Xie Yu attacked Chen Tian. Even with Chen Tian's skill of dividing his focus, he reacted in time. Facing Xie Yu's attack, Chen Tian raised and then lowered his dual blades, firing an invisible blade that forced Xie Yu back. Xie Yu, not understanding what had happened, found his attack foiled. Chen Tian regained his composure and stared at Xie Yu, saying, "Forbidden items are not for you to touch. Your fate is sealed with death."
"Heh, as long as I can kill you, I'll pay any price and use any means."
Xie Yu's face contorted into a ferocious mask, his eyes gradually turning black. Markings spread across his cheeks, appearing as if they were alive. These markings were slightly different from those Chen Tian knew. Chen Tian sensed that if Xie Yu continued in this state, he would be completely consumed by the markings, becoming a corpse. Chen Tian wouldn't even need to fight; Xie Yu's death was a foregone conclusion once time ran out. At this moment, Xie Lei and Xie Ming stood up and moved to Xie Yu's side. Xie Lei roared, "Snap out of it, Xie Yu! Don't let that thing affect you. We control it, not the other way around."
Xie Lei's voice had an effect. Xie Yu's will returned. Xie Yu recalled his previous state and found it truly terrifying, a testament to the forbidden energy. Fortunately, they had divided the energy into seven parts, allowing them to resist the erosion. With the complete energy, they might have been instantly consumed and turned into corpses. Xie Yu looked at Xie Lei and Xie Ming and said, "Are you recovered enough?"
"Almost, more than enough. Let's do this. This is our final battle."
Xie Lei and Xie Ming were bold, and the three seemed to be speaking their last words. Chen Tian's sixth sense activated, and he attacked first. This was an instinctual reaction; Chen Tian didn't consciously decide to attack; his body moved on its own, guided by his sixth sense. Chen Tian's sixth sense was exceptionally strong and usually wouldn't trigger unless facing a true variable. This indicated that Xie Yu and the other two posed a variable, one that could be as small as a grain of sand or as vast as the cosmos.
Some variables could even influence the Dao of Heaven. Chen Tian's attack was purely an instinctual reaction driven by his sixth sense. Xie Yu and the other two formed a triangle. Beneath their feet, a triangular formation materialized, connecting their bodies. Their three sources of origin flew out from within them, heading straight for each other's sources of origin. The three sources of origin merged into one. Xie Yu stood at the center of the triangular formation as Xie Lei and Xie Ming's figures dissipated. Xie Yu then absorbed this source of origin, boosting his power.
Power erupted from within Xie Yu. Chen Tian's attack was repelled back over a hundred meters by the sheer force of his aura. Xie Yu's body underwent indescribable changes. He still looked like a member of the Xie Ling race, yet none of the Xie Ling race's characteristics were present on his body.
Xie Yu spoke, his voice like a sinister, ghostly whisper, "Chen Tian, in this state, our power is something you cannot contend with. Die."
A single sentence contained the voices of three people. Had they merged into one? No, Chen Tian felt it was not a true trinity; he had experienced that sensation before, and it felt different from this. What method had Xie Yu researched to become so terrifying?
Chen Tian and Xie Yu locked eyes, facing Xie Yu's surging aura. Chen Tian unleashed his power, this time with full force. Xie Yu was worth Chen Tian using his full strength. Xie Yu was surprised; Chen Tian's strength could still increase. He had indeed hidden his power during his fight with Xie Lei and Xie Ming. To Xie Yu, even with his hidden strength, Chen Tian's efforts were in vain. Xie Yu opened his mouth, and a black pillar of light shot out, directly towards Chen Tian's face. All of Chen Tian's escape routes were blocked, leaving him with no choice but to endure the attack head-on.
Chen Tian channeled elemental energy, gathering almost all the energy he could control into his palm. His palm moved in a quadrangular trajectory, forming a quadrangular energy barrier that expanded, resembling glass. The pure white barrier resisted the black pillar of light. After a few seconds, it began to crack. Chen Tian remained calm; this move required time for him to master the fusion of elemental energies and enhance the barrier's hardness. The fractured areas of the barrier slowly began to mend.
Xie Yu opened his mouth wider, the beam of light intensifying, determined to obliterate Chen Tian. Chen Tian's arm traced a Tai Chi pattern within the quadrilateral trajectory. The Tai Chi symbol became clear. Chen Tian clapped his palms together, then spread them apart. In Chen Tian's palm, a point of light gradually enlarged. Chen Tian pushed out with both arms, and this point of light suddenly became a massive orb of light, counteracting the black pillar. The orb spun rapidly, and for a moment, neither side could gain the upper hand. Chen Tian poured all his elemental energy into it, pulling his arms back before thrusting them forward.
