Battle Against Yang Mei

(Fourth Watch)

In the darkness, Ancestor Yang Mei's expression shifted slightly. He hadn't expected Li Xinghe to guess this.

After Pangu split the heavens, he had dragged his broken body out of Chaos and only barely managed to recover to his current realm.

Back then, he had been a Peak Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal of the Origin, but Pangu was too terrifying—he had nearly severed his foundations.

Not only had he lost half his life, but his Zenith Heaven Golden Immortal realm had also been stripped away, and he hadn't been able to recover it in all these years.

Now that the Primordial World was in ruins and awaiting restoration, he had slipped out of Chaos and entered the Primordial World, intending to find some heavenly spiritual roots to replenish himself.

Ancestor Yang Mei's true form was the Hollow Willow. Legend had it that the Phoenix lineage of the Immortality Volcano possessed the art of Nirvana rebirth.

So Yang Mei had taken advantage of Yuan Feng's severe injury during the Dragon-Phoenix Tribulation to ambush her here, aiming to seize Yuan Feng's origin, as well as the Phoenix Divine Wood within the Immortality Volcano—another rare spiritual root of the Primordial World that could mend his damaged true form.

With his identity exposed by Li Xinghe, Ancestor Yang Mei had no choice but to reveal his true form, though for now he appeared in the guise of a Daoist.

"I've always been curious about what really happened before Time and Fate fell. Now it seems you must have inherited their legacy," Yang Mei said calmly.

He had returned to the Primordial World some time ago and had specifically investigated Li Xinghe.

Although he had been playing the role of Old Six behind the scenes, Yang Mei's methods were not lacking either, and he had some understanding of Li Xinghe's capabilities.

Combining that with certain events from back then, he quickly deduced that Li Xinghe had obtained the inheritance of two Top-level Demon Gods.

Speaking of which, Li Xinghe was even more furious. If Yang Mei hadn't retreated at the critical moment, Time and Fate wouldn't have dragged him into the Chaos.

Moreover, having inherited Time and Fate's legacy, one of the tasks was to settle accounts with Yang Mei.

"Old Man Yang Mei, if you had just stayed hidden outside the Chaos, I might have let it slide. But since you've entered the Primordial World, I'll have to settle a karmic debt with you."

"Karmic debt? I already gave you a core branch back then. What more do you want? I can see you have some skill in the Law of Space as well. Old Man has already repaid what I owed Time and Fate." Yang Mei argued sophistically.

"Did you give it? I took it by force. You really know how to gild your own face," Li Xinghe said disdainfully.

Still, Yang Mei was the second-ranked existence among the three-thousand Law Demon Gods and was already at Late Golden Immortal of the Origin. Even he probably couldn't kill him.

"How about this: give me another branch, and today's matter ends here." Li Xinghe stated his goal directly.

Although he also cultivated the Law of Space, his Talent was limited. If he could obtain another Willow Branch, he might gain new insights.

Hearing Li Xinghe's words, Yang Mei immediately jumped up. Another branch? I'm almost going bald!

"Impossible, absolutely impossible. Old Man has barely recovered to his current realm, and now you want to cut my branches again? I'd rather die than submit."

Back then he had no choice, but now that heaven had given him another chance, he could only say no to Li Xinghe.

Li Xinghe let out a cold sneer. "Do you think that just because my Big Brother is gone, I can't do anything to you?"

Yang Mei didn't waste another word. He turned and fled. He was the Space Demon God, unmatched in the Law of Space, and his escape skills were top-tier.

Yet the next second, he felt his speed slow drastically, as if the time around him had suddenly become sluggish.

"The Law of Time!" Yang Mei's expression changed. As the saying went, when time does not emerge, space reigns supreme.

That meant the Law of Time could precisely counter the Law of Space—or more accurately, the Law of Time countered all laws.

"I refuse to believe that in just a few short Eons, your Law of Time can suppress me," Yang Mei said with a sarcastic tone.

After all, Daoist Shichen had cultivated for over a hundred Eons from his birth to his fall. The mysteries of the Law of Time were not so easily grasped.

