"Heh, hahahaha."
Ditian looked at the slender sword materializing in the young girl's hand, identical to the blades lining the walls of the tower, and burst into laughter.
"An auxiliary-type Soul Master dares to fight me? Who gave you the courage?"
Even disregarding his former power as a first-level deity, he was now at the Quasi-God level.
If it were Qian Daoliu or Tang Chen standing before him, he might have acknowledged them, but...
Ditian snorted coldly. "Even if all the miscellaneous elders of your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda joined forces, they wouldn't last a single move against me. And you? Just you?"
"Little girl, do you think my 810,000 years of cultivation and millions of years of experience amount to nothing?"
"Even if this is your domain, what makes you think you can defeat me?"
"I am the Golden-Eyed Black..."
Before Ditian could finish, his soul instinctively sensed danger, and he swiftly retreated.
"Shick—"
The scent of fresh blood filled the air.
Ditian looked down to see a gruesome wound on his shoulder, blood seeping through his clothes.
Had he been even a fraction slower, his entire shoulder might have been severed.
"What just happened?" Ditian's eyes narrowed.
His body wasn't as durable here as it was outside—it seemed to be a soul form. But could a soul bleed?
"Ditian, don't speak so arrogantly. You might break your teeth," Ning Rongrong said softly, shaking the blood off her sword with a calm expression.
"Good, good. You've truly angered me now." Ditian suppressed his injury with soul power, summoning the Black Dragon Sword in his right hand.
Dark energy enveloped the blade, and the sword transformed into a massive phantom.
"Space Connection—Spatial Lock."
The surrounding space rapidly solidified.
Ning Rongrong's eyes flickered.
As expected, Ditian also possessed spatial-type abilities, though he wasn't proficient—it seemed to rely on his sword.
She raised her right hand, completely unaffected by the spatial confinement.
Extreme cold and scorching heat—blue-white and dark-red energies—quickly condensed around her hand, forming a long sword engraved with strange patterns.
"Extreme Ice and Extreme Fire?" Ditian's expression shifted as he saw the sword in Ning Rongrong's hand, his brow furrowing.
"Hmph, I'll shatter it with one strike." Wrapped in the purest dark soul power, the Black Dragon Sword morphed into a pitch-black dragon.
With its wings spread, it dove downward, staining all the decorative swords on the surrounding walls inky black as it passed.
"Die!"
"Black Dragon Sword—Slash!"
"Clang—"
Before Ditian could rejoice, the dragon halted mid-air, as if blocked by something.
The energy from the sword, now in dragon form, radiated outward, crashing against the sword formation surrounding the Seven Treasure Glazed Pagoda, producing a cacophony of metallic clangs.
"You actually blocked it?!" Ditian's eyes widened in shock.
"With only the pressure of a Soul Sage... How?"
His Black Dragon Sword was locked in a stalemate against the ice-and-fire-wreathed blade. The two energies clashed evenly, leaving Ditian stunned.
"Well, who knows?"
Ning Rongrong whispered softly,
"Traceless."
Ditian's pupils contracted. Centuries of battle instincts screamed at him.
Dark soul power erupted from his body like a shockwave, flooding the pagoda's space with an oppressive aura.
With a vicious grab, his draconic claws seized the sword striking from behind.
"Hmph!" His golden eyes gleamed coldly. "Die!"
The Black Dragon Sword vanished as his other hand shot forward.
Terrifying energy, capable of tearing through the pagoda's barriers, concentrated in his right hand.
The sheer force made the pagoda's space tremble precariously.
"Dragon God's Claw!"
A skill inherited from the Dragon God himself—Ditian's ultimate trump card.
Even against a divine servant, this strike could cripple or kill.
Of course, that was under ideal circumstances. Any divine servant would have their own hidden cards.
"Impressive. So this is a divine skill? The gap between it and ordinary soul skills is indeed vast."
Ning Rongrong watched the colossal draconic claw descending upon her, utterly unperturbed.
"The timing is about right."
Just as the Dragon God's Claw was about to shred her to pieces, her body dissolved into motes of light.
"What?!" Ditian's brow furrowed.
"Ditian, from the moment you stepped into this pagoda, you never stood a chance."
The sword formation encircling the pagoda emitted a crisp chorus of humming blades.
"This... this is?" Seeing the once-background swords now radiating murderous intent, Ditian finally realized—he'd walked into a death trap.
"Damn it, I can't just wait for death." Even if he didn't know whether dying or getting injured here would affect his real body, this had to be her final move.
Endure it, then find a way to break the pagoda's restrictions. Every skill had a weakness.
Ditian dismissed the Black Dragon Sword, his arms transforming into draconic claws as he let out a deafening roar.
"Human, let's see what you've got!" Ditian unleashed his full power. Pure darkness shrouded his form, his Quasi-God pressure making the pagoda's space quake.
"Let's destroy this tower along with you!"
"Ultimate Art—Black Dragon's Apocalypse!"
Unlike the inherited Dragon God's Claw, which he couldn't wield at full strength, this was Ditian's most powerful soul beast skill in his current state.
Offense and defense combined, it annihilated everything in its path.
"It's useless. You were checkmated long ago."
A voice from nowhere sent a chill down Ditian's spine.
Suddenly, his body convulsed violently. "Gah—!"
"No... impossible!"
Blood sprayed from his mouth as his gathered energy dissipated. His face paled.
"Checkmate~" Ning Rongrong flicked her wrist, summoning a plain, unadorned sword identical to those in the formation.
"You... when did you...?"
"When?" Ning Rongrong smiled. "From the very beginning, of course."
"Ditian, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda isn't as weak as you think."
"Time to end this."
The sword in her hand vanished as the countless blades encircling the pagoda hummed louder.
"Sword Skill—Myriad Swords Return to Origin!"
Ten thousand swords locked onto Ditian simultaneously.
In an instant, they rained down.
Countless blades pierced through Ditian's body, reducing him to a mist of blood.
...
"Ditian, what are you thinking about?" Bi Ji patted his shoulder.
"Nothing." Ditian shook his head, snapping out of his daze. "I underestimated her too much. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lost. I'll remember this—even a tiger must use its full strength to hunt a rabbit."
Bi Ji: "..."
"Let's go. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda is indeed a potential ally." Ditian glanced behind him. "That Bibi Dong from the Spirit Hall might have also noticed something unusual about them."
"But that's none of our concern."