Chapter 878: Clashing with the Gods

Trickster can fuse a transcendent's soul with a trick spirit worm, creating a trick spirit duplicate of themselves; the higher the level, the more trick spirit duplicates they have, and the stronger they are.

These a dozen or so corpses are all trick spirit duplicates.

When a Trickster dies, all trick spirit duplicates vanish simultaneously, first manifesting the transcendent's pre‑death form, then, like melting ice, reverting to the transparent worm's original shape, motionless thereafter.

Only a Trickster Master can have so many trick spirit duplicates.

In an instant, only a black leather armor cut in two, a dagger, a few magical items, and the twisted skull mask remained on the ground—the Saint Emblem of Deceiver Luo Xi.

"Who is he?"

"Is this Lockriang?"

A series of questions rose in the minds of everyone in the Empire; they hadn't even acted, yet a Trickster Master was inexplicably slain by Lei En, and they didn't even know how it happened.

"Again, Time Stop..." Ou Ti Lu Ke forced a bitter smile, his voice dry, full of helplessness and resentment.

Everyone suddenly understood, but looking at Lei En they couldn't utter a word.

Time Stop is too unscrupulous!

"Sigh..."

Ba Tu La sighed softly, completely disheartened.

He is a level‑27 Steel Knight, having undergone eight soul metamorphoses; although not a spellcaster, he possesses extremely high magical resistance, barely maintaining his thoughts during Time Stop. Though still immobile, a fleeting glance allowed him to roughly see Lei En slaying the Trickster Master.

It was simple: Lei En just flashed forward and struck with a sword.

The Trickster Master was bound by Time Stop, unable to employ any techniques, utterly powerless to resist; the Trickster's defense was also mediocre, unable to withstand Lei En's Soul‑Igniting Heavy Sword.

With a single slash, the Trickster Master was cut in half.

Ba Tu La was extremely confident in his strength and defense, but after seeing Lei En slay the Trickster Master, his confidence vanished instantly.

Just now, during Time Stop, if Lei En had tried to kill me, the result wouldn't have been much better than for the Trickster Master.

He could even kill everyone present.

Like slaughtering chickens—one sword per person—effortlessly; no one could escape.

"Why did I become a Steel Knight in the first place?"

Ba Tu La was filled with regret; if he could return to his youth, he would slap himself hundreds of times, wake himself up, and stop being foolish.

"Why again Time Stop?" Wei Lien looked around, trying to locate the casting Black Robe Duke Tu Zi Lei, but found nothing.

Not only him; the others found nothing either.

Everyone couldn't help but doubt Lei En's words; who released the two Time Stops, and the timing aligning with Lei En was just too perfect?

The Black Robe Duke is a member of the Naiser faction, why would he so kindly aid Lei En?

Bi Ge Bai looked at the dead worm on the ground and asked aloud, "Speaker Lei En, is this person Luoke Lian?"

"Unclear," Lei En shook his head.

Twilight Lord Luoke Lian, one of the three known Trickster Masters of Shadow Blade, infamous for over a millennium of countless atrocities; countless people despise him to the bone, yet no one has ever seen Luoke Lian's true face.

When He Te Si rushed to the palace to join the fight, Lei En's Soul Eye saw through it; that He Te Si was an impostor.

The Soul Eye cannot discern the Element status of Saint Rank strongmen, but can judge friend‑or‑foe attitude and possible transcendent professions.

The Trickster's traits were obvious, and he was a Saint Rank strongman; this impostor must be one of the Trickster Masters.

As for whether he is Luoke Lian, Lei En could not be certain.

"Perhaps we can find clues from his relics to confirm his identity. Speaker Lei En, what do you think?" Bi Ge Bai examined the pile on the ground; among the magical items was a dimensional space ring, but he did not rashly move it, instead seeking Lei En's consent with his gaze.

"Alright..."

As soon as Lei En finished speaking, an anomaly suddenly arose.

The sky suddenly darkened; everyone instinctively looked up, seeing the sun rapidly shrouded in darkness as a solar eclipse suddenly occurred.

"Dark Sun!"

Ou Ti Lu Ke let out a scream, fear evident on his face.

Lei En's pupils suddenly contracted; the Dark Sun is the mark of Deceiver Luo Xi, whose Saint Emblem also originated from eclipse phenomena. Each eclipse, or a Dark Sun in the sky, signals a major murder on the mortal world orchestrated by Luo Xi.

The Deceiver strikes!

Before Lei En's thought could settle, a divine aura suddenly manifested, instantly enveloping the entire palace ruins, the terrifying divine presence striking the souls of everyone present.

In each person's mind, bloody slaughter visions erupted—jealousy, hatred, fear, greed, anger, and other negative emotions burst forth.

Except for Lei En and Ba Tu La, everyone else instantly lost sanity and went mad.

Their eyes reddened, they crazily attacked those around them, beginning to kill each other.

