Chapter 33 Heavenly Palace? Heavenly Palace!

However, Yun Bai was not one to give up easily.

Since he was already here, he would make the best of it.

He wanted to press forward and see what exactly this trial was up to!

"Keep moving forward!" the aged voice urged with undeniable insistence.

Yun Bai channeled spiritual power into his feet, his figure moving like the wind as he sped through this space, which was vast enough to be heart-stoppingly empty.

The daylight was bright. As he moved further forward, mist began to gather on both sides of the path. Everything around him was a vast expanse of white, with only the path beneath his feet—paved with a kind of jade-white stone that emitted a faint fluorescent glow—guiding his direction and accentuating the boundless solitude.

Just as he had been walking aimlessly for about a quarter of an hour, a figure suddenly materialized from the eternal void ahead!

"Stop, intruder! I am the Heavenly Gate Guardian! Ahead lies the Southern Heavenly Gate! Unauthorized personnel who trespass shall die!" The person's voice was like a great bell, carrying an awe-inspiring, inviolable majesty, as he held a massive battle-axe horizontally in front of him, blocking the way.

Hearing this, Yun Bai halted his steps and focused his gaze.

He saw that the guardian was unusually tall and burly, nearly twice the height of an ordinary man! His entire body was covered in seamless silver-white armor, which flowed with a cold, metallic luster. He held a giant axe, like a door panel, its blade gleaming with a chilling light. Beneath his helmet, a pair of eyes were as sharp as a falcon's; as his gaze swept over, it felt as if it carried a tangible, bone-piercing chill that pierced straight through to the heart.

"Eliminate the opponent and continue forward!" The aged voice resounded in Yun Bai's mind once more, cold and ruthless.

"The Southern Heavenly Gate is ahead?! This is... the Heavenly Palace?!" When the words "Southern Heavenly Gate" exploded in his ears like a clap of thunder, Yun Bai's whole body trembled violently, as if struck by a bolt of lightning! An indescribable ecstasy instantly rushed to his head! Could the path to heaven he had been desperately seeking for over a decade, the one he dreamed of, actually be hidden within this mysterious black tower trial?!

The immense surprise nearly made him blurt out a question.

"It is you?!" However, after the Heavenly Gate Guardian saw Yun Bai's appearance (or rather, the appearance of this "Anonymous" body), instead of providing answers, he reacted as if he had seen an irreconcilable enemy, erupting with monstrous rage!

He gave Yun Bai no chance to speak at all; the giant axe, carrying a terrifying force capable of splitting mountains and shattering rocks, came crashing down! The air was torn apart, emitting a sharp, explosive sound!

Though shocked, Yun Bai remained calm; in this life-or-death moment, his survival instinct overcame everything else!

He forcibly suppressed the ecstasy and confusion in his heart, channeling spiritual power frantically into his feet. His body twisted violently to the side in an extremely awkward, even comical posture—his feet, accelerated by the spiritual power, moved like the wind, while his upper body, lacking sufficient mobilization, appeared stiff and sluggish. He looked as if his own legs were "dragging" him away to dodge that fatal blow!

"Inferior movement technique!" The Heavenly Gate Guardian let out a disdainful sneer. The giant axe missed, slamming heavily into the white stone ground, sending sparks flying and leaving a deep gash.

Yun Bai couldn't care less about his unsightly posture; the wind brought by the axe blade scraped his cheeks painfully, and the warning of death from the depths of his Soul was incredibly sharp! This axe strike was aimed at completely shattering him!

"Your Excellency! I have no grudge against you, why..." Yun Bai retreated rapidly, still wanting to try and communicate; perhaps this guardian was the key to the mission?

"Hmph! Despicable excuse!" the guardian interrupted sternly, raising the giant axe again.

This time, a blinding silver light suddenly lit up on the axe blade. A crescent-shaped Protective Aura, condensed into substance like a scythe of death tearing through space, struck toward Yun Bai's waist and abdomen at a speed that transcended visual capture.

A Divine Sense attack?!

Just as the Protective Aura flew off the axe, Yun Bai clearly felt an invisible, murderous "axe-shaped phantom" accompany the fatal Protective Aura, silently invading his Sea of Consciousness. This phantom, carrying the guardian's anger and will of destruction, slashed fiercely toward his mental Origin.

