Doubts Erupt

The surrounding void was shattered again and again, then mended beneath the repair of heaven and earth's laws. Destruction and rebirth played out in endless repetition; the laws of heaven and earth were churned into fragments, space-time fell into utter chaos, and turbulent spatial currents gushed forth without restraint.

The aftershocks of this heaven-shaking battle spread madly, directly engulfing a region spanning tens of billions of li. The earth collapsed with a thunderous roar, the firmament split and overturned, heaven and earth reversed, sun and moon lost their light, mountains and rivers all evaporated, and every living thing was reduced to drifting ash. This entire world had become a brutal battlefield.

The two fought for several hundred years, from the vast void to the shattered wilderness. Their divine abilities and techniques grew ever more ruthless and decisive, while the thunderous clash of their Great Daos resounded through the nine heavens. Every collision made the laws of heaven and earth tremble violently, and the battle only intensified.

Relying on his deep cultivation foundation, the old man brought forth both the Netherworld Venom Dragon Sword and the Netherworld Soul Banner. Poison mist blanketed the sky, ghostly souls obscured the sun, and sinister, venomous techniques emerged one after another, seeking to suppress Yuan Jie through his realm advantage.

Yuan Jie, meanwhile, relied on the supreme mysteries of the World Great Dao and the Space-Time Great Dao. The World Cauldron guarded his true body against harm, while the Cosmos Pearl controlled space-time and gave him the initiative at every turn. Though his cultivation realm was two minor stages lower, he not only failed to fall into disadvantage, but instead pressed forward step by step, unleashing killing moves in succession.

However, at the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm, unless the gap was immense, defeat did not come so easily. Even if one was defeated, perishing was no easy matter.

After several hundred years of life-and-death combat, both had gained several wounds of varying severity. Yet none had harmed the foundations of their Great Daos; at most, they were superficial flesh wounds. The battle remained deadlocked.

During a lull in the fierce battle, several doubts rose unbidden in Yuan Jie's heart:

They have fought to this extent, so why has this old bastard still not revealed his true trump card? His current performance is far too mediocre. He possesses none of the overwhelming might a Grand Luo Golden Immortal at perfection should have. This is far too abnormal.

He had gone all out in this frontal clash precisely to restrain the old man and buy time for his main body, Yuan Lun, and Yuan Ling to secretly make their arrangements. Once their preparations were complete, they could completely seal off every route of retreat, ensuring the old man's death and ending all future troubles forever.

But with the old man acting so abnormally, what exactly was he enduring? What was he waiting for?

As thoughts raced through his mind, Yuan Jie, who was facing the enemy head-on, and Yuan Yan, Yuan Lun, and Yuan Ling, who were concealed deep within the void as they silently set up a killing formation, all tensed their minds at once. They restrained their auras to the utmost and raised their vigilance to its peak.

Yet at this moment, the old man's heart was churning with a different storm. The longer he fought, the more alarmed he became. His eyes brimmed with disbelief, boundless indignation, and a thread of terror buried so deeply that it was nearly impossible to detect.

He was a genuine Grand Luo Golden Immortal at perfection! Although he had suffered irreversible Dao injuries during the war among the three clans and had yet to fully recover even after cultivating in seclusion for dozens of epochs; although he had borne an ocean of bloody Baleful Intent karma after that war, causing his condition to decline drastically—

His combat strength still far surpassed that of a late-stage Grand Luo Golden Immortal. He was no weaker than an ordinary Grand Luo Golden Immortal at perfection. Logically speaking, crushing a cultivator at the middle stage of the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm should have been effortless.

Yet now, he and Yuan Jie were locked in an inseparable battle, evenly matched. How could there be a living being in this world with such heaven-defying combat power?

This scene could not help but remind him of a figure he would never forget for the rest of his life—Torch Dragon!

They had both been primordial Gods and Devils. The difference was that Torch Dragon had been a top-tier primordial God and Devil, while he had only been a mid-tier primordial God and Devil.

Their first meeting had been when Ancestral Dragon sought to unite the various clans of the East Sea against the ferocious beasts, dispatching Torch Dragon to invite him and the Netherworld Sea Serpent Clan to join.

