The moment the black spears pierced the mist, the air seemed to freeze. These spears were not physical entities, but rather condensed from pure Law of Shadow. The tips of the spears shimmered with a ghostly light that devoured light, and wherever they passed, even space itself rippled slightly.
"Form the array!" The white-bearded elder reacted the fastest, waving his whisk, and white spiritual energy transformed into a huge light shield, protecting everyone behind him. The other two elders also acted at the same time, condensing earth-elemental laws into a thick rock wall, and lightning-elemental laws into an interwoven electric net, forming a triple defense with the light shield.
"Clang clang clang!"
The spears struck the defenses with a series of sharp, cracking sounds. The light shield trembled violently, countless cracks appearing on its surface; the rock walls were pierced by the spears, sending debris flying; the electric grid hissed under the erosion of the Law of Shadow, its light rapidly dimming.
"Such powerful Law of Shadow!" The Blazing Sun Realm Lord's expression changed. He drew his longsword, and the Law of Flame condensed into a streak, slashing towards the following spears. "This is at least the power of a priest!"
Xiao Yan gripped the Heaven Burning Sword tightly, his heart trembling violently. This Shadow Priest's aura was several times stronger than the Void Envoy's, especially the purity of the Law of Shadow, which had almost reached the realm of turning the illusory into the real. When it collided with his Law of Flame, it could even subtly suppress the purifying power of the flame.
"Is that all you've got?" The Shadow Priest's voice was mocking. The black mist surged again, and this time, the spear transformed into a gigantic shadow beast. The beast roared and opened its massive jaws to bite at the defensive array.
"Break!" the white-bearded elder shouted, and the silver threads on his whisk suddenly surged, like countless sharp sword threads, wrapping around the body of the shadow beast. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the two elders activated their laws, turning the rock walls into chains and the electric net into a cage, attempting to trap the beast.
"Useless." The Shadow Priest sneered. The Shadow Beast's body suddenly disintegrated, turning into countless tiny black shadows that swept past the defenses like a tide and rushed towards the group.
"Be careful!" Xiao Yan warned, sweeping the Heaven Burning Sword horizontally, forming a ring of golden flames. The dark shadow crashed into the fire wall, emitting a shrill shriek, but it did not dissipate. Instead, it clung to the fire wall like a malignant tumor, constantly eroding the light of the flames.
"These shadows can devour laws!" a lightning-elemental elder exclaimed. His electric net had been mostly devoured by the shadows, and several shadows had even stained his arm, spreading towards his heart at a visible speed.
"Use the power of the Heart-Clearing Jade!" Xiao Yan shouted, simultaneously channeling the warm energy within his body into the Heaven Burning Sword. The golden flames on the sword instantly emitted a soft white light, and wherever the white light passed, the attached black shadows melted away like ice and snow.
Seeing this, Elder Baixu and the others immediately followed suit, circulating their purification-related laws. Although they did not possess the Heart-Clearing Jade, they had dealt with demons for many years and possessed many methods to counter evil magic, quickly clearing the black shadows from their bodies.
"Interesting." A hint of surprise flashed in the Shadow Priest's eyes. "It seems the All-Heavens Guard aren't all useless." His tone shifted, turning icy. "But the game should end now."
The black mist suddenly contracted, condensing into a gigantic scythe before him. Dark red patterns flowed across the scythe, the "power of resentment" formed from the pent-up hatred of countless living beings.
"Shadow Severing Soul Slash!"
The moment the scythe swung down, the entire Soul-Severing Cliff seemed to fall into a deathly silence. A black blade aura that stretched across the heavens and earth appeared, containing the power to tear apart the soul. Even Xiao Yan's sea of consciousness trembled violently, as if his physical body was about to be forcibly ripped off.
"I'll risk it all!" A resolute glint flashed in the white-bearded elder's eyes as he poured all his spiritual power into his whisk. The whisk transformed into a giant white dragon, its body burning with the power of faith—the very essence of the beliefs of the countless beings in the small worlds he protected, specifically designed to counter resentment and evil.
The Blazing Sun Realm Lord and the two elders also unleashed their power simultaneously, their laws of fire, lightning, and earth intertwining and merging into the white dragon's body. The dragon's light shone even brighter as it charged towards the black blade energy.
"Boom--!"
The dragon collided with the sword energy, unleashing a deafening roar. The white light and black sword energy annihilated each other wildly, and the cliff face of Soul-Severing Cliff crumbled inch by inch in the shockwave, with rubble falling into the abyss like meteors.
