The Azure Dragon's massive body occupied most of the battlefield, and the horns on its head occasionally shot out several azure lightning bolts. The power of these bolts was formidable, forcing Zhu Ziyang's remaining combatants to dodge frantically. However, while the Azure Dragon released lightning, its dragon claws and tail also attacked simultaneously.
Its dragon claws were extremely sharp, and its dragon tail was incredibly strong. Any strike from either was enough to severely injure or even kill an enemy instantly.
"Ice Azure Emperor Dragon!" Zhu Ziyang, wielding the Ice Dragon King Spear, unleashed his full Ultimate Ice power. A hundred-meter-long ice dragon appeared behind him and, guided by the tip of Zhu Ziyang's spear, like a true giant dragon, it unleashed a sky-covering barrage of ice cones and dragon breath towards the Azure Dragon.
The Azure Dragon looked at the ice dragon, whose size was comparable to its own, with great surprise. It could feel the extraordinary aura emanating from the ice dragon. In terms of bloodline strength alone, it was inferior to it. However, it was already a divine dragon, and the other was merely a remnant soul.
Thinking this, the Azure Dragon's body moved swiftly. It bared its fangs and claws, stood upright, exposing its lower jaw and abdomen to everyone. Its dragon maw opened wide, and azure lightning rapidly accumulated in its mouth, instantly forming a massive ball of lightning. With a flick of its head, the lightning ball immediately flew towards Zhu Ziyang.
Upon seeing this, Zhu Ziyang did not panic. A silver glow flashed in his eyes, and the world instantly froze. Immediately after, the Ice Azure Emperor Dragon behind him charged towards the Azure Dragon. Zhu Ziyang himself flashed and appeared above the Azure Dragon's head. The Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe in his hand had turned from gold to black, and an endless black river appeared beneath his feet. The river was dotted with striking white flowers, drifting with the current.
The black river was like an abyss, resembling the River Styx, and the pure white flowers were like holy salvation.
Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, Eighth Spirit Ability, Life-Ending: River Styx and the Other Shore!
For the divine Azure Dragon, the time freeze did not effectively restrain it. It only slowed for a moment before regaining consciousness. With a thought, the lightning ball caught up to the Ice Azure Emperor Dragon, and lightning and ice collided violently in an instant. The Azure Dragon, meanwhile, directly raised its head, its gaze fixed on Zhu Ziyang directly above.
At this moment, Zhu Ziyang's Eighth Spirit Ability had fully formed. The River Styx and the Other Shore flowers intertwined, descending from the heavens towards the Azure Dragon.
"Roar!" The Azure Dragon let out a dragon's roar, then its body suddenly erupted, charging towards Zhu Ziyang's River Styx and the Other Shore. It seemed to pay no mind to Zhu Ziyang's Eighth Spirit Ability, directly smashing through the River Styx with its massive head. The dense Death energy eroded its flesh along its dragon scales, but apart from a few scales falling off its forehead, it seemed to suffer no significant damage.
The Azure Dragon opened its maw wide, intending to swallow Zhu Ziyang directly.
Zhu Ziyang's eyes narrowed. His Eighth Spirit Ability could be forcibly shattered by it; a divine body was indeed not to be underestimated. Seeing the Azure Dragon's massive mouth descend, Zhu Ziyang, wielding the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, slashed fiercely. The scythe blade struck the giant dragon's lip, and he used the force to leap, escaping the giant dragon's mouth.
"This is impossible!" The giant dragon's eyes suddenly widened because its lip was actually injured. It was just a casual strike from that kid; this shouldn't be! It was a god; how could an ordinary Spirit harm it!
"Oh, wow!" Zhu Ziyang was also somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected his casual strike to make the opponent bleed. Before, everyone's combined attacks hadn't caused Niu Tian any substantial harm, so what was going on this time?
He glanced at the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe, then at the enraged Azure Dragon, and seemed to understand the reason. His Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe was not a mere Spirit; it was a Spirit that had absorbed and fused with the scythe of the dead, the Death God's divine tool. Calling it a divine tool was not an exaggeration. Clearly, what caused the Azure Dragon harm was not the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe itself, but the scythe of the dead, which the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe had absorbed but not yet fully fused with!
Understanding this, Zhu Ziyang revealed a meaningful smile. The Azure Dragon opposite also seemed to realize that the weapon in Zhu Ziyang's hand was extraordinary. Thus, its body rapidly shrank, finally returning to human form, but with an extra layer of Azure Dragon scale armor and a pair of dragon horns still on its forehead, making it look heroic and extraordinary.
"I thought I had already taken you seriously enough, but I still underestimated you," Niu Tian said. "You've actually obtained a divine tool. It seems you're not far from truly becoming a god, but unfortunately..."
As Niu Tian spoke, his aura changed again. This time, Zhu Ziyang felt the entire world become viscous, as if he had fallen into a mire, making movement difficult. An azure longsword appeared in Niu Tian's hand. The sword body emitted a brilliant glow, and the sharpness of the blade had materialized. Clearly, this was a divine-grade sword.
With the appearance of this divine sword, Niu Tian's demeanor also became sharp. His eyes filled with killing intent, and he lunged at Zhu Ziyang.