Legendary Wizards hurled spells indiscriminately, catching even themselves; Wei Lien, Sa Laiyin and several other Saint Rank strongmen drew their weapons into a tangled melee, as if the people before them bore a blood‑deep hatred; even at the cost of their own lives, they would kill the other, perishing together.

Ba Tu La possessed a "Steel Will", his eyes bloodshot, chest heaving violently, straining not to succumb to madness.

He stared fixedly at others, his face twisted, clearly unable to hold out much longer.

The Will of Truth kept Lei En lucid.

However, the boundless divine aura locked onto him, pressing from all sides; his body felt like sinking in mud, hard to move.

Alarm bells rang in Lei En's mind, his hair standing on end.

Infinite Fury, Titanic Divine Power, Elephantine Psychic Power and battle music all activated; Thunder God's Hammer surged from the void into his hand, and the Soul‑Igniting Heavy Sword in his other hand also triggered the Apocalypse Final Battle. In a blink, his power reached level 19!

During this process, a black mist appeared before Lei En.

Within the churning black mist a figure emerged: a young man with a grim face, disheveled short hair, jet‑black eyes, slender build, corpse‑pale skin, dressed in assassin‑style leather armor, gripping an ordinary short sword with a very narrow blade like a spike.

"This figure..."

The Deceiver Luo Xi's Saint incarnation!

Ba Tu La, not far away, saw Him; with a single glance his remaining sanity vanished, and he roared, raising shield and broad sword to join the melee.

Lei En dared not use his Soul Eye to look at the opponent, and could only struggle to resist the terrifying Dark Sun divine realm.

"Heheheha..."

Luo Xi looked at Lei En, letting out a smug laugh. Their voice was filled with madness and irritability, like a mentally deranged lunatic.

"Truth Will, you are a very powerful mortal, but ultimately just an ant‑like mortal… hehehe… VijesCui that bitch will surely be very sad about your death."

"Hahaha…"

Luo Xi, while laughing nervously, raised a hand to stab at Lei En.

All this unfolded in the blink of an eye; the spear they wielded flashed with a dark sheen, reaching forward in a single motion, the distance between them seeming nonexistent, and in an instant it pierced Lei En's chest. The speed was such that Lei En could not react, not even enough time to activate his most powerful survival technique.

Puff!

A soft sound.

Lei En's Titanic Power Armor proved as fragile as shredded paper, being pierced outright; his titanium‑golden body shone with a dark‑gold luster, deflecting the spear tip.

"Hm?"

Luo Xi let out a surprised sound, raising an eyebrow; a faint glow flickered in their jet‑black pupils, and the power on the spear suddenly surged, finally breaching Lei En's skin and sinking into flesh and blood.

The spear drove into Lei En's heart, divine power erupting, instantly crushing his internal organs, and blasting a bowl‑sized blood cavity in his back, with blood gushing out wildly.

At the same time, the terrifyingly destructive divine power shredded Lei En's spine, infiltrated his brain and soul, attempting to scatter his spirit outright.

"Truth Will" stubbornly took effect, blocking this wave of invasion.

Yet his body was utterly destroyed, his soul left without a foothold and unable to survive alone; the light in Lei En's eyes dimmed and faded, and he fell straight backward.

Luo Xi drew the spear, looked at Lei En lying in a pool of blood, and let out a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha…"

They gazed at the Fu Kong Cheng in the sky, spread their arms as if to savor the moment's exquisite taste: "This time, I have won."

A startled, angry voice rang from the void: "Luo Xi, how dare you deceive me!"

"Hehehe…" Luo Xi's face was full of mockery, "Ban Erkou, you fool, you are always quick to believe others' lies. Even a mortal can easily deceive you, and I, the God of Conspiracy and Lies, find no real sense of achievement in deceiving you."

Ban Erkou's voice did not sound again.

Rumble!

A thunderclap erupted high above, shaking the heavens and earth within a hundred‑mile radius; all elemental energies boiled, magical radiance dispelled the solar eclipse, and it seemed a great being was about to break through the limits of the void plane and forcibly descend upon the Prime Material Plane.

"VijesCui, come forth!"

"I see you lack the courage to leave the Divine Realm; your true form descends to the mortal world." Luo Xi shouted arrogantly at the sky, looking like a madman.

A few seconds later, the commotion of the true god's descent suddenly ceased.

Luo Xi's face showed confusion; looking down, they saw Lei En's corpse beneath them turning transparent, the spilled blood rapidly evaporating.

In an instant, only a damaged set of Titanic Power Armor remained on the ground, along with the Soul‑Eating Blade and the Soul‑Combusting Great Sword beside it, and a Nebula Ring.

"Mirror Image!"

Luo Xi's eyes widened, and they shouted angrily, "How could this be possible?"

As a mighty deity, they could not possibly be unable to distinguish whether the attack target was a Mirror Image or the true body; no disguise spell could evade a god's sight, so something must have gone wrong.

