Chapter 721: Come Forward and Die First

The Mother Goddess Sect’s Protectors were all excited, silently counting down, for only one breath’s time remained.

The Bamboo Mountain Pavilion Master watched as Dongbo Xueying approached, shaking his head inwardly. “Still not giving up? Dongbo Xueying, the most dazzlingly talented cultivator in this universe, truly refuses to yield until the very last moment. A pity—the outcome is already decided.”

Suddenly—

Dongbo Xueying, still walking forward, extended his left hand. A black gourd materialized in his palm, and with a natural motion, he pulled out the stopper.

“Not good!” The Bamboo Mountain Pavilion Master’s expression changed drastically.

“Be careful!” The golden-furred ape, the woman with the venomous tail, the burly man wielding a staff, and the other top-tier Protectors, though none recognized the black gourd, knew at this critical juncture that it must be extraordinary.

“BOOM!!!”

From the mouth of the black gourd surged an overwhelming, unstoppable, mist-like ripple.

This devastating ripple, composed of countless overlapping black undulations, fanned outward in a sweeping arc the moment it left the gourd. Within it was a terrifying fluctuation comparable to that of a solar star’s core, constrained by the gourd’s void formation and unleashed through its opening. It tore through everything in its path—not as an attack launched by a cultivator, but as a natural phenomenon akin to the destructive force of a celestial body like a solar star. The profundities within it were such that comprehending them could lead one to forge their own Dao, even reaching the level of a Paragon.

“This is—” All the Mother Goddess Sect Protectors wore expressions of horror.

It was too fast.

The distance between them was already negligible, and the black ripple could span hundreds of millions of miles in an instant. Before they could react, the dark, mist-like wave had already engulfed them!

The vast ripple swept over them like a black wind.

“Tzzzt—” The bodies of the supremely resilient top-tier Protectors contorted in terror before shattering completely under the force of the ripple. Even their sturdy forms could not withstand the devastation.

The Bamboo Mountain Pavilion Master stood at the center of the Protectors. Though the three Sacred Protectors shielded him, the ripple was omnipresent. His body, lacking the durability of the top-tier Protectors, was instantly obliterated. His truesoul crumbled as well, his narrow eyes fixed on Dongbo Xueying in the distance, watching the black gourd unleash its apocalyptic might.

“To think I would die by Dongbo Xueying’s hand in the end… Fine, fine…” This single thought flashed through his mind before his consciousness was utterly extinguished.

“ARGHHH—!” The staff-wielding giant roared, not perishing instantly but enduring the agony of his body being torn apart—flesh shredded, bones shattered. His screams couldn’t even propagate, for everything around him was being annihilated by the ripple. He lasted only a few more moments before meeting the same fate.

The golden-furred ape tried to flee, but under the dark ripple, it couldn’t move. Its body was slowly torn asunder—fur rent, flesh ripped, its savage visage crumbling to dust. It endured slightly longer than the giant before being utterly obliterated, leaving not a single particle behind.

Only the venomous-tailed woman resisted the longest. Her body, as tough as divine weaponry, was torn apart gradually, wounds appearing one by one.

She tried to escape.

But the ripple permeated every inch of her being, destroying her from the deepest layers. Soon, she lost control of her body entirely. When the destruction reached its peak, she too vanished with a final, explosive disintegration.

All the Mother Goddess Sect Protectors were annihilated under the terrifying gray-black ripple—not a single one remained!

After all, the black gourd’s power was enough to tear through the world membrane of Chong Xiaoqi’s realm—a treasure left by the Voidwalker for his successor. Though Dongbo Xueying could only unleash it once without his soul collapsing, that single use was enough to make even Paragons pale with dread. These Protectors stood no chance.

—

The Water Demon King slumped to the ground, head bowed. The White Monarch raved in madness. The Demon Phoenix stood coldly, while the Wuying Emperor sat cross-legged in silence. All had succumbed to despair, overwhelmed by helplessness.

They saw no hope.

When Dongbo Xueying produced the black gourd, they instinctively turned their gazes toward him.

“What is that?” The Water Demon King, the White Monarch, the Demon Phoenix, and the Wuying Emperor focused intently. Dongbo Xueying had never used this gourd in battle before. Was it some formidable treasure, like the ones wielded by the Annihilation Monarch?

BOOM—

The black, terrifying ripple surged toward the Mother Goddess Sect Protectors.

The four of them stared dumbfounded.

They watched as the Protectors were obliterated—even the Bamboo Mountain Pavilion Master and the three Sacred Protectors, who lasted slightly longer, were reduced to nothing. The ripple annihilated everything in its path—land, mountains, even the void itself, revealing the golden formation patterns beneath.

This power surpassed even the Mother Goddess Sect’s most devastating weapons.

“Pfft!” Dongbo Xueying deactivated the gourd’s formation, halting the black ripple before resealing the stopper.

A sharp pain throbbed in his skull. His truesoul was tainted with black energy, corroding it slowly. But his soul was strong enough to endure. Given time, the energy would dissipate, and recovery would be swift.

—

Outside the Chaos Voidship, in the starry expanse.

The Paragons, who had already given up, were still observing the events within. The Bloodblade Divine Emperor had been contemplating how to face the Mother Goddess Sect’s leaders and the enigmatic Chaos Voidship. He was at a loss, knowing too little about the vessel to devise a countermeasure.

But then—

Dongbo Xueying stepped forward.

He seemed unwilling to surrender, determined to fight on.

Then he drew the black gourd and unsealed it—and everything changed.

The Mother Goddess Sect Protectors were annihilated, even the three Sacred Protectors.

“Victory?”

“We won?”

The Island Lord of Spacetime gasped in disbelief. The Pure Harmony Matriarch murmured, “How… how is this possible?”

The Bloodblade Divine Emperor’s eyes gleamed as he smiled. “To think Xueying possessed such a treasure. Crude as its method may be, lacking finesse, its power is undeniable.”

“Indeed. Even we would hesitate to face it head-on,” the Primordial Origin Master agreed. A direct hit would be fatal.

Though they spoke lightly, they were overjoyed. They saw it as a formidable treasure, not a threat to their lives. As Paragons, they had mastered their Daos—while they couldn’t withstand the gourd’s power, they could evade it.

A Paragon’s Dao was eternal, a self-contained rule, manifesting as a domain where their word was law. This was the might of a Paragon.

For a mere Venerable to challenge a Paragon was nigh impossible.

—

Outside, the Paragons rejoiced. Inside the Chaos Voidship, the Wuying Emperor, the Water Demon King, the Demon Phoenix, and the White Monarch exclaimed in awe, “Dongbo—!”

Though his head throbbed with pain, Dongbo Xueying smiled. They had won. No mishaps.

He moved to collect the fallen Protectors’ treasures—the Annihilation Monarch’s artifacts, the ancient stone disk, and more.

“Fortunately, we were cautious.” A deep voice echoed.

Four figures materialized in the distance.

Leading them was the golden-furred ape, flanked by three other top-tier Protectors.

“You—” Dongbo Xueying froze.

“Surprised?” The ape sneered. “This is war between two factions. We have no retreat. Defeat means death—for our avatars and our true bodies. So we spare no cost. Not just avatars—our true selves have come! Only four of us have emerged now, but more remain. We’ll see how many times you can use that gourd before you fall!”