The Xenomorph Queen that pursued them was entirely different from Bai Ye's impression. While its appearance was similar, especially the crown-like carapace, the hallmark of a Xenomorph Queen, this one was a stark silver-white, as if sculpted from frost. Its size was terrifying, nearly five meters tall.
Jin Sha explained, "Back then, the three Iron Blood youths, Kael'thas, Mao Lian, and Scar, entered the ruins and encountered a Xenomorph Queen. Though they failed their coming-of-age ritual, Scar, before he died, cooperated with humans and pushed the Xenomorph Queen into an ice lake. They used the lake's frigid temperature to kill it. However..."
"Before that Xenomorph Queen died, it laid a Queen Facehugger. The Queen Facehugger then parasitized an ice-attribute spirit beast. Thus, the newly born Xenomorph Queen inherited the characteristics of the ice-attribute spirit beast, becoming even more powerful. At the same time, that Xenomorph Queen intruded into the slumbering grounds of the Ice God Pillar, Regis, and awakened him."
Bai Ye was speechless. This was possible?
But upon closer thought, it seemed entirely plausible. Xenomorphs were inherently creatures of infinite physical evolution. Apart from rare instances of live birth, they mostly laid eggs, from which Facehuggers hatched to parasitize hosts. Depending on the host, exceptionally powerful, mutated Xenomorphs would emerge. For example, the Xenomorph born from parasitizing an Iron Blood warrior was the Iron Blood Xenomorph, and what stood before them was the Frost Xenomorph Queen.
Jin Sha urged, "So, let's run, this thing is too strong."
Bai Ye nodded. A Xenomorph Queen alone was formidable. In the Iron Blood warrior hierarchy, one needed to kill at least one Xenomorph Queen to attain the elite title. And the Iron Blood warriors who achieved elite status comprised less than 15% of their entire race. The emergence of a mutated Xenomorph Queen now was simply courting death...
"Wait a moment..." Bai Ye suddenly stopped, saying, "If it's strong, then so what? What am I afraid of? I have the Xuanyuan Sword!"
Jin Sha also stopped abruptly, urging Bai Ye, "Run! What are you standing around for?"
"No need to run!" Bai Ye declared, "Watch me make you a dish, I call it Xenomorph Sashimi!"
As he spoke, Bai Ye turned back and drew the Xuanyuan Sword with a forceful motion.
*Clang!*
The sword left its sheath, and the surroundings were immediately suffused with golden radiance, as if the dusky sky had instantly turned golden.
The fleeing crowd, witnessing this spectacle, involuntarily halted and turned their gazes towards Bai Ye.
Was someone really planning to confront a Xenomorph Queen head-on?
At that very instant...
Bai Ye unleashed a sword strike, and a golden sword energy appeared, slashing towards the Xenomorph Queen.
*Rumble!*
As the golden sword energy struck the ground before the Xenomorph Queen, a violent roar erupted. The ground caved in, and vast amounts of snow flew, swirling like a tidal wave that engulfed the Xenomorph Queen.
Bai Ye turned and raised his hand, calling out, "Where's the applause?"
Instead of applause, Bai Ye was met with Jin Sha's terrified face.
"Be careful!" Jin Sha shouted loudly at Bai Ye, and then a gust of wind suddenly appeared behind him.
Bai Ye quickly turned around and saw a massive chunk of rock hurtling towards him. He swiftly raised his sword and slashed forward. With one strike, the rock was cleaved in two. For the Xuanyuan Sword, splitting rock and mountains was as easy as slicing paper.
However, as the rock shattered, the Xenomorph Queen reappeared before him.
"No way?" Bai Ye's face contorted in disbelief.
The Xenomorph Queen was indeed strong, but this was the Xuanyuan Sword! Even the Iron Blood Xenomorph was cleaved in half with a single strike. Even if the Xenomorph Queen was stronger, it would take at most two strikes. How could it be completely unharmed?
Seeing the Xenomorph Queen charging towards him, Bai Ye gritted his teeth and swiftly raised his sword again.
"Sword of the Great Dao!"
Bai Ye pointed forward, and a golden light rippled, forming a golden wave that suddenly appeared above the Xenomorph Queen's head. The Xenomorph Queen instinctively stopped, tilting its head upwards to gaze at the sky.
At that very moment...
A colossal Xuanyuan Sword, manifested from ethereal energy, emerged from the center of the golden ripple and plunged downwards, attacking the Xenomorph Queen.
*Roar!*
The Xenomorph Queen let out a defiant roar. The crown-like carapace on its head suddenly split open and began to vibrate. It showed no intention of evading, instead charging directly towards the giant sword.
*Rumble!*
The instant the Xenomorph Queen collided with the phantom sword! A deafening roar echoed through the land. The earth collapsed, rocks flew through the air, and swirling white snow fanned out in all directions, creating a vast expanse of white. The ground visibly caved downwards, collapsing section by section.
The Xenomorph Queen roared in fury, and then...
It violently raised its head. A crack suddenly appeared on the body of the sword, and then... With a sound like shattering glass, the phantom sword exploded, dissipating into countless near-transparent halos that vanished into the heavens and earth.
Bai Ye stared with wide eyes, truly dumbfounded this time. Before, the golden sword energy being harmless might have been attributed to a miss, as Bai Ye hadn't clearly seen it strike the Xenomorph Queen. But what was the situation now? A direct hit, and not only was the Xenomorph Queen unharmed, but it had also shattered the phantom sword? This was the Xuanyuan Sword! The Golden Gashapon! One of the most supreme weapons! Arguably a ceiling-level weapon that could be found in the world battlefield, and yet it couldn't even slay a Xenomorph Queen? Even a mutated one shouldn't be this strong!
"I refuse to believe this!" Bai Ye gritted his teeth and tossed the Xuanyuan Sword forward, exclaiming, "Heaven and Earth Converge!"
This was the Xuanyuan Sword's ultimate killing move!
*Hum!*
As Bai Ye tossed the Xuanyuan Sword, it began to spin rapidly before him, emitting crisp sword hums. In the next instant, countless green and blue halos appeared in the surrounding world. Summoned by the Xuanyuan Sword, they all converged towards it. Spiritual energy of heaven and earth! The spiritual energy of heaven and earth existed between heaven and earth, nurturing all things, and was one of the most potent forces in this world. And now, this power was fully gathered upon the Xuanyuan Sword!
"Go!" Bai Ye pushed his palm forward, commanding, "Slay it!"
As Bai Ye's palm pushed forward, the Xuanyuan Sword spun and flew ahead. As it spun, the emanating golden radiance formed a spiral, and with each forward flight, the golden radiance grew increasingly intense and thicker. This sword... could cleave all things in the world... with nothing it could not break!
...