"Disarm the sword."
The Sword Master spoke.
His voice was unremarkable, as was his sword.
That wooden sword, with a light slash.
Chaos... seemed forgotten by time.
Everything, frozen at the origin, only the wooden sword moved forward, slowly.
The colossal Peng beast, its eyes wide with fury, watched as the sword pierced its brow.
"Li."
No matter how it roared, it could not break free from this world's sole sword.
The wooden sword, pierced the brow.
"Ah..."
The Peng beast let out a piercing shriek.
It hurt so much.
Its soul was shattering, its Great Dao collapsing.
This was the Sword Master, the number one attacker in all the realms.
Only offense, no defense.
He knew no defense.
Boom!
The Peng beast's Great Dao began to collapse.
Its sky-obscuring body started to disintegrate, dissolving in the chaos.
...
Swish.
As if a flowing sound of water passed through the chaos.
A single point of light bloomed at the Peng beast's heart, its last remnant, only the heart remained.
Once the heart shattered, the Peng beast would die.
But the light from its heart was like the sole presence in the world, like the light of Primordial Chaos.
"Crack."
The wooden sword instantly shattered.
Blood trickled from the Sword Master's lips, forcing him to retreat, holding the broken sword.
The aged figure retreated, a sigh of unwillingness echoing: "I never imagined, the Lord of Light had left a wisp of Primordial Chaos light within you."
What a pity.
And yet, a sense of helplessness.
The coarse hemp clothing on the Sword Master was stained with blood, and his right hand, gripping the wooden sword, dripped with blood.
"Li."
The blooming Primordial Chaos light allowed the Peng beast's body to recover.
Its broken Great Dao reconnected.
The Peng bird reappeared.
"Sword Master."
Reflected in its massive avian eyes was the ordinary figure of the Sword Master.
It felt fear.
Had it not been for the grace of the Lord of Light, its Peng form would have perished here today.
The Peng beast's voice, laced with boundless rage: "Good, good, indeed worthy of being the strongest attacker of the same level. It was this emperor's carelessness that I almost fell by your hand."
"It was not carelessness."
The Sword Master was still unwilling.
Clenching the half wooden sword, he said calmly, "Without the Lord of Light to save you, you... would have undoubtedly died."
The Sword Master's confidence stemmed from absolute strength.
"That is true."
The Peng beast also admitted this.
A hint of ferocity appeared in its huge pupils: "It's a pity, there are no 'ifs' in this world."
"I have witnessed the might of the Sword Master, and now... you shall taste this emperor's attack. Let's see if you can defend against it."
"..."
The Sword Master remained silent, but tightened his grip on the half wooden sword.
"Kill!"
The sonic waves of the Great Dao spread.
The avian cry pierced the chaos, penetrating spatial barriers, and instantly entered the Sword Master's ears.
Puff.
The Sword Master's body exploded.
"Sword Master..." a startled cry echoed.
"No harm."
From afar, the Sword Master's figure reappeared.
He was still alive, though his face was even paler.
Hum.
The half wooden sword resonated once more.
The Sword Master sighed, "In my life, I have never defended. Come again..."
Clang.
Despite being gravely injured, the Sword Master still chose to attack.
This was his Dao, unparalleled in its slaughter.
...
Another battlefield.
Crimson Sun against Thick Earth.
Each punch thrown by Emperor Thick Earth was as heavy as a mountain.
Fist after fist shattered mountains, battering the Great Sun into constant collapse.
"Great Sun's Radiance."
Emperor Crimson Sun was not to be outdone. Though not the absolute top in the eighth rank, Thick Earth was also not the absolute top.
The Great Sun shone brilliantly, directly clashing with the Mountain-Shattering Divine Fist.
The two fought on equal footing, their battle a pure melee, shaking heaven and earth.
As for the battle between Emperor Frost and Divine Firmament, Frost was at a disadvantage.
"Dao of the Divine, Nine Revolutions Netherworld."
