Chapter 715: Selected the Wrong Opponent

One was a newly ascended Soul Seven-Tribulation expert of the River of Spacetime, while the other was the leader of the Black Demon Hall, who had already been a Seven-Tribulation expert for over a hundred thousand years. Their clash drew intense scrutiny from all other Seven-Tribulation and Half-Step Seven-Tribulation experts in the River of Spacetime.

However, this battle was too brief!

Moreover, aside from the initial exchange, the most crucial part of the battle—which lasted for over ten breaths—was completely obscured due to a spacetime blockade. The Seven-Tribulation and Half-Step Seven-Tribulation experts saw nothing of it, only witnessing the spacetime blockade finally shatter. They then saw Lord Lihong's physical body riddled with numerous penetrating fissures, after which he departed through space without hesitation, returning to the Black Demon Hall.

"It seems the Black Demon Hall Master suffered a loss."

"That area of spacetime was sealed and then forcibly broken? Although Lord Dongning's moves weren't clearly seen, they must have been very powerful."

"In this battle, Lord Dongning only dispatched some Soul Avatars, yet he ultimately gained the upper hand? Lord Lihong suffered a loss?"

Although the top factions didn't see clearly, they still made some judgments.

Black Demon Hall Headquarters.

"Sigh."

Lord Lihong returned to his throne, sitting down alone with a gloomy expression.

After all, he had become a Seven-Tribulation expert earlier than the Demonic Eye Council Master. As an elder figure, he highly valued his reputation. Considering that his spacetime law had reached its final bottleneck and that he only had tens of thousands of years of life left, he had hoped to make a grand display in the coming tens of thousands of years, stirring up waves in the River of Spacetime and gaining a chance for breakthrough through combat.

Unexpectedly, his first move after changing his mindset, against a newly ascended Seven-Tribulation expert, resulted in a major loss!

"Am I truly old?"

Lord Lihong even felt a trace of self-doubt.

Facing a junior who had only cultivated for seven thousand years, his physical body was almost shattered by the opponent's assault. One must remember that this was his True Body from beyond the realms! He carried an Eight-Tribulation realm secret treasure. Meng Chuan, on the other hand, was merely a Soul Avatar and carried no treasures whatsoever. Even so, his physical body was heavily wounded by the attack.

"Hall Master," a voice rang out.

A wisp of ethereal mist appeared in the hall, coalescing to vaguely form a human shape.

His Soul Avatar normally appeared as ethereal mist; this was characteristic of his Soul cultivation method.

"Nightmare," Lord Lihong said, looking at his companion.

The newcomer was indeed the Black Demon Hall's other leader—Deputy Hall Master Nightmare.

Hall Master Nightmare was a Soul Seven-Tribulation expert. Much of the Black Demon Hall's renown depended on him, and Hall Master Nightmare was also very loyal to the 'Black Demon Hall.' This was because the Black Demon Hall, like the Eternal Tower, was an ancient faction with a long heritage, founded by an Eight-Tribulation mighty figure, leaving behind deep foundations. Hall Master Nightmare's ability to become a Soul Seven-Tribulation expert was linked to a special inherited treasure of the Black Demon Hall; having inherited that treasure, he naturally dared not betray them.

Betraying the Black Demon Hall carried immense karmic implications, potentially causing the Eight-Tribulation mighty figure who founded the Black Demon Hall to descend upon this very moment in time and eliminate the traitor.

"Nightmare, tell me, was I somewhat discomfited?" Lord Lihong said, looking at his companion. Both of them had notorious reputations, for they were the leaders of the Black Demon Hall, which plundered countless weaker entities throughout the River of Spacetime.

"A little, yes." Hall Master Nightmare's misty face slightly twisted, as if smiling.

"I chose the wrong opponent," Lord Lihong murmured. "This Lord Dongning is truly formidable. It's a pity I haven't seen his future... now that he's a Seven-Tribulation expert, I can no longer glimpse it."

After all, he hadn't fully mastered the complete law of time; he could glimpse the future of Six-Tribulation experts, but not Seven-Tribulation experts.

"Very formidable?"

Hall Master Nightmare pressed, "After the spacetime blockade, what exactly happened in your fight with Lord Dongning? With your strength, how could a newly ascended Seven-Tribulation expert push you to such a state?"

"What happened?" Lord Lihong recalled the previous battle, speaking softly. "After the spacetime blockade, with my mastery of spacetime, I could attack as I pleased, but he couldn't touch me at all. So... I first tried attacking Qianshan Star. Qianshan Star was fortified with an Eight-Tribulation level fixed formation, and his Soul Avatar was stationed there, making it impossible to break through. So I also acted to sever spacetime."

"Qianshan Star and the area outside Qianshan Star were directly split into two separate spacetime regions."

"This prevented Soul Avatars within Qianshan Star from reinforcing the outside," Lord Lihong said calmly. "I intended to casually destroy a few of his Soul Avatars and then seal and trap Qianshan Star, considering it a lesson for him."

