“Still trying to escape?”
“Boundless cosmos, Great Evolution of Heaven and Earth.”
Brilliant starlight burst simultaneously from the bodies of Life Huang Tian and Death Huang Tian, outshining even Moyan Star.
Within that starlight, an infinite cosmos took form. Stellar mists swirled, countless stars gleamed like grains of sand, and all three fleeing Duotian Divine Emperors were completely enveloped.
“What is this?”
The three Duotian Divine Emperors changed countenance at once.
It was not a real cosmos. It had been constructed from the Truth Realm Form, the profound divine dao of Great Evolution of Heaven and Earth, and the rules of heaven and earth combined.
Yet to the three Duotian Divine Emperors trapped inside, it felt exactly like a genuine cosmos. No matter how fast they flew, they could not escape.
The two Huang Tians advanced side by side, one wielding an axe, the other a tree. Their voices resounded like the sound of the heavenly dao. “Do you still believe I cannot kill you?”
The stone axe swung down.
Death energy poured forth like a stellar waterfall, instantly crossing tens of millions of li to strike the furthest Duotian Divine Emperor.
Pfft!
Blood mist exploded across that Duotian Divine Emperor’s back. Eight flawless white angelic wings were severed. He let out a long, indignant howl.
Terrifying!
Within this manifested cosmos, no matter the distance, Huang Tian could cover a thousand li in a single step and strike instantly.
Unable to see through the mysteries of the Truth Realm Form and Great Evolution of Heaven and Earth, Duotian Divine Emperor felt mounting pressure. He cried, “Huang Tian, everything can be negotiated. Why must we both suffer? You know full well that no matter the outcome of this battle, the descendants of the Reverse God Clan will be exposed.”
“You think killing this emperor while wearing Blood Absolute War God’s identity can fool Heavenly Father and the Third?”
“You think such upheaval will leave the gods of Hell Realm with no suspicions at all?”
“Your stubbornness will only harm others and yourself. Why not lower your axe? Let us discuss a strategy together, deceive the gods of Hell Realm, and preserve the Reverse God Clan descendants.”
Huang Tian did not slow his advance. Killing intent rolled from his body like blood clouds. “Are you begging for mercy? A mighty divine emperor, reduced to fear? Is death truly so terrifying?”
Duotian Divine Emperor’s eyes darkened.
“For a hundred thousand years I have lived amid lies. Now I trust only myself. Your words mean nothing. Every additional word is merely one more syllable in your dying declaration.”
Huang Tian raised the stone axe again, cold and merciless.
All the death rules gathering from heaven and earth condensed around him into a grey stellar nebula.
The nebula took human shape, resembling Huang Tian yet towering a hundred thousand times taller than his divine body. It stood like a sacred stellar giant, its presence so oppressive that Duotian Divine Emperor could barely breathe.
…
Above the clouds of Xinghuan Heaven.
A Hell Realm god showed worry. “What is happening? Blood Absolute War God and Duotian Divine Emperor have fought for so long, yet why have no divine venerables from Hell Realm arrived?”
“Indeed! With a divine venerable’s divine abilities, travelling from the Undetermined Divine Sea should be swift,” Shuo Qianhai said anxiously.
The ancient god child of the Temple of Destiny, Haishang Minggong, stared gravely. “A master of mental power has sealed this region of space. No information or fluctuations can escape.”
“It must be the work of that grandmaster in Xinghuan Heaven. Only a grandmaster whose mental power exceeds the eightieth order possesses such means: to forbid an entire star region, sever heavenly secrets, and cut causality.”
“That grandmaster is closely tied to the Twelve Divine Maiden Mansions.”
“This god long suspected the Twelve Divine Maiden Mansions had turned to Heaven Court. Now it appears true.”
“The current situation is extremely unfavourable for us gods of Hell Realm. Shall we join forces and forcibly break the spatial barrier?” one god suggested.
“Forget it! If the Twelve Divine Maiden Mansions have truly sided with Heaven Court, with the grandmaster’s abilities plus Xinghuan Heaven’s ancient heavenly venerable arrays, any forced breakthrough would only result in heavy casualties.”
“At least the Twelve Divine Maiden Mansions have not yet acted.”
“With the outcome between the war god and Duotian Divine Emperor still undecided, do they dare act?”
“True. Wait a little longer. Once the war god and Duotian Divine Emperor settle the victor, even a grandmaster would find it no easy task to trap the war god given his cultivation.”
…
Listening to the discussions of the Hell Realm gods, Haishang Minggong, Yan Yu, and certain other Hell Realm gods remained silent, still focused on the battle at Moyan Star.
They knew some inside information.
The mental power expert sealing the star region was very likely far more than just a grandmaster.
Attempting to force their way out was pure delusion.
Suddenly, countless bolts of lightning erupted in the star region near Moyan Star, carrying immense might. Even from such distance the radiance was visible, revealing how colossal those lightning bolts were.
Each one possessed world-ending power.
A Heaven Court god exclaimed, “A Cosmos-level divine technique! Duotian Divine Emperor has unleashed the Shang Clan’s supreme art.”
“It is the Heavenly Desolation Primordial Calamity, one of the Eight Heavenly Desolation Techniques.”
Shang Hong spoke calmly, yet every god present could feel the pride radiating from him, as though the moment this technique appeared, none under heaven could stand against it.
Though the Hell Realm gods found Shang Hong’s arrogance irritating, they had to admit that every one of the Eight Heavenly Desolation Techniques was peerless.
The rules of light throughout heaven and earth flowed, converging endlessly toward Moyan Star.
