Jiang Chen stood in the void with a heart as still as calm water, signaling for the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian and the others to move further back.
The Black Tortoise Divine Beast's true form continued to shrink, its manifestation flickering amid rippling waves. Moments later, a powerfully built, rugged man clad in scaled armor appeared before everyone.
This was the Black Tortoise Divine Beast's humanoid transformation, and he looked impressively strong.
"Human, I won't bully you — I'll fight you after taking this form," the Black Tortoise Divine Beast declared, standing tall and exuding an imposing air, making him look even more formidable.
Jiang Chen's expression remained calm. He nodded. "Very well. Please, bring it on."
As he spoke, Jiang Chen instantly activated every Divine Ability at his disposal. Fighting the Black Tortoise Divine Beast demanded nothing less than his full power.
The Earth Origin Pearl — a supreme treasure of the earth element — was absolutely indispensable for going toe-to-toe with the Black Tortoise Divine Beast.
His other equipment, the Ice Fire Demon Lotus and the Primordial Magnetic Golden Mountain, went without saying.
Of course, the golden bell was currently Jiang Chen's primary offensive and defensive tool. Especially during the defensive phase, that golden bell was incredibly reliable.
Back when the Golden Bell Ancestor had wielded it, the bell's power had never been fully unleashed. In truth, this golden bell was an extremely ancient divine artifact.
The patterns etched on its surface made that clear — those ancient motifs and engravings were in fact tremendously powerful primordial formations.
Jiang Chen's comprehension of these formations naturally surpassed the Golden Bell Ancestor's, so in his hands, the golden bell's power had undergone a tremendous boost.
"Ready?"
The Black Tortoise Divine Beast let out a low roar and threw a straightforward punch that suddenly exploded outward.
The blow looked unremarkable on the surface, but the moment the fist energy surged forth, it seemed to overturn the very void — as if rivers were being reversed and oceans churned, kicking up walls of force like a thousand rolling snowdrifts.
In an instant, Jiang Chen felt as though he had been plunged into towering waves, buffeted left and right, with tremendous force pressing in from every direction — as though the very space around him was about to be crushed to dust.
Jiang Chen remained immovable as a mountain. He pushed his Divine Demon Golden Body to its absolute limit, continuously bolstering it with the Primordial Magnetic force, while the golden bell emitted a deep, resonating hum, radiating beams of golden light that enveloped his entire body layer by layer, forming successive barriers of defense.
Within that golden radiance, countless vines of the Ice Fire Demon Lotus rallied on their own, arranging themselves into row upon row of vine walls like a living palisade.
This three-dimensional defensive formation was astonishingly powerful.
Boom!
The Black Tortoise Divine Beast's fist energy slammed violently into the golden bell's barrier.
A deafening roar erupted as the golden bell let out wave after wave of anguished ringing. The golden light flickered erratically, flashing and vanishing in rapid succession.
Jiang Chen knew that under that single punch, the golden bell had been pushed to its limits.
However, it appeared he had managed to withstand the first strike.
From the perimeter, the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian cheered loudly: "Excellent! Beautiful work, Chen Shao! You withstood a divine being's blow — truly worthy of being heaven's chosen!"
The Vermilion Bird Divine Avian's words were ostensibly praise for Jiang Chen, but were also clearly aimed at unsettling the Black Tortoise Divine Beast's resolve. It was obvious the Vermilion Bird Divine Avian had grown far more confident in Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen's heart stirred. He glanced at the golden bell again — it was still trembling ceaselessly. But he knew he had no time to deliberate.
He immediately channeled his true essence once more, reactivating the golden bell. After absorbing that punch, the bell needed time to recover.
But Jiang Chen simply had no time to wait. At this point, even if it meant barely holding on or overtaxing himself, he had to endure.