Chapter 457: Cutting Down the Divine Son!

Pang Jian stood firm under the watchful eyes of the many onlookers, the Abyssal Demon Sword firmly in hand.

His injuries had fully healed thanks to the nourishment of the underground spirit vein and the unrestrained flow of life energy from the World Eater Vine.

The energies from the Gold Obsidian mineral veins had formed a small golden mountain atop the green fragmented land in his dantian.

The once-illusory blazing sun within his dantian had also become almost tangible, with its solar energy refined to an even purer state.

In his current condition, Pang Jian was confident he could suppress Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race.

The so-called Divine Son of the Radiant Race was not an opponent he had to fear.

He squinted at the massive gate behind Lie Yi, which radiated boundless heat interwoven with dazzling beams of light.

Fine, almost imperceptible particles drifted down onto the mountains of the Radiant Sun Sect from its solar radiance.

The golden-red gate known as the Gate of the Gods soon altered the smooth, gleaming mountain surfaces inscribed with intricate arrays from the Radiant Sun Sect.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The power of the Gate of the Gods repaired the damaged arrays.

As the sun sank below the horizon, the radiance from the gate behind Lie Yi illuminated every mountain in the Radiant Sun Sect.

The radiance from the mountains and the Gate of the Gods brightened the dim landscape as though it was daytime.

Lie Yi had harmonized perfectly with the terrain spanning hundreds of li around him, merging with the Radiant Sun Sect's grand array.

The innate bloodline techniques and bloodline mysteries etched in his heart were instantly elevated and empowered.

The Radiant Race warriors erupted into fervent cheers, praising Lie Yi's extraordinary achievements.

In their eyes, Lie Yi was the physical embodiment of the Sun God in the starry skies, his divine envoy in the Abyss.

Xuan Ying of the Demon Scale Race narrowed her sharp eyes, a hint of solemness flickering within them.

"In the Radiant Sun Sect and wielding the Gate of the Gods, this Lie Yi..." She turned to her fellow kinsmen and said, "Even I can't be certain that I would win against him here."

"When the Radiant Race escapes the eternal darkness of the Fifth World and basks in the sun's radiance, many of their dormant bloodline abilities start to awaken," a Rank Nine Scale warrior remarked. Taking a deep breath, he added, "In any case, it'll save us a lot of trouble if he actually kills the Sword Pavilion brat."

Not everyone in the Demon Scale Race shared Xuan Ying's view of Pang Jian as a whetstone to sharpen herself.

The Rank Nine warrior, for instance, thought Pang Jian posed too great a threat.

After all, Pang Jian could kill Xuan Ying before she ascended to godhood.

There were many potential whetstones, and Pang Jian, with his sharp edges, was not necessarily the right one for her.

This warrior sincerely hoped Pang Jian would die at Lie Yi's hands.

"You fear the Sword Pavilion and dread the possibility of Li Zhaotian becoming a True God. I, however, have never been afraid," Xuan Ying scoffed, her lips curling into a cold smile. "If we can't surpass the Sword Pavilion, how can we hope to conquer the Abyss?

"Pang Jian is exceptional, but so are many of us here, even the Vicious Beasts.

"Extraordinary individuals and world-shaking figures will emerge in great numbers in this era of great contention.

"Only those who survive until the end, who successfully ascend to godhood and break free from this prison-like world to attain true freedom, can truly be called extraordinary.

"And I, Xuan Ying, will undoubtedly be the one to claim ultimate victory," she declared, unrestrained arrogance on full display.

The Rank Nine Demon Scale Race warrior clapped in admiration. "Excellent! As expected of someone that the Great Demon Gods favor!"

At that moment, a loud boom resounded.

The Heart of Winter beneath Pang Jian abruptly sank into the ground and gave off a thick cold mist.

The mist spread outward, engulfing everything in its path.

Hair-thin arcs of icy lightning embodying the profound truth of the Dao of Cold within the Heart of Winter intertwined with the cold mist. It was as though it was warping the natural laws of the world.

Pang Jian's divine soul guided countless ice blades, icy radiance, and frosty mist from the Heart of Winter, into the ground, and through the mountains.

Using the Heart of Winter, he forcibly altered his surroundings with earth energy and the Dao of Cold that he had comprehended.

Strands of golden light and lightning intertwined within the cold mist, transforming into dazzling sword lights.

In the unseen depths of the mountains, the sword lights slowly destroyed the arrays that the Radiant Sun Sect once carved and that Lie Yi now controlled through the Gate of the Gods.

The Radiant Sun Sect's grand array failed once more as the eerie cold mist engulfed the mirror-like mountains.

Frost formed at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the mountains soon transformed into glaciers.

Infused with immense cold energy, these glaciers shot blinding beams of icy light toward Lie Yi as hundreds of colossal sword lights were unleashed at once!

Lightning crackled, stars shimmered, and cold moons gleamed within the bone-chilling sword lights, causing them to exude an aura of eerie mystery.

Sword lights also shot out from the frost-covered ground. Some glowed with green radiance, some shimmered a black-gold brilliance, and others boomed with thunder.

