Xie Long did not dare to underestimate Chen Tian. If anyone else had said these words, he might not have believed them. But coming from Chen Tian, the divine eagle who had sealed the consciousness of their nine people, his words carried some weight and were unlikely to be mere bluster. If Chen Tian said this, it meant he truly had confidence, although Xie Long couldn't see where it came from. His current strength was far from what it used to be, and he didn't even sense any danger from Chen Tian.
"Chen Tian, let me see how strong you are now. Are you really that blindly arrogant?"
Xie Long spoke, then stepped forward. Chen Tian responded, and their figures rushed towards each other. It was a simple clash, palm meeting fist. The resulting ripples of energy spread outwards, and in an instant, the void swallowed them both. A simple collision that produced such void was unimaginable in its power.
As for Chen Shixue and Yun Shuiying, their figures vanished the moment Chen Tian sent them out of the black space. By the time they reacted, they were already back in the tavern. A prompt then appeared, indicating the completion of the mission and the distribution of rewards. However, they realized Chen Tian hadn't returned. Could he still be in that space?
"This mission is really strange."
"Be content with what you have. Let's just hope nothing bad happens."
Chen Shixue felt a pang of worry. But then she remembered Chen Tian's strength had far surpassed many powerful figures. If she hadn't known him, she would have thought he was cheating at a game. Yun Shuiying pondered, "Don't worry, he'll be fine. I have faith in him."
"Why do you think so?"
Yun Shuiying didn't answer the question. As for why she knew Chen Tian wouldn't lose, she had her own little secret. They were of the same kind, and she understood that kind of power.
Within the void, they clashed. Fists and palms met with fierce intensity. Hundreds of attacks were unleashed in a single second, the sounds of impact continuing for over ten seconds. Xie Long retreated, praising, "It seems you weren't boasting after all. But this strength is still not enough to contend with me."
"This is just the warm-up phase."
His body trembled, and his aura erupted, stronger than before. Chen Tian's gaze remained placid, unfazed. They had been testing each other; now the real warm-up was beginning. Sensing the surge in Xie Long's aura, Chen Tian's own power intensified. This time, he unleashed his full strength, the power of the Divine Realm. Waves of energy collided, golden and black, spreading from their bodies.
Boom!
Explosion after explosion echoed. The energy emanating from their bodies far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators. Xie Long dared not be complacent. As the eldest of the Nine Evil Spirits, he knew their true power. A moment's carelessness could lead to disaster. The surest way for Chen Tian to win this fight was to use the Samsara Body. Yes, you heard that right. Chen Tian wanted to win, and the most secure method was to use the Samsara Body.
It was worth remembering that it took the combined efforts of the previous Evil Spirits to barely force out the Samsara Body. For Xie Long to push Chen Tian to this point alone demonstrated that he was no ordinary opponent.
"Hmph!"
He took a deep breath. Two beams of light collided in space at speeds invisible to the naked eye. The void appeared silent and without ripples, but this was because their speed was too great for the void to reflect their movements. When the two figures stood opposed, their expressions were calm, suggesting the battle would end in a draw.
What Xie Long hadn't expected was that Chen Tian, in this lifetime, already possessed the capital to contend with him despite having only just begun cultivating. He couldn't help but sigh, the path of Samsara truly was the most powerful method. Chen Tian had to be killed here. If he fully recovered his strength, they would all eventually disappear, this time permanently.
"Continue. Your strength shouldn't be like this. Or are you afraid of me?"
"Delusional. I would fear you? I only hate you, wishing to slay you and make you experience the feeling of being killed and sealed by the very beings you created for several cycles of reincarnation."
With a fierce expression, he thought, you are the one who created us, the one who personally destroyed us, and the one who cast us into an endless seal. Can you comprehend that feeling?
"Back then, alas!"
He didn't want to say more. The mistakes they, the Nine Evil Spirits, had made back then weren't entirely their fault. After all, they had acted to ensure the prosperity of the Evil Spirit tribe. However, such actions were not tolerated by the Heavenly Dao. Rather than let the Heavenly Dao intervene, it was better to act themselves and at least leave a sliver of hope. To this day, the nine of them still hadn't fully grasped it.
"Die!"
His figure turned into a blur. Light flashed, and a punch attacked from behind, aiming for the back. Chen Tian turned to defend, his body rotating, his palm reaching out and tightly gripping the fist. The eldest brother of the Nine Evil Spirits was different from the other eight. He retained the appearance of the Evil Spirit tribe, with a human body, human hands, and human feet, making him appear as a pure human.
Seeing his fist caught, he unleashed the full force of his power. Reluctantly, Xie Long let go of his hand. If he hadn't, that power would have traveled up his arm, devastating it. Xie Long's ability was destructive power; once damage was inflicted, it would destroy one hundred percent of the opponent's cells, tissues, nerves, blood vessels, and energy.
This ability was extremely troublesome. He absolutely could not let Xie Long inflict any damage. Injuries were inevitable in battle, even he couldn't guarantee one hundred percent immunity. No matter how powerful an ability was, unforeseen circumstances could arise. There were too many unknowns.
"I didn't expect you to still remember my ability. It seems your Samsara memories have returned. No wonder you've become so powerful."
Seeing Chen Tian evade so quickly, Xie Long immediately understood. His Samsara memories had likely returned, and his strength had been fully restored. It was natural for him to become this powerful.
"But do you think I have no way to harm you? Let the difference in power be your lesson."
Xie Long clenched his fists. Black energy flowed around his fists, and Evil Spirit claws grew from them. This sight astonished Chen Tian. As the creator, he knew this was a forbidden technique. Damn it, how many forbidden techniques had that guy unsealed?
"Forbidden technique? You're using a forbidden technique! Are you suicidal?"
"As long as I can kill you, I will bear any consequence."
Chen Tian shook his head helplessly. His eyes and reason were completely clouded by hatred. Most of the Nine Evil Spirits were like this. However, he also considered that perhaps that guy was manipulating things behind the scenes.
This was not the time to consider that. Xie Long's fists extended with Evil Spirit claws. The claws on his fists were obsidian black, incredibly sharp. Black light flashed, as if screaming.
Seeing this, Chen Tian conjured his long sword. The reason he wasn't using his dual blades was simple: dual blades had too short a reach. A long sword offered a wider attack range, preventing Xie Long from getting close enough to inflict damage.
In reality, a spear would have been more effective in this situation than a long sword. It was just that Chen Tian's understanding of the spear was not as profound as his mastery of dual blades and long swords. It was better to fight with a long sword and dual blades.
During combat, fighting with an unfamiliar weapon would expose countless weaknesses. This was something all cultivators knew, which was why cultivators primarily focused on mastering one weapon. They didn't have enough experience to cultivate other weapons.