Cloudwater Palace, turtle-snake Taiyi... As Li Fan pondered, a plan began to form in his mind.
He certainly wouldn't risk his life to test the Heaven-Scorning Sword's power firsthand inside Taiyi Hall.
And with Formless Killing Mechanism at his disposal, there was no need for such direct exposure.
He deployed his avatar to make some arrangements.
Meanwhile, his true self quietly approached Cloudwater Palace, like a hunter waiting for rabbits.
Soon, a guide to exploring Cloudwater Palace began spreading throughout the Congyun Sea. No one knew its source.
Initially, cultivators remained skeptical of the guide's contents. But as some practitioners tested its methods with their very lives and genuinely obtained inheritance technique, the guide's accuracy was ultimately verified.
By mastering an Oddity's rules, casualties could be nearly eliminated.
Thus, Cloudwater Palace, which was already a popular destination for explorers, became even more bustling.
Not only did rogue cultivators continue to gamble with their lives, but even normally cautious members of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, now armed with these "clearance answers," were unable to resist.
All of them flocked to Cloudwater Palace seeking opportunities.
Li Fan, who had been waiting all this while, selected those with exceptional providence and marked them with Formless Killing Mechanism.
Using them as his eyes, he probed the mysteries of the Heaven-Scorning Sword.
The guide's conclusion clearly explained how to approach Taiyi Hall and awaken the turtle-snake monster, but made no mention of what opportunities one might obtain there.
As the saying goes, “Appetite comes with eating.”
It felt only logical that greater treasures lay deeper within Cloudwater Palace. Moreover, among the many explorers, it was inevitable that there were bold souls full of pioneering spirit.
Thus, under Li Fan's watchful gaze, nearly a dozen individuals, who were still unsatisfied by their current gains, pressed onward to Taiyi Hall.
Soon, they reached the sword forest.
Though the heart-piercing pain from the swords was terrifying, the thought of treasures ahead made the suffering more bearable.
Gritting their teeth against the agony, the group arrived nearly exhausted at the plaza before Taiyi Hall.
Following the guide's instructions, they began shouting:
"I am a disciple of the 167th generation of Cloudwater Palace. I seek an audience with Patriarch Taiyi!"
"Patriarch Taiyi, we beg you to show yourself!"
Their cries echoed above the great hall.
Boom!
The earth trembled as Taiyi Hall rose into the air.
Amidst the fear and anticipation of the crowd, the turtle-snake monster showed its form.
It gazed confusedly at the people before it, taking a long moment to process the situation.
A few quicker-witted cultivators activated the inheritance techniques they'd obtained from Cloudwater Palace, demonstrating their credentials.
The others immediately understood and hurriedly followed suit.
Suddenly, successive flashes of light from various techniques shone within the plaza, illuminating Taiyi.
"You..."
The slow-thinking turtle-snake monster finally gathered its wits.
"Are you all... disciples of Cloudwater Palace?"
Its gaze swept over them, verifying each one individually.
Observing the cultivators' varied expressions, its murky eyes filled with nostalgia and joy.
"Our Cloudwater Palace hasn't been this lively in so long.
"Ever since...
"Wait, I seem to have forgotten something important."
The turtle-snake's tone shifted, and its gaze suddenly grew bewildered.
Then, as if remembering something, its expression drastically changed.
The plaza shook violently as Taiyi Hall shuddered.
The massive turtle-snake monster began trembling uncontrollably for some reason.
"Children..."
It struggled to speak.
"Run!"
The cultivators who had been so eagerly anticipating this moment now stood frozen in place.
They all thought they must have had misheard.
"What does it mean, telling us to run?"
Everyone exchanged puzzled glances, unable to comprehend what was going on.
But as the earth's trembling grew increasingly obvious and violent, they finally began to sense that something was wrong.
"Run!"
Taiyi’s desperate voice echoed once more.
As it shouted, faint blue light began to shimmer around the cultivators, the same power that had previously teleported cultivators out of Cloudwater Palace.
However, just as the blue light was about to solidify, a pitch-black broken sword radiating overwhelming baleful energy suddenly manifested.
This time, it didn't summon countless sword phantoms to pierce the turtle-snake monster.
Instead, it seemed to be struggling to break free from within Taiyi's body.
Amidst the sharp, grating noise, Taiyi let out a cry of agony.
The blue light of the teleportation arcane art was instantly shattered.
Hum!
The broken Heaven-Scorning Sword was on the verge of completely freeing itself from Taiyi.
"NO!"
With a furious roar, the turtle-snake monster suddenly dipped, generating a suction force that slowly drew the sword blade back into its body, inch by inch.
This action seemed to enrage the Heaven-Scorning Sword.
Countless sword phantoms fell like rain, mercilessly piercing through Taiyi's body.
Taiyi screamed in agony but refused to let go.
Between the Heaven-Scorning Sword revealing its true form and the turtle-snake using its own body to restrain the murderous blade like a scabbard, only a moment passed.
Amid Taiyi's mournful cries, the cultivators in the plaza finally woke up, as if startled out of a trance.
Immediately, they sought to flee, and terror filled their faces.
But the sword forest stood before them.
It was difficult enough to traverse when arriving; how quickly could they possibly escape now?
The cultivators only made it about halfway through the sword forest when the Heaven-Scorning Sword finally broke free of Taiyi's body.
Hum!
The sword's cry echoed once more.
As if refusing to dirty its hands, the Heaven-Scorning Sword didn't point its tip toward the fleeing cultivators, but instead aimed at some area behind Taiyi Hall.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
As the sword's cry spread out, the heads of the fleeing cultivators exploded one after another like watermelons.
Their headless bodies continued charging forward eerily, only collapsing after running quite some distance.
Simultaneously, Li Fan instantly lost his visual connection to the area before Taiyi Hall.
Through the perspectives of other cultivators exploring different areas, he faintly witnessed a massive blue hand suddenly appear behind Taiyi Hall, just as the pitch-black Heaven-Scorning Sword ran rampant.
It grasped the sword blade firmly, then brutally slammed it back into Taiyi's body.
The ear-piercing screech of stone sharpening steel immediately spread throughout the entire Cloudwater Palace.
Every cultivator exploring the palace grunted in unison, suffering varying degrees of injury.
Terror bloomed across every face.
Accompanying the grating sound came Taiyi's excruciating wail of pain.
"Hanhai..."
The voice rumbled like muffled thunder, rolling across the sky.
Within the turtle-snake's pained cry lingered something akin to a sigh—one of relief.
Yet notably absent was any trace of resentment.
As the Heaven-Scorning Sword was brought back under control, the countless sword phantoms filling the sky gradually faded away.
Amid deafening rumbles, Taiyi Hall descended once more, and the turtle-snake Taiyi sank back into slumber.
All returned to stillness.
However, that massive blue hand slowly darkened, until it became as black as the Heaven-Scorning Sword itself.