"My Law of Time is indeed lacking, but that doesn't mean I can't trap you," Li Xinghe said with a smile.

Within his body converged all the law fragments of Daoist Shichen and the Lord of Destiny.

Ordinarily, he couldn't mobilize these fragments, but now his target was Yang Mei.

If Yang Mei hadn't retreated at the critical moment, Daoist Shichen and the Lord of Destiny might not have failed—perhaps they would have found a way to break the tribulation.

Their fall wasn't Pangu's fault, nor the scheming of the Great Dao, but they would certainly hold a grudge against the Space Demon God, Yang Mei.

Sure enough, when Li Xinghe fully unleashed the Law of Time, the flow of time around Yang Mei grew slower and slower, nearly coming to a standstill.

Of course, the Law of Time depended on the target. With Li Xinghe's strength, if he used it on an ordinary person, he could easily achieve time stop.

But now his target was Ancestor Yang Mei, the second-ranked Law Demon God of Chaos.

"How is this possible? How can your Law of Time be this powerful? Unless Time himself has been reborn," Yang Mei exclaimed, his face drastically changing.

Before he could react, Li Xinghe had already summoned the Chaos Pearl to lock down the space, preventing Yang Mei from using any spatial secret arts to escape.

"Now do you still think I can't do anything to you?" Li Xinghe held the Hongmeng Measuring Ruler.

Yang Mei still refused to concede. He charged straight at Li Xinghe. So what if it's the Chaos Pearl? My true form is no weaker than an Innate Supreme Treasure. Though it may not match a Chaos Supreme Treasure, it's not without a fighting chance.

"Good. I appreciate this arrogant demeanor of yours." Li Xinghe no longer held back.

From the Creation Tribulation to now, although he had been improving, he had never truly fought anyone to the death.

Those before him, including the Karma Demon God, were all just Small Fry in his eyes.

Only Yang Mei, with his special status and being the sole Demon God whose true form had not been slain during the Creation Tribulation.

That alone was enough for Li Xinghe to take him seriously. Even Pangu couldn't kill him—that spoke to his immense power.

The moment they clashed, both were astonished by each other's strength.

Back when Li Xinghe, that superfluous Demon God, was born, he hadn't even reached Golden Immortal. During the Creation Tribulation, he had barely broken through to Golden Immortal.

In just a few Eons, he had grown so powerful—Ancestor Yang Mei was utterly stunned.

But what shocked him even more was yet to come: not only the Law of Time, but also the Law of Destiny, and even the Law of Karma—Li Xinghe had dabbled in them all.

Most terrifying of all, he had even made headway in the Law of Strength. People said that biting off more than one could chew led to indigestion, yet he cultivated so many laws simultaneously and achieved remarkable progress in each.

Heaven knows how much Merit he had burned through to cultivate these laws, and how much Pangu's Essence Blood he had consumed to practice the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique.

After a bout of fierce combat, Ancestor Yang Mei realized he could not get the better of Li Xinghe at all; instead, he was constrained at every turn.

The pressure of the Chaos Pearl was too immense, making him feel deeply oppressed.

"If this is all you've got, I'm afraid you can't do anything to me either," Ancestor Yang Mei said with supreme arrogance.

Pangu had fallen, Shichen had vanished—so he, the Space Demon God, might as well be invincible under heaven.

"Is that so? Chaos Pearl—suppress him." Li Xinghe gave a cold laugh, having not yet gone all out.

Ancestor Yang Mei still talked tough, but his body was already marked with several wounds.

"You want this ancestor's branches? You're not worthy." The dignity of the Space Demon God was not to be profaned.

Li Xinghe frowned as well. This Yang Mei was indeed a turtle shell; unless he used another Chaos Supreme Treasure.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he directly summoned the Qiankun Demon God and the Five Elements Demon God.

"Yuan Feng, I have some Three Lights Divine Water here. Take it and recover. Later, your master will split this willow tree and give it to you as firewood." Li Xinghe said with a smile.