The first attack failed, but another came without pause.
The great blade in his hands transformed into countless blade shadows, enveloping Xiaoyuer completely within their cover.
Xiaoyuer could only dodge ceaselessly.
But she noticed that the ring on Ouyang Lingyu's finger was gone.
She knew that Ouyang Lingyu had used a treasure to break free.
However, Xiaoyuer was not panicked at all. Instead, while dodging, she kept observing Ouyang Lingyu's movements.
Soon, Xiaoyuer found an opening.
She stopped dodging. Instead, she gripped her divine weapon longsword tightly, and with a spin of her body, raised it upward to block.
Clang— Blade met sword, sparks and ripples erupting simultaneously. But in the instant Xiaoyuer turned, her foot was already striking.
The blade and sword collided, and her foot had already arrived, landing with a boom on Ouyang Lingyu's abdomen.
The tremendous force not only sent Ouyang Lingyu flying— The glow of the divine weapon longsword in Xiaoyuer's hand surged, and she thrust it toward Ouyang Lingyu once more.
Boom— In that moment, a colossal sword phantom spanning a thousand meters materialized. It was not only massive but astonishingly swift.
Once the sword appeared, the void's aura and the seawater below were simultaneously cleaved apart by its blade energy.
"Damn it."
Ouyang Lingyu cursed furiously, no longer trying to dodge.
This strike—he could not evade it.
This was a second-stage Divine Seal!!!
Yet just as the colossal sword arrived before him, it shattered into pieces, dispersing one after another around his body, leaving him completely unharmed.
A golden radiance had appeared on Ouyang Lingyu's body, the glow carrying inscriptions that shielded him, containing an indestructible power.
"You're using a treasure? Have you no shame?"
Although the exchange had been swift, Long Chengyu could tell that Ouyang Lingyu had not shattered that powerful golden greatsword through his own strength—it was because he possessed a formidable treasure.
"This is the heritage of my clan. Do you understand?" Ouyang Lingyu shot Long Chengyu a disdainful look, then swept his palm across his Universe Bag, producing a pill inscribed with a thunder symbol.
"Lingyu Brother, there's no need for this!!!" Seeing this, Ouyang Kuangfei and the gathered juniors all cried out in protest.
"I fight for the honor of the Ouyang Heavenly Clan."
"For the glory of our clan, a mere forbidden pill is nothing." With that, Ouyang Lingyu opened his mouth and swallowed the pill.
In an instant, the thunder armor around his body grew far more imposing, thunder radiating outward with overwhelming dominance.
His battle power had surged several times over.
"Miss!!!"
But at that very moment, Ouyang Kuangfei rushed toward Xiaoyuer.
He had noticed that Xiaoyuer was falling from midair.
However, before he could reach her, a figure got there first and caught Xiaoyuer in her arms—it was Long Muxi.
Xiaoyuer was utterly exhausted now, with no strength left to continue fighting.
Long Muxi's eyes were filled with heartache.
She knew that the Xiaoyuer who had been lively and spirited just moments ago had been reduced to this—all for Chu Feng.
Climbing those terrifying steps had been for Chu Feng.
Her growing weakness must also have been because of Chu Feng.
Even agreeing to fight Ouyang Lingyu had been for Chu Feng.
Her heart ached, and she felt deep guilt. If she could, she would willingly do something for Chu Feng as well, but her abilities were simply insufficient.
"Sister Muxi, I'm fine. I just need to rest a little," Xiaoyuer forced out a weak smile.
At this moment, Ouyang Kuangfei and Long Chengyu had both arrived at Xiaoyuer's side.
They all wanted to do something, but it seemed there was nothing they could do.
The healing pills—Xiaoyuer had already taken them herself. This was no longer a situation where treasures could cure her.
"Hey, what's going on? You're not fighting anymore?"
"No way—are you messing with me on purpose?"
"I just took that forbidden pill."
Ouyang Lingyu did not feel the slightest sympathy for Xiaoyuer. He only felt a sense of speechlessness.
Forbidden pills came with a devastating backlash.
Otherwise, why would Ouyang Kuangfei and the others have tried to stop him from swallowing one?
Rumble— But at that very moment, a piercing roar echoed from high above the void.
The roar grew ever more intense, as if countless savage beasts were howling.
Their numbers were immense, the sound coming from every direction in the void, as though the entire world had been sealed off.
While everyone looked on in bewilderment, light began to flicker within the churning black flames that shrouded the sky.
The glow grew increasingly brilliant, transitioning from phantom to substance, and people finally saw it clearly—that was thunder. The thunder was far away, but even that terrifying black mist could not obscure its presence.
In the blink of an eye, the entire heaven and earth were illuminated by thunder. The surging seawater churned in a bizarre, almost fearful manner, as if wailing in terror.
The people were not surprised by the changes in the seawater.
Despite the immense distance, the nine colossal thunder beasts that faintly manifested struck fear deep into their hearts.
Never mind all nine—even a single bolt of thunder falling would be enough to destroy the world.
If the full might of those nine thunder beasts were truly unleashed, perhaps even the vast Martial Cultivation World might not be able to withstand it.