In the central meeting room of the Northern Fortress, Chen Tian looked at the three people before him. Feng Tianlie and Tian Qingyun were in a comatose state. Chen Tian waved his hand, and the three men's breaths stabilized, as if they were sleeping soundly. Chen Tian said, "They'll be fine after a good sleep."
Chen Tian's figure disappeared from the room. At Chen Tian's home, Chen Tian quietly appeared. Just as he was about to take a step, his phone rang. Chen Tian answered, and grateful words came from the other end: "Chen Tian, thank you. If it weren't for you, the northern region might have become a living hell."
"Gezi, aren't you done with your matters over there yet?"
"Almost. A few more days. All the Evil Spirit race here have been suppressed. It will be resolved in a few days. This world can't hold on much longer! Chen Tian, you need to hurry!"
"I know. I'll enter the game immediately and level up to speed up my fusion progress."
Chen Tian hurriedly hung up the phone. The moment the call ended, he collapsed onto the sofa, eyes tightly shut. The chip activated, and Chen Tian's consciousness entered the game world. Unlike Gezi and the others, whose fusion and awakening were time-dependent and automated, Chen Tian's progress was tied to his in-game character's level. The higher his character's level, the faster his fusion would progress, and the more powerful the awakened energy he could wield.
Inside the Epoch of Time, in a city, Shou Tian looked at his surroundings and sighed, "It wasn't like this here before!"
A city that was once beautiful had become this way. It was truly a lamentable sight. Yet, he understood why it had come to this.
Chen Tian's figure appeared in the city. His twin pupils opened, locating Shou Tian. His figure flickered, disappearing from his spot and reappearing beside Shou Tian. Seeing Shou Tian's expression, Chen Tian patted his shoulder and said, "This is their destiny, the destiny of this city!"
Mie Lie Yun Xing City, a vast underground city, was formed by a meteorite impact. The city's structures were all composed of meteorite material, incredibly hard and seemingly indestructible. Thousands of years ago, it was a prosperous and thriving place. Now, it had become a desolate city, empty of people. Even the buildings had been affected by a dark aura, becoming withered. Chen Tian's expression turned serious. The location of the next Guardian Hall required passage through Mie Lie Yun Xing City. This city was a necessary route for Chen Tian and his companions. As they walked through the city, there were no living beings to be found. The cataclysm of thousands of years ago had turned all its inhabitants into nourishment.
As Chen Tian walked the city streets, his body tensed. "Shou Tian, be cautious. Something is strange around here."
Chen Tian's eyes could see the dark aura constantly gathering on the surrounding buildings, but Shou Tian could not. Chen Tian's divine pupils saw clearly. The black aura converged, and with a bang, countless black liquids fell to the ground, causing cracks to appear. Claws emerged from the earth, as if something was trying to crawl out. Shou Tian drew his warhammer, a pair of silver hammers appearing in his hands. As the figures crawling from the ground revealed themselves, Chen Tian was shocked. "Zombies? How is this possible? How could things from the human world appear here!"
The figures before them were indeed the familiar zombies from the human world. Their bodies were entirely black, their skeletons shrouded in black liquid, their eyes burning with black flames, all fixed on Chen Tian, as if they knew who their target was. Tens of thousands of zombies charged towards Chen Tian.
Shou Tian stood in front of Chen Tian. With a swing of his warhammer, imbued with terrible power, the zombies' bodies exploded into countless fragments that fell to the ground. Chen Tian looked at the surrounding zombies. These zombies seemed to have a leader. The mindless zombies actually knew to attack Chen Tian in unison, which was very strange. Chen Tian couldn't think of any other explanation besides the existence of a leader.
Chen Tian: "Shou Tian, hold them off for me. I'll find the one behind this. For you, these are just more in number. They'll be dealt with."
Shou Tian: "Understood, Chen Tian!"
Shou Tian's figure vanished, and several silver lights flashed, causing the bodies of countless zombies to explode. Chen Tian activated his divine pupils, looking at the surrounding void and buildings, his eyes filled with confusion. He could see it, but how was that possible? Chen Tian closed his eyes. A black point of light bloomed in the sky above Chen Tian. Chen Tian sensed the heavens and earth and detected the presence. Chen Tian opened his eyes and said, "So that's where you are!"
White wings unfurled behind him, soaring towards the clouds. At an altitude of about seven thousand meters, a black sphere wrapped in dark energy floated in the sky. Ripples flowed from the black sphere, and it was these ripples that controlled the zombies below. This sphere must contain the leader of the zombies.
Chen Tian brought his palms together, manifesting divine fire and divine ice. The fused divine fire and divine ice shot out as a ball of light. The light ball collided with the black sphere, and a massive explosion resounded. The black sphere exploded, and a figure appeared before Chen Tian. Chen Tian was shocked. He was all too familiar with the figure before him: Shou Mie, one of the Guardian Spirits of the Guardian Hall.
