Chapter 218: The Fisherman's Gain
Thunderstorms swept across the sky, but Xuan Zi didn't show a hint of fear. Instead, a strange smile appeared on his face.
"Do you think I'm just an ordinary evil soul master, easily restrained by the power of thunder? Naïve, so naïve! Too young, much too young! Devour the heavens and earth!"
Xuan Zi opened his gaping mouth wide, inhaling deeply against the azure silence thunder unleashed by Niu Tian. He swallowed the massive bursts of thunder with ease. The potent thunder didn't hurt him; it actually made him stronger.
Tasting the sweet benefits, Xuan Zi's eyes lit up as he looked at the thunderstorms as if they were the world's most delicious food. The azure silence thunder released by Niu Tian surprisingly helped him refine the unprocessed essence of the golden tree within him. What a delightful surprise!
The mythical beast Taotie, known for its insatiable greed and ability to devour everything, was left with only a head after consuming the entire world. Although Xuan Zi's Taotie martial spirit wasn't as powerful as the mythical creature, it shared some of its characteristics. To the Taotie, Niu Tian's thunder was barely a challenge—not the ultimate thunder after all.
The quantity was sufficient, even if the quality wasn't there. The thunder became a tool for Xuan Zi to refine the essence of the golden tree. His first three soul rings, already turned purple, deepened in color. Once he had devoured all the thunder, his first three soul rings turned black again, and the sixth showed signs of turning red.
Feeling the enhanced aura around Xuan Zi, Titan's mouth twitched, and he gave Niu Tian a questioning look that said, "Big brother, are you actually fighting him or helping him?"
Niu Tian also appeared troubled. The azure silence thunder was his powerful move. Even Tang San, that brat, could use it with great ease. Niu Tian had thought that this move would at least severely injure Xuan Zi, if not completely defeat him. But who knew this old geezer could swallow thunder?
It seemed that Niu Tian and Titan's perspectives were a bit narrow. In any world, those gifted with devouring abilities had numerous unimaginable tricks up their sleeves. Swallowing thunder was as simple as eating a small snack for Xuan Zi's Taotie martial spirit.
After the snack, it was time for the main course. Xuan Zi looked at Niu Tian and Titan with a greedy gleam in his eyes. Although he didn't know exactly what powerful origins the two had, their strong soul power and blood were incredibly tempting. Particularly, the mysterious aura hidden within their essence felt similar to the golden tree, which would undoubtedly offer him tremendous benefits if he could devour it.
Indeed, deep within Niu Tian and Titan was the divine essence sealed by Tang San—divine power itself. If Xuan Zi devoured them, he might even use this opportunity to establish his own godly position.
"Old geezer, stop looking at me with that disgusting gaze!" Titan's scalp tingled from Xuan Zi's stare, and he shouted angrily in embarrassment. The look that might be reserved for a shy maiden made the rough Titan sweat profusely.
Niu Tian's expression grew graver. He had felt the terror of the Taotie martial spirit. Both of Titan's major attacks—the Titan's Sky Break and the azure silence thunder—had been effortlessly swallowed by Xuan Zi, not causing him any harm. Energy attacks were no longer effective against him.
"Little brother, use your fists!" Niu Tian commanded sternly, his eyes emanating a deadly aura as a massive unknown soul beast shadow appeared behind him, and his body glowed with a strong blue light.
Titan nodded and roared to the sky. His already massive and muscular body expanded further, muscles bulging like solid granite. "You can swallow energy attacks, but what about pure physical ones? How will you swallow that?"
Their change in tactics was indeed making Xuan Zi uncomfortable. Niu Tian and Titan, being divine soul beasts, possessed physical bodies that far surpassed those of ordinary humans, even with their divine rank sealed.
Pummeled by Niu Tian and Titan's heavy fists, Xuan Zi almost felt like vomiting blood as he was tossed around in the sky like a volleyball. Despite feeling suppressed and angry, Xuan Zi's cunning nature, honed since becoming an evil soul master, kept him from losing his cool. As Niu Tian slapped him toward Titan, Xuan Zi was still only defensively using his soul power, but secretly he was ready to strike back fiercely.
Sure enough, as he was smacked toward him, Titan still clenched his fist like a sandbag and swung at the soul shield-protected Xuan Zi. "You brainless brute, enjoyed that? Now it's my turn!" Xuan Zi sneered, watching Titan's fist approaching, his mouth curling into a sinister grin.
The massive fist hit the soul shield, but this time it felt like hitting cotton, exerting no force at all. "Crap, it's a trap!" Titan realized too late. He also saw Xuan Zi's ruthless and shadowy gaze and quickly tried to retract his fist.
But it was too late. Xuan Zi's sneaky tactics and Titan's simple-mindedness meant he couldn't easily escape. Suddenly, a nearly solidified Taotie head snapped at Titan's fist, its sharp teeth cutting into his forearm like slicing through tofu. The intense pain made Titan grunt, a tearing force felt at his arm where Xuan Zi was devouring his blood. The intense pain brought out the beastly nature in Titan, and he ignored his captured hand, wildly pounding on the Taotie head.
"Not good!" Niu Tian also sensed the danger, dashing in front of Titan, raising his fists, and raining down blows like a storm. "Let's see who's the better fighter!" The intense pain drove Xuan Zi into a frenzy.
He tenaciously endured their storm-like assault, focusing on gnawing at Titan's arm. A crack— the sound of bone breaking, was heard as the Taotie head's throat moved slightly, seeming to swallow something.
"Ah—" Titan screamed, pulling back his hand, which was now missing half its length, the entire fist and part of the forearm swallowed by Xuan Zi.
