The forces of Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, augmented by Lightning, surged forth, manifesting as the mountain-sized Heaven-Overturning Seal, which smashed down upon Tan with a fierce, whistling sound. Feeling the immense power emanating from the Seal, Tan’s face contorted in shock; how could someone whose strength barely reached the Desolate level possess such a formidable magic treasure?

Simultaneously horrified, Tan channeled every bit of dark power within his body and hurled a devastating punch at the Heaven-Overturning Seal. He had no time to evade; the only option was a direct confrontation. To withstand the Seal’s assault, he had momentarily ceased his siege against Dugu Ba-chen.

With a sharp "crack," Tan’s punch struck the Heaven-Overturning Seal. There was no explosion, only the distinct sound of bone snapping. His entire arm shattered, followed immediately by the surge of Earth, Water, Wind, Fire, and Lightning, which utterly annihilated the limb.

The massive impact slammed Tan downward, yet his full-force punch sent the Heaven-Overturning Seal flying back. Ye Jingyu, whose spirit was intrinsically linked to the Seal, instantly spewed a mouthful of fresh blood...

Tan erupted in fury. He was the third General under the Demon Lord of Greed, and his personal cultivation topped the limits of the Cosmic (Zhou) level. To be wounded this severely by a mere brat at the Desolate level was an unbearable disgrace.

Shame could only be washed away with blood—either his own, or that of his enemy.

Forgetting all caution regarding Dugu Ba-chen, he spun and lunged toward Ye Jingyu. The annihilated arm began to slowly regenerate. Furthermore, his body underwent a rapid transformation: three horns slowly sprouted from his wolf head, and a thick layer of armor grew across his skin—armor that was organically part of him. A massive saber materialized in his hand, a weapon gifted by the Lord of Greed, reaching the Cosmic (Zhou) grade.

For the Demon race, which suffered from a scarcity of potent weaponry, possessing a Cosmic-grade weapon was an unparalleled fortune.

"Die for me! Greed-Life Severance Cut!" Tan roared, bringing the great saber down in mid-air. An invisible blade of light shot forth, instantly arriving before Ye Jingyu. Ye Jingyu didn't even have time to summon the Eastern Emperor Bell before feeling as if a massive ravine had been carved into his Sea of Consciousness, his divine thoughts uncontrollably leaking out.

What kind of attack was this? Greed-Life Severance Cut? Could it shatter a person's divine thoughts? Ye Jingyu had no time to ponder such questions. The Eastern Emperor Bell emitted a soft cyan glow, stabilizing his ruptured Sea of Consciousness, followed by streams of potent energy pouring in to repair the vast fissure.

It was only thanks to the Eastern Emperor Bell, the paramount artifact of the Three Realms, that Tan’s strike hadn't pulverized his Sea of Consciousness. Otherwise, even if Ye Jingyu survived, he would have been rendered a cripple, perhaps even an imbecile...

The Sea of Consciousness—wasn't that the sea of one's awareness?

Even so, black blood streamed from all seven orifices of Ye Jingyu’s face, his expression contorted in agony. A fractured Sea of Consciousness meant loss of bodily control; his entire body plummeted straight down, crashing heavily onto the battlements. Nine Phoenix and Gongsun Xiangyi had already rushed over.

But upon seeing Ye Jingyu’s pained face and sensing the turmoil of his divine thoughts, even Gongsun Xiangyi was at a loss for what to do.

A cruel smirk touched the corner of Tan’s mouth. Greed-Life Severance Cut was his ultimate technique; even other Cosmic-level masters often couldn't withstand it, let alone a mere Desolate-level brat.

Just as Tan prepared to resume his assault on Dugu Ba-chen, Liang Xiaoke’s body hurtled toward him. His speed was extreme, creating countless afterimages in the air—each one so real it seemed truly present.

Seeing another soul determined to throw its life away rushing toward him, Tan sneered coldly. Were these people all fools? Possessing only Desolate-level cultivation, they dared to seek trouble with him.

Yes, this fellow's speed was indeed impressive, achieving the level of Ten Million Avatars. But all those phantoms were mere echoes; such speed could certainly confuse many, but did he truly believe such illusions could fool him?

Gazing at the thousands upon thousands of figures, Tan let out a cold laugh, discarding his great saber. Instead, he pointed a single finger forward...

With a sharp "thwack," Liang Xiaoke's heart was pierced directly through. His body was blasted away by tremendous force, the hole in his chest expanding rapidly. As he flew backward, his myriad afterimages gradually vanished.

Tan looked smugly at the figure he had sent flying, his eyes brimming with disdain. Having been struck by my Desire Heart Finger, did he imagine he could still live?

As for the dissolving afterimages, he paid them no mind. If the true body was injured, surely the phantoms couldn't inflict harm?

However, at that moment, two afterimages did not disappear when Liang Xiaoke was struck. They remained directly in front of Tan. These two afterimages held ancient, plain long swords, and the instant Tan struck Liang Xiaoke with his finger, the swords swung ruthlessly toward Tan.

Tan had assumed he had slain the original body, never imagining that two of the afterimages were actual clones. Caught off guard, he was stabbed through the body by the two slender blades...

Two streams of dark-gold blood sprayed out. Terror flashed in Tan’s eyes as he felt his power being continuously siphoned away by the ancient swords. Looking at the two solid figures, he let out a roar...

With a "whoosh," the enraged Tan instantly launched two palms, slamming them directly into the chests of Liang Xiaoke’s two clones, instantly blasting them away.

His strength was overwhelming; the two clones could not resist. Twin bursts of bloody mist erupted from their chests, and the dark-gold light rapidly consumed their forms.

Liang Xiaoke, whose heart wound was still spreading, immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and hastily recalled the two clones back into his body. The Haotian Pearl materialized above his head, channeling potent energy downward to counteract Tan’s dark power.

Liang Xiaoke’s body had evolved from the Flying Yaksha form to the Demonic Body of Heaven, an almost immortal state capable of instant recovery from any grievous wound. The spreading wound now was solely the effect of Tan’s dark power; once that dark power was expelled, he would naturally heal completely...

Liang Xiaoke’s inherent strength was inferior to Tan’s, and he relied on top-tier artifacts like the Haotian Pearl to autonomously project power and expel the dark energy.

Even so, with both his clones severely damaged and his true body heavily wounded, Liang Xiaoke had nearly exhausted all combat capability...

Ye Jingyu, and Ni Bo, were in the same state...