An astonishing explosion emanated from the move. Xie Yu was pushed back over thirty steps, while Chen Tian retreated a full forty-five steps. Chen Tian was at a disadvantage primarily because this was only the second time he had attempted to fuse such a vast array of elemental energies, involving thousands of different energies. The move Chen Tian hastily created was still insufficient. Seeing that Chen Tian was not his match, Xie Yu became even more arrogant. Long blades extended from his hands, and with incredible speed, he lunged at Chen Tian, raising his arms to attack. Chen Tian's figure flickered, activating his ultimate evasion, and he dodged Xie Yu's assault.
It was the first time Xie Yu had witnessed such a precise method of evasion from Chen Tian. His previous attack had been less than a meter away from Chen Tian's neck. Chen Tian lifted his left leg. Xie Yu reacted similarly to Chen Tian; as soon as Chen Tian made a move, Xie Yu retreated a few steps, causing Chen Tian's attack to miss.
Chen Tian spoke, "Impressive. Sacrificing everything to gain the power to contend with me. It seems this is your choice. However, forbidden items are not so easily controlled. You will eventually perish."
"But I can take you with me."
"Do you think you can achieve a one-hundred percent mutual destruction in this state? Ridiculous. You still don't understand my strength."
Chen Tian's body trembled. Behind him, his Samsara Body activated its second form. The second Samsara Body appeared. Chen Tian's body swayed a few times. Activating two Samsara Bodies meant he could only maintain this state for a few minutes. Chen Tian could not control this power; strictly speaking, he couldn't. At this moment, to defeat Xie Yu, he had no choice but to activate his second Samsara Body.
The second Samsara Body activated, a phantom radiating a strange power. It was the Samsara Body: Lord of Illusions.
Chen Tian's third Samsara Body appeared behind him. Xie Yu visibly panicked, exclaiming in horror, "Monster! You're a monster! No one has ever been able to use a second Samsara Body. A Samsara Body can only be preserved as one. You've preserved two! You're a madman, a madman! Your body cannot withstand this; you'll self-destruct!"
"It will only take a few seconds to kill you. It's no trouble."
A sinister smile played on Chen Tian's lips, perhaps influenced by the third Samsara Body. Chen Tian's facial expression became as unsettling and eerie as that of the Lord of Illusions. Chen Tian brought his left hand, imbued with the power of illusions, and his right hand, with the power of energy, together. As his palms met, a fluctuation occurred, generating a fearsome power within it. Chen Tian clapped his palms together, and as they opened, a black and white orb of light hovered in his palm. This orb of light made Xie Yu perceive his own death—a one-hundred percent certainty of death.
The energy contained within the orb was something he could not resist. Xie Yu visibly panicked. Chen Tian tossed the orb with one hand. As the orb shot out, Xie Yu was about to defend himself when the orb vanished for a second and then enveloped Xie Yu's body. With a boom, Xie Yu's body exploded. Chen Tian's body returned to its normal state, but blood began to ooze from his skin, and blood spurted out continuously. Activating two Samsara Bodies was too great a burden on his body. Chen Tian finished quickly; otherwise, the consequences would have been more severe.
Chen Tian's figure left the space. He returned to the Divine Realm. In the Divine Realm, Chen Tian took an entire night to recover his body. He then heard good news: the Swordsman Grand Competition was about to begin.
Chen Tian opened his game interface and clicked, leaving his room to head to the Swordsman Grand Competition.
Chen Tian was eager to see how much the players in the Epoch of Time had grown and what role they would play on the battlefield in the future.
In a small mountain village, four people were maintaining a magic formation. In the center of the formation, Pigeon had not yet awakened, which puzzled the four. Logically, after three days, Pigeon should have awakened; accepting memories shouldn't take this long.
"Elder Sanhua, has something changed?"
"Impossible. We both know this formation will not change. The memories are sealed within us; we are merely returning them."
Elder Sanhua spoke with certainty, suggesting the problem might lie with the Third Prince. She wondered if some unforeseen circumstance had befallen the Third Prince, hoping it was for the best and not the worst.
Meanwhile, inside Pigeon, Pigeon, who was originally accepting the Third Prince's memories, was gradually understanding his mission and identity. He was supposed to return to his original body after accepting the memories. Then, a voice spoke, "Are you truly going to do this? Are you abandoning the Divine Realm?"
This voice was identical to Pigeon's. A figure exactly like Chen Tian emerged. Pigeon and this figure looked at each other. This was an embodiment of Pigeon's yearning. Pigeon's memories returned, and he knew what he had to do.
His heart was in a struggle with himself, which was why this phantom had appeared.