The arrow radiated destructive, piercing, and spatial power as it shot out, followed by a brilliantly radiant tail of light. While one's eyes would be focused on the tail, the arrow had already arrived before Jade Crestwater.
"AHHH!" He bellowed ferociously like a monster from the dark abyss, completely unlike his earlier effeminate voice. An intense sensation of deadly crisis erupted in his heart, unable to be felt by the observers, and his forehead felt itchy.
His cultivation base erupted into a dense, swirling aura of heavenly might. His cultivation was completely revealed! A Heavenly Monarch!
A domain formed around his body protectively, a miniaturized heaven that carried his profound truths of the laws of Jade and Wood. It was breathtakingly beautiful and lively. It was like an immortal forest made of jade had manifested in the world.
Two-Fold, First Phase Heavenly Creation Realm!
This cultivation level was incredible. Those at this level can create their own heavenly domains where the surroundings laws become the highest law present and their strengths are brought to their limits. Jade Crestwater had two Minor Heavens constructed into his own heavenly domain.
He could not be underestimated.
Yet…
Yan Zaizen was calm as he watched Jade Crestwater rage and release his power. Unfortunately…
"You're already dead."
The arrow continued its flight as it penetrated the skyship that stood behind Jade Crestwater. An all-consuming destructive power exploded upon contact, expanding until it encapsulated the entirety of the skyship, including its housing dimension. Nothing escaped the destruction, no lives survived.
Jade Crestwater was still raging, fighting against the arrow in his vision, but he hadn't yet realized that his forehead was pierced, his brain had been obliterated, and his eyes, nose, and neck was disintegrating. His shouts grew louder and louder as he unleashed attack after attack of ferocious wood and jade-type heavenly might.
His actions would be a spectator act of defiance and defense if his self hadn't already ended. As he wildly flung his sleeves in defense, it was like a crazy man hitting air. Even the heavenly might in his body, after the initial burst, had disintegrated.
"..."
On a skyship that was black and red, Emperor Bloodfire felt his heart lurch violently. Jade Crestwater was only a vice-lord of his force, and in the skyship must've been the actual lord waiting to take action, but the entire skyship and its many life auras abruptly vanished.
Now, Jade Crestwater was nothing but a headless body slowly dissipating still fighting the air in unyielding defiance. The sight caused his pupils to become needles, unable to conceive what had just happened. It was as if his headless body existed in a different spacetime and had yet to experience death.
The young man beside him, Crown Prince Crimsonblaze, felt horror and terror from the sight. His spine nearly chilled by the sight.
Yan Zaizen had decisively obliterated one of the skyships with seemingly utter ease. He calmly placed the bow down, his amber-gold gaze examining the other skyships one by one. There was only calm within those eyes.
"I will warn only once more. Leave or stay. Your choice." Yan Zaizen's words before didn't have much weight, but now, after exhibiting his strength, it should carry some persuasive power.
Unfortunately, he didn't know why they were here. If he did, he wouldn't have given them this choice.
The dreadful silence and solo act of the former Jade Crestwater, former Vice-Lord of the Crestwater Empire, continued for a few more moments. After, his body and soul dissipated like a chill in the summer, including the destructive sphere that encapsulated the Crestwater Empire's skyship. As it slowly vanished from the sights of the spectators, only air was revealed.
The eerie atmosphere was readily apparent and only silence remained.
Yan Zaizen stood upright, his body in an archer's posture, and his eyes gleaming with a calm, imperious light. Despite his calm, only he knew the amount of heavenly might, dao energy, and soul energy was injected into that terrifyingly ghastly attack. He wouldn't be able to unleash an attack of such power a second time in a short moment.
"Interesting."
A voice, as deep and unfathomable as a literal abyss resounded. It echoed violently within the soul, causing all those who heard it to tremble. Yan Zaizen felt as if a loud explosion had erupted within his soul, his body visibly trembled from just a single word. He took a deep breath, his soul energy and dao energy circulating rapidly to dissipate the lingering effect of that single word.
"Soul energy…" Yan Zaizen quietly said. His eyes honed onto a single skyship amongst the remaining seventeen. There was a particular skyship, it wasn't particularly large. In fact, it was on the smallest of them all. Its formations and arrays were profound, causing even Yan Zaizen with his Dao Sense to be unable to peer through it in short order. It had a cyan-white theme and seemed to be constructed from an illusory, ethereal material. As if it was both corporeal and not. It gave one an undeniably fierce headache attempting to deduce its truths.
