Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian stared at each other. Chen Tian's divine, nine-elemental light wings unfurled behind him, while Xie Tuntian’s wings were dark and eerie, radiating an ominous aura. Their battle had intensified. Chen Tian raised a hand, his light wings gently stirring, sending streams of nine-colored air currents toward Xie Tuntian. These currents, imbued with elemental power, possessed a certain offensive capability. Xie Tuntian opened his wings wide, flapping them powerfully. With a spin, a dark blade shot forth, its evil spirit energy clashing with Chen Tian’s currents.
Chen Tian’s currents were sliced apart, dispersing to the sides, but they did not dissipate. Instead, guided by a verdant flow, they reformed, preventing the blade energy from advancing further. Chen Tian’s currents similarly held their ground. In this clash, both were effectively at a stalemate. Xie Tuntian, displeased, felt he needed to gain an advantage. He infused his aura into the blade energy, transforming it into a black light that pierced through the currents and shot towards Chen Tian with astonishing speed.
Fortunately, for a cultivator of Chen Tian’s caliber, such an attack was manageable. The speed of this attack would have been insurmountable for cultivators in the myriad worlds. Chen Tian’s light wings emitted a resonant sound. The formless light condensed into solid matter, the entire wings now covered in countless densely packed longswords. The nine-colored light converged into these longswords, assembling on his wings. Chen Tian’s wings then merged, the swords clashing and interlocking to envelop his figure.
The blade energy struck Chen Tian’s wings with no effect, sounding like a dull thud. Chen Tian’s wings then spread apart, revealing countless vortices behind him. Within these vortices, elemental energy condensed into conical projectiles, which, at Chen Tian’s command, launched towards Xie Tuntian. A torrential downpour of energy cones unleashed furiously, as if Chen Tian’s vortices were inexhaustible.
Chen Tian’s techniques were designed for minimal energy expenditure. He was still probing Xie Tuntian, unsure of his devouring energy limit and reluctant to expend too much, as such energy would be insignificant to Xie Tuntian.
Seeing that Chen Tian was still hesitant to unleash his full power, Xie Tuntian felt belittled. He roared, "I am not the same as I was thousands of years ago. Do not underestimate me."
"I am not underestimating you. Precisely because of that, I am treating this battle with such caution," Chen Tian replied calmly.
Xie Tuntian, however, did not see it that way. He was aware of Chen Tian's strength. Even if not fully recovered, just a slight increase in power would make him an opponent Xie Tuntian could not easily contend with. Yet, Chen Tian's current techniques seemed to be an insult. Using only minor moves in battle was a clear act of humiliation.
Unable to tolerate Chen Tian's behavior, Xie Tuntian's black wings became enshrouded in a black liquid. The liquid flowed from his wings and onto his arms. The black luster on Xie Tuntian's claws intensified, his entire pair of claws hardening by the moment.
Xie Tuntian extended his claws. With a single swipe, all of Chen Tian’s airborne attacks exploded. The phantom image of his claws shot directly at Chen Tian. Unperturbed, Chen Tian’s body vibrated, and a defensive light shield suddenly appeared before him. This shield collided with the phantom claw image. Cracks appeared on Chen Tian’s shield. Xie Tuntian’s attack possessed a devouring ability; the shield’s energy was being consumed, making it difficult to resist. Chen Tian hadn't intended to rely on the shield for defense. He wanted to gauge the extent of Xie Tuntian’s devouring power.
In this life, Chen Tian had no prior knowledge of Xie Tuntian. He seized this opportunity to learn more. Chen Tian's light shield shattered. As the phantom claw image was about to strike him, Chen Tian calmly extended his hand, palm open, and met Xie Tuntian’s blow head-on. An explosion erupted before Chen Tian. He stood serenely at the center of the blast, his hand assessing the energy. He now had a rough understanding of Xie Tuntian's energy devouring limit, though his self-devouring limit remained unknown.
At the very least, Chen Tian had tested the limit of Xie Tuntian's devouring ability through his attacks, freeing him to act with less restraint.
