Long Chen's actions were incredibly swift and extremely decisive. He didn't hesitate to use his greatest trump card left to take down this Holy Son, hopefully killing him!
Before Wu Yu departed, they had ventured into a tomb of a former expert that once served Wu Yu. He was an extremely powerful Lightning Cultivator who honed his skill in crafting talismans. These talismans had once been used to decimate the other forces of the starfield, forcing them into submission alongside the Myriad Monarch Sect's domineering strength.
They were called Void Lightning Eruption Talismans. The innate power of these talismans were terrifying, rivaling top-tier, ninth-grade pellets of the Alchemic Dao. But unlike pellets which were constructed of raw energies, controlled loosely by spiritual strength, talismans were refined formations that could unleash specific arts and spells.
They held form and usages beyond just orbs of destruction or suppression. Pellets can be likened to grenades, but talismans were far, far greater than that.
The Void Lightning Eruption Talismans contained the Zenith Lightning Art: Void Lightning Eruption within them. It was a self-contained explosion that condensed all its power into a single location and forced that power to revolve within that set area until depleted. If someone gets caught in its area of effect, they would be grinded down by the violent heat and explosive strength of violet lightning until they turned into nothing!
Even Timelords were unable to resist such terrifying power! While Starlords might be severely injured or even directly killed if they were careless or weakened!
The Holy Son of Transformative Water was taken aback by the sudden appearance of the talisman. He subconsciously defended himself by twisting the gravitational forces around him, hoping to redirect the talisman's trajectory. And while this might work on pellets, this wasn't possible for such an advanced talisman!
The innate formations repelled the gravitational influences, rendering it useless, and even moving faster than before! His eyes widened with shock and horror! He wasn't an ignorant welp, realizing the origins and purpose of this talisman! But it was too late!
The sphere was already at his chest, already about to explode! A torrent of emotions roared out of his mouth, causing an embarrassing scream to resound throughout the air! Was this how he was going to die?! Was this how a Holy Son will meet his end?!
"No!"
Long Chen saw this and his eyes filled with glee, feeling that it wasn't a waste to use this treasure to eliminate this disgusting, detestable fellow! It was just unfortunate that he couldn't save it for Wei Wuyin!
But what Long Chen saw next shocked him to his core.
"Haha, gotcha."
The Holy Son that was extremely fearful one moment abruptly changed the next, a playful grin on his face. The orb was still at his chest! But as if held by an invisible hand, it was held steadily while slowly rotating. There was no explosion, no raging lightning, or no dying Holy Son!
"You really don't know about this world's rules, do you? Must be a trial participant. But one without Elemental Origin Intent? How stupid." The Holy Son ridiculed Long Chen with the most pitiful gaze he could muster. The lightning talisman shot off like a comet, being sent into the skies and vanishing in a blink of an eye.
"…!" Everyone was sent into shock. A few didn't know what had happened, but they felt hope and happiness when the Holy Son screamed out like a little girl. They thought his life would end and they would have overcome this tribulation!
Alas!
Was it all an act?
Confused, Long Chen retreated as he stared at the sky that whisked away his talisman. His facial expression was extremely ugly at the moment, twisted with dark emotions. How did this happen?!
The Holy Son wasn't in a rush, slowly descending, having entered the internal shielding area, ensuring there was no defensive layer between him and these crew members. When he landed on the deck, he explained: "This isolated world isn't very durable. In fact, its extremely fragile, so cultivators, pellets, or talismans that can touch upon the level of a Starlord are heavily forbidden. The Season of Regression prevents pellets from activating in areas that aren't Safe Zones, like the Central Region. As for those inside the Central Region, they are taken somewhere. And Starlords are trapped in cages, their auras restrained and confined in a specific area.
"Anyways, talismans of that level are taken the moment they come out by the overseer of this world in non-Safe Zones, because unlike pellets, they can't be restricted. To think you entered here without knowing that, how useless. It wouldn't be a trial or a training ground if you could rely on external forces to dominate the world, no?" He chuckled with words that seemingly answered itself.
Long Chen's expression contorted! His greatest trump card was useless all along?! His heart sank into the greatest depths of despair, cursing the overseer of this trial. But he didn't give up yet, retrieving his sword and readying himself.
He would still fight!
Unbothered by Long Chen's fighting spirit, the Holy Son continued, "I want you all to know the one who'll send you on your way, think of it as a favor for allowing me to have that laugh. My name's He Yanglei, remember it on your journey to your next life."
"…!" All the crew members felt an impending sensation of deadly crisis as they heard this. The vanguards rushed the Holy Son with violent expressions, their auras surging chaotically and ferociously. They launched numerous astral arts, unleashed spells, and attacked from multiple angles.
"Wait!" Shui Linghe cried out. She regretted dropping the shield, allowing the wolf in. But her words went unheard as those men used their Sky Ruler cultivation bases to their utmost limits! While they were a full four levels behind He Yanglei, they didn't hesitate to harm their foundation to unleash overwhelmingly explosive attacks!
He Yanglei sneered. With a finger, he pointed at one of the vanguards to his right. That burly man froze in mid-air, his expression twisted and contorted in pain.
"NO!" He shouted in his last moments.
POOSH!
That valiant, fearless cultivator violently exploded into bloody mist! There wasn't even bone fragments or skin left, just blood! He was completely eviscerated as his remains sprayed the others behind him. Their faces painted with the blood of their allies, some even tasted it with their mouths opened mid-howl!
