Pretending To Be A Boss

There were two observers in this battle.

When the Red Emperor raised his iron fist for the last time, both the sea monster and Junlin knew that there would be no victor in this battle.

However, had the confrontation been between the destruction god and the lord of Eden, that millennium-long standoff would have had its suspense unveiled.

In the end, the destruction god proved its unparalleled combat talent in the world. Even if it was a domain, it was the most domineering and lethal domain in existence.

Junlin was in awe, and despite its pride, it felt a certain admiration for the Red Emperor. There was even a kindred spirit between true battle enthusiasts.

But the outcome of this confrontation was ultimately different from what Junlin and the sea monster had anticipated.

As Tang Xian's body broke and started decaying bit by bit, and when a dark blue light enveloped the whole area—Junlin and the sea monster felt as if their life force was being drained by some weird power.

The source of that power was from Tang Xian, a man whose body was falling apart, who suddenly halted the destruction and seemed to have entered a special space, yet that space was extremely tiny.

Junlin and the sea monster had never seen anything like this.

Not just them, even Tang Xian himself was somewhat perplexed, having contended with the Nether Phoenix and the Mysterious Bird, he had some understanding of the Netherworld's ways.

Time seemed to have stopped here, and Tang Xian felt as though he was stuffed into that particular spatiotemporal moment of his impending demise.

His thoughts gradually clarified, and as the wild spirits rushed in ceaselessly, his shattered body was slowly filled by various dust-like substances.

Not only that, but he seemed to hear the sounds of his blood flowing again and his heart beating anew.

This sensation was as if his consciousness and body became independent, with his body turning into a special world.

This world had just gone through extinction, but now, as souls swirled into it like a spring rain falling, countless plants sprouted and grew. The growth was rapid, and within a very short time, Tang Xian felt he was regaining control over his body.

When this sensation emerged, Tang Xian finally understood what was happening.

"So this is the inheritance of the Nether Phoenix..."

The obsession of the king in the Land of the Dead was that he had not absorbed enough life force when confronting the order keeper.

But how could one easily solve the Exhaustive Ray?

Just like the destruction god had found an alternative path, creating the domineering Self-burning Realm; the Nether Phoenix also conceived a new possibility on the brink of death.

It turned into an obsession and ultimately passed this possibility to Tang Xian.

The Tang Xian of now did not possess the traits of a Nether Beast.

He was not a Nether Beast but the Spiritual Purgatory itself.

He didn't need to actively draw in the spirits; they would rush into him frantically on their own.

But this ability was extremely difficult to master. No Nether Beast that has formed from living beings could do it before, and only the Beast God, the Nether Phoenix, had such boldness.

Even so, for Tang Xian to use this power, he had to be at death's door, on the verge of life and death, to possibly transform into the Spiritual Purgatory.

Now, he was the destination for the souls of numerous powerful sea beasts from the deep sea domains and the Divine Sea domains over the past few hundred years.

These spirits were like lifesaving herbs that caused his life force to recover violently and even surpass his original limits.

What Junlin and the sea monster saw was a man with a broken body, shattered into countless remains, suddenly reversing the flow of time, with the pieces coming together as flesh grew wildly.

However, this scene did not last long, only a few short seconds.

When Tang Xian's consciousness recovered and he regained control of his body, pulling himself back from the brink of death—he was no longer the Spiritual Purgatory.

Because the state on the edge of life and death was lifted.

The wails of the spirits also disappeared from his ears, and he could no longer see those souls.

Now, he just felt somewhat bloated.

He hadn't eaten anything, but somehow he felt full, even on the verge of belching.

Tang Xian held it back.

The Red Emperor's body had completely shattered, as if it had gone through an annihilating conflagration.

Even though Tang Xian was rather displeased with the Red Emperor's last dogged refusal to surrender and his determination to fight to the end, he respected the Red Emperor.

He stood in front of the ashes and said:

"I am still alive, not thanks to the power of the lord of Eden. If the destruction god used this power against the lord of Eden, it would definitely win.

I do not know how long the mining world has existed, be it several thousand years or tens of thousands, even millions of years, or as ancient as the earth. But in history, there is only one person who could confront and break through the laws of the lord of Eden head-on."

This was an elegy.

It was acknowledgement for the Red Emperor and also for that catastrophic-level talent, the destruction god who stood at the pinnacle of all beasts.

Feeling cool while eulogizing in front of an opponent's corpse was a sensation.

But Tang Xian did not stay cool for long—before he collapsed onto the ground.

"This is bad... I was just full moments ago..."

The backlash from burning his talent had struck.

The last time he burned his talent in two stages, Tang Xian fell unconscious for half a month.

This time, he only felt completely drained of energy, thinking he had returned to his peak condition, but as soon as the effect of burning his talent ended, he was back to his weakest state in an instant.

Good and bad news came at the same time.

He wanted to frown, but could not even manage such a simple action.

"My body is indeed gradually adapting to the immense burden of burning my talent. Maybe after the next burning, recovery will be faster... but right now, I have a big problem to solve..."