The cosmic consciousness looked at the cosmic consciousness before it, another cosmic consciousness from another universe. It seemed to be on the side of the war faction, one that devoured other universes to strengthen itself. The cosmic consciousness transformed into a human form, and two humans stood facing each other. Chen Tian was still recovering. The cosmic consciousness on Chen Tian's side spoke first, "Are you of the war faction intending to completely break ties with us of the peace faction? Have you forgotten the agreement we jointly made?"
"I haven't made a move myself, have I? Have I devoured your cosmic consciousness? I was merely assisting someone in achieving their goal. If you try to stop me, I'll consume you too."
The cosmic consciousness on Xie Lingzi's side had a fierce and icy demeanor. Its words were indeed unassailable. After all, the original agreement only stipulated that the war faction should not devour cosmic consciousness, and that the peace faction and war faction should not interfere with each other. The cosmic consciousness on Chen Tian's side knew that the other party's logic was sound. It had indeed not been devoured. According to the war faction's ideology, they would directly devour cosmic energy without hesitation. Chen Tian's recovery speed was increasing. Seeing this, Xie Lingzi, who was standing nearby, decisively attacked.
The cosmic consciousness wanted to protect Chen Tian but was suddenly blocked. The cosmic consciousness said calmly, "With me here, you cannot protect him. This fellow must die. Moreover, I don't believe you're unaware of what this fellow is plotting. Such a person absolutely cannot exist in the universe."
"If you are going to stop me, then let me see your strength. It's just a clone, what do I have to fear?"
The cosmic consciousness on Chen Tian's side directly spoke and attacked. The figure before it was merely a clone of the cosmic consciousness. This was its home ground. To send a clone to stop it, it would simply disperse it.
"Yu Tian, you haven't changed at all; you're still the same!"
"You're not much different either, Tian Mie. In short, there's no need for pleasantries. Let's fight."
Yu Tian was the name of the cosmic consciousness on Chen Tian's side, while Tian Mie was the name on Xie Lingzi's side. The two were acquainted. Cosmic consciousnesses existed for a very long time; as long as the universe existed, so did consciousness. It was normal for them to know each other. In the past, the war faction and the peace faction often clashed. As they stood on different sides, battles were inevitable. They understood each other's personalities too well. Yu Tian attacked first. As he took a step, the universe behind him reacted.
The entire universe channeled energy to Yu Tian, and his strength surged rapidly. Tian Mie did not dare to underestimate the situation. This was the opponent's universe, their home turf. Winning would be difficult with just a clone, but delaying for a while was achievable. According to the instructions from a certain individual, Chen Tian had to die, otherwise, it would disrupt the war faction's plans. A unique energy flowed from Tian Mie's body. The two collided, and a brilliant explosion erupted like fireworks.
On Chen Tian's side, Chen Tian was rapidly recovering his left arm. The recovery was almost complete, with only the palm remaining. Xie Lingzi appeared before Chen Tian. Because his body had shrunk, Xie Lingzi could engage in close combat. Chen Tian hastily dodged, his figure becoming an afterimage as he continuously evaded attacks. Dense orbs of light shot from Xie Lingzi's mouth, like a torrential rain. Chen Tian's dodges were all on the brink of disaster. The barrage of light could not impede Chen Tian's recovery speed. Chen Tian's primary focus now was recovery.
To fight, he needed his left arm to heal. Without his left arm, Chen Tian's combat power dropped by a full fifty percent. Chen Tian dared not fight Xie Lingzi while injured. Xie Lingzi did not want Chen Tian to recover; this was his chance, his only chance. Attacks continuously shot from Xie Lingzi's mouth and body, targeting Chen Tian. Chen Tian weaved through the onslaught, dodging left and right, up and down, like a kite fluttering in the wind. Each dodge brought him within a millimeter of the attacking projectiles.
The art of extreme evasion was displayed by Chen Tian. His dodging speed was incredibly fast, rendering Xie Lingzi's attacks futile. Xie Lingzi had never seen anyone evade with such precision. Even in his previous life, Chen Tian couldn't achieve this. This current incarnation of Chen Tian was undoubtedly more powerful. Therefore, Chen Tian had to die here. That certain individual did not wish for Chen Tian to return to where he came from.
Black spikes grew from Xie Lingzi's back, covering his body like a hedgehog. All the black spikes shot out simultaneously with astonishing speed, completely surrounding Chen Tian. These spikes seemed to possess their own consciousness, trapping Chen Tian in the center. Chen Tian's palm was almost fully recovered. Chen Tian formed an energy shield around himself. The black spikes attacked, as if intending to pierce Chen Tian through and through. The energy shield protected him fiercely.
