Chapter 483: Kill the Innate Nature First, Then Slay the Fleshly Shell

Facing Sheng Zhaoshui's somewhat improper, pestering questions, Du En answered him with complete seriousness, making him nod and shake his head in a way that looked very much like he was asking for a beating.

But in reality, he was actually a bit envious in his heart.

Although that Divine Venerable's Remnant Hatred did not distinguish between friend and foe, given Du En's current strength, this shallow and controllable edge of external heat was enough to warm his body; yet, in specific situations, it was extremely convenient. For instance, right now, maintaining his divine ability on his own side was very exhausting, while he only needed to wrap himself in the warm Hatred Fire to deceive and exempt himself from the Chaos's power of repelling goodness.

I want that too! Of course, if it were really offered to him, considering the terror of the Divine Venerable's true form, he'd better forget it; he was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it and would be turned directly into ashes one day!

An Shen had just been pondering, his gaze shifting slightly at this moment, as he answered the remark Du En had just interjected: "Indeed, while Chaos is one of the legendary Four Perils, its fierce reputation is not beneath that of True Dragons, Phoenixes, Golden Crows, and other sacred beings. But observing it now, its innate defects are truly too severe. While it may appear loyal as a watchdog, a dignified Supreme should not fear a dog having a rebellious bone, so there are obvious doubts regarding this matter."

"It is not just that. Because I was swallowed by it for a while, I saw traces of Qingxuan itself within its revealed body. After all, the existence that can reside between the front and back of the current Qingxuan space and create the boundary layer node has already revealed its close connection to this realm."

Du En continued to supplement this.

In that fleeting glimpse before he broke free, he had indeed seen clues to the origin of this fierce beast.

Limited by the difference in their realms of existence, although it could not be said to be clear at a glance, he had after all come into contact with the Star Realm's life source before, so he still recognized it as a characteristic of the Qingxuan life source.

In other words, it is highly likely that this Chaos was bred locally.

—The entire Qingxuan Star Realm repels goodness and tends toward evil. As cultivators at the pinnacle of living beings, they are often selfish, never acting without profit, and greedy by nature, which invisibly manifests the tendency of the life source. It is not impossible for it to breed a fierce beast like Chaos, which cannot distinguish between right and wrong.

"Of course, it cannot be denied that the Supreme's brushstrokes must have also caused some influence here. For Chaos, it might even be positive, a sort of pushing with the current. But for now, let's talk about how to kill it. Does Fellow Daoist An have any brilliant insights?"

Facing the Chaos, Du En actually felt a bit of trouble.

After all, just now when the opponent was hiding, the roaring Dharma light of his Dragon-Subduing True Image could only pierce its peritoneum. Now that it had jumped out completely, even if the True Image remained inside and could barely be controlled and maintained, a similar strike would certainly not be as effective as the one just now.

"Brilliant insights would be an overstatement. I was just thinking of breaking its power of repelling goodness and suppressing it, then letting Fellow Daoist Sheng free up his hands so that, with combined internal and external force, we can kill it."

An Shen finished speaking, and the Rhombus Mirror rotated, already preparing to act.

The two great treasure arrays were not yet ready to be used, and the Heaven-Earth Rope was of little use against the Four Perils because they were also considered part of the natural order of heaven and earth, representing the evil thoughts within the desires of living beings; thus, it was also a central pivot—the black one.

The Flowing Light Treasure Talisman could indeed ignore the domain of repelling goodness, but it would be a pity to use it here, so for now, let's try his own methods first.

"Fate dictates that all things have an end; the moment of birth is the beginning of destruction, and it is always so..."

Accompanied by the flickering appearance of the god's avatar and true body within the Rhombus Mirror, a certain unsettling and restless evil omen spread along with the chanting. Even the originally muddled Chaos surged with instinctive palpitations, using those blind eyes to look around. Its dog-like form and bear-like posture began to fidget.

Du En silently activated a secret technique to hide himself, disappearing into thin air.

Sheng Zhaoshui's mouth twitched, looking like a mournful beast of burden, as he exerted his divine ability to the limit.

I am the flower on this shore, and you are the leaf on the other; separated by the river, as if by heaven and earth, unseen, unreachable, for a whole lifetime, ultimately unable to meet...

He pushed the depth of his divine ability further, from a single flower and leaf that could never meet due to time and rules, to a more lofty state where they were both one and two, as if separated and staggered across two lifetimes.

An Shen was on this side, and the Chaos was on that side.

Then the palpitations abruptly dissipated. The fierce beast was completely baffled and immediately sank back into a daze on the spot, with only a pair of blind eyes wandering and a foolish gaze scanning, because it always felt that there was something drifting and wandering inside its lair.

Naturally, that was Du En.

