Confrontation

A Title Douluo's speed far exceeded Jingtian's expectations.

Just as he had slipped into the edge of Guixu's core restricted zone, where the violent energy currents and spatial folds capable of tearing apart ten-thousand-year soul beasts had only begun to grow dense, a vast, majestic, terrifying aura—as if fused with the entire Deep Sea—already spread from behind him like an invisible net, faintly enveloping the Guixu region for nearly a hundred miles within the nascent influence of its senses and domain!

He was here! And alone!

Jingtian instantly confirmed that only this one Title Douluo aura was pursuing him. There were no fluctuations from other Soul Douluo or Soul Saints. Was the opponent overly confident, or did he believe that deep within Guixu, having more people would only invite disaster?

Perfect... Jingtian's cold killing intent intertwined with surging battlelust. Let me see just how great the gap is between seventy thousand years of poison and a human Title Douluo!

He did not attempt to venture deeper into the even more dangerous absolute forbidden zone, where even he could perish in an instant. Instead, he slowly came to a stop in a relatively "open" area—relative to Guixu's core—filled with countless fine spatial cracks and violent energy vortices. His massive body flickered in and out of view amid the murky currents, dark purple rings gleaming in the absolute darkness like the cold, merciless eyes of an abyss.

He no longer deliberately concealed all of his aura. Instead, he slowly released the immense pressure of a seventy-thousand-year soul beast, along with the Poison Source aura that had become even more strange and profound after fifteen years of tempering in Guixu. Like a beacon in the darkness, it clearly announced his presence.

"Buzz—!"

Almost the instant he released his aura, the terrifying presence pursuing him abruptly accelerated! The seawater was forced apart by an irresistible power. A figure entirely shrouded in a deep blue glow, whose features could not be seen but whose upright bearing was as unfathomable as the abyss, crossed the final few miles as though teleporting and appeared roughly a thousand meters in front of Jingtian.

For existences at their level, a thousand meters was practically face-to-face.

The deep blue radiance slightly withdrew, revealing a middle-aged man who looked to be around forty or fifty. His features were ancient and weathered, his eyes as deep and clear as the sea, and a pale golden trident mark rested between his brows. He wore simple blue combat attire without excessive adornment, yet merely standing there made him seem like the ruler of the entire Deep Sea. An invisible domain force field had already spread out, faintly suppressing and calming the violent Guixu energy around him.

Sea God Island, a Title Douluo! And judging from his aura and that distinctive trident mark, he was no ordinary Title Douluo. He most likely held an exalted position on Sea God Island, and his Spirit Empire was closely connected to the Sea God Inheritance!

"It really is you." The Title Douluo spoke calmly, yet his voice carried a majesty that reached straight into the soul. It pierced through layers of turbulent currents and rang clearly in Jingtian's consciousness. "Fifteen years ago, in the Storm Sea Abyss, you used vile poison to kill Mo Lin, an overseer of Sea God Island, and severely wounded the Raging Waves Team... you vile beast."

His gaze became almost tangible as it swept over Jingtian's enormous, ferocious body, which nonetheless possessed a strange beauty. It paused briefly on those dark purple rings streaked with gold, and a trace of solemnity and inquiry flashed through his eyes. "Seventy thousand years of cultivation... In a mere fifteen years, you grew from barely entering the ten-thousand-year stage to this. And this bizarre poison power, along with those vicious methods that ignore defenses... What exactly are you? Where did you come from?"

He did not attack immediately. He seemed to be observing, assessing, and... probing Jingtian's true nature through some method.

Jingtian did not respond, nor could he respond in human language. He merely floated there silently, his eight tentacles swaying slightly in the turbulent currents. Within him, Soul Power and Poison Source had already begun circulating quietly at their peak, while his senses rose to their limit and locked onto every minute movement and energy fluctuation from his opponent.

He was assessing him. Assessing the strength and characteristics of the other's domain, assessing the quality and quantity of his Soul Power, assessing... how much chance he had to plant Dan-Devour before the other could react if he suddenly struck.

The Title Douluo did not seem surprised by Jingtian's silence. He slowly raised one hand, palm upward. No Soul Rings appeared—Title Douluo could freely conceal them—but the surrounding Deep Sea water elements began gathering in his palm as though bowing before a king. They condensed into a crystalline trident phantom formed entirely from seawater compressed to the extreme and Soul Power, radiating an edge sharp enough to tear apart everything!

