, space collapsed and contracted.
Blocking single-handedly with his arm, Chen Xia failed to defend fully as his hand was smashed into pieces of broken bones.
But no matter.
Because he had slashed Yi Huo with his sword.
This one strike had severed half of Yi Huo's arm, and shaved off a portion of the Supreme Bone.
"Ahhh!" Yi Huo flashed to a thousand meters away, screaming in disbelief twice as he glared angrily at Chen Xia:
"You dare sever me, you trash dare sever me, my Supreme Bone... I will kill you, I will kill you!"
He was growing somewhat deranged.
"Don't be anxious." Chen Xia replied flatly. His half-shattered arm slowly rose up before gesturing with his intact hand.
The lingering moans of the swords never ceased assaulting the ears.
Clear, shrill, joyful, excited, violent...
The emotions behind each flying sword were different.
And behind Chen Xia, three million flying swords floated in formation with their tips pointing down.
An endless expanse.