"Go to hell!" Austin cursed.
Neither Elder Vernon nor Austin was willing to wave a white flag. They both rushed forward fiercely.
"Austin, although you are a genius, you are still too young.
I don't believe you can defeat me!"
Elder Vernon roared. As he charged forward, his hair fluttered in the wind, and a whirl of black mist surrounded him. The strong murderous will emanating from him implied that he wouldn't stop until he killed Austin.
Whatever he had seen of Austin's fighting power so far had come as a great shock. It seemed that he had underestimated this young man until now.
Not only did he hold a grudge against Austin, but he had also begun to feel threatened by him. He couldn't let such a young talented man continue to grow.
Otherwise, both he and the entire Annihilation Mountain would have a formidable enemy that would keep them on their toes at all times.
Austin was just a young genuine preliminary-grade divine god, but he was able to hold his own against a semi-governing god.
This was unprecedented in the Sea of Chaos.
As Elder Vernon prepared to attack, the only thought in his mind was that he had to kill Austin somehow.
He began chanting, holding both of his palms forward. From his left hand shot out countless dark sword auras with a thunderous roar, flying towards Austin.
At the same time, a dazzling white light that was as bright as the sun shot out of his right hand, aimed right towards Austin's head.
The black represented obscurity while the white symbolized brightness.
The combination of these contrasting powers caused a strange change in the atmosphere, as if they had triggered a terrible momentum in the nether world as they hurtled towards Austin.
Unbothered by this, Austin focused on using the Mind Sword Skill to continuously attack the internal part of Elder Vernon's body.
The Mind Sword Skill was notoriously difficult to defend against.
It was intangible, but sharp and accurate. The speed at which it moved was the same as the speed at which the wielder could think.
So whatever target Austin thought of, the sword would hit accurately without any delay.
There was almost no defense against such a secret technique.
As a result, Elder Vernon struggled against it even though he was a powerful and experienced warrior.
Only after the sword pierced through a part of his body could he sense it in the first place. Then, he had to gather
't kill Austin.
At the same time, Austin came to a similar conclusion. 'Semi-governing gods are really powerful.
Moreover, this Elder Vernon is one of the most outstanding semi-governing gods.
It will be hard for me to defeat him, '
he thought to himself.
"I'm flattered.
I have to admit that you are also powerful, old man,"
Austin said with a faint smile.
In the boundless void, the two regarded each other with a mixture of respect and hesitation.
"Retreat!"
All of a sudden, Elder Vernon flashed back to the team of the Annihilation Mountain and ordered a retreat.
Without question, the people of the Annihilation Mountain immediately left.
"Austin, do you want us to stop that old man?"
the sky-devouring dog said to Austin through spiritual sense.
If the twelve zodiac animals took action, it would be a piece of cake for them to deal with Elder Vernon.
"Not now.
You can't expose yourselves too early,"
Austin replied.
By this time, the people of the Annihilation Mountain had disappeared to a faraway place.
Austin returned to the warship and gave the command to move on to the Ice Palace.
Then, he headed to a secret room in the warship.
"I have gained a lot in today's battle..."
Sitting down cross-legged, Austin recalled every detail of his battle with Elder Vernon. He had truly learned a lot.
After all, this was the first time that he had fought against a semi-governing god head on.
It had been a precious experience for him.
Therefore, he immediately chose to cultivate in seclusion to comprehend what he had just obtained from the battle.