He Yanglei twirled his finger casually.
POOSH! POOSH! POOSH!
As the finger moved, an invisible force crushed these vigorous warriors out of existence, turning them into a bloody mist without any substance! The fear soon sunk into the other crew, they screamed in horror!
"EHHHHH!" A female crew member shrieked as her lover was turned into nothing but blood in the blink of an eye. She screamed in terror, but her voice was cut short as her body burst into bloody mist, painting the deck in her blood alongside her lover's.
"Noisy," He Yanglei indifferently said. He held nothing back as he moved his finger. Those hiding in wait to launch long distance attacks, even closer to He Yanglei than that woman was, grew terrified. They shot backwards, but their bodies barely got a few feet before they poofed into bloody mist.
"Stop!" Shui Linghe screamed in horror watching the lives of her crew of several decades be snuffed out so carelessly with extreme ease. It was horrifying! Terrifying! Heart-rending! "Stop! Please stop!"
Yet He Yanglei utterly ignored her pleas.
Long Chen gripped his sword, contemplating if he should run after witnessing this scene. He kept his Imperial Heaven Aura shrouding Lian Yu, intent on protecting her. But he was utterly awed by the devastating power wielded by those at the Gravity Emission Phase!
POOSH! POOSH! POOSH!
"Holy Son, please spare me! I'll be your servant! I'll do anything you ask!" A pretty young elf kneeled, fearful of an abrupt death. Her face was flowing with an outpour of tears.
He Yanglei curiously glanced at this woman, pausing his killing for a brief moment. When she saw him look her way, she tried to put on her best smile, but he merely turned his finger her way. Before her expression could flash with horror, she exploded into a gushing spray of bloody mist!
"Pathetic trash. You're not worthy to be my servant," he continued his slaying with a casual smile. The sixty-three crew swiftly dwindled to twenty-two. A few were too terrified, jumping overboard in a last-ditch effort, but they got no more than a few meters before their lives ended without a complete corpse. There was no fighting spirit before absolute strength.
"You bastard!" Seeing her crew die horrendous deaths, Shui Linghe took arms, blurring towards He Yanglei with her harpoon laced with runic markings. She struck with her all, fully understanding that she would die. If she could delay him for a few seconds, allow her crew members a wisp of hope to escape, she would take it!
He Yanglei turned to her, observing her cultivation. "Soul Idol Phase? Only the Sixth-Ring? Truly nothing but a useless sharp-eared creature with a somewhat decent body. To think I called you talented." His words were extremely demeaning, but there was no one who could obtain justice! He moved his hand to form a palm, slapping towards Shui Linghe.
A burst of spiritual force smashed into her chest, taking her breath away as her Astral Soul was rattled. She was sent flying, crashing into a wall of the boat. The sturdy wall kept her from crashing through, but she spurted out a mouthful of blood.
"Just wait until I'm done. I'll give you what you want," He Yanglei faintly smiled in a seemingly doting fashion, but it was extremely mockful.
"…Y-you!" She coughed out another mouthful of blood, trying to surge her astral force and launch a suicidal attack, yet she discovered her Astral Soul was thoroughly sealed! She clutched at her dantian, pain wreathing her body as more cries of horror and terror resounded. The sound of her crew dying in poofs of bloody mist, some even reaching her, caused tears to fall without end.
She was so useless!
She regretted coming here!
Long Chen was just standing there, but he wasn't idling about as tragedies struck others. In fact, he's been accumulating his astral force since he decided to fight it out! His opponent had two levels of cultivation beyond him, and his foundation was clearly not a single ounce less than him. Just from his aura, Long Chen could determine that He Yanglei was a Zenith Mortal State, Nine-Ring Soul Idol, Nine-Ripple Spatial Resonance, with White-colored Primary Light! He had the best foundation at his cultivation level!
He needed to decide this in a decisive strike!
'Now!' Long Chen roared in his heart, bringing out his three Intents of Battle, Slaughter, and Sword Intent to form a trace of the Dao of War! With his Intent maximized, unwittingly tapping into a profound law, he poured his astral force into his sword infused with this profound law!
"DIE!" He swung his sword out, unleashing a terrifying wave of world-rending, life-ending, and powerful sword light! It shot into the sky, piercing into the isolated world and briefly formed an opening as an unfathomable power strengthened it further!
If Wei Wuyin had seen this sword strike, he would have been incredibly awed! This was far stronger than his attack unleashed with Saber Heart Intent, converting the ambient energies and essences of this world into saber! It touched upon a power beyond Intent, but just barely.
He Yanglei never considered Long Chen a threat. But when the sword light pierced into the sky, he halted his massacre and observed the light. His eyes started to widen, and true shock, not the acted shock from earlier, revealed itself!
"Laws?!" A quaking and fearful voice left his mouth as he sounded, and before he could react, the sword light engulfed him and half the boat in its radiance! The Noxious Seas was split! For a ten thousand miles, a long streak of roughly a meter wide etched into the seas!
Long Chen started to profusely sweat, his breathing rough and heavy. Even his breath could be seen, his exhaustion in his eyes was unhidden! That was the strongest attack he'd ever unleashed in his entire life.
But when the radiance subsided, he didn't see a severed He Yanglei! Or a torn corpse. Instead, he saw nothing but a long line that extended far beyond the horizon!
"Are you an idiot? Did you think I would just stand still?" A mocking voice resounded behind him.