Vortices materialized behind Chen Tian, converging into a colossal one. From this vortex emerged a nine-colored drill. Each color of the drill represented a different energy: elemental power, yin and yang energy, lightning power, and so on. The energies of heaven and earth converged here. The drill descended like divine retribution.
Upon seeing Chen Tian's move, Xie Tuntian sensed something amiss. Chen Tian was suddenly using his full power, which indicated a hidden trick. Xie Tuntian brought his arms together, then pulled them apart, connecting them with lines of black liquid. The black liquid dripped from these lines but instead of falling, it gathered between his arms, forming a black liquid sphere. As Chen Tian's drill approached, Xie Tuntian moved his arms, launching the black liquid sphere to meet the drill.
In the center of the battlefield, the drill and the black liquid sphere collided. The black sphere was instantly pierced by the drill. Xie Tuntian's move seemed to inflict no damage, making Chen Tian wonder about his intentions.
But was that truly the case?
The moment the black liquid sphere was pierced, the drill's forward momentum slowed as if stuck in mire. The liquid, once the sphere was broken, was released instantaneously, forming a black swamp that gradually consumed Chen Tian's attack energy.
The nine-colored drill dissolved. Xie Tuntian’s tactic genuinely surprised Chen Tian, though it was merely a momentary astonishment. Chen Tian possessed many other methods and was not worried about running out of moves.
"Unleash your full power, or you will die here today."
"As you surmise, then I shall go all out."
Both Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian deemed further concealment unnecessary and entered a true battle. Their auras surged, hundreds of times more potent than before. Far away, in the Dark Realm's heavenly way, a young girl beside the Heavenly Way gasped, "Oh no, this energy fluctuation… I cannot withstand it."
As if anticipating what would happen, the girl vanished from her spot. She needed to help. It was not yet time for "that thing" to appear, and Chen Tian had not yet recovered his memories.
The energy fluctuations from Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian's battle directly shattered the barrier. Their imposing presence spread, rendering the Silent Forest utterly ineffective. The Silent Forest held no sway over beings of Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian's caliber. The resulting shockwaves could not be silenced. Only a location on par with their own level might have offered some resistance.
The shattering of the barrier by Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian's combined power caused the onlookers to flee in panic. None wished to be assimilated. Soon, all cultivators in the surrounding hundred-mile radius, and even the entire region, had retreated. They needed their lives to witness the fight, and they currently lacked the means to do so.
Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian stood in the sky, their gazes locked. Chen Tian lifted his left foot, causing space to collapse above him. Void instantly enveloped them as Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian entered the void to continue their battle.
The Dark Realm's space could barely withstand the fluctuations of Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian's fight. Chen Tian considered the Dark Realm and, driven by instinct, felt compelled to fight within its void rather than on its surface, fearing unimaginable consequences.
Chen Tian couldn't explain this intuition but acted on it instinctively. Within the Dark Realm's void, Chen Tian and Xie Tuntian clashed. This encounter was more ferocious than any before. In a single second, their lights collided tens of thousands of times.
Chen Tian's fists were powerful, no longer relying on the Hundred Beasts Fist but on his combat experience. Xie Tuntian’s claws, imbued with devouring power, easily countered some of the force from Chen Tian's punches, which were being devoured.
Chen Tian struggled slightly to cope. After countless exchanges, they stood on the void, their bodies bearing the marks of battle. Chen Tian’s arms were covered in claw marks, while Xie Tuntian fared slightly better due to his superior regeneration. With his myriad abilities, Chen Tian was at a disadvantage in their hand-to-hand combat.
Chen Tian’s body began to glow, and the wounds slowly healed. Xie Tuntian’s recovery rate was faster than Chen Tian's. Chen Tian made a decisive move, attacking while simultaneously healing, recognizing that he couldn’t out-heal Xie Tuntian.
Dual blades appeared in Chen Tian’s palms. In this life, Chen Tian’s combat prowess reached its peak with twin blades. Xie Tuntian, seeing Chen Tian’s weapon, scoffed, "Are you looking down on me? Those are not your signature weapons. Bring out what you are skilled with."
"These are my skilled weapons."
