"What is it?" Tiya looked at the tightly furrowed brow of Lian Guang and smiled lightly. "Weren't you attacking quite fiercely just now? Why stop now?"

Lian Guang's face was grim as he looked at her coldly. "No wonder. As expected of a Four-Emblem Envoy. No wonder that kid kept advising me not to seek you out. It seems you truly are a little monster, just as the rumors say."

"That kid? You mean the Nine-Emblem Envoy?" Tiya glanced casually toward Di Zao Chuan perched on a distant branch, her smile deepening slightly. "That kid is truly a bit foolish, still waiting there and not even trying to flee. Doesn't he know that no matter who dies today between us, he's unlikely to survive? If news of Envoys slaughtering each other leaked out, the taste wouldn't be pleasant..."

Lian Guang looked at her indifferently. "Perhaps you should worry about keeping your own life intact first." He lifted a palm and retracted the Great Earth Divine Sword.

Tiya couldn't help but laugh. "So you think you have a chance to hurt me? By the way, last time I met the Two-Emblem Envoy, Misu, even during a normal spar, he couldn't manage to injure me while protected by the [Earth Aegis]. He's a monster, you know, his mastery of spiritual power is ranked first among the ten Envoys. Of course, that's assuming you exclude the current First Envoy—that monster you might meet later, you best not cross him. Stay far away, or else... oh, right, you won't have a 'later'."

"Is that so?" Lian Guang looked at her coldly. "If that's the case, how did you sustain the injuries you had earlier?"

Tiya's brow furrowed slightly. She lowered her head for a long moment before finally sighing softly and saying gloomily, "I carelessly provoked a monster just now. The Tear of the Water God I had obtained was even stolen. However, just managing to keep my life intact against such a monster is a good outcome. My [Earth Aegis] was useless against that creature; at best, it could barely suppress the time reversal and acceleration it controlled, which counts as indirect auxiliary offense."

"From the Time Realm?" Lian Guang's pupils constricted.

He knew exactly what kind of monsters those from the Time Realm were. Just those two simple abilities—time reversal and acceleration—were enough to cause countless powerful experts to fall.

Think about it: during a high-level clash, if one's attack lands, but the opponent reverses time to before the attack connected, gaining knowledge of the attack trajectory to evade, or suddenly accelerates their own time, moving ten steps for every one the enemy takes—in such a scenario, the battle is virtually over before it begins.

"You survived thanks to that shield, didn't you? Otherwise, there wouldn't even be ashes left," Lian Guang stated coldly.

Tiya smiled lightly and shook her head. "Not quite. Surviving was pure luck... Oh!" She suddenly thought of something and repeatedly shook her head. "I almost forgot, I'm in a hurry. I don't have time to keep you company. Now... I'm going to attack." As soon as she finished speaking, her eyes narrowed, flashing with a sharp, cold glint, and her body suddenly shot forward, appearing right in front of Lian Guang. Her palm lightly tapped his chest, causing his entire torso to violently tremble, spitting out a mouthful of blood as he flew backward.

Tiya floated gracefully upward, grasping the Great Earth Divine Sword hanging in mid-air. She looked at the treasure, observing the blade shining as brightly as autumn water, emitting a piercing cold light, and couldn't help but smile. "Quite a fine sword..." Before she could finish speaking, the Great Earth Divine Sword abruptly twisted, stabbing toward her cheek.

At such close range, there was absolutely no room to dodge. Her pupils contracted slightly. The [Earth Aegis], which always stayed near her, suddenly materialized before the Great Earth Divine Sword with light-like speed, blocking the blade. When the two met, a crisp metallic clang echoed, and the Great Earth Divine Sword was jarred back, falling into Lian Guang's hand.

"Next time, don't casually take other people's things," Lian Guang said coldly. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, clenched his hand, and the Great Earth Divine Sword vanished into his palm. He stretched his limbs, looked at the gracefully descending Tiya, and chuckled, "You mentioned earlier that you grew up listening to my stories?"

Tiya's cheeks were veiled with a frost-like cold light, chillingly severe. "Yes. What, are you trying to regain some confidence?"

Lian Guang slowly shook his head and said, "I never needed words to find my confidence. Since you've heard my story, you must know who sealed me back then, correct?"

Tiya's brows slowly furrowed. "Everyone in this Heart Realm knows that. You fought the Purple Emperor back then and were severely wounded and near death, then sealed by a maid named Cang Xue who served the Lord of Earth."

"Precisely." Lian Guang smiled slightly. "Otherwise, with Cang Xue's strength, trapping me would be a pipe dream. A mere [Ancient God-Sealing Crystal] is like glass shards before me, shattering with a tap. What truly left me too weak to retaliate was the Purple Emperor!"

