Screech!
The Hell Serpent Zodiac behind him let out a bone-chilling screech, its massive form writhing in response to its master's fury. The sheer pressure of Diteyi's aura alone sent shockwaves tearing through the desert, turning sand dunes into craters, and uprooting ancient ruins. The once eerie stillness of the Southern Vast Desert was now a land of absolute destruction.
Dao Wei however, still stood.
He wasn't even standing by his own will anymore. His body had long since lost its strength, yet something deeper, something primal, forced him to remain upright. His battered form swayed slightly, his breath ragged, but his eyes remained steady.
Diteyi clenched his fists, his knuckles white. "Any last words?" His voice was ice, cold enough to freeze the very air around him.
Dao Wei only grinned wider.
The next moment, his body convulsed. His mind slipped past the haze of pain, falling inward, deep into himself.
The world around him faded, replaced by a vast, star-filled void. In its center, five radiant orbs hovered gracefully, each pulsating with a primordial force. Each one held secrets beyond mortal comprehension, remnants of knowledge from ages long past.
A red orb, wrapped in ancient runes, pulsed with the essence of alchemy, the wisdom of a Pill God who had once refined the heavens themselves. A blue orb hummed with the forgotten arts of formations, its core inscribed with the sigils of an Ancient Formation God, a master of unseen barriers and divine constructs. A purple orb flickered like molten metal, the lifeblood of a Weapon Refining God who had forged weapons that once slew deities.
The last two, however, were enigmatic. One radiated with a divine brilliance, untouched by impurity, exuding a sense of boundless creation. The other was a dark abyss, a void that swallowed even light itself, an entity of pure, unfathomable destruction.
Dao Wei's consciousness wavered between the edge of death and awakening. He knew what lay before him—knowledge, power, inheritance. But was he ready to claim it? After all, he didn't even understand what was going on. Last time he checked, these orbs were sealed in the SkyTower, how did they get here, and most importantly, where was he?
But before he could wonder any further, the orbs trembled.
RUMBLE!
Back in the real world, the heavens responded. The earth quaked, as a celestial phenomenon erupted.
RUMBLE!
Behind Dao Wei's broken form, six Elemental Orbs materialized, each exuding a force that defied nature itself.
One burned like an eternal light, its flash warping reality itself.
Another crackled with lightning, splitting the sky with arcs of golden fury.
The third pulsed with metallic energy, its very presence sharpening the broken weapons scattered across the battlefield.
The fourth exuded an overwhelming wave of water, summoning tides that had no place in the desert.
The fifth glowed with the essence of space, warping around him, distorting his features slightly.
And the final orb… was pure darkness. A vortex of nothingness, an unstable force that defied definition.
Heaven and earth screamed in response. The sky tore open, cosmic winds spiraling into existence.
Rumble!
Diteyi's eyes widened, his breath hitching for the first time. His hand, which had been gripping Dao Wei's throat, trembled ever so slightly.
"What… What is this?!"
The battlefield itself was reshaped. The ruins groaned as ancient spirits, long since forgotten, bowed toward the rising force of Dao Wei.
Diteyi's rage twisted into something else entirely.
Panic.
The Sword Childe, bloodied, broken, and on the verge of death… was transcending. Right before his eyes.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the skies above the Southern Vast Desert, silent figures hovered, their presences hidden from mortal eyes, yet their gazes sharp as divine swords. The battle unfolding before them had shaken the world, a clash between two monsters that had left countless trembling in awe or seething in envy.
The void itself seemed to wail in agony as cracks of space flickered from the sheer intensity of the conflict. For some, the sight of Dao Wei being torn apart was a cause for celebration, while others remained eerily quiet, their expressions unreadable.
"It seems we've reached the end of our show today." Mei, draped in a robe of shifting stars, sighed, brushing a stray strand of hair from her cheek.
"Not yet, Mei." Feng, his sharp golden eyes fixated on Dao Wei's broken form, countered with a slow shake of his head. "Haven't you noticed? The young Sword Childe hasn't even summoned his Martial Soul."