The mere appearance of the phantom seemed to agitate the surrounding spatial cracks, making them emit faint crackling sounds. The dark purple rings across Jingtian's body also lit up on their own, resisting that invisible, razor-sharp pressure.

"If you refuse to speak, so be it." The Title Douluo's voice turned cold, carrying an unquestionable sense of judgment. "No matter what you are, today, in this deadly land of Guixu, you will pay for your past sins. The Sea God's Light cannot be defiled."

Before his words had even faded, he lightly thrust the seawater trident phantom in his palm forward!

There was no earth-shaking display, only a deep blue thread of water condensed to the utmost extreme, as thin as a hair yet seemingly containing the weight and sharpness of the entire ocean. It tore through the seawater, ignored spatial distance, and instantly appeared before Jingtian! Wherever it passed, even the violent Guixu energy and tiny spatial cracks were effortlessly sliced apart and smoothed away!

Fast! Precise! Ruthless! It contained the true essence of water's laws of cutting and Penetration!

Jingtian had long been prepared. The instant his opponent raised his hand, he pushed the Poison Domain to its limit! Dark purple poison power instantly spread fifty meters around him, turning the seawater thick and heavy, filled with intense spiritual interference and corrosive toxicity. With the principles of Poison Erosion, he also laid down layer upon layer of invisible Poison Erosion barriers before himself, constantly dissolving the attack's energy structure!

However—

"Screech—!"

That deep blue water thread cut through at least seven Poison Erosion barriers in succession as easily as a hot knife through butter! The barriers' dissolving effect was drastically weakened against an attack containing the power of laws! Only after piercing the eighth barrier did its sharpness and speed noticeably diminish.

Yet its remaining power was still not to be underestimated!

One of Jingtian's main tentacles, which had been gathering power for a long time, lashed out like a giant whip. Dark purple light blazed from it as it carried tremendous force capable of tearing through seawater and concentrated deadly poison, violently striking the side of the weakened water thread!

"Boom!!!"

A muffled explosion detonated in the Deep Sea! Violent energy currents mixed with deadly poison and swept madly outward, warping and widening several nearby tiny spatial cracks!

Jingtian's main tentacle shuddered violently. An indescribable sharpness and heaviness surged through it, and the dark purple rings on its surface flickered wildly. A wound deep enough to expose bone had actually been cut into it! Blue-black poisonous blood—its color changed—splashed out, but purple light flowed over the wound as it writhed and healed at a visible rate. At the same time, an extremely stubborn foreign Soul Power carrying the cleansing intent of the ocean attempted to invade through the wound, only to be firmly blocked and worn away by Jingtian's poison power.

He had blocked it! But barely! And he had suffered a minor loss!

A casual probing attack alone possessed such power! A Title Douluo was indeed terrifying!

"Oh? A Poison Domain? And it has the trait of dissolving energy as well? Interesting." Surprise flashed through the Title Douluo's eyes, only to be replaced by a deeper coldness. "But if that is all you have, you will not escape death today."

He stopped probing. His body moved slightly, seeming to merge completely with the seawater around him. At a speed that appeared slow but was actually so fast it left afterimages, he closed in on Jingtian! The seawater trident phantom in his hand blazed brilliantly, instantly becoming several times more solid. Pale golden divine patterns even began flowing across its shaft! A more powerful, more vast, terrifying pressure—one that seemed capable of suppressing the entire sea—came crashing down!

Sea God's Domain—Boundless Vast Sea!

Centered on the Title Douluo, deep blue light spread like a tide, instantly covering several thousand meters around them! Within this domain, the seawater was no longer violent. Instead, it became "docile" and "heavy," like the toughest shackles, squeezing Jingtian from every direction! Even more terrifying, the domain was filled with the power of laws of purification, suppression, and cutting. It frantically wore down Jingtian's Poison Domain, suppressed the circulation of his Soul Power, and even made his massive body feel sluggish, as though he had fallen into an invisible swamp!

This was the true strength of a Title Douluo! Within his domain, he was supreme!

