Since neither Lan Xiaobu nor Jie Ti continued to activate their treasures, the Wuxu Arrow and the Lubai Spear caused a spatial collapse on their first strike, but the subsequent destruction did not escalate further.
Lan Xiaobu achieved his strategic goal and retrieved the Wuxu Arrow. He was not worried, as he now held the initiative. With the Divine Position Gate in his possession, Jie Ti’s strength would surely diminish significantly.
Jie Ti’s expression turned extremely grim. He now understood why Lan Xiaobu, despite his formidable strength, had not promptly shot the arrow that could destroy his physical body. It was because Lan Xiaobu wanted the Divine Position Gate. If forced to choose between losing his physical body and the Divine Position Gate, Jie Ti would indeed choose the latter. A destroyed body could be perfectly restored, but the Divine Position Gate was far too crucial to him.
It was not merely his treasure; it was tied to whether he could step into the Ninth Step of the Great Path, or even transcend it.
Over the years, Jie Ti had visited countless universes and encountered many at the Eighth Step of the Great Path, but he had never met a single person at the Ninth Step, let alone someone who surpassed it.
He had been too careless, always believing that even if the Divine Position Gate fell into another’s hands, no one could take it away. Yet today’s events slapped him hard across the face. Lan Xiaobu had been scheming for the Divine Position Gate even before entering this universe.
Caught off guard, his Divine Position Gate was stolen, or rather, he had practically handed it over himself.
Only now did Jie Ti realise that Lan Xiaobu’s strength was not inferior to his own, and his mastery of array techniques was likely superior. If it were Jie Ti, he could not have calculated so precisely to ensure that when Lan Xiaobu seized the Divine Position Gate, it would pass through a teleportation array pattern and be transported into his own world.
Despite having collected countless cosmic principles, Jie Ti’s divine sense could not detect any trace of Lan Xiaobu’s world. This meant that the cosmic principles he had gathered were entirely different from those Lan Xiaobu cultivated. There was only one possibility: Lan Xiaobu was cultivating his own Great Path, with all its principles either self-realised or derived.
Taking a deep breath, Jie Ti clasped his fists towards Lan Xiaobu and said, “May I ask how to address you, friend?”
He had heard Lan Xiaobu’s name before but paid it no mind. A doomed man was not worth remembering.
“Lan Xiaobu,” Lan Xiaobu replied, raising his Longevity Halberd without retracting the Cosmic Mill.
Jie Ti softened his tone as much as possible, “Friend Lan, there seems to be a misunderstanding between us. The Divine Position Gate is my life-bound treasure. Could you return it to me? I’m willing to compensate for any losses and agree to any of your requests.”
Lan Xiaobu said coolly, “Jie Ti, you’re quite naive. You slaughtered my human race cultivators and spied on the cosmic principles of our universe. Heh, and now you want me to return your Divine Position Gate? Is your face pale, or is it your backside?”
Despite Lan Xiaobu’s mockery, Jie Ti restrained his towering rage. He knew his strength could not hold Lan Xiaobu back. If Lan Xiaobu left this place, he would surely refine the Divine Position Gate. Once refined, and its secrets uncovered, Lan Xiaobu would never return it.
His only chance to reclaim the Divine Position Gate was now.
His gaze fell on Zi Yuan behind Lan Xiaobu, and he sneered, “So, Friend Lan obtained my Divine Position Gate because you had a traitor helping you.”
Though he said this, Jie Ti knew Zi Yuan could not have been a traitor. She had no role in the process of seizing the Divine Position Gate.
Zi Yuan looked at Jie Ti calmly, her tone icy, “Jie Ti, the enmity between us is as deep as the sea. No need for words. If I ever get the chance to kill you, I’ll be the first to do so.”
Jie Ti scoffed, “You’ll never have that chance.”
He turned back to Lan Xiaobu, “Friend Lan, I offer you a bottle of Chaos Rule Essence, five top-grade dao veins, a thousand high-grade dao veins, and an origin-opening treasure…”
Pausing, he added, “I also have a Cosmic Tree Fruit of the human race, a nine-stripe Cosmic Fruit. All this just to exchange for the Divine Position Gate. What do you think?”
Lan Xiaobu said indifferently, “Not interested. If you want to fight, let’s continue. If not, I’m off to exterminate a clan.”
His gaze shifted to Hu Qian in the distance, his tone chilling, “The first I’ll wipe out is naturally the Beast Soul Clan, followed by the Da Yuan Clan.”