Emperor Divine Firmament's voice was like that of a deity.
As his voice resounded, divine spirits, exuding immense Yin energy, emerged.
Spirits, Yin energy... two diametrically opposed qualities, yet both appeared on the phantom figures of these deities.
The nine divine spirits exuded a heaven-shaking pressure.
"Bang."
The Frost Great Dao was repeatedly shattered.
Emperor Frost was no match for Divine Firmament.
As long as neither side retreated, Divine Firmament would surely win this battle.
Provided... Emperor Frost had no other means.
"Frost."
Emperor Divine Firmament's voice echoed faintly, "Stop hiding. Use your final trump card. Rouze, you will be defeated today."
His words carried absolute confidence.
He was indeed stronger than Emperor Frost.
...
"Heh heh."
Emperor Frost snorted coldly, his gaze falling upon the battlefield below.
The upturned corner of his mouth held a deep disdain, "Divine Firmament, regardless of the final outcome of this battle, your Divine Firmament Domain will be annihilated."
Below, the Heavenly Emperors of the Divine Firmament Domain had already completely defected to the outer realms.
Or rather... they were controlled by some powerful ability.
Normally, when Emperor Divine Firmament rebelled, these subordinate Heavenly Emperors, unwilling to perish, should have abandoned the darkness and embraced the light.
But the current situation was... the Heavenly Emperors who should have obeyed Emperor Divine Firmament were still locked in a fierce battle with the Heavenly Emperors of the Sword Domain and Crimson Sun Domain, not retreating a single step.
"Alas."
Frost's words indeed brought a hint of regret to Divine Firmament.
But he quickly shook his head, "Who could have imagined, besides your three eighth-rank Great Emperors, you also brought the Dao Universe of fellow Daoist Charming Whisper?"
Charming Whisper, the lord of the eighth-rank Great World, the Realm of Charming Whisper, in the Great Brightness Domain.
Emperor Charming Whisper himself had not come, but had entrusted all the power of his Dao Universe to Feathered Ascension.
"Heh heh."
Frost smiled nonchalantly, "When fighting across domains, how could one not be prepared?"
He then added, "However, do you truly believe you have already won?"
"Oh?"
Emperor Divine Firmament raised an eyebrow, "Do you also bring other eighth-rank Dao Universes?"
"Or perhaps, you brought the power of the Lord of Light?"
Besides these two possibilities, he could not fathom any other confidence they might possess.
As for whether there were other hidden eighth-ranks, Divine Firmament was certain there were none.
Without the pull of the Divine Firmament Dao Universe, no one could easily cross the Sky Pillar.
Frost smiled without speaking.
But at this moment, he looked towards Emperor Feathered Ascension and said with a smile, "Senior, can we begin?"
Bang.
The Sword Master was sent flying again.
Emperor Feathered Ascension manifested his Peng form and boomed, "Go all out, prepare to kill."
"Understood."
This was the signal to engage.
With that, a powerful fluctuation traveled along a specific channel, back to the Divine Firmament Realm.
"Hmm?"
Emperor Divine Firmament noticed this.
For some reason, he felt a sense of impending storm.
"What's wrong?"
The bad premonition in Emperor Divine Firmament's heart grew stronger.
No...
The next moment, he made his decision.
Boom.
Boundless Dao energy surged, pulling at the Divine Firmament Domain: "Dao Universe, come..."
He intended to extract the power of the Divine Firmament Realm's Dao Universe.
Once the power of the Dao Universe was fully extracted, the Divine Firmament Realm would lose all its defenses, becoming an empty shell.
But... there was no other way.
He had to do this, even though he firmly believed no one could break through the blockade of an eighth-rank Dao Universe.
However, his pull received no response.
"What's going on?"
This time, Emperor Divine Firmament was terrified. "Why?"
He had failed to successfully pull the power of the Dao Universe.
Or rather... he could not sense it.