Inside the crumbling cave, Leysin's side was clearly at a disadvantage.
"You bastard, you bastard!!!" Leysin roared, struggling frantically. But the silver whip coiled around him like a serpent, binding him tight. Leysin even tried to transform his body into energy to escape. However, the silver whip radiated such overwhelming divine power that it sealed off all space around him. Even in his energy form, Leysin couldn't break free.
"Magnus, I'll make you regret this!" Leysin snarled.
Magnus glanced at Leysin and smiled faintly. "Leysin, you'd better save your strength." With that, he turned his gaze toward Lin Lei and Uman. The two were clearly about to make their move.
A thick, long mace glinting with a cold luster materialized in Uman's hand. He bared his teeth in a savage grin. "Lin Lei, I'm going to use this to crush your skull and scatter your soul into oblivion. Dying at my hands, killed by a divine artifact — you should feel honored."
"Bei Bei," Lin Lei called in a low voice.
"Boss." Bei Bei darted to Lin Lei's side.
"What, calling for backup?" Uman sneered. He knew full well what Bei Bei was capable of. The innate ability "God Devourer" was fearsome enough, but beyond that, Bei Bei's attacks posed no real threat to him. "The two of you can team up. I don't mind in the slightest."
During the fight, he could completely ignore Bei Bei.
Lin Lei extended his hand and pressed four Sovereign Medallions into Bei Bei's palm. He transmitted his voice: "Bei Bei, remember — even if I die, you have to go find the Death Sovereign."
"Boss." Bei Bei looked at Lin Lei with worry, then quickly stored the four medallions into his space ring.
Having completed this, Lin Lei breathed a sigh of relief. If he perished and all four Sovereign Medallions were lost along with him, that would be truly disastrous.
"Boss, don't do anything stupid. Don't fight Uman to the death," Bei Bei urged through telepathy. "In a moment, find a chance to escape. I'll hold Magnus off! He can't kill me. Even if I'm thrown into spatial turbulence, I'd survive. Others might die, but my body's defense is comparable to a divine artifact — I won't perish in the spatial chaos. You and I are linked by soul. As long as you're alive, you can always find Grandpa Beirut later. With the soul connection, I'll find my way out eventually."
Just then, a thunderous roar came from nearby.
Lei Hong had already engaged Chigewen.
"Lin Lei, what a chatterbox," Uman muttered with a snort. His entire body surged forward like a mountain bearing down on Lin Lei.
Whoosh — the mace tore through the air, aimed squarely at Lin Lei's head.
In an instant, a black dome of light a hundred meters in diameter materialized, its powerful gravitational pull slamming onto Uman.
Black Stone Space!
"Hmph." Lin Lei's dark-golden eyes locked onto his opponent. His legs, sheathed in dragon scales, kicked off the ground as he charged to meet the blow.
The Shadowglimpse Divine Sword tore a seam through space with ease. This strike carried Lin Lei's most devastating offensive power, though he had refrained from using the gravitational compression technique. Seeing this, the anxious Bei Bei furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why isn't Boss using Inch Land Foot Heaven? He gave up the spatial restraint. The opponent can easily block this attack."
This strike, while lacking the gravitational binding, possessed the same piercing power as Inch Land Foot Heaven.
Clang!
The Shadowglimpse Divine Sword collided with the mace, and Lin Lei was forced to stagger back.
"Oh?" Uman stared in surprise. In their previous encounters, a single blow from his mace had sent Lin Lei reeling with injuries, even knocking the Shadowglimpse Divine Sword back into his own body. The advantage had been overwhelming. But now, he was only slightly superior in raw offensive power.
Lin Lei bared his teeth in a cold smile. "You're not all that impressive."
"It's too early to say that!" Uman's figure blurred, leaving only a string of afterimages as he charged at Lin Lei once more.
Bound by the whip, Leysin watched the two battles unfold with growing anxiety. Lin Lei and Uman were one thing — Lin Lei could barely hold his own with the Black Stone Space. But the fight between Chigewen and Lei Hong was far more dangerous. Lei Hong had already transformed into a ten-meter giant.
Booooom — the mountain split and the earth cracked.
Lin Lei and Uman's battle, though fierce and swift, wasn't terribly destructive. But Chigewen and Lei Hong fought like two colossal beasts, one large and one small, clashing with nothing but raw physical force. Every punch and kick from Lei Hong carried enough power to cleave mountains and split the earth. Yet Chigewen was even more terrifying — each of his strikes fell like a razor-sharp blade, carving deep wounds into Lei Hong's body.
BOOM! Lei Hong, that towering giant, was smashed into the mountainside like a meteor. The cliff face shattered, and rock fragments exploded in all directions.
Lei Hong's chest caved inward.
"This is bad," Leysin said, his voice tight with worry. "Lei Hong excels in physical combat, but Chigewen is notoriously hard to deal with. He possesses both a material-defense divine artifact and a soul-defense divine artifact. No one can hurt him! Lei Hong is nothing but a punching bag. If this goes on..."
Lei Hong truly was a punching bag.
Lei Hong himself realized it too. He tried desperately to close the distance to Lin Lei, hoping to enter the Black Stone Space zone. "If I can fight inside the Amethyst Space, I'll have the speed advantage." But the battle's rhythm was controlled by Chigewen, who had already driven him out of the cave and into the barren wasteland outside for the decisive clash.
"Lei Hong is going to die at this rate!" Leysin stared daggers at Magnus, his eyes bloodshot. "Magnus, you bastard! I'm telling you — if any one of my friends dies, I won't let it go. I swear I won't!!! Tell Chigewen to stop right now. NOW!!!"
Magnus merely smiled, utterly composed.
"Leysin, you'd be better off resting here." Magnus didn't take Leysin's threats to heart in the slightest.
Chief Gods and divine beings existed on two fundamentally different planes.
Unless there was compelling reason, Chief Gods would never lower themselves to personally deal with gods. This was a convention that had stood for countless ages.
"Lin Lei, flee quickly. Find a way to escape!" Leysin urged through telepathy, desperate now. "Bei Bei and I will be fine. Hurry!"
But Lin Lei didn't respond. Instead, his battle with Uman grew even more violent. Explosions and booms rang out without cease as vast stretches of rock at the foot of Sheep Horn Mountain were blasted into fragments. Lin Lei was clearly at a disadvantage, and wounds had begun appearing across his body. The two fought their way out of the cave and into the open wilderness.
"What is Boss thinking? Why won't he use his ultimate technique?" Bei Bei muttered in confusion, then streaked out after them.
"I'll go take a look." Magnus rose, holding the whip that dangled Leysin, and walked outside.