But as the earth's trembling grew increasingly obvious and violent, they finally began to sense that something was wrong.
"Run!"
Taiyi’s desperate voice echoed once more.
As it shouted, faint blue light began to shimmer around the cultivators, the same power that had previously teleported cultivators out of Cloudwater Palace.
However, just as the blue light was about to solidify, a pitch-black broken sword radiating overwhelming baleful energy suddenly manifested.
This time, it didn't summon countless sword phantoms to pierce the turtle-snake monster.
Instead, it seemed to be struggling to break free from within Taiyi's body.
Amidst the sharp, grating noise, Taiyi let out a cry of agony.
The blue light of the teleportation arcane art was instantly shattered.
Hum!
The broken Heaven-Scorning Sword was on the verge of completely freeing itself from Taiyi.
"NO!"
With a furious roar, the turtle-snake monster suddenly dipped, generating a suction force that slowly drew the sword blade back into its body, inch by inch.
This action seemed to enrage the Heaven-Scorning Sword.
Countless sword phantoms fell like rain, mercilessly piercing through Taiyi's body.
Taiyi screamed in agony but refused to let go.
Between the Heaven-Scorning Sword revealing its true form and the turtle-snake using its own body to restrain the murderous blade like a scabbard, only a moment passed.
Amid Taiyi's mournful cries, the cultivators in the plaza finally woke up, as if startled out of a trance.
Immediately, they sought to flee, and terror filled their faces.
But the sword forest stood before them.
It was difficult enough to traverse when arriving; how quickly could they possibly escape now?
The cultivators only made it about halfway through the sword forest when the Heaven-Scorning Sword finally broke free of Taiyi's body.
Hum!
The sword's cry echoed once more.
As if refusing to dirty its hands, the Heaven-Scorning Sword didn't point its tip toward the fleeing cultivators, but instead aimed at some area behind Taiyi Hall.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
As the sword's cry spread out, the heads of the fleeing cultivators exploded one after another like watermelons.
Their headless bodies continued charging forward eerily, only collapsing after running quite some distance.
Simultaneously, Li Fan instantly lost his visual connection to the area before Taiyi Hall.
Through the perspectives of other cultivators exploring different areas, he faintly witnessed a massive blue hand suddenly appear behind Taiyi Hall, just as the pitch-black Heaven-Scorning Sword ran rampant.
It grasped the sword blade firmly, then brutally slammed it back into Taiyi's body.
The ear-piercing screech of stone sharpening steel immediately spread throughout the entire Cloudwater Palace.
Every cultivator exploring the palace grunted in unison, suffering varying degrees of injury.
Terror bloomed across every face.
Accompanying the grating sound came Taiyi's excruciating wail of pain.
"Hanhai..."
The voice rumbled like muffled thunder, rolling across the sky.
Within the turtle-snake's pained cry lingered something akin to a sigh—one of relief.
Yet notably absent was any trace of resentment.
As the Heaven-Scorning Sword was brought back under control, the countless sword phantoms filling the sky gradually faded away.
Amid deafening rumbles, Taiyi Hall descended once more, and the turtle-snake Taiyi sank back into slumber.
All returned to stillness.
However, that massive blue hand slowly darkened, until it became as black as the Heaven-Scorning Sword itself.