At that moment, there was no panic in Xiao Yao's eyes, only a resolve unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Mana surged through his entire body, rushing toward the Saint Artifact, the Taiyan Sword, gripped in his right hand. The spell he was about to unleash was the Saint tier spell he had obtained earlier: Heaven and Earth One Sword.
In an instant, the Taiyan Sword gave birth to a will of heaven and earth unlike anything it had ever possessed before.
It still felt faint, but the power it contained was terrifying.
It was on a completely different level from the power Xiao Yao had displayed earlier.
Zhuo Dongxuan's star-bright eyes widened, and her delicate brows drew together. She couldn't believe that a cultivator with Sea Opening Realm Second Layer Peak Cultivation could do this.
The Transcendent Realm cultivators charging at Xiao Yao felt even more afraid.
Their eyes were bloodshot, their faces trembling slightly. If they hadn't feared being trampled by the people behind them, they would have stopped their charge and turned to flee at once.
Of course, some cultivators did stop charging, but the next instant, they were swallowed by the sea of people.
Among the crowd, there were plenty of Law Condensation Realm cultivators hoping to land more precise attacks on Xiao Yao.
As for the Sea Opening Realm cultivators, not one of them had made a move yet.
On one hand, they wanted to see what Xiao Yao was really capable of.
On the other, they were wary of the other Sea Opening Realm cultivators. They wanted to avoid making a move only to be ambushed—or letting someone else strike first and snatch the spoils of victory.
Tss!
With a sharp hiss, the will of heaven and earth, which had been faint just moments ago, swelled countless times over, completely enveloping Xiao Yao and the Taiyan Sword.
"Why hasn't he swung that sword yet? This is killing me!" Xiao Yang clenched both hands into fists, sweat beading in his palms. Worry and impatience filled his face.
Xiao Xueyu offered a somewhat calm explanation. "Maybe he hasn't finished gathering power for the move?"
"No. He's just waiting for the perfect moment to release it," Zhuo Dongxuan replied at once.
Xiao Xueyu, Xiao Yang, and even the surrounding Xiao Clan members and Mysterious Moon Society cultivators all murmured, "The perfect moment?"
A light unlike any she had ever shown before gleamed in Zhuo Dongxuan's eyes.
Until now, she had always believed she was among the most talented and gifted cultivators in the entire world.
Her master had once sternly warned her not to think that way, because there was always a higher sky and someone better than you.
She had dismissed it as so much hot air. And since she truly hadn't met anyone stronger than herself over the years, she had only grown more convinced that her own belief was the truth.
But now, someone who surpassed her had appeared!
This young man had summoned a power of heaven and earth that even Venerable Realm cultivators struggled to master, relying on nothing but his Sea Opening Realm Second Layer Peak Cultivation.
"Three!"
"Two!"
Only then did the cultivators realize Xiao Yao was counting down.
"Why's he suddenly counting down?"
"Do you even have to ask? He's counting down to his own death!"
"Counting down to his death? Could he be doing it for the cultivators surrounding him and attacking him..."
Before the speaker could finish, Xiao Yao had already reached "zero."
By then, the nearest cultivators were only ten meters from Xiao Yao.
But those ten meters were like an impassable chasm. They couldn't advance another step.
Zzzzt!
The Taiyan Sword erupted in dazzling golden light. Sword Qi surged skyward like a roaring ocean, scattering the clouds above.
Xiao Yao's star-like hair streamed in the wind. Like an immortal banished from the heavens, he left all who saw him shaken to the core.
"Heaven and Earth One Sword!"
His booming voice rang out with unstoppable force. The will of heaven and earth, which had only surrounded Xiao Yao moments ago, expanded all at once to cover a full li in every direction.
Whoosh!
At last, Xiao Yao swung down the Taiyan Sword he had raised high.
Sword light infused with Sword Intent and Sword Qi swept outward, like a mad dragon and ferocious tiger breaking free of their cages, unleashing their fury in every direction.
"Ah..."
"Ah, ah..."
"Ah, ah, ah..."
The cultivators' screams echoed endlessly through the heavens and earth.
Within a one-li radius, no living thing remained besides Xiao Yao.
Zhuo Dongxuan gazed at the shattered, fissured ground and Xiao Yao hovering in midair, and sucked in a sharp breath.
So strong!
This young man was truly so strong!
No wonder her master had given him the Mysterious Moon Society's highest-grade token!
With her Spiritual Sense spread out, she could tell that 1,427 cultivators had died in that attack.
One move, sweeping away a thousand!
