Facing Ao Tian's full-force claw strike, the Demon Emperor let out an angry shout.
Above her whale tail, countless dark purple rays surged, and immense water and dark elements rapidly condensed into a massive beam of light, slamming violently toward Ao Tian.
"Extreme Resentment Demon Bullet!"
Facing the Demon Emperor's terrifying attack, which contained vast energy like the resentment of the deep sea, Ao Tian did not dodge or evade, meeting it head-on with his claw.
Ao Tian's claw strike, carrying the Power of Mountains and Seas, slammed heavily into the Demon Emperor's Extreme Resentment Demon Bullet. Feeling the endless power of erosion and destruction transmitted through his Dragon Claws, blood surged into Ao Tian's golden dragon eyes; clearly, he was struggling to hold his ground. He gritted his dragon teeth, cursing inwardly.
This old woman is truly strong!
However, things had reached this point, and Ao Tian certainly would not back down. Watching his claw imprint being slowly shattered, he steeled his heart, mobilized all his remaining strength, and roared fiercely.
"Break for me!!"
He detonated the remaining energy on his claw imprint, simultaneously triggering the Demon Emperor's attack. As the energy erupted, turbulent shockwaves of Soul Power surged toward both Ao Tian and the Demon Emperor. Ao Tian knew this was a self-destructive tactic, but he had no other choice; the Demon Emperor's cultivation was far higher than his, leaving him no option but to fight in a way that would hurt them both.
The shockwave of Soul Power, now at point-blank range, engulfed Ao Tian before rushing toward the Demon Emperor. Facing the aftermath of an attack that contained her own power, the dark purple soul light on the Demon Emperor's body rose once more. In the sea before her, immense Soul Power began to condense, reflecting the sea surface into a dark purple hue. Once the energy reached its limit, a towering wall of water stood before the energy wave.
"Bang—"
"Boom—"
The aftermath struck the water wall, producing a series of thunderous sounds, but that was all. The Demon Emperor's defense acted like a Wall of Sighs, splitting this part of the sea in two. The side of the sea facing the impact fell into a riot of Soul Power and vortices; while the Demon Emperor's side could not be called calm, it was of no consequence to her.
"Boom—"
After a good while, the towering water wall fell back into the sea with a roar, and the residual water vapor turned into a torrential downpour, falling onto the sea surface and adding a sense of doomsday to the Dragon Nest Sea Area for the day. It only calmed down after a long time.
Following the faint bloodstains drifting on the water, the Demon Emperor looked toward Ao Tian, who had faced the impact directly.
At this moment, the mighty and domineering Dragon Turtle that had been where Ao Tian stood was nowhere to be seen. All that remained was a pitch-black Floating Island of Mountains, swaying in the wind and rain. Unlike a typical floating island, this black island was surrounded only by pitch-black mountains, devoid of any vitality.
The Demon Emperor savored the taste of Ao Tian's blood, her large eyes brightening slightly, a glint of greed flashing in their depths. What an unexpected joy!
She had devoured countless powerful Soul Beasts over the years, and even Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were not a rarity to her, but this was the second time she had encountered one as much to her liking as Ao Tian; the last one had been a Hundred-Thousand-Year Evil Orca King. She had a premonition that if she devoured Ao Tian, it would be of great benefit to her path of becoming a dragon.
Looking at the stabilizing floating island, the Demon Emperor spoke again.
"Ao Tian, I will give you one last chance. Tell me everything that happened here, and I will spare your life. Otherwise, you are dead today."
Hearing the Demon Emperor speak again, the floating island—that is, Ao Tian—popped his head out from his shell once more, revealing his limbs. However, he looked a bit more miserable than before; his right dragon eye was swollen, looking a size larger than his left, which appeared somewhat comical. At the same time, his limbs and Dragon Tail had lacerations, with blood constantly seeping out, adding a bloody hue to the already dim sea and making him look even more murderous.
Even though Ao Tian had retracted his limbs and tail into his body the moment he detonated the attack, he had still suffered some minor injuries due to being too close.
Ao Tian glanced at the surrounding seawater, which was subtly turning from pitch-black to dark purple due to the influx of the Demon Emperor's Soul Power, and said to her with disdain.
"Old woman, do you think this king would believe you? Stop dreaming."
"This king will say it again: if you have the ability, kill me. Otherwise, stop spouting this nonsense."
Hearing the way Ao Tian addressed her, blue veins bulged on the Demon Emperor's large whale forehead. She was only a little over two hundred thousand years old, in the prime of her youth, yet this brat dared to call her an 'old woman'?! But since the opponent wouldn't fall for it, she would just kill Ao Tian and find out for herself! In any case, letting him go was impossible; he was the new food she had chosen!
No longer dwelling on the divine miracle, the Demon Emperor acted immediately, taking the initiative. She let out a sharp cry.
"Dark Tide!"
As her voice fell, the dark purple light in a large area of the sea around Ao Tian erupted instantly. The sea, which had been gradually calming down, fell back into chaos, and this time, it was even more violent.
The dark purple seawater around Ao Tian surged like a tide, turning into a massive vortex that pulled at him, intending to grind him into minced meat.
But would Ao Tian let the Demon Emperor have her way so easily? Certainly not! He had only suffered minor injuries and was far from being unable to resist.
The moment he felt the surrounding currents being controlled by the Demon Emperor, Ao Tian took action.
His body lit up with silver-white, deep yellow, and azure soul light simultaneously. Countless mysterious, magnificent, yet unfathomable runes condensed in the air, transforming into a massive Mountain Sea Dragon Turtle Dharma Image.
As the image manifested, Ao Tian shouted loudly.
"Mountains and Seas Forever Solid!"
The massive Mountain Sea Dragon Turtle Dharma Image let out a clear dragon roar, and its four feet slowly descended toward the sea surface. In an instant, the wind and rain stopped, and the sea ceased its aggression. The ocean, which had been turned upside down by the Demon Emperor, was calmed in a short time.
The Mountain Dragon King governed the laws of stability and was most adept at stabilizing mountains and rivers. The Demon Emperor had clearly used the wrong tactic by trying to deal with Ao Tian using turbulent currents.
Seeing this, the Demon Emperor was slightly stunned. She hadn't expected Ao Tian to be able to calm the sea so quickly, or rather, she hadn't thought anyone other than the Sea God or her husband could do it.
However, the fact that Ao Tian could achieve this with a mere hundred-thousand-year cultivation gave the Demon Emperor a deeper understanding of the strength of his bloodline, making her even more eager to devour him.
The Demon Emperor praised him and issued an ultimatum.
"To be able to achieve this level with a hundred-thousand-year cultivation is truly not bad. But it should end here."
"Vortex Annihilation!"
The dark purple Soul Power around the Demon Emperor's body was violently compressed, seemingly turning into a cocoon of light in an instant. But just then, the dark purple light cocoon began to spin violently, shooting out like a top. It burst out of the sea, soaring straight up into the sky.
The next moment, she had turned her body, dyeing the pitch-black sky dark purple. Facing the earth from the sky, she transformed into a dark purple meteor, crashing fiercely toward Ao Tian—
───────────────
Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader