Chapter 456: Alone Against the World

Streaks of sword light surged skyward from the smooth, level ground between the Radiant Sun Sect's mountain gate and towering mountains.

Some sword lights shone brilliantly like stars and moons, some resembled serpentine lightning bolts, and others carried the icy fury of a blizzard, embodying the Dao of Cold.

Razor-sharp spikes seemed to sprout from the ground, locking precisely onto Lie Yi as they sought to strike him down.

Gravity shifted.

Lie Yi let out a muffled groan as he suddenly plummeted toward the ground below.

Boom!

A massive golden-red gate materialized behind Lie Yi.

The glowing patterns engraved on the gate transformed into Golden Crows that ignited a tempestuous sea of flames and lightning with each flap of their wings.

Lie Yi halted his fall.

Using the Gate of the Gods passed down through generations of the Radiant Race, he deflected the blinding sword lights and cut off Pang Jian's probing divine sense.

"So, it really is you!" Lie Yi leaned against the gate behind him, exuding an awe-inspiring aura, like the incarnation of a Sun God descended upon the mortal realm.

The golden-red gate deflected the final streak of sword light.

The Golden Crows within the Gate of the Gods flapped their wings, gazes fixed on the ground as if anticipating something, but no more sword lights emerged from below.

"Gone?" Lie Yi frowned and let out a cold snort.

***

"Xuan Ying, Pang Jian has reappeared in the Radiant Sun Sect and ambushed Lie Yi from underground!"

"My lord, Pang Jian has resurfaced and attacked Lie Yi!"

"General, Pang Jian of the Sword Pavilion has emerged, and he..."

Similar exchanges occurred among the Demon Scale Race, the Wood Race, and the Ghost Race across the Cosmic Skies Continent.

A massive serrated blade shot out from the Red Mountain Sect at lightning speed, heading straight for the Radiant Sun Sect.

Bored out of their minds, warriors of the Ghost Race, the Wood Race, and the Flame Race instantly mobilized their flying vessels and headed toward the Radiant Sun Sect when they heard the news.

***

Deep underground, Pang Jian seized the right moment to unleash dozens of sword lights before stopping to assess the situation above with his divine sense.

Lie Yi of the Radiant Race radiated a blinding brilliance, his entire being seemingly fused with the golden-red gate behind him.

The light emanating from both him and the Gate of the Gods illuminated the mountains, causing their mirror-like surfaces to gleam brilliantly.

𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Dusk approached and the sky became painted with crimson clouds as the sun set.

The Radiant Sun Sect's territories, however, did not descend into darkness.

Instead, they were bathed in resplendent light as the Divine Son of the Radiant Race activated his innate bloodline abilities and channeled the solar energy within his body through the Gate of the Gods.

Lie Yi's towering figure hovered steadily in the air as he glared at the smooth ground below.

"Pang Jian!" he sneered mockingly. "If you have the guts, stop hiding underground and face me in a proper fight!"

The Radiant Race warriors perched on the different peaks of the Radiant Sun Sect instinctively distanced themselves from the area.

Qi Xu of the Flame Race transformed into a massive blazing fireball and descended, coming to a halt above the Radiant Sun Sect.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Xuan Ying was the first to arrive, with other powerful Fifth World warriors following soon after, each settling on the peaks around the Radiant Sun Sect or hovering mid-air.

Chilling and soul-shaking gazes converged on Lie Yi, all aware that Pang Jian was hidden underground beneath him.

"Sword Pavilion brat, if you truly dare to face Lie Yi head-on, I, Qi Xu, can guarantee that no one else will interfere," Qi Xu declared. "Not only Rank Nine warriors, but even Rank Eight warriors will not meddle in your battle."

Her voice reverberated from the blazing fireball, carrying an air of arrogance and dominance that overshadowed even Xuan Ying's previous domineering displays.

Three hundred zhang underground, Pang Jian had intended to use the Gate of the Abyss to teleport back to the Cloud Wilderness in the Resolute Expanse after his ambush failed.

