This was one of Tongba's trump cards for preserving his life. After all, no one climbed the arena with the intention of dying. Anyone who stepped onto that platform did so with at least some level of confidence—or, at the very least, was prepared to lose. And when defeat came, the most important thing became how to survive. The Void-Shattering Divine Armor, with its ability to instantly relocate the body upon destruction, was undoubtedly an exceptional last-resort defense. And just now, it had been put to use.
Unfortunately, in this battle, there was no question—Tongba had lost.
And he had lost in a humiliating way.
He had just leapt onto the arena and barely lasted two moves before being violently thrown off.
His face turned ashen. Lifting his sleeve to hide his face, his body trembled as he turned and left, too ashamed to remain. He had boasted loudly, only to end up with such a disgraceful defeat.
"Poor Tongba, what a tragedy. Back then, he tried to show off at the Heaven's Chosen Banquet and got shot dead by you with a single arrow. Now, he comes to the Void Arena to make a name for himself, only to run into that freak, the Thousand-Eyed Demon. And again, he's instantly blasted away. Maybe he forgot to check the almanac before leaving, or worse, got bitten by the Green Emperor," Lianxing said, covering her mouth with a light chuckle.
"Lianxing, don't slander me like that! I've been behaving myself this whole time. I haven't moved an inch from this spot! Don't pin this black pot on me!" said the Green Emperor, squatting nearby. He clearly sensed that blame was about to come crashing down on him and immediately tried to clear his name.
Tongba had simply been too impatient. The forces of Eternal Night were, by nature, a level stronger than the Eternal World. Most of their chosen warriors who descended were already in the True Spirit realm. Even if not all, the vast majority were. Meanwhile, most of the Eternal World's Heaven's Chosen were only in the Yang Spirit realm—some even still at the Nascent Soul level. They could only resist by relying on secret arts and paying a heavy price. The Thousand-Eyed Demon was one of Eternal Night's top elites. For Tongba to attempt to defeat such a foe with inferior strength was simply overconfident.
Overall, Eternal Night indeed had the upper hand, but on the Divine-Demon Battlefield, the Eternal World still held the advantage in terms of timing and geography. The laws of this realm, and even the will of Heaven and Earth itself, tilted toward the Eternal side. This subtle influence suppressed the Eternal Night warriors, restraining both their cultivation and power.
"Beloved, if one breaks through to the True Spirit realm here on the battlefield, would it have any consequences?" Yao Yue asked.
Yi Tianxing understood what she was getting at and replied calmly, "There's no longer any point worrying about the Heavenly Dao's seal. With the dragons, phoenixes, and qilins vying for supremacy, the seal has already been broken. Whether we break through or not doesn't matter anymore. When this battlefield concludes, the Eternal World will undergo a new cleansing. Restrictions on the True Spirit realm no longer mean anything. But whether one can break through… that's another matter entirely."
Breaking through to the True Spirit realm was no simple task. It wasn't something that could be done just because one wanted to.
Besides, it wasn't as though the Eternal World lacked powerful cultivators.
"Enough. Stay here and wait. I'm going to take a walk on the arena. This is the Divine-Demon Battlefield of the Eternal World—how can we let Eternal Night's demons flaunt their strength here? As for the two divine treasures atop the Celestial Stairway—if the chance arises, how can we not seize them?" Yi Tianxing said with a calm smile.
His gaze turned toward the Void Arena. Without another word, his mind stirred—and an invisible force from the arena responded, instantly transmitting his body onto the platform.
"Yi Tianxing!!"
"It's the Yi Emperor! He's making a move!"
"He's finally stepping up. I saw him fight more than a dozen Eternal Night prodigies before without even moving seriously. Let's see what he's really capable of now."
"Kill him! Slay that Thousand-Eyed Demon on the spot! Every one we kill is one less to deal with."
The moment Yi Tianxing appeared on the Void Arena, the entire Divine-Demon Battlefield erupted. Countless eyes turned to him, their gazes filled with anticipation. Everyone wanted to see the true extent of his strength.
"It's Brother," said both Nannan and Zhao Ziyan at nearly the same time, their eyes full of concern.
"Yi Tianxing, Yi Emperor… I haven't even come looking for you, and yet you've walked right into my trap. Very well. Are you ready to die?" the Thousand-Eyed Demon sneered. "Remember, it is I, the bane of your eyes, who will take your life!"
