Chen Tian's figure reappeared in the extreme north. Gazing at the ice mountain entwined with countless chains below, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
He then summoned the Divine Ice. Instantly, the Divine Ice appeared in his palm. With the Divine Ice in his grasp, Chen Tian gently tossed it towards the ice mountain.
Upon striking the ice mountain, the dense chains began to crack. Simultaneously, Chen Tian spread his hands apart, causing the entire mountain to split open. A black beam of light shot up from beneath the mountain into the sky.
However, Chen Tian reacted swiftly. With a wave of his arms, a pillar of divine fire erupted, lashing out towards the black beam. The beam was struck and forced to retreat.
Chen Tian strode forward, plunging into the depths beneath the mountain. As he entered, the mountain sealed itself shut, once again standing majestically on the frozen plains of the extreme north.
Chen Tian had now arrived beneath the mountain. The surroundings were utterly dark, and a faint chill permeated the air.
Chen Tian opened his Divine Eyes and, with a swift turn and a flash, dodged an attack.
He then looked behind him. Bing Duo'er's eyes had become even more hollow, like black abysses, seemingly capable of devouring everything. Her divine ice body had transformed into black ice, and sharp thorns had grown from the sides of her head. A black orb of light pulsed on her chest.
Chen Tian observed Bing Duo'er's state and murmured, "Completely assimilated?"
"Kid, you are the master's enemy. I will kill you!"
Bing Duo'er still possessed a semblance of consciousness, but it was solely dedicated to serving another, rendering her a mere puppet.
Chen Tian's expression turned grim. Divine fire erupted around him, a subtle fusion of Spiritual Grade Divine Fire, Divine Fire, and ordinary flames. A colossal furnace materialized beneath Chen Tian's feet. He plunged into the furnace, and it exploded outwards. Bing Duo'er, who had been attacking, lunged forward with her claws, radiating a terrifying black light.
A pair of hands slowly extended, intercepting Bing Duo'er's claws. Chen Tian once again activated his fusion ability, and his body began to transform.
His figure grew taller, becoming like an adult. Silver-red flames enveloped him, forming a flame robe. Wings of flame, composed of fan-like flames, sprouted from his back. Flame wrist blades appeared on his forearms, with a flame imprint at the center of each palm.
This was the form Chen Tian achieved by fusing all his divine and ordinary flames, named: Lord of Flames!
Chen Tian's eyes snapped open, revealing silver-red lotus flowers within his pupils. They blazed with light. With a wave of his hand, Bing Duo'er was sent flying.
In this state, Chen Tian's strength surpassed Bing Duo'er's by three levels. This three-level disparity gave Chen Tian an absolute advantage.
Bing Duo'er, acutely aware of her opponent's superior power, unleashed a torrent of black ice energy, accompanied by black flames swirling around her.
The appearance of black flames and divine ice made Chen Tian wary. She had assimilated to such an extent that she could now wield black flames.
Chen Tian's silver-red wrist blades flared, and he brought his arms down, engaging in close combat, as fighting bare-handed in this form proved inconvenient.
Bing Duo'er swept her right hand, summoning a black flame divine ice whip. With a crackling sound, she began to lash it about, causing the surrounding space to faintly fracture.
With a flick to the left and a crack to the right, the whip weaved and struck at Chen Tian from various angles.
Chen Tian's arms moved in response, and a massive blade-qi lotus bloomed around him. The whip struck the lotus and was repelled.
Chen Tian's figure closed in on Bing Duo'er. Seeing that her whip attacks were ineffective, she lengthened the whip, filling the surroundings with its presence, as if it had constructed a world of its own.
The coiling whip formed a cage, trapping Chen Tian at its center. Bing Duo'er then smirked and lunged towards him. The surrounding whips contracted, ensnaring Chen Tian within the central area of the cage. The whip in Bing Duo'er's hand transformed into a black longsword, imbued with black flames and divine ice, as she lunged at Chen Tian.
Chen Tian, seeing this, dared not be careless. After all, she was a boss-level entity. He knew he had to give his all.
He activated his Limit Dodge. However, just as he was about to evade, Chen Tian realized the cage was shrinking, leaving him with too little space to maneuver. Evasion was impossible.