"That Purple Emperor is the foremost disciple under the Thunder God, possessing terrifying power. After several major battles, he was heavily wounded. I intended to take advantage, but even in his injured state, he managed to severely wound and seal me. However, sealing me didn't leave him unscathed either. You should know what the Purple Emperor excels at, right?"

"Naturally," Tiya's expression grew even colder. "The Purple Emperor has two great artifacts. The first is the Purple God Armor, whose power is comparable to my [Earth Aegis], but his [Purple God Armor] is both offensive and defensive. As for the other treasure, it is the [Heavenly Eye Needle]. Legend says this artifact was personally forged for him by the Thunder God using his primordial lightning. It can pierce the eye of 'Heaven,' hence its name, the [Heavenly Eye Needle]."

"Incorrect..." Lian Guang's smile deepened. "Then, in your opinion, whose eye is sturdier—yours, or the eye of 'Heaven'?" He raised his hand, and a needle materialized in his palm like a water ripple. The white needle appeared to lack substance, merely being a beam of intensely white light held between his nail.

"What!" Tiya's face changed, turning deathly pale without a trace of blood. Her lips trembled in horror. "You, how do you possess this thing?!"

"This must be compensation for my countless years of imprisonment," Lian Guang's smile was fiercely heroic. "Do you know why the Purple Emperor didn't kill me but only sealed me? Because he could only severely wound me but dared not kill me. During the battle, I used my intrinsic Dragon Scale Shield to resist that [Heavenly Eye Needle]. The Dragon Scale Shield was naturally damaged, but I managed to seize the [Heavenly Eye Needle] in the process. I was already extremely weak then; with my strength, I couldn't launch a single strike unless I risked self-detonation, using ten times the power released from self-destruction to fire just one needle!"

"Just one needle would have been enough for me to pierce his [Purple God Armor]. Without the [Purple God Armor], his injured state would have been even more perilous, and if I struck true, I might have killed him outright. That's why he didn't dare risk forcing me and ultimately had to seal me."

He looked at Tiya with a smile. "You should also know that the [Heavenly Eye Needle] is neither a physical attack nor an indirect attack weapon, but a spiritual weapon, right?"

Tiya’s face was bloodless and deathly pale. She abruptly turned and dashed toward the barrier outside.

"Too late." Like the sentence of a final judgment, a detached voice sounded as a streak of white light tore through heaven and earth, almost piercing the world, striking the back of Tiya's head with perfect accuracy. It passed through, circled once, and returned to Lian Guang's hand.

Lian Guang toyed with it in his hand, shaking his head with feigned regret. "Ignorance is truly a sin..."

Tiya's body froze mid-air, then swiftly slumped down. That single needle had pierced her soul directly; she was beyond dead.

Lian Guang chuckled and walked over, picking up the [Earth Aegis] that had fallen near her. He stroked it lightly, muttering with relish, "Truly good. With this shield and the Great Earth Sword working in concert, plus the [Heavenly Eye Needle], I'm starting to look forward to meeting that First Envoy you mentioned. I wonder what treasures he carries..."

He squatted down, turning Tiya's body over. Looking at her exquisite face, he sighed and shook his head. "What a pity, so beautiful..."

His words cut off as his eyes widened in disbelief, staring at his own throat. There, where the seemingly dead Tiya lay, a pale and slender hand suddenly grabbed him. A torrent of soul power erupted, lifting her flying hair high. A venomous and cunning smile spread across her ashen face. "Why are you looking at me with such shock? I'll get embarrassed..."

"Gah, Ga..." Lian Guang’s throat convulsed, but he couldn't utter a sound. He spoke directly with divine power. "You, you clearly died! How? How could you be resurrected?!"

"I did die, truly. And I died once before this," Tiya's eyes gradually turned cold. "You should have realized it long ago. That monster from the Time Realm I encountered earlier—if he had the ability to injure me, it means he had the means to deal with the [Earth Aegis]. Someone with such capability would also have the power to kill me!"

Lian Guang's expression was one of agony mixed with fury. "I don't believe it! You died, how could you revive?!"

"Have you ever heard of something called the [Fountain of Earth]?"

"What!" Lian Guang's pupils snapped wide open. "You, you mean you actually obtained that monstrous place... How? How is that possible? The [Fountain of Earth] is ranked third among the seven great treasures created by the Supreme Lord, and it is the only living weapon among the seven! How could you obtain it... No wonder, no wonder you can be resurrected! With the [Fountain of Earth] as your backup, you could die ten thousand times and still live again and..."