"Who would have thought, just as I severed spacetime and moved to destroy his Soul Avatars... he erupted. Previously, his moves couldn't touch me, but then he unleashed a terrifying technique. From his Myriad Tribulations Chaotic Hole Grand Formation, ten chaotic holes each spawned a Heaven-Splitting Blade. These ten Heaven-Splitting Blades, combined through the formation, converged and erupted with incredibly astonishing power. Billions of li of spacetime were pulverized into elementary particles, and even though I was protected by an Eight-Tribulation realm secret treasure, I was still cut through and pierced. Although I could have continued fighting, fighting on in such a discomfited state would only have been more humiliating."

"Ten Heaven-Splitting Blades, completely shattering billions of li of spacetime?" Hall Master Nightmare listened, astonished. "And it heavily wounded you? That technique must possess the power of a peak Seven-Tribulation expert. Did he truly carry no secret treasures?"

"His Soul Avatar could coalesce and disperse at will, carrying no treasures," Lord Lihong replied. "He unleashed the power of a peak Seven-Tribulation expert purely through his own techniques."

"So strong without relying on external objects?" Hall Master Nightmare's misty body trembled.

"To become a Soul Seven-Tribulation expert after only seven thousand years of cultivation, and to be so powerful immediately upon breakthrough—that's why I said I chose the wrong opponent." Lord Lihong shook his head slightly, full of regret.

He had expected to easily bully a newly ascended Seven-Tribulation expert, but the reality was vastly different.

"From now on, Lord Dongning is destined to become a prominent figure in this River of Spacetime," Lord Lihong stated.

"What should we do next?" Hall Master Nightmare asked. "It seems he harbors great hostility towards our Black Demon Hall."

"Let's wait and see what he does."

Lord Lihong said indifferently, "At worst, he might kill some Five-Tribulation or Six-Tribulation true bodies from beyond the realms. It won't shake the foundations of my Black Demon Hall."

Hall Master Nightmare nodded.

The Black Demon Hall was founded by an Eight-Tribulation mighty figure, which was their greatest source of confidence. Furthermore, within the River of Spacetime, countless cultivators favored "plundering" as it was the fastest way to acquire treasures. With these two factors, the Black Demon Hall possessed endless vitality and had continued to exist until now.

Cangyuan Realm.

In the study of the Meng Manor in Jiangzhou City, Meng Chuan, clad in white robes, was reading a book on the Three Thousand Illusory Formations.

The previous battle had alarmed many top factions in the River of Spacetime, being a clash between two Seven-Tribulation experts. Although Meng Chuan seemed to have gained the upper hand in this brief encounter, he himself perceived many disparities.

"In terms of spacetime mastery, I am still too immature."

"With my normal techniques, I couldn't even touch the opponent; he could easily bully me." Meng Chuan understood this. Even if he had used 'Chaotic Hole Heaven-Splitting' alone, Lord Lihong could have easily dodged it.

It was only by using the ultimate technique unleashed through the Myriad Tribulations Chaotic Hole Grand Formation, which completely annihilated billions of li of spacetime, that he managed to hit Lord Lihong. This was a wide-area technique, and Lord Lihong had nowhere to dodge and was thus engulfed.

"The law of time is divided into past, present, and future. I haven't mastered any of these three aspects." Meng Chuan recognized his weak foundation. "I am very close to my tribulation, so now is the time to focus on studying formations."

"If my formation mastery is high enough, my strength will also increase."

Meng Chuan looked at the book.

His current Myriad Tribulations Chaotic Hole Grand Formation could simultaneously condense one hundred and ninety-two chaotic holes. He had once wondered if every chaotic hole could spawn a Heaven-Splitting Blade, unleashing the Chaotic Hole Heaven-Splitting technique. If this idea succeeded, the power of that move would be terrifying.

However, during actual attempts, numerous problems arose.

Firstly, balancing so many chaotic holes already placed a significant burden on the formation. Spawning too many Heaven-Splitting Blades could easily cause the formation to collapse, preventing these chaotic holes from coexisting. With his current level of formation mastery, he could only spawn 'Chaotic Hole Heaven-Splitting' at ten formation nodes.

Secondly, each use of 'Chaotic Hole Heaven-Splitting' placed a heavy burden on his mental energy. With Meng Chuan's current mental will, unleashing ten Chaotic Hole Heaven-Splitting moves consumed more than half of his mental energy.

"Higher formation mastery and stronger mental will both hold the promise of making this technique even more powerful." Meng Chuan meticulously studied the formations in the book.

In the blink of an eye, eleven years had passed since Meng Chuan's battle with Lord Lihong, and Meng Chuan had also mastered the Chaotic Hole law for a full ninety years.

"The tribulation is getting closer and closer."

On a day of heavy snow, Meng Chuan in his study put down the black book he was holding. "It's time to go to Demon Mountain again."