On the eastern battlefield, in the divine race's camp.
Xia Kuduo's figure was more ethereal than when he met Cheng Xilin in the boundary between the two domains, his entire being seemed enveloped by hazy lines. He quietly approached the divine race's camp and ascended the stone tower where the Divine Lord Yishu resided.
Divine Lord Yishu had been waiting there. A small stone railing separated the two, yet it felt like a vast distance between them.
Xia Kuduo looked at Divine Lord Yishu. She was the only non-human he cared about. In his eyes, Divine Lord Yishu was already his companion, a member of the Imperial Spirit Divine Race.
"How long have you been waiting?" Xia Kuduo murmured softly.
"Compared to the hundreds of thousands of years past, this wait is not long," Divine Lord Yishu replied, her gaze fixed on Xia Kuduo's eyes. She looked at him with such cool detachment.
Indeed, compared to the hundreds of thousands of years of waiting, a mere half-day was hardly a long time.
Xia Kuduo felt a pang of shame. Every race had its own hardships, and his were unspeakable. He let out a soft sigh, lowered his head slightly, and whispered, "I have to leave."
Divine Lord Yishu looked at the man before her, her tone unsoftened. She coldly asked, "How long will you be gone?"
Xia Kuduo shook his head. "I don't know. It will likely... be a long time."
Divine Lord Yishu nodded. "I understand."
Xia Kuduo grinned, extended his hand, then retracted it, never crossing the low white stone railing. He looked intently at Divine Lord Yishu's face, as if to imprint her image deeply in his mind. He had looked at her for hundreds of thousands of years and could never see enough.
Xia Kuduo turned and left.
"I will wait for you," Divine Lord Yishu's voice echoed behind Xia Kuduo.
Xia Kuduo turned back abruptly.
Divine Lord Yishu stood within the white stone railing, elegant and solitary. She said no more, her eyes locked onto Xia Kuduo's. Her plain white skirt fluttered gently, like a small white flower about to be carried away by the wind. Yet, in reality, she was rooted there, never having moved.
Just as she had stood there for hundreds of thousands of years, waiting for Xia Kuduo to step forward and cross that low railing.
Xia Kuduo pursed his lips into a smile. When he was beside her, the distance felt immense. Now that he was leaving her, the distance seemed to have shortened considerably.
"Leaving."
Xia Kuduo moved his lips, but no sound came out. He merely formed the word with his mouth.
Then,
He took a step and walked into the void before him. Like a raindrop falling into a still lake, ripples spread outwards. With the passage of time, the ripples caused by this single drop would eventually subside.
On the battlefield,
On the now-calm battlefield, the residual divine might and shattered void still testified that the fierce battle that had just occurred was no dream but a reality. The broken space gradually healed, and the traces of the great war slowly disappeared.
A storm carrying chaotic divine power began to sweep across the entire battlefield.
This place would become a zone forbidden to all life, including gods. Three Desolation Lords appeared behind the Desolation army, their cold gazes fixed on He Li, ready to give the order to resume the slaughter at any moment.
He Li was still gazing at the spot where Xia Kuduo and the Barbarian Ancient True God had fought. His eyes were filled with sorrow, and his trembling lips betrayed that his inner state was far from calm. Having begun to grasp the laws of time, he could keenly feel that Xia Kuduo was no longer in reality, but a unique drop of water had appeared in the illusory river of time.
He Li lowered his head and looked at the three Desolation Lords standing behind the Desolation army formation.
"Divine Lord He Li?" a blood-soaked Boundary God behind him softly called out to He Li. He was ready to fight again, his hand gripping a saber that still dripped blue blood.
All the divine race soldiers looked at He Li, awaiting his command. The five Demon Kings had already begun to exude immense demonic power, awaiting only He Li's order.
He Li glanced briefly at the divine race soldiers behind him, then at the three Desolation Lords. He did not hesitate; his mind was a blank slate.
Fight, or not fight?
Just then, a meteor streaked from the distant horizon, piercing the desolate void and crashing directly into the Desolation army formation. A massive divine power exploded, forcefully creating a breach in the Desolation army.
Xia Min'ao stood within the Desolation army formation, looked back at He Li, and grinned.
He Li nodded at Xia Min'ao, then drew his saber.
"Kill!"
He Li struck, charging towards the three Desolation Lords. He understood that his side was at a disadvantage, and with three Desolation Lords present, they would not let him leave.
The previous new king was born only to perish.
Another new king was on his way.
This battle was incredibly fierce. He Li was pierced in seven places, a single saber wound extending from his shoulder to his hip.
He Li glanced at the distant battlefield. The divine race army was gradually losing ground, and the three Desolation Lords before him were immensely powerful. A decisive victory could not be achieved in a short time. If this continued, the divine race army would be slowly worn down, and the five Demon Kings would fall.
The three Desolation Lords gave He Li no time to think, attacking him from three different directions.
He Li's mind stirred, and a golden cauldron appeared behind him. As the golden cauldron manifested, strands of star divine power descended from the heavens, transforming into numerous sharp swords that broke through the chaotic divine power storm and struck the battlefield.
Upon seeing this, one Desolation Lord flashed his figure onto the battlefield, raising his hands to the sky. The invisible desolate divine power intercepted all the descending star divine power.
"Heh..."
He Li smiled slightly. With one gone, dealing with the remaining two would be somewhat easier. He charged forward at high speed, a colossal phantom appearing behind him during his charge, finally revealing his true form as a ten-thousand-zhang divine statue.
He Li's divine statue true form, holding a saber in one hand and a cauldron in the other, directly slammed into the ten-thousand-zhang bone gate in the sky.
Rumble!!!
One of the Desolation Lord's bone gates was shattered by He Li's impact. He spat blood but dared not hesitate, for He Li had already closed in with his saber. He parried He Li's blade with his own bone saber.
After a moment of stalemate,
He Li twisted his body and forcefully pressed down the bone saber. With his left hand, he grabbed the Desolation Lord's head, his hand digging into the Desolation Lord's face.
In the next instant,
The space around them became ethereal, like a black hole. Though it was right before their eyes, it seemed as if they were separated by billions of light-years.
"You..." the other Desolation Lord exclaimed in shock, pushing forward with both palms. The entire space shifted, but it could not affect He Li.
A moment later,
He Li released the Desolation Lord he held in his hand. To the astonishment of the entire battlefield, that Desolation Lord turned to dust, his soul also annihilated.
He Li turned around with a cold expression, looking at one Desolation Lord, then at another who stood blocking the battlefield. One of the three was gone, yet he still could not win?
Just now, He Li had altered the flow of time within the Desolation Lord, accelerating it by tens of thousands of times until decay set in. At this moment, he finally understood that gods also had lifespans; they would age and die.
Everything was within time.
...