The spiritual world.
The great battle erupted.
The Lotus War Goddess's long hair danced in the wind. Silver armor wrapped around her graceful figure, and an air of pride graced her exquisite, peerlessly beautiful face.
"Pfft."
The God Emperor's body flew backward as he spat out a mouthful of blood. His former aloofness had vanished without a trace, and he stared gravely at the Little Dream God Lotus in armor.
"I never thought that a mere Divine Medicine would possess such terrifying combat power."
He had thought that the moment he appeared, he could suppress everything, eating and devouring as he pleased. He had never expected reality to slap him right across the face.
"You look down on Divine Medicine?"
The Lotus War Goddess looked at the God Emperor. She was peerlessly graceful, like an unmatched God of War. Her jade-like hand swept lightly through the air, and space twisted incessantly as a terrifying force surged toward the God Emperor to crush him.
The God Emperor was a God Emperor, after all. Even though he was now barely clinging to life and no longer as he had been in his prime, he was still fearsome. A resplendent Divine Temple appeared behind him, suppressing heaven and earth and blocking the Lotus War Goddess's attack. "I should have acted sooner."
He regretted it now, regretted letting her perform the Sacrificial Dance and gain the blessing of heaven and earth. He had originally expected her to enter the Totem Pillar of her own accord. The pillar contained its own world and could isolate everything; the Heavenly Dao's power she called down would become nourishment for him. But who could have known...
The God Emperor looked at Su Ye, a cold glint flickering in his eyes. It was all because of that damn ant, ruining his plans and throwing everything into disarray.
"What are you looking at? If you've got the guts, kill me."
Su Ye glared at the God Emperor, eyes wide. He might be weak, but he wasn't afraid. Even if he dropped to his knees and called the man Grandpa, the God Emperor still wouldn't spare him. So why be scared?
"Hmph."
The God Emperor snorted and ignored him, turning to the War Goddess transformed from the Little Dream God Lotus. "Even with heaven and earth's blessing, you're now a duckweed without roots. With no source of faith, how long can you hold out?"
He attacked at once. Lines of Dao Pattern spread outward from beneath his feet. They looked like cracks, with no discernible pattern, yet they gave the impression that heaven was collapsing and the earth was sinking.
The Lotus War Goddess's expression turned grave, and she retreated. Light Rain billowed, Auspicious Mist spread, and indistinct images appeared behind her. A hazy, pale-green lotus swayed gently.
"Boom!"
The God Emperor's body suddenly exploded, turning into a sky full of blood mist.
The Lotus War Goddess's beautiful face was pale now, and the already indistinct phantom behind her had vanished completely. The attack had clearly taken a heavy toll on her.
Su Ye stared blankly at the God Emperor's shattered body. What had just happened?
He had been urging the Samsara Eye the whole time, hoping to witness a battle between top experts. Yet he hadn't seen a thing. From the start, everything had been a blur, leaving him utterly baffled, as if he were reading a heavenly text.
Wait, was that blood?
Su Ye looked at the blood left behind where the God Emperor's body had exploded.
The God Emperor had no physical body, so where had the blood come from?
Right, this was the spiritual world. That blood was formed from spirit. It was soul-blood.
"Sacrificial Spirits really are mysterious and powerful. Their fighting methods are beyond comprehension."
In the end, that was all Su Ye could say. It wasn't that he couldn't understand; the Sacrificial Spirit's methods were simply too profound, far beyond those of ordinary cultivators.
But, on second thought, it made sense. A Sacrificial Spirit could use the power of faith to leap straight to the Cult Master level, comprehend and touch the Great Dao, and merge with the Dao.
Of course, not every Sacrificial Spirit could do such a thing. Only the most powerful could manage it. The Little Dream God Lotus was the Great Dream God Sect's Sacrificial Spirit, and she was also a Divine Medicine. One could say she was born with the Dao hidden within her, so it was only natural that her strength was terrifying.
As for the God Emperor, although he was not a Sacrificial Spirit, he now controlled the Totem Pillar and possessed some of a Sacrificial Spirit's methods. He was just as powerful and strange.
Hum.
Su Ye's thoughts stirred. He used his Mental Power to draw in some of the God Emperor's soul-blood, sensing the potent energy within it. Then he immediately activated the Samsara Eye. The phantom of the Chaos Grinding Disc appeared, swept up the soul-blood he had collected, and began to grind it down.
The God Emperor's body recovered. He looked at Su Ye, his gaze icy. This was his vessel, a host he had raised, and now the boy dared to refine his spiritual essence right in front of him, without the slightest hesitation.
How brazen.
"What are you looking at?"
Su Ye glared at the God Emperor. Since they had already laid bare the truth between them, there was no going back to how things had been. The other man wasn't going to kill him anyway, so why act timid? If he was going to refine it, he might as well do it right in front of him.
The God Emperor didn't want to bother with Su Ye. He looked at the Little Dream God Lotus. After he ate the Divine Medicine Root, he would deal with that vessel. "I never thought you could still wield this kind of power. But how many times can you use it?"
"Twice."
A sacred radiance enveloped the Lotus War Goddess, lifting her beyond the mundane. Silver light flowed over her armor like a river of stars.
Hum.
Light Rain billowed, and a bright moon hung high in the sky.
Within the moon stood a figure dressed in white, ethereal and otherworldly, like the Moon Fairy. She stepped out of the Divine Moon and crossed the River of Time.
The God Emperor's expression shifted at the sight of the bright moon. These Sacrificial Spirits truly were stranger than the last; she could actually draw on the power of her past self directly from the River of Time.
Su Ye gazed at the fairy in the moon, lost in thought. It wasn't her peerless beauty that captivated him, but the profound nature of her ability.
"So there are still people in this world cultivating my art."
The Lotus War Goddess spoke softly, her gaze resting on the figure in the moon. She had only tried it on a whim, never expecting it to actually work.
Even someone as powerful as a Cult Master would find it difficult to draw on the power of the past from the River of Time.
But Sacrificial Spirits were different.
Sacrificial Spirits possessed powerful Mental Power and the power of faith, which allowed them to communicate with the Great Dao of heaven and earth. As long as anyone in the world still believed in them, they would never be completely extinguished. They could cross endless spans of time and space to call forth their own power.
Sacrificial Spirits gained the power of faith not only through offerings. Those who practiced arts they had created could also provide them with faith.
However, such arts had to be created by the Sacrificial Spirits themselves and recognized by heaven and earth. Put simply, the art had to be at least Heaven-grade.
"I'm not that idiot."
The God Emperor said coldly. Power surged through him as he unleashed a formidable Treasure Art, attacking the Lotus War Goddess and giving her no chance to use her own Treasure Art.
Sacrificial Spirits' power was indeed formidable and uncanny. But they had one obvious weakness: using their most powerful Treasure Arts and Divine Abilities took time.
"Who are you calling an idiot?"
Su Ye snapped, glaring angrily at the God Emperor. Fight if you want, but why drag me into it? He really wanted to rush over and beat the man to a pulp.
Before you continue