Eye of Divine Punishment

For the last question, Okandis answered readily. "No. In fact, beings as powerful as me are quite rare in the Outer Star Region. Running into me means you've struck it lucky. Normally, you could visit several planets and still not see one!"

"..."

Okandis looked at Bai Xiaowen's somewhat speechless expression and said with a smile, "All right, I've answered all three questions. Human, you may leave now!"

"Leave where?" Bai Xiaowen put on an innocent, puzzled look.

Okandis frowned. "Didn't you say that after I answered a few questions, you could voluntarily give up the Original Spiritual Energy?"

Bai Xiaowen nodded. "I did say that at first. You didn't agree, and you even attacked me first."

Okandis said, "I agreed afterward. We agreed that I would answer three questions!"

"You suddenly stopped fighting and said you could answer a few questions, but you never added the condition that I had to leave after you answered them. I took it as a sudden attack of conscience. Is that not allowed?" Bai Xiaowen said.

At the level of Okandis and Bai Xiaowen, their Spirit Power was powerful and their memories exceptionally sharp. With only a slight recollection of what had just happened, they could accurately remember every word they had spoken.

After thinking back, Okandis really did discover that he had never stated the condition that the other party had to leave after the questions were answered!

But Okandis refused to accept it. In his view, Bai Xiaowen was plainly reneging on their agreement. Although he had not explicitly made the demand, he had answered the questions based on the condition Bai Xiaowen had proposed at the start.

Otherwise, why would he answer Bai Xiaowen's questions for no reason?

"Human, are you toying with me?" The veins on Okandis's forehead bulged. "You are enraging the great Okandis, messenger of the God of Light!"

"I think you're the one toying with me." Bai Xiaowen's expression also turned serious. "Look at the three questions you answered. Did any of that sound like a proper answer? There wasn't the slightest sincerity!"

"I'm not human to begin with." Okandis sounded quite justified.

"..." Bai Xiaowen realized this angel's shamelessness was rather in line with his own style.

"Human, my patience has run out." Okandis raised his Greatsword. "Leave immediately. Otherwise, I will destroy the surface structure here if I must, just to kill you!"

In Okandis's eyes, Bai Xiaowen was merely agile, capable of spatial movement, and skilled at using the ground as cover. That was why Okandis had been somewhat restrained in battle—he did not want to smash this place to pieces and cause the Original Spiritual Energy to disperse in large quantities.

When it came to actual strength, Okandis still did not think Bai Xiaowen was particularly powerful. He was just a troublesome rat.

Bai Xiaowen let out a breath. Looking at Okandis's lofty, oversized face, he unexpectedly revealed a faint smile. "Okandis, from the moment you answered the first question, I knew you had no sincerity whatsoever. Do you know why I still cooperated with you and finished asking the other two questions?"

"Why?" Okandis's expression changed as he sensed something was wrong.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Streams of Immortal Talisman light shot into the air, illuminating the dark-red sky. Above, the talisman lights crisscrossed and projected downward, forming an Immortal Array spanning a kilometer.

At one corner of the Immortal Array, the image of a red sun rose, bringing intense light and heat. Heat waves immediately billowed throughout the array's domain.

Bai Xiaowen sat cross-legged atop the Silver Throne and laughed loudly. "Of course it was to stall for time, idiot! Taste the might of the Nine Suns Grand Formation! I'm going to roast every last feather off you and turn you into roast chicken!"

This Immortal Array was called the Nine Suns Grand Formation. It was a new Immortal Array Bai Xiaowen had comprehended after studying the Classic of Supreme Emptiness. It gathered Earthly Fiend Heat Energy to scorch enemies, simultaneously inflicting fire attacks upon those within the array and adding Geothermal Fire Poison.

As for the Immortal Talismans of the Nine Suns Grand Formation, Bai Xiaowen had secretly laid them down while darting around and evading attacks earlier.

Okandis had only seen Bai Xiaowen's miserable attempts to evade the Holy Spirit Sword. How could he have known that Bai Xiaowen had already resolved to face this Divine Bloodline Grade powerhouse head-on?

Okandis flew into a rage from humiliation. Swinging his Greatsword, he sent a massive sword aura dozens of meters long slashing toward Bai Xiaowen, who was also inside the array.

Bai Xiaowen had long since scattered Sword Seals throughout the Nine Suns Grand Formation. He used the Shape Shift Dao Technique and teleported away, while a twisting Snake Thunder shot toward Okandis.

Okandis did not think much of Bai Xiaowen's Snake Thunder. In his view, Snake Thunder with its power spread so thin could not possibly pierce his Sacred Armor.

