"Do you rush to your death like this? You could stay in this world forever, for thousands upon thousands of years, without going to war, without fighting to the death. Wouldn't it be better to live a good life?" Xi Linghuangzhu asked.
Surrounded by a thousand watchful Arid Race soldiers, He Li slowly drew his saber. Its blade gleamed like snow, a pure killing intent directed at the Arid Race formation without any concealment. He shouldered the saber, tapped it lightly, then met Xi Linghuangzhu's gaze and chuckled:
"Go to hell."
Then,
He Li charged into the Arid Race formation with his saber, unyielding, like a roaring lion, like an enraged Vajra. Even with his divine power not yet restored, even alone, he felt no fear.
Even as one man charging the ranks, he was as a thousand armies.
Alone, he held his saber against Kunlun, his imposing presence reaching the heavens.
He Li clashed with the Arid Race soldiers ahead, tightly surrounded in the center of the battlefield. Thousands of Arid divine powers intertwined, a vast net covering him. Nine Arid Realm Gods lunged forward, unleashing their life-bound bone blades, which struck the saber energy He Li projected, creating powerful shockwaves.
Xi Linghuangzhu watched He Li, who was clearly at the end of his strength yet still fighting with all his might, and clicked her tongue in admiration. She was not shocked by He Li's combat prowess, but by his unyielding will to fight to the death. At that moment, she finally understood what a terrifying being this new God of the Spirit Taming Race, whose name echoed across the Five Directions battlefield, truly was.
The divine power vortex woven by the battlefield was shrouded in mist. A streak of bright saber energy cleaved through it, and He Li broke free, soaring into the higher void. He looked down at the Arid Race formation below, his mind stirring. He swapped the Golden Bell and Golden Cauldron, letting them float behind him.
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
"Kill!"
The Arid Race soldiers did not pause but surged towards He Li like a swarm of bees.
He Li tore off a piece of his robe, wiped the blood from his face, and then smeared it horizontally across his saber. He whispered in his heart,
"Kill!"
The Golden Bell and Golden Cauldron resonated with He Li's divine power, emitting golden shockwaves in the air. Ripples spread outwards, bombarding the Arid Race soldiers. The pitch-black void was illuminated golden in half, with golden seal script filling the air like ancient runes and incantations.
Xi Linghuangzhu frowned slightly. She made her move. She was not one to play cat and mouse. Warriors who frequently fought on the battlefield knew the principle of using full strength even against a rabbit. Since He Li refused to be confined to this world, she would eliminate him.
The vast Arid divine power, like mountains and seas, surged towards He Li.
*Puff!*
He Li spat out a mouthful of blood. Xi Linghuangzhu's divine power was beyond his ability to resist. He was blown away, crashing heavily against the Golden Cauldron.
*Dong!*
*Dong!*
The Golden Bell and Golden Cauldron struck in unison, launching towards Xi Linghuangzhu.
Xi Linghuangzhu waved her hand, blocking the impact of the Golden Bell and Golden Cauldron with her Arid divine power. She sneered and said, "A good divine artifact, but unfortunately, you are not capable of wielding it. Die."
Xi Linghuangzhu drew her saber, her figure flashing as she swept past He Li.
*Clang!*
He Li held his saber vertically in front of his chest, protecting his neck and head. Xi Linghuangzhu's saber struck the blade of his saber squarely, emitting a crisp metallic sound.
Then,
*Crack!*
A piece of He Li's saber was shattered. Xi Linghuangzhu's short saber grazed He Li's neck and then fiercely struck the Golden Cauldron.
*Dong!*
The Golden Cauldron vibrated violently, then disappeared. Immediately after, Xi Linghuangzhu struck the Golden Bell again, shattering it.
He Li had already flashed far away. Blood gushed from his neck, staining half his body. He gritted his teeth fiercely, tore off another strip of his robe, and wrapped it around his neck. Holding his saber, he looked at Xi Linghuangzhu.
Xi Linghuangzhu turned back, casually swinging her short saber, and said with a smile, "With the next strike, you'll be dead."
