243: The Age Without Saints (42)

Gu Yun stepped out.

Behind him were the surviving members of the Chi Clan and Bone Clan.

The world before them was no longer the Small World rich in Spiritual Qi.

An invisible yet heavy set of shackles pressed down from all directions.

“What’s going on? My spiritual power... it can’t circulate smoothly!”

“Such strong suppression! My strength... has been weakened by at least thirty percent!”

Panic spread through the crowd.

They came from a Small World abundant in Spiritual Qi, like fish brought from the deep sea onto land.

The suppression of the main world’s “Fading Small World” Age of Dharma Decline was poison to them.

Gu Yun furrowed his brow.

He was not greatly affected; the Primordial Chaos Sacred Body and Azure Heaven Indestructible Art allowed him to quickly adapt to any environment.

However, his Minds Eye perceived a deeper terror at this moment.

The Heavenly Dao Ruins.

It had changed.

After thirty years, this was no longer the ruin he remembered—broken but still orderly.

Now, it was filled with chaotic, violent, and purely destructive aura.

“Be alert!”

Gu Yun let out a low shout.

However, it was already too late.

The moment they appeared, the massive life force and vital Qi emanating from the two clan members instantly ignited this silent, dead ruin like torches in the dark.

Deep within the Heavenly Dao Ruins.

Pairs of crimson eyes suddenly lit up.

Following that, thousands upon thousands of pairs appeared.

“Roar—!”

Greedy and thirsty roars came from all directions.

The earth began to shake.

A tide composed of pure black shadows emerged from the edge of the ruins.

They took various forms, but all radiated a terrifying aura capable of devouring all Laws.

Dao-Devouring Beasts.

Moreover, they were much stronger, more violent, and more chaotic than the ones Gu Yun had encountered thirty years ago.

“Form a formation!”

The two Divine Emperor Clan Chiefs of the Chi Clan and Bone Clan reacted immediately.

Enduring the suppression of the world's Laws, they roared as they organized their clansmen.

The warriors of both clans quickly formed a defensive battle formation.

However, the speed of the beast tide far exceeded their imagination.

Boom!

The black tide violently crashed into the light barrier of the newly formed battle formation.

Battle erupted instantly.

“Kill!”

Although the warriors of both clans fought bravely, their resistance seemed pale in the face of the Dao-Devouring Beasts, which possessed an absolute advantage in numbers and utterly disregarded death.

A Chi Clan God Realm expert had just shattered a Dao-Devouring Beast with his totem power.

The next moment, he was instantly torn into pieces by three Dao-Devouring Beasts that lunged out of the shadows.

On the battlefield, blood splattered and screams echoed continuously.

The defense line was rapidly collapsing.

Casualties were heavy.

“No! We can't hold them!”

The Bone Clan Chief yelled hoarsely, swinging his bone staff, taking down several Dao-Devouring Beasts with each strike, but more beasts surged forward frantically.

Seeing the defense line about to be completely overwhelmed.

Gu Yun moved.

He raised his hand.

A small, ancient bronze bell, palm-sized, appeared in his palm.

A quasi-saint weapon, the huntian bell.

“Go.”

Gu Yun flicked his finger.

The huntian bell grew against the wind, instantly transforming into a hundred zhang size, suspended above everyone's heads.

Dong—

A profound and mighty chime echoed across the wilderness.

A purple-gold light barrier spread out, centered on the ancient bell.

The light barrier completely enveloped all the surviving members of the two clans.

The frantically pouncing Dao-Devouring Beasts crashed against the barrier and were instantly shaken into nothingness by the saintly might contained within the bell chime.

For now, they were safe.

Inside the light barrier, the surviving clansmen collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath, grateful for their survival.

However, Gu Yun knew this was only a temporary measure.

Activating a quasi-saint weapon consumed enormous resources.

More importantly, the bell chime would attract even more terrifying existences from the deeper parts of the ruins.

