A Vine?

"Can you feel the gap, you ant?! A World Lord is a World Lord, after all! How could you possibly contend with an Immortal burning their divine body? Die for me!"

He did not let up, his massive frame wreathed in crimson divine power tearing through space once more. With an unstoppable, destructive momentum, he lunged madly at Lu Ming, who had yet to fully stabilize his footing.

Claws, fangs, tail swipes... various Monster Race combat techniques combined with his burning divine power, transforming into a barrage of destructive attacks that engulfed Lu Ming like a violent storm.

"Flame Edge!"

In the distance, Moon Princess and the others, locked in their own fierce battles, felt their hearts leap into their throats. An Immortal burning their divine body undergoes a qualitative leap in strength; could Flame Edge possibly withstand this?

Facing the Rock Wolf Immortal's storm-like, frenzied assault, Lu Ming's eyes remained calm.

His figure flickered continuously through the starry sky, his Yan Kong Blade parrying, deflecting, or relying on exquisite footwork to avoid vital strikes.

Every collision erupted with deafening roars and blinding flashes of energy, the scattered shockwaves sweeping the surrounding asteroid belt clean.

Boom, boom, boom...!

The starry sky became their battlefield. Two figures collided and crossed paths at speeds difficult for the naked eye to track; wherever they passed, space twisted and laws fell into chaos, as if the apocalypse had arrived.

Relying on the absolute strength advantage granted by burning his divine body, the Rock Wolf Immortal's offensive was like a tsunami, wave after wave, attempting to crush Lu Ming completely with sheer power.

Boom, boom, boom...!

The Rock Wolf Immortal burned his divine body, his assault as relentless as a torrential downpour.

However, as the battle dragged on, the sense of vengeful satisfaction and the confidence of total suppression in the Rock Wolf Immortal's heart were gradually replaced by a growing, profound suspicion.

"What is going on?!"

The more he fought, the more alarmed he became.

"This human brat... how is his aura still so steady?!"

By all logic, when a World Lord faces an Immortal burning their divine body, even if they manage to hold on, their world energy should be depleting rapidly, their aura weakening, and their body should be covered in wounds, nearing death.

Yet, this fellow calling himself "Flame Edge," aside from looking slightly disheveled after being pushed back by his initial burst, had managed to steadily receive every single attack that followed, no matter how ferocious!

Although each collision sent the opponent reeling and shattered his blade light with his claws, there was not the slightest sign of the opponent's momentum waning!

His movements remained fluid, his blade techniques remained sharp, and deep within those calm eyes, there was even a hint of... mockery?

"Impossible! My attacks clearly landed true! Even if he deflected most of the force, the residual shock should have been enough to injure or even kill a World Lord's body! How can he be completely unscathed?!"

The Rock Wolf Immortal roared internally. He felt as though the immense power he had traded his burning divine body for was striking a mass of ethereal cotton; the feeling of having nowhere to exert his force made him so frustrated he wanted to vomit blood.

Little did he know, Lu Ming was secretly sneering to himself.

"Is that all the strength you have? That's barely enough to scratch an itch!"

Lu Ming appeared to be constantly parrying, dodging, and bearing immense pressure, but in reality, he was as steady as Mount Tai.

The Rock Wolf Immortal's seemingly fierce attacks, after breaking through the parries of the Yan Kong Blade and being weakened by his own laws, had their residual force transferred to his body, only to be absorbed by the purple-gold battle armor worn close to his skin—the armor formed by Little Thunder.

Little Thunder was now a King-Level plant lifeform with a Hundredfold Gene level and a ten-thousand-kilometer divine body!

How terrifying was the defensive power of armor formed from its own body?

The attacks of an ordinary Immortal like the Rock Wolf, even while burning his divine body, could not shake the essence of Little Thunder's armor after being weakened layer by layer.

What's more, beneath Little Thunder's armor, Lu Ming was also wearing the "Dark Star Armor" that had been strengthened through sacrificial returns!

This armor was of an extremely high quality to begin with, and now it provided a second layer of solid protection.

With this double insurance, the Rock Wolf's attacks were, to Lu Ming, truly no different from a tickle.

The reason he put on a show of being suppressed and constantly retreating was, on one hand, to more safely exhaust the opponent's burning divine body, and on the other, to hide his true strength and avoid attracting unnecessary attention.

"That's enough."

Feeling that while the Rock Wolf Immortal's aura remained violent, the "hollowness" stemming from his divine body's foundation had begun to manifest, Lu Ming's eyes turned cold.

"It's time to end this."

He intentionally revealed a flaw, his speed of retreat appearing to lag for a split second after a collision.

"A perfect opportunity!"

Fierce light erupted in the Rock Wolf Immortal's scarlet eyes. Thinking he had finally caught the moment Lu Ming's strength was exhausted, he gathered all his power into his giant claw, wreathed in crimson divine power, and lunged viciously toward Lu Ming's chest!

He was certain of this strike!

However, facing this seemingly fatal blow, a cold arc curled at the corner of Lu Ming's mouth.

Just as the Rock Wolf Immortal's claw—burning with crimson divine power and capable of piercing through stars—was about to touch Lu Ming's chest—

A sudden change occurred!

Lu Ming's left hand, which had been hanging at his side, rose with lightning speed. He splayed his fingers and made a grasping motion in the void toward that terrifying claw!

Hum!

A vine, appearing slender yet shimmering with a deep, dark purple luster and covered in golden lightning patterns and green life-force runes, instantly shot out from Lu Ming's palm!

The vine was incredibly agile, wrapping around the Rock Wolf Immortal's wrist in a heartbeat!

"What?!"

The savage grin on the Rock Wolf Immortal's face froze instantly, replaced by unparalleled horror!

He felt certain of victory, yet his claw, condensed with all his burning divine power, felt as if it had slammed into an immovable cosmic barrier!

From that seemingly slender vine came a terrifying force, vast as a sea of stars and refined to the extreme; it not only effortlessly neutralized all the impact and destructive power of his claw, but the force of its constriction felt like the weight of billions of divine mountains, rendering his burning, giant claw unable to advance even a fraction! He could not even pull it back!

A single vine?!

A mere vine, and it had restrained his full-power strike after burning his divine body with such nonchalance?!

How could this be?!

"Die!!"

Just as Rock Wolf Immortal's mind was reeling in shock.

Lu Ming's cold roar, filled with monstrous killing intent, exploded in his ears like a thunderclap!

Bolstered by the immense power channeled through Little Thunder the Thunderlight Vine, the muscles in Lu Ming's right arm, which had been coiled and ready, suddenly surged!

Nine Absolute Blades of Ember Universe—Ninth Blade!

Clang!

"No—!!!"

Rock Wolf Immortal's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks as boundless terror drowned him; he let out a desperate, unwilling roar, struggling frantically to break free from the vine's binding, his burning divine power surging wildly, yet it was like a mayfly trying to shake a tree—it did not move an inch!

He could only watch helplessly as that blade of death expanded infinitely within his field of vision!

BOOM!!!!!!!!!!

The blade light slashed through his body without any flourish!

Time seemed to stand still in that moment.

The expression of extreme terror and disbelief frozen on Rock Wolf Immortal's face remained fixed.

His massive body, covered in dark gold scales, began to crumble inch by inch from where the blade had passed, like a weathered sand sculpture, dissolving into the purest energy particles and dissipating into the starry sky.

Along with his unwilling roar and consciousness, he was completely annihilated by this single strike!

The Monster Race Immortal, Rock Wolf, had fallen!