Chapter 206: The Might of Taotie

"Oh my god, this is..."

The younger generation of disciples looked up, only to witness the most horrifying and grotesque scene they had ever seen. Within the black clouds, a corner of an enormous beast's head was revealed.

"Is that... an ancient remnant — the Taotie? Oh my! Legend has it that these ancient beasts only live in the uncharted lands of the continent and haven't appeared for hundreds of thousands of years. Why has it suddenly shown itself now?" Mount Qianyuan had its own protective array, which shielded most of the beast's aura. Otherwise, anyone below the Nascent Soul realm would have been instantly killed by the sheer pressure. Even so, the immense oppressive force still caused the entire Mount Qianyuan sect to tremble uncontrollably.

"The Heart of Dao, dormant for hundreds of thousands of years, is it finally about to appear? Young friend, I will take this horsetail whisk!" The Taotie's colossal head alone measured tens of meters across. As for the size of its body, it was hidden in the clouds, making it impossible for anyone to discern. As soon as its voice faded, an immense spiritual pressure began to envelop the entire Apex Peak of Qianyuan.

"Quick, all Qianyuan Sect elders, follow me into the ancestral land to strengthen the mountain protection array!" Only then did Qianyun Liefeng realize the true intention of the old Daoist from back then. For years, Qianyun Liefeng had failed to comprehend the secret within the horsetail whisk, which was why he decided to offer it as a reward, hoping it would find a greater destiny. He never expected it to be inadvertently inherited by Xu Yang. The reason the massive Dao resonance within the whisk was triggered was because Xu Yang had previously achieved a breakthrough, entering the Dao realm and gaining the most crucial foundation for awakening the Heart of Dao, becoming a true Dao Proximity expert. However, without a doubt, such an inheritance also brought him immense trouble.

The Taotie's incredibly powerful pressure descended. This level of primeval beast, having existed for at least millions of years, possessed a profound power that no single person or even a few individuals could contend with. Suddenly, it opened its gaping maw, unleashing an incredibly fierce devouring force that locked onto Xu Yang's body.

An enormous tremor of power surged down, causing large numbers of young cultivators on the scene to faint. Even with the protection of the Qianyuan Sect's Heavenly Guardian Array, the Taotie's power was simply too overwhelming for these newcomers to withstand. Even existences at the level of the Empress, though not significantly affected, watched as this immense devouring force locked onto Xu Yang, yet it didn't seem to immediately exert a crushing effect.

The surroundings were engulfed in endless black clouds, and the light between heaven and earth rapidly dimmed. Only Xu Yang, seated in the void and enveloped by a golden light of the Grand Dao, became the sole radiance in the world at that moment. The mist sprayed by the Taotie was like an illusory dream, obscuring everyone's vision. Only the Empress was an exception! Her stunning ice-blue eyes suddenly emitted two blue rays, piercing through all the mist and revealing the scene between Xu Yang and the Taotie.

Xu Yang suddenly opened his eyes, unafraid of the Taotie's aura. A world-shaking dragon's might erupted from his body, and the soul-light of his guardian dragon soared into the sky, clashing head-on with the immense pressure unleashed by the Taotie.

Boom! Boom!

The incredibly powerful spiritual clash even affected the Empress. While gritting her teeth, she did not waver in focusing her gaze.

The horsetail whisk now hovered between Xu Yang and the Taotie. With his dragon might manifest and the golden Dao resonance protecting him, Xu Yang was actually able to directly confront the Taotie's aura in a one-on-one stand-off!

"Master!"

"Get out of the way!"

Bai Lianxue and a few others, being the closest, initially intended to help but inadvertently disrupted the direct balance of power between Xu Yang and the Taotie.

Pfft...

Xu Yang spat out a mouthful of blood due to the distraction, his previously evenly matched stance rapidly turning into a disadvantage. At this critical moment, perhaps after careful consideration, the Empress suddenly struck her dragon throne and soared into the sky, transforming into a jade-blue immortal light that plunged into the endless, dim mist. She placed a single palm on Xu Yang's shoulder, and vast blue mental energy rapidly enveloped both their bodies. With her timely intervention, Xu Yang's slightly damaged mental energy quickly recovered, stabilizing the situation once more.

Although Xu Yang was surprised by the Empress's second intervention, he had no time for further thought. He wasn't sure why he encountered a beast of this caliber, but since even the Taotie didn't want to miss out on such a top-tier continental treasure, Xu Yang certainly wouldn't surrender it easily.

"Qianyuan Ten Directions Array! Activate!"

Finally, the earth-shattering grand array, jointly unleashed by the ten elders of Qianyuan Sect and Qianyun Liefeng, erupted! The two sides, previously evenly matched, finally broke through the Taotie's devastating beast soul power with the timely assistance of the ancient Qianyuan array, simultaneously restoring the power of the mountain's ultimate protection array. The horsetail whisk settled firmly in Xu Yang's hand; the Taotie's forceful snatch had failed.

"To think that the human race produced such an astonishingly talented individual like you, with the support of the ancient desolate lineage's dragon power within you! I underestimated you! Youngster, I'll take these excellent disciples and your confidantes with me for now. If you wish to save them, come find me in the East Sea!" The Taotie failed to seize the treasure, but with its world-shaking power, no one could stop it from casually taking away a few young individuals. Even someone as powerful as Xu Yang, who had just exhausted his peak power to contend with the Taotie, could hardly make a second move.

Just as the massive devouring force locked onto Bai Lianxue and the others, the five young women from the Cold Moon Empire's team rushed forward, worried about the Empress's safety, only to unexpectedly become targets of the powerful devouring force as well.

"Move aside!"

The Empress, too, was in a state of exhaustion, finding it difficult to exert power again in a short period, just like Xu Yang. She could only watch helplessly as her five most cherished disciples, along with Bai Lianxue and the others, were carried away into the distant clouds.

The black clouds gradually receded, and those around slowly regained their vision. Notably, in the Northern Jin camp, Feng Qingyao, Feng Xiu's senior disciple, had reappeared in their ranks at some unknown point. Anyone with discerning eyes could tell that the Northern Jin team had inexplicably gained over a hundred Nascent Soul realm experts. These included not only members of the Northern Jin Sword Alliance but also many powerful cultivators from various other factions across the Northern Jin Empire, any one of whom was a prominent figure.

No one knew when these individuals had entered the mountain or what their intentions were. However, the atmosphere of the entire battlefield, strangely, did not ease with the Taotie's departure; instead, it became even more chilling than before.

"Your Majesty!"

"Your Excellency!"

Experts from the Yuanyang Empire and the Cold Moon Empire rushed forward, with over twenty men and women immediately surrounding Xu Yang and the Empress.

"What's going on? Why is the Empress next to that powerful individual?"

"Oh my! What just happened? That legendary Taotie didn't even crush the Yuanyang Empire's leader?"