Tianlin had just fended off the attacks of the Myriad Demon King and Zi Ji, but now, facing Di Tian's Black Dragon Sword, he no longer had time to swing a third strike. Still, he was far from out of options.
"Holy Demon Protection!"
Tianlin wrapped himself tightly with his six wings. Divine power shielded his body, and dark power guarded his soul. Even though Di Tian's Black Dragon Sword could harm both, it failed to shake Tianlin in the slightest.
Clang!
The Black Dragon Sword struck as if upon the hardest divine iron in the Divine Realm, not leaving so much as a scratch on the Holy Demon Six Wings.
"What?" Di Tian was shocked. No one had ever blocked his Black Dragon Sword so effortlessly. The Holy Demon Angel before him had undoubtedly reached the divine level—and not a weak one at that.
A cold, murderous aura radiated from Tianlin as he brandished his twin swords and charged at Di Tian.
Though he normally used a single sword, he was no stranger to dual swordsmanship. After all, Shu Mountain had its own dual-sword experts, like Li Xiaoyao's disciple Jiang Yunfan, a master who had reached the realm of enlightenment.
In his current form, Tianlin's divine and demonic sword powers converged within him. He could unleash Jiang Yunfan's ultimate move if needed.
But there was no need yet. No matter how strong Di Tian was, he was only at the demigod level. The gulf between him and the divine-level Holy Demon Angel was vast; even normal attacks from Tianlin left Di Tian struggling to keep up.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
None could see Tianlin's form—only countless sword flashes and the tearing sound of sword energy slicing space around Di Tian.
Di Tian's limbs and body began to break apart, bit by bit. Even his tough physique could not withstand the Sword Dao of Destruction in Tianlin's current state.
"Di Tian!" Bi Ji rushed over desperately, radiating emerald light. "Emerald Guard! Jade Defense! Verdant Light Wave!"
Bi Ji's three main support skills came into play:
Emerald Guard transformed enemy attacks into healing for allies.
Jade Defense boosted defense and reflected damage.
Verdant Light Wave was her strongest healing soul skill.
With Bi Ji's help, Di Tian's near-collapsed body rapidly recovered. Tianlin's destructive sword energy even turned into healing, and the powerful Verdant Light Wave restored Di Tian to his peak.
Moreover, Tianlin suffered backlash from his own sword energy and had to halt his attack, giving the beasts a chance to breathe.
"As expected from the strongest support soul beast of this age, Bi Ji. Your healing power is unmatched." Tianlin praised, "But unfortunately, even now you can't stop me. My earlier attack was just a scratch. Now, taste my ultimate—Heavenly Sword!"
Tianlin became one with his sword. The forces of nature gathered to him, and Shu Mountain's mighty area sword techniques merged man and nature, making the attack immeasurable.
"Don't get cocky, human!" Di Tian roared. For hundreds of thousands of years on the Douluo Continent, he had never been forced into such a desperate position by a human.
Abandoning his human form, Di Tian transformed into his true body, the Golden-Eyed Black Dragon King. His massive form rivaled Tianlin's sword-fused form.
But their powers were not equal: one was divine, the other at best half-divine.
"No way, Di Tian can't win. I must help him!" Zi Ji also transformed into her true body—a Hell Demon Dragon—slightly smaller than Di Tian, and joined the fight.
The Myriad Demon King and Bi Ji followed. The king tried to restrain Tianlin with vines, while Bi Ji did her utmost to support her allies.
Even Sky Azure Bull Python and Titan Giant Ape, ignoring their injuries, stepped up to help. Though their fighting power was diminished, their bodies remained tough, able to absorb some damage for Di Tian's group.
Who would have thought these beasts could cooperate so well one day?
Of course, there was also the coward—Demon Spirit. Seeing Di Tian losing to the Holy Demon Angel, it took the opportunity, while the others charged, to escape in the opposite direction.
Its morals were as dark as its attributes.
Tianlin ignored it, uninterested, since neither the Spirit Pearl nor the Demon Suppressing Sword was with it.
He fixed his gaze on the other beasts. The Heavenly Sword finally began its descent upon the forest.
Facing four great beasts and the two kings of the forest, the Heavenly Sword's power was overwhelming.
Di Tian's Dragon God Claw, Zi Ji's dragon breath, Myriad Demon King's vines, Sky Azure Bull Python's lightning, and Titan Giant Ape's heavy punches—all were reduced to ashes as the sword swept past. Bi Ji had no time to heal them.
….
"Divine power!"
At the center of the Lake of Life, the retreating Silver Dragon King suddenly opened her eyes, sensing a divine force.
But gods could not descend into the lower realm at will. Was the Divine Realm breaking its own rules just to wipe out the soul beasts?
Di Tian and the others were actually fighting a divine-level opponent. How could they possibly win?
"Even if I have to die, I'll bring you gods down with me!" the Silver Dragon King roared. Though she couldn't show herself yet, with the power of the Thunder Spirit Pearl, her lightning attribute had almost recovered, allowing her to unleash divine-level power from afar, nearly reaching first-level godhood.
…
All the beasts were now gravely wounded by the Heavenly Sword. As sword energy was about to strike the land, Tianlin shouted, "Rise!"
He redirected all the sword energy skyward; otherwise, this strike would have destroyed at least half of Star Dou Forest.
"So strong! I never thought that, with the Saintess and Jun Tianlin joining forces, their combat power would be this terrifying." Spirit Kite Douluo was in awe.
Holy Dragon Douluo nodded. "If the Saintess could be with Jun Tianlin, Douluo Continent would be ours, under the control of Spirit Hall."
"Hmph, you must be joking. Jun Tianlin is our greatest enemy! We're only cooperating today out of necessity. The next time we meet on the battlefield, it'll be a fight to the death!" Chrysanthemum Douluo could never accept such an alliance; he hated Tianlin, who had killed Old Ghost with his own hands.
"Elder Chrysanthemum is right. No matter how compatible they seem, they are still our enemies. We must know where we stand." Bibi Dong warned. She had suffered in the past from not understanding her place.
But Bibi Dong knew things were now different. The events of the past would not repeat: she was not Qian Xunji, Qian Renxue was not her old self, and Tianlin was no waste like the old Grandmaster.
If the three joined forces, they could suppress all others.
But for that, she would have to give up unifying Douluo Continent and have Spirit Hall fully support the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect—which she was unwilling to do, after years of preparation.
Still, the current situation wasn't bad. Even if she lost in the future, with Tianlin's feelings for Qian Renxue, at least her daughter would be safe. That was enough.