Grandmaster Tianji felt a chill he hadn't felt in centuries.
Fear.
The being in front of him was no longer a cultivator. It was a natural disaster given human form.
"Demon!" Tianji roared, burning his longevity blood. "Ancestral Summoning: Avatar of the Heavenly Dao!"
A giant golden projection appeared behind him—a warrior of light, holding a spear of judgment.
"Strike!"
The avatar thrust the spear. It was an attack that could pierce a continent.
Mo Tian didn't dodge. He floated forward. The five rings behind him spun.
"Metal Law: Blunt."
The Metal Ring flashed.
The tip of the golden spear suddenly lost its sharpness. It hit Mo Tian's chest and bounced off like a rubber stick.
"What?" Tianji gasped.
"Fire Law: Extinguish."
The Fire Ring flashed.
The golden light of the Avatar flickered and died. The giant projection dissolved into motes of dust.
"You... you control the laws?" Tianji trembled. "That is Divine Transformation territory!"
"I don't control them," Mo Tian appeared in front of the Grandmaster. "I own them."
He reached out.
Tianji tried to teleport. Space locked. Tianji tried to use a talisman. The paper crumbled. Tianji tried to detonate his soul.
"Wood Law: Stagnation."
Tianji's body froze. His blood stopped flowing. His thoughts slowed to a crawl. He was a statue, trapped in his own mind.
Mo Tian placed his hand on the old man's forehead.
"You protected this world for eight hundred years," Mo Tian whispered. "You maintained the Order. You kept the sheep safe."
Mo Tian smiled.
"But the Wolf is here now. And he is very hungry."
"Devour."
It wasn't a quick absorption. Mo Tian drained him slowly. He peeled the cultivation away layer by layer.
He drank the 800 years of memories. He drank the Dao of Heaven. He drank the Secrets of the Central Continent.
Grandmaster Tianji withered. His skin turned to parchment. His eyes dimmed.
In his final moment, Tianji saw a vision. He saw the world consumed by black fire. He saw Mo Tian standing atop the corpse of the Heavens.
"Monster..." Tianji breathed his last.
Mo Tian dropped the husk.
He looked at his hand. A golden ball of light hovered there—the Heavenly Dao Sect's Legacy Key.
[Devoured: Peak Nascent Soul.] [Cultivation Stabilized.] [Current Realm: Nascent Soul - Stage 2.]
"Stage 2 already," Mo Tian cracked his neck. "High-quality fuel."
He looked toward the Heavenly Dao Sect, far in the distance on the floating mountains of the Central Continent.
"One guardian down. Four to go."
He waved his hand. The storm clouds dispersed. The ocean calmed.
"Time to go home and plan the coronation."