He did not increase the burden on Sheng Zhaoshui's side. Although he had used a secret technique and taken the Phoenix Remnant Hatred as a shield so that the opponent could not repel him, it was still not perfect.

Moreover, the Phoenix Remnant Hatred did not distinguish between you and me. Although a dignified fierce beast was not among those resentful, fallen, or evil types, it was enough to make it react strongly and increase its clamor, actually constantly burning the opponent's overflowing evil power.

Under normal circumstances, the Chaos should not just be watching, but its other nature—only looking at evil, being driven by it, and aiding the tyrant—made it have an instinctive sense of submission when facing the more intense and extreme Phoenix Remnant Hatred.

So, although it was impossible to completely avoid its perception here, it never provoked an attack, and just now, those blind eyes hadn't even turned toward them.

"To be unable to distinguish right from wrong to this extent and still possess such a fierce reputation, it seems this Chaos must be very thick-skinned..."

Du En judged silently, not underestimating such a fierce beast.

And An Shen's spellcasting was also quickly completed.

In the Rhombus Mirror, a dark sun hung high.

Bursts of invisible ripples spread, making Sheng Zhaoshui on the side tremble with fear.

Because this was An Shen's trump card, which he had originally prepared to kill the Holy God and end the Holy-Dark conflict, but before he could use it, he had been blasted apart by the Holy God.

At this very moment, it finally had a place to be used.

Life is fixed by death, darkness returns to the end! In the silence, there seemed to be whispers telling the truth that life and death are destined; even the stars cannot avoid it, and at the moment of birth, they are already entrusted with the fixed number of destruction.

The dark sun in the mirror flashed and disappeared.

"Gao!!!"

The fierce beast Chaos suddenly let out a terrifying roar, but although it whipped up a terrible gale, its invisible evil power that repelled goodness suddenly shattered and disappeared.

Because the symbol of it being a fierce beast collapsed, its own foundation of existence was also affected, so its aura appeared significantly weakened. However, it still firmly held onto the boundary of the Void Refinement stage and did not fall in realm. Moreover, as time passed, it was instinctively drawing and refining the corresponding principles, attempting to recover.

The Qingxuan Star Realm is its mother nest! The dark sun returned, and An Shen appeared again.

His eyes showed a kind of fatigue, but his expression did not change.

There was no need for extra words; the other two had already acted in tacit understanding.

Bear! "Li!!!"

The shrill cry of the Phoenix Remnant Hatred was no longer concealed, directly clashing with the roar of the fierce beast that had not yet recovered. And the Chaos, which had now gone mad, defied its own nature—or rather, its nature had withered and been "killed" by An Shen, so it no longer feared it and turned to pounce.

Although it could not walk, it did not mean it could not move. In this node lair, it even possessed the ability to teleport, appearing abruptly before the spreading wings of the Phoenix Remnant Hatred with a flicker.

Its wide-open giant mouth was deep and dark, as if leading to the chaos and darkness when heaven and earth first opened. Its bear-and-dog-like posture now swelled with rock-like strength, capable of rivaling the human race's Holy Body, and its claw strikes appeared extremely powerful.

One bite at the ferocious Hatred Phoenix, one swipe at Du En behind it, its foolish blind eyes widened, and it could silently impact the enemy's primordial spirit, making them muddled, foolish, blind, and decaying.

"Hey, don't be so excited."

Sheng Zhaoshui's devil-may-care voice appeared abruptly in its ears, and he himself appeared on the part that should have been its ear, his raised hand seeming to carry water ripples, a condensed vast ocean.

"I am here, and not here. Then guess again, is this hand of mine a hand, or the great sea?" Saying this, he tapped lightly.

Boom! The True Image of the ocean crashed down. Even a fierce beast like the Chaos had its skin torn and flesh mangled, its steps staggering and stumbling, becoming a one-eared beast. The Hatred Fire-wreathed Phoenix it had bitten in its mouth took the opportunity to break free, and with a flap of its wings, it struck back, including Sheng Zhaoshui in the attack.

Friend or foe, all die! "Sure enough, you don't know what's good for you!"

Sheng Zhaoshui cursed and dodged, so the Chaos took the full force of the blow, the whole beast being smashed down and crashing heavily onto the bottom of its own lair.

Boom! At the same time, the Hatred Fire burned, covering its entire body.

However, after all, it was a restrained degree; relying only on the Phoenix Remnant Hatred could not create a decisive result. The biggest manifestation was being able to limit its teleportation power.

"Gao!!!"

The Hundun roared again, its gaping maw creating a suction force that drew in the endless flames of hatred, and it suddenly began to exert its strength, intent on overturning the Phoenix Remnant Hatred.

Thick-skinned and sturdy, it was truly no lie! Sheng Zhaoshui felt quite helpless and could only urge his Mountain-Toppling and Sea-Overturning power once more, continuing to strike while enduring the scorching flames of hatred.