Pang Jian stood at the center of it all, yet to even swing the Abyssal Demon Sword in his hand.

The Heart of Winter, the ground, the mountains-turned-glaciers, and even the tiny shards of ice floating in the air, had all become extensions of his sword!

Every radiance, ice blade, lightning, glimmer of starlight, or glint of moonlight contained the essence of the sword techniques he had comprehended.

His sword intent seemed to engulf the entire world as all the sword lights relentlessly converged onto Lie Yi!

"His Dao of Sword perfectly harmonizes with his Primordial Chaos Spiritual Sea!"

"This brat forcibly altered the world from Lie Yi's control and directly overturned its natural laws!"

"The Dao of Sword he pursues and the sword intent he displays are truly extraordinary!"

"This brat is undoubtedly another Li Zhaotian!"

The Rank Nine foreign race warriors exclaimed in awe.

All they could see before them was a world of sword lights surging relentlessly toward Lie Yi.

Though the intricate, ever-changing sword lights took various forms, their core essence remained rooted in Pang Jian's comprehended sword techniques!

Lie Yi's expression shifted. "You've sure got some tricks up your sleeve!"

Moments ago, he had been the master of this world, but that same world had been turned against him.

He hastily activated his bloodline mysteries and linked his blood essence with the Gate of the Gods.

Whoosh!

Three-Legged Golden Crows danced gracefully within the massive golden-red gate, stirring up divine solar blazes capable of incinerating the heavens and earth.

A grand palace, seemingly forged from pure gold, materialized within the Gate of the Gods, exuding the divine power of the Sun God.

The Sun God's divine power and Pang Jian's endless sword lights clashed in mid-air.

A blinding light flashed from Lie Yi's Gate of the Gods, so intense that even the Rank Nine warriors felt their eyes sting.

The eerie sound of cracking filled the air as if the sky itself could not bear the strain of this battle between the Nirvana Realm cultivator and the Rank Eight warrior.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The mountains-turned-glaciers shattered and collapsed as the blinding light flashed.

As the mountains crumbled, the earth split apart, creating deep fissures like a sprawling spiderweb.

Whoosh!

Pang Jian soared toward Lie Yi on his sword, appearing before the massive Gate of the Gods in the blink of an eye.

Wielding his black-gold divine sword that had absorbed the horns and claws of a Five-Clawed Gold Dragon, he struck at the gate, a grand palace still faintly visible within.

Pang Jian's expression was neutral and his heart was devoid of joy or sorrow.

The only thing running through his mind was the Chaos Sword Technique.

His thoughts were vivid and clear. The sword technique that Li Zhaotian had refined and that Pang Jian had carefully memorized and pondered over for so long was unleashed in rapid succession.

He swung his sword without pause.

The fragmented land in his dantian contracted. The stars, moons, the golden mountain, and even the black-yellow peak visibly shrank.

Pang Jian was exhausting the energies within his dantian with reckless abandon.

The dazzling sword lights overwhelmed Lie Yi, engulfing the massive golden-red gate.

The solar radiance shattered and the Three-Legged Golden Crows were slain one after another.

Within the gate, the grand palace cracked into fragments under the relentless assault of the sword lights.

The Gate of the Gods passed down through generations of the Radiant Race was covered in crisscrossing sword marks.

Even Lie Yi's face, body, and once-pristine forehead bore deep, glaring gashes.

A profound helplessness filled Lie Yi.

He had unleashed all his bloodline techniques and fully linked with the Gate of the Gods, only to be trapped in a world of sword light.

It was like countless Sword Gods were demonstrating the essence of their life's pursuit against him.

The sun, stars, moons, earth, volcanoes, glaciers, and lightning all seemed to have transformed into sword lights in one form or another.

This pure, all-encompassing domain of sword lights swallowed Lie Yi and the Gate of the Gods, leaving him utterly powerless.

He could neither sense Pang Jian nor counter his attacks.

Even in the moments before his death, the last thing he saw and felt was the unending presence of sword lights.

When the sword lights finally receded, the Divine Son of the Radiant Race was no more.

All that remained before the massive Gate of the Gods was a mist of blood and a pulp of flesh and bone.

The Gate of the Gods, scarred with deep sword marks, still hovered in the air, but Lie Yi was dead.

"Lie Yi!" the Radiant Race warriors cried out in grief.

Their expressions turned frenzied as their bloodlines surged uncontrollably, causing each of them to shine with radiant brilliance.

"Lie Yi has died a worthy and honorable death in this fair battle!" Qi Xu of the Flame Race announced from high in the sky, voice resonating with authority. "Radiant Race, you are forbidden from hunting Pang Jian on the Cosmic Skies Continent.

"This battle will serve as a reminder that the Sword Pavilion's sword cultivators remain the immovable mountain we need to overcome!

"Let this be etched in your minds—the sword cultivators of the Sword Pavilion, and the Sword Gods they once produced, have always been the pinnacle of the human race's combat prowess!"