Countless pathways of light appeared in the dark void.
Lord Lan showed surprise. “His Majesty the Divine Emperor has even mobilised the profound truths of light. Is Blood Absolute War God truly so difficult to handle?”
Shang Hong’s calm cracked into a smile. “Using the Great Shang Divine Seal, the Heavenly Desolation Primordial Calamity, and the rules of light simultaneously clearly means Fourth Uncle has performed Three Corpses Separation. Resorting to this move shows Fourth Uncle is now fully committed.”
“Does His Majesty truly need to go all out against a mere Blood Absolute War God?” Lord Lan asked.
Shang Hong replied, “Defeating Blood Absolute War God alone would not require it. Yet Fourth Uncle clearly intends to slay him. Today is destined to be a day of mourning for Hell Realm. A peak great god is about to fall.”
“Haha! Blood Absolute War God killed Goddess Caiyi. Naturally he must pay the price.” Lord Lan’s divine voice rang through the starry void, deliberately loud enough for the Hell Realm gods to hear.
Shang Hong swept his gaze across the star region, frowning slightly.
“What is it?” Lord Lan asked.
A trace of doubt flickered in Shang Hong’s eyes, but he dismissed it as imagination and said, “Nothing.”
As a Messenger of Truth, his senses were exceptionally keen.
Just now he had detected the rules of life and death surging rapidly through heaven and earth, only for the sensation to vanish instantly, replaced by the rules of Palm Dao flowing swiftly.
Mental power at the level of the Drunkard could alter a god’s perception.
In this entire star region, nothing lay beyond control.
“Blood Absolute War God has employed the profound truths of Palm Dao. It seems he truly cannot hold on much longer. I wonder whether he will be taken alive or refined to death,” Lord Lan said.
Even with the Great Shang Divine Seal, Lord Lan did not believe Duotian Divine Emperor could refine Blood Absolute War God to death in a short time.
The most likely outcome was to first wound him severely, then suppress him within the Great Shang Divine Seal, take him back to Paradise Realm, and slowly erode his spiritual will and divine soul.
Lord Lan thought to himself, “Since Duotian Divine Emperor dares to kill Blood Absolute War God, he must have a way to prevent the detonation of his divine source. That mysterious grandmaster in Xinghuan Heaven will probably intervene to suppress Blood Absolute War God’s spirit and stop him from self-destructing. The Shang Clan’s foundation is truly terrifying. Provoke them, and even Blood Absolute War God must die. The clans of the present-day cosmos are indeed not to be trifled with.”
…
Duotian Divine Emperor knew there was no longer any room for manoeuvre today. Abandoning all illusions, he lowered his voice and gave a dark chuckle. “Since you wish to die, this emperor will oblige.”
The Duotian Divine Emperor with angelic wings closest to Huang Tian circulated his divine qi, pouring it into his divine source.
With three corpses, Duotian Divine Emperor possessed three divine bodies and three divine sources.
Apart from his true body, the other two bodies and sources had cost him immense time and resources to condense.
Now cornered by Huang Tian with no retreat, he could only sacrifice one divine body.
If he could use it to kill Huang Tian and seize his profound truths of life and death, he would actually profit! Holding the Great Shang Divine Seal, he was confident he could collect the majority of those truths.
Whether a god could harvest profound truths also depended on cultivation realm.
Zhang Ruochen, seated between Life Huang Tian and Death Huang Tian, suddenly sensed immense danger. His mind wavered. He opened his eyes and looked toward the distant Duotian Divine Emperor.
That Duotian Divine Emperor’s body ignited, transforming into an ever-expanding fireball.
The fireball’s light instantly seared Zhang Ruochen’s eyes. Blood flowed from his sockets.
“Calm your mind! If I die, I will forcibly drive the profound truths of life and death into your body to help you transform. Only if you succeed in transforming can you survive. Yet that would be the inferior path!”
“The superior path is to comprehend it yourself, to break free of the cage on your own.”
Huang Tian’s voice rang like heavenly thunder in Zhang Ruochen’s mind.
Even at this moment between life and death, he remained composed and unhurried, seemingly unafraid of death.
“I understand!”
Deeply moved, Zhang Ruochen spoke those three words with a choked voice. But he quickly calmed himself, set aside emotion, cast life and death beyond consideration, and focused entirely on tracing life rules.
Only when death drew near was the best moment to comprehend life and death.
Huang Tian could not stop Duotian Divine Emperor from detonating his divine source, but neither would he stand still and await death. He immediately retreated, putting vast distance between them.
The stone axe hovered before him, transforming into an axe-shaped stone star.
The heaven-reaching divine tree grew wildly, its branches and leaves covering the star region.
His divine realm worlds expanded outward…
Every life-preserving measure was unleashed within a fraction of a blink.
Boom!
Duotian Divine Emperor’s divine source detonated, tearing apart that divine body and instantly releasing devastating divine power. Huang Tian’s two divine realm worlds shattered, the boundless Truth Realm Form of the cosmos collapsed, and billions of stars were annihilated.
The heaven-reaching divine tree crumbled into dust before the divine power storm, as though made of sand.
All forces seemed utterly fragile before this storm. Even a full strike from a divine venerable could not compare.
This was power bought with life, the fleeting brilliance of a god.
Though Duotian Divine Emperor had sacrificed only one divine body, that body represented a third of his combat strength. Moreover, his remaining two bodies could not completely escape the divine power storm and would inevitably suffer severe wounds.
The price paid was equivalent to losing half his life.
