Chapter 452: One Strike

In an instant, a silent, snowy white divine light shot straight into the sky. Du Xue, though a stealth assassin, had already been exposed. Naturally, she no longer bothered to conceal her identity, and her aura exploded in waves.

The True Body of the Ancestral Witch.

Her body grew taller and solidified inch by inch.

A terrifying aura continuously spread, as if an ancient, indestructible golden body had descended. Life force continuously surged outward. While the combat power of the True Body of the Ancestral Witch was not earth-shattering, its recovery ability and formidable vitality were utterly terrifying.

"Awaken!"

Her entire body burned fiercely as she entered her second state: zombification.

Every cell of her terrifying body began to collapse, oozing a gelatinous, viscous cellular fluid. She resembled a burning, melting, flesh-colored human candle, with drops of fluid constantly falling as her body disintegrated.

As every cell burned, a terrifying power, like a suppressed volcanic eruption, threatened to burst through the heavens. The void shattered, and space vibrated. This was the dreadful might of a Mid-level Deity.

"This power—" The Great Joy Emperor suddenly turned his head, revealing a look of terror, but he had no time to react.

The third stage began to erupt!

Clang!!

The sharp sword was drawn.

A straight, long sword, imbued with the aura of a Mid-level Deity, emerged. Its blade was snowy white, translucent, and smooth, reflecting clear light with mirror-like precision. It seemed alive, reflecting the entire landscape of mountains and rivers below, creating a dazzling and magnificent sight.

"Sword Open! Shu! Path!"

The next moment, the heavens and earth trembled violently, and white clouds churned.

A silent, snowy white sword light condensed, instantly transforming into a curtain of white light that descended. Though it made no sound, it was so scalding hot it seemed to melt the earth. All Heavenly Emperors and ordinary deities were suppressed, pinned to the ground.

"The little girl from back then has finally grown up; she has a hint of Liu Wenjian's elegance," Xu Zhi remarked, looking at the sky.

Whoosh—

The snowy white sword light, like a waterfall, struck the Great Joy Emperor.

"What is this?!" The Great Joy Emperor's eyes were glazed over as he stared blankly at the terrifying divine sword light before him. The next second, a fierce madness ignited within him. "I won't die!! I won't!!!"

"I, too, have resolve!"

He raised his arm high, his entire body falling into complete frenzy, entering the zombified state of resolve. He continuously decayed, as countless mirror fragments appeared to block the incoming attack.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The violent, smooth mirror surfaces exploded ferociously.

It was as if the entire world had transformed into countless mirrors—flowers, trees, mountains, and earth all showed cracks, shattering into pieces. Amidst the terrifying, continuous explosions, the Great Joy Emperor was constantly forced back, spitting mouthfuls of blood.

He was forced back across more than half of the Ancient Lava Land. Even the over two hundred spaces he had conjured in his hands shattered wildly, barely holding out for an instant.

Space completely exploded.

He no longer had any space left for defense. He stared blankly as the sword light rushed toward him, revealing madness and despair. His terrifying resolve pushed his body beyond its limits, causing his entire being to melt and turn into strands of fresh red blood.

"I still have resolve, I believe I won't die—but in an instant, I'm reduced to ashes, it simply can't save me."

A bewildered voice sounded as the snowy white radiance enveloped him.

"This must be unknown destiny, right? Maybe I'll be defeated, maybe I'll be killed. Compared to knowing everything before, it's quite interesting."

His entire being instantly disintegrated. The Great Joy Emperor, who had once reigned supreme, met his demise in the blink of an eye, in an utterly horrifying manner, witnessed by all.

"This sword can sever everything in the world! It has shattered our predetermined destinies!"

Subaru and Sheng Lin's daughter watched the scene in horror.

It was too terrifying.

They felt a chill run down their spines.

Even High-level Deities might not easily unleash such instant combat power. Had they also been enveloped by that attack, they, too, would likely have met their demise!

"Simply incredible,"

Caroline also stared blankly at the cleaved sky. Even she felt that if she were caught by such a surprise attack, her life would be severely threatened; she might even be ambushed and killed. It was terrifying beyond words.

