Poisonous gas and destructive energy fiercely intertwined and annihilated each other, the resulting shockwave plowing the surrounding ruins flat yet again.
Poison Undying's body shuddered violently, and he staggered back a step.
Xu Tianran, however, retreated several steps, his throat tasting sweet. He barely managed to swallow back a mouthful of blood, his face flushing with an unhealthy crimson hue.
Even with Hazy Mirage's blessing, which dramatically increased his strength, he still revealed a slight gap when facing this furious strike from Poison Undying, whose Body Martial Soul had broken through to rank ninety-nine.
"Poison Undying, you seek death."
Killing intent boiled in Xu Tianran's eyes, mixing with shame and anger.
"This old man has lived long enough. If I can drag a scourge like you down to hell with me today, it's a huge profit."
Poison Undying laughed wildly, suppressing the churning blood within his body, and charged forward again, his offensive growing even more frantic.
Karna naturally wouldn't miss this perfect opportunity. The flame light of his Undying Spear surged, making it look like he was holding a small sun. His attacks became even more relentless and swift, fiercely entangling Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui, who were attempting to assist Xu Tianran, making it impossible for them to break free.
Just as Poison Undying lunged toward Xu Tianran, a calm voice quietly sounded.
"Sect Master Poison, have you... forgotten this old opponent?"
Accompanying the voice, a crystal clear wall, flowing with countless precise soul tool runes, silently appeared between Xu Tianran and Poison Undying.
Poison Undying's savage, poisonous palm, capable of smashing mountains and corroding everything, slammed heavily onto the crystal barrier. It only stirred up circles of violent ripples before being firmly blocked, without a single trace of poison able to seep through.
The next moment, Kong Deming, his expression as calm as a deep pool, stepped out from the void, holding an exquisite, dome-shaped soul tool that emitted a gentle silver glow.
The silver light seemed soft but radiated an unsettling, vast soul power fluctuation.
"Elder Kong."
A smile instantly appeared on Xu Tianran's face upon seeing the newcomer.
Poison Undying's sudden outburst had indeed bypassed Kong Deming's obstruction, but Xu Tianran did not believe Kong Deming did it intentionally.
Kong Deming's timely intervention now, blocking Poison Undying, proved this point.
He and Kong Deming had indeed experienced some unpleasantness before, but it did not prevent him from continuing to use Kong Deming as a sharp blade.
He knew this Grand Enshrinement of the Imperial Family too well. In Kong Deming's heart, there were only the interests of the Sun Moon Empire and the safety of the Imperial Family; besides that, there was only his pursuit of soul tools.
And he, Xu Tianran, was currently the future of the Sun Moon Empire. As long as he lived, the Empire still had the hope of unifying the continent. The destruction of Ming Dou City was merely a temporary setback; the Empire's foundation remained unshaken.
Kong Deming gave Xu Tianran a subtle nod, then turned his gaze toward the gloomy-faced Poison Undying.
"Sect Master Poison, since you have broken through the limit, why be so hasty and engage in such a moth-to-a-flame act? Why don't you let this old man accompany you to finish this unfinished match?"
Having said that, the silver, dome-shaped soul tool in his hand—the Silver Moon Divine Light Cover—shot up into the sky.
Countless incredibly complex and precise soul tool arrays instantly unfolded. The silver light flared, like an inverted bowl, instantly forming a gigantic silver domain that immediately enveloped the raging and roaring Poison Undying.
A Rank 10 Soul Tool—the Silver Moon Divine Light Cover.
It was precisely with this crystallization of the Sun Moon Empire's highest soul tool technology that Kong Deming was able to forcefully block, and even suppress, the newly-breakthrough, momentum-filled Poison Undying with a non-Limit Douluo body.
One must know that Poison Undying, possessing the Gold-tier awakening of the Body Martial Soul, was by no means comparable to an ordinary Douluo who had just entered rank ninety-nine. His strength was enough to contend with veteran powerhouses like Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui.
The battlefield was forcibly segmented once more.
Kong Deming, relying on the Silver Moon Divine Light Cover, once again dragged the biggest variable, Poison Undying, into a separate domain battle.
In the main battlefield, Xu Tianran gained a moment to breathe and rejoined Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui.
Facing the trio were He Caitou, whose soul power was exhausted and was only sustained by a surge of hatred, and Karna, the Son of the Sun God, who possessed an invincible presence but was unable to use his full power because he had to divert his attention to protect his Master.