Shou Mie opened his eyes, his black irises gazing at Chen Tian, and killing intent emanated from his entire being. Chen Tian murmured, "No, this isn't his true body. It's a clone, a clone from the dark side. Has it been completely assimilated?"
While Chen Tian was thinking, Shou Mie's figure attacked directly, his hands transforming into black claws, intending to pierce Chen Tian's entire body. Chen Tian activated his extreme evasion, flashing aside. The claws narrowly missed his hair. Chen Tian moved to the side, finding the black claws repulsive. He then said, "It seems the Evil Spirit race is involved in this as well!"
This body of Shou Mie was likely a clone of Shou Mie, but it had been corrupted by the influence of the dark side and the Evil Spirit race. Shou Mie turned to look at Chen Tian. Chen Tian had dodged his attack. Shou Mie let out a roar that was not human at all, and waves of sound surged towards Chen Tian's body. Chen Tian stood his ground, a white barrier appearing before him. The sound waves struck the barrier without any effect.
Chen Tian looked at the evil entity before him and said, "It's just a mindless clone. Even with immense power, you wouldn't know how to use it. Fine, let me help you find release."
After all, this was Shou Mie's clone. Chen Tian inherited the memories and everything of the Blood River Asura, so he naturally had to help Shou Mie. He would personally slay this clone.
Chen Tian's feet remained unmoving. With a bang, Shou Mie's clone was sent flying backward, crashing to the ground. Chen Tian's figure disappeared, and the next second, he appeared on the ground. Before Shou Mie could even land, Chen Tian gathered light in his hands, forming a pillar of light that shot into the sky, engulfing Shou Mie's body. Shou Mie landed on the ground, a burnt smell emanating from his body. However, even in this state, Shou Tian had not died. Shou Tian got up, his injuries healing rapidly. At the same time, sharp fangs grew from his mouth, bone spurs and tentacles sprouted from his back, and he wore armor of black liquid. Countless tentacles on his arms formed a drill that replaced his arm. Shou Mie roared, and the surrounding zombies converged around him. The bone spurs on his back shot out, entering the bodies of the zombies. The hordes of zombies merged together, forming enormous figures that appeared before Shou Tian.
Shou Tian looked at the figures before him, wondering if they could merge and evolve.
Shou Tian and the hundred-odd figures before him stood in a standoff. Chen Tian and Shou Mie met gazes. Shou Mie was no longer human; he was a complete evil entity. Chen Tian couldn't help but sigh, "I really don't know if your true body can still hold on!"
The Shou Mie before him was merely a clone. If the clone was this powerful, he couldn't imagine what Shou Mie's true body was like. He could only hope he could endure.
Chen Tian's hands appeared with dual blades. For Chen Tian, dual blades were his preferred weapon. With the blades in hand, his figure transformed into afterimages. A hundred afterimages attacked Shou Mie. Shou Mie's bone spurs transformed and extended, indistinguishable from tentacles. The bone spurs continuously stabbed at Chen Tian's afterimage clones. Soon, all the afterimages vanished, and all the bone spurs converged to form a hexagonal bone drill. The colossal drill faced Chen Tian. Chen Tian slashed with his dual blades, creating sparks. Cracks appeared on Chen Tian's dual blades. Chen Tian let go of the weapons, and they exploded, the resulting shockwave engulfing the area. Chen Tian stood to the side, Shou Mie standing unharmed. Chen Tian said, "It seems physical weapons are ineffective against you!"
Chen Tian's hands now held twin divine fire blades. However, this time, the flame element light of the divine fire burned more brilliantly than ever before. These blades were formed by the fire element power from three worlds.
Chen Tian's figure disappeared and reappeared as his dual blades descended. The intensely burning fire element, nine-colored flames transformed into a great fiery blade that descended from the sky. Shou Mie's bone spurs formed a shield behind him, blocking in front of him. The fiery great blade struck the shield, which shook a few times before falling silent. The bone spur shield split and then reassembled into a bone sword. The sword swung in Shou Mie's hand, and a gray blade shot out.
Chen Tian crossed his dual blades, and the nine-colored cross-shaped blades collided. Chen Tian retreated a step. Shou Mie's strength was even more terrifying than his own, and this was just a clone. Could it be due to the influence of the dark side and the Evil Spirit race that this clone had become so formidable?
What about Shou Mie's true body? Chen Tian felt a pang of worry. Perhaps Shou Mie had already been completely assimilated; this clone was a prime example.
A clone's strength was typically lower than the true body's, but their consciousness was the same. If the clone had become this way, then the true body was even worse. Regardless of the true body's strength, with the same consciousness, the outcome might be the same.
Shou Mie swung his long sword, which transformed into a beam of light that pierced directly towards Chen Tian. Facing Shou Mie's long sword, Chen Tian joined his dual blades together, forming a double-headed saber. His figure stepped forward, and two beams of light collided, illuminating the entire ground.