"Vile beast, cease your arrogance!"
A furious shout came from the distant sea, spreading across the ocean surface like a ringing bell. His words carried an unquestionable authority.
At the same time, the originally surging waves suddenly calmed down. But immediately after, massive water tornadoes soared into the sky, rising high into the air before pressing down toward the Demon Empress.
Seeing her attack miss and the water tornadoes pressing down on her, the Demon Empress nimbly twisted her massive body within the seawater. With a rise and fall of her whale tail, she swept upward against the water tornadoes!
Right at this moment, a figure appeared in mid-air. When Sea Dragon Douluo saw who it was, the trace of despair in his heart vanished, replaced by joy.
Chen Juntao floated in mid-air, with waves churning beneath him. His upright posture was like a divine needle steadying the sea. The water tornadoes that had shot into the sky and were struck down by the Demon Empress didn't dissipate; instead, they retreated, returning to Chen Juntao's side like guardians defending him.
Meanwhile, the Demon Empress's massive, dark-blue body in the distance didn't sink because of this. Instead, she surfaced once more, her overwhelming aura covering the area like a blanket.
Facing this clash of auras, a vast expanse of azure blue naturally rose around the Sea God Douluo, Chen Juntao, violently colliding with the dark-purple aura coming from afar. In this instant, the entire ocean seemed to violently tremble. The sea surface, which had just calmed down, instantly became turbulent. All the rising water tornadoes and the dark clouds in the sky instantly shattered under this invisible collision of auras, scattering in all directions.
Chen Juntao didn't pay attention to the Demon Empress, who was standing against him as an equal, but instead turned his gaze to the Sea Dragon Douluo, who was being supported by the waves behind him. At this moment, his tone couldn't help but carry a hint of concern.
"Sea Dragon, how are your injuries?"
Sea Dragon Douluo weakly shook his head: "Patriarch, I can still hold on. But this opponent is too strong; you must be careful."
Though he said this, his tone was full of confidence. In his eyes, their Patriarch was the strongest in the ocean! And once he used the divine artifact, he would be the number one person beneath the gods!
Chen Juntao nodded and said, "Leave this to me. Retreat to a distance and heal your wounds properly."
With Sea Dragon Douluo's current injuries, he couldn't be allowed to travel back to the Sea God Family from here. Moreover, the collision of Limit Douluo-tier powerhouses unleashed world-destroying might; if Sea Dragon Douluo were caught in the crossfire, he might very well die given his severe injuries.
Sea Dragon Douluo had no objections and slowly retreated. The Demon Empress didn't stop him, nor could she. She just hovered there, her aura constantly changing.
After speaking, Chen Juntao turned his gaze to the Demon Empress. He didn't waste words; his originally high-spirited aura abruptly climbed again, momentarily suppressing the Demon Empress's aura. At the same time, his hair and robes flapped fiercely under the agitation of his soul power.
At this moment, he seemed to merge with the ocean—vast and boundless.
He took a step forward, a halo flickering around him, as if a layer of azure water ripples had surged up. At the same time, a red brand emerged from his forehead. This brand of the Sea God Trident signified his status as the Great Elder of the Sea God.
Immediately after, an unparalleled majestic aura was released from Chen Juntao. Under the illumination of the massive blue light, a giant golden phantom slowly appeared behind him. The phantom was humanoid, and the majestic aura was being released from it. Although its facial features couldn't be seen clearly, one could vaguely make out that it held a massive trident in its hands.
And this was the martial soul of the Sea God Douluo, Chen Juntao—the Sea God!
Six black, three red. Nine soul rings neatly arranged on Chen Juntao's body. However, his body didn't undergo any changes due to the release of his martial soul; he merely had nine additional soul rings.
"Sea—God—"
The revelation of Chen Juntao's martial soul, along with that bright, vast majesty, caused cold and evil thoughts to constantly brew within the Demon Empress. The resentment in her eyes seemed to materialize, and her gaze staring at Chen Juntao was filled with sky-high hatred. But even so, it wasn't enough to cause the ocean beneath her to change.
"You are this generation's Sea God Douluo, right? Heh—heh—, you came just in time. Then today, I'll let you both be buried at the bottom of the sea, and this day next year will be the anniversary of your deaths!"
Every word she spat out contained an extremely cold will—specifically, an extremely cold spiritual power.
In Chen Juntao's eyes, this vile beast had truly become a massive threat!
Her level of spiritual power had already reached the absolute pinnacle of the mortal realm. The next step would be Divine Sense.
