For Han Shuo, Salas was not only a powerful opponent, but also the key to a breakthrough in his cultivation. Han Shuo was determined to fight to the end with all his might, because no matter how it ended, Han Shuo would have something to gain. Even if Han Shuo lost the battle, he would gain first-hand experience of the power of an Overgod, possibly make gains in the demonic arts, and even become famous in the Fringe. Soon, every Fringedweller would learn that another existence in the Fringe could compete against Salas.
There was nothing for an underdog to lose by challenging the top dog, as long as he survived!
With both hands, Han Shuo grabbed the air around him and transformed the killing intent that enveloped him into two dragons. They charged furiously at Salas as he descended from the sky. With a thought in his mind, the Cauldron of the Myriad Demon and the seventeen flying swords stopped attacking the fleeing weak gods and flew back to him. Han Shuo focused all his firepower on Salas.
Salas was enveloped in brilliant and blinding lightning that contained a terrifying amount of energy. Bright flashes shot down at the dark dragons that Han Shuo created with killing intent. The terrifying rumbling caused the Empyrean Peak to rumble.
The surviving followers of Salas ran to the foot of the mountain to avoid being injured or killed by the stray energies generated by the duel between the two experts of extraordinary strength. They looked up at the Empyrean Peak that had now become the battle arena for Han Shuo and Salas.
Now that Han Shuo had finally exchanged blows with Salas, he was awed by the terrifying power of an overgod. Even though he had borrowed all of the Cauldron Spirit's energy, aided by the deadly seventeen flying swords, and used all of his power, he was still nowhere near the top.
Salas' understanding and mastery of the element of lightning had reached an inexplicably profound level. His divine body was covered with the element of lightning, and every attack he made would carry a boundless amount of lightning energy. The dark dragons that Han Shuo had created by condensing killing intent instantly dissipated after being struck by several hundred thunderbolts simultaneously.
Empyrean Peak, the place where Salas spent most of his time, had a higher concentration of Lightning Element than any other place in the Fringe. Because there were more elements of lightning in the environment for Salas to use, his strength would be much greater when he was on the mountain than when he was elsewhere.
If it weren't for the fact that Han Shuo's demonic body was so resilient, if Han Shuo wasn't supported by the Cauldron Spirit's energy, there was no way that Han Shuo could have withstood the constant bombardment of thunder and lightning for so long. Han Shuo had tried to surround Salas with his seventeen flying swords. However, Sala's lightning energy always managed to hit the flying swords with great precision, disrupting their trajectory. As a result, Han Shuo was unable to form the Avici Godslaying Sword Formation.
Han Shuo's eyes remained dark red. Threads of faint, dark demonic aura emanated from his majestic and muscular naked body. His Avatar of Destruction had transformed into Demonslayer Edge and was held in his right hand to fight Salas.
Salas unleashed his domain of divinity. Tens of thousands of tiny lightning bolts began to fall from the sky as the Empyrean Peak was filled with meshes of electricity. Every now and then, Han Shuo would inevitably collide with one of these meshes and the lightning energy would find its way into his body.
Fortunately for Han Shuo, his hybrid domain of divinity was also quite powerful. It quickly gathered the Element of Death nearby and used the Element of Death and the Edict of Destruction to counter Sala's Domain of Divinity. It gave Han Shuo some breathing space.
As the battle progressed, Han Shuo realised that he would have a very difficult time even if he used his full strength. Moreover, Han Shuo had a vague feeling that Salas had not yet used his full power. This made Han Shuo cautious. He tried to prepare himself for an even stronger attack from Salas.
The battle went on. Soon, Salas became impatient.
Suddenly, Salas let out a roar. Somehow, the tiny bolts of lightning that drizzled into his Domain of Divinity became many times more powerful. World-shattering rumbles rang out in his Domain of Divinity.
Even Salas himself seemed to have gained access to unfathomable energy in a split second. Before Salas had unleashed his full power, Han Shuo had barely been able to defend himself. But now, Han Shuo was in grave danger.
***
Many light years away from Elysium were several mid-level material planes. Every sentient life form on these material planes worshipped Salas as their one and only god. Every second of every day, Salas received a constant supply of the power of faith from his followers.
On these mid-level material planes, countless statues of Salas and shrines were erected where his followers would worship him ceaselessly. Some of these devout followers possessed Demigod or even Basegod
powers. They would make pilgrimages to many other material planes to spread Salas' gospel and recruit more followers.
But at that moment, without warning, every living being on those mid-level material planes had blood spurting from their orifices as their souls disintegrated. The power of faith that was being released from their souls traversed the material planes and entered Salas' body on Elysium.