Pfft!

In the sky, light flickered as Du Xue retracted her sword. Her entire body plummeted rapidly, crashing into the ground and raising a massive cloud of gray dust. She was shattered, her body oozing pus, and she spat out large mouthfuls of blood. There was hardly a single intact part of her.

Xia Naiming rushed over, his face filled with distress. "Just as I thought," he said, "you’d bring your head to the sword. If this doesn’t kill you, then I lose."

She beat herself to the brink of death?

Everyone present was in shock.

The power of that sword strike was too terrifying. The Great Joy Emperor died instantly from a single blow, yet Du Xue, who unleashed it, could not withstand its backlash herself.

"Just one sword strike, and she severely injured herself."

Xu Zhi also watched the scene. "This player, Xia Naiming, truly has ideas," he thought. "By combining three axe techniques into one, she created a terrifying instant burst of power. Du Xue merely swung her sword once, and she was already severely wounded."

Such injuries were almost fatal; she wouldn't recover for several years without proper care.

However, this terrifying destructive power far surpassed other heaven-defying cultivation techniques. It was arguably the strongest single-target burst damage, second only to the Cthulhu Evil Gods!

Other cultivation techniques like the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, Great Luo Heavenly Scripture, Grim Reaper Eternal Life, and Three-Body Severing, at the same cultivation level, had an instant burst power that was less than a tenth of hers!

"But despite its terrifying appearance, it's still far inferior to those other techniques due to its immense limitations,"

Xu Zhi pondered for a moment, then shook his head in evaluation: "A single burst of power leaves her instantly vulnerable. If she fails to kill the enemy, she'll be killed herself in an instant. Although Du Xue hasn't fully mastered this technique yet and is simply making a last-minute effort, even when she truly masters this power in the future, she will likely still be able to unleash only one strike."

Her current body, having cultivated a weakened version of the True Body of the Ancestral Witch, could not withstand this burst of power. But even if the flaws were fixed and her body's strength and resilience doubled, after performing one sword strike, the side effects wouldn't be as terrifying. She might even be able to move freely, but she would definitely not be able to unleash a second sword strike!

A One-Strike Woman.

Perhaps "One-Hit Wonder" would be more fitting.

To deliver one sword strike, be near death, and spend ten years recovering, all for a single moment of might, to be a "true woman" for one second—this perfectly illustrates maximizing a momentary strike.

Xu Zhi was speechless, then began to assess the situation. This was an excellent data observation. "But to instantly burst forth and kill someone of the heaven-defying level like Emperor Qi or Dao Changsheng? A sneak attack might be possible, but the probability is low. After all, the reason their cultivation techniques are heaven-defying is that they have no weaknesses and are extremely balanced, with formidable defensive capabilities. If this instant strike doesn't kill them, she would be completely at their mercy."

Emperor Qi and Dao Changsheng might succeed in a sneak attack.

As for the Cthulhu Evil Gods, they are invincible at the same cultivation level. She hasn't even reached their complete form at the Heavenly Emperor realm—their complete form is a creature composed of 110,000 Heavenly Emperors. Du Xue would simply die an unspeakable death upon encountering one, without needing any action from them.

No matter how many Emperor Qis or Dao Changshengs of the same cultivation level approached, they would simply be cannon fodder for her.

And killing someone like Phoenix?

That's also impossible!

Aside from unconventional beings like the Cthulhu Evil Gods, Phoenix is practically the tankiest being in history, isn't she?

Did people think that the Witch World's inhabitants relentlessly hunted her down to use her as a punching bag was fake?

If she didn't equip the 'tankiest' gear, how could she withstand the harshest beatings?

The perfect combination of rebirth through fire and the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art makes her almost unkillable. Furthermore, each time she is severely wounded, she grows a bit stronger, almost like a Saiyan's 'undying cockroach' bloodline. This completely counters assassination burst-damage styles.

"However, in the future, this cultivation technique could still be promising if it takes an extreme path and has someone to cooperate with. It could potentially allow for cross-realm combat, which would be truly terrifying," Xu Zhi said, looking up at the sky with a faint smile.