"This is... a skeleton?"
One of them couldn't help but be surprised at the sight, revealing the true form of the guardian.
But in the next moment, as if remembering something.
All eight people present, including Li Qi, were shocked.
"We've been fighting a skeleton for so long just now?"
Because they suddenly realized a problem.
No wonder that in their previous fight with the guardian, the guardian only displayed terrifying speed and terrifying strength.
Not a trace of anything related to cultivation, not even spiritual energy, had been revealed. Even the vague aura that had enveloped it earlier seemed to only serve the purpose of enabling it to fight.
This was a direct fight with fists and feet!
And yet, they, cultivators at the eighth level of Tribulation Crossing, would not have been its match if it were one-on-one.
They had only managed to defeat it by relying on their combined efforts, a righteous gang-up that lasted for quite some time, finally dispersing the vague aura on the skeleton.
As for the skeleton itself, their intense attacks earlier had not even left a single scar.
"How terrifying was this skeleton's strength in its prime?"
A question arose in their minds. Even after cultivators of the Great Ascension stage died, leaving behind only a skeleton, it shouldn't have been this formidable.
And this was a skeleton that had died an unknown length of time ago, with much of its power likely dissipated by the ravages of time.
Perhaps if it were a few thousand or tens of thousands of years earlier, and the power on this skeleton had not dissipated so thoroughly, they, combined, might not have been enough for it to defeat them with a single punch.
"Is this the skeleton of an immortal?"
The gloomy man with a stern expression murmured, looking at the skeleton.
But at the same time, a hint of greed flickered in his eyes.
Whether it was the skeleton of an immortal or not, such a sturdy skeleton, if it could be taken away and refined into weapons and armor, would likely lead to a significant increase in his strength.
He truly hadn't expected that, besides the incomplete Heavenly Dao of an unknown level, there was such a precious treasure as an immortal's skeleton here.
As for the morality of refining weapons with human remains? At this level of cultivation, any small increase in strength was considered fortunate.
In fact, it wasn't just him who thought this way; the others beside him had similar ideas.
But in the next moment, after resolving the guardian, those who intended to continue fighting for the incomplete Heavenly Dao froze, including Li Qi.
A indifferent voice suddenly rang out, devoid of any emotion.
"Invaders, kill without mercy."
As this voice appeared.
Li Qi's scalp went completely numb. At this moment, even he felt the aura of death.
If he didn't have the reset talent, at any other time, he would have immediately used his full talent to escape.
Similarly, the other seven, who were about to fight for the Heavenly Dao after dealing with the guardian, felt an indescribable fear for some unknown reason.
And at the same time.
The terrifying pressure of the Heavenly Dao surged again, and the crowd looked on in horror.
They saw that the incomplete Heavenly Dao, which had been deliberately suppressed until now, had completely bloomed.
This was a pressure of Heavenly Dao they had never experienced before. The Heavenly Dao of their small world, which was at the Tribulation Crossing stage, was like child's play in comparison. Even though this was only an incomplete one.
And in a daze, amidst the blooming radiance, they glimpsed an incomparably blurry, incomparably prosperous small world.
The vision flashed and disappeared.
But from that fleeting glimpse of prosperity alone, they all felt that their own small world, which was considered the highest level among dozens of surrounding void marketplaces,
Was like a muddy mountain village corner where the imperial city and roads had not even been built, compared to the scene in the vision. There was no comparison at all.
"This, this..."
Even some of the cultivators beside Li Qi widened their mouths in shock, their speech becoming unclear.
And at this moment, a startled cry rang out.
"You guys, look at the skeleton."
Everyone turned to look and saw that the skeleton, which had lost its vague aura and had completely become a lifeless object, was now enveloped by a terrifying Heavenly Dao pressure.
A familiar feeling resurfaced in the hearts of Li Qi and the other eight. They looked at the skeleton before them in disbelief.
They could clearly feel it! This was... the authority amplification unique to a plane's master!
But... one must know that the authority amplification of a plane's master comes from the Heavenly Dao, and the unified will of all living beings and all things in the small world governed by the Heavenly Dao, not just from a single Heavenly Dao being amplified.
Moreover, this Heavenly Dao was incomplete!
What could this incomplete Heavenly Dao amplify, and what good would it do?
But in the next moment, the pupils of those present contracted again.
They looked at the hollow skeleton.
Visibly, small, bloody muscles and veins appeared out of nowhere on the jade-like white bones.
In a short while, the hollow parts of the skeleton were filled with flesh and blood, and finally, skin was generated.
A middle-aged man with fair skin, resembling a scholar, appeared before their eyes.
Although the middle-aged man was currently still and motionless with his eyes closed,
Unconsciously, everyone could feel a majestic aura emanating from him. This was the aura that one who had long held a high position, and not just any high position, could exude.
Although their cultivation had reached such a level and they commanded countless small worlds,
Compared to this middle-aged scholar with closed eyes, one was like an emperor being honored by myriad nations, while the other was like a king of the bandits from the mountains.
And at this moment, an unprecedented panic and fear surged in their hearts.
This was the true aura of death, something they hadn't felt for who knew how long.
They even thought they would never feel it again in their lives.
But now, they felt it once more.
"Run!"
Without any hesitation, this place was too strange. No one knew what they would encounter next.
At this moment, all they wanted was to escape quickly. Even the temptation of the incomplete Heavenly Dao was suppressed.
Nothing was more important than their lives.
But it was too late.
The moment they wanted to turn around.
The eyes of the majestic middle-aged man, who had been closing his eyes, completely opened.
His eyes were incomparably indifferent, as if in an instant they could extinguish all stars and determine the life and death of all things with a single word.
"Invaders, kill without mercy."
As the words fell.
An unimaginably terrifying aura erupted from the majestic middle-aged man.
"Seal."
With a faint word.
In an instant, the eight people, including Li Qi, felt an immense force pressing down on them as if weighing billions of jin.
Even they, cultivators at the seventh and eighth levels of Tribulation Crossing, felt their spiritual energy within their bodies slow down by at least seventy percent.
At the same time, right before their eyes.
A massive barrier that completely isolated the inside from the outside suddenly appeared.
It completely sealed Li Qi and the other seven, leaving them with no possibility of escape.