"What? You think a loser like you can turn the tables?"
Seeing Yang Tian's actions, the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle, in an uncharacteristic move, halted its forward charge.
A hint of mockery glinted in its crimson eyes.
It had been waiting for so long that, suddenly, it didn't want to kill them outright. It wanted to toy with them a little longer, to make them feel true despair.
Pain.
Now *that* would be interesting.
However, it failed to notice the look of absolute resolve in Yang Tian's eyes.
It was as if he had made up his mind about something.
If the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle's Spiritual Power had reached the Void Observation Level, it would have heard a faint sound from within Yang Tian's body.
CRACK!
It was as if something had split open.
Immediately after, Yang Tian's expression twisted, becoming both ferocious and terrifying.
He looked at the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle and said coldly, "I never thought I, Yang Tian, would be pushed this far by a mere beast like you—forced to break my Seal and damage my own foundation! But no matter what, you're dead today!"
With a soft cry, Yang Tian's aura suddenly skyrocketed.
From what seemed to be the Small Divine Ability Realm Third and Fourth Layers, he broke through to the Great Divine Power Realm in a single leap.
And it was still climbing.
"Great Divine Power Realm? No, that's impossible!"
This sudden change instantly wiped the smug look from the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle's face. It had been planning to enjoy a game of cat and mouse, but now its expression shifted drastically, and it instinctively tried to retreat.
But alas.
It was too late.
Yang Tian had paid an enormous price to break his Seal.
How could he possibly let it escape?
No!
Absolutely not.
"Die!"
With another soft cry, Yang Tian raised his hand.
It transformed into a terrifying, starlit giant hand that simply grabbed the massive, mountain-sized Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle and squeezed it in its grasp.
Then came the sound.
BANG!
A loud explosion.
The once-invincible overlord of the 1st Layer, the Tier Six Barbaric Beast King, the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle—which had been certain it had Yang Tian and his group cornered—instantly exploded.
It died on the spot.
Even its Inner Core was shattered to pieces.
Its Soul was crushed into nothingness.
Terrifying.
Utterly terrifying.
The few people present watched, dumbfounded.
They stared at Yang Tian in disbelief.
They had always known Yang Tian was strong, but they never imagined that the *real* Yang Tian was *this* powerful.
Especially Yang Lin.
Among everyone present, besides Yang Tian himself, he was the most knowledgeable, as he had fused with some of Yang Xiao's memories.
Therefore, he knew that above the Mortal Sixth Tier was the Divine Power Realm, and he also knew that the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle's strength was likely around the Sixth or Seventh Layer of the Small Divine Ability Realm.
As for Yang Tian.
His previous judgment was that Yang Tian was at the Small Divine Ability Realm Third and Fourth Layers.
Far weaker than the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle.
But now it seemed…
'How could this be the strength of the Small Divine Ability Realm Third and Fourth Layers?'
'Even someone at the Third and Fourth Layers of the Great Divine Power Realm probably couldn't pull this off, right?'
"Well now, kid, you've been hiding your strength quite well."
Yang Lin walked up and clapped Yang Tian on the shoulder.
But what happened next sent him into a panic.
URGH!
The moment he was touched, Yang Tian collapsed to the ground like a fragile porcelain doll,
spitting up blood.
The Blood Qi was dark and tainted, carrying an aura of decay.
All the color drained from Yang Tian's face.
It frightened Yang Lin so much that he stood frozen, speechless.
"Quick, help me sit up."
Yang Tian, however, remained calm despite his weakness.
He instructed Yang Lin, saying, "I forcefully broke the Seal and damaged my foundation. I'm afraid I'll soon fall into a dormant state automatically. Don't waste time. Help me sit up. I need to use a Secret Technique to send a message to Yang Xiao. Also, after I fall unconscious, everything… *cough, cough*… everything will be up to you all…"
Hearing this, Yang Lin instantly understood the gravity of the situation.
He nodded repeatedly and helped Yang Tian up.
At that moment, Yang Tian took a deep breath, gathered the last shred of his strength, and activated the Secret Technique. Faint, mysterious wisps of Golden Light began to flicker from within his tightly closed eyes.
If someone could have seen through his eyelids to his eyes,
they would have discovered…
...that terrifying runes were rapidly pulsing within them. These runes seemed to connect to space and time, and perhaps even communicate with fate itself.
Suddenly,
the runes paused.
An illusory channel was opened by Yang Tian's eyes.
At the other end of the channel…
...was none other than Yang Xiao, who was exploring the Poison King Valley.
"Junior Brother, return quickly! We are in mortal danger…"
He only had time to say that one sentence.
The channel vanished.
Yang Tian's head slumped to one side.
His presence vanished completely.
Yang Lin's heart skipped a beat.
He rushed forward to check.
'Thankfully, he's still breathing, but it's incredibly weak. What do we do?'
At this moment, Yang Lin couldn't decide what to do either.
And the two women, Yang Ziling and Bing Xin, had even less of an idea of what to do.
Just as Yang Lin composed himself, thinking they should leave the area first,
powerful auras surged forth from all around them once again.
Yang Lin swept the area with his Spiritual Power.
His expression changed drastically.
He discovered that the valley was surrounded.
Outside,
there were no fewer than a dozen auras as terrifying as that big, dumb bear from before—the Purple Blood Giant Bear Beast. One or two of them were even more frightening, almost approaching the level of the Thousand-Winged Serpent Eagle.
But now,
Yang Tian was unconscious.
Among their group,
there was no one left who could fight against such a terrifying Barbaric Beast King.
Death!
Was descending.
'Boss, when the hell are you coming back? If you don't return soon, your little brother here might never see you again.'
Yang Lin cried out in his heart.
「And at this very moment.」
On the 3rd Layer, Yang Xiao, deep within the Poison King Valley, had also fallen into a great crisis.
Similar to Yang Tian and the others,
he too was surrounded.
He was surrounded before he had even finished absorbing the Heaven and Earth Origin Essence Qi, forcing him out of his cultivation state.
What surprised Yang Xiao even more was that there was an acquaintance among them.
Xuan Tianzhan.
"Didn't expect this, did you, Yang Xiao? That we'd meet under these circumstances, hehe! To be honest, I didn't expect it either. To think you'd reach the 3rd Layer so quickly with just an Inheritance Sword Order... Tsk, tsk, how impressive. A pity that no matter how impressive or talented you are, it's useless. The master of this Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion can only be me, Xuan Tianzhan."
Seeing Yang Xiao's brow furrow,
Xuan Tianzhan was overjoyed and incredibly smug.
But what he didn't know…
...was that Yang Xiao no longer considered him a threat. In fact, he hadn't considered him a threat since the Nine Sects Grand Competition. Before, when he heard about Yang Tian's ten-day agreement, Yang Xiao had felt a sense of urgency.
But now, seeing this guy acting so arrogant and conceited,
he felt that…
...even if this person became the master of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion, he would never amount to anything great.
At this moment, what worried Yang Xiao…
...was Yang Tian and the others.
That sentence had appeared out of nowhere.
It felt bizarre, and at the same time, filled him with immense worry.
But right now,
Yang Xiao himself couldn't get away.
And if he wanted to return to the 1st Layer to save Yang Tian and the others,
there was only one way.
To become the master of the Northern Wilderness Sword Mansion.
Otherwise, with his current strength, he had no way of getting to the 1st Layer.
'I don't know if I'll make it in time! Yang Lin, Ziling, Senior Brother Yang Tian, you have to wait for me!'