However, for the Demon Empress, this was completely normal. Originally, after breaking through to become a 700,000-year soul beast, her spiritual power had already arrived at the top mortal tier. Generally speaking, this couldn't compare to a spiritual-type being like the Evil Eye Tyrant Lord. But since cooperating with the Holy Emperor, the Demon Empress had devoured many vengeful spirits, gaining immense resources in terms of spiritual power.
In other words, regarding the transformation into Divine Sense: the quantity was enough; she was only lacking in quality.
I can't let her break through any further!
With this thought, Chen Juntao narrowed his eyes slightly. The blue light around his body spread out like flowing water, unexpectedly cascading toward the surroundings like spilling mercury, covering the entire sea area. In this moment, the ocean seemed to come alive, enveloping the Demon Empress.
The Demon Empress let out a cold sneer. "With just you? You think you can suppress me?"
As she spoke, the faintly visible dragon scales on her body flickered with a bizarre light. A surging dark energy emanated from within her, dyeing the surrounding seawater pitch black. Her massive body suddenly charged forward, churning the surrounding seawater into a giant black vortex. The vortex contained a powerful suction force, attempting to drag Chen Juntao inside.
Chen Juntao's expression remained calm as he thrust his right hand forward. A transparent blue barrier instantly enveloped both him and Sea Dragon Douluo. The barrier's surface rippled with ocean currents, emitting a soft glow that firmly resisted the suction of the black vortex.
Seeing this, the Demon Empress opened her giant maw. Pillars of light shot out from her mouth, smashing against the barrier like dense artillery shells. Every time a beam struck the barrier, it let out a piercing sound. The barrier's light flickered unsteadily, but it remained as solid as a rock.
Chen Juntao waved his hands, and a gap appeared in the barrier. His figure flashed as he rushed out. A massive blue trident condensed in his hands, and he swept it horizontally!
The Demon Empress's massive body stood its scales up like sharp blades. She swung her pectoral fins, slicing through the air and tearing the void, bringing up waves of fierce energy to meet Chen Juntao.
The blue trident and the black fins collided, letting out a series of crisp, metallic clashing sounds. Every collision triggered a violent shaking of the seawater. The surrounding seawater was splattered in all directions by the powerful energy impact, forming a mist of water.
For a time, water splashed and light flickered. Every collision caused the surrounding seabed to continuously collapse, and massive reefs were thrown high into the sky. The two exchanged blows in the sea, fighting to a standstill.
Swish—
Seizing the opportunity, Chen Juntao gripped the trident with both hands and forcefully swung it. A massive blue halberd blade shot out from the trident, cleaving toward the Demon Empress like a bolt of lightning. The Demon Empress hurriedly dodged to the side, but the sword qi still grazed her body, leaving a deep scar on her scales. At the same time, Chen Juntao concentrated his soul power into the trident and fiercely stabbed downward.
Boom—
Wincing from the pain, the Demon Empress quickly adjusted her body. She shot out from the sea, colliding with Chen Juntao's trident. The massive impact made Chen Juntao's arms go numb.
The Demon Empress pressed her advantage, continuing her attack. She opened her giant maw, and a pillar of light shot toward Chen Juntao.
Chen Juntao forcibly steadied himself in mid-air. A giant blue shield appeared before him, blocking the pillar of light.
Crack. The shield shattered. He swung his trident, deflecting the remaining attack.
Seeing this, Chen Juntao knew he couldn't let this drag on any longer. If they continued to be delayed, who knew what might happen. If she escaped...
He had to end this quickly!
Thus, having only exchanged blows for a short while, he directly utilized his hidden power. Raising both hands, the Sea God Helmet materialized.
Lord Sea God's orders were that this remnant could not be killed. Since that was the case, he would use the power of the Sea God Helmet to cripple her, then disable her, turning her into a fish on a chopping block.
The moment he put it on, the helmet on his head suddenly bloomed with an intense blue halo. In this split second, his eyes instantly turned gold. An incomparably domineering spiritual aura rolled outward. From his eyes, three feet of golden light violently shot out, reflecting off the surrounding ocean and dyeing it in massive expanses of blue-gold.
The Demon Empress froze for a moment, her expression drastically changing!
"A divine artifact!? The divine artifact left by the Sea God?!"
The next instant, her massive body suddenly raised its head. Immediately after, a dazzling dark-purple light bloomed like an explosion. Her island-sized massive body rapidly shrank. The moment she transformed into her human form, the Demon Empress instantly fled toward the distant horizon!