Even though He Caitou kept shouting for Karna to ignore him and focus all his efforts on killing Xu Tianran, how could Karna, with his noble personality as the Hero of Charity, watch his contract Master walk toward death right before his eyes without acting?
This consideration was like an invisible shackle, restraining the sun's light.
The battle seemed to fall back into a suffocating mix of anxiety and despair.
In He Caitou's eyes, the flame of revenge was still burning, but it was also uncontrollably tainted with a hint of powerlessness and desolation.
Above the ruins of the Ming Dou Imperial Palace, the battle was tragic to the extreme.
He Caitou felt the last trace of soul power draining away from his body. Looking at Karna, who was still magnificent even when facing two opponents but couldn't unleash his full potential because he had to constantly protect him, an impulse surged in his heart.
Revenge!
His sole reason for living was revenge.
If his existence became a shackle for the Hero, leading to the failure of their revenge, what was the meaning of his lingering existence until now?
"Karna!"
He Caitou suddenly used the last of his strength to roar out. His voice was broken but carried a chilling calm.
"My Servant, please forgive my willfulness... and please, forgive my incompetence."
Karna seemed to sense something. His molten-gold eyes trembled slightly, as if he wanted to speak.
But He Caitou didn't give him the chance.
He took a deep, final look at his mortal enemy, Xu Tianran, his eyes filled with regret and unwillingness—regret that he couldn't personally witness his death, and the unwillingness to see the blood feud of his family unresolved by his own hands.
But the next moment, all these emotions transformed into a final entrustment and belief.
"Karna!"
He Caitou raised the bright red Command Spell on the back of his hand; its light was brighter than ever before.
"My hatred, my obsession, my everything... I entrust to you. Please... sever this karmic tie for me."
This was not an order, but a final prayer and entrustment.
The instant the words fell, He Caitou abruptly rushed out of the range of Karna's protective power, charging straight toward Xu Tianran, toward the domain of death jointly set up by Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui.
He spread his arms; there was no fear in his eyes, only relief and final anticipation.
"Seeking death!"
Xu Tianran snorted coldly. A bolt of purple lightning flashed over, and Ye Xishui's Blood Sea simultaneously engulfed the figure.
Only Long Xiaoyao sighed and shook his head slightly.
There was no miracle.
He Caitou, whose soul power was exhausted and who was utterly defenseless, had his body instantly torn apart and swallowed like a broken doll... Only his eyes, even in death, were fixed fiercely on Xu Tianran.
He Caitou, dead!
"...."
Karna's movements froze for a moment.
Something seemed to shatter on his usually calm face.
For the first time, his molten-gold pupils clearly reflected intense emotional fluctuation—it was the pain of failing to fulfill his duty to protect, and a heavy, mountain-like hatred that had been entrusted to him.
He slowly, extremely slowly, lifted his head, his gaze sweeping past Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui, firmly locking onto the slightly changed expression of Xu Tianran.
"Master."
A low voice rang out, flat and emotionless, yet chilling.
"Your resentment, your wish, I, Karna... have truly and surely received."
The next moment, the sun descended!
"O' Brahma, Curse My Body!"
Karna did not hesitate and directly activated his Noble Phantasm.
The Divine Spear swept out. The massive light pressure transformed into a torrent of destructive flame, instantly engulfing everything in front of it.
Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui's expressions drastically changed. They resisted with all their might. The black shadow and the Blood Sea let out wails under the sun's scorching flames, fiercely evaporating and dissipating.
The two were violently blasted away, their bodies scorched black, their auras instantly diminished by more than half.
But this was only the beginning.
"O' Brahma, Cover the Earth!"
Karna's eyes blazed with light even brighter than the sun. A stronger light cannon continuously erupted, delivering indiscriminate saturation bombardment.
The entire ruins of the Imperial Palace and even a wider area severely trembled and melted under this strike; this was a power capable of overturning a city.
Long Xiaoyao and Ye Xishui desperately constructed a defense with their last remaining strength, but under such powerful continuous Noble Phantasm attacks, their defense was ripped apart layer by layer like paper.
Finally, the destructive light completely engulfed them.
As the light dissipated, the two lay at the bottom of a massive deep pit, their bodies severely damaged, their life force flickering like a candle in the wind, already on the brink of death.
Blood constantly spilled from the corner of Long Xiaoyao's mouth. He struggled to turn his head to look at Ye Xishui, who was equally dying nearby.
The eyes that always contained complex emotions were now only filled with weariness and a hint of relief.
"Xishui... cough... In the end... we still..."
Long Xiaoyao's voice was weak and intermittent.