However, Okandis was wrong again. Bai Xiaowen had already trained Origin Thunder to the proficient level, further improving Snake Thunder's ability to change form. Though its power seemed dispersed, it suddenly gathered into a single beam upon approaching, like a sharp lightning spike that pierced straight through Okandis's Sacred Armor with a puff.

Back when Bai Xiaowen had fought Luo Xie Er's avatar, he had broken Luo Xie Er's defense using an ordinary lightning needle.

That had merely been a normal lightning needle, with negligible power. Now, however, the full might of Origin Thunder had been compressed into this single lightning spike. Its power was more than ten times what it had been then, not to mention the enhancement of the Silver Throne.

With a thunderous boom, the lightning spike stabbed into Okandis's body and erupted with explosive force.

Okandis barely avoided a vital point. Foreign Electric Force ran wildly through his body, throwing his Spiritual Power into chaos.

"Damn it, what class are you?"

Okandis was nearly dizzy from Bai Xiaowen's display. He had started with a bow, and his True Yuan Power arrows had looked quite convincing. Then he had switched directly into an assassin form, nearly succeeding in a close-range assassination. Now he was even casting long-range spells, and with such terrifying power!

Bai Xiaowen merely smiled without speaking. How nice would it be to let Okandis die miserably in ignorance? Villains dying from talking too much was no empty saying.

Bai Xiaowen could achieve this thanks to the Dual Class tome, which had given him more balanced attribute growth than ordinary Evolutionists. His Strength, Agility, and Constitution had all surpassed 200 points. As long as his Combat Specialization kept up, temporarily acting as an Archer or assassin was no problem. As for spellcasting professions—Dao Techniques were his strongest original specialty.

Boom, boom—

While Okandis was unable to move, Bai Xiaowen took the opportunity to drive changes in the Nine Suns Grand Formation. The second and third red suns rose from the other two corners of the array.

The light and heat projected by the three phantom red suns focused upon the point where Okandis stood. It was as though a powerhouse highly skilled in Fire Element energy were attacking with full force, except he was borrowing the power of nature, with inexhaustible reserves.

Okandis let out a strange cry. The six wings of light behind him were beginning to blacken and char in disarray.

He finally stabilized the chaotic Electric Force within his body and immediately beat his six wings, trying to escape this deadly position within the array.

However, before Okandis could move, Bai Xiaowen had already predicted his evasive direction through the Eye of Evolution and adjusted the Nine Suns Grand Formation in advance.

The fourth red sun rose, and the radiance of all four red suns converged upon the same point.

Crack, crack...

Having lost all room to evade, Okandis had no choice but to withstand it head-on. He activated his Sacred Armor, and the light of his Rune armor swirled around his entire body.

Powerful energy spread out in wave after wave. Okandis himself turned into a figure of light, blocking all the radiance of the four red suns outside his body.

If he had been dealing with attacks from other powerhouses, Okandis's desperate activation of his armor would have been the correct choice. But now, his opponent was the Nine Suns Grand Formation, two volcanoes that had just erupted, and nearly inexhaustible Geothermal Fire Energy within the domain.

Using the power of an individual to contend against the might of heaven and earth was destined to be like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

After dissipating the first wave of red sun radiance, the second and third waves continued to descend. At the same time, the fifth red sun slowly began to rise.

Roaring, Okandis hurled the Giant Light Sword in his hand with all his strength, its target being Bai Xiaowen.

Bai Xiaowen immediately used Shape Shift, but the Giant Light Sword seemed to possess the tracking trait of the Holy Spirit Sword as well, relentlessly pursuing him.

It had to be said that Okandis's move was extremely correct. If he focused solely on defending himself, he would only exhaust his stamina and Spiritual Power beneath the endless grinding pressure of the Nine Suns Grand Formation, ultimately becoming a charred corpse.

Because while he defended himself, Bai Xiaowen would continuously adjust the array and gradually increase its power.

But by drawing upon a large amount of Spiritual Power to throw his weapon at Bai Xiaowen, Okandis forced Bai Xiaowen to deal with the threat of the Giant Light Sword.

Driving the Nine Suns Grand Formation consumed a great deal of Bai Xiaowen's concentration. The position of every red sun was constantly shifting, and Bai Xiaowen had to continuously adjust the Immortal Talismans and calculate the angles in order to keep all those red sun rays focused on Okandis's location.

After the fifth red sun rose, it failed to shine upon the focal point. Instead, it cast out a scattered red beam that slowly swept through the domain like a searchlight on patrol.

That was because Bai Xiaowen was dealing with the Giant Light Sword. He struck out with seven Seven Great Handprints in succession. Seven giant hands condensed from True Yuan Power surrounded the Greatsword, slowly closing in and pressing down, attempting to wear away its power.

