Chapter 1964: Black Moon Ring

Xu Yang smiled slightly at his posture.

"I knew you'd be interested in this," he said, "and it confirms my suspicion: the unique blue life force you possess must have touched upon the greatest secret of the Ancient Martial God Path. You must also be intimately familiar with the secrets of the dark faction. So, I was indeed right to come here, as your presence can help me resolve all my questions."

Xu Yang was now absolutely certain that the unique blue life force essence obtained by the Nightless Emperor represented the most potent power of the Ancient Martial God Path. This was undoubtedly connected to the two strongest auras sealed within the purple jade crystal.

The Nightless Emperor laughed heartily. When she looked at Xu Yang again, her eyes had turned exceptionally cold.

"Do you know?" she began, "apart from the dark faction and myself, no one else in the entire Ancient Martial God Path realm knows all these secrets. You are, of course, the sole exception. In other words, precisely because your identity is so unique, you are destined to become an enemy to everyone in the Ancient Martial God Path. Today, I must personally subdue you. Otherwise, the life force essence I control will no longer remain a secret, and you will undoubtedly spare no effort to unite with other major imperial powers to launch an assault on our Nightless Empire."

Xu Yang pursed his lips, unsure, and asked, "So, you're no longer planning to cooperate with me, nor do you intend to answer all my questions, is that right?"

The opponent gave no clear reply, only a sneer. Two profoundly cold, black rings rapidly materialized in the Nightless Emperor's hands. The two rings were crescent-shaped, and the icy, murderous aura radiating from their black light unequivocally proved they were powerful Divine Artifacts.

Xu Yang showed no great surprise in his eyes, as it was perfectly normal for a powerful individual of the Nightless Emperor's caliber to wield a Divine Artifact. Even the Empress of the Star Scar Empire possessed a defensive Divine Artifact. However, comparing them in terms of rarity and power, the two rings in the Nightless Emperor's hands were undoubtedly far superior to the Empress's artifact.

"Today, I will make you fall beneath my Black Moon Rings. Do you have any final words for me? Perhaps I can convey them to your companions."

Xu Yang simply extended his middle finger at the Nightless Emperor.

"You'll understand how ridiculous your words were when we truly clash. No one has ever dared to speak to me, Xu Yang, in such a manner, nor do you have the right to be so insolent in my presence."

This time, Xu Yang grew truly serious, though he didn't immediately unleash his full power. He was still attempting to probe the Nightless Emperor's combat techniques and strength. The immensely powerful forces between them instantly erupted, officially commencing their climactic duel. Terrifying energies intertwined. The greatest strength of the Black Moon Rings lay in their ability to double an attack, releasing two energy arcs that ceaselessly slammed into Xu Yang's body like twin crescents under a dark sky.

However, these purely physical attacks posed no significant threat to Xu Yang. Each time the two rings struck, Xu Yang unhesitatingly unleashed several punches, and the terrifying force of his fists instantly sent the Black Moon Rings flying. When it came to a head-on confrontation, the Nightless Emperor was far from Xu Yang's equal. After several consecutive attacks failed to yield the desired results, the rhythm of the Black Moon Rings' assaults began to slow. The Nightless Emperor realized Xu Yang was entirely different from any other opponent; to defeat him, she would need to unleash her full power.

"You are indeed a rare opponent. It seems I must take you seriously now."

As she finished speaking, the Nightless Emperor stepped into the air, and a black circular moon totem appeared behind her. Xu Yang's eyes immediately brightened at the sight. He realized that within this Black Moon Totem, she was wielding a terrifying presence that didn't belong to this world's power system, much like the stellar energy controlled by Long Kun. It was a power system not cultivated by the main continent's civilization.

As new thoughts flooded Xu Yang's mind, a deep blue ripple began to spread from the center of the black full moon totem. Xu Yang instantly recognized the deep blue aura as the most concentrated part of that extremely special blue life force essence.

"How does it feel to dissolve into darkness? I believe you'll experience it very soon."

Having spoken, the Nightless Emperor instantly condensed two spherical black energy masses in her palms and launched them at Xu Yang. This time, even Xu Yang, powerful as he was, did not immediately charge to meet the force head-on. Xu Yang knew well that the Black Moon's inherent disintegrating ability was terrifying, a manifestation of an almost ultimate evolutionary attribute. Directly confronting this power with his physical body could very likely cause permanent damage. Even though Xu Yang had transcended the Dao of Life and Death, his power level was still confined to the civilization system of the main continent. Facing such terrifying power from an external realm, Xu Yang did not act recklessly.

This time, he deliberately summoned his four Divine Artifacts, merging the four swords into one and unleashing the full extent of his Eternal Sword Dao. A brilliantly dazzling, immense sword beam suddenly shot forth from behind him, locking onto the surface of the black full moon energy body. In a single exchange, Xu Yang's potent sword aura cleaved the black full moon in two. Immediately afterward, an even stronger surge of sword qi plunged downwards, directly striking the Nightless Emperor's true body, denying her any further opportunity to gather power.

The Nightless Emperor sneered, surprisingly choosing to directly confront Xu Yang's Eternal Sword Glow head-on. However, the next sight completely stunned Xu Yang: his opponent actually used her own body to directly absorb the sword qi of the Eternal Sword Glow he had unleashed.

"Hahaha, are you surprised?" she taunted. "All the cultivation techniques and powers this world possesses cannot inflict any harm upon my being. This is the fundamental reason you are destined to fail. Even if I don't strike at you, you can never defeat me."

Immediately afterward, the aura of Xu Yang's sword beam appeared behind her. The sword mark on the surface of the massive Black Moon Totem was completely consumed by endless blackness in an extremely short time, disintegrating into scattered energy essence, which then merged entirely into the black full moon.