Above the headless corpse, dense strands of Dao resonance coiled, yet this entanglement seemed rootless. In less than half a breath, it completely dissipated, and the body crumpled to the ground.
Han Yi's axe strike had severed not just the physical body's head, but the Dao Unification Dharma Manifestation itself. The Dao Soul, Dao Body, Dao Realm, and Dao Fruit—all were split in two by the terrifying divine power, which obliterated everything in its path.
This axe strike hadn't relied on the Gluttonous Sacrifice Divine Art; it was a raw, brute force that shattered the Dao. It was the most primitive and most powerful application of divine power.
At his current High-Rank Immeasurable stage, Han Yi's strength surpassed even the most powerful Peak Limitless Divine Race members on Ancestor God Star, placing him nearly at the peak tier just below God Sovereign-level.
This was why a single axe strike could instantly slay a Robber Cultivator in the Dao Harmonization Realm.
Han Yi moved too quickly, his axe strike too ferocious and violent.
The other Robber Cultivator, who had just turned to pursue the fleeing cultivator, whirled back around, his pupils dilating in shock, his face paling with horror.
In that instant, he stopped breathing entirely. The scene before him defied all his expectations and lay completely outside any scenario he had imagined.
But Han Yi didn't pause. After slaying one Robber Cultivator with a single axe strike, he lunged forward to kill the second.
A realization struck him. He had significantly increased his combat prowess since he had severely wounded the Great Priest of Purgatory Island.
Upon reflection, he understood the reasons behind this enhancement. First, his Traceless Dao Technique had advanced to a higher tier, increasing his speed and reflexes, which greatly boosted his combat capabilities at the High-Rank Immeasurable stage. Second, he had recently approached the peak of the Dao Fruit Realm, nearing the External Dao Realm. This advancement in his Immortal Dao cultivation had propelled his overall strength.
As a result, unlike when he left the Primordial World, his current combat power now allowed him to crush ordinary Dao Harmonization Realm cultivators with overwhelming force.
As Han Yi lunged forward to kill, the Dao Harmonization Realm cultivator reacted.
He cried out in alarm, "Damn it!"
Instead of pursuing the fleeing cultivator, he hurled a Spirit Pearl toward Han Yi. The pearl emitted an intense azure glow before exploding into a dazzling radiance that surged toward Han Yi.
Han Yi's expression darkened instantly. He sensed a sinister danger within the blinding azure light.
With a swift thought, he swung his axe horizontally, deflecting the surging azure radiance.
Boom!!
The destructive force relentlessly slammed into the Taosi Divine Axe, its splintering radiance piercing through space and scattering in all directions, plunging the forest below into ruin.
Han Yi keenly sensed that after throwing the Spirit Pearl, the second Dao Harmonization Realm Robber Cultivator didn't seize the opportunity to attack him. Instead, the cultivator's figure blurred as he fled into the distance.
This Robber Cultivator understood clearly that he would have been unable to block Han Yi's earlier axe strike.
The key factor was Han Yi's speed—it was simply too fast, surpassing the comprehension of the Dao Harmonization Realm.
God Sovereign?
No, the opponent couldn't be God Sovereign-level. The flowing divine power was unmistakably only of the Immeasurable Realm, far from the God Sovereign realm. A true God Sovereign wouldn't even need a Divine Artifact to crush all three of them.
Yet even without being a God Sovereign, this opponent could effortlessly crush ordinary Dao Harmonization Realm cultivators like themselves.
This was the primary reason the Robber Cultivator had instinctively played his trump card to stall Han Yi and seize the chance to escape.
As for the slain Robber Cultivator, although the trio had worked together for a long time, death was death. With a steadfast Dao Heart, the surviving cultivator wouldn't let emotion cloud his judgment.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Han Yi braved the Taosi Divine Axe, blocking the first and most devastating wave of the Spirit Light's destructive impact. He didn't wait for the attack to fully pass, knowing that if he gave the fleeing Harmonization with the Dao cultivator more time, it would likely escape into the prosperous districts of the Dao City.
Those districts were enveloped in a faint purple glow, which Han Yi now knew emanated from a mysterious Ancient Artifact within the city. If the artifact sensed the cultivator, it would undoubtedly attract further complications, a scenario he wanted to avoid at all costs.
With a swift thought, Han Yi retreated at breakneck speed. Once clear of the Spirit Pearl's impact zone, he took a detour and resumed his pursuit of the fleeing Robber Cultivator. Though this route was longer, his speed ensured he made up for the distance.
Meanwhile, the Harmonization with the Dao cultivator, Dao Harmonization Realm expert Jie Xiu, had only fled three breaths of time and a considerable distance when a voice suddenly echoed in his ear:
"Can you truly escape?"
Instantly, his hair stood on end.