Because, under the enhancement of a divine artifact, the Demon Empress knew very clearly that she was absolutely no match for this generation's Sea God Douluo.
So her first reaction was—flee!
Furthermore, she couldn't escape into the ocean. Because escaping into the ocean would be truly seeking death.
"Demon Empress, your sins are heavy! You have massacred the sea clan and harmed the kin of my Sea God Family. I will absolutely not forgive you today!"
Chen Juntao raised his hands, and the surrounding seawater instantly responded. Countless currents converged beside him, forming rows of spinning water tornadoes. With a wave of his hand, the water tornadoes shot into the sky, connecting heaven and earth!
At this moment, all directions were completely sealed off. Obviously, Chen Juntao had anticipated this. His eyes became exceptionally bright, shining with intense blue-gold light. Taking a single step forward, in the blink of an eye, Chen Juntao arrived above the Demon Empress, pressing down with both hands from the air.
The surrounding ocean, in this instant, seemed to have completely merged with him, violently repelling the Demon Empress. Under Chen Juntao's mobilization, the boundless power of the ocean transformed into a massive crushing force, pressing down upon the Demon Empress from all sides.
Boundless Ocean!
This strike instantly reached the God Tier.
Once the Demon Empress was struck by this blow, even if she didn't die, she would lose half her life and would never be able to escape Chen Juntao's grasp again. By then, it would basically be over.
Realizing this...
[Help me!]
As the thought flashed, the Demon Empress's entire body radiated with dazzling light! Unrivaled, massive energy instantly erupted from the Demon Empress's chest. In this split second, it was as if time and space had stopped.
The dark-purple light stirred the heavens. If at this moment the ocean was azure, then the sky, under the Demon Empress's influence, turned dark purple. From the massive dark clouds in mid-air, nine giant bolts of lightning, thick as water vats, descended, striking the rows of water tornadoes that were trapping her.
Thunder and water connected, yet it was difficult to break the deadlock. At the same time, it briefly resisted "Boundless Ocean."
As for how briefly... it was only about a single breath.
However, this was not the end. Rather, it was just the prelude to the Demon Empress's methods. The energy erupted by the Demon Empress, after affecting the heavens, did not continue to spread. Instead, it rapidly retracted. Amidst violent rotation, it crazily compressed, continuously condensing her own energy.
By the time the energy had mostly condensed, the Demon Empress was wearing a bizarre dark-purple armor. The armor appeared crystalline, yet it also flickered with a pale-green metallic luster.
The entire set of armor consisted of a helmet, chest armor, shoulder armor, abdominal armor, a battle skirt, and armor for the limbs. Aside from the helmet, the other pieces were entirely seamless, with no connecting joints visible. Paired with the helmet, it possessed a unique beauty.
At the same time, not all the energy in the air had completely gathered together. The remaining energy formed a massive dark-purple vortex before her. This dark-purple vortex slowly floated upward, spinning until it reached her chest.
The Demon Empress plunged her hand into it, and then pulled! A crystalline long spear appeared in her hand.
Seeing this scene, Chen Juntao's expression changed slightly.
"Energy-formed armor? And also..."
"The aura of a god!?"
If he hadn't known the secret that soul beasts could not become gods, Chen Juntao would have almost thought that this remnant of the Deep Sea Devil Whale King had obtained a divine inheritance. But even so, it made Chen Juntao realize one thing:
If he didn't have the Sea God Helmet, the odds would truly be four to six.
He would be the four, and the Demon Empress the six.
But even so, she still wouldn't be enough!
Chen Juntao violently pressed down. "Boundless Ocean" instantly shattered the Demon Empress's lightning, simultaneously indirectly dyeing the heavens. At this moment, however, the Demon Empress stood tall above the heavens, letting out a low roar. A demonic rune surged at the center of her brow.
Almost simultaneously, in her Spiritual Sea, a pale-green light flickered in response. This was the trace of divinity originating from Bibi Dong's bones and the fragments of her Divine Armor. Under the energy of the demonic rune, it sensed the aura of the Sea God.
This seemed to have "stimulated" It. Under the surging of energy and divinity, it felt as if something was about to appear.
You have to understand, this was no longer just the aura of a god.
It was a true, "living" divinity!
In an instant, a sudden mutation occurred. A might of an entirely different tier enveloped the Demon Empress's body. She fiercely raised her head, her long hair fluttering, her gaze ruthless, as if an endless purgatory dwelled within her eyes.
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