"A thousand flying swords, wielded with your soul rules of half-step Nascent Divinity, two sword formations would be your limit, wouldn't they?"
Zhang Fan's eyes were cold. His words, however, made the white-robed elder feel strange, as if something was amiss. But considering Zhang Fan's strength, he relaxed. After several clashes, he could feel that Zhang Fan's Daoist arts had reached their limit, capable of confronting at most one sword formation.
Now, with two sword formations unleashed simultaneously, their power increased exponentially. Given Zhang Fan's cultivation, even with the aid of a Great Dao mystic treasure, his displayed strength would be limited, making it impossible to break through his sword formations.
Of course, Zhang Fan had no intention of using that Great Dao mystic treasure, as he hadn't yet refined it. But was it necessary to employ a Great Dao mystic treasure to deal with a half-step Nascent Divinity cultivator?
"Divine Grade divine ability, Horn of the Sky Splitter!"
As the cultivation technique within him spun madly, immense spiritual power surged into the fragment of the Sky Splitter Rhinoceros illustration within his body. A colossal phantom of a Sky Splitter Rhinoceros manifested above Zhang Fan's head. Its appearance enveloped the entire Great Luo Sea with an aura of primordial desolation.
The Sky Splitter Rhinoceros trod upon the void, its single horn slightly raised. Space before it was as fragile as thin paper. Zhang Fan clasped his hands together and pushed forward with all his might.
The Sky Splitter Rhinoceros, as if brought to life, galloped through the void, charging towards the white-robed elder.
Wherever it passed, space shattered. The two sword formations that had been rushing towards Zhang Fan trembled faintly and were on the verge of collapse before they even neared the Sky Splitter Rhinoceros.
"Is that the primordial chaotic beast, the Sky Splitter Rhinoceros?" The white-robed elder, having lived for thousands of years, recognized the phantom of the Sky Splitter Rhinoceros the moment he saw it. Yet, he still found it hard to believe.
After all, this chaotic beast was a terrifying entity that stood at the pinnacle of the universe. Anything related to it was not to be underestimated. Even if it was merely a phantom, its overwhelming ferocity made the white-robed elder's heart pound.
This was a suppression of life levels.
"My sword formations!" As the sword formations were about to collide with the phantom of the Sky Splitter Rhinoceros, the white-robed elder felt a sense of dread. He wanted to recall his sword formations, but it was too late.
The sword formations collided with the phantom of the Sky Splitter Rhinoceros. The two Lesser Thousand Sword Formations lasted for less than a single breath before collapsing. A large number of flying swords of the High-Grade Spirit Treasure level were directly shattered, and the soul rule power contained within them was ruthlessly erased.
"Pfft!"
With a significant portion of his soul rules damaged, the white-robed elder could not help but spew a mouthful of blood. His aura immediately became weak. He cast an unwilling glance at Zhang Fan, then turned to flee.
Zhang Fan pushed the rules of thunder and the Kun Peng's Wings to their limits. His speed astonished even the white-robed elder, a half-step Nascent Divinity cultivator. He knew he could not escape by speed alone. With a surge of desperation, he forcibly tore through the void and plunged into the darkness.
"Even if you enter the dark space, you won't escape!" Zhang Fan's speed did not diminish. Before the spatial rift could close, he followed suit and entered.
Zhang Fan was no stranger to the dark space. When he left Earth, he had been ambushed by the Black Flame King. Under duress, he had also chosen this method to escape.
However, back then, his cultivation was too weak; he hadn't even cultivated the Nascent Soul stage. Entering the dark space, he could only leave things to fate.
But it was different now. With his divine body fully in the Minor Accomplishment stage, he could calmly deal with spatial storms.
Although the dark space posed no risk to Zhang Fan now, he dared not relax. After all, the space here was chaotic, and he had not yet cultivated his primordial spirit. He could not sense the corresponding universe space within the dark space. If he traveled too far and was exiled to the cosmic desert, that would be truly dire.
Within the dark space, all that met his eyes was endless darkness. He could not see anything with his naked eyes, relying solely on his soul power to investigate.
"Quite fast!" Zhang Fan's divine sense was locked onto the white-robed elder. The moment he entered the dark space, he discovered that the white-robed elder was enveloped in a bloody mist, seemingly employing an escape technique and fleeing rapidly into the distance.
However, in terms of escape techniques, how could he possibly compare to Zhang Fan? With the Great Peng's Wings deployed, Zhang Fan's speed was almost unparalleled among Nascent Soul cultivators. In just two breaths, Zhang Fan caught up.
Just as Zhang Fan was about to make a move, a silver Nascent Soul shot out from the white-robed elder's body and fled in another direction. His physical body, however, did not slow down, continuing to fly under the manipulation of a trace of soul rule.
"Truly ruthless!"
This move by the white-robed elder indeed put Zhang Fan in a difficult position, causing a momentary hesitation. He could clearly sense that there were no magic treasures on that Nascent Soul. If Zhang Fan chose to pursue its Nascent Soul, he might not get any of the elder's treasures.
Because in this darkness, once the physical body flew out of Zhang Fan's divine sense's perception range, he would never find it. Similarly, if Zhang Fan chose the treasures, the Nascent Soul would have an opportunity to escape.
Since the white-robed elder had made such a decision, it was evident he was prepared for a desperate struggle. Zhang Fan believed that if he chose to pursue the Nascent Soul, the white-robed elder would not hesitate to self-detonate, leaving Zhang Fan with nothing.
The opponent was a half-step Nascent Divinity, his soul already fused with rules. If he chose to self-detonate, even Zhang Fan could not suppress it.
With myriad thoughts racing through his mind, Zhang Fan instantly made his decision. Even if he gained nothing, he could not let the white-robed elder's Nascent Soul escape.
Just as Zhang Fan had predicted, he rapidly pursued the white-robed elder's Nascent Soul. As he was about to catch up, an unwilling roar entered his mind, "You little bastard, I won't let you have it easy even if I die!"
The white-robed elder's silver Nascent Soul rapidly expanded, then reached a critical point and exploded. Powerful energy ravaged the dark space. The previously silent space gradually became agitated.
Streams of spatial turbulence appeared in the dark space and quickly gathered. With the appearance of more and more spatial turbulence, as if triggering a chain reaction, countless spatial turbulences filled the space.
In an instant, a spatial storm had formed.
Zhang Fan swung his sword, cleaving through space, and quickly escaped from the dark space. Although the spatial turbulence posed no threat to him now, he dared not get caught in it easily. He didn't know where this spatial turbulence would ultimately sweep him.
When Zhang Fan emerged from the spatial rift, he found himself above a city. Looking at the closing spatial rift behind him, Zhang Fan could only shake his head and smile helplessly.
However, he soon felt at ease. Although he gained nothing, being able to slay a half-step Nascent Divinity expert was a significant harvest.
After all, even for top forces like the Black Sand Cave Heavens, half-step Nascent Divinity cultivators were like pillars supporting the sky, few in number within a sect.
...