"How is this possible?"
"How can this be happening?"
"How could he be so fast? Could he truly possess the speed of a Heavenly Venerable?"
The moment doubt arose in his mind, he instinctively whirled around, driven by sheer instinct. His Dao Artifact—a wooden disciplinary ruler—swept across, radiating a dense wood-colored glow infused with overwhelming Chaos Power. This force suppressed space itself, capable of instantly killing any ordinary Dao Realm cultivator who touched it.
Yet this formidable Chaos Power couldn't halt a ten-zhang golden figure. The figure moved with superlative speed, closing the distance as if gliding across flat ground, its approach surpassing the cultivator's reflexes.
Black divine power erupted in a myriad of phenomena: raging torrents, crashing thunder, Divine Tribulations, axe glares, and more. These merged into a single, fleeting flash.
Crack!
As the Divine Light dissipated, the upper half of the wooden disciplinary ruler fell away. The Robber Cultivator still gripped the remaining fragment, but fear remained frozen in his eyes, unable to manifest.
His entire body froze in place. A gash appeared at his waist, and in a spatial distortion, his body split cleanly in two.
Han Yi's axe strike, just like before, had severed the Dao Harmonization Realm Robber Cultivator in half.
Of course, this time, he had unleashed the Six Forms of the Gluttonous Sacrifice, augmented by Divine Arts. Only this combination allowed him to counterattack and slay the enemy, even shattering their high-rank Dao Artifact—the wooden disciplinary ruler—in the process.
"What a pity."
Han Yi stood with his axe, regretting two things: he couldn't transform this Robber Cultivator into a Myriad Nether Incarnation, and he had shattered the disciplinary ruler.
But in the heat of battle, showing mercy by sparing a Dao Artifact was a fatal mistake. This was the most basic principle; to do otherwise was courting death.
He extended his hand, and divine power surged forth, transforming into the Divine Sealing Art. He sealed the two halves of the corpse and retrieved the broken disciplinary ruler. His earlier axe strike had completely annihilated the Spirituality within this high-grade Dao Artifact, but its high-grade materials alone were still valuable enough to fetch a substantial amount of Dao Crystals.
When he returned to the battlefield, he searched the area thoroughly but found no trace of the Dao Harmonization Realm cultivator who had been surrounded, nor the injured Robber Cultivator from earlier.
"They escaped."
"And to avoid pursuit, they've likely fled to areas shrouded in a faint purple glow."
"Enough."
With a wave of his hand, he collected the corpse of the first Dao Harmonization Realm Robber Cultivator he had slain. He then found the cultivator's staff, a high-grade Dao Artifact that, even among other high-grade artifacts, was considered exceptionally strong—slightly superior even to his own Autumn Water Dao Sword.
A smile finally appeared on Han Yi's face. Even if he gained nothing else from this trip, securing this high-rank Dao artifact alone made it a success.
Before leaving, he unleashed a powerful punch, obliterated the temporal-spatial traces in the area. Now, even a Heavenly Venerable cultivator inspecting the site would be unable to trace the event or detect his aura. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, two figures materialized at the edge of the still-raging divine power storm.
These two figures radiated profound, mountain-like auras. Divine power waves approaching them seemed suppressed, vanishing into nothingness.
One of them extended a hand and swept it forward. Light and shadow coalesced, revealing only Chaos.
He shook his head lightly. "The opponent is highly skilled. They've confused the temporal-spatial fluctuations, leaving no trace."
The other figure's eyes shimmered with multicolored light. After a moment, they concluded, "Five auras, all from the Dao Harmonization Realm. Two carried the aura of death—meaning two Dao Harmonization cultivators were killed."
They paused, their gaze sharpening, and continued gravely, "The strongest among them was remarkably powerful. It must have been a Divine Race member, likely at the peak of the Immeasurable Realm. No wonder they could kill two Dao Harmonization cultivators."
"This place is beyond the surveillance of the Ten Thousand Sovereigns Ancient Artifact, and this Divine Race likely originates from the Ancestor God Star. We should first report this to the Heavenly Venerable before making any decisions."
The two figures didn't touch the gradually subsiding storm of divine power. Instead, they vanished instantly from their spot.
Meanwhile, Han Yi left the battlefield and continued toward the outskirts of Imperial Water Dao City. To avoid any potential trouble, he didn't hold back, accelerating to his maximum speed. In less than half a day, he reached the city gates. Without hesitation, he strode through them and vanished.
However, he didn't immediately leave the Heaven's Mandate Continent. Instead, he began wandering across its vast expanse.
He traveled west to the Imperial Heaven Dao Palace, observing the birth and death of the Great Dao, the cyclical reincarnation of all things. Whenever enlightenment struck, he would sit down spontaneously, unconstrained by convention.
