He Li advanced with his saber held forward, walking slowly, ignoring the three tense Desert Lords. His gaze was fixed on the Desert King, his back exposed to Si An.
“In this divine power projection, how much of your strength is there? If it’s a third, I wouldn’t need to fight; you could just kill me. If not, you can only watch as your subordinates are slain by me.”
The Desert King looked at He Li, at the blood-red saber he held reversed, and said with a hint of nostalgia, “I once saw this saber from afar. It’s called Corrupted Blood Forest, its blood energy soaring to the heavens. Its very name screams murderous intent. Back then, you, along with Yan Li, resisted countless gods and stood your ground.
Though your divine power now is less than back then, your aura is even more formidable, surpassing your former self.”
He Li raised his saber, pointing it at the Desert King.
Then, a faint blood mist emanated from the saber, filling the entire space with a dark crimson hue. He Li spoke, “The ones with unparalleled might are dead, yet the lackeys who followed them became kings. How utterly laughable.”
The Desert King fell silent, no longer speaking. With a simple wave of his hand, the three Desert Lords scattered instantly and attacked He Li together.
He Li clashed with the three Desert Tribe members. The Corrupted Blood Forest saber swung like a true god of slaughter.
“He Li, be careful of the Desert King! Don’t be careless!” Divine Lord Si An roared. Then, mustering his strength, he dragged his wounded body and turned, rapidly retreating in the direction Divine Lord Fei Lei had fled.
He Li had made his choice, and he was deeply moved. However, Fei Lei could not die. He Li could not afford to lose the support of the Navia Divine Tribe, and Chen Du of the Divine Realm must also be safe.
The Desert King looked up at Si An’s hasty retreat, narrowed his eyes, and with a flick of his finger, a bolt of green lightning descended from the sky, striking directly at Si An.
“Hmph!”
He Li snorted disdainfully at the Desert King’s petty move. He parried the three Desert Lords with his saber, extended a finger, and a golden cauldron suddenly flew out, smashing towards the green lightning.
Rumble!!!
“Go!”
He Li grunted and placed the golden cauldron to protect Si An, escorting him through this battlefield.
“One of the Three Divine Artifacts is gone. Such confidence?” the Desert King asked.
He Li did not reply. Instead, he swung the Corrupted Blood Forest saber, unleashing a thin white line, a fragment of the river of time. Immediately after, he cleaved the river of time with another strike.
One Desert Lord, unable to dodge, was contaminated by the river of time. His body rapidly aged before everyone’s eyes, then decayed and dissipated.
The remaining two Desert Lords were horrified and instantly separated to the sides, creating distance from the two severed lines.
The Desert King intervened. He directly reached out and grasped the two severed segments of the river of time, forcefully annihilating them with the divine power of the King’s realm. Then, he opened his palm, looking at his hand covered in tiny wounds. He then looked at He Li, his regard deepening.
He Li stood with his saber, looking at the Desert King with amusement, and sneered, “The power of time can be infinitely large, infinitely small. Desert King, unless you, in the deepest recesses of your subconscious, do not believe in the existence of time, even you cannot resist the rollback and flow of time.”
He Li laughed with a hint of wild ferocity, “What do you do? You who once destroyed an epoch? What will you do?”
“Will you sever your inner consciousness? Or enter the river of time to keep Xia Kudu company?”
The Desert King remained silent for a moment, then murmured softly, “Time? Does acknowledgment mean existence?”
He Li, holding his saber, laughed, “There are many laws of time. Comprehending one can lead to understanding the ancient and the celestial. But the highest-level law is only one, and that is time. Everything is within time, whether conscious or unconscious.
Acknowledgment or not, it doesn’t matter. Even if you forcefully seal your consciousness and deny the existence of time, as long as there is one conscious life form in the entire universe, time exists.
Even if this universe loses all life, as long as the stars continue to evolve, as long as this universe continues to operate, time exists.”
Having said this,
He Li’s expression turned serious. He shed his playful, wild demeanor and stated gravely, “Desert King, what do you and the Divine King intend to do with me?”
At the same time, in the Divine Realm, at the Divine King’s Palace.
The Divine King sat alone in the divine hall, his expression solemn, his eyes fixed ahead as if observing the battlefield.
On the battlefield,
He Li slightly turned his head, looking towards a void, meeting the Divine King’s gaze, his eyes filled with provocation. Then he looked at the Desert King,
“Will your true form descend?”
The Desert King shook his head, signaling the two Desert Lords to cease their fight. Facing He Li, he now only possessed twenty percent of his strength and was no match for He Li. Unless his true form descended, he could not subdue He Li.
“Is this worth it? Although you’ve gained Si An and his elite divine tribe army, along with the support of Fei Lei and the Navia Divine Tribe, it also means abandoning the southern battlefield. Which is more important?” the Desert King asked.
“Weight and lightness, gain and loss – I cannot fathom such profound planning. However, someone told me I should do this, and because I trust him, I feel it is very worthwhile.”
After speaking, He Li continued, “Since you’re not fighting anymore, hurry and leave. I don’t have time to get entangled with you here; I still need to go back and save Divine Lord Si An and Divine Lord Fei Lei.”
The Desert King seemed not to have heard, his brow furrowed in deep thought. “Who is it that you trust? Such a layout and plan is completely contrary to Chen Du’s strategy. Chen Du’s intention is to first control the four battlefields, then contract inwards, and then eliminate Shen Tu and his elite divine expeditionary army.
After you complete the control of the battlefield, you will cooperate with him inside the Divine Realm, counter-attack the Divine Realm, and place you on the divine throne.
But now, you have directly abandoned the southern battlefield. Why? The one planning for you is definitely not Chen Du. Who is it?”
“You can act entirely according to his plan, regardless of the consequences, which means you must truly trust this person. Who is it?”
“Xia Ye Qi?”
“No, it’s not him. He’s just a guy who only knows how to fight fiercely, arrogant and self-important.”
“Xia Kudu? A scheme he left for you?”
“No, he didn’t have the time. It’s not him.”
The Desert King’s expression grew increasingly grim. He looked at He Li. He did not fear his martial prowess, but it was strategy that killed people the most, preventing him from being at peace.
Especially with Chen Du’s presence, and the fact that they still couldn’t discern Chen Du’s entire plan or true objective, which was the main reason they dared not act against Chen Du.
Now, with someone whose plans completely contradicted Chen Du’s, the Desert King could not help but take it seriously.
He Li grinned, remaining silent, slowly retreating. His smile deepened, filled with an inexplicable aura.
If Chen Du’s strategy was orthodox, clearly calculating you, yet you couldn’t resist.
Then Xia Min Ao’s strategy was eccentric and unpredictable. He already understood Chen Du’s layout, but he inexplicably abandoned the southern battlefield, leaving a gap in Chen Du’s plan.
In this regard, He Li was completely clueless. In the chess game between Chen Du and Xia Min Ao, He Li was more like an important piece, a powerful pawn.
He Li slowly retreated. After creating some distance, he turned and fled.
The Desert King cast a grim glance at the two Desert Lords and gradually disappeared.
…