At that time, due to several fortuitous opportunities, his cultivation realm had been only one minor stage lower than Torch Dragon's. He had believed that, with the advantage of the terrain, he could contend against him.

But he had been wrong. Terribly wrong!

One move! Just one move! Torch Dragon had not even used an innate spirit treasure, yet he had defeated him with effortless ease. He had possessed no power to fight back!

It was precisely because of that crushing defeat that he and the entire Netherworld Sea Serpent Clan had been forced to submit beneath Ancestral Dragon.

Though the current battle was entirely different from that time, he could clearly see Torch Dragon's shadow in Yuan Jie—not in temperament, nor in the attributes of his Great Dao, but in that invincible combat strength that could sweep through opponents of the same realm and fight across realms!

Yuan Jie was two minor stages below him, yet could battle him to a standstill. One could well imagine that if Yuan Jie were at the same realm as him, or even one minor stage higher, he would likely be utterly defeated in a single move!

At this thought, the old man's indignation nearly burst through his chest. Why did top-tier primordial Gods and Devils exist in this world? Why was he only a mid-tier primordial God and Devil, with no chance of ever reaching the summit?

At the same time, an even deeper terror swept through his body. Yuan Jie was only at the middle stage of the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm, yet could already stand against him on equal footing. If he were allowed to grow and break through to the late stage, or even the perfection stage of the Grand Luo Golden Immortal realm, the old man would likely have no ability to resist and would be easily slain!

Moreover, given the heaven-defying combat strength Yuan Jie had displayed, his origin and talent were surely extraordinary. He was most likely a newly born top-tier primordial divine being of this era. With such talent and fortune, in as few as two or three hundred epochs, or at most four or five hundred epochs, he would certainly break through to Grand Luo Golden Immortal perfection.

When that time came, given the karma between them, he would have no path to heaven and no door into the earth—ten deaths and no life!

At once, the old man could not help but entertain thoughts of reconciliation. Yet in an instant, they were replaced by jealousy and ruthlessness!

Why? He had cultivated bitterly for twenty thousand epochs, yet remained stuck before the threshold of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal realm, unable to advance even a single step.

Why could a newly born primordial divine being, who had only come into existence not long ago, fight across realms and so easily surpass him in the future?

If he did not wish to be hunted down in the future until he had nowhere to flee, then he had to completely strangle Yuan Jie in the cradle before he fully matured!

By killing Yuan Jie, he could not only seize several high-grade innate spirit treasures, but also potentially obtain the innate origin of a top-tier primordial divine being. Perhaps he could use it to break through his bottleneck and glimpse the Great Dao of the Primordial Unity Golden Immortal.

As for how top-tier primordial divine beings bore boundless fortune and were difficult to kill, how killing one would inevitably bring a backlash of fortune and burden one with karma—at this moment, the old man had long since been blinded by tribulation and Baleful Intent. Jealousy and greed had clouded his mind, and he completely cast these fatal hidden dangers to the back of his mind.

"Die!" At this moment, the old man no longer cared about the Dao injuries within him that had yet to heal. He forcibly burned his own origin blood essence and activated a secret technique, driving his condition to its utmost peak!

The might of the Netherworld Poison Great Dao around him surged by seventy or eighty percent. Pitch-black netherworld poison transformed into venom dragons billions of zhang long. Wherever they passed, the void corroded and Great Daos withered. Every move carried the force to destroy heaven and earth, easily driving Yuan Jie back.

Though Yuan Jie had several high-grade innate spirit treasures protecting him, this sudden frenzied offensive still forced him back again and again. He could only activate his spirit treasures with all his strength and barely protect himself.

So this was his true strength? Enduring immense pressure, Yuan Jie did not panic. Instead, he grew ever calmer and more composed.

The World Cauldron floated above his head as he operated the World Great Dao with all his strength. Boundless Dao light bloomed from the cauldron, eternal and unmoving, firmly guarding his true body and resisting every attack;

The Cosmos Pearl circulated with the Dao rhythm of space-time. Folding space-time, teleportation, and reversal were all under his control. Though he had fallen into disadvantage, whenever danger struck, he could always use the Space-Time Great Dao to shift away and escape in that crucial instant, remaining utterly unflustered.