An egg‑shaped amber rolled out of the armor, containing a glob of golden liquid that emitted a warm glow.

"What is this?"

Luo Xi felt wary, fearing it might be a trap set by the God of Magic, and dared not touch it rashly.

In the next instant, the rose‑colored amber transformed into a beam of light and shot upward; even the Dark Sun Realm could not affect its speed, and it lightning‑fast landed in the hand of a human clad in a black magical robe.

His features were unremarkable, his build gaunt, skin pallid as if a gust could topple him; he leaned on a straight staff, which was divided into three sections, the middle grip engraved with dragon‑scale runes, and both ends capped with blue‑purple crystal pillars.

Standing within the Dark Sun Realm, his gaze was deep and calm, maintaining absolute rationality.

He was casting a spell.

Luo Xi sensed a hint of danger.

"Die!"

Luo Xi raised a finger, and within the Dark Sun Realm massive divine power surged, coalescing into a solid‑like black toxic mist that enveloped the area where the human stood, ravaging and crushing it madly.

A layer of invisible shield materialized.

The wave‑like black mist slammed against the invisible shield, like a surge striking a reef; though it trembled and the shield contracted slightly, overall it stood firm, showing no sign of collapse in the short term.

"Spatial Barrier!"

Luo Xi naturally recognized this Nine-ring Technique; mortals find it hard to deal with a Spatial Barrier, but before a deity, it can be shattered with a casual swipe.

They flashed behind the human Wizard and thrust the spear at the invisible shield.

At that moment, the egg‑shaped amber had already pierced the black mist, landing in the Wizard's hand first; its light blossomed, erecting an oval barrier that seemed forged of pure gold, shielding the Wizard inside.

Ding!

Luo Xi's spear struck the glittering golden shield, only to be rebounded without a ripple; divine power could not erode it, it was indestructible.

This made Luo Xi pause for a moment.

The spear they wielded was a high‑grade artifact named "Divine Disaster Sword"; although merely a replica forged with divine power and given to a Saint Avatar, its might far exceeds mortal Legend Grade weapons, nearly matching slightly inferior secondary artifacts, razor‑sharp, possessing seven dreadful negative effects—Armor Penetration, Magic Break, Toxicity, Soul‑Rending, and others—capable of channeling its own divine attributes.

But the thrust against this golden shield proved utterly useless.

"What thing?"

Luo Xi focused their gaze, finally spotting the clue, and exclaimed, "Absolute Holy Shield! Luo Sengda's artifact Holy Blood Amber!"

The Absolute Holy Shield is said to be unbreakable even by deities.

Six seconds, absolute safety!

The Wizard within the golden shield was clearly prepared; before the Absolute Holy Shield activated, he had already been casting, calmly watching Luo Xi attack the shield, his gaze unmoving, his right hand gripping the staff steady without a tremor.

The Saint Avatar standing nearby was regarded by him as nothing.

Luo Xi only struck the Absolute Holy Shield once before stopping; they knew it was futile— even a true god's incarnation would struggle to break it, let alone a Saint Avatar.

They examined the mysterious human Wizard closely; his staff was Legend Grade, and the red gemstone ring on his hand was also Legend Grade, both granting accelerated casting.

And he also possessed an artifact!

A Saint Rank caster, probably a young human Holy Soul Wizard, who has such lavish magical equipment, even a saint incarnation would be wary.

A caster is forever the greatest opponent of the deities in the mortal realm.

"Retreat first."

Luo Xi was cautious, about to swiftly pull back the Dark Sun Divine Realm, but they were already a step too late; the human Wizard's spell had finished.

Time Stop!

The surrounding world fell silent; sound and air ceased to move, and even within the Dark Sun Divine Realm, Time Stop produced an extremely powerful effect.

Divinity can resist Time Stop; divine power one tier higher than the level of divine energy has an even stronger resistance to Time Stop.

Luo Xi's mind remained active.

But this is only a saint incarnation, and cannot be completely exempt from Time Stop.

They felt as if trapped in a mire, their movement speed suddenly plummeted, their response to controlling the Divine Realm slowed, and their power was reduced by about half.

The Empire's strongmen, who were frantically killing each other, were immobilized, indirectly saving their lives.

"It's just Time Stop…"

Luo Xi gave a contemptuous smile, changed their retreat plan, and they were eager to see what tricks this human Wizard could pull in the few seconds of the Absolute Holy Shield.

Then, they saw the human's staff, like a crystal lamp tube, burst with magical radiance; around them appeared twelve identical figures, each dressed as a black‑robed Wizard, holding a staff, and an invisible spatial barrier extended outward from their bodies.

These Mirror Images, as soon as they appeared, instantly cast spells.

Hundreds of multicolored spells erupted in an instant, their number beyond imagination, like a spell torrent that flooded everything, filling every inch of space within the Time Stop area.

Luo Xi's complexion changed instantly.

(End of Chapter)