Chapter 228: 理念

The earth vibrated wildly.

All kingdoms on Earth, including some ancient monarchs and emperors nearby, felt a roaring in their minds, their bodies slightly numb and powerless from the tremors.

The entire battlefield transformed into a massive arc, with the ground turning into fiery red lava. Intense ripples spread outwards in concentric circles, resembling a dazzling, scorching ocean of golden magma.

Bang!!

The two giants on the ground instantly separated in the ocean of heatwaves.

A dark figure was instantly sent flying backward, traversing a good portion of the nation's territory, violently shattering successive emerald mountain ranges. As the dust settled, the figure gradually became clear: it was the Origin Demon God Medusa.

She was trembling slightly all over, and trickles of red blood silently dripped onto the ground from every broken patch of skin.

"Truly a god from another world! I actually lost. This is what a true powerhouse looks like!" Her voice was low, yet subtly tinged with excitement, her battle intent soaring. "Speaking of gods, I've only encountered two. Cthulhu, that chaotic evil god, had no strong combat awareness to speak of. And the other, the young Heavenly God Phoenix from the Land of Gods, was shockingly weak! You are a truly worthy opponent!"

"You're not bad yourself." Daoist Phoenix fell silent for a moment, calmly healing the wounds on her arm. "Among those of the same realm, your combat prowess is indeed formidable. However, it is precisely because you are a demon god of your kind that you must be suppressed for five thousand years to cleanse your sins!"

She knew Medusa was a complete lunatic; she hadn't changed in a thousand years, just as she had madly challenged the evil god Cthulhu back then. The closer she came to death, the more excited she became. Her cold personality made her unable to comprehend Medusa's madness.

This ancient-attired beauty took a step forward, speaking slowly and deliberately, "I will take you back to the Primeval World and suppress you beneath Mount Putuo in the Southern Divine Province for three thousand years!"

At this moment, Medusa was unable to stand.

Phoenix, however, was slowly approaching Medusa, her heart filled with extreme vigilance. She knew clearly that once she got close to the heavily wounded Medusa, Ermin would surely tear through space and descend to attack her! Her objective was to be prepared. And, to seize the opportunity to launch a lethal strike against Ermin's true form as she descended!

In this instant confrontation, both sides would unleash all their trump cards and full magical power. It would be a fight to the death! This was an assassin's battle; whoever descended to the mortal realm first and exposed themselves to the other's sight would face a deadly, overwhelming assault from the other god!

One step, two steps. Daoist Phoenix slowly advanced step by step.

Suddenly, space violently vibrated, tearing open a massive rift. It was as if some ancient, long-existent being was descending. A vast, primordial aura permeated the heavens and earth, the sky trembled, and countless silver specks of light glittered.

Swoosh—

A snow-white arm descended through space, resembling a lotus flower. With a gentle press, waves rippled outwards, creating an eerie vibration that surged towards Phoenix's Pangu true form. This was Ermin's fundamental witchcraft: Ripple Vibration.

She could not allow Medusa to be taken away. Even with the disadvantage of acting first and exposing herself to the enemy's view, she could only use all her might to withstand the terrifying attack, then, with a burst of resolve, endure the pressure and utterly destroy her opponent!

"She really did break through. If I hadn't forced her to make the first move, allowing me to see her true capabilities, I would have almost certainly lost," Phoenix thought, her heart sinking. Her voice crisp, she slowly began to make her move. "Ermin's personality remains the same; she's willing to expose herself to danger to save someone. But once she acts first, the weakness of her attack becomes completely clear to me! And, with this attack of hers, I can destroy her true form!"

Within her inner world, a radiant golden phoenix soared into the sky, unleashing terrifying energy. A fiery red light transformed into a streak of divine flame, shimmering with iridescent colors. Her entire magical power was instantly depleted, manifesting as her most potent Daoist technique, striking across space.

Neither held back. Holding back would mean certain defeat; both Level 8 gods were pouring all their strength into killing the other!

Whoosh—

Suddenly, the heavens and earth were enveloped in a blinding white.

"Oh heavens! Has the world been destroyed?"

"We..."

Throughout the entire Wizard World, people from all nations and regions looked up. Before they could even cry out in despair, they saw a world of blinding white, completely turned upside down. Witchcraft and Daoist magic collided, and it was as if the world lost its sound.

Ripples.

After the white light subsided, concentric circles of iridescent ripples spread outwards amidst vibrations, instantly annihilating everything in their path, utterly shattering the entire surrounding land. Rocks, trees, and animals turned into nothingness. The light lasted for an unknown duration before finally ceasing. The land returned to stillness, leaving only a deathly silence.

Who won? Everyone's mind was a blank.

Looking again, the colossal beauty who had stood tall against the sky had vanished from her spot. Only the Origin Demon God Medusa remained, bathed in blood, standing silently with exhaustion in her eyes.

Ermin, the Underworld Emperor, won? A wave of joy flashed through countless minds.

Medusa stood up and vanished from her spot, leaving a hoarse voice behind: "A mutually destructive outcome! This is our first encounter with a foreign world. All nations under heaven, prepare for war! The evil god invasion from a thousand years ago may return to this era!!"

Countless people felt a chill run down their spines.