Yun Bai was greatly alarmed.

Physical attacks could be dodged with movement techniques, but this Divine Sense attack, which targeted the Soul directly, was unavoidable. He exerted his full power to drive his Divine Sense, the Source Core Black Hole in his Sea of Consciousness spinning frantically, constructing a terrifying Mental Energy force field within his Sea of Consciousness!

Boom!

It was as if a silent explosion had occurred within his Sea of Consciousness! That "axe-shaped phantom" struck heavily against the accretion disk surrounding the black hole, shaking Yun Bai's spirit until he was somewhat dazed!

Although he had barely blocked this Divine Sense strike, the violent mental shock inevitably caused his movements to falter for a split second!

Rip—!

In that split second of distraction, the crescent-shaped Protective Aura reached his body. Although Yun Bai twisted his waist with all his might to dodge, the incomparably sharp edge of the Protective Aura still grazed past his left waist.

An unimaginably searing pain struck instantly! His armor shattered like paper, his flesh charred and curled, and blood gushed out instantly, while the acrid smell of burning flesh permeated the air.

"Urgh—!" The heart-piercing pain made Yun Bai groan involuntarily, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

The fantasy of peaceful communication was completely shattered! If he didn't fight back, he would surely die!

huaying sword! Appear!

Taking advantage of the moment he twisted to dodge and passed by the guardian, a cold light erupted in Yun Bai's eyes.

He drew his sword backhanded; the emerald sword light, like a viper flicking its tongue, pierced with pinpoint accuracy toward the connection point of the guardian's right arm armor! The giant axe was too heavy and powerful to be met head-on; he could only use the agility of the sword to attack where he must defend.

The sword struck like a rainbow! Fast! Accurate! Ruthless!

Puchi!

With a soft sound! The huaying sword shone with brilliant emerald light, and its sharp tip pierced through the seemingly sturdy silver armor without any obstruction, sinking deep into the guardian's thick arm!

"Arghhh! Die, thief!" The intense pain made the Heavenly Gate Guardian even more furious.

Ignoring his wound entirely, the muscles of his pierced right arm bulged, and he lunged out like an iron pincer, aiming straight for Yun Bai's sword-wielding wrist.

A warning signal arose in Yun Bai's heart again! A more solid phantom of the giant axe accompanied the guardian's grabbing motion, slamming fiercely into his Sea of Consciousness once more.

The guardian's killing intent seemed to have condensed into substance.

Yun Bai's Sea of Consciousness shook violently, the Source Core Black Hole spinning frantically as his Mental Energy force field turned into a solid shield to defend once again!

Bang! The collision on the spiritual level made him dazed again!

Gritting his teeth to endure, he shook his wrist violently, trying to withdraw his sword and retreat.

However, the previous strike had been infused with too much spiritual power to pierce the armor, causing his stance to be unstable and his movements to be half a beat slow.

Rip!

A large piece of his sleeve was violently torn off by the guardian's giant claw! Yun Bai stumbled backward, narrowly avoiding the fate of being captured, but his right arm was now exposed to the cold air.

"Damn it! The spiritual power distribution is unbalanced!" Yun Bai felt regretful. The divine huaying sword truly lived up to its name; it pierced armor like rotten wood, and withdrawing the sword was completely smooth without any resistance.

Unfortunately, his own weak Divine Sense was simply unable to perfectly control the power of this body.

Most importantly, this was the first time he had to simultaneously defend against both physical and Divine Sense attacks in a fierce battle!

"This person's movements are wide and open, slightly clumsy, and his speed is far inferior to mine. But this Divine Sense attack..." While panting rapidly, Yun Bai thought quickly of a countermeasure, "I must create distance and avoid close-quarters combat! His armor is strange; I must find a way to kill him in one blow, otherwise, I will be worn down to death!"

At the same time, Xiao Liu in his Sea of Consciousness was also running frantically. It was continuously recording the opponent's Move patterns—once the opponent's Move was exhausted and new strength had not yet arisen, that would be the moment for Yun Bai to counterattack.