"Junior Brother!"
Daoist Jieyin's cry tore through the chaos within the formation diagram, its final note laced with blood.
Zhunti's Sixteen-Foot Golden Body shattered before his eyes. Its golden light lost its root, sinking in great swathes into the depths of the killing aura.
The severed Sage Origin could not even leave behind a final glimmer before the purple-gray Sword Intent ground it away.
The junior brother who had walked beside him since ancient times had died before his eyes, his Dao extinguished.
Golden Sage blood spattered the void. With every falling drop, faint cracking sounds came from Jieyin's chest.
Grief arrived first, then fury burned, and finally fear crawled into his Dao Heart, tearing a bloody gash through his many years of serene cultivation.
Sages could die.
Die this quickly.
Die this completely.
Tongtian's sword had cleaved through more than Zhunti. It had also shattered Jieyin's last shred of hope.
Jieyin's eyes turned bloodshot. His sleeves were soaked in Sage blood, and a hoarse roar rolled from his throat.
"Tongtian! I'll fight you to the death!"
There was no avenue for mercy, and his retreat had been cut off. All that remained was to stake his life.
He poured all his remaining Sage power into the Twelve-Grade Golden Lotus of Merit beneath his feet.
Hum!
The lotus platform's golden light surged. Countless lotus petals flew free of their seat, spreading into overlapping Buddhist realms within the chaos.
Each petal bore a small world, with the aura of nirvana and the power of conversion intertwined within it, grinding toward Tongtian layer upon layer.
This was Jieyin's final strike, with his life on the line.
Tongtian stood where he was, without pity in his eyes.
"Grief? Anger?"
"When you schemed against my Jie Sect disciples and sent them onto the Investiture