At the same time, Sigdrifa, Abaddon, Butcher, Vladimir, and the other Four Heavenly Kings, together with Lords such as Kitz, were all summoned. They collectively took turns pouring Spiritual Power in after the Seven Fiends Great Handprint, attempting to suppress the continuously thrashing Giant Light Sword.

"My tactics were correct."

Okandis no longer had the strength to mock Bai Xiaowen for being a Summoner. He finally escaped the original focal point. As he rose into the air, he felt his entire body lighten.

Although he had been constantly bombarded by the radiance of four red suns, his Sacred Armor had been destroyed and large patches of his skin were badly Burned, leaving him in a miserable state, Okandis had responded properly and had not suffered heavy injuries. For the formidable physique of a Divine Bloodline Grade being, such minor wounds would heal on their own within minutes. They were of no consequence.

Seeing Bai Xiaowen actually trying to subdue his Greatsword, Okandis gave a cold, arrogant smile. "The Sword of Heavenly Punishment will not submit to you, heretic! Sword, return!"

Okandis extended one hand.

However, seated atop the Silver Throne, Bai Xiaowen also extended his hand toward him from afar.

"Heavenly Origin Thunder—Eye of Divine Punishment!"

Dark clouds densely filled the dark-red sky. The clouds slowly rotated, forming an enormous black hollow, like the eye of a god gazing coldly upon the mortal world.

Okandis's entire body stiffened. He felt as though the space around him had become an iron plate, leaving him utterly unable to break free. No matter where he tried to flee, that black hollow seemed to be watching him.

After Heavenly Origin Thunder reached the advanced stage, Bai Xiaowen could, to a certain extent, manipulate how its power was distributed. Using the lock-on effect of the Eye of Divine Punishment, he could pour a considerable portion of heaven and earth's might directly onto an individual target.

At the same time, the lengthy charge time of Heavenly Origin Thunder had improved somewhat. However, it still required a fair amount of time and could only be used when catching an enemy off guard or when the enemy was restrained and unable to interfere.

Only because Bai Xiaowen had used the Summoned Creature Lords to block the Giant Light Sword's interference could he unleash this advanced version of Heavenly Origin Thunder.

Although Heavenly Origin Thunder was a fourth-rank Dao Technique in the Daoist Scripture The Essential Arts of Great Peace, with a priority roughly equivalent to a four-star skill, its power was absolutely far greater than an ordinary four-star skill. This seemed to be a trait inherited from Origin Thunder.

As for why third-rank Dao Techniques were stronger than three-star skills and fourth-rank Dao Techniques were stronger than four-star skills, Bai Xiaowen was not entirely sure. He could only attribute it to the strength and rarity of the Daoist Cultivator class.

Okandis failed to summon back his light sword with his outstretched hand, but the Eye of Divine Punishment in the sky struck down furiously amid a clap of thunder.

Bai Xiaowen promptly controlled the Immortal Talismans of the Nine Suns Grand Formation, opening a gap at one corner of the array to let Heavenly Origin Thunder descend.

The thick Lightning Beam directly engulfed Okandis. Within the blinding electric light, only a vague black silhouette could be seen—Okandis could not even scream.

The lingering power of Heavenly Origin Thunder even tore another opening in the earth, causing a massive surge of Original Spiritual Energy. Even the foundation Immortal Talismans of the Nine Suns Grand Formation began to destabilize, and the entire array was on the verge of collapse.

This was the inconvenient part of Immortal Arrays. Aside from requiring time to set them up, the array itself relied on favorable terrain and conditions and placed high demands on the stability of the earth veins. Once the earth veins shook, the Immortal Array could collapse, forcing Bai Xiaowen to spend more energy deploying new Immortal Talismans to stabilize it.

"A large portion of Heavenly Origin Thunder's power was still wasted." Bai Xiaowen shook his head. After gaining Expert Level Spirit Power Mastery, he increasingly understood the importance of Precision strikes. The Heavenly Origin Thunder before him looked overwhelmingly powerful, but the Lightning Force that actually entered Okandis's body and inflicted damage was not much.

It's only about equal to the power of ten Origin Thunders? Bai Xiaowen thought silently as he caught his breath.

Still, it was an excellent means of control and defense breaking. Before the lightning of Heavenly Origin Thunder dissipated, Okandis would have great difficulty moving.

Strike while the iron was hot. Bai Xiaowen had not forgotten that his opponent was God-Born. He had relied on the other party's initial underestimation, set up the array, and gradually lured him into a dead end. Once the opponent found an opportunity, a counterattack could come as easily as turning over one's hand—dealing a Fatal Blow was the proper course.