In his first life, Chen Tian favored swords, cherishing them above all else. Although he created the Evil Spirit race, who preferred claw attacks, Chen Tian was different. As the creator, he was human, a being at the pinnacle of the universe. He naturally had his own ideas. In his first life, a single longsword in hand, he stood supreme.
In this life, with twin blades in hand, he slaughtered gods and demons, annihilating heaven and earth. This was Chen Tian's conviction. Furthermore, he didn't understand why so many of his reincarnations favored longswords, leading to his sword cultivation far surpassing his blade cultivation. Chen Tian could divide his focus, converting different experiences to bridge the gap.
With twin blades in hand, his figure flickered. Two blade lights sliced through the air. Xie Tuntian struggled to react; the speed was too great. The two beams struck his arms, and Xie Tuntian retreated, having taken the full force of Chen Tian's twin attacks without a scratch on his arms.
A hardened black armor protected Xie Tuntian completely. Chen Tian recognized it as the Evil Spirit Armor, albeit a replica. It seemed the Evil Spirit Armor was being widely replicated throughout the universe. Chen Tian was well aware of the defensive capabilities of the Evil Spirit Armor. The weapons paired with the Evil Spirit race were all crafted by Chen Tian himself, making him intimately familiar with them. They were weapons without weaknesses, though not all Evil Spirits possessed them, only those granted them by Chen Tian, becoming the core combat strength of the race.
The Evil Spirit Armor, the Evil Spirit Spear – Chen Tian harbored some apprehension towards "that person." The current commotion was becoming too significant. Replicas of the Evil Spirit Armor, forbidden techniques, and even the entire Evil Spirit race were now under his control. Chen Tian would need time to deal with "that person."
Chen Tian looked at Xie Tuntian, gripping his twin blades tightly, his expression grave. This duel had been complicated from the start. Chen Tian took a deep breath, his twin blades sliding sideways. With a raise of his hand, hundreds, even thousands, of blade edges shot out towards Xie Tuntian. As Chen Tian had anticipated, black armor appeared on Xie Tuntian, covering him along with his previous armor, further amplifying his defense.
The countless blade edges struck Xie Tuntian's armor with a clanging sound, like a blacksmith's work, causing no effect. Chen Tian knew this would happen. Xie Tuntian’s lips curled. His claws exploded, forming a long spear, and a black longsword was grasped in his hand.
This was Xie Tuntian’s first time using a weapon. He had initially intended not to, as the Evil Spirit race's greatest strengths lay in their abilities and claws, rendering weapons unnecessary. However, his opponent was Chen Tian, and Xie Tuntian dared not be careless. After all, "that person" had instructed him to fight Chen Tian with full effort, without underestimation.
Xie Tuntian held this advice dearly, not wishing to be sealed for several epochs again. Upon seeing Xie Tuntian draw his weapon, Chen Tian immediately knew its origin: "that person." Clearly, that individual would not let him return alive. In the cycle of reincarnation, eliminating him meant claiming the entire Evil Spirit race, one of the seven great races, a dominant force in the universe. Who wouldn't aspire to be an overlord?
Chen Tian was curious about what had happened to cause "that person" to change so drastically. However, this was not the time for contemplation. Xie Tuntian's attack approached, his spear striking with heaven-shattering force.
A dark, absolute beam of light shot towards Chen Tian. In front of Chen Tian, a black spearhead appeared. Chen Tian crossed his twin blades, directly pinning the spearhead. Their powers continuously flowed into their weapons. Chen Tian then flicked his twin blades upward, drawing Xie Tuntian’s spear with them, sending it flying into the sky.
Chen Tian raised his twin blades high, about to strike. Xie Tuntian swung his longsword to the left. Chen Tian had no choice but to abandon his attack and retreat slightly. The spearhead swept past Chen Tian's waist.
Chen Tian felt a sense of near-escape, grateful for his swift reaction. It seemed Xie Tuntian had anticipated his move and intended to ambush him. Had Chen Tian's combat awareness been any less sharp, he might not have noticed when the spear had reached Xie Tuntian's waist.
Seeing his attack miss, Xie Tuntian, who had hoped to trick Chen Tian, realized such minor tactics were useless. However, causing Chen Tian discomfort brought him joy.