Within the inner space.

Ermin was heavily wounded, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth. Her voice gradually grew cold. "Normally, the power difference between a Mid-Tier God and a Low-Tier God should be more than tenfold. Even if I struck from a significant disadvantage, I should have been able to utterly destroy the opponent. But my caution was correct; their combat power is indeed heaven-defying, capable of fighting across ranks!"

Phoenix is a four-gene creature. Previously, she hadn't cultivated and was equivalent to a wild beast, which is why she was relentlessly hunted. Now that she has cultivated, she can naturally defeat Ermin, an ordinary two-gene god of the same realm, with ease! Although Phoenix was a level lower in cultivation, her first-strike advantage and heaven-defying combat power compensated for the disparity in this battle, leading to a mutually destructive outcome.

"The opponent is also severely wounded; otherwise, she wouldn't have fled this realm." Ermin's face was cool and elegant as she spoke faintly, "And, perhaps it's just my imagination, but the opponent's aura feels vaguely familiar." Ermin's voice gradually receded into the depths of the Underworld. "I need to recuperate for a while to recover from my injuries. The opponent may not give up and might descend upon this realm again to initiate the next divine war!"

Ermin slowly sat down cross-legged. What flashed in her eyes were the beings of this world, all living creatures. When her teacher, Granthem, entrusted the throne of Babylon to her, she undertook an immensely heavy mission. Charlotte, Lucy, and others were all burdens on her shoulders. She had to protect the Wizard Era as it transitioned into the Potion Era a thousand years later, and she would continue to protect it in the future. She had long since dedicated her entire life to this beloved land.

Medusa, also heavily wounded, slowly returned to the bottom of the deep sea and fell into slumber. "Another world, you say? Finally, something new. If they can descend upon our world, there's no reason we can't descend upon theirs!" Her eyes swirled with thought, and a fleeting glimpse of the teleportation array flashed through her mind. "Traversing space, it seems to be an ability all gods possess. It appears to be related to space, pinpointing locations in the real world?"

Days later, she began to research this innovative idea. The Wizard World was not without inner space; magic itself was space. She ceaselessly delved into it, as if opening a gateway to a new world, researching with fervent obsession.

"The principle of gods tearing space to descend doesn't seem complicated. The only requirements are pinpointing a location in the real world, forming a spatial tunnel with a small space, and the power of a god... Once Ermin recovers and awakens, I'll let her try." Medusa's eyes gleamed with a cold, bloody light. "My path to godhood is too slow. If I can invade another world, that world would have endless life and strong beings..." Her heart had always been cold. Unlike Ermin, she disregarded the lives of others, even entertaining the idea of descending upon the other world herself.

Wizards are a group of people who pursue truth and knowledge. Ermin, a thousand years later, abandoned the ideals of the Wizard Era, but Medusa never did; she still guarded the last glory belonging to wizards. She never feared death, only feared ceasing her pursuit of truth. And what is truth? In her mind, she vaguely recalled the scene of the Creation God's descent back then—that giant young figure bathed in divine light, and with a single gesture, the world's time shifted.

"That is truth." For the past thousand years, her ultimate goal had gradually overlapped with the figure of that indescribable, eternal Creator. "The ultimate path that we wizards pursue throughout our lives might be *it*. I will replace the will of all past wizards and pursue *it*, exploring that legendary supreme eternal existence."

The entire Primeval World subtly trembled. A terrifying, colossal beauty in ancient attire arrived across time and space. She swiftly discarded her flesh and blood, filling the Nine Heavens, transforming into fertilizer to nourish the plants, animals, and spirits there. She reverted to a smaller human form and spoke faintly, "Ermin, Medusa... I can't believe it's such a coincidence that I've met you again. Before, you used my power to continuously break through. Now, it's my turn to use your power to break through!"

Her expression was calm; though heavily wounded, she was about to undergo Nirvana Rebirth. Phoenix's heaven-defying talent, "Nirvana Rebirth": each time she is gravely wounded and dies, she becomes stronger after rebirth! As long as she finds opponents of the same realm, she can quickly reach the peak of that realm. Previous rebirths had severe side effects, effectively being true death, but now, combined with the Nine Revolutions Mysterious Technique, those side effects have been eliminated.

"After this Nirvana Rebirth and recovery, my cultivation will undoubtedly greatly increase. Then I'll face Ermin again, die one more time, and with two rebirths, I should be able to break through to the Mid-Stage Chaos Saint." Her expression was calm. As long as she continues to break through, she will reach the peak of Chaos Saint. The cultivation speed of Ermin, Emperor Qi, and others will be nowhere near as fast as hers!! Her talent is heaven-defying; only major realm barriers can stop her!

"Let the rebirth by fire begin."

Flames blazed fiercely. She curled up within her dazzling golden wings, her expression serene, as if returning to the warm embrace of her mother. Her consciousness resided in the Nine Heavens, watching her main body gradually weaken, transforming back into an egg. Within the warm flames, it seemed to remind her once again of the warm embrace of the Creation God from long ago.

"I truly wish to return to that time." She sighed softly. At the moment of her life's nirvana and reawakening, she ultimately felt a surge of emotion. Perhaps, this was the only constant for her inner strength after so many years of battle.