Chapter 1318: Great Earth's Dirge Unsealed

"What you said is truly accurate. With the strength of just a few of us, we probably wouldn't last more than a few days in this extreme northern wasteland battlefield before being forced to retreat."

As everyone mused, the immense power unleashed by Ox King's world-shattering axe strike gradually dissipated.

When he saw that his opponent, Xu Yang, was still completely unharmed, he finally let out a helpless sigh. A flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes, quickly replaced by an expected calm.

Looking at Ox King again, his entire right arm was trembling and spasming. He had indeed used every ounce of his strength to strike the Nine-Colored Qiankun Bell with that axe.

The power that the bell spirit rebounded to him was incredibly terrifying. Had he not displayed his body's strongest form just moments before, that rebound force might have instantly shattered his entire right arm.

Even though his physical body had expanded to its limit, blood was now involuntarily seeping from every pore and crevice of his arm.

"Are you alright, old friend Ox King? I did indeed use a simple and effective method to neutralize your strongest attack just now.

The multi-colored light you saw was actually a personal protective artifact of mine.

Only an artifact of that same caliber could withstand your strongest strike and remain completely intact.

If it were purely a contest of ultimate power, I wouldn't be sure I could defeat you." Xu Yang was not arrogant or complacent about his victory; he even showed concern for his opponent. He offered Ox King an honest assessment, upholding his dignity. Xu Yang spoke this way because, in his judgment, Ox King likely no longer had enough power to launch a second attack.

That world-shattering strike had been the strongest he could unleash, but what slightly surprised Xu Yang was that Ox King actually picked up the Lament of the Earth artifact again with his left arm.

At the same time, the traces of blood oozing from his body silently flowed into the Lament of the Earth artifact.

As his fresh blood irrigated the sharp edge of the Lament of the Earth battle-axe, it began to radiate a new, golden-red brilliance.

Afterward, the miraculous power of this battle-axe seemed to undergo an even more astonishing transformation.

"What? How is this possible? Could it be that the Lament of the Earth artifact we saw earlier was still in an unsealed state, and only now, after consuming Ox King's blood, has it truly awakened?"

Qinglong and the others in Xu Yang's team were utterly dumbfounded. They had never dreamed that the world-shattering strike, which had just shaken the entire great wasteland battlefield, was not even Ox King's strongest form.

At this moment, even though the unsealed Lament of the Earth had not yet been used, the suppressive effect emanating from its golden-red blade was enough to chill everyone present to the bone.

"Haha, it seems I truly underestimated your strength. The Lament of the Earth battle-axe artifact must now be in its true peak state."

Xu Yang couldn't help but utter these words, while the old Mad Ox leader, having picked up the unsealed battle-axe artifact once more, again clenched his teeth, beginning to gather his truly final wave of ultimate offense.

"This time, I hope you can confront me head-on, rather than merely neutralizing my strongest strike with a purely defensive posture. In other words, only if you truly conquer me in terms of offense will I be fully convinced of my defeat."

Hearing the old Mad Ox leader, Ox King, say this, Xu Yang understood his opponent's intention. He wished to be honorably defeated by a superior ultimate offensive power, rather than in a state of attack and defense.

To lose because he failed to breach the opponent's defense was, for Ox King, a testament to his pursuit of the ultimate realm of offensive power.

Xu Yang knew very well that only by demonstrating a more ferocious offensive power than Ox King could he truly conquer this individual and become his new belief.

Only under this unique condition would Ox King willingly contribute the Beast Emperor's power and its core inheritance from within his body.

"No problem, I agree. Prepare to face my strike, then. You will use a battle-axe, and I will use the sword I am most skilled with as my weapon, as a response to your upcoming wave of ultimate offensive power."

Xu Yang agreed to the old Mad Ox's sole request. Simultaneously, the Boundless Sword Dao within him manifested an endless golden radiance.

With the Boundless Sword Dao fully unleashed, surging waves of sword energy were released, spinning wildly in circles around Xu Yang's body.

Automatically, it formed a crushing vortex of sword waves around his body.

Every team member, except for Xiao Hua, witnessed Xu Yang display his Boundless Sword Dao for the very first time.

Aside from a brief skirmish with Emperor Yunlong in the imperial palace, Xu Yang hadn't utilized the true core essence of his Boundless Sword Dao during that encounter. Now was the optimal moment for him to demonstrate his mastery of the sword dao.

"The Heavenly Emperor has a Dao, known as the Boundless! Only this sword of mine can represent the ultimate offensive power of this world.

I must warn you: if you choose to clash head-on with my strike, you risk permanently losing control of the wondrous battle-axe, Lament of the Earth, and could even lose both of your arms as a result.

Such consequences would be quite fatal for you. Have you truly thought this through?"

Ox King burst into laughter. "Within this extreme northern savage beast realm, I have long been considered invincible in terms of offensive power.

Aside from the Beast Emperor clan, whom I am forever unqualified to challenge, no other beast race expert in this extreme northern wilderness is fit to contend with me in terms of offensive power. Therefore, I have always pursued a stronger offensive realm and sought out opponents superior to myself.

If I cannot find such an opponent, then what good is this world-shaking power that I possess?

Only through the continuous process of surpassing and conquering, by grasping higher realms of offensive power, can my soul truly be satisfied."

Xu Yang vaguely realized that Ox King's accumulation over the years had very likely reached a bottleneck for a breakthrough. He truly needed an exhilarating battle to achieve a further leap in his power and realm.

And he himself was Ox King's best touchstone. Upon realizing this, Xu Yang decisively resolved to control his power output as much as possible.