A massive explosion echoed. From the center of the blast, Chen Tian emerged unscathed. His left arm was completely restored. Chen Tian flexed his left hand, energy flowing through his palm. His figure split into three, forming three Chen Tian's who simultaneously extended their palms. Light beams shot from their palms, converging on Xie Lingzi from three directions. Scales on Xie Lingzi's body began to regrow. The light beams struck him, and the scales gradually fell off. Xie Lingzi's defenses were breached. The light beams, imbued with Xie Lingzi's power, began to disintegrate.
Xie Lingzi combined cosmic energy with his evil spirit energy. Unless Chen Tian could neutralize his evil spirit energy, Chen Tian's attacks would not cause substantial damage. This presented Chen Tian with a dilemma. To neutralize the evil spirit energy, he needed the source of the evil spirit. However, in this life, Chen Tian was human, not the creator of the evil spirit race. The source within him could not achieve the neutralization effect.
As Chen Tian pondered this, the system within him suddenly spoke up. Chen Tian patted his head. Right! He still had that method he could use.
How could he have forgotten?
Chen Tian's body was enveloped in black energy the next second. This black energy was identical to Xie Lingzi's, and even purer and more potent. Its quality surpassed Xie Lingzi's by several levels. Xie Lingzi stared at Chen Tian, disbelief etched on his face, "Impossible! How do you possess the source of the evil spirit? Could it be that you are also a lackey of the evil spirit race? No, that's not right. Given your personality, you wouldn't do such a thing."
A bewildered Xie Lingzi was speechless. Only by being a lackey of the evil spirit race could one be imbued with evil spirit energy. The evil spirit energy on Chen Tian was even stronger than his own, implying Chen Tian's status was higher than his.
But Chen Tian hated the evil spirit race, didn't he? Weren't they mortal enemies?
It was Xie Lingzi's turn to be confused. Chen Tian, however, ignored Xie Lingzi's state and accelerated his movement. Xie Lingzi cried out, "No!" He knew what Chen Tian intended to do: neutralize his evil spirit energy. Why Chen Tian possessed evil spirit energy was entirely due to his cosmic bloodline. At this moment, the power of his cosmic bloodline was fully activated. The cosmic bloodline could transform into any source or bloodline power in the universe. The concept of this universe was all universes. Chen Tian had been sealed before. Now, due to the energy from the cosmic consciousness, the system had been activated early. Chen Tian had almost forgotten about this bloodline.
Chen Tian transformed his cosmic bloodline into the evil spirit bloodline. Only those with the status of an elder could possess the evil spirit bloodline, and elders would never betray him. As the creator, Chen Tian knew how to mimic the bloodline. Before the evil spirit bloodline, the evil spirit energy would be severely suppressed.
Chen Tian's figure surged towards Xie Lingzi. Xie Lingzi, unwilling to be outdone, knew there was only one path left for them.
The two figures collided. Amidst the explosion, Yu Tian stood his ground. Tian Mie retreated three steps, completely outmatched. Fighting in the opponent's home turf, and being just a clone with only seventy percent of the main body's strength, Tian Mie could only stall for time. The outcome of the battle on the other side depended on Xie Lingzi and Chen Tian. The true situation lay with those two.
"Are you still not surrendering? It seems the person you chose is doomed."
"Are you that confident? Are you so sure he is the person I chose?"
"I can only tell you that the real battle has not yet begun."
Tian Mie's words made Yu Tian pause. Could it be that Xie Lingzi had secrets he hadn't detected?
However, the cosmic consciousness trusted Chen Tian. Even in the face of dire circumstances, Chen Tian would find a way to resolve them.
If Chen Tian knew the cosmic consciousness thought this way, he would probably spit out a mouthful of blood. Was he being treated as a hired hand?
Tian Mie took advantage of Yu Tian's momentary lapse to launch a surprise attack. His palm carried immense power, shaking the surrounding cosmic space. This enraged Yu Tian further. Tian Mie's attack began to cause the surrounding order to collapse. The other party was truly determined to stall him. Their previous battles were mere skirmishes, but this one was unavoidable. Yu Tian's figure moved to meet the attack. Their palms and fists grazed each other, and both narrowly dodged. They raised their legs, and with booming sounds, a series of impacts rang out. Yu Tian and Tian Mie's battle was fierce, their movements so fast they were invisible. What power!
Yu Tian and Tian Mie's left legs kicked out simultaneously – one a direct kick, the other a spinning kick. Their collision generated shockwaves and ripples that pushed them both back. Their battle appeared evenly matched, but only they knew that Yu Tian had not used his full strength, while Tian Mie had already exerted his all.
