Most of Shi Lin and the others had broken through to the peak of the seventh Heaven after fusing with Quasi-Saint-level Ancient Divine Beasts. Their cultivation was now on par with Ling Tian and his companions. On top of that, they were God-Devouring Bodies who had cultivated the God-Devouring Demon Technique, and their fusions with Ancient Divine Beasts had allowed them to master the Sacred Beast Seven-Style Severing Slash. Their strength was formidable—even somewhat greater than Hua Min'er, Fairy Sword Ji, and the others, especially when they used the God-Devouring Demon Domain to suppress their opponents.
Of course, Hua Min'er and the others had cultivated the Nine Reversals Heavenly Technique and reversed their golden cores nine times. Their Divine Yuan Power was purer, and their control over their minds was stronger. In that regard, they were superior even to Shi Lin and the other God Devouring Bodies. They were merely a little lacking in the power of the various secret techniques they had mastered.
But if Hua Min'er and the others had enough time to comprehend secret techniques like the Heart Slaying Sword and Soul Slaying Sword, it was hard to say which side would be stronger in the future. And if Hua Min'er and the others consumed Phoenix Soul Fruits and were reborn through nirvana, they would most likely surpass Shi Lin and the others. Though Shi Lin and his companions also had Phoenix Soul Fruits, which would let them undergo nirvana and then cultivate the Nine Reversals Heavenly Technique, Hua Min'er and the others had cultivated the technique twice, reversing their golden cores eighteen times. That was a considerable advantage.
Although Shi Lin and the others had stopped making progress in their cultivation because of their fusion with Ancient Divine Beasts, quite a long time had passed by