They were only Transcendent Realm and Law Condensation Realm cultivators, but even she couldn't manage that!
Just then, Xiao Yao's deep voice rang out with a question. "Who else?"
His words were domineering beyond compare, striking fear into the hearts of countless cultivators still coveting the Dao Fruit Tree.
After a long moment, someone finally came to their senses and shouted, "Everyone, don't let him scare you! He just unleashed such a powerful move, so he must have barely any Mana left. This is when he's at his weakest!"
Indeed!
For an ordinary cultivator, their Mana would surely be drained!
But Xiao Yao wasn't an ordinary cultivator. He possessed the powerful Saint tier bloodline, Heavenly Spirit Eyes, as well as the strongest Emperor tier bloodline, Chaos Body.
In just that short while, the Mana he had exhausted was already completely restored.
Elsewhere, the encouraged cultivators regrouped and rushed toward Xiao Yao.
They knew they wouldn't get any meat—and might not even get any soup.
But if they could take Xiao Yao down, they could prove their bravery, earn first-class merit, and win the support of their respective factions.
At once, the first cultivator stepped within one li of Xiao Yao.
When nothing dangerous happened, the other cultivators' eyes blazed with fervor, and they all charged at Xiao Yao like madmen.
Whoosh!
Xiao Yao raised the Saint Artifact, the Taiyan Sword, once more.
The cultivators who had just been advancing stopped in perfect unison. Fear was written across their faces, and not one of them dared take another step.
After a while, when they saw that nothing had happened, someone shouted, "Everyone, get him! That bastard's pretending he can still unleash the same move!"
"What a show-off! Let's see if he still acts so cocky once I've got my blade to his throat!"
Encouraged once more, the cultivators kept charging toward Xiao Yao.
Tss!
A faint trace of the will of heaven and earth appeared around the Taiyan Sword.
Quite a few cultivators stopped in terror, and then the crowd erupted into a heap of falling bodies.
Many cultivators died not beneath Xiao Yao's sword, but trampled and crushed by the others.
The surrounding Sea Opening Realm cultivators gritted their teeth, their faces full of anger as they fumed, "It's just a faint trace of the will of heaven and earth. Why are they so afraid?"
"No wonder they can't reach the Sea Opening Realm. This is all they'll ever amount to!"
"Trash will always be trash. Victory's right in front of them, and they're still scared. I've got no words!"
Zhuo Dongxuan gave a disdainful smile. She knew those Sea Opening Realm cultivators were all talk.
Even Sea Opening Realm cultivators would grow uneasy and suspicious after witnessing Xiao Yao's devastating sword strike.
But judging by the expressions of the crowd, the Sea Opening Realm cultivators' mockery had indeed worked.
The cultivators charging at Xiao Yao stood up again, their eyes resolute, as if they wouldn't let him scare them anymore.
And sure enough, when the will of heaven and earth covered Xiao Yao once more, they neither retreated nor stopped.
Zhuo Dongxuan grew tense. She didn't know whether Xiao Yao could unleash Heaven and Earth One Sword a second time.
But Xiao Yao had told her earlier that even if the heavens fell and the earth split apart, it had nothing to do with her or the Mysterious Moon Society cultivators.
Xiao Xueyu shouted, "Xiao Yao, do you want me to help?"
"No need!" Xiao Yao roared at once.
But that didn't stop the cultivators from charging. Some even made a big deal out of his words.
"Everyone, don't be afraid! He only said that because he wants to scare us!"
"Exactly! Victory's right in front of us. Don't let him scare you again!"
Before long, a cultivator reached a spot ten meters from Xiao Yao.
They thought they were about to claim Xiao Yao's head, but the next instant, golden sword light as terrifying as before poured down upon them.
In the blink of an eye, just as before, nothing living remained within a one-li radius of Xiao Yao.
At the same time, the stones that had littered the ground were pulverized to dust, and a hundred-meter-deep pit appeared before everyone's eyes.
"If he can do that here, outside the Giant Spirit Secret Realm, couldn't he blast a pit a thousand meters deep?"
"Why can he unleash a second strike? Doesn't this move use much Mana?"
"Who is this young man? Why have we never heard of him before?"
Countless cries of shock and astonishment rose around the Dao Fruit Tree, among them the voices of Sea Opening Realm cultivators.
With the Taiyan Sword in hand, Xiao Yao pointed ahead. The corners of his mouth stretched into an exaggerated grin, making him look downright unhinged.
"Who else wants to challenge this lord now?"
Before you continue