The Purple Emperor kept retreating as the fighting continued to intensify. Suddenly, Sovereign Dou Sheng beckoned, and his golden cudgel flew towards him. He smashed it down once more, but this time, instead of taking the blow with his body, the Purple Emperor moved forward and punched the hand that held the golden cudgel. The Sovereign struggled to maintain his grip on his cudgel, but he still reacted very quickly. Even as he let go of his weapon, his foot snapped out, and the kick nearly shattered the Purple Emperor’s upper body.
The Purple Emperor was knocked back, and Sovereign Dou Sheng grabbed hold of his cudgel, ending the exchange.
The cudgel dropped again, but this time, the Purple Emperor could not escape.
He looked up, his white eye staring at Sovereign Dou Sheng. The Purple Emperor completely ignored the falling cudgel and simply stared at Sovereign Dou Sheng.
Just as the golden cudgel was about to strike, it froze in place. Sovereign Dou Sheng froze as well, and his expression changed drastically as he locked eyes with the Purple Emperor. “What is this?”
“Attack!” the Purple Emperor ordered. Every part of his body was bleeding.
The nine-headed bird instantly appeared out of nowhere, its massive body covering the sky as it raised its nine heads up high. It let out a piercing shriek. Three of its heads and six of its eyes stared down at Sovereign Dou Sheng. “Die, Dou Sheng!”
Sovereign Dou Sheng felt a chill come over him. The nine-headed bird possessed an innate gift of cursing. Anyone who was targeted would essentially have their life linked to one of the bird’s heads. If that head was cut off, the person’s life would end. This was the nine-headed bird’s most terrifying ability, and it was also the reason why the Purple Emperor had ordered the bird to launch a surprise attack.
Only the nine-headed bird could kill Sovereign Dou Sheng for sure. It cursed the man, willing to sacrifice three of its heads.
In normal circumstances, the nine-headed bird would never dare to make any trouble for Sovereign Dou Sheng, but the man was immobilized, so the bird quickly seized the rare opportunity, confident in its ability to kill the man.
When the three heads targeted him, Sovereign Dou Sheng felt as though his perspective had somehow shifted and that his life had been tied to three of the nine-headed bird’s heads.
“It’s over!” the nine-headed bird shrieked triumphantly. With this, its reputation would soar, and it would even surpass Astral Anura. Much like humans and many other creatures, the nine-headed bird was extremely vain.
It was a critical moment, and Sovereign Dou Sheng clenched his teeth. He refused to accept this as his end.
His blood boiled, and he prepared to use Triumphant Brawl—
Suddenly, a gray figure flickered by, and it slammed into the nine-headed bird.
The bird was knocked aside, and its opportunity to curse Sovereign Dou Sheng was ruined.
Such an unexpected development drew everyone’s attention.
“Seven-Star Mantis?”
“Seven-Star Mantis?”
“Seven-Star Mantis?”
The Purple Emperor and everyone else present was shocked. “Aren’t you dead?”
“No!” The creature of pure energy spoke for the first time, its voice reminiscent of ripples fluctuating across a lake. “That is nothing but energy.”
Everyone continued to stare at the Seven-Star Mantis, and they quickly realized that it looked different from what they remembered. This creature looked like a gray copy of the original.
The nine-headed bird was absolutely furious. “Seven-Star Mantis, no matter who you might be, stopping me from cursing Dou Sheng deserves death!”
As the bird spoke, one of its heads stared at the Seven-Star Mantis, while another three resumed focusing on Sovereign Dou Sheng. The bird refused to abandon this opportunity to curse the Sovereign.
Sovereign Dou Sheng sneered. “So this is your ultimate plan, to use three losers.”
As he spoke, his cudgel rose high and then slammed back down.
The Purple Emperor instantly dodged, but this attack was not aimed at him, but rather at the creature of pure energy.
Only by eliminating that creature would Sovereign Dou Sheng be able to unleash his full strength. As long as the odd lifeform was around, the Sovereign would be locked in a desperate fight against the Purple Emperor.
The creature of pure energy simply vanished, even as the clear light spread out once more. This time, it enveloped the Seven-Star Mantis, which was instantly dispersed.
Far away, Lu Yin was shocked to see his champion vanish. His summon had been erased.
The creature of pure energy’s Absolute Energy Domain was merciless.
Lu Yin knew of the being of pure energy from the nine-headed bird’s memories, but he had not been able to learn much about the creature due to how brief the Possession had been.
He had wanted to take control of the nine-headed bird during its attack on Sovereign Dou Sheng, but because he had no idea how long the bird might wait for, Lu Yin had ended the Possession. There were battles that could last days, and also battles that could last years. But Lu Yin could not afford to delay at all, as even a few short hours might be enough to change the balance of the battle.
Possessing the nine-headed bird again would not be easy at all. It was a sequence powerhouse, and a powerful one at that. It was not just a matter of the resources needed to carry out such a Possession, but also something more. When Lu Yin had just been a Hunter, he had once Possessed an Envoy, but the difference in strength had forced Lu Yin to end the Possession early. If he had been forced to end the Possession before the nine-headed bird attacked, Lu Yin would be left with no choice but to watch as Sovereign Dou Sheng was surrounded and killed.
Even if Lu Yin had tried to attack the Purple Emperor or the being of pure energy while Possessing the nine-headed bird, there was no guarantee of success. With Sovereign Dou Sheng’s life hanging by a thread, Lu Yin had no room for any sort of carelessness.
As a precaution, Lu Yin had quickly ended the Possession and made his way to the Endless Battlefield to support Sovereign Dou Sheng.
There was no need to think any further about the matter.
The Seven-Star Mantis had been erased, and the creature of pure energy dodged Sovereign Dou Sheng’s attack. The Purple Emperor’s white eye was once again staring at Sovereign Dou Sheng again.
The Sovereign’s body suddenly froze in place again. Even if he did not make eye contact with the Purple Emperor, the outsider powerhouse would still be able to control his movements. This secret was the Purple Emperor’s trump card.
The nine-headed bird took this opportunity to once again try to curse Sovereign Dou Sheng.
The man clenched his fists, and his golden blood that had evaporated created a maelstrom that swept over the ground and across the sky and ground. He swung his cudgel, thundering, “You underestimate me!”
The golden cudgel smashed into both the Purple Emperor and the creature of pure energy, sending them flying away. For the first time in the battle, the creature of pure energy suffered injuries, and they were not light.
The Purple Emperor coughed up blood. Their opponent was an absolute monster.
Despite all three of them cooperating, they were still being swept aside.
The nine-headed bird was not attacked, as it was in the sky. After Sovereign Dou Sheng attacked with his cudgel, he fell to one knee. He had been bleeding profusely for a long time, and he was no longer able to hold on.
The nine-headed bird seized its opening and once again tried to curse the man.
Lu Yin took action, using Inverse Step to move at the speed of time. He threw a fist, confining a hundred punches into a single attack.
However, Lu Yin found that he could not deliver his punch. The bird had grown extremely wary ever since the Seven-Star Mantis had appeared, as it meant that there were other enemies lurking about. While three of the bird’s heads focused on Sovereign Dou Sheng, the other six were scanning in every direction. Anyone who attacked would become a target, and the bird would try to curse them.
The bird saw Lu Yin and looked at him, and he did not land his punch. Suddenly, his body appeared a short distance away from the nine-headed bird.