This type of soul energy was different than his Soul Source Cultivation Path, which incorporated the growth and internal potential of the self and introspective enlightenment. It felt familiar.
His mind twirled as he recalled the Asura Phantom Realm, the White Bone Altar and the Heavenly Law of the Soul. This form of energy was quite familiar. It had quaked his soul, but not directly impacted it. If it had been, his blackhole would've devoured every last ounce of its power. Back then, he suffered an attack that nearly sent him into death, restraining and dissipating his soul, but the him yesterday was not the him today.
Clenching his fists, he directly dissipated his bow.
He didn't speak.
There was no need to.
There was not an ounce of hesitation in his eyes as he shot forth with an unstoppable momentum towards the seventeen skyships. He drew a gorgeous arc as his body was suffused with a myriad of laws, light, wind, fire, space, time, darkness, and lastly, the sword. His entire body transformed into a single sword, a paradisiacal aura emanated as if it contained the world's happiness.
A soft gasp resounded, but there wasn't a hint of fear, only surprise and intrigue. It originated from the cyan-white skyship. In this skyship, a young woman was situated. She had three eyes, two in her sockets, and a cyan-colored vertical eye above her head. She was completely bald, like a nun, and her entire body emanating a ghastly mist. Her pristinely white robe befitted a nun.
Her two normal eyes were closed, but her third was wide open. If one stared at this eye, it would reflect an image of their soul, as if peering into their deepest and most innermost fears, desires, and happiness.
When she noticed Yan Zaizen's charge, she had indeed been shocked by his actions. However, she truly held no fear for his cultivation base may be impressive, but she understood that attack of his was his limits. As a prestigious and respected member of the Heavenly Origin Grounds for millions of years, those that could instill fear into her weren't born yet.
However, why the hell would Yan Zaizen care if she felt confident?
His goal was clear: KILL!!!
The other sixteen skyships hadn't taken action, taking the position of an idle spectator, waiting for something in particular to occur. To them, Yan Zaizen was a rat in a trap and he couldn't escape, no matter how feral or vicious he became. As for that Crestwater Empire, they were one of weakest, if not THE weakest, amongst them.
On the crimson and black skyship, Emperor Bloodfire and his son, Crown Prince Crimsonblaze, were quietly watching the events.
The young strapping lad that was the Crown Prince had shock and surprise in his eyes, "Father, this 'Key' is quite strong despite his cultivation base. He could be regarded as a talent of once in a million years, maybe even ten million." His praise was calm, but he didn't have much respect for that. While Yan Zaizen may be a talent in a million or ten million years, was he not one of hundred million? While this standard sounded ludicrous, cultivation had never been an easy venture to begin with.
Emperor Bloodfire frowned, "He's the 'Key' for a reason. He should be able to access all the innate Heavenly Laws of this sealed world of ours. It's not shocking that his strength is of this level, but it's most superficial. His age is not even that of ten thousand, there's no way for his cultivation to reach such a level without having the special identity of the 'Key'." As this was said, Crown Prince Crimsonblaze pondered and nodded in acceptance. He had nearly forgotten.
A silver skyship that was originally at the forefront of the skyships was now discreetly floating at the back, on the deck of this ship was an old man and a young woman. They radiated celestial energy, the aura of celestials roiling off their bodies. This was Master Qiankun and Qian Li.
Qian Li: "Are we going to wait until he needs us? Or will we let Lady Ching-chien capture him first?" Her words were filled with curiosity as she regarded Yan Zaizen brazen charge and last stand(In her opinion).
Master Qiankun, with his aged face, smiled softly in response. "Need us? Haha, just watch."
Yan Zaizen didn't know that there were many different people watching him with different intentions. To him, everyone and everything was a threat to his life, so they must be intimidated to retreat or eliminated in body, soul, and dao.
He roared within his soul, causing the very void to tremble. His paragon soul energy surged wildly as it took the forefront of his assault.
The one named Lady Ching-chien, full name Chu Ching-chien, and Head Nun of the Ancestral Convent of White Flowers, sensed the soul energy surging within Yan Zaizen and remained calm. She didn't bother standing up, but slowly and peacefully raised her lone right index finger. She pointed it and it alone towards Yan Zaizen's direction while within the skyship. An unfathomable heavenly might erupted from his finger, suffused with dense heavenly essence and unorthodox laws of the heavens.
Yan Zaizen's eyes widened briefly, "A Heavenly Monarch with a Minor Law!" However, his charge didn't not slow, but quickened instead. He didn't retreat from her heavenly might but tackled it head-on.
His amber-gold eyes shone brilliantly, and a faint smile suffused his lips.