Zhu Ziyang's expression was unusually grave. He knew that Niu Tian was even more difficult to deal with now, and his companions were all trapped by Niu Tian's slowing Domain. Ma Xiaotao, who was closest to him, was still more than ten meters away. This distance would normally be negligible, but within a divine-grade slowing Domain, these ten meters were equivalent to a thousand!
As the longsword thrust, Zhu Ziyang immediately raised the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe to block. Niu Tian immediately retracted his sword, then followed with a downward slash. Zhu Ziyang blocked with his scythe, and the longsword collided with the scythe handle, producing a clanging sound. Niu Tian exerted force with the hand holding the sword, while his other hand accumulated lightning, striking towards Zhu Ziyang's chest.
Zhu Ziyang immediately squatted, deflecting the immense force from the Pacifying Life-Reaping Scythe while simultaneously kicking out, attacking Niu Tian's lower body. Seeing this, Niu Tian had no intention of dodging; instead, he surged forward, thrusting his longsword towards Zhu Ziyang's back.
Seeing this situation, Zhu Ziyang was helpless. His eyes flickered, and he instantly appeared a hundred meters away. Why didn't he go to Ma Xiaotao or Snow Empress and Ice Empress? They were deeply affected by the slowing Domain, their movements sluggish. If Zhu Ziyang ran towards them, not only would it not help him, but it would also bring them danger. This was not a wise choice.
Seeing Zhu Ziyang retreat, Niu Tian immediately pressed his advantage, first releasing several lightning bolts to try and slow Zhu Ziyang's movements, then wielding his longsword, he continued to attack Zhu Ziyang. Zhu Ziyang used his Spirit Abilities to contend with Niu Tian while slowly retreating, waiting for an opportunity.
He had the means to kill Niu Tian, but the prerequisite was that he had to ensure he could hit Niu Tian; otherwise, it would be useless.
On the other side, in Ma Xiaotao's eyes, Zhu Ziyang was being forced back step by step by Niu Tian, already showing many injuries, and seemed on the verge of collapsing. She was burning with anxiety. In her Martial Soul True Body state, she continuously unleashed her most powerful Ninth Spirit Ability, but it still couldn't break free from the slowing Domain's influence. At most, she went from 0.5x speed to 0.75x speed, which still had no impact on the battlefield situation.
A trace of resolve and decisiveness flashed in the Fire Phoenix's eyes. She immediately returned to human form, closed her eyes, calmed her inner emotions, and then, she suddenly opened her eyes. A crimson-gold treasure sword appeared in her hand. The sword was bound by its scabbard, concealing its true appearance, but it was Ma Xiaotao's only hope at this moment.
"Get out here, you!" Ma Xiaotao gripped the sword hilt tightly with her right hand and the scabbard with her left. Both hands simultaneously pulled outwards with force, veins bulging on her delicate hands. Golden flames rose from the treasure sword, quickly igniting Ma Xiaotao's hands. The temperature of the flames was astonishingly high; the surrounding air actually caught fire. Although Ma Xiaotao possessed Ultimate Fire, it was still insufficient against such divine flames.
Her hands were scorched in an instant, fresh red flesh exposed within the flames, making the golden flames burn even more intensely. They spread from her hands to her arms. It was foreseeable that if Ma Xiaotao didn't let go, the golden flames would definitely spread throughout her entire body.
However, Ma Xiaotao didn't care in the slightest. Her pretty face was filled with determination and fearlessness, and her eyes held a domineering resolve to face Death, as well as a comforting face. Her hands had already turned into stark white bones; the golden flames had completely incinerated her flesh, but those skeletal palms were still exerting force, and it was growing stronger and stronger.
Finally, the Fire God Sword revealed a bit of its blade, but most of it remained buried in the scabbard. However, this was already enough to delight Ma Xiaotao. She disregarded the golden flames that were almost reaching her shoulders, still pulling the Fire God Sword with all her might.
The Fire God Sword suddenly began to tremble violently. It was unclear whether it was moved by Ma Xiaotao's perseverance or angered by her determined act of drawing the sword, but in any case, both the hilt and the scabbard began to shake violently, causing Ma Xiaotao's body to sway along with them.
She still paid no heed. The sweat on her face instantly turned into smoke as soon as it appeared, her complexion was unusually flushed, and her eyes remained firm, but within that firmness was a hint of haziness—a sign of nearing unconsciousness.
"Clang—"
An exceptionally crisp sword cry rang out, simultaneously attracting the attention of Zhu Ziyang and Niu Tian. Both looked over, only to see Ma Xiaotao holding a strangely shaped longsword. One side of the blade was red, and the other was surprisingly blue. However, compared to the treasure sword, Ma Xiaotao's appearance attracted Zhu Ziyang's heart more. Her arms were reduced to stark white bones, white flames still burned on her shoulders, and her pretty face carried deep fatigue and joy, causing a sharp pang in Zhu Ziyang's heart.
Ma Xiaotao succeeded; she drew the Fire God Sword. Although her condition was very poor, the presence of the Fire God Sword still aroused surprise and vigilance in Niu Tian.