Perhaps because of me, the others around also began to frantically burn the remaining Divine Shepherd power within their bodies.
They desperately lifted their heads, gazing at the giant phantom ahead.
"No matter what our end will be, we have never surrendered, nor will we ever surrender!" one person shouted, tears of blood streaming from his eyes.
"Heavenly Dao, you will ultimately be brought down by us. Even if you can kill all of our cultivators, you can never extinguish our will!"
"We will come one after another. As long as there is the slightest chance, we will never let you go. Our hatred for you will become our eternal spiritual pillar!"
"You can kill us, but you can never defeat us!"
Voices rose one after another, and my body trembled with them.
A majestic power gathered in my chest, a blend of anger and sorrow.
Though I desperately wanted to speak, I found myself unable to open my mouth.
"You will all perish here. One day, there will be no cultivators left in this world!" the phantom's voice boomed, carrying immense authority.
The pressure on our bodies instantly intensified.
But in this moment, not a single one of us faltered.
Everyone stubbornly held their heads high. Despite the immense pain wracking their bodies, not one showed the slightest sign of retreat.
I could clearly sense the atmosphere around us shifting.
But I was powerless at this moment.
I felt that under these circumstances, the Divine Shepherd power could no longer sustain our bodies. Thus, those around me were burning their lives and souls in a final struggle, expressing their innermost will.
This scene struck me with profound shock.
The enemy was utterly invincible, possessing unparalleled power.
Yet, even so, not one person chose to retreat, not one chose to give up. Everyone, in their own way, continued to fight with their lives and souls.
That spirit stirred a tempest within me, emotions surging wildly. I forced my mouth open and shouted, "One day, I will personally slay you!"
My voice, imbued with terrifying Divine Shepherd power, spread outwards in waves.
I could even feel that the pressure surrounding us seemed to have lessened considerably at that moment.
But the next moment, I felt something was amiss.
For I clearly saw everyone on this towering pillar turn their gaze towards me.
The giant phantom also seemed to direct its attention my way.
At this instant, I felt a pang of awkwardness. The atmosphere had been so charged, and my words, were they really so out of place?
I intended to explain myself further, but found I couldn't utter another sound.
I could only curse inwardly.
However, bound to this towering pillar as we were, the ultimate outcome was essentially the same.
"It doesn't matter. I'll be the first to die!" My heart was extraordinarily calm.
Just then, I heard a laugh from beside me, followed by various other laughter echoing from the pillar.
I frowned. Were my words really that amusing?
"It's you, it's you! It's you, isn't it?" someone beside me strained to turn their body. Despite their internal organs already bleeding, I could clearly sense the excitement in their tone.
I had no idea what they were talking about, desperately trying to control my body to ask, but found myself unable to.
"Yes, it must be you, it must be you! Hahaha!" the person beside me roared with laughter.
"I knew it, I knew it! It had to be this way! Hahaha!"
"Wonderful. Even if I die now, I feel it's all worth it. Heavenly Dao, do you see? Do you feel despair now?"
"The flame of cultivators will never be extinguished. One day, we will utterly slay you!"
Voices filled with excitement and joy came from all directions.
They seemed to have glimpsed endless hope, and a vision of the future.
While I wasn't sure if the Heavenly Dao was watching me, I felt its gaze fixed upon me.
"Do you think I will let him leave?" the Heavenly Dao's voice boomed, its murderous intent now utterly unconcealable.
I suddenly felt an extremely terrifying aura rapidly condensing, then hurtling towards my position.
The clouds were instantly torn apart, and at that moment, space itself seemed to tremble. I clearly saw it: an ancient longsword.
The power carried by the sword seemed capable of rending space itself, and its target was me!