Chapter 82: Rage of Defeat, the Sage Lord Turns Hostile
Just as Lei Chen's thoughts shifted, considering giving the Holy Spirit Cult another "helping hand" so these Evil Soul Masters could "produce" more resources sufficient to recast the Angel God Throne, at the other end of the planar boundary—deep within the Abyss territory that was now semi-fused with the Douluo Plane and characterized by dark red and destruction—the Tian Shen, who had retreated here in defeat, had a face so gloomy it looked as if it could drip water.
For this planar war, he had originally been full of confidence, bringing his entire force. With the unexpected addition of Tang Hao and Ah Yin, two Second-Rank Deities, as surprise troops, he fully expected to use thunderous momentum to swallow the vibrant Douluo Plane in one fell swoop, causing the Abyss's Foundation to skyrocket and even catching a glimpse of a higher-level opportunity.
However, reality had dealt him a head-on blow!
In the first battle, he suffered a crushing defeat!
Not only did he fail to seize an inch of the Douluo Plane's land, but he also lost troops and generals. Even a core king like the Scythe Emperor had fallen on the spot, not to mention the massive losses of the Abyss army and dozens of Abyssal Kings.
Most critically, the pure Origin energy dissipated from the dead Abyss Creatures was not recovered in time. Instead, it was entirely purified and swallowed by the opponent's Plane Master with the help of that strange Golden Ancient Tree.
"Five percent... a full five percent of the planar energy!" Abyssal Sage Lord Tianshen felt a faint but clear sense of "weakness" coming from the Abyss Plane, and his heart bled.
That energy was closely linked to the Abyss Plane. Its complete annihilation caused the overall volume of the Abyss Plane to drop by about five percent!
As one side falls, the other rises; the Douluo Plane swallowed this five percent of energy, strengthening its Foundation. With this back-and-forth, the gap between the two planes' volumes was instantly widened by ten percent!
Planar wars, especially this most extreme and brutal type of planar-adhesion warfare, often meant "the first battle is the decisive battle; one fight determines the Universe"!
Because the outcome of the first comprehensive collision directly determined the strength contrast of the two planes' Origins. The winner, carrying the prestige of a great victory, would see their Origin expand and grow stronger with every fight; the loser's Origin would be damaged, their morale low, and their chances of a comeback would be minuscule.
At the thought that his side, which might have barely been equal in volume or even boasted superior offensive power, had fallen into an absolute disadvantage in the blink of an eye, a surge of unspeakable panic and violence rose in the Saint Lord's heart.
"I can't win... I really can't win..." This thought swirled uncontrollably in his mind.
Lei Chen's own strength was not inferior to his, and that weird Life Guardian Divine Armor countered his heavenly saint abyss splitting halberd even more.
Now that the opponent's planar Origin was strengthened, the power Lei Chen could mobilize would be even stronger, while his own side was weakened... Moreover, the opponent had that troublesome existence, Electrolux, who could hold off two at once, as well as that weird Soul Engineer Corps capable of joining forces to resist or even kill a demigod. Continuing to fight would only result in a loss.
Then... what about fleeing?
This thought flashed through the Saint Lord's mind instantly.
If he could disconnect and flee into the depths of the Universe, perhaps he could preserve his remaining self to wait for the future.
But as soon as this thought arose, he bitterly extinguished it himself.
Flee? How could he flee?
Normally, when the Abyss Plane invaded other planes via spatial tunnels, if things looked bad, he could indeed immediately disconnect the tunnel and flee thousands of miles away.
But this time, he had placed too much trust in the advantage brought by the two Second-Rank Deities, Tang Hao and his wife, and had also underestimated the Douluo Plane's determination to resist and its Foundation. He had chosen the most thorough and dangerous method of invasion—planar adhesion!
Now, the barriers between the Abyss Plane and the Douluo Plane had vanished. The two planes were like two massive continents stuck tightly together, forming a semi-fused state. Their planar Foundations were already intertwined and entangled; how could he just flee?
