With the death of Chi Yan True God, the previously turbulent formation swiftly quieted down.
The space rifts that had been torn open also rapidly healed.
"Trying to slay a True God is truly challenging."
Li Yuanâs Divine Sense perceived everything: "Even though I continuously wielded the âBlack Soul Abyss,â causing Chi Yan True Godâs soul consciousness to remain in a near-constant state of collapse, almost defenseless, and with Lie Qing True God unleashing full-force attacks, it still took twelve seconds to successfully slay him."
"The Divine Heart of a True God is exceedingly resilient."
"This was only with the Seven Star Meridian, merely a Seven Star Divine Heart." Li Yuan thought to himself: "If it had been the Eight Star Meridian or Nine Star Pulse, the Divine Heart would have been even more robustâLie Qing True God could have bombarded it for ages without being able to extinguish it."
From the moment a divine entity lights the Divine Fire, they become increasingly difficult to kill.
The Divine Heart is the embryonic form of an âInner World,â containing an entire world within; destroying such a construct is unimaginably difficult.
Furthermore, the stronger the Star Meridian, the more powerful the Divine Heart formedâa force capable of invoking even greater Origin Power.
Both Chi Yan True God and Lie Qing True God were Seven Star Meridians, extremely rare occurrences in the Mortal Domain across millennia.
Among True Gods, their Divine Hearts are considered of medium level.
"But regardless, the task has been accomplished."
"Itâs a pity I didnât deliver the final strike; otherwise, I could have obtained a tremendous amount of Spirituality Nourishment." A thought flickered through Li Yuanâs mind.
Yet, Li Yuan didnât mind too much.
The life barrier limiting Spiritual Awakening from 100% to 105%, and eventually to 125%, had already been shattered when he slew the Pseudo-God. (Chapter 444)
What he lacked now was soul cultivation.
"I donât lack Spirituality Nourishment in the slightest." Li Yuan thought silently: "On Jue Xing Continent, I hunted a significant number of Pseudo-Gods and accumulated a considerable amount."
Howeverâ
Li Yuan wasnât sure to what extent his soul needed to grow for his Spiritual Awakening limit to reach the full 125%.
"Soul progress, carried in my semi-divine level body, has reached its limitâIâll simply have to take it step by step." Li Yuan resigned himself to this reality.
If soul cultivation were easy to advance, then core demigods at the pinnacle forces of the Divine Realm wouldnât remain trapped in the Void God Realm.
Hoo!
"Li Yuan Divine Son actually succeeded, hahaha! Your soul attack truly defies the heavens!" Lie Qing True God laughed heartily as he approached, his heart clearly stirred with excitement.
He and Chi Yan True God had grappled in conflict for thousands of years, unable to overcome each other.
Due to his older age and being closer to inevitable dissolution, Lie Qing True God, despite possessing greater strength, often exercised restraint with Chi Yan True God.
This time, if not for Li Yuanâs special identity and the resolve to gamble, Lie Qing True God would not have taken reckless action.
Once engaged, if he failed to kill Chi Yan True God, it would become a feud of life and death.
Before the battle, Lie Qing True God had resolved to offend Chi Yan True God to his core, just to satisfy Li Yuan.
Unexpectedly, the battle ended with the successful slaying of Chi Yan True God.
It was practically a joyous surprise.
"Itâs because Lie Qing True Godâs power is so overwhelming; only with such immense might could it be eradicated in such a short time." Li Yuan smiled and said, "Otherwise, the outcome would have been impossible."
"Well, cooperation was key." Lie Qing True God grinned. With Chi Yanâs demise, the Mortal Domain now had only one True God remainingâhis mood soared.
"Li Yuan Divine Son," Lie Qing True God remarked, "what of the treasures Chi Yan has left behind...?"
"Half each," Li Yuan replied straightforwardly, without pretense.
Despite possessing some treasures, most were non-tradable; one could say Li Yuan was currently quite poor.
"Fair," Lie Qing True God said, relieved.
Quickly.
Li Yuan and Lie Qing True God then divided the spoils left by Chi Yan True God.
The yield wasnât significant; each secured only a few hundred thousand Fangshen Crystals worth of treasures.
"Most of his treasures must have been stored within the civilization; what he carried with him was limited to portable items." Lie Qing True God noted, "Li Yuan Divine Son, though Chi Yan True God is dead, the Immortal Ruins Civilization remains deeply fortified. Whatâs your plan?"
He was subtly advising Li Yuan.
When cutting grass, itâs best to uproot the roots as well.
Although Lie Qing True God cannot infiltrate Immortal Ruins Civilization, he suggested Li Yuan could.
"Now that weâve acted, no harm should remain."
"Lie Qing True God, we must immediately move to the two remaining Immortal Ruins Civilization outposts along Flame River." Li Yuan instructed, "Capture as many Pseudo-Gods and Demigods as we can."
"No need to slay themâall of them should be handed over to me."
"Finally, Iâll need to trouble you to escort me outside the Plane Passage to Seven Star Civilization." Li Yuan added, "It will expedite our journey."
Although Li Yuan was speedy on his own, he couldnât match the pace of Lie Qing True God.
"Alright."
"No delayâletâs act at once." Lie Qing True God agreed, unleashing an invisible force.
Boom!
Lie Qing True God enveloped Li Yuan as the two swiftly flew out of the formation toward Nine Flames Star.
Whoosh!
A streak of cyan light darted from Li Yuanâs arm.
"Little Ice, gather all the foundational stones, Array Plates, and Array Flags of the great formationâsave them for future use." Li Yuan communicated, "Then wait for me near the wormhole we came through."
"Alright." Liu Bing nodded repeatedly.
...
In the starry sky tens of thousands of miles awayâ
Whoosh! Whoosh! Two Void Gods were frantically fleeing.
"The Ancestor is dead?"
"The mighty True God has truly fallen!" The two Void Gods from Immortal Ruins Civilization were utterly terrified.
Both carried tokens of Chi Yan True God.
But just moments ago, they were alarmed to discover that Chi Yan True Godâs token had turned into an ownerless object.
"Heâs coming."
"Lie Qing True God is coming!" One of the Void Gods suddenly turned back in panic, sensing a terrifying presence hurtling toward them.
Before they could react.
"Buzz~~" A wave of invisible energy instantly engulfed the two Void Gods, forcing them into collapse.