The pressure on Jingtian suddenly soared! The range of his Poison Domain was violently compressed from fifty meters to less than twenty, and it was on the verge of collapse! His Soul Power circulation became sluggish, and his movements slowed by at least thirty percent! He knew he could not wait any longer! If he continued waiting and was completely suppressed by the opponent's domain, he would undoubtedly lose in close combat!

If I can't beat him... then I can only use Dan-Devour!

At the very instant the Title Douluo held the solid trident and transformed into a blue-gold streak that tore through the Deep Sea, launching a fatal thrust toward the domain-suppressed Jingtian—

Jingtian's eight tentacles suddenly shuddered in a strange rhythm! He abandoned the crumbling Poison Domain and wildly poured in and compressed all of his Soul Power, Poison Source, and even a trace of Spirit Energy!

His target was neither the incoming trident nor his opponent's body, but... the other's life source and soul core, as vast as the sea and perfectly fused with the domain!

More condensed, obscure, and imbued with Guixu's unique chaotic corrosive traits than ever before, an invisible Dan-Devour erupted with a roar of Jingtian's will. Ignoring the all-suppressing Boundless Vast Sea domain, it seemed to transcend the boundaries of space and laws as it viciously "branded" itself onto the core of that blue-gold streak!

This time, Jingtian clearly "felt" the difference.

Dan-Devour encountered unprecedented resistance as it pierced through the opponent's domain! The domain seemed to possess life and will, automatically rejecting and erasing all "heretics." Dan-Devour's rate of corrosion slowed drastically, yet it still struggled onward, unwaveringly seeping toward the core imprint.

And the instant Dan-Devour "branded" itself into the opponent's body, Jingtian "heard" an extremely faint muffled groan, one filled with shock and pain!

The blue-gold trident, which had reached less than a hundred meters from Jingtian and radiated a destructive aura, suddenly halted! The streak of light dispersed, revealing the Title Douluo within, his face filled with fury and disbelief!

He felt as though an icy nail carrying poisonous and decayed energy had been viciously driven into his life source and soul! A sensation of profound weakness and "contamination," originating from his very depths, spread wildly through him! The light of his domain flickered intensely and became unstable, while its suppressive power over Jingtian instantly weakened sharply!

"That poison again?! How can it even penetrate my domain..." The Title Douluo was both shocked and enraged. He forcibly stabilized his domain, mobilizing vast Soul Power and the purifying force derived from the Sea God Inheritance to frantically resist and expel the bizarre poison power invading his body. He could feel that although this poison power was terrifying, it could not instantly corrode the source of a Title Douluo like him. It required time. But during that time, his strength would inevitably be greatly reduced, and this poison clung to him like gangrene in the bone. It was extremely troublesome.

An opportunity!

The instant Dan-Devour struck, Jingtian had already shaken off most of the domain's suppression. His eight tentacles violently plunged into the chaotic Guixu energy and spatial cracks around him. Borrowing the recoil, his massive body did not retreat but instead surged forward like a cannonball, crashing fearlessly toward the Title Douluo, whose body had stalled slightly as he fought Dan-Devour! At the same time, the tips of every tentacle gathered concentrated poisonous edges carrying Poison Erosion, annihilation, and chaos, stabbing fiercely at the weak points of the other's domain and vital areas like countless poison-coated spears of death!

"You vile beast, how dare you!" the Title Douluo roared. Though affected by Dan-Devour, the foundation and reactions of a Title Douluo were no ordinary matter! The trident in his hand blazed again and traced an arcane trajectory, like the sea parting in two. It instantly swept aside several incoming tentacle spears, while the power of his domain condensed once more into layer after layer of water shields and cutting currents to block Jingtian's charge.

"Boom! Boom! Boom—!!"

The most intense clash since the battle began erupted deep within Guixu! Dark purple poison power and blue-gold Sea God's Light frantically intertwined and annihilated one another! Spatial cracks were torn wider, violent energy currents were stirred up, and explosions erupted!

On one side stood a Title Douluo struck by Dan-Devour, his strength diminished but his foundation terrifying.

On the other stood a seventy-thousand-year deadly poison beast, going all out without fear of death.

Who would live? Who would die?

Or would they... perish together, buried within these Eternal Silence Return Ruins?