The army of the All-Heavens Alliance surged into the battlefield before the Shadow Rift like a tidal wave, instantly turning the tide of battle.
The Grand Elder took the lead, lightly tapping the void with his wooden cane. The Law of Time spread out, instantly freezing the rampant shadow tentacles. The Buddha of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Realm clasped his hands together, his boundless Buddha light like the rising sun, dispelling most of the deep purple mist. Wherever the Buddha light passed, the Shadow Clan cultivators melted away like ice and snow. The Sword Domain Lord transformed into a stream of light, his longsword creating countless sword flowers, each containing the sword intent to shatter illusions, aiming directly at the remaining shadow priests.
"Reinforcements have arrived!" The cultivators of the Vanguard Battalion were invigorated, their previously exhausted bodies regaining their strength. They joined forces with the alliance army to encircle the remaining Shadow Clan cultivators around the altar.
Xiao Yan struggled to his feet, using the Heaven Burning Sword as a crutch to support his swaying body. The oppressive aura unleashed when the Shadow King awoke was terrifying; it felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and even the heartbeat of the Heart of the Flame Realm became sluggish.
"Young friend, are you alright?" The Grand Elder's voice rang out beside him, and a gentle Law of Time entered his body, easing his injuries.
Xiao Yan shook his head, his gaze fixed on the Shadow King in the center of the altar. "He's too strong, at least at the half-step ' Transcendence Realm ' level."
The Transcendent Transcendence Realm is a legendary realm that surpasses the Supreme Realm. It is the end of the laws and the origin of the world. For tens of thousands of years, no one in the All Heavens and Myriad Realms has been able to reach this realm.
The Shadow King slowly stretched out his body, the patterns on his black armor flowing with dark golden light, his horns gleaming with an all-consuming ghostly light. He looked down at the allied army below, his eyes showing no anger, only an indifference as if looking at ants.
"You ants of the heavens, how dare you disturb my awakening!" The Shadow King spoke, his voice like that of an ancient abyss, each word transforming into tangible sound waves that assaulted the souls of everyone present. Many cultivators with lower cultivation levels coughed up blood on the spot, their seas of consciousness trembling.
"You wicked creature! Cease your arrogance!" With a shout of Buddha's name, a gigantic golden wheel of Buddhist light condensed and pressed down upon the Shadow King.
The Shadow King scoffed disdainfully, raising his hand and unleashing a pure wave of Law of Shadow that transformed into a black hole, instantly swallowing the golden wheel. "Is this all the power you have? You dare to make a fool of yourself before me?"
He took a step forward, and his figure instantly appeared in front of the Buddha, throwing a punch. This punch seemed ordinary, but it contained the power to destroy all laws. The Buddha's hastily assembled Buddhist light defense shattered like paper, and the Buddha flew backward like a kite with a broken string, golden blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
"Buddha!" the crowd exclaimed.
The Shadow King did not pursue, but turned his gaze to the Grand Elder: " The Law of Time? Interesting. Unfortunately, before absolute power, any law is futile."
He flicked his finger, and a black beam shot out, piercing through space and instantly arriving in front of the Grand Elder. The Grand Elder's expression changed drastically, and he pushed the Law of Time to its limit, trying to slow down the speed of the beam. However, the Power of Destruction on the beam was too domineering, and the Law of Time was forcibly torn apart!
"Puff!"
The finger beam grazed the Grand Elder's shoulder, leaving a trail of blood. A gaping hole was pierced through his solid shoulder, and the flesh around the wound withered rapidly under the erosion of the Law of Shadow.
"Elder!" Xiao Yan's eyes were bloodshot. Ignoring his injuries, he slashed at the Shadow King with the Heaven Burning Sword, which was wreathed in golden flames.
"You're courting death." Without turning his head, Shadow King struck out with his palm. The palm wind collided with the flames, and the golden flames instantly dissipated. Xiao Yan was once again blasted away. This time, he could no longer hold back and spat out a mouthful of blood, his breath extremely weak.