Xiao Yan stood on the edge of the fierce battle, plunging the Heaven Burning Sword into the ground. The six-colored flames merged with the power of the Heart-Clearing Jade, forming a huge purifying light screen that protected everyone's souls. He could feel that Elder Bai Xu's faith power was being rapidly depleted, and the light of the white dragon was dimming at a visible speed.
"Now!" The Shadow Priest suddenly roared, and countless shadow tentacles burst forth from the black blade energy, bypassing the dragon and rushing straight towards the group behind the light barrier!
"Not good!" Xiao Yan's pupils shrank. He tried to use his flames to intercept, but found that most of his power was used to maintain the light barrier, and he didn't have time to defend himself.
At the critical moment, an earth-elemental elder suddenly stepped forward, pushing his own laws to the limit, transforming his body into a ten-thousand-foot-tall rock giant, blocking everyone's path.
"Pfft!"
The shadow tentacles pierced through the rock giant's body in an instant. The giant let out a muffled cry of pain, and the rock on its surface rapidly weathered away, revealing the flesh and blood being eroded by the Law of Shadow.
" Old Shi!" The white-bearded elder's eyes widened in horror, but he was tightly bound by the black blade energy and unable to offer any help.
"Hurry up..." the rock giant managed to say, his body collapsing with a deafening roar, turning into countless fragments of rock that temporarily blocked the shadow tentacles.
"Die!" roared the Blazing Sun Realm Lord, the flames on his longsword surging, tearing through a blade of energy and hurtling towards the Shadow Priest.
The Shadow Priest neither dodged nor evaded, letting the flaming longsword strike him. Black mist surged, the longsword seeming to cut through empty air, causing no damage whatsoever. "You? Not enough."
He swung his claws back, grabbing the Blazing Sun Realm Lord in the chest. The Blazing Sun Realm Lord screamed and was sent flying, five deep claw marks appearing on his chest, exposing the bone, and black shadow power was spreading along the wounds.
" Blazing Sun!" Xiao Yan's heart tightened. He could no longer maintain the light barrier. The Heaven Burning Sword, wreathed in golden flames, charged recklessly towards the Shadow Priest. " Heaven Burning Nine Forms - Seventh Form - Heaven Burning Explosion!"
The compressed flames exploded at the tip of the sword, forming a miniature singularity. The Shadow Priest clearly hadn't expected Xiao Yan to suddenly unleash his power and was struck head-on by the singularity. The black mist churned violently, and his figure momentarily froze.
"Now!" The white-bearded elder seized the opportunity, and the white dragon suddenly swelled, finally tearing through the black sword energy and slamming into the Shadow Priest.
"Aww--!"
The Shadow Priest let out a shrill scream, and most of the black mist dissipated, revealing a blurry humanoid outline covered in golden flames that were constantly burning his essence.
"You just wait!" The Shadow Priest glared venomously at Xiao Yan. The black mist surged again, enveloping his body and transforming into a streak of black light as he fled down the cliff.
"Don't let him get away!" Xiao Yan wanted to give chase, but was stopped by the white-bearded elder.
"We can't catch up." The white-bearded elder gasped for breath, his face ashen. "He's already escaped into the ' Shadow Rift,' their home turf. Going in means certain death."
Xiao Yan stared at the empty cliff, gripping the Heaven Burning Sword tightly in his hand. The flames on the sword pulsed violently with rage. The sacrifice of the Earth Elder, the serious injury of the Blazing Sun Realm Lord, the arrogance of the Shadow Priest... all of these things pierced his heart like needles.
"Let's go back first." The white-bearded elder's voice was weary and sorrowful. "We will avenge Old Shi sooner or later. But now, we must report the situation here to the Grand Elder. The appearance of the Shadow Priests means their invasion plan may have been brought forward."
Xiao Yan nodded, supporting the heavily injured Blazing Sun Realm Lord, and followed Elder White Beard onto the teleportation array returning to the All-Heavens Hub.
The teleportation array lit up, illuminating the somber faces of everyone. Although the fierce battle at Soul-Severing Cliff had repelled the Shadow Priest, it had come at a heavy price. Everyone understood that this was only the beginning of the true confrontation with the Shadow Clan.
Xiao Yan looked down at the Heaven Burning Sword in his hand. The aura of the Shadow Priest still lingered on the sword. He could sense that this aura contained a deeper evil, as if it came from some terrifying being.
Lord Shadow...
The name echoed in his mind, bringing an unprecedented chill.
He knew the road ahead would be even more difficult. But his gaze grew ever more resolute as he gripped his sword tightly.
For the sake of his fallen comrades, for the sake of the heavens he protects, he must fight on, no matter how powerful the enemy.
Until all darkness is completely burned away.