Chapter 768: The Great Sun Undying Body Appears

“I refuse.”

As Qian Tian’s authoritative voice rolled across the heavens, the roar of the battlefield froze in an instant.

Countless experts traded startled looks.

Lin Langtian, who had been poised to flee, also stopped short, his eyes flickering as he turned toward Qian Tian.

Huang Kurong’s gaze narrowed slightly.

He had not expected such an offer to be declined.

Shock spread through the Domain of Chaos ranks.

The Sect Master of the Heaven-Earth Sect had rejected the Earth Desolation Hall’s generous terms… for the sake of a seemingly unremarkable commander.

No matter the old enmity between the two powers, a single commander was hardly irreplaceable.

Only the Grand Elder’s clouded eyes sharpened, darting between Qian Tian and Huang Kurong with a thoughtful glint.

“Hehe. So Senior Brother Qian refuses to give me any face,” Huang Kurong said at last, his expression cooling. “Such a rich price, and you still wouldn’t trade a lowly commander?”

“Since the day it was founded, the Heaven-Earth Sect has never abandoned its own to save itself,” Qian Tian replied, his tone as steady as ever. “Not a general—and not even a pawn.

“If they are Heaven-Earth people, I will protect them.”

“Those are old words for a fading sect,” Huang Kurong sneered. “The Heaven-Earth Sect is not what it once was.

“You are no longer the undisputed overlord of the continent, yet you still cling to empty ideals.

“Do you not see that this will only drag your sect into irredeemable darkness?”

In this land where strength ruled and the weak were meat for the strong, ideals were worth little compared to profit.

From his perspective, giving up a single commander for such a price should have been a matter of course.

He could not believe Qian Tian would truly refuse.

“Rules are rules,” Qian Tian said calmly. “Even if our sect has fallen from its peak, if we break them lightly, then the hearts of our people will scatter.

“And as for you, Junior Brother Huang…” His golden eyes flicked up, carrying a trace of open disdain. “With your character, I would be a fool to trust your word.

“Why should I believe you would not ‘refrain’ from attacking us in the Continental Hunt—right up until the moment you strike the decisive blow?

“I have no desire to become a laughingstock because of a promise from your mouth.”

“So Senior Brother simply doesn’t trust my character,” Huang Kurong said, his gaze turning icy.

As a hall master in his own right, being openly called untrustworthy in front of the entire continent was no small insult.

Anger flared behind his calm facade.

“Hehe. It’s hard to forget what happened back then,” Qian Tian said coldly. “Your betrayal nearly gutted the Heaven-Earth Sect.”

“In that case,” Huang Kurong said, his voice dropping to a chill, “if you will not honor old ties and insist on slandering me instead—then I have no choice but to act.”

He took a single step forward.

The sky darkened.

His hand swept out, clamping toward Lin Langtian from afar.

Boom!

The air around Lin Langtian detonated.

Liquid-like spiritual power bled from the torn space, hardening into a prismatic prison that slammed shut around him.

The luminous bars gleamed like tempered steel, forged from spiritual power purified to its utmost limit.

Strength at this level was the mark of an Earth Sovereign.

Only they could refine heaven-and-earth energy into true substance in a breath.

Even Jiang Yinlan’s full-powered sword strike could not raise so much as a ripple in its surface.

Lin Langtian and Jiang Yinlan’s faces changed.

Their spiritual power surged as they struck together—but the attacks vanished against the prison without leaving a mark.

They were simply not yet qualified to stand against such force.

“If Junior Brother insists on fighting,” Qian Tian’s cold voice rang out, “then this seat will accompany you.”

He flicked a finger.

A thin ray of pure gold shot out, lancing into the prison.

Cracks spidered across its surface in an instant, and with a sharp report it shattered into fragments of fading light.

Lin Langtian caught Jiang Yinlan’s arm and pulled her back with him, retreating to the very front of the Heaven-Earth lines.

Only once his feet touched the ground did he let out a quiet breath.

“So this is the power of an Earth Sovereign…” he thought, heart pounding. “Truly terrifying.”

Huang Kurong’s expression had gone fully cold.

He raised both hands, and the world seemed to lurch.

Every strand of spiritual power in the area rushed toward him like a flood.

The raw energy was wild and uneven.

He opened his mouth and inhaled—and swallowed it all.

An instant later, he exhaled.

A jet of black spiritual river roared from his lips.

It had condensed to near-solid density, every droplet packed with countless grains of refined energy.

In the space of a single breath, he had taken the chaotic energy of the world and tempered it into pure killing force.

The black river twisted and surged, then straightened into a colossal blade a thousand meters long.

Ancient sigils crawled along its edge as a murderous aura shot skyward.

Wherever its intent passed, the void itself split open.

“It’s been many years since we last traded blows,” Huang Kurong said faintly. “Let’s see how much you’ve grown, Senior Brother.”

He pointed.

“Extinction Black Blade.”

Hum!

The blade ripped through space itself, appearing above Qian Tian in the blink of an eye and swinging down in a pitch-black arc.

It left a deep scar across the sky, carving a gash thousands of meters long into the air.

The sheer destructive power made onlookers’ scalps prickle.

On the golden throne, Qian Tian looked up.

He exhaled lightly, and a stream of golden qi shot from his mouth.

