Myth Beyond Heaven

"Let me." Just as Yun Lintian was about to move, Li Shan suddenly stepped forward with a silver spear materialized in his hand.

"Hah!"

With a roar that echoed like a collapsing mountain, Li Shan surged forward, silver spear crackling with power. The once-gleaming metal had transformed, coursing with divine energy that burned with an incandescent white light.

Li Shan moved with a speed that defied logic. One moment he stood beside Yun Lintian, the next he was a spear-wielding meteor hurtling towards the monstrous claw. The air thrummed with his power, pushing the swirling mists aside like a child scattering feathers.

BOOM!!

The claw, pulsating with an unnatural green light, slammed down with enough force to shatter mountains. Li Shan met it head-on, the tip of his spear colliding with the grotesque appendage in a blinding flash.

The ground groaned in protest, spiderweb cracks radiating from the point of impact. But the blow wasn't enough. The monstrous claw, impervious to Li Shan's seemingly divine attack, merely shuddered before continuing its descent.

Li Shan frowned slightly, the force of the impact pushing him back several meters. His once stoic face was now turned incomparably cold, his silvery white hair bristling with released energy.

Yun Lintian furrowed his brow. The monstrous claw was without a doubt a True God level. He didn't expect an existence at this level to be alive here. Could it be someone who had recently come here?

Li Shan's frown deepened into a grimace. The creature's power defied logic. A True God creature, yes, but it somehow felt… different. As if its raw power wasn't honed by cultivation, but brute force born from an unnatural existence.

Clang!

"The Law of Metal," Li Shan muttered, his voice laced with a newfound determination. With a flick of his wrist, the silver spear shimmered, transforming into a colossal blade that dwarfed even the monstrous claw. It pulsed with a blinding white light, the very essence of refined metal resonating within it.

"Roar!!"

The creature behind the mist, no doubt sensing the threat, screeched in fury. Another gargantuan claw tore through the mist, aiming to crush Li Shan before he could unleash whatever power he was channeling.

Li Shan, however, remained unfazed.

He raised the colossal blade high above his head, the energy crackling around it growing ever sharper, ever more focused. "This world," he boomed, his voice carrying across the churning mist, "was shaped by the Law of Metal. Every mountain, every blade of grass, bears its mark."

Ripp—

With a mighty swing, he brought the blade crashing down. The force of the attack was unlike anything witnessed before. It wasn't just a physical blow; it was a strike at the very essence of the world itself. The air shimmered and distorted, unable to contain the sheer power of the Law of Metal.

BANG!

"Rawl—"

The monstrous claw, caught in the path of the blade, let out a sickening shriek. It wasn't just severed; it was disintegrated, the metallic particles that composed it ripped apart and scattered into the swirling mist.

The shockwave from the impact slammed into the creature's main body, causing the pulsating sphere to flicker and dim momentarily.

The ground beneath Li Shan shattered, forming a vast crater that echoed with a deafening roar.

Yun Lintian and the others were thrown back, momentarily stunned by the display of raw power. When the dust settled, they looked up to see Li Shan standing tall, his hair whipping in the newfound breeze, the colossal blade dissipating back into his silver spear.

Roar—!

A renewed wave of anger pulsed from the creature. The sphere at its core flared back to life, burning with an even more sinister red glow. But something had changed. Its movements seemed sluggish, its roars less powerful. Li Shan had wounded it, not just physically, but on a fundamental level.

"What is this?" Tang Wei gasped, shocked by the sight of the fearsome creature.

"It's not a True God," Lan Qinghe said, frowning. "It should be something that picked up the residual power of True Gods here."

Yun Lintian's eyes widened in surprise. "It can actually absorb power to this extent?"

"Indeed," Lan Qinghe replied. "There are creatures with a special ability to absorb power from corpses. The Corpse Devourer and the Netherhound are prime examples. These creatures have been dwindling in number and disappearing for years. It turns out they've been hiding here."

At this moment, Li Shan lunged towards the creature once more. This time, he didn't aim for the monstrous claws. He focused on the pulsating sphere, the heart of the beast. He knew that was where its true power resided.

Bang! Bang! BANG!!

He moved like a blur, weaving through the remaining tendrils that lashed out at him. Each time his spear struck a tentacle, it didn't just pierce or cut, it vaporized the flesh, leaving behind a trail of swirling metallic dust. He was a whirlwind of white-hot energy, carving a path towards the creature's core.

"Roar!" The creature shrieked in fury, unleashing a wave of corrupted energy that slammed into Li Shan.

Li Shan met it head-on, his spear held high. The energy washed over him, but the Law of Metal imbued within his armor deflected it, turning it into harmless sparks.

"Kill!"

Finally, Li Shan reached the pulsating sphere. With a warrior's cry, he thrust his spear forward, aiming for the very center. Time seemed to slow down as the tip of the spear met the sphere's surface.

There was a blinding flash, a deafening detonation that rattled the very bones of the skeletal landscape.

BOOOM!

The shockwave ripped through the swirling mist, pushing it back like a giant hand. The ground beneath them turned molten, the epicenter glowing with an intense white light.

Yun Lintian and the others, shielded by a barrier formed by Lan Qinghe's energy, could only watch in awe.

The light slowly dissipated, revealing the aftermath of the clash. The creature's tendrils lay limp, the flesh blackened and smoking. The pulsating sphere was no more, replaced by a gaping hole that oozed a sickly green ichor.

The creature itself, drained of its power, let out one final, pathetic groan before collapsing into a heap of writhing, corrupted flesh.

Li Shan stood tall, his gaze fixed calmly on the withering creature. Though it wielded the power of a True God, it couldn't harness it effectively. A genuine True God, Li Shan knew, wouldn't have fallen so quickly.

Lan Qinghe appeared beside the creature and spoke gently. "I have never seen it before."