As time passed, he crossed the borders of two Great Powers, entering the Earth Realm of the Fate Dao Palace, wandering freely.
Soon, he arrived at the Fate Dao Palace itself, seeking Dao Ancestor Houtu. However, he was informed that she had not returned.
Han Yi had long anticipated this outcome; he had merely hoped to try his luck.
Having failed to find Houtu, he departed and explored the surrounding areas of the Fate Dao Palace thoroughly.
To his delight, one day while traversing a mountain range, a notification suddenly popped up on his panel, indicating the presence of Life Seeds to absorb.
Without hesitation, he absorbed all the Life Seeds, ultimately accumulating a total of one hundred thousand.
Following the trail of absorbed Life Seeds, he ventured deep into the mountains, eventually discovering a cave within a remote valley. Inside, he found a corpse sitting cross-legged in meditation—a skeleton completely devoid of flesh.
Strangely, the bones emitted a ghastly green glow.
Han Yi deduced that this cultivator had been poisoned by a lethal toxin capable of killing even a Dao Realm cultivator. The poison had not only caused his death but also completely corroded his physical body, leaving only the bones intact.
Otherwise, even a severely injured Dao Realm cultivator who perished would retain some remnants of their physical body.
Beside the skeleton lay a Broken Sword propped against his feet. Han Yi could tell that the sword's spirituality had been completely drained, likely damaged during the cultivator's final, life-and-death battle.
Not far from the cultivator's remains, a collection of miscellaneous items lay scattered. These objects, having withstood the test of time, clearly possessed extraordinary materials.
Among the scattered items, Han Yi immediately spotted the shattered Source Crystal, its Origin having been absorbed.
Judging by the material of the Broken Sword, it appeared to be a High-Grade Dao Sword. This suggested that the Cultivator who wielded it might have been at either the External Dao Realm or the Dao Harmonization Realm.
What struck him as odd was that, having absorbed the Source Crystal, the Cultivator should have been able to endure for some time longer. Yet they had abandoned their efforts entirely.
Deep within the valley, Han Yi shook his head.
Some truths were destined to remain buried in the river of time, forever hidden from the world.
He had no interest in unraveling them.
Without touching any other items in the cave, he turned and left.
He continued his journey, wandering without deliberately searching for Life Seeds, letting his instincts guide him.
Just as the name of this land implied, the power of Destiny permeated every corner.
For a Dao Realm cultivator, time seemed to accelerate imperceptibly.
By the time he stepped from the eastern void edge of the Fate Dao Palace into the Chaos, eighty-seven years had passed since his arrival on the Heaven's Mandate Continent.
Standing in the Chaos, he gazed back at the Heaven's Mandate Continent, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
"When I return next, it will be to claim Taiyuan."
He turned and vanished into the Chaos, never looking back, heading straight for Volant Heng.
Within a magnificent Great Hall, gentle holy light illuminated every corner. The domed ceiling allowed the slanting rays to reflect off the walls, revealing mysterious murals.
The hall was eerily silent, the very space seeming to freeze.
At a certain moment, the massive doors silently swung open, and a figure clad in a simple white robe entered.
It was a tall female cultivator, her hair neatly pinned with a Dao hairpin, giving her an air of ethereal grace. Though her delicate features suggested she was barely past twenty, her eyes occasionally flashed with an intensely dangerous light.
At her waist hung a slender sword, its sheath and hilt both pure white.
As the female cultivator stepped into the hall, her expression turned solemn. With a wave of her hand, a gentle beam of sacred spirit light drifted toward the depths of the hall. She bowed deeply in that direction.
"In the name of the Great Palace Master, I respectfully request the Holy Sword to aid me in slaying our enemies."
In the depths of the Great Hall, a crimson light suddenly blazed forth, so intense that even the female cultivator instinctively closed her eyes, her face radiating reverence and excitement.
An ancient voice slowly resonated: "Where's that Moon Blossom? Why didn't she come herself?"
The female cultivator replied respectfully, "The Great Palace Master has gone to the Dao God Sect. She sent me to request the Sage-Opening Sword to slay the enemies invading our palace."
Within the crimson glow, a massive sword stood embedded in the sword platform. The faintest wisp of its aura carried an overwhelming aura of killing intent, leaving the female cultivator deeply shaken.
"The Dao God Sect? Why did Moon Blossom go there?"
"Never mind. There's no point in dwelling on it."
"Let's go. Once we've killed the enemy, take me to the Dao God Sect. I want to see what all the fuss is about."
The crimson light rapidly condensed, merging entirely into the massive sword on the platform.
The Giant Sword slowly rose, causing the platform to tremble, its vibrations echoing through the entire hall.
At the entrance to the hall, a massive plaque began to shake, its three characters radiating brilliant light.