A huge lotus rose from the seabed, so massive it seemed to lift the entire sky.
The lotus was pure and flawless, emitting a milky white halo. A surging power of faith surged forth, causing the net of faith in the sky to tremble, its strength instantly multiplying several times.
This lotus is the Faith Divine Pool of Jiuyou Island, a divine artifact that collects the power of faith. It is formed by gathering the spiritual power of countless generations of Jiuyou followers, and its power is enough to shake the entire world.
When that enormous lotus appeared, even Long Chen felt suffocated. Faced with the power of faith accumulated by countless generations, they seemed so insignificant.
Standing atop the lotus throne, under the divine radiance of faith power, he suddenly shed his previous cold and violent demeanor, now exuding a noble and dignified aura. Now, he stood above all, overlooking all beings, inspiring a sense of reverence as he prostrated himself at his feet.
This is the power of the gods—grains of sand form a tower, and the gods are the ones standing at the top. People use the power of faith to elevate them to an unparalleled height, then worship them. They are the spiritual support and guiding light for their followers.
"Long Chen, you destroyed the Star-Peering Sky Mirror—a crime unforgivable. Do you really expect me to do it myself?" Liao Bencang stood atop the Faith Lotus, looking down at Long Chen and the other two, speaking coldly.
His voice reverberated between heaven and earth, echoing from all directions, as if heaven and earth were responding to him.
"Me?" Your throne hasn't appeared, meaning you are not the original one, but a clone.
A clone dares to act arrogant? Do you think I, Long Chen, am a three-year-old child? It's not like I've never seen a real god, so enough talk—if it's a mule or a horse, come out for a walk! Let the three brothers witness just how powerful so-called gods really are! Long Chen sneered.
Liao Bencang's aura reached heaven and earth, but Long Chen saw a glimmer of hope—his throne had not appeared.
He had spent a long time with Leng Yueyan and Ming Cangyue, and knew that gods like them, when they unleashed their full power, the throne would surely be bestowed.
And to use the power of the throne, it must be the true body; the avatar cannot use the throne's power. Although Long Chen didn't know what Liao Bencang's throne looked like, he knew that the lotus before him was definitely not his throne.
While seeing hope, Long Chen also saw how terrifying true gods can be. This is the biggest difference between immortal cultivators and divine cultivators.
Immortal cultivators rely on their own strength, while divine cultivators rely on the strength of countless people. Liao Bencang's power comes not only from himself but also from countless followers.
So the disagreement between immortals and gods stems from this: divine cultivators build towers from sand grains, while immortal cultivators rely entirely on personal effort.
Immortal cultivators see divine cultivators as just a bunch of frauds trying to steal others' faith power, while divine cultivators see them as poor and incapable of developing followers, yet envying others' achievements.
But in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, a universally recognized principle is that divine cultivators are stronger than immortal cultivators. The only prerequisite is that they must be at the same realm.
However, immortal cultivators also have their own characteristics: rapid advancement speed and no need to align with faith power. Faith power is both an energy source and a constraint, limiting the cultivation speed of divine cultivators, especially after advancing to Realm King, where the cultivation speed noticeably slows down.
Unless they have strong backing, all divine cultivators will be far behind immortal cultivators at this stage.
But even though their realms have drifted away, in terms of true combat power, divine cultivators are still unbeatable among their peers. In fact, all powerful divine cultivators, relying on their strong faith power, have the strength to fight across realms.
So, at this moment, Liao Bencang was clearly only at the peak of Realm King, not yet advanced to half-step Divine Venerable, and was just another clone. Yet the threat he posed to Long Chen and the others far exceeded that of the half-step Divine Venerable they had encountered. There was simply no comparison between the two.
Facing Liao Bencang now, Guo Ran finally understood that what Long Chen had said before was true. Powerhouses like Liao Bencang and Enpuda were truly terrifying.
Seeing Long Chen still raising his momentum, a cold smile appeared at the corner of Liao Bencang's mouth: "A mere ant, daring to speak arrogantly?" Unfortunately, the Nine Nether Rakshasa has not yet emerged from seclusion. Otherwise, I would have summoned her here and personally ended you all. "
A defeated general dares to speak of bravery?" Have you forgotten the scene last time when Galo wailed under my hands, and your clone was wiped out by us? Long Chen sneered.
That time, Long Chen killed Galo. Empuda and Liao Bencang attacked simultaneously, trying to kill Long Chen to avenge Galo. However, Empuda used Liao Bencang to fend off the attacks and escaped himself, causing Liao Bencang to lose a clone.
When Long Chen brought up this matter, Liao Bencang's face twisted with anger. That was the greatest humiliation of his life. Now, as Long Chen exposed his wound, his rage flared to the bone.
"Last time, it was because of that idiot Empuda who wanted to spare your life, but today Empuda is gone. Do you really think you can survive?" Liao Bencang roared angrily.
"That's shameless, actually blaming all the last failure on Empda. To be honest, I'm still very wary of Empda.
Because this guy is both sinister and ruthless. If Nine Nether Island were his territory, honestly, with my current strength, I might not dare to come. Long Chen said disdainfully.
Although Long Chen spoke with disdain, he had already begun to fully channel his star power, adjusting everything to peak condition. There was no retreat today, only one battle left.
Fortunately, today they faced Liao Bencang. After a head-on fight, they should still have a slim chance. If Empuda were here, they would be finished. Empuda wouldn't give them a chance to fight head-on and would have killed them outright.
Guo Ran and Xia Chen were all on high alert, entering combat mode. They knew today might be the most terrifying battle of their lives, and dared not be careless for a moment.
"Nonsense! Are you saying I'm worse than that fat guy?" Liao Bencang roared, and whenever Enpuda was mentioned, he flew into a rage.
"Although I really dislike that fat guy Empuda a bit, I have to admit, he's really formidable—he's both calculating and knows how to endure in silence.
And you, you're just a useless fool. I don't even know what the Great Brahma sees in you that makes you his dog.
Your hesitation is just to put psychological pressure on me, to reveal a flaw in my mind. Then you can search my soul and uncover my secret."
Unfortunately, besides shouting, you have no other skills. You're clearly foolish, yet you still pretend to be wise. Honestly, I find it hard to watch.
Stop your clumsy performance, trying to make my heart show a flaw. You're overestimating yourself. Long Chen sneered. Liao Bencang was on a completely different level in terms of intelligence compared to Empuda.
"Ignorant brat, go to hell for me!" Liao Bencang's thoughts were seen through by Long Chen, and he flew into a rage. He swung his large hand, wielding a long sword as he slashed at the three of them.