The terrifying light grew larger and larger in my pupils, and I felt as if I could smell the scent of death emanating from it.
I couldn't hold on any longer. Without the Power of the Shepherd God, I was at best a slightly stronger than average ordinary person. I couldn't withstand a power of this magnitude.
I let out a tragic smile and said, "Suddenly I feel so hungry... If only I had eaten Lin Chun's roasted meat earlier..."
A terrifying power swept over me, a force capable of crushing mountains, and struck my body.
At that very moment, countless beams of light shot out from the nearby Soul Suppressing Stele.
The light coalesced into a massive barrier, shielding me.
The terrifying force crashed against the barrier, unable to advance even an inch.
I clearly saw one soul after another, dissipating one by one under this terrifying power.
I saw familiar faces, one after another.
Zhou Ran, Li Hu, Chen Zhiwei, Liu Hao, Yang Chi...
They were all my masters, and I had learned their lifelong skills.
Their faces held smiles, contented smiles, gratified smiles.
Then, under the terrible force, they vanished one by one.
They simply smiled, saying nothing.
In the sky, a sudden radiance reappeared. The soul that had been obscuring the sky then dissipated.
A moment later, Elder Yu appeared before me, his face still bearing a smile.
"No! Don't do this!" Tears streamed uncontrollably down my face. "I have nothing left. I can't beat him. I've tried my best..."
They merely smiled, still desperately resisting that power.
"Can any of you let me die? I can't win. Please, don't do this for me anymore. I can't bear it!" I cried out loudly.
They continued to stand there, blocking until the last soul dissipated. The Heavenly Dao's attack also vanished.
"Hahaha, what a touching scene. Unfortunately, even ants huddled together are still ants!" the Heavenly Dao laughed.
I slowly raised my head, my gaze fixed on the sky. Then, with a clench of my hand, the Soul Suppressing Stele appeared in my palm.
The next instant, a colossal power surged from the Soul Suppressing Stele and flowed into my body.
This familiar power had not diminished...
The branches of the Tree of Life that I had forcibly integrated into their bodies had not been used by my masters, not even a trace of energy...
At this moment, immense power surged within me.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Dao's smile gradually faded.
"I didn't expect you to have a backup plan, but it's useless now!" the Heavenly Dao said. "Even if you have the same power as before, you can never defeat me. I possess even greater power now!"
As he spoke, a self-generated fluctuation swept through his body, and the surrounding world suddenly changed.
Everything turned black and white, the stripes writhing as if alive.
"Do you understand? I have now grasped a more powerful force, and you are now within my domain!" the Heavenly Dao said, looking at me. "You will die a miserable death. Even with this power, you are no match for me..."
I raised my head, my gaze calm as I looked at the Heavenly Dao.
"It's just one last fight," the Heavenly Dao said. With a flip of his hand, my short sword was in his grasp.
"Your weapon is in my hand. Without the one thing that most restrains me in this world, you have no chance of survival!" the Heavenly Dao declared, holding the short sword with both hands and then applying immense pressure.
The short sword, which seemed indestructible to me, split in two within his grasp.
Then, terrifying power enveloped the two halves of the short sword. Endless might relentlessly crushed them until they turned into countless fragments.
"It's over!" the Heavenly Dao declared. "Your struggle against me was a mistake from the very beginning, and now I will correct it!"
"Are you ready to die?" the Heavenly Dao asked.
My gaze remained serene. "Heavenly Dao, you are mistaken... This time, you will surely die..."
"Oh?" the Heavenly Dao sneered. "What more can you do now?"
"I have lost everything..." I looked at the Heavenly Dao. "Therefore, you must die!"
As I spoke, I slowly exhaled and then bit down on my arm.
This was my final move, and I didn't even know if it would work.
This was taught to me by Vixie.
I greedily drank my own blood, its salty, metallic taste filling my mouth.
At this moment, I felt the power within my body being gradually drawn away.
Simultaneously, my chest began to burn.
It felt like a red-hot iron branding my chest.
But I showed no intention of stopping.
My body seemed to be being replaced by another power...
After a few breaths, my consciousness became hazy.
But I could feel a colossal power awakening within me.
This power quickly permeated every corner of my body.
I raised my hand and looked at my arm.
My arm had become withered, resembling the trunk of a large tree.
At this moment, my senses had completely changed.
I could hear no sound, feel no pain, smell no scent...
My body seemed to have become pure instinct.
I saw the Heavenly Dao in the distance, his mouth moving, but I heard nothing.
However, from his eyes, I could see terror.
At one point, I felt my perspective shift, as if my soul had been pulled from my body.
I could clearly see my body transforming into a towering giant tree.
This giant tree had eight branches, identical in shape to the Tree of Life I had seen before.
Except... there was an additional branch.
At this moment, this space began to become unstable, showing signs of shattering.
Then the black and white stripes began to writhe frantically, as if struggling.
But it was of no use.
The black and white stripes vanished, and we returned to the battlefield of flesh and blood from before.
The Heavenly Dao let out a roar and charged towards the Tree of Life.
At this moment, he seemed to have gathered all his strength, and the space itself appeared to be on the verge of collapse. The power of this strike had reached its absolute limit!