Chapter 241: Taiyi Absorbs Heavenly Calamity

"Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, Tortoise-Snake Taiyi..."

Li Fan pondered for a moment and made up his mind. Of course, he couldn't personally risk danger by going to Taiyi Hall to test the Heavenly Fiend Sword's power himself. However, with his Faceless Killing Intent, he didn't need to personally brave the danger. He used a clone to go out and make some arrangements. Meanwhile, Li Fan's true self quietly arrived in front of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, patiently waiting for an opportunity.

Soon, a guide for exploring the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, whose origin was unknown, spread throughout the entire Cloud Sea. Initially, cultivators were skeptical about the content of this "guide." However, after some cultivators personally risked their lives to test it and genuinely received cultivation techniques, the guide's accuracy was finally verified. Mastering the peculiar rules meant that casualties could almost be avoided. Consequently, the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, which had always attracted cultivators, became even livelier. Not only desperate rogue cultivators, but even members of the Myriad Immortals Alliance, who were typically cautious and prioritized their survival, couldn't resist the temptation after obtaining the "clearance solution." One after another, they headed to the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace to seek their own opportunities.

Li Fan, who had been waiting for a long time, selected those with excellent luck and locked onto them with his Faceless Killing Intent. He used them as his own eyes to investigate the mysteries of the Heavenly Fiend Sword. This was because the guide clearly explained how to approach Taiyi Hall and awaken the Tortoise-Snake monster. However, it did not mention what opportunities could be obtained there. As the saying goes, having gained one advantage, they wanted more. According to conventional wisdom, the deeper one ventured into the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, the more valuable the opportunities would surely be. Among so many explorers, there was naturally no shortage of courageous individuals eager to explore further.

Thus, under Li Fan's watchful eye, nearly a dozen people, still unsatisfied after gaining benefits from various parts of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, set off towards Taiyi Hall. They eventually arrived in front of the Sword Forest. The heart-piercing pain inflicted by the swords was terrifying, but thinking of the easily obtainable treasures ahead, the pain seemed to lessen considerably. The group gritted their teeth, enduring severe pain, and arrived at the plaza in front of Taiyi Hall, nearly collapsing from exhaustion. One after another, following the guide, they began shouting loudly.

"The 167th generation disciple of Cloudwater Heavenly Palace requests an audience with Ancestor Taiyi!""Ancestor Taiyi, please come out and meet us!"

Their shouts echoed throughout the space above the hall.

"Boom!"

The ground trembled, and Taiyi Hall rose into the air. To their mix of fear and anticipation, the Tortoise-Snake monster truly appeared. It looked at the people before it with a bewildered expression and didn't react for a long time. However, a few more astute cultivators were present. They activated the inherited cultivation techniques obtained from the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace, demonstrating their identities. The others immediately understood and quickly followed suit. For a moment, on the plaza, varied lights from different activated cultivation techniques shone one after another, illuminating Taiyi.

"You all..."

The slow-witted Tortoise-Snake monster finally came to its senses. "Are all of you disciples of my Cloudwater Heavenly Palace?" Its gaze swept across them, confirming each one. As it looked at the cultivators with their varied expressions, its cloudy eyes filled with emotion and joy. "My Cloudwater Heavenly Palace hasn't been this lively in a long time. Since..."

"Wait, I think I've forgotten something important." The Tortoise-Snake's tone changed, and its eyes suddenly became bewildered. Then, as if remembering something, its expression drastically changed. The plaza trembled, and Taiyi Hall shook violently. For some reason, the Tortoise-Snake monster's massive body began trembling uncontrollably.

"Children..." It roared with difficulty, its voice trembling. "Run!"

In front of Taiyi Hall, the previously expectant cultivators were all stunned. They all thought they had misheard. "What does it mean to tell us to run?" They looked at each other, perplexed. But as the trembling of the ground became increasingly obvious and violent, they finally realized something was wrong.

"Run!" Tortoise-Snake Taiyi's desperate voice sounded again. With its shout, faint blue light began to appear on the cultivators' bodies. This was the same technique that could instantly teleport cultivators out of the Cloudwater Heavenly Palace. However, just before the blue light could fully form, an entirely black broken sword, exuding overwhelming malevolence, suddenly appeared. This time, it did not summon ten thousand sword phantoms to pierce the Tortoise-Snake monster. Instead, it seemed to want to break free from within Taiyi's body.

Amidst a sharp, grating friction sound, Taiyi let out a pained wail. The casting of the teleportation blue light was immediately interrupted.

"Buzz!"

The broken Heavenly Fiend Sword was about to completely detach from Taiyi. "No!" The Tortoise-Snake monster roared in fury, and its body suddenly sank downwards. An infinite suction force seemed to generate within its body. Inch by inch, the sword body was re-absorbed back into its body.

This action of Tortoise-Snake Taiyi seemed to enrage the Heavenly Fiend Sword. Countless sword phantoms, like falling rain, appeared. They mercilessly pierced through Taiyi's body. Taiyi let out a painful howl but still refused to release its hold. The entire process, from the Heavenly Fiend Sword revealing its true form to Tortoise-Snake using its body as a sheath to prevent the Heavenly Fiend Sword from wreaking havoc, occurred in a blink of an eye.

Amidst Taiyi's mournful cries, the cultivators on the plaza finally awoke as if from a dream. Their faces filled with fear, they tried to flee. Unfortunately, the Sword Forest lay ahead; traversing it had been extremely difficult on their way in. How could they easily escape now?

Just as the group had only traversed half the distance through the Sword Forest, the Heavenly Fiend Sword finally broke completely free from within Taiyi's body.

"Buzz!"

The sword hummed once more. As if disdaining to act personally, the tip of the Heavenly Fiend Sword did not point at the fleeing cultivators. Instead, it pointed remotely towards a certain area behind Taiyi Hall. As the sword's hum spread,

"Bang!""Bang!""Bang!"

The heads of the fleeing cultivators burst open one after another, like watermelons. Their headless bodies continued to strangely rush forward until they had gone quite far before falling to the ground.

At the same time, Li Fan instantly lost his view of the area in front of Taiyi Hall. He could only vaguely see through the perspectives of cultivators exploring in other areas. Just as the pitch-black Heavenly Fiend Sword was wreaking havoc, a giant blue hand suddenly appeared behind Taiyi Hall. It gripped the sword. Then it fiercely re-inserted it back into Tortoise-Snake Taiyi's body. A grating friction sound immediately spread throughout the entire Cloudwater Heavenly Palace.

At that moment, all cultivators exploring within the Heavenly Palace groaned, suffering injuries of varying degrees. All of them wore expressions of horror. Accompanying the unpleasant sound, like a sharpening stone rubbing, was Tortoise-Snake Taiyi's extremely tragic wail.

"Hanhai..."

The voice, like muffled thunder, rumbled and spread everywhere. In Tortoise-Snake's painful voice, there seemed to be a sigh, or perhaps a breath of relief. But resentment was notably absent. The Heavenly Fiend Sword was brought back under control, and the myriad sword phantoms in the sky gradually vanished. Amidst a rumbling sound, Taiyi Hall descended once more, and Tortoise-Snake Taiyi fell back into slumber. Everything returned to peace. However, the blue giant hand slowly turned pitch-black, just like the Heavenly Fiend Sword.