"Dammit!" Niu Tian roared, infuriated. When had they ever suffered such a loss? Even for them, regrowing an arm would take considerable effort. His fists sparked with thunder as Niu Tian's momentum surged again, and his punches landed with increased force on Xuan Zi.
Thump—Xuan Zi was hit in the chest by Niu Tian's fist, spraying blood and flying backward, but he seemed indifferent, casually wiping the blood from his mouth and savoring the taste. "Heh... truly delicious flesh, so nourishing!" Xuan Zi chuckled darkly, his sixth soul ring returning to its hundred-thousand-year level.
"You really are not simple, to have energy like the golden tree within you... this power must be the so-called divine power, huh? Delicious, hahaha!"
Niu Tian's face darkened, glancing at Titan holding his severed arm, his heart sinking. If they didn't unlock the seal within their bodies, even with their extreme Douluo level abilities, they couldn't defeat Xuan Zi. Xuan Zi's strength might not match theirs, but his Taotie martial spirit was disgustingly effective. And at their level, if not overwhelming with absolute power, defeating an equal was nearly impossible. If they couldn't beat him, he could just run away.
Even if Xuan Zi couldn't stand against them and wanted to run away, the brothers couldn't stop him; they could only rely on the Shura divine power within their bodies to continuously chase after the fleeing Xuan Zi. Niu Tian was thoroughly disgusted. This old man was like a rock in a latrine—stinky and hard.
Most importantly, he dared to risk his life, biting off their flesh and healing himself with it despite the pain. The consequences of this give-and-take were obvious...
"Are we still fighting? If not, I'm leaving!" Xuan Zi grinned, showing his blood-stained teeth with a malicious smile. Before Niu Tian could reply, Titan exploded in anger.
"Leaving? After offending us, you think you can just walk away?" Titan clenched his teeth, his eyes burning with fury, "Just because you've gained a slight advantage over us using your martial spirit, do you really think you're invincible?"
"Offended? Weren't you the ones who came to kill me? What does it matter if I offended you? You two brought this upon yourselves," Xuan Zi scoffed disdainfully.
"Hmph, just let us kill you and there won't be any trouble. As a criminal of Shrek, even offering your life in apology wouldn't be too much!" Titan coldly retorted.
Xuan Zi looked at Titan as if he were a fool, feeling the darkness within him grow. Ever since becoming an evil soul master, his mental state had not been normal, and the continuous provocations from Niu Tian and Titan had triggered his malice. The Taotie was not a benevolent beast; it was an ancient evil creature! The useless Xuan Zi was a thing of the past, not the Taotie! After the evolution of his martial spirit, his personality had also changed drastically, influenced by the spirit itself. Moreover, the strong allure of the blood and flesh of Niu Tian and Titan had dissolved any thoughts of leaving.
"If you want me dead, just try!" Xuan Zi challenged.
The battle erupted anew, this time Xuan Zi clearly employing his most disgusting combat style, devouring all energy attacks and ensuring that any movement meant biting off a piece of flesh from either Niu Tian or Titan. This battle lasted an astonishing three days!
"Damn, that's some endurance!" Du Qianjue exclaimed as he stepped out from another dimension, looking at the nearly exhausted man and two beasts. Others also emerged from the dimension, surrounding the trio in the midst of their fight. The presence of seven powerful auras immediately threw Xuan Zi and Niu Tian and Titan into disarray.
"Xuan Zi, I take back what I said about you being useless before. Now, you're truly impressive!" Du Busi showed genuine admiration as he gave Xuan Zi a thumbs up. Even as an ultimate Douluo with a dual soul core of Yin and Yang, Du Busi wouldn't dare claim he could have endured a battle to nearly mutual destruction with Niu Tian and Titan as Xuan Zi had.
As strong as he was, Du Busi could only compare slightly better than Titan and was still somewhat inferior to Niu Tian. A life-and-death battle like Xuan Zi's was something Du Busi felt he could only achieve by dragging one of them to death with him, not both as Xuan Zi had.
His own powerful, but not disgusting, martial spirit couldn't match the grotesqueness of Xuan Zi's Taotie, which allowed him to replenish himself by consuming his opponent's flesh during combat. After three days of fighting, Xuan Zi was nearly drained, but his soul rings had evolved, with even the third ring reaching a hundred-thousand-year level, just short of the first two.
"How terrifying? The flesh of Niu Tian and Titan really is nourishing!" Xuan Zi, covered in blood, glared at Du Busi, his eyes filled with endless hatred and resentment. The root of his current condition was none other than Du Busi right in front of him.
Xuan Zi nearly lost his sanity, completely dominated by his anger. Niu Tian and Titan stood their ground, looking somewhat fearfully at Di Tian and Bi Ji.
"Beast God...?" Niu Tian's voice trembled.
Even the normally fearless Titan looked uneasy. Despite his usual disdain for Di Tian, thinking he had ascended to godhood himself and that Di Tian was not worthy to compare, the inherent fear surfaced uncontrollably upon actually facing Di Tian.
"This is the Star Dou Beast God! We were once just watchdogs for the Star Dou!" Niu Tian and Titan, in their past roles, were merely guards.
"Oh? You still remember that I am the Beast God? I thought you two, having sacrificed to humans, had forgotten your roots," Di Tian said coldly, his golden dragon eyes devoid of warmth as he looked at the bite-marked bodies of Niu Tian and Titan.
"How we brothers end up is not for you, Di Tian, to judge!" Titan retorted boldly. "I am now a god, not the watchdog I used to be. Watch your attitude, Di Tian!"
"Good, well said!" Di Tian smiled, but his smile was filled with a cold murderous intent.
(End of Chapter)