He was alone. After recovering his strength deep underground using the mineral and spirit veins, he waited for the right opportunity to attempt a sneak attack and kill Lie Yi.

Unfortunately, his attempt had failed and the Divine Son of the Radiant Race was still alive.

The wisest course of action for him now was to disappear from the Cosmic Skies Continent, retreat to the Resolute Expanse to recover, and delve into the mysteries of the miniature golden mountain on the fragmented land in his dantian.

However, if Qi Xu's promise was true and his opponent on this continent was limited to Lie Yi of the Radiant Race, then he still had a chance to wound or even kill Lie Yi!

After a brief pause, Pang Jian's calm and indifferent voice rang out from deep underground.

"Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race made a similar promise a few days ago—that if I could hold my ground against her, I would be free to leave. Even so, didn't Lie Yi go back on her promise anyway?"

Xuan Ying, once again clad in gleaming silver-scaled armor, gripped the serrated blade with one hand as her blade-like eyes glinted with an icy sharpness.

"Lie Yi sought approval from the Fifth World's Rank Ten warriors. My father's word alone couldn't sway the others!" she snapped angrily.

Mocked as she was, she felt both indignant and aggrieved.

Still unable to see Pang Jian, she instead turned her fiery gaze on Lie Yi and snarled, "Pang Jian was heavily injured after fighting me, which forced him to retreat underground.

"He seemed to have fully recovered now. If you truly have the guts, then do as Lord Qi Xu said and face him in a fair one-on-one duel."

"Why wouldn't I dare?!" Lie Yi sneered, a cruel grin curling on his lips.

Many of the Radiant Race warriors regarded Lie Yi as the foremost talent of the younger generation in the Fifth World.

Lie Yi also had confidence in his own strength.

He would not be able to face the Sun God if he cowered before a mere Sword Pavilion upstart who had only recently ascended to the Nirvana Realm.

"Xuan Ying and Lie Yi only represent the word of Rank Ten warriors on the same level as their fathers. Meanwhile, I can communicate directly with the Gods," Qi Xu proclaimed from within the blazing fireball. "The promise I make represents the will of the Fire God, a decree even that Great One would approve of."

At the mention of "that Great One," all the Fifth World foreign race warriors' expressions shifted to ones of awe and reverence.

They knew that even the Gods their races worshiped bowed in submission to the Great One now overseeing the Fifth World.

By mentioning the Great One, Qi Xu left no room for doubt or opposition, not even from the seven Rank Ten powerhouses born in the Fifth World.

"Very well!" Pang Jian emerged from beneath the ground.

Standing between the mountains of the Radiant Sun Sect, he caught sight of altars constructed from Gold Obsidian and crystalline gemstones.

Each altar bore snow-white skeletons.

The young disciples of the Radiant Sun Sect, similar to Su Meng, had their flesh and souls completely dissolved, leaving behind only piles of bones.

There were eight altars in total, and the sacrificial offerings consisted of dozens of young disciples from the Radiant Sun Sect.

At the foot of the barren mountains lay even more corpses of human cultivators, piled up like trash in corners. Rank Four and Rank Five Vicious Beasts were still actively tearing apart and devouring their bodies.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian summoned the Heart of Winter and lightly stepped onto it.

He ascended into the air with the Abyssal Demon Sword in hand, coming to a stop before the Divine Son of the Radiant Race.

Hundreds of Rank Seven, Rank Eight, and Rank Nine warriors of the Radiant Race crowded the caves and mountain peaks nearby. Further away, aboard flying vessels, powerhouses from the Flame Race, Demon Scale Race, Wood Race, and Geospirit Race watched intently with predatory gazes.

Pang Jian was the only human cultivator left across the entire Cosmic Skies Continent, both above and below ground.

He had left his hidden refuge underground under Qi Xu's promise, but that did not mean he trusted Qi Xu or the foreign race powerhouses present.

He simply believed that nobody could stop him from using the bronze pendant to escape, even if the situation turned dire.

That was the real confidence behind his decision to reveal himself.