Mei scoffed, arms crossing beneath her chest. "You think he still has a chance? Look at him. He's already broken."
Feng's expression didn't waver. "I wager he's still very much in the fight."
From the shadows, another voice interjected, thick with amusement. "You fools are missing the real spectacle. You're only watching what your eyes can see, but the true battle? It's already begun."
It was Lord Tian Xu of the Snow Lotus Sect, his violet robes embroidered with a white dragon coiling around his sleeves. He held a jade cup lazily in his fingers, his lips curving into a knowing smirk.
Mei frowned. "What do you mean?"
Tian Xu's smirk widened. "Diteyi's been overpowering him, yes, but have you considered what techniques Dao Wei has actually endured? No ordinary cultivator should still be breathing." He gestured toward the battlefield, where Diteyi's colossal Hell Serpent coiled around the sky, its crimson eyes glowing with sinister energy. "For one, that monster alone should have consumed him. Its flames are made from the devouring hellfire that erodes one's very soul."
Mei remained skeptical. "So what? Sword Childe has sheer willpower, I'll give him that, but he's not immortal."
"But the Sword Domain," Feng mused. "Even in its incomplete form, it managed to push Diteyi back. It means his comprehension is higher than we expected."
Tian Xu chuckled. "Not just that. His body is still functioning after enduring the Crimson Demon Spears, which distort space itself, yet he's still standing. Those spears don't just injure the flesh—they sever one's connection to the Dao."
A murmur rippled through the gathered spectators. Even those who detested the Sword Childe had to admit the truth—Dao Wei's resilience was monstrous.
A scholar from the Celestial Insight Pavilion, his robes glistening with starlight runes, nodded in agreement. "Diteyi unleashed his Blood Asura Phantom as well. That technique creates spectral clones that move independently, each capable of attacking from different angles, making defense nearly impossible. And yet… Dao Wei still found a way to counter."
"That's right," Grand Master Tang of the Taiji Sect added. "Even while bloodied and torn apart, he still cut through them with pinpoint accuracy."
A cold wind swept across the floating figures, as if the world itself was pausing to listen.
Mei clicked her tongue. "Fine. But all of this still doesn't explain what you're hinting at."
Feng's eyes gleamed. "Think. What happens when someone like the Sword Childe, someone who has been suppressing his power for so long, is finally forced to break his limits?"
Mei's breath hitched.
A shudder passed through the world.
And then, as if to confirm Feng's words, the battlefield itself began to shift.
The elemental forces in the air trembled, spirals of energy forming around Dao Wei's battered body. The ground cracked, as if recognizing something—no, someone—awakening.
Tian Xu chuckled darkly. "You all wanted to see his fall… but you might have just witnessed the rebirth of something far worse."
Silence followed, each figure holding their breath as they awaited the next move. The Duel of Destiny was far from over.
RUMBLE!
The heavens trembled as Dao Wei's Sea of Qi expanded abnormally within the vast Star-filled Void. Golden waves surged higher and higher, while the five radiant orbs hanging in the void began to vibrate violently. Their radiance intensified, converging into blinding streams of light that poured into Dao Wei's consciousness.
Swoosh!
Knowledge beyond comprehension flooded his mind—alchemy, formations, weapon refinement—all seared into his soul as if he had lived through countless lifetimes of study. The remaining two orbs, one exuding pure divine light, the other a well of absolute darkness, shattered in unison. The raw power of primordial Light and Darkness surged into Dao Wei's Sea of Qi.
Crack!
The pressure within him intensified, his body barely able to contain the surging chaos. His Nascent Spirit Realm cultivation was already past its limits—if he did not break through now, his own power would consume him from within.
"Fuck… I can't… hold on anymore," Dao Wei groaned, his voice echoing through the void of his consciousness.
He had delayed his breakthrough for far too long, and now, the price was unbearable. His body, battered and broken, was on the verge of collapse, yet there was no other option left.
"Break!" Dao Wei roared, his voice carrying the force of an absolute decree.
BOOM!
The sky cracked. The shackles restraining him shattered, leading him into the Realm of Nirvana Warriors.