He had to break the deadlock.

Gu Yun took a deep breath and made a decision.

He stepped out, leaving the protection of the light barrier.

“Divine Venerable!”

The Clan Chiefs of both the Chi and Bone Clans cried out simultaneously in alarm.

Gu Yun ignored them.

He stood outside the light barrier, facing the black beast tide with a calm expression.

The next moment.

Boom!

He released the Origin aura of his Primordial Chaos Sacred Body without reservation.

If the vital Qi of the two clan members was merely a torch before.

Then Gu Yun's aura now was like a dazzling sun.

For the Dao-Devouring Beasts, which lived by consuming the Dao.

This aura was an irresistible, ultimate temptation.

It was the supreme tonic.

Roar—!

All the Dao-Devouring Beasts went mad.

They gave up attacking the light barrier, their crimson gazes firmly locked onto Gu Yun.

Hatred was instantly transferred.

Gu Yun used himself as bait, buying time for the others to catch their breath.

“Come.”

Gu Yun pointed his fingers like a sword, confronting the surging black tide alone.

Heart Sword.

Returning to One.

Sever Self.

He utilized the three Divine Abilities to their absolute Peak.

His figure moved through the beast tide as fast as a streak of white lightning.

With every flash, a Dao-Devouring Beast was silently erased.

However, the beast tide was endless, seemingly impossible to kill completely.

Gu Yun's spiritual power was rapidly depleting, and the wounds on his body were increasing.

He gradually felt his strength failing him.

But under extreme pressure, his Battle Intent grew even higher.

The Azure Heaven Indestructible Art within his body frantically circulated, continuously refining the fragments of Heavenly Dao Origin scattered by the slain Dao-Devouring Beasts.

His cultivation base, which had long reached the Peak of the Heavenly God Realm and was saturated to the extreme, was finally completely ignited.

Rumble!

Heaven and earth shook.

A massive vortex of Spiritual Qi rapidly formed above his head, causing the celestial phenomena across ten thousand miles to change suddenly.

The supreme Bottleneck belonging to the Venerable Realm—that solid barrier—developed a crack.

He was about to achieve the Venerable rank right here, right now!

However, precisely at this moment.

Two distinct yet equally terrifying wills descended.

The first will came from the heaven and earth of this “Fading Small World.”

It radiated a cold, merciless aura of decay.

This world was already withered, and it instinctively rejected the birth of any new Venerable, as this would slow down its recovery.

An invisible shackle violently landed on the Dao Fruit Gu Yun was condensing.

This was the Calamity of Fading!

Simultaneously.

From the deepest part of the Heavenly Dao Ruins.

The fragmented Heavenly Dao consciousness—chaotic, mad, and left only with the instinct to devour—also sensed the nascent, complete 'Venerable Position' on Gu Yun's body.

To the fragmented consciousness, this new order was the greatest provocation, and the most delicious food.

Boom!

A power far more terrifying than the Calamity of Fading, filled with the will of destruction and consumption, erupted from the core of the Heavenly Dao Ruins.

This was the Wrath of the Heavenly Ruins!

Dual suppression, internal and external.

Gu Yun's Breakthrough process was instantly blocked.

His 'Venerable Dao Fruit,' shimmering with purple-gold light, began to show fine cracks on its surface.

His Physical Body and Divine Soul were under immense pressure, nearing collapse.

It seemed as though he might completely break down under this dual suppression at any moment.

The Breakthrough was about to fail.

“Pfft!”

Gu Yun violently spat out a mouthful of Origin essence blood, his face turning deathly pale.

His consciousness began to blur.

Was my path destined to end here?

Just as Gu Yun's Dao foundation was about to completely crumble in this critical moment.

In the deepest part of his Sea of Consciousness.

The 'Supreme Divine Ability Seed'—which he had obtained from the mysterious small tower space during secluded cultivation and nurtured with Grandmist Origin for decades.

Completely matured.