73: Cleave the Mountain! Void Gate

"Zzzzzzz!!!" The black hole of annihilation expanded wildly atop Yun Lan Mountain, swallowing light, sound, matter, and space itself! The terrifying suction was like countless invisible large hands, ruthlessly dragging the shattered mountainside below, fragments of buildings, and even some Cloud Mist Sect Disciples who couldn't escape in time, into that eternal Void Realm!

Li Ao and Yun Shan were right at the center of this destructive storm!

The backlash of the Law and the frantic clash of two 'Annihilation' energies—which were of the same Origin but different in nature—formed a deadly silent Domain capable of crushing even the Soul!

Yun Shan's face was ferocious. His body, completely enveloped in gray-black energy, trembled violently within the dark Domain. He roared maniacally, continuously drawing upon the Netherworld Power surging out of the spatial rift to empower himself, attempting to completely wear down the silver-gray Annihilation Saber Qi! He had sacrificed a portion of his Soul Origin and was now nearly insane, holding only one thought in his heart: kill Li Ao!

Li Ao, however, was like a firm rock in a torrent. The dark golden light of his Qi and blood stubbornly shone in the darkness, resisting the pervasive power of annihilation and Netherworld erosion. He gripped the saber hilt tightly with both hands, pushing his Soul Power and the power of the Black Iron Hegemon Body to their limits, fully maintaining the output of the Nirvana Slash!

This was a confrontation of will and Origin! Whoever failed to hold on first would be completely devoured by the opponent's Law, body and Soul destroyed!

"Your annihilation... stems from external things... it is impure and flawed..." Li Ao's voice echoed intermittently in the dark Domain, carrying a coldness that pierced the essence. "But my annihilation... stems from myself... cutting off illusions... returning to the true Origin!"

Before his voice faded, the silver-gray flames in his pupils surged! That wisp of Annihilation Rule, which he had completely refined and integrated into his essence, Qi, and spirit, seemed to be injected with new vitality, becoming more condensed and purer! Above the Saber Qi, the silver-gray light suddenly retracted, instead emitting a deeper, more heart-stopping aura of... 'Nothingness'!

The intent of returning to the Ruins climbed to its peak at this moment!

"Crack!" It was as if something had shattered! The Netherworld Annihilation palm print, drawn out by Yun Shan and filled with sinister malice and tyranny, finally could not withstand the internal pressure the moment it came into contact with the sublimated Ruin-Returning Saber Intent, and the first crack appeared!

Immediately afterward, the cracks spread rapidly like a spiderweb!

"No—!!!" Yun Shan let out a desperate and unwilling roar. He could feel that his connection to the Netherworld Power was being forcefully severed! The power from the foreign realm that supported his strength was rapidly fading!

"Break!" Li Ao exhaled sharply, and the Ruin-Returning Saber Intent erupted!

"Boom—!!!!!" The colossal gray-black palm print, along with the wailing Souls and Netherworld Power contained within it, completely disintegrated at this moment, turning into the most fundamental particles, which were mercilessly swallowed by the surrounding, expanding black hole!

The Saber Intent, its momentum undiminished, instantly swept past Yun Shan's body, which had stiffened on the spot due to the power backlash!

Yun Shan's forward-charging figure suddenly froze. He lowered his head, looking at the rapidly expanding, mirror-smooth void rift on his chest. His pitch-black pupils were filled with extreme fear, bewilderment, and... a trace of relief?

"So... this is... true... annihilation..."

He murmured to himself. Starting from his chest, his body silently turned into flying ash, like a weathered sand sculpture, and together with his Soul, which had been eroded by the power of the Hall of Souls, he returned to eternal silence.

Five-Star Dou Zong (briefly reached Six-Star after sacrifice), Old Sect Master of the Cloud Mist Sect, Yun Shan—dead!

Following Yun Shan's annihilation, the Netherworld Power, having lost its source, rapidly receded. The terrifying black hole in the sky, seemingly losing its support, began to violently shake and contract, finally collapsing with a roar amidst an even fiercer spatial ripple, and vanished!

All that remained was a shattered sky, as if gnawed upon by a Vicious Beast, and the devastated main peak of Yun Lan Mountain below, which had been nearly leveled!

Silence! A deathly silence enveloped the entire world!

All the survivors, whether Cloud Mist Sect Disciples or the various forces observing from afar, stared dumbfounded at the sole figure standing in the sky.

His cyan robes were unchanged, his saber blade dull.

Li Ao slowly sheathed his saber, his face slightly pale; continuous high-intensity Law confrontation was a significant burden even for him. Yet, the vast Qi and blood and the restrained sharpness around him were more heart-stopping than ever before.

He had done it! He had outright slain Yun Shan, whose strength had surged using the power of the Hall of Souls! As a Dou Huang, he had defeated a Dou Zong!

Yun Yun looked at the place where her teacher had turned to ash, heartbroken, stumbling backward, finally collapsing weakly onto the ground. Her beautiful eyes were hollow and dead. The pillar of the Cloud Mist Sect... had fallen.

Medusa waved her hand, dispersing the seven-colored radiance. She looked at the figure in the sky, a strange brilliance flashing repeatedly in her multicolored eyes. Although she knew Li Ao was immensely powerful, she had not expected him to slay the strangely empowered Yun Shan so cleanly.

Li Ao's gaze did not linger on the spot where Yun Shan had fallen but instead turned once more toward the spatial rift that still existed on the back mountain.

Although Yun Shan was dead, this greatest hidden danger had yet to be resolved! The fact that the Hall of Souls could transmit power through it meant it connected to an extremely dangerous place!

He took a step, arriving before the spatial rift. At close range, he could better sense the chilling, deadly silent, and ominous aura emanating from it, an aura that seemed capable of swallowing all vitality. The edges of the rift were extremely unstable, and wisps of gray-black energy were still trying to seep out.

"This 'door'... must be destroyed." Li Ao's eyes were cold. He could feel that something on the other side of the rift seemed to be peering over!

He gripped the saber hilt again, and the Annihilation Rule began to condense. He intended to use his strongest Ruin-Returning Saber Strike to completely destroy this rift and cut off the Hall of Souls' passage!

However, just as he was gathering momentum—

"Buzz—!!!" The spatial rift suddenly began to tremble violently! A terrifying aura, far more vast, purer, and carrying supreme majesty and cold consciousness than what Yun Shan had summoned, suddenly transmitted from the other side of the rift, like an awakened primordial Vicious Beast!

A grand, cold voice, seemingly composed of the ravings of countless Souls, crossed endless space and sounded directly in the depths of Li Ao's Soul:

"Ant... how dare you destroy my door?!"

As the voice sounded, a massive gray palm, composed entirely of pure Netherworld energy and vast enough to blot out the sky, suddenly reached out from the spatial rift. Carrying the supreme pressure of crushing stars and controlling life and death, it slammed down fiercely toward Li Ao... and the entire landscape behind him!

The aura emanating from this hand clearly surpassed the Dou Zong level, reaching the level of... Dou Zun! A powerhouse from the Hall of Souls had actually taken action personally, reaching across the spatial passage!

Facing this sudden attack that far exceeded expectations, Li Ao's pupils contracted sharply!

The true crisis had only just arrived!