However, this time the defense was not merely the Vermilion Bird's individual shield—it also included the Black Tortoise's defensive ring, as well as Kasyapa's two mysterious leaves.
Once the Vermilion Bird's heatwave was swept aside, the Black Tortoise's defensive ring surged forward immediately. In terms of pure defensive power, the Black Tortoise was absolutely superior to the Vermilion Bird.
These concentric ripples of defensive force carried powerful gravitational augmentation. Once caught within them, one's entire body would grow heavy, drastically reducing one's mobility.
Gravitational augmentation was a Divine Ability that was exceedingly difficult to counter.
Elder Guangdu watched the ripples roll toward him one ring after another and let out a cold snort, sweeping his white-robed sleeve to repeat his earlier trick. But the moment he swept, he immediately sensed something wrong.
The arm that had performed the sweep instantly turned stiff.
Elder Guangdu was seasoned and experienced, having endured many great battles, so he recognized the danger at once. He lifted his figure and retreated with lightning speed, trying to dodge the gravity ripples spreading outward in rings.
And right at that moment, Kasyapa's two green leaves parted like a gaping maw, lunging toward Elder Guangdu.
Elder Guangdu flew into a rage and smashed a vicious punch toward them.
The punch tore an enormous black hole in the void, its powerful fist energy crashing down upon the two green leaves.
But the leaves possessed exceptional resilience. They snapped shut with fierce force, then drifted lightly off to one side, completely unscathed.
Elder Guangdu recognized Kasyapa's treasure at a single glance.
He called out coldly, "An Kasyapa, you refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit. In the Endless Prison, I admired your talent and never laid a hand on you. Now it seems you don't know when you're well off."
An Kasyapa sneered, "And this so-called favor of yours—offering someone the chance to be a dog?"
"Hmph—being my dog, is that beneath you?" Elder Guangdu weaved and dodged repeatedly until he finally escaped the gravity ripple.
His eyes blazed like lightning, shooting deep, piercing light as he stared ahead. Clearly, he was extremely surprised by this gravitational defense and knew he had encountered a formidable opponent.
As for the earlier heatwave—though An Kasyapa had never encountered it before, Elder Guangdu had deduced from his own intelligence that it must be the Vermilion Bird. That much he had been able to figure out.
These two leaves were An Kasyapa's treasure—he had figured that out as well.
But that terrifying gravitational defense—in terms of pure defensive power alone, it surpassed both the Vermilion Bird and An Kasyapa. And who could that be?
When had the Eternal Sacred Land acquired such a formidable opponent?
Could it be the Eternal Sacred Land's Divine Dao ancestor?
That didn't add up either. The Eternal Sacred Land's ancestor shouldn't have returned to the Sacred Land. Moreover, the ancestor was not known for exceptional defensive power.
On all of these matters, he had clear intelligence.
If things had gone smoothly from the start, Elder Guangdu would certainly have had no doubts. But encountering such tremendous resistance right out of the gate forced him to calm down and reassess.
Remembering how the two great protectors had fallen here, Elder Guangdu grew even more wary, casting aside any hint of underestimation. The power required to bring down those two protectors—even if it fell short of his own—could not be far behind.