Chen Tian reacted by crossing his arms in front of him, bracing for impact. The longsword collided with his wrist blades. Bing Duo'er then swept upwards, and Chen Tian's arms were forced upwards. Bing Duo'er swiftly retreated.
As Chen Tian prepared his next move, he was perplexed by Bing Duo'er's sudden retreat. His calculations had not predicted this, and her withdrawal rendered his planned action useless.
As Bing Duo'er withdrew, she released her grip on the sword. With a clenched fist of her left hand, the cage rapidly compressed, and with a thunderous roar, a massive explosion erupted.
"Cough, cough, cough!"
Chen Tian appeared before Bing Duo'er, seemingly unharmed. Bing Duo'er looked at her enemy with disbelief. How was this possible?
Chen Tian spoke, "Impressive combat awareness. You calculated that I would transition from passive to active, hence your retreat. The cage was your means of withdrawal. Truly a boss."
"However, I am immune to damage from divine fire and divine ice. Therefore, all your attacks are useless against me. If you were the true embodiment of black flame, it might be different, but alas, this is merely a phantom of black flame. Its power is insufficient to disable my divine body."
Chen Tian and Bing Duo'er met each other's gazes, their auras clashing. Bing Duo'er's hands slowly transformed into massive black ice drills. On Chen Tian's palms, the flame imprints began to glow, and his hands were filled with silver-red flames.
The silver-red flames then encased his entire hands, as if his fists were engulfed in fire. Chen Tian threw a punch, unleashing a massive crimson fist shadow towards Bing Duo'er.
Bing Duo'er's drills began to spin. She extended her divine ice drill arm, and the fearsome flame fist shadow was shattered by the spinning drills. She then charged at Chen Tian.
Chen Tian's wrist blades transformed into silver-red twin shields. He activated his dual-shield skills, and a colossal flame shield coalesced before him.
Simultaneously, Chen Tian vanished from Bing Duo'er's sight. Her drill struck the shield without any effect. Chen Tian reappeared behind Bing Duo'er, clenched his hands, and summoned twin blades. Bing Duo'er's eyes flickered as a black divine ice barrier materialized behind her. Chen Tian's twin blades struck it, causing a massive explosion. Amidst the blast, Chen Tian reappeared before Bing Duo'er, now holding a divine fire shield, which he slammed towards her.
Heavy Shield skill: Heavy Strike Shield!
Bing Duo'er's divine ice barrier shattered. However, she reacted swiftly, splitting into two figures. Chen Tian's attack had missed.
Chen Tian was forced to retreat. All of this was within his calculations. Now, he just needed to maintain the rhythm of the battle, and victory would be his.
But Bing Duo'er was no pushover. She knew Chen Tian sought to control the tempo and would not let him succeed.
She then merged back into one figure, and countless black snowflakes appeared, carrying a chilling coldness that permeated the entire world. The black snowflakes covered everything, transforming the world into an ice-bound realm.
Chen Tian felt a strange sensation. His speed had slowed considerably, his speed stat reduced by a third. He was moving sluggishly.
Suddenly, Bing Duo'er appeared before him. Chen Tian activated Limit Dodge, evading her attack with a sidestep. However, Bing Duo'er's next attack was even faster.
Chen Tian couldn't react in time and took a direct hit. He was sent staggering back, his health reduced by a full 55%, losing more than half his HP.
Due to his Cold Observer trait, Chen Tian's HP was fixed regardless of his form. Fortunately, Chen Tian's level had increased, giving him a substantial 13,000 HP. Otherwise, that single blow would have been fatal if he still had his former 7,000 HP. With a single punch, Chen Tian looked at Bing Duo'er, astonished that his Limit Dodge had failed.
Bing Duo'er pressed her advantage, relentlessly attacking. Chen Tian, seeing this, had no choice but to activate "The Stronger as the Battle Continues" to buy time and recover his stats.
Facing the torrential assault, Chen Tian noticed that Bing Duo'er's reaction speed was now twice as fast as before. Was it due to the ice-bound world? Or some other buff?
Chen Tian was searching for a weakness in the ice-bound world. The initiative and tempo of the battle were entirely in Bing Duo'er's hands.
Chen Tian could only passively defend. If not for his extensive armor and the constant triggering of the passive abilities of his Nightstalker True Form, he would have been long gone.
With less than 5,000 HP remaining, Chen Tian knew he couldn't withstand another direct hit.