" Xiao Yan!" The Blazing Sun Realm Lord arrived at some unknown time. Seeing Xiao Yan seriously injured, his eyes widened in fury. Dragging his still-unhealed body, he slashed at the Shadow King with his flaming longsword, only to be casually kicked away by the other party.
In just a moment, several of the alliance's top experts were either injured or forced to retreat, revealing the Shadow King's terrifying strength. The atmosphere on the battlefield instantly became tense, and everyone was intimidated by the Shadow King's oppressive aura, their faces showing fear.
"See that? That's the difference." The Shadow King spoke slowly, a hint of mockery in his voice. "You think you can fight the Shadow Clan by gathering these ants? How naive."
He raised his hand and placed it on the altar, and the shadow energy around the altar surged wildly into his body. With the injection of energy, the pressure emanating from him grew stronger and stronger, and the entire Mist Star Domain trembled violently, as if it would collapse at any moment.
"This is bad! He's absorbing the essence of the Shadow Rift!" The white-bearded elder's expression changed drastically. "If this continues, he'll fully recover his peak strength, and then no one will be able to stop him!"
The Grand Elder wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes hardening with unwavering resolve. "Everyone, for the sake of the heavens, today we have no choice but to fight to the death!"
He looked at the twelve Sovereign: "Form the ' Heavens Reincarnation Array '!"
Upon hearing this, the twelve Sovereign simultaneously ascended into the air and formed a circle around the Shadow King. They formed hand seals and released their own power of laws without reservation. In an instant, time, space, life, destruction, fire, lightning... twelve different laws intertwined to form a massive array, within which countless stars appeared, each representing the origin of a world.
"May the cycle of heavens suppress evil spirits!"
The twelve Sovereign shouted in unison, and the formation suddenly contracted, trapping the Shadow King in the center. Countless stars crashed down on the Shadow King, each containing the power of the laws of a world, with boundless power.
A hint of surprise finally flashed in the Shadow King's eyes. "An interesting formation."
He held back no longer, unleashing the full Law of Shadow within him. The patterns on his black armor lit up, and his horns pointed straight to the heavens. "Shadow - Annihilation of All Things!"
A destructive energy erupted from his body, colliding with the Heavens Reincarnation Array. Black and colorful light intertwined and annihilated each other, and the entire space of the Mist Star Domain collapsed at this moment, with countless spatial fragments scattering like a meteor shower.
The twelve Sovereign within the formation paled, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths, clearly having been at a disadvantage in the fierce battle. But they did not back down in the slightest, gritting their teeth and persevering, pushing the power of the formation to its limit.
"Now!" Despite his injuries, Buddha once again condensed the golden wheel. This time, the golden wheel incorporated the power of faith from all the cultivators in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Realm, making its light a hundred times more dazzling than before.
The Sword Domain Lord, the Medicine God Valley, the Mechanical Clan Chief... all the top experts attacked simultaneously, unleashing their most powerful attacks towards the Shadow King, who was trapped in the formation.
"Boom--!"
A deafening roar echoed throughout the heavens, and light engulfed everything.
Xiao Yan lay on the ground, struggling to lift his head and gaze at the center of the light. He could feel the auras of the twelve Sovereign rapidly weakening, while the aura of the Shadow King, though somewhat diminished, remained terrifying.
"Not enough..." Xiao Yan murmured, a wave of despair washing over him. Was the All Heavens and Myriad Realms truly destined to be destroyed by the Shadow King?
Just then, the lingering remnant of the Flame God within his sea of consciousness suddenly began to throb violently, and a long-buried memory surged into his mind—
"... The Shadow Clan's origin is the same as Chaos, mutually reinforcing and restraining each other. Only the ' Origin Fire of the Heavens ' can completely purify it..."
