He Li endured without retaliating, as the two Desolate Lords pressed their attack.
He Li raised his blood-stained hand and smashed it against the twin bone sabers. Then, he transformed his fist into a palm, grabbed the bone spurs on one Desolate Lord’s chest, snapped them off, and thrust them into the Desolate Lord’s shoulder socket.
*Hiss!*
The white bone halberd pierced through He Li’s chest.
He Li was lifted high into the air. He gripped the shaft of the halberd and, with his right hand, swung his blood-colored great saber horizontally, severing the arm of the Desolate Lord wielding the twin sabers.
*Boom!*
The two sides separated again.
Blood gushed from He Li’s chest, spraying outwards. Even with the constant repair of Desolate Divine Power, the wounds on the two Desolate Lords were futile.
This was a bloody battle, with fists meeting flesh and sabers cutting to the bone.
“Pfft!”
He Li licked the blood from his lips, spat out a mouthful of blood, and his expression and eyes turned fierce. He understood perfectly that victory was not guaranteed in any fight.
Including this one, where he might be killed by these two peak Desolate Lords. But even if he died, he could not reveal his Time Law, lest he give the Desolate King and Divine King opportunities.
For even if he killed these two Desolate Lords using the Time Law, the Desolate King and Divine King, who would have observed and analyzed it, would then kill him.
If he killed these two Desolate Lords himself, he would still have a chance to fight the Desolate King and Divine King, utilizing the Time Law.
But if he used the Time Law to kill these two Desolate Lords, he would have no chance to fight back.
Moreover, there was another benefit.
If he died here, those who followed him—the Heavenly Gods, the Demon race, and even Chen Du from the Divine Realm—would all be safe. The rebels would only be himself.
If he survived, he would lead the army from the central battlefield to counterattack the Divine Realm and conquer the Desolate Domain.
Perhaps the only one he would let down was Si An.
Though he was sorry, he supposed Si An would just have to be unlucky.
Who could plan for every eventuality?
Even at this juncture, He Li still considered others.
Children who grew up without a home were prone to developing into two extremes. However, they all yearned for a home, even a humble hut that leaked in the rain. When injured outside, they would at least have a place to return to.
His heart had been wounded countless times. Initially, He Jun had wished to die, which led to his own birth. Later, he became a descendant of the Yan clan from the Primordial Era. His appearance in this era was entirely due to his incompatibility with time.
He had never truly been himself, always living amidst schemes and wars, entangled in conspiracies spanning two eras.
He Li’s heart had never healed. No, he no longer had a heart. Even when he rekindled his divine fire and regained his divinity, he had not chosen to heal his heart. His chest remained empty.
But he cherished those he considered family. After He Jun’s death, he had become the patriarch, responsible for looking after his brothers.
Alas, Yan Ping had disappeared somewhere, and Chen Du was still in danger within the Divine Realm. Fortunately, Xiao Lan was well protected by him, which was the only thing he could boast about.
Upon thinking of this,
He Li tightened his grip on the Corrupted Blood Forest great saber and looked up, his gaze resolute. He uttered no words, his mind settling into a deep focus.
He raised his hand and swung a saber. The void, twisted by divine power, tore open, revealing a line of brilliant golden light. Star Divine Power, like a cascading waterfall, poured down from the rift.
The blood saber trembled, emitting a ringing sound.
He Li lunged towards the two Desolate Lords. His speed was not fast; in fact, in a battle of their caliber, He Li’s movements were as slow as a snail.
The two Desolate Lords exchanged glances. Together, they unleashed a surge of Desolate Divine Power towards the sky, forming a massive circular shield that blocked the cascading river of divine power.
Then,
Behind each of them, a ten-thousand-zhang bone gate materialized.
The bone gates boomed open,
A ten-thousand-zhang white bone halberd and a pair of crossed white bone sabers filled half the void.
Seeing this, He Li smiled. As he flew, divine power ripples continuously emanated from his body. Immediately, a divine statue, tens of thousands of zhang tall, stood erect in the void, wielding an even larger blood-colored great saber.
The divine statue’s true form swung its great saber, cleaving towards the two bone gates.
*Rumble!!!*
The immense impact shattered a corner of space, which was instantly repaired.
The two bone gates were pulverized, and the halberd and twin sabers vanished into the void. He Li’s divine statue transformed into a shower of golden light that cascaded down.
At this moment,
He Li and the two Desolate Lords had already clashed.
*Hiss!*
*Hiss… Hiss!*
*Clang!*
He Li’s shoulders were heavily struck by the two great sabers, their blades sinking into his flesh and bone. His abdomen was pierced through by the halberd, its tip gouging open half of his belly.
He Li’s shoulders bulged, his bones clamping onto the blades of the twin sabers. With his left hand, he tightly gripped the shaft of the halberd. He looked at the two Desolate Lords and grinned,
“Got you.”
The next moment,
A blood-red shadow flashed, and a brilliant divine light streaked across.
The saber light passed through, utterly destructive.
Two heads flew off.
He Li’s left hand exerted force, pulling the halberd out of his abdomen, and then flicking away the twin sabers from his shoulders.
His body was mangled, and a faint white light pulsed from him. Star Divine Power and Demon Divine Power were repairing his body, but with so many fatal wounds, the repair was agonizingly slow. Ultimately, divine power was not omnipotent.
Perhaps for other beings, or for humans, divine power was all-powerful.
But for Heavenly Gods on the same plane, they fought with divine power, were killed by divine power; divine power represented everything, yet it was not omnipotent.
He Li’s tattered crimson great robe fell away, and his long hair loosened.
He Li held the Corrupted Blood Forest great saber suspended in mid-air. He raised his blood-stained arms, reached out, and grabbed a corner of his fallen robe, tearing off a strip of crimson cloth. He gathered his hair with both hands, looping it back halfway, and tied it up.
Then,
He Li, a figure of blood, did not wait for his wounds to heal. He looked up at the eight battle banners still standing in the void, beckoned, and the Golden Bell and Golden Cauldron flew back to him.
He Li carried the Corrupted Blood Forest great saber inverted, leaped up, and stood on the Golden Bell. The Golden Cauldron hovered behind He Li, slowly ascending.
He looked at the eight battle banners and the eight bone gates behind them. After a moment of silence, he spoke softly, “Aren’t you coming out to see?”
After a brief wait,
From the central bone gate, a man in black robes emerged. Compared to the ten-thousand-zhang bone gate, he was insignificantly small, yet his aura was far greater and more profound than that of the eight bone gates.
“A divine projection?” He Li asked casually, as if chatting with an old friend.
“My true form!” the Desolate King replied with a smile.