A faint, complicated smile appeared on Ye Xishui's pale face.
"Heh... Xiaoyao... We... were both wrong... and... too stubborn..."
Blood stained her words.
"If there is an afterlife..."
"If there is an afterlife... never again..."
Long Xiaoyao struggled to raise his hand, but ultimately let it fall powerlessly.
The two Limit Douluo, entangled for a lifetime, finally let go of all their grievances, love, and hate in this last moment of life. Their eyes held only the image of the other as they slowly closed them.
Karna's gaze did not waver; it was still locked onto Xu Tianran, who was in a sorry state in the aftershock of the Noble Phantasm, barely surviving by relying on the power of the Purple Heaven Destroying Dragon and Hazy Mirage's blessing.
He could feel his Master's final obsession urging him on.
He raised the Divine Spear. All the light began to contract inward, condensing to a single point at the spear tip.
That single point of light seemed to contain the mysteries of the universe's creation and ending, making Xu Tianran feel an unprecedented fear of death.
"O' Sun, Obey Death!"
Karna unleashed the true, God-Slaying Spear, throwing the ultimate power of the Anti-Divine Noble Phantasm at Xu Tianran without reservation.
Xu Tianran let out a desperate roar, condensing all his destructive energy in front of him, attempting a final struggle.
In the distance, Kong Deming, who was firmly trapping Poison Undying with the Silver Moon Divine Light Cover, had his expression suddenly change drastically.
Although he was inside the domain, how could the world-shattering energy fluctuations and the rapidly changing situation outside escape his perception?
The change happened too fast.
From He Caitou's resolute sacrifice to the simultaneous demise of the two Limit Douluo, Ye Xishui and Long Xiaoyao, in the light of Karna's released Noble Phantasm, everything happened in a flash, suffocatingly fast.
"Not good!"
Kong Deming cried out in alarm, a tempest rising in his heart.
He never expected that the power of the Son of the Sun God, now free from all restraints and refined to the absolute peak by burning his own existence, would be so incredibly formidable, completely exceeding everyone's expectations.
That was a might that human power simply could not resist.
The intense sense of danger made him instantly make a decision—he must return to assist.
Even though he knew he was absolutely no match for Karna in his current state, he had to try to save Xu Tianran; the future of the Sun Moon Empire could not be severed here.
He fiercely tried to retract the Silver Moon Divine Light Cover, rushing toward the main battlefield direction regardless of the consequences.
However, just as his mind surged and a slight fluctuation appeared in his domain power—
"Roar!!"
A deafening roar suddenly exploded from within the domain.
The massive, ink-green figure, which had been firmly suppressed, actually smashed through the silver light's restraint with an incomparably savage posture, like an erupting poisonous volcano, and steadily blocked Kong Deming's path.
It was Poison Undying.
Although traces of the wounds from smashing through the domain earlier still remained on his body, his large, bronze-bell-like eyes were burning with excitement and wild joy, completely devoid of the previous impatience and frustration.
He grinned widely, his voice shaking the earth:
"Hahaha, old fellow, weren't you having fun blocking me just now? Now the tables have turned, and it's time for this old man to block you. Want to leave? Dream on."
This sudden reversal made Poison Undying ecstatic.
Just moments ago, he had thought the plan to assassinate Xu Tianran had failed and was even plotting how to retreat with the least cost.
But who would have thought that a new path would open up?
That Shrek Academy boy named He Caitou had exchanged his life in such a decisive manner for the unrestrained, complete outburst of the Sun Servant.
That divine yet destructive aura sweeping across the world, that terrifying might that instantly annihilated two Limit Douluo.
Poison Undying could clearly feel that even if it wasn't quite on par with the Sky Void he had personally experienced, it was certainly not far behind.
This power was definitely enough to blast the evildoer Xu Tianran into fine dust.
His goal was about to be achieved.
And most importantly, achieving this goal seemingly didn't require him to risk his old life in a desperate fight.
This development was simply the best possible outcome for him.
"Shrek Academy little one, well done, truly magnificent."
Poison Undying was overjoyed and even loudly praised the now-deceased He Caitou.
"Since you risked your life for revenge, then this old man will lend you a hand today and block this biggest variable for you."
His colossal body stood like an insurmountable chasm, firmly blocking Kong Deming between himself and the main battlefield. The towering poisonous gas mixed with savage blood energy formed a domain, completely sealing off all possible breakthrough routes for Kong Deming.
Facing a fully committed Limit Douluo, Kong Deming could forget about returning to assist anytime soon.