However, at this very moment, the Hundun's suction movement suddenly stiffened.

The reason was simple: a pair of giant hands had suddenly thrust out from its mouth.

Du En had just been lagging behind, but he was not merely watching; he had reached a suitable distance, and through the connection linking the inside and outside, he suddenly poured in his Dharma power.

The True Image of the Dragon-Subduing immediately began to swell, transforming from a hundred zhang to a thousand zhang, then growing even larger until it reached a height of three thousand zhang, before suddenly extending its hands to clamp onto the Hundun's mouth, looking as if it were about to crawl out from within.

"Urgh, urgh, urgh!!!!!"

The Hundun naturally would not let it have its way, increasing its bite, waving its hands to grab the phoenix, and showing extraordinary valor, causing the offensive to stall for a moment.

"I'll go again!"

Seizing the opportunity, Sheng Zhaoshui saw that there were no flames of hatred at the jaw and appeared there instantly, clapping his palms together heavily.

Boom, boom, boom! The sound of raging waves appeared out of thin air, and the weight of a furious ocean was applied upon it.

Squish!

Crack!

One side of the Hundun's jaw was instantly reduced to a pulp of flesh and blood, its bones shattered, flowing out in torrents and becoming fuel for the flames of hatred, causing them to surge violently, burning the Hundun in agony and making Sheng Zhaoshui flee rapidly.

Disgusting fly! One eye that had been blindly following his movements suddenly widened, intent on destroying his primordial spirit.

"Hey! I'm over here!"

The Sheng Zhaoshui in the original spot shattered with a 'pop', turning into flowing water and appearing on the other side, clearly intending to shatter the other side of the jaw as well, causing the Hundun to lose its biting power.

The Hundun was immediately distracted, failing to notice that the giant hands extending from its mouth were faintly shimmering with dangerous light and fine cracks.

The timing is about right.

Let me sacrifice you.

Du En thought this, without any hesitation.

Profound Sacrifice!

Dao Technique Self-Detonation!

A silent, instantaneous, and terrifying explosion erupted directly within the belly and esophagus of this fierce beast, turning countless flesh into fly ash and making its entire body seem as if it were being submerged and destroyed by annihilation light.

"Gao!!!"

The painful roar proved it was not dead; not only was it not dead, but it was actually able to suppress the annihilation light, tear through the impact, and with its blinded eyes staring, its tattered body was wreathed in terrifying fierce power like black flames, even pushing aside the murky flames of hatred, looking like an ancient fierce god, exceptionally terrifying.

"As expected of one of the Four Fiends, so resistant to beating and explosions!"

Sheng Zhaoshui appeared beside Du En, winking at him slightly.

So, Junior Brother Du, it's time to bring out your true signature move, isn't it?

There was such a color in his eyes.

In fact, this was indeed the case.

The Dao Technique Sacrifice was merely an appetizer.

Blowing the fierce beast to pieces had also allowed him to finally fully link up with the million Dharma artifacts and two hundred puppets deep within its body.

Thus, just as the furious Hundun was about to kill, it suddenly stopped and stiffened, then its fierce power dissipated, and new lacerations suddenly appeared all over its massive body.

Blood flowed with a splash! It was the combat puppets bursting out of the flesh, tearing, shattering, and blasting it, making its entire body even more dilapidated.

Then, one by one, the Dharma artifacts seized the opportunity, detonating whenever possible—boom, boom, boom! From flesh to bone, from surface to interior, from head to tail, in the blink of an eye, it exploded at least two hundred thousand times; no matter how extraordinary its foundation or how thick its skin, it could not withstand this kind of internal attack, especially since it was already covered in wounds, and it immediately let out one final wail before collapsing with a crash.

The Phoenix Remnant Hatred no longer had the fierce power to obstruct it, swooping down to burn, and soon reduced it to a pile of white ash, leaving only some of the hardest bones and teeth, as well as that Hundun fierce heart which could not be burned away.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Treasure materials from one of the Four Fiends; these are extremely rare items that, even within the sect, require Grade A-plus merit and good luck to exchange for!"

Sheng Zhaoshui appeared somewhat excited; after the Phoenix Remnant Hatred was put away, he immediately ran over to get his hands on them, looking left and right.

"The node of its nest is about to break."

Du En said calmly, without any dawdling, dividing the bones and teeth into one share for each, and even dividing the fierce heart into different parts.

The main body of the heart went to himself, the Hundun's remnant soul to An Shen, and the fierce beast's evil blood to Sheng Zhaoshui.

The value of each share was roughly equivalent, with slight differences, allocated according to their contribution, which was very reasonable, so no one had any objections; they finished quickly and left before the node collapsed.

(End of chapter)