Chapter 1177: One Sword Cuts Through Thunder Palm

“Nine Palaces Thunder Roar!”

The instant Xu Lei’s murderous cry echoed, countless golden thunders roared from within the massive thunder pattern in the sky behind him. The lightning converged, and the next moment, a gigantic golden thunder palm, ten thousand feet wide, burst forth from the thunder pattern.

It was like the palm of a Thunder God. The thunder palm was as vast as the sky, endlessly wreathed in lightning, rumbling continuously and shattering the void.

Countless ancient light patterns flickered on the thunder palm, emitting an indescribable aura of destruction.

Beneath such a thunder palm, even an entire mountain range would be reduced to ashes, utterly obliterated.

Facing such an assault, even Zhou Yuan’s expression turned exceptionally solemn. Xu Lei truly deserved his reputation as the strongest expert in Shengzu Heaven, second only to Jiatu; he had actually mastered a Saint Origin Art.

As the Thunder God’s palm descended, Zhou Yuan felt an intense sense of danger. Without a resisting force of equal power, even he might perish here.

However, there was no fear in Zhou Yuan’s eyes. He gazed at the sky, and a fierce fighting spirit surged within him.

Although his opponent was strong, to think that this attack alone could defeat him was to severely underestimate Zhou Yuan.

A wisp of white mist puffed from his nostrils, and Zhou Yuan's hands abruptly formed a seal. The next moment, the illusory yet substantial seven-colored gourd light-phantom within his Divine Dwelling trembled slightly.

A streak of seven-colored light instantly ascended from Zhou Yuan's Heavenly Spirit Platform.

At that instant, an indescribably sharp aura surged through the heavens and earth, so sharp it seemed capable of cleaving sky and ground.

The dense clouds high above were instantly sliced apart by an invisible sword intent.

The seven-colored light surged and rapidly expanded, transforming within a few breaths into a seven-colored sword light roughly a thousand feet long.

Seven colors flowed over the sword light, and countless crystalline dust particles could be faintly seen swirling around it. If one looked closely, they would discover that the sword light was as brilliant and vast as the Milky Way in the starry sky.

This was, naturally, the Seven-Colored Heaven-Cleaving Sword Light.

The previous seven-colored sword light Zhou Yuan had used was merely a seven-colored glow, far less imposing than this current one.

If the Heaven-Cleaving Sword Light Zhou Yuan had previously cultivated was just an introduction, then this sword light truly held a sense of completion.

And all of this was thanks to the benefits bestowed by the Mysterious Stele!

“Seven-Colored Heaven-Cleaving Gourd, Heaven-Cleaving Sword Light!” As Zhou Yuan whispered in his heart, the Milky Way-like seven-colored sword light suddenly shot up. In that instant, the void was directly torn open, forming a deep black scar that lingered indefinitely.

The sword light directly slashed towards the descending Thunder God's palm.

At the moment of collision, it seemed as if time itself froze for a breath.

But surprisingly, there was no loud boom, nor was there an earth-shattering surge of Genesis Qi.

The seven-colored sword light merely flickered, instantly appearing in the void behind the Thunder God's palm.

The seven-colored light rapidly diminished, and the thousand-foot sword light shrunk by about ten times.

However, behind it, the descending Thunder God's palm slowly split in two from its very center...

The thunder palm fell, transforming into a sky full of golden lightning.

Zhou Yuan looked up, the golden lightning reflecting on his face, making him appear solemn and sharp.

The remaining seven-colored sword light did not dissipate; instead, it followed the residual Genesis Qi fluctuations from the Thunder God's palm and slashed directly towards the astonished Xu Lei.

His crimson-gold staff, imbued with golden thunder Genesis Qi, collided with the residual seven-colored sword light.

The sword light shattered, and Xu Lei grunted, spitting out a mouthful of fresh blood. His figure retreated clumsily for a thousand feet before he finally steadied himself.

Yet, his face was still filled with shock and disbelief.

“How could this be...?” He could not believe that his “Nine Palaces Thunder Roar” had been directly cleaved apart by Zhou Yuan.

Moreover, the residual sword energy had even managed to inflict further damage on him!

“It seems your Saint Origin Art is still somewhat lacking in power,” Zhou Yuan said with a faint smile, observing Xu Lei.

Zhou Yuan felt no surprise at this outcome. Whether in terms of Genesis Qi foundation, Genesis Qi quality, or the might of Saint Origin Arts, he held a clear advantage. What made Xu Lei think he could contend with him?

Xu Lei's eyes turned somewhat grim. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. After the preceding fierce battle, he had no choice but to shed his former arrogance. Although the person before him was of a humble, ant-like status, his strength had to be acknowledged.

For if he didn't, he might even perish at the hands of this lowly individual. This was something Xu Lei absolutely could not accept.

Xu Lei took a deep breath, suppressing his inner unwillingness. He stared indifferently at Zhou Yuan, then suddenly flicked his sleeve.

He saw the void behind him subtly distort, as a massive glowing portal materialized.

Zhou Yuan's gaze sharpened as he fixed on the spatial portal.

“This spatial portal leads to the core of the Saint Derivation Grand Formation.” “Do you want to go?”

A cold sneer appeared on Xu Lei's face. “But I won’t let you get your way so easily.”

“Zhou Yuan, your ability to cultivate to this level in the Lower Five Heavens is indeed more formidable than I imagined. But unfortunately, today, I will not let you pass through here!”

As his voice fell, the vertical mark on his forehead slowly opened.

A mysterious and icy Saint Eye was revealed. Within that Saint Eye, four stars rotated.

A Four-Star Saint Eye!

Boom! Boom! Endless lightning seemed to erupt from the Saint Eye. The next moment, thunderclouds surged out from within it, quickly transforming within a few breaths into an overwhelming expanse of thunderclouds, encircling the spatial portal.

The thunderclouds were deep and heavy, swirling with incredibly terrifying fluctuations and imbued with an aura of destruction.

Xu Lei sat cross-legged deep within the thunderclouds, his gaze fixed on Zhou Yuan. He said calmly, “Zhou Yuan, this is my Saint Eye evolution technique... ‘Saint Thunder Tribulation Cloud’!”

“Due to numerous restrictions, this technique is difficult to use for active offense, but for defense, no one would dare to enter.”

“Zhou Yuan, if you wish to enter this spatial portal, then you must break through these tribulation clouds!”

Evidently, after their previous exchange, Xu Lei was no longer fixated on defeating Zhou Yuan but had instead adopted defensive measures.

As long as he guarded the spatial portal, victory would still be his.

Zhou Yuan looked up at the black thunderclouds that pervaded the heavens and earth, and his brows involuntarily furrowed. These thunderclouds were incredibly mysterious, as if they had formed a thunder tribulation. Their destructive aura was truly startling.

The Saint Race was indeed a race blessed by creation itself. The power of their Saint Eyes was infinitely profound and utterly fearsome.

However... a sharp glint appeared in Zhou Yuan's eyes. He stared at the spatial portal deep within the thunderclouds.

Today, no matter who it was, no one could stop him! What if it was a thunder tribulation? He would simply tear it apart!