Hu Qian’s heart sank. Lan Xiaobu and Jie Ti had only exchanged one move, but he knew exactly what kind of existence Lan Xiaobu was, one he could not afford to provoke. If Lan Xiaobu killed him, wiping out the Beast Soul Clan was no jest. Even more terrifying was how Lan Xiaobu had taken Jie Ti’s Divine Position Gate. It seemed utterly impossible.
“Not enough?” Jie Ti’s tone carried a hint of anger.
Lan Xiaobu chuckled, “The things you listed? I wouldn’t bother picking them up off the ground. A nine-stripe Cosmic Fruit? Heh, how many stripes do you think this one has?”
With that, Lan Xiaobu casually produced a Cosmic Fruit, tossing it in his hand.
Jie Ti’s eyes narrowed. Others in this universe might not know about Cosmic Fruits, but he knew them well. The fruit in Lan Xiaobu’s hand was not only a Cosmic Fruit but a ten-stripe one.
He had only heard of ten-stripe Cosmic Fruits, yet Lan Xiaobu produced one so casually. Clearly, in the vast human race universe, Lan Xiaobu was an extraordinary existence.
As for Chaos Rule Essence and top-grade dao veins, need I show you a pile of them?
Jie Ti stared at Lan Xiaobu, “So, you have no intention of returning my item?”
The killing intent in Lan Xiaobu’s Longevity Halberd surged, “Jie Ti, you slaughtered my human race cultivators, stole our race’s fortune, and plundered our cosmic principles, yet you still want your item back? Do you think I’ll spare you today?”
With that, the Longevity Halberd unleashed a sky of killing dao principles.
Lan Xiaobu’s claim that the Divine Position Gate stole the human race’s cosmic fortune was an exaggeration, but Jie Ti’s heart skipped a beat. The Divine Position Gate could indeed strip away the human race’s fortune, and not just theirs, but the fortune of the universe they were in now. Lan Xiaobu had not yet touched on many matters, but Jie Ti knew well. Every vast universe had its fortune. Once it was nearly depleted, that universe would collapse. The human race’s universe was showing signs of collapse, its cosmic principles disintegrating, largely because he had stripped away too much of its fortune.
This was one of the Divine Position Gate’s main secrets. How did Lan Xiaobu know?
As Lan Xiaobu’s Longevity Halberd swept forward, Jie Ti hurriedly activated his Lubai Spear.
But Jie Ti’s mind was on the Divine Position Gate, with no heart for battle, while Lan Xiaobu unleashed his top-tier killing technique, Horn Sound Kill. Certain that Hu Qian would not dare intervene, Lan Xiaobu focused entirely on Jie Ti. Even if he could not kill Jie Ti, wounding him severely would achieve today’s goal.
The halberd’s killing aura erupted. Beyond the initial burst of killing dao sound, only the deathly blood aura stirred by the halberd remained under the vast sky.
The space, still reeking of blood, had been ravaged by the Wuxu Arrow and Lubai Spear, its terrain shattered and its rules in disarray.
Lan Xiaobu’s halberd strike stirred a blood aura, suffocating the space. Under the halberd’s killing domain, only death wailed. In the space swept by the Longevity Halberd, nothing existed but tearing killing intent.
Horn Sound Kill rises, winds howl blood for thousands of miles. The sky persists, my halberd strikes with a thousand killing cries!
All techniques could only cower under this halberd’s killing might.
Hu Qian, watching from afar, sighed. If not for Lan Xiaobu’s intent to destroy the Beast Soul Clan, he would have already fled.
Jie Ti’s Lubai Spear clearly lacked fighting spirit, while Lan Xiaobu’s Longevity Halberd locked life and death in this expanse of sky.
Only then did Jie Ti snap awake, frantically unleashing his spear’s dao principles. His opponent was clearly determined to kill him, yet he was still fixated on reclaiming the Divine Position Gate.
Boom! The Lubai Spear’s killing dao principles crumbled under the Horn Sound Kill, overwhelmed by the crushing force of Lan Xiaobu’s killing dao.
Jie Ti felt a chill. He was once again trapped in Lan Xiaobu’s killing domain. Under the Longevity Halberd’s domain, the halberd ruled supreme, forcing all within its space to submit.
As their divine dao principles clashed, Jie Ti’s lack of fighting spirit caused the Lubai Spear’s intent to shatter like an eggshell under the Horn Sound Kill, offering no resistance.
Crack! The Lubai Spear snapped under the Longevity Halberd’s strike, a burst of blood light exploding as Jie Ti vanished within it.
Lan Xiaobu did not pursue. Severing one of Jie Ti’s arms was enough. Had Jie Ti not been so shaken, Lan Xiaobu would not have managed even that.
