Throughout the entire space, only this pale flame remained. For the cultivators within the Dome Realm, it caused no harm. However, those familiar with the power of the Void sensed that the barrier of spacetime had solidified, increasing its strength by at least sixfold!
At this moment, Ao Kun emerged from the shattered main hall of the Academy. He had used the method of Existential Annihilation to repair Yuan Jing’s Dao foundation, and even with the replenishment of numerous precious medicines from the Cang Sheng Dao, he was still considerably depleted.
Having hidden away, he now showed himself only after the major situation had settled, walking to Ao Yi’s side. He was still weak in breath and dim in true essence.
Yet, upon gazing at the scene before him, Ao Kun’s pale face was instantly flushed crimson by the surging tide of blood within, and his eyes were filled only with horror.
“Is that the World-Burning Flame?”
“It should be!”
Ao Yi replied faintly, then looked at Zong Shou atop the spire with a complex gaze.
“Your sworn brother seems intent on a massacre today—”
She had heard of the Lu family’s Sky-Burning Divine Ability and witnessed it several times. She had never imagined that the World-Burning Fire, having evolved to its peak state, could possess such divine might.
The Lu family’s World-Burning Flame held the power to incinerate worlds, and equally, the ability to seal the Void. Although the Thirty-Three Heavens Array possessed the divine ability to reinforce the realm barrier, it now seemed utterly inferior to Zong Shou’s Blood Pupil Divine Ability.
Ao Kun nodded in agreement, observing the power of the Thirty-Three Heavens Array being surpassed as the World-Burning Fire manifested on such a scale. Zong Shou’s scheme was clearly not merely to stop those few Supremes and escape the Dome Realm smoothly.
“Xing Xie is likely in grave danger this time—”
In the Dome Realm, the weakest Supreme Saint Venerable was Xing Xie. This individual harbored deep enmity with the Cang Sheng Dao, was arrogant, acted ruthlessly, and was impossible to fathom. Ao Kun truly could not conceive of a reason for Zong Shou to spare him.
It was a pity that Old Man Yuan Jiang was too powerful; this battle likely wouldn't see him detained. As far as Ao Kun knew, this old dragon always acted cautiously; if defeated today, he would surely flee thousands of miles instantly, leaving no chance for pursuit.
At this time, the entire Dome Realm began to shake violently again. However, this was not the previous situation where the array foundations trembled and the 170,000 cultivators of the Cang Sheng Dao were precariously balanced. Instead, Tai Shi and Zhu Zi, who had already forced their way out, were joining the Five Great Divine Venerables in bombarding the barrier outside the Dome Realm, attempting to rescue those still trapped inside.
Zong Shou did not direct his vast sword light toward Xing Xie, as others might have expected. His gaze was fixed upon the Black Qilin that had been on the verge of fleeing the Dome Realm but was forcefully stopped by Zong Shou’s World-Burning pronouncement. This mutated divine beast no longer possessed the might it had to shake the Dome Realm; its eyes were filled only with panic and anxiety.
Frightened?
As Zong Shou sneered, the Howling Sun within his sleeve had already calmed down. The mental communication transmitted to him was filled with excitement and joy. The imminent demise of an overwhelmingly powerful foe under its Master’s sword was no different from dying by its own hand—nothing could be happier than that.
Zong Shou’s mind returned to utter stillness, devoid of thought or desire. He channeled boundless Royal Dao Qi into the Spirit Refining Sword, further channeling it into the other six artifacts. True Force and Soul Energy traveled through the inscribed runes within the swords, forming myriad profound and mysterious talismans in the void. Then, he commanded the will of the Heavenly Dao, which had once again coalesced to its peak, to condense into a sword and descend!
Simultaneously, the furious roar of the Tai Shi Demon Lord echoed throughout the Dome Realm.
“Impudent brat, how dare you!”
With a crash, the void barrier near the Black Qilin was finally breached by brute force. The colossal white bone hammer smashed in violently, colliding head-on with the vast, cascading sword energy that resembled an inverted Milky Way!
The immense kinetic force instantly rendered dozens of miles in the vicinity a ruin, with nothing remaining intact.
The giant hammer and the sword energy met in a deadlock, causing continuous tremors in the void. The Heavenly Dao Sword Intent, which Qing Xuan could not withstand even with all his might, now seemed on the verge of being forcefully scattered by this white bone hammer!
Xiu Guan raised an eyebrow and prepared to intervene.
However, just as silver luminous patterns began to flicker around his right hand, Xiu Guan let out a soft exclamation, revealing a surprising divine ability.
“Hmm? Sword Separating Beginning and End—the Beginning and End Divine Ability. So that’s it. My martial nephew is employing an old trick again? No wonder Kun Ming’s essence and blood energy seem to have vanished a bit faster—”
The Cang Sheng Sword Formation, while incredibly powerful, was extremely easy to evade. From a distance, without the binding force of the Thirty-Three Heavens Array, it posed limited threat to the Supremes. However, Zong Shou had used the 900,000 disciples of the Daoist Gate to force Qing Xuan to take one blow head-on, and then immediately used another sword to cut down Kun Ming.
It was the same tactic now: using the Black Qilin to force Tai Shi into a direct confrontation.
“But why Tai Shi?”
The optimal target should have been Zhu Zi or Dong Sheng.
His thoughts turned rapidly, and in an instant, Xiu Guan grasped the situation, then let out a burst of wry laughter.
“To delay the time for Tai Shi’s Dao Fusion to truly manifest? The Beginning and End Divine Ability—between the two of them, they are indeed Dao enemies. Today is the only opportunity. My martial nephew, it turns out, has his own private motives—”
He did not find fault with this. The Cang Sheng Dao inherently believed that every individual was a discrete entity with their own freedom and did not force disciples to sacrifice themselves for the sect or others. Zong Shou had already done more than enough for the Cang Sheng Dao today; Xiu Guan could not demand more. Moreover, this strike, once delivered, would bring considerable benefit to the Cang Sheng Dao.
The will of heaven and earth contained within the massive sword energy gradually began to wane.
But precisely at this moment, an equally magnificent wave of primordial energy suddenly surged back into the sword formation. It erupted abruptly, causing the Heavenly Dao sword might to frantically escalate once more in an instant. The first thing impacted was the white bone hammer, which, with a mournful cry, was forcefully blasted out of the Dome Realm.
“Heaven Swallowing Primordial Transformation Grand Technique? No—”
Tai Shi grunted, and then his voice became unusually sharp and piercing.
“Endless Light, Endless Darkness—it is the Boundless Beginning and End! Are you the Boundless Beginning and End Buddha? To obstruct my Path of Conclusion?”
Kun Ming’s Supreme Realm body was infinitely close to the Indestructible Body. Even the Heaven Swallowing Primordial Transformation Grand Technique, a level eleven divine ability, could not consume his physical form. The only technique in this world capable of completely devouring the primordial energy of a Supreme and then erupting completely intact was the Boundless Beginning and End Method!
Zong Shou’s expression was icy, without the slightest distraction. The Heavenly Dao Sword, having reached its utmost reinforcement, radiated boundless light, obscuring all vision within the Dome Realm. After knocking away the white bone hammer, it plunged into the void once more.
Those with weak spiritual senses could not perceive it, and neither could Zong Shou. However, Xiu Guan’s dragon silhouette could sense that beyond the Dome Realm, one of Tai Shi Demon Lord’s arms had suddenly snapped off, followed by Tai Shi’s cry of pain mixed with rage and hatred. This single strike would delay this Demon Lord’s path to the True Realm—even to full True Union—by at least ten thousand years!