The Origin Fire of the Heavens?
Xiao Yan's heart stirred. He recalled the Heavenly Flames fused within the Heaven Burning Sword, the Origin Fire, and the power of the laws governing the worlds he had protected. Could it be...?
He struggled to his feet, looking around at the Alliance cultivators fighting fiercely, at those who were sacrificing themselves to protect their homeland. He could feel a strange connection between himself and them, a connection similar to the power of the stars in the Heavens Reincarnation Array.
"Perhaps... we could give it a try."
Xiao Yan took a deep breath and raised the Heaven Burning Sword high. He released the restraints on his own power, allowing the Heart of the Flame Realm to resonate with the surrounding laws.
"To all my comrades who fight for what we protect, lend me your strength!"
His voice, transmitted through the Heaven Burning Sword, reverberated across the battlefield, carrying a peculiar infectious power.
Upon hearing this, the alliance cultivators, who were engaged in fierce combat, subconsciously gathered a wisp of their Law Power towards the Heaven Burning Sword. The Buddha's light, the sword intent of the Sword Domain, the energy of the Mechanical Clan, the faith of the Ten Thousand Buddhas Realm... countless different powers flowed into the Heaven Burning Sword like streams merging into a river.
The golden flames on the Heaven Burning Sword surged instantly, and countless figures emerged from the flames— Yun He's smile, the unwavering resolve of the sacrificed earth-element elder, the shouts of the Vanguard Battalion, and the hopes of countless beings in the world being protected.
"Senior Flame God, I borrow your will to protect all of this!"
Xiao Yan's figure overlapped with the phantom of the Flame God. He raised the Heaven Burning Sword high and slashed down at the Shadow King at the center of the light, unleashing a sword strike that embodied the beliefs of all the heavens.
" Heaven Burning - Shattering All Heavens!"
A colossal golden sword appeared, piercing through heaven and earth. Within the sword lay the power of the laws of All Heavens and Myriad Realms, the unwavering faith of countless beings, and light and hope.
This sword strike, though lacking earth-shattering momentum, carried an undeniable will, piercing through layers of light and striking the Shadow King precisely in the chest.
Shadow King's pupils contracted sharply. He sensed that the power contained in this sword strike was actually restraining his own essence!
"No--!"
A piercing scream echoed throughout the Mist Star Domain. The Shadow King's body was annihilated inch by inch under the golden greatsword. His black armor shattered, his horns broke off, and he finally turned into countless black specks of light, which were completely purified by the golden flames.
With the fall of the Shadow King, the shadow energy within the Shadow Rift receded like a tide, and the rift began to slowly close. The remaining Shadow Clan cultivators, having lost their source of power, were quickly wiped out by the Alliance army.
As the light faded, the battlefield was a scene of devastation. The twelve Sovereign Beings were deathly pale and their breaths were weak; Buddha, the Sword Domain Lord, and others were all seriously injured; the Vanguard Battalion cultivators were utterly exhausted, and many collapsed to the ground.
But everyone wore a smile of relief, as if they had survived a disaster.
Xiao Yan leaned on the Heaven Burning Sword, his body swaying precariously, his vision blurring. He could feel that his power was completely exhausted, and even the Heart of the Flame Realm had become dim and lifeless.
But he smiled.
Because he did it.
He protected all of this.
The Grand Elder walked unsteadily to him, his eyes filled with pride and admiration. "Good child, you did it... Your name will be remembered All Heavens and Myriad Realms."
Xiao Yan smiled weakly, as if to say something, but then everything went black and he completely lost consciousness.
In his final moments before falling into a coma, he seemed to see countless beings from all over the world cheering, Senior Yun He smiling, and Senior Flame God nodding.
He knew they had won the war.
Despite paying a heavy price, they ultimately protected their homeland.
The last rays of the setting sun pierced through the mist, casting a golden glow on the ravaged battlefield.
New hope is quietly taking root.