In his home universe, a cosmic consciousness's combat power could increase by thirty percent. This thirty percent increase should not be underestimated. It could be likened to this: if Yu Tian before the boost was already a peak existence in the universe, then after the boost, he would be a ruler of the universe. The difference between a ruler and a peak existence was profound. Unfortunately, the ruler's abilities were ineffective against another cosmic consciousness of similar stature. A ruler's power only applied to beings native to their own universe.
"Yu Tian, are you truly letting this fellow live out all eleven lives of his? You clearly know about his subsequent lives..."
Tian Mie's words were met with a nod from Yu Tian, who admitted, "So what? The entire universe, all the myriad universes, it's time they were unified."
"If you do this, you will face the onslaught of all universes. Is this what you wish to see?"
"You know me well. I love to gamble, and I am gambling this universe."
Tian Mie was stunned. He knew Yu Tian too well; his words were irrefutable, yet such an action would provoke widespread outrage.
Yu Tian's figure once again clashed with Tian Mie. It would be easy for Yu Tian to kill this clone, but he could not. Killing the clone would inevitably draw out the main body. Even a clone's presence here caused significant repercussions, let alone another cosmic consciousness.
Cosmic consciousness and the universe were intrinsically linked. A universe could only have one consciousness. The appearance of Tian Mie's clone here had already caused the collapse of order. If the main body were to arrive, this universe would likely descend into chaos. The outcome rested solely on Chen Tian's side.
On Chen Tian's side, amidst the explosion, Chen Tian and Xie Lingzi ignored the shockwaves and the destructive power as they collided in the center. Xie Lingzi's body continued to shrink as the battle wore on, his internal cosmic energy rapidly depleting. Xie Lingzi would eventually revert to his original form.
That is, his original appearance, to fight Chen Tian. Seeing this, Chen Tian finally felt the end of this battle approaching. He was so tired.
Chen Tian's fist gathered power, and with a single blow, he sent Xie Lingzi flying. Xie Lingzi regained his original form, his internal cosmic energy completely depleted. Xie Lingzi stabilized himself, cursing his lost opportunity.
Chen Tian was more troublesome than he had imagined. Chen Tian approached Xie Lingzi and said calmly, "Surrender. You have no chance."
"Heh heh, surrender is impossible. That's the only thing I learned from you. Do you think I have no trump cards? Wrong. The real battle has just begun."
As Xie Lingzi finished speaking, his body was filled with cracks. Chen Tian saw this and immediately attacked. Chen Tian understood the situation; indeed, that fellow had unleashed and resurrected all his forbidden kin to deal with him.
That damned fellow. One day, Chen Tian vowed to deal with him personally.
Chen Tian's figure turned into light, his palms pushing forward with explosive power. His speed was as fast as light. Unfortunately, an explosion echoed. Chen Tian's speed was still not as fast as his opponent's. Chen Tian rapidly retreated.
A figure emerged – a pure-blooded evil spirit, in the form of an evil spirit. Within Xie Lingzi's body resided the essence of a forbidden clan of evil spirits. That fellow had used forbidden arts to resurrect him.
"Chen Tian, Chen Tian, long time no see. I have finally been resurrected! I will personally kill you to sate my hatred."
"Xie Shao Mie, it is indeed you. I had already sensed a strange aura, and it was just as I suspected. Then, are the other nine also going to be resurrected?"
"Of course. To exact revenge, we have specifically returned from the dead."
Xie Shao Mie was one of the earliest evil spirits created by Chen Tian. He was powerful and possessed terrifying talent. However, his heart was consumed by greed, desire, hypocrisy, and other emotions, leading to a grave disaster. Chen Tian personally dealt with him and sealed his essence.
That fellow had gone to great lengths to deal with him.
Xie Shao Mie was different from other evil spirits. As one of the earliest evil spirits, he possessed the power of greed. The stronger his greedy thoughts became, the more his power could increase infinitely, as greed knows no bounds.
Xie Shao Mie could use the power of greed to turn a person into a complete slave of greed. He had once turned an entire world into a land of chaos.
It was because of this that Chen Tian imposed limitations on the abilities of the evil spirits he created later, preventing them from involving emotional issues, thus resulting in the current evil spirit race.
When Xie Shao Mie was created, their consciousness far surpassed that of the current evil spirits. Therefore, Chen Tian had not anticipated such a situation at the time.
However, that was in his first life. Chen Tian had moved on. Now that Xie Shao Mie had been resurrected, Chen Tian would simply have to deal with him again.
This was Chen Tian's thinking. Thus, Chen Tian's battle with Xie Lingzi could be considered a victory for Chen Tian, but complications had arisen.
That was the resurrection of Xie Shao Mie. Xie Shao Mie's strength upon resurrection was at its peak. Chen Tian would have to expend considerable effort to defeat him.