Myth Beyond Heaven

CRACK—!

The sound echoed across the battlefield as the barrier’s fractures spread rapidly.

The beautiful Phoenix flames that had burned with such determination now flickered weakly, like candles in a storm.

The Black Turtle’s defensive runes glowed red-hot, straining against the overwhelming pressure.

Inside, Long Qingxuan and the others watched solemnly as the protective dome began to fail.

“It’s breaking!” she uttered.

Long Xi’s hands moved in complex patterns as she reinforced their position with light energy. “Stand firm!”

But outside, Nian Shi had seen enough. With a roar of impatience, he raised his Blade of Eternity high above his head. The weapon glowed with terrifying intensity, gathering not just temporal energy but his own primordial essence.

“Break for me!” he thundered, and brought the blade down in a devastating arc.

The strike carried the weight of ended civilizations and dead stars. It wasn’t a precise attack like the beam – it was raw, overwhelming force aimed directly at the weakened point.

BOOOOM!

The impact was catastrophic. The barrier, already pushed to its absolute limit, could withstand no more. A resounding crackling sound filled the air as the magnificent dome of Phoenix fire and Black Turtle defense began to shatter.

Pieces of the barrier broke away, dissolving into motes of fading light. The glorious protection that had withstood so much now fell apart before their eyes. The gray beam of “Epoch’s End” punched through the opening, striking the ground inside and spreading its entropic energy.

Long Xi and the others were thrown back by the shockwave, their newly healed bodies battered once more.

The Tree of Life’s healing light flickered uncertainly as the barrier’s collapse disrupted its energy flow.

Nian Shi stood triumphant before the broken barrier, his silver eyes cold and victorious.

A flicker of genuine surprise crossed Yin’s normally impassive face. He hadn’t expected Nian Shi to actually break through the combined defenses of Phoenix and Black Turtle.

Seeing Nian Shi poised to claim his prize, Yin finally moved. A tendril of pure Uncreation, darker than the void between stars, shot toward Nian Shi to restrain him.

But Nian Shi had anticipated this.

“Now!” he commanded mentally.

Dozens of his temporal copies disengaged from their battle with the hunting hounds instantly. They moved as one, throwing themselves between Yin and the prime Nian Shi.

They didn’t try to block the Uncreation tendril—that would be impossible. Instead, they sacrificed themselves, their bodies dissolving as they absorbed the attack’s force, buying their prime self a precious heartbeat of time.

In that moment, Nian Shi’s figure blurred. He became a streak of silver light, flashing through the shattered remains of the barrier. He reappeared directly before the meditating Yun Lintian, a cold smile of triumph on his face.

“At last,” he whispered, his hand reaching out to seize his prize.

But three figures moved as one to block his path. Long Xi, Long Niu, and Long Qingxuan stood shoulder-to-shoulder before Yun Lintian, their auras blazing despite their injuries.

“You will not touch him!” Long Qingxuan declared, her voice shaking but determined.

Nian Shi’s smile twisted into a mask of annoyance. “Annoying insects. Get lost!”

He didn’t even bother with a proper technique. He simply unleashed his temporal authority. A wave of absolute time stop erupted from him.

The effect was instantaneous. Long Qingxuan, Long Xi, and Long Niu froze completely. Their defensive stances, their determined expressions, their glowing auras—everything stopped as if someone had paused the world.

They were trapped in frozen time, unable to move, unable to speak, unable to do anything but watch with horrified eyes as Nian Shi reached for Yun Lintian.

Nian Shi turned his attention back to Yun Lintian, his sneer returning. “You see? Although I’ve had to change my plans multiple times, the outcome remains the same. I always win in the end.”

His fingers were mere inches from Yun Lintian’s throat. Victory was finally his.

But just as his fingertips were about to make contact, something unexpected happened.

The Tree of Life, which had been dim and fading, suddenly erupted with one final, glorious burst of power. It wasn’t a healing energy this time—it was pure, concentrated life force, the last essence of the ancient tree’s spirit.

A massive wave of green-gold energy shot out from the tree’s trunk, moving faster than thought. It struck Nian Shi full force just as he was about to touch Yun Lintian.

BOOM!

The impact was tremendous. Nian Shi was thrown backward like a leaf in a hurricane, his triumphant expression replaced by shock.

He crashed through the remains of the barrier, tumbling across the devastated ground before skidding to a stop dozens of meters away.

Even Yin, who had been watching with detached amusement, straightened up in surprise. His dark eyes widened slightly as he watched the Tree of Life’s final act.

“Heh. As expected from that bitch’s creation,” he murmured, a genuine note of surprise in his voice. “The old tree had one last surprise.”

The burst of energy faded as quickly as it had appeared. The Tree of Life now stood completely lifeless, its leaves turning to ash, its trunk gray and brittle. It had given everything in that final, desperate act to protect Yun Lintian.

Inside the frozen time field, Long Qingxuan and the others could only watch with mixed emotions—relief that Yun Lintian was safe for now, and grief for the Tree’s final sacrifice.

Nian Shi slowly pushed himself to his feet, his silver robes torn and dusty. His face was a mask of pure rage. He had been so close, only to be thwarted by a dying tree’s last gasp.

“ARGHHH!”

Nian Shi’s scream of rage echoed across the desolate battlefield, a raw sound of pure, unadulterated fury.

The Tree of Life’s final act had not just thwarted him—it had humiliated him. The last vestiges of his cold calculation vanished, replaced by blinding, primal anger.

BOOM!

He stopped holding back. His silver aura exploded outward, no longer controlled and precise but wild and devastating. The power of time itself ran rampant around him.

The ground at his feet aged to dust in seconds, then reversed to primordial mud, then crystallized into glass—all in chaotic, unpredictable cycles. The very air twisted and warped, becoming dangerous to even exist within.

The temporal stasis holding Long Qingxuan, Long Xi, and Long Niu shattered under the backlash. They stumbled forward, gasping, freed from their frozen prison but now facing the full, unrestrained wrath of a primordial god.

They didn’t hesitate. Seeing Nian Shi’s murderous intent, seeing his focus solely on Yun Lintian, they made their choice in an instant.

“Burn!” Long Xi cried out, her voice firm with resolve.