The Wushi Bell's chime continued, seeming to freeze all of eternity.
Wounded, Zhulong was seized by Fang Ming, who, with the might of an ultimate emperor weapon, pierced through Zhulong's power of years and the laws of the Great Dao of Time.
While both sides clashed, Fang Ming also engaged in a war of words.
He had meticulously employed language to further destabilize Zhulong's resolve and worldview, aiming to create a flaw in its mind and a loophole in the laws of the Great Dao of Time.
Fang Ming skillfully wielded the power of language, revealing to Zhulong the time it took for the Primordial Human Emperor to achieve emperorship.
Thousands of years!
In the Primordial Era, this was an infinitesimally short span of time. Yet, within this brief period, cultivators from the Heaven-Shielding world could reach the realm of an Emperor, comparable in power to a Saint.
This was beyond Zhulong's comprehension.
Therefore, after sensing the truth in Fang Ming's words,
After confirming their veracity,
Its mind was thrown into a panic!
"How is this possible!"
"The first master of this weapon, when cultivating to a realm comparable to a Primordial Saint, a Hunyuan Daluo Jinxian, only took thousands of years?"
"A cultivator who has lived for thousands, tens of thousands of years, could forge a weapon capable of wounding me!"
"This is impossible!"
A crack appeared in Zhulong's mind.
Its worldview could not accept this!
Such rapid cultivation and immense power shattered its established understanding of the world!
Fang Ming continued his taunts, "Nothing is impossible."
"Even setting aside the weapon's master, without relying on the Emperor's weapon, I myself can contend with ordinary late-stage Quasi-Saints."
"You must know that without such cultivation, even wielding an Emperor's weapon would be useless, unable to unleash its full power."
"I am merely ten thousand years old. For the first eight thousand years, I cultivated the Golden Core Great Dao, and for the latter two thousand, I cultivated the Heaven-Shielding Method."
"In terms of age, my mere ten thousand years is but a fraction of your hundreds of billions of years of cultivation, yet I possess comparable power."
"In terms of cultivating the Heaven-Shielding Method, I have only been practicing for two thousand years, and I can match your efforts of hundreds of billions of years."
"Zhulong, do you know that by adhering to ancient cultivation methods and practicing the laws of the Great Dao, your hundreds of billions of years of cultivation have rendered you a cripple! Inferior to even my two thousand years of progress!"
"You are obsolete!"
Fang Ming's final words struck Zhulong like a physical blow.
"Ancient methods, practicing the laws of the Great Dao? Merely trash techniques!"
This statement, coupled with Zhulong's injuries, profoundly shook the minds of the many Daluo of the Dragon race.
Many Daluo of the Dragon race seemed to stagger back, their faces turning deathly pale.
Upon hearing that cultivating for hundreds of billions of years had resulted in becoming a cripple, Zhulong's composure faltered for a moment.
Had its hundreds of billions of years of cultivation truly amounted to nothing?
It was inferior to the Human Emperor's two thousand years of cultivating the Heaven-Shielding Method!
Two thousand years of cultivation was less than a fraction of a Yuan Hui.
And within this minuscule timeframe, it could match the results of its own ten thousand Yuan Hui, hundreds of billions of years of effort!
What terrifying cultivation speed was this!
Was it truly a cripple?
Adhering to ancient cultivation methods, achieving Hunyuan Golden Immortal, and cultivating the laws of the Great Dao, had ultimately only made it an arrogant, short-sighted fool?
"A golden opportunity."
Seeing Zhulong's mental vulnerability, Fang Ming seized the moment and struck with the full force of the ultimate emperor weapon, intending to suppress Zhulong.
Zhulong, a Hunyuan Golden Immortal, possessed a fundamental divine ability in its temporal spell that could see day and night, which was indeed formidable.
Fang Ming's current cultivation was only infinitesimally close to the late stage of Quasi-Saint, at the peak of the mid-stage. Even with the ultimate emperor weapon, he could only fight Zhulong's divine ability to a draw; the actual power disparity was not significant.
In this situation of near-equal combat strength, Fang Ming had employed subtle tactics, causing Zhulong to misjudge the true might of the Wushi Bell, thereby gaining a partial advantage.
Subsequently, Fang Ming continued to engage Zhulong with the ultimate emperor weapon, exacerbating its injuries and widening his lead.
Simultaneously, he attacked Zhulong verbally, creating mental and behavioral vulnerabilities, thus creating an opportunity to decisively end the battle.
This was an indispensable part, and something Fang Ming was confident he could achieve.
For what Fang Ming said was the truth, and the reality laid bare would inevitably shake Zhulong's resolve.
Anyone who learned that their hundreds of billions of years of effort had been surpassed by another in just two thousand years would, no matter how firm their will, waver for a moment.
In a battle between masters, a moment's wavering could spell defeat. Since Zhulong had been shaken by Fang Ming's words, it was only natural that Fang Ming would exploit the loophole and break through.
As Fang Ming unleashed his full power, the Wushi Bell emanated a majestic, surging aura that seemed to envelop infinite space and time.
The most brilliant light shone forth, shaking the ancient cosmos, with countless immortal lights and divine principles crisscrossing.
This was an unimaginably potent offensive, one that would make even a Daluo Golden Immortal tremble. The Daluo of the Dragon race were already forced to their knees by the overwhelming pressure.
They did not wish to kneel, yet they were compelled to, for this power surpassed their wildest imaginations!
As they knelt, they thought to themselves:
"Impossible! This move has forced us to our knees! Even our ancestors who cultivated ancient methods could not achieve this!"
"This! This! Can our ancestor truly defeat this Human Emperor?"
"Of course! This is all a ruse by our ancestor..."
If these words, "a ruse," had been uttered at any other time, the Daluo of the Dragon race, who were fanatically devoted to ancient methods, would have believed them without question.
After all, the notion that older was stronger was deeply ingrained in their very beings!
However, now, feeling their own bodies forced to their knees, the Daluo of the Dragon race also began to doubt.
What kind of ruse would involve forcing us to our knees?
The logic simply didn't hold up.
It meant that their ancestor was truly at a disadvantage in this battle... that was the only logical conclusion.
Their ancestor might be defeated!
Upon realizing this, some Daluo of the Dragon race quickly sealed their thoughts and conjured comforting illusions, brainwashing themselves.
"Our ancestor is not losing, nor can he lose."
"Ancient methods, cultivating the laws of the Great Dao, are absolutely invincible and cannot be defeated."
"Our ancestor is merely feigning weakness, intending to launch a desperate counterattack at the last moment and defeat this Human Emperor."
"That would be far more dramatic!"
"Yes! Our ancestor is definitely toying with this Human Emperor."