Chapter 1008: Only One Battle

Buzz!

Blessed by the Stellar Great Power, the lotus blossom that was about to disintegrate instantly steadied its form! The dim stellar runes on its petals reignited, even becoming more brilliant and intricate! A profound, vast, all‑encompassing cosmic aura spread outward!

The filthy dark water column, before the platinum holy radiance infused with Stellar Great Power, seemed to meet its true nemesis! Its eroding speed suddenly slowed, even being purified and dispelled by that sacred, vast light! The front of the jet‑black water column began to show obvious "fading"!

"Effective!" Han Wuxian's spirit surged! The Light Dao merged with the stars, and its purifying power underwent a qualitative change! It naturally counters the deep‑sea filth power!

However, the ferocity of Shen Yan Kong'ao was fully ignited!

Its massive body finally rose completely above the water! It was a moving, terrifying island cloaked in black bone armor, like an ancient mountain range! Even the exposed back spanned several thousand zhang! A flash of astonishment flickered in its crimson giant eye, then was instantly replaced by even more ferocious fury!

Aaaah!!! It let out a roar that shattered the heavens, its huge body stirring up ten‑thousand‑foot waves!

This time, it ceased ranged attacks and instead swung its colossal tail like a celestial pillar, hoisting billions of tons of seawater into a terrifying water dragon vortex that linked heaven and earth, while its snarling head, bearing the force to crush everything like a collapsing mountain, slammed fiercely toward Han Wuxian!

Close‑quarters combat! The flesh of the Nascent Soul Beast itself is the most terrifying weapon!

Dodge? Impossible! The space of this sea has been suppressed by its terrifying power and domain!

Retreat? Behind lies an even more perilous boundless deep sea!

Only one battle! Live towards death!

Han Wuxian's eyes erupted with unprecedented resolve! He pushed his speed to the limit, the platinum radiance trailing a long light tail behind him like a meteor swimming upstream, advancing rather than retreating, boldly confronting the crashing terrifying head!

"Golden Sun·Break Evil Slash? No! It's Light Punishment·Starfall!!!"

He poured his newfound comprehension of the Light Dao, the Stellar Great Power, his unyielding will, all his spiritual energy, all his soul power, into the long sword in his hand! The sword erupted with unprecedented dazzling light, no longer merely golden, but transformed into a Judgement Sword burning with platinum holy flame, its interior coursing with a star‑river light band!

The blade quivered wildly, emitting a soul‑rending hum! The sword aura surged, becoming a platinum star river that pierced heaven and earth! Within the star river, countless phantom stars floated and flickered, exuding the ultimate pressure of judgement, purification, and termination!

This is the strongest strike he can currently unleash! A limit beyond realms! An all‑or‑nothing finishing blow!

Slash!!!

Han Wuxian burned with the source of his life, letting out an earth‑shaking roar! Both hands gripped the Judgement Sword that seemed to drain his very soul, and he poured everything into a fierce downward slash at the crashing, mountain‑sized snarling head of Shen Yan Kong'ao!

The sword aura, like a platinum star river, tore through the filthy water vortex, ripped the crushing pressure, bearing the cosmic will to purify filth and end darkness, and struck down mercilessly!

Shen Yan Kong'ao seemed to sense the deadly threat embedded in that strike! For the first time, a clear unease and… a hint of fear flashed in its crimson giant eye! It frantically drove its demonic power, the black bone armor on its head erupting with a thick, ink‑like filthy glow, attempting a hard resistance! "Boom—boom—boom—boom!!!!"

An indescribably terrifying collision erupted!

The platinum star river slammed violently into the filthy demon mountain!

Blinding light instantly devoured everything! It was as if a star had detonated in this sea! A raging energy shockwave formed a sphere and spread wildly in all directions! The sea surface below was forcefully pressed into a massive bowl‑shaped depression, a thousand zhang deep! The surrounding space, like shattered mirrors, was riddled with black cracks! Gale howls, thunder erupts!

Stalemate! Only a heartbeat!

The Stellar Great Power contained in the platinum star river, together with the ultimate purifying Light Dao holy radiance, pierced the abyssal beast's head armor like a red‑hot branding iron into ice! The filthy bone armor on Shen Yan Kong'ao's head, reputed to resist Nascent Soul late‑stage attacks, emitted a tooth‑aching "Crunch!" as it shattered! Massive cracks spread wildly from the sword aura's impact point!

Aaaah...!!! Shen Yan Kong'ao let out an unprecedented, excruciating wail! Platinum holy flame surged madly through the cracks, scorching its filthy flesh and demonic soul! That purifying force was, to it, like the most potent poison!

"Give me, Break!!!" Han Wuxian's seven orifices bled, his arm muscles fissured inch by inch, exposing stark white bone! His Golden Core violently trembled, even fine cracks appearing on its surface! He was burning his life and Dao Foundation! Yet his gaze was maddened, his will iron, pressing the last shred of strength down!

Crunch!

Boom!!!

Accompanied by an earth‑shaking, shattering roar, the massive snarling head of Shen Yan Kong'ao was forcibly split almost in half by the impact of the platinum star river and the internal holy flame! Ink‑green, magma‑like viscous filthy demonic blood gushed out like a breached dam, mingling with shattered bone armor and brain matter, flooding the sea and turning a vast area into a terrifying ink‑green hue!

Fatal wound! Demonic soul severely damaged!

Shen Yan Kong'ao's massive body, as if its spine had been ripped out, suddenly went rigid! Its crimson giant eye instantly lost all ferocity, turning gray and dead! It emitted a final low wail, filled with endless pain and unwillingness, its huge form like a powerless meteor, bearing world‑shattering force, crashing toward the massive vortex abyss below!

Boom!!!

Towering waves! A tsunami swept through! The entire boundless sea's edge trembled!

Han Wuxian's body was like a kite with its line cut, violently tossed away by the raging energy turbulence! The platinum holy radiance on his surface was completely extinguished, the long sword in his hand grew dim, his arms' flesh a blur, stark white bone exposed, and his chest collapsed further, an unknown number of ribs broken!

Fresh blood gushed out of his mouth and wounds as if money were worthless. The spiritual energy inside was completely depleted, his Golden Core riddled with cracks, dim and lifeless, and his soul was like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.

He slammed heavily onto a massive reef hurled up by the tsunami, darkness enveloped his vision, only the roar of the waves and excruciating pain rippling through his body could be heard.

Did… I win?

With a mid‑stage Golden Core, he leapt a rank to slay a deep‑sea leviathan of the Nascent Soul stage…

The price was a Dao Foundation on the brink of collapse…

His consciousness sank like descending into a cold, dark abyss, continually falling… falling…

Just as he was about to be utterly consumed, his blurred vision seemed to glimpse that resolute departing silhouette again, hearing a shout from deep within his soul:

"…I… still cannot… fall…"

A faint yet incredibly tenacious will to survive flickered like a spark in the darkness, stubbornly beating once.

Simultaneously, within his shattered body, deep in the nearly extinguished Golden Core, a faint thread of platinum light, containing a hint of new life, rose like an awakened seed, extremely slowly yet stubbornly… brightening.

Within that light, a trace still lingered of the most purified, essential life essence from Shen Yan Kong'ao…