He Li nodded seriously and said, "Even if I were at my peak, I couldn't withstand two of your strikes."
"Heh heh..." Xi Linghuangzhu chuckled. "How interesting. Xi Ming killed you once and failed to finish you. I wonder if I can."
"If nothing unexpected happens, I will surely die with the next strike," He Li replied truthfully.
Xi Linghuangzhu wasted no more words. She caught the short saber thrown into the air, moved again, and pierced He Li's heart with a single strike.
The strike was so fast that He Li didn't even have time to react.
He looked down at the bloody hole in his chest. In the next moment, nine Arid Realm Gods appeared simultaneously from different directions around He Li, thrusting their bone blades forward and impaling him.
From beginning to end, He Li had tightly guarded his neck and head with his saber.
His mind was intact; the rest were not fatal wounds.
*Chii...*
Scarlet blood splattered down, and He Li's body fell onto a stationary fragment of a meteor.
Xi Linghuangzhu looked at He Li's damaged body but did not leave. Instead, she gestured with her eyes for the Arid Realm Gods to step aside. She approached He Li, her eyes narrowed. She tightened her grip on her short saber, holding it horizontally to sever He Li's head.
She knew well the danger of leaving an enemy with any chance of survival. Without severing the head and destroying his divinity, there was always the possibility of his return.
Suddenly,
Xi Linghuangzhu's arm froze, and then she immediately swung her saber.
*Clang!*
Xi Linghuangzhu's short saber was blocked by a blood-red great saber.
At the same time,
He Li, who had closed his eyes, reached upwards, catching the spatial cube that flew through the air. An endless stream of divine power poured out from the spatial cube, infusing into He Li's body.
He Li opened his eyes, his fingers suddenly tightening, crushing the spatial cube.
In an instant,
A mass of white mist bloomed, enveloping He Li.
Xi Linghuangzhu's heart tightened as she looked at the white mist, exclaiming in alarm, "This is... a segment of time!"
*Bang!*
Xi Linghuangzhu was repelled a thousand feet by a powerful force, stopping in the void. Her eyes flickered as she looked at the white mist.
*Hum...*
A sharp saber light cleaved through the white mist, and He Li emerged from it. He held his saber in his right hand, the blood-red great saber in his left, slung over his shoulder. His wounds had already healed completely.
He Li grinned at Xi Linghuangzhu and said, "I didn't expect those few hours stolen from me to become my lifeline."
Xi Linghuangzhu naturally didn't know what had happened, nor did she know that He Li had been stolen from by the timeline twice before, totaling several hours.
Xi Linghuangzhu's expression was uncertain. She had touched the law of time and could sense that the white mist was a segment of a timeline, a timeline belonging to He Li. That segment of time had merged with the current He Li.
In other words, two He Lis from different time periods had merged, and his divine power cultivation had also doubled, equivalent to the combination of two different time periods.
"You all retreat!" Xi Linghuangzhu commanded, dismissing the Arid Race soldiers. The current He Li, while not at the Divine Lord level, was by no means someone those Arid Race soldiers could handle. Engaging him would be a futile sacrifice of their lives.
Xi Ling reversed her grip on her short saber, paused for a moment, and then disappeared into the distance, reappearing before He Li and slashing horizontally.
He Li raised the blood-red great saber to block.
*Clang!*
He Li was sent flying ten thousand meters by the strike, crashing through meteors before landing heavily on one.
*Whoosh!*
A streak of blood-red saber light flashed, charging directly at Xi Linghuangzhu.
Xi Linghuangzhu tilted her head, dodging the blood-red saber, and then unleashed a vertical divine power slash, tearing through the void.
From a great distance, He Li also unleashed a white slash.
The two slashes collided. He Li's white slash was clearly inferior, and after less than a second of stalemate, it was shattered, the attack rushing towards He Li.
He Li sidestepped and used his saber to cleave the incoming slash, shattering it. He looked up at Xi Linghuangzhu and laughed, "Xi Ling, you old hag who's lived for tens of millions of years, your temper is truly ferocious."
...