The "bane of your eyes"—I am the thorn in your sight, a nail you will never pull out.
"Then I'll be the one to pull you out," Yi Tianxing replied coolly. His body was instantly covered in the Chaotic Battle Dragon Robe, and an invisible imperial pressure spread around him.
"You're courting death."
The Thousand-Eyed Demon sneered. Without hesitation, the magic eyes around his body flashed, unleashing several beams of dim gray light, sealing off Yi Tianxing's location and leaving no room to dodge.
This was the Petrification Demon Eye. Anyone hit by it would be turned to stone instantly.
"By decree—Vanish!"
Yi Tianxing didn't even flinch. He didn't dodge, didn't retreat. He merely uttered a single word.
As his voice fell, those beams of petrifying light suddenly dissolved in midair—vanishing into nothing under an invisible, divine force.
As if a gentle breeze had simply blown them away.
The terrifying Petrification Demon Eye—completely ineffective.
Hiss!!
Gasps rang out across the battlefield. Countless Heaven's Chosen squinted, their pupils contracting in utter disbelief.
"What the hell? That was a divine technique cast by a True Spirit realm cultivator—and Yi Emperor dismissed it with a single word?"
"How could a Yang Spirit realm cultivator neutralize a True Spirit's spell just by speaking?!"
"It's the Great Prophecy Technique!"
"No… no! It's the legendary Imperial Dao Divine Art—Golden Decrees, Words of Jade!!"
Only top-tier Imperial Dao cultivators could comprehend and cultivate such an art. Its effects varied based on power disparity. Against weaker foes, it was absolute. Against stronger ones, the results were often negligible.
Yet Yi Tianxing, a mere Yang Spirit cultivator, had just decreed away a True Spirit's divine art—without any visible buff or power-up. It made no sense.
But it was real. This was one of the three innate divine arts within his soul—born from the fruit of his supreme Imperial Dao: the Golden Decrees, Words of Jade.
"Impossible…" The Thousand-Eyed Demon was equally shocked.
Ding!
Yi Tianxing gently tapped the jade belt around his waist. Gemstones sparkled upon it, radiating nobility and mystery.
"Die! Eyes of chaos, I am the Demon Sovereign!!"
Enraged, the Thousand-Eyed Demon unleashed his full power. Behind him appeared over a thousand demonic arms, turning him into a true Thousand-Hand Demon God. From every palm opened a demon eye, and countless rays of divine light burst forth, blanketing the entire arena in an overwhelming tide.
It was an onslaught of otherworldly might—chaotic and unrelenting.
*"By decree—All divine light, vanish!!"
Yi Tianxing spoke again.
This time, his voice carried even more weight. An all-encompassing will surged forth, sweeping over the arena. The rain of divine beams collapsed in midair, torn apart and obliterated by the sheer force of his word.
Everything faded into void.
"No! I won't believe it!" the Thousand-Eyed Demon cried.
His entire power set relied on those magic eyes. If they were nullified, it was worse than having his limbs cut off—seventy percent of his combat strength vanished instantly.
*"By decree—Night falls, eyes shall close!!"
Yi Tianxing decreed once more.
Immediately, the Thousand-Eyed Demon felt a compulsion rise in his body. His eyes—both the ones on his face and the many demonic ones in his hands—began to shut uncontrollably. Even though he struggled to resist, he couldn't stop it. It felt like he hadn't slept in ten days; his eyelids were unbearably heavy.
*"By decree—You are guilty. Suffer a thousand cuts!!"
Another word followed.
Suddenly, invisible knives materialized, slicing into the Thousand-Eyed Demon's flesh. Blood flew as bits of muscle were sheared off. He screamed in agony, subjected to a punishment as cruel as execution by a thousand cuts.
Within moments, he was reduced to a pile of shredded meat and bone. His very body was dismembered.
"I—yield…"
He tried to cry out and surrender.
"Silence."
Yi Tianxing cast him a glance and snapped.
The Thousand-Eyed Demon's mouth clamped shut involuntarily—he couldn't speak, even if he wanted to.
And then, before he could resist any further, his mangled body was utterly disintegrated. Every piece of flesh vanished from the arena as if he had never existed.