Outside the White Bone Divine Gate, the air erupted in a relentless succession of shockwaves.
Cang Yaochen's demonic blade clashed fiercely against the Purple Lightning Heaven-Breaker Hammer. Violent, purplish-gold divine lightning snaked up the blade, tearing through his obsidian-like demonic form and leaving a network of bloody gashes. Yet, Cang Yaochen didn't so much as flinch. Every time the God of War spine fused to his back pulsed, a fresh surge of monolithic power flooded his arms. Inch by inch, he forced the immensely heavy lightning hammer down.
"Blazing Sun, strike his vital point!" the Purple Lightning God-Seat roared through the strain, his eyes flashing with tempestuous lightning.
The Blazing Sun God-Seat shot in from the flank. His divine sword whipped up tens of thousands of true-flame streaks, thrusting directly toward Cang Yaochen's completely exposed flank.
"Did you forget I was here?"
A crimson shadow flashed into existence, blocking Blazing Sun's path. Jiang Li's long hair whipped wildly in the gale, the Nirvana Karmic Flames coating her hands thickening into a deep, abyssal black. Forgoing all defense, she used her bare flesh and bone to catch the plunging, red-hot divine sword between her palms.
"Foolish!" Blazing Sun sneered. He poured his divine energy into the blade, unleashing the True Solar Flames to incinerate Jiang Li's hands and soul alike.
But he had severely miscalculated. Jiang Li's strength had long since fused with the Nirvana Divine Essence left behind by the ancient remnant soul. Her flame was a devastating force capable of burning right through a God-Seat's origin.
Sizzle—
A piercing, corrosive shriek rang out. Instead of harming Jiang Li, the True Flames on the divine sword were overwhelmed. The dark-red karmic fire surged up the blade like a reverse current, rushing toward the Blazing Sun God-Seat's wrist in the blink of an eye.
"Ah—!"
Blazing Sun screamed as his right hand was instantly ignited. His golden, divine blood vaporized under the intense heat.
In that exact moment of Blazing Sun's distraction, the pupils of Cang Yaochen's double-pupil eyes constricted to needlepoints.
"Die!"
Cang Yaochen roared. The Asura malevolence within him perfectly resonated with the power of the God of War bones. Abandoning all defense against the purplish-gold lightning, he let the bolts pierce straight through his left shoulder. Simultaneously, his right hand gripped his demonic blade, unleashing a hundred-zhang arc of pitch-black energy that slashed upward in a brutal, tragic trajectory.
Slash!
The Purple Lightning Heaven-Breaker Hammer was cleaved cleanly in two. Along with it, the massive divine form of the Purple Lightning God-Seat was split diagonally from groin to left shoulder.
Golden divine blood sprayed across the sky, drenching Cang Yaochen and making him look like an absolute arch-demon risen from the depths of purgatory.
The Purple Lightning God-Seat was slain!
On the other side, seeing the tide turn so catastrophically, the Withered Wood God-Seat froze mid-incantation. His instincts screamed at him to retreat deeper into the Sacred Ground. But Jiang Li would give him no such chance. Kicking away the de-handed Blazing Sun God-Seat, she used the recoil to propel herself forward like a crimson meteor, closing the distance to Withered Wood in a heartbeat.
eschewing all weapons, she drove her right hand forward like a claw, piercing straight through Withered Wood's protective jade-green light and sinking her fingers deep into his chest.
"Since you came, leave your Divine Core behind!"
Jiang Li's eyes were ruthless. She clenched her fist and violently ripped a vibrant, emerald-green orb of life-force right out of Withered Wood's chest cavity. The light immediately faded from Withered Wood's eyes, and his divine body withered into a piece of deadwood, plummeting from the sky.
In mere moments, of the three great God-Seats, two were dead and one was severely crippled.
Clutching his severed arm, the Blazing Sun God-Seat retreated to the very edge of the Sacred Ground's core, his face deathly pale. As he stared at the two blood-drenched, battle-crazed monsters before him, every ounce of his divine pride vanished.
Cang Yaochen walked through the void, dragging his dripping demonic blade behind him as he closed in on Blazing Sun. Each of his steps felt like a heavy stomp on the hearts of every god in the Sacred Ground.
"Tell those old bastards sitting inside," Cang Yaochen's voice reverberated through the nine layers of heaven, "what you took from us three years ago, we are going to take back today—with interest."
The clouds churned heavily. From the ancient temples hidden deep within the Sacred Ground, a long, weary sigh finally echoed out.