Within moments, several thriving material planes were transformed into lifeless worlds. Billions of lives on these material planes once piously worshipped Salas as their only god, but all they got in return was to be exterminated - by the one they so worshipped.
Back on Elysium, Salas' power had been temporarily increased. His Domain of Divinity had crushed and overwhelmed Han Shuo's. World-shaking lightning bolts with the volume of mountains struck Han Shuo. The power was so great that even Han Shuo's Invincible Omen Body could not fully withstand it. His skin and flesh began to split and he began to bleed.
Invincible Omen Body could only withstand a limited amount of energy. If the attacking energy exceeded its limit, Invincible Omen Body would not be able to stop all the damage from reaching Han Shuo's body.
In a fraction of a second, Han Shuo was seriously injured and knocked out!
"Master! Wake up! Wake up!" the Cauldron Spirit shouted loudly into Han Shuo's half-conscious mind.
The confused Han Shuo quickly regained consciousness. The next thing he felt was the immense pain screaming from all over his body. Ever since he had mastered Invincible Omen Body, Han Shuo had never felt pain of such intensity. Somehow, Han Shuo got a kick out of it.
Han Shuo raised his head and saw that the entire sky of Empyrean Peak was filled with lightning bolts. They seemed to have filled the space between heaven and earth, pouring down like heavy rain.
Salas looked coldly at the badly injured Han Shuo below him. From the look on his face, it seemed that he would give Han Shuo no chance of surviving beyond this day.
The thunder continued to rumble and the lightning continued to strike. Somehow, Han Shuo's consciousness was being pulled into a dazed state. He had a strange and vague feeling that something big was about to happen.
Han Shuo's mind suddenly became absolutely calm and he was inexplicably enlightened. He felt as if his eyes could see beyond the flow of space and time. In the timeless transcendental state, he seemed to be watching Elysium being created...
As Han Shuo calmly observed the empty world, all sorts of brilliant ideas and understandings materialised in his mind. All sorts of cryptic and abstruse chants turned to light and etched themselves into his consciousness. He saw the beginning, when there was nothing, when the universe was a tiny dot...
Salas, floating high in the sky, saw that Han Shuo was badly injured. He was ready to deal Han Shuo the final blow.
At that moment, Salas discovered that he had suddenly lost his connection with the elements of lightning all around him. The thunder and lightning in the sky was no longer under his control and began to wreak havoc on the Empyrean Peak and the rest of the mountain.
Salas' followers, watching the battle from the base of the mountain, were taken by surprise. Many of them were hit by the uncontrolled lightning. Without the awesome defensive power of Han Shuo's demonic body, they perished instantly.
Suddenly, the eight elemental energies of light, darkness, earth, fire, wind, water, lightning, and death from all over the world began to converge on the mountain. Even killing intent, the energy of lost souls, the energy of fear, and all kinds of energies from all over the world were flowing towards the Empyrean Peak as if drawn by something.
It seemed as if the energy was not controlled by any being, but was naturally drawn there by the most fundamental forces of the universe. When the energy gathered on the Empyrean Peak, it began to attack every living thing and destroy every structure on the mountain.
Those boundaries and energy towers that Han Shuo had not destroyed suddenly shattered and exploded. Sala's followers at the base of the mountain screamed and wailed as the Eight Elemental Energies and other bizarre energies bombarded them. A hundred or more experts perished in an instant, while many more were seriously injured.
"Master, the Omen Calamity has come! Ignore Salas. Focus everything you've got on resisting the calamity!" the Cauldron Spirit shouted. However, Han Shuo could not hear anything at that moment. He was still in a trance, receiving the profound wisdom flowing into his consciousness.
Without warning, an asteroid came out of nowhere and slammed Han Shuo into the solid rock of Empyrean Peak. It was then that Han Shuo suddenly came to. He immediately noticed the huge transformation around Empyrean Peak. All kinds of energies were gathering and ravaging the mountain. These energies were still rapidly accumulating to form an apocalyptic attack.
And he was the target of this final assault!
Han Shuo could clearly sense that these energies, drawn by the most fundamental laws of the universe, were focused on him. When the channeling was complete, it would crash down with insurmountable force, destroying him along with the Empyrean Peak.
Han Shuo also felt that he could not run away from these energies, that they would find him no matter how far he ran. His only choice was to face them head on.
If he didn't survive the calamity, his consciousness would be wiped out and Han Shuo or Bryan would cease to exist in this world.
If he survived, he would break through the Omen Realm and reach the Skybreak Realm. His strength would soar and the Fringe would be his!