Forcibly peeling them apart would be no different from gouging out his heart and cutting off his flesh. It would cause irreversible, heavy damage to the Abyss Plane and might even lead to the collapse of the planar structure. At that time, he would be finished himself before the Douluo Plane even had to lift a finger.
So now, the Saint Lord was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.
He couldn't win if he fought, and he couldn't escape if he fled!
Thinking of this, the Saint Lord felt a surge of wicked fire rush from the bottom of his heart straight to the top of his head. Frustration, anger, fear, despair... all sorts of negative emotions almost swallowed his rationality.
He suddenly looked up, his dark gold vertical pupils staring fixedly at Tang Hao and Ah Yin, who had also just retreated to the Abyss territory with unsightly expressions.
It was these two useless pieces of trash!
If not for their solemn promises, if not for their claims of having a deep-seated hatred for Lei Chen, if not for their possession of Second-Rank Deity power... how could he have been so arrogant as to choose direct planar adhesion? If they had proceeded steadily, even if they didn't win, they would never have fallen into such a desperate situation!
Furthermore, thinking back to the battle just now, these two fellows—dignified Second-Rank Deities—couldn't even take down a single old man of the same level after joining forces for so long!
If they could have quickly defeated that Electrolux and then joined him to besiege Lei Chen, or directly slaughtered the massive number of Douluo lifeforms below, would the battle have turned out like this? Perhaps he would be the one celebrating victory right now!
It was all because of these two stray dogs who were more of a hindrance than a help!
The more the Saint Lord thought about it, the angrier he became, and the more repulsive Tang Hao and Ah Yin appeared to him. Failure always required a scapegoat to bear the brunt of the anger, and at this moment, no one was more suitable than Tang Hao and Ah Yin.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort, like a polar wind, suddenly swept through the oppressive Abyssal aura, interrupting Tang Hao and Ah Yin's low conversation. Tang Hao frowned and looked up, meeting the Tian Shen's undisguised gaze, which was filled with spite and mockery.
"Saint Lord, what is it?" Tang Hao said in a deep voice, his tone also carrying a hint of displeasure. Anyone who had just experienced a hard-fought battle and suffered a defeat would not be in a good mood.
"What is it?" The corner of the Saint Lord's mouth curled into an extremely mean arc, his voice sharp and full of hostility. "This seat was wondering if certain people were spies sent by the other side from the very beginning? Deliberately putting on such a show of self-sacrifice just to make this seat lower my guard and plunge headfirst into this death trap?"
As soon as these words were spoken, Tang Hao and Ah Yin's faces instantly turned completely dark.
Tang Hao suddenly took a step forward, the surging golden divine force around him undulating uncontrollably. A massive phantom of the Clear Sky Hammer loomed behind him. He glared at the Saint Lord, his voice like thunder: "Saint Lord! What do you mean by this? Do not go around making false accusations!"
Ah Yin also stepped forward to pull her husband's arm, her beautiful face covered in frost. Looking at the Tian Shen, she said coldly, "Saint Lord, you can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want! The hatred between us and that Lei Chen is irreconcilable! How could we possibly collude with him?"
"Irreconcilable?" The Saint Lord seemed to have heard a huge joke and threw his head back with a piercing, shrill laugh. "Hahaha! What an 'irreconcilable' hatred! Joining forces against an enemy, yet you couldn't even take down a single person of the same rank!"
"If it weren't for you two useless fools being unable to win for so long, how could the Scythe Emperor have fallen? How could the Spirit Emperor and the others have fallen into danger? And how could this seat have been forced to cut my losses and return in such a pathetic state?"
He became more excited as he spoke, his finger almost poking Tang Hao's face as he cursed loudly with saliva flying: "Two useless fools who only have the Realm of a Second-Rank Deity but can't even exert seventy or eighty percent of your strength! You stray dogs!"
"If it weren't for your incompetence ruining my grand plans, how could my Abyss Plane have suffered such a great defeat and such heavy losses! You still have the face to stand here?!"
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