It flashed into a gleaming shield of pure gold, glowing with an aura of unbreakable endurance.

Boom!

The black blade slammed into the shield, but instead of cleaving it apart, it met equal resistance with a deafening roar.

The two forces held each other in place for a long breath.

Then Qian Tian flicked his finger again.

The golden shield screeched, twisting upon itself like a living thing before wrenching around the blade and crushing it into a burst of scattered light.

The exchange was eerily quiet, but the power behind it left all who saw it reeling.

Huang Kurong’s eyes darkened.

He strode forward—and in the blink of an eye appeared before Qian Tian, palms thrusting out.

The casual motion belied the way space itself trembled around his hands.

Qian Tian narrowed his eyes and stepped in to meet him, golden light flaring around his own palms.

Their strikes met.

There was no thunderclap, no explosion—only a heavy, suffocating silence.

Yet when everyone looked up, they saw that the space for ten thousand meters around them had turned into a massive, yawning black hole.

Everything within that sphere had been reduced to raw nothingness by the stray edges of their power.

Only their frightening control had kept the destruction from spreading further.

Even so, the pressure bleeding from the sealed-off void made every Sovereign below feel cold sweat bead along their backs.

The slightest slip here, and half the gathered forces could have been wiped out.

Dong!

The two silhouettes shuddered and shot apart.

Huang Kurong slid back thirteen steps.

Qian Tian slid back thirteen steps.

Light flickered behind Huang Kurong’s eyes.

A moment later, he smiled. “It seems your strength hasn’t dulled after all, Senior Brother. I’m impressed.”

“Likewise,” Qian Tian replied coolly. “It appears you haven’t been idle either.”

“If we’re so evenly matched in direct spells,” Huang Kurong said softly, “then perhaps we should settle this with our Avatars instead.”

“If you wish to fight, I’ll oblige,” Qian Tian answered, golden robes whipping in the wind.

Once the words were spoken, neither hesitated.

Their gazes locked, power building like two volcanoes on the verge of eruption.

Then, in perfect unison, they both closed their eyes.

A tide of black light erupted from Huang Kurong’s body, swirling together behind him to form a massive seated figure.

A dark sun spun slowly behind its head, radiating a deep, oppressive majesty.

Across from him, waves of golden radiance burst from Qian Tian as another giant silhouette took shape.

Bathed in blinding light, it sat in the air with the dignity of a true sun.

Two Avatars—identical in form, different only in hue.

One black as a void.

One gold as a star.

Their eyes snapped open at the same time.

Their hands formed the same seals.

Their voices overlapped, thundering across the sky.

“Great Sun Undying Body!”

The two Great Sun Undying Bodies faced each other across the heavens, killing intent rolling between them in palpable waves.

The spiritual sea they stirred felt like an endless tidal wave pressing outward in all directions, making the very air groan.

Around Chaos City, all eyes turned upward.

Somewhere between awe and disbelief, they watched the two colossal Avatars stand face to face, one blazing like a sacred sun, the other coiled in unfathomable night.

Apart from their color and aura, the two were exactly the same.

“Look at that—their Avatars are nearly identical,” someone breathed.

“It’s said Huang Kurong once fled the Heaven-Earth Sect and founded the Earth Desolation Hall. Could it have been over this very Avatar?”

“It would make sense. That technique looks anything but common. Among the Ninety-Nine Sovereign Avatars, it has to rank in at least the top fifty.”

“Higher, I’d say. Top thirty or forty, easily. No wonder the Heaven-Earth Sect once ruled the continent. To hold such a Sovereign Body in their hands…”

Whispers swept across the armies as the two titanic figures glared each other down.

For most of them, watching two Earth Sovereigns unleash top-ranked Avatars in earnest was an experience they might never see again.

Lin Langtian gazed up as well, eyes narrowing.

“The Great Sun Undying Body…” he murmured.

It was one of his future targets.

With the Myriad Phenomena Demonic Body’s ability to devour other Avatars, he had always intended, given the chance, to hunt this one down.

As one of the five primordial Avatars, descending from the Immortal Golden Body—the lower form of the Eternal Undying Body—the Great Sun Undying Body was a key piece in his long-term plan.

He simply hadn’t expected to see it so soon.

His tongue flicked across his lips, and a burning gleam passed through his eyes.

…

High above, Qian Tian stood on the head of the golden Great Sun Undying Body, his gaze locked on Huang Kurong.

“So, in the end, this is what you betrayed the sect for,” he said quietly, eyes flicking to the black Avatar beneath his foe’s feet.

“Hehe. You always did understand me best, Senior Brother,” Huang Kurong replied with a thin smile.

Then his expression darkened.

“Back then, you were the brilliant heir-apparent of the Heaven-Earth Sect. In that grand sect, only you and Master were allowed to cultivate the Great Sun Undying Body.

“And I?” he continued, voice growing jagged. “Because I joined a few days later, I was forever to stand below you, bound by rules I never agreed with.

“The sect refused to teach me.

“So I took it for myself.

“And then I founded the Earth Desolation Hall to prove I was not beneath any of you.”

His gaze bored into Qian Tian, one hand curling slowly into a fist.

“Now,” he said coldly, “let the two of us decide, once and for all, who is the true master of the Great Sun Undying Body.”

(END CHAPTER)