Within the river of time, Hongjun made his Move once more.
The heaven-opening supreme treasure, pangu banner, was once again fully unleashed, and a power transcending the river of time erupted. Coupled with Hongjun's extremely formidable strength, he seemed invincible as he attacked the Beast Emperor.
However, the Beast Emperor was not to be outdone. The true power of the god slaying spear was revealed. With a sweep of the spear, anyone touched by its aura would suffer immense damage through the unseen Karma.
For a time, the two of them fought back and forth within the river of time.
A hint of anxiety gradually appeared on Hongjun's face.
It looked like a draw for now, but in reality, if the fight continued like this, he might be the one to lose.
One must know that the Beast Emperor was immortal. Previously, he had used such powerful means to kill this Beast Emperor's past and present at the same time. Even the Innate Vicious Beasts in the Primordial World were slain at that moment.
Even after achieving that, he still hadn't perished.
Hongjun still hadn't figured out why this was the case.
Furthermore, although his strength was formidable, the opponent was not weak either. While the heaven-opening supreme treasure pangu banner could indeed kill the Beast Emperor several more times, the god slaying spear was not a weak Magic Treasure either.
If struck, it would have a tremendous impact even on a Great Luo Heaven Realm being.
Leaving other considerations aside, in the current situation, if he were swept by the power of this Magic Treasure, the endless killing Qi would weaken his strength.
With the Beast Emperor being immortal, and his own strength continuously weakening while the opponent's remained unchanged, this became quite troublesome.
Hongjun saw the current situation very clearly. Although it appeared to be a draw, if it continued, he would undoubtedly be the one to lose.
Even if he could escape, he would have to pay a heavy price.
Yet, a trace of unwillingness lingered in Hongjun's heart. If he retreated now, he would gain nothing.
He didn't even know how this Beast Emperor returned, or how he could still return after his past and present were severed. If he didn't know these things, what was the point of leaving?
As time passed, the Beast Emperor's strength would certainly grow stronger. If he didn't figure it out while the Beast Emperor was still weak, it would be even harder to find a weakness once he became powerful.
Upon this thought, an idea formed in his mind: he had to fight, even if it meant suffering severe Origin Qi damage.
Anyway, his dao marks had spread throughout the countless Parallel Time and Space of the Honghuang World. Even if his past and present had perished, he could return in a few tens of thousands of years by relying on these dao marks.
His Realm was there; recovery wouldn't take too much time, at most a dozen or so yuanhui.
Delaying this little time in exchange for a future opportunity to slay the Beast Emperor was worth it.
Hongjun immediately took action. Facing the Beast Emperor, who was fighting with a life-for-life style, he showed no hesitation. pangu banner against the god slaying spear. Terrifying spear light assailed him, and countless Incarnations from the past surged forth, one after another being obliterated.
Finally, his shoulder seemed to be injured by the spear light, and drops of Innate Sacred Beings' blood fell into the river of time.
However, the pangu banner's power of creation forcefully struck the Beast Emperor's body.
After one strike, the Beast Emperor perished once more, his past and future both slain.
Just as Hongjun was about to suppress the god slaying spear, the divine spear suddenly and inexplicably vanished before his eyes.
Seeing this, Hongjun's face showed no sign of relief, but rather was filled with solemnity. He carefully sensed the surrounding situation, wanting to discover the true secret of the Beast Emperor's immortality.
At this moment, he seemed to sense something and looked behind him.
A long spear assailed him. Hongjun's power erupted, he activated the pangu banner to strike, and used an Incarnation condensed from the imprint of past time and space to block the attack. The pangu banner once again slew the Beast Emperor.
The Beast Emperor's figure was continuously dissipating, but a trace of confusion appeared in his eyes as he looked at Hongjun and asked earnestly:
"Why? You know you can't kill me, so why use a life-for-life Move? I can revive; can you?
Once I revive, I'll be at my Peak; can you? I can sense the dao marks you've left in those Parallel Time and Space within the river of time. These can indeed facilitate your return, but if I employ a slight technique, I can delay this time.
World Sacred Being, why are you doing this? Why are you willing to injure yourself just to kill me?"
Hongjun sneered, looking at Beast Emperor Shen Ni, and said:
"Why? It's simple. You are a remnant of the Chaos Era, while I am an existence of the Honghuang Era. If the Chaos Era returns, we will inevitably perish.
All of this is merely for myself.
Beast Emperor, today I shall call you Fellow Daoist. So, please, Fellow Daoist, die quickly."
Saying this, Hongjun unleashed another burst of power, and this wisp of will was once again obliterated.
Within the river of time, the Beast Emperor emerged once more, seemingly truly immortal and indestructible.
Time flowed, and Hongjun and the Beast Emperor fought for several hundred years, yet no victor was determined.
Hongjun's purple profound robe was already stained crimson with the blood of Innate Sacred Beings, and his aura began to weaken. Even now, fighting injury for injury, one or two strikes were not enough to completely slay the Beast Emperor.
The wounds caused by the god slaying spear on his body showed faint traces of killing Qi. This was why his strength was getting weaker and he couldn't recover.
However, his eyes were filled with excitement. He seemed to have discovered the reason for the Beast Emperor's immortality, and he hadn't been idle during this time. He had used the Great Dao of Equality to equalize a wisp of the Beast Emperor's essence.
It must be said that the Beast Emperor's strength was indeed terrifying. The endless chaotic and disordered power inherently made the Laws and Great Dao of Innate Sacred Beings like them a step weaker.
For example, Yang Mei and others, relying on pure Dao Power, would find it very difficult to kill him.
Only by wielding a heaven-opening supreme treasure could the Beast Emperor truly be restrained.
What Hongjun lacked now was an experiment. Once again, it was an injury-for-injury exchange, and the Beast Emperor was slain again.
Feeling the aura within the river of time, the smile on Hongjun's face grew brighter.
Even when the Beast Emperor once again emerged from the river of time, wielding the god slaying spear and advancing towards Hongjun, he showed no fear whatsoever.
At this moment, Battle Intent surged in Beast Emperor Shen Ni's crimson eyes as he looked at Hongjun and said:
"World Sacred Being, come again! Let's see how many Moves you can withstand."
With a sweep of the spear, Hongjun staggered, retreating several steps.
But then, he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, Beast Emperor, I won't play with you anymore. I've already guessed the secret of your immortality, so I'll take my leave. Fellow Daoist Shen Ni, let's fight again in the future."
Saying this, countless past selves descended into the river of time and began to self-destruct towards the Beast Emperor.
A moment later, Hongjun, covered in wounds, emerged from an unknown Divine Mountain nearby, a smile playing on his lips.
The Beast Emperor's methods were indeed superb. Although he hadn't found a way to crack them yet, it had given him a deeper understanding of the Great Luo Realm.
For example, he now had his own understanding of the path beyond the Great Luo Heaven Realm. He called this Realm the Great Luo Profound Realm, or Great Luo Profound Number
Autors Notes:
*Happy New Year,
Big thanks everyone for reading my book this year — your support really means a lot to me. I hope you'll stick around for more in the coming year. Let's keep going strong together!