2488 Neither Side Wins

"Since you want to die, Duan Ling Tian, I shall fulfill your wish!" The patriarch of the dragon clan bellowed as he charged forward like a tornado toward Duan Ling Tian.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The moment the patriarch of the dragon clan shot toward Duan Ling Tian, Duan Ling Tian's Celestial Sword flew out of his hand as well, emitting sword rays that seemed like clones of the sword. The sword rays grew from one to ten, ten to 100, and 100 to 1,000… It did not take long before the sword rays rose above Duan Ling Tian's head, forming a mysterious Formation that emitted a mystical aura. In the end, the sword rays formed a defensive layer before him.

Faced with the patriarch of the dragon clan, Duan Ling Tian did not hesitate to cast the Thirteen Green Lotus Swords as well. "Thirteen Green Lotus Swords!"

Boom!

A thunderous noise resounded in the air as the patriarch of the dragon clan collided with the sword barrier before attacking it.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The sword ray barrier shook from the impact, creating a shockwave that spread in all directions.

At this time, only the two Supreme Elders of the dragon clan managed to stabilize their footing. The remaining members of the dragon clan were sent flying by the shockwave. Those who were stronger only stumbled a few steps back, but those who were weaker were sent flying quite a distance away. All of them took a long time to recover their senses.

"Impossible!" The patriarch's voice boomed thunderously, causing fear to rise in the hearts of the members of the dragon clan.

When they turned to look at their patriarch, they discovered that their patriarch's attack did not breach Duan Ling Tian's barrier at all. The barrier had only become dimmer. However, it did not take long before it began to shine brightly again. Based on this, they could tell the barrier had returned to its peak condition. Their eyes widened in disbelief when they saw this.

"This… this…"

"Lord Patriarch… couldn't breach Duan Ling Tian's defense?"

"Is this a joke? The patriarch is a Nine Tribulation Bodiless Celestial for goodness sake!"

"D-does this mean that Duan Ling Tian is stronger than Lord Patriarch?"

"If he's stronger, then, it makes sense how he's able to discern Lord Patriarch's cultivation base. That's also probably why he's so calm when faced with a Nine Tribulation Bodiless Celestial!"

"An Eminent Celestial who's stronger than a Nine Tribulation Bodiless Celestial? Then, Duan Ling Tian's strength is on par with Sword Saint Feng Qing Yang's strength?"

The members of the dragon clan could tell Duan Ling Tian's strength was not inferior to Feng Qing Yang 100,000 years ago! Back then, Feng Qing Yang was also an Eminent Celestial who was capable of killing Eight Tribulation Bodiless Celestials and possessed strength comparable to a Nine Tribulation Bodiless Celestial.

"How are you so strong? You're just an Eminent Celestial!" The patriarch of the dragon clan stared at Duan Ling Tian in disbelief. There was even a slight hint of awe that could be seen on his face. The patriarch of the dragon clan muttered to himself, "Even Sword Saint Feng Qing Yang wasn't this strong before he ascended to a Devata Realm. He had only become strong after he had a fortuitous encounter in the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone."

Duan Ling Tian was slightly taken aback when he heard the dragon clan's patriarch's words. He did not expect the patriarch to know about the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone. "You know about the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone as well?"

"Why wouldn't I know about it?" The patriarch of the dragon clan said in a low voice, "Many years ago, when Sword Saint Feng Qing Yang from the Seven Absolutes Sect entered the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone, many of our ancestors from the dragon clan and the phoenix clan entered the secret zone as well. However, Feng Qing Yang was the only one who made it out alive from the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone." A hint of trepidation could be heard in his voice when he spoke.

Duan Ling Tian said nonchalantly, "Then, I guess there's no harm telling you that the reason there's no news of me in these past few years is due to me being in the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone."

"What?!" The patriarch of the dragon clan's eyes widened in shock. After a while, he nodded as though he was hit with a pang of realization. "I see, I see… Everything makes sense now. No wonder you possess strength comparable to a Nine Tribulation Bodiless Celestial. You must have a fortuitous encounter in the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone as well. If I'm not mistaken, you must have found your Celestial Supreme Treasure in there as well, right?" He looked at Duan Ling Tian's Celestial Sword covetously. Greed was apparent in his eyes.

"That's right." Duan Ling Tian nodded.

At this moment, the two Supreme Elders who also knew about the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone were enlightened as well.

"As it turns out, Duan Ling Tian had a fortuitous encounter in the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone as well."

On the contrary, the other members of the dragon clan were puzzled. It was their first time hearing about the Beyond Heaven Secret Zone.

"Beyond Heaven Secret Zone?"

"What's that?"

While the members of the dragon clan were caught up in their discussion, the patriarch of the dragon clan did not waste any time. He let out a deafening roar as he moved again, causing the others to stop their discussion immediately.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, a blinding light burst out from the patriarch's body. When the light finally faded away, everyone saw that he had reverted to his true form. He was a golden divine dragon that was 10,000 meters long. At this moment, he had covered most of the sky and the sun.

"Eight-clawed Golden Dragon?" Duan Ling Tian quickly discovered the eight claws on each of the patriarch's paws. Not only was the patriarch an Eight-clawed Divine Dragon, but he was an Eight-clawed Golden Dragon!

The patriarch who had transformed into an Eight-clawed Golden Dragon roared. "Duan Ling Tian, I'd like to see if you can withstand the full force of my attack!" His voice resounded like a tolling bell, it was deafening.

In the next moment, under everyone's watchful eyes, the patriarch's colossal body seemed to vanish into thin air. Duan Ling Tian was the only one who was able to capture the patriarch's movement.

The patriarch moved with lightning speed. He seemed to have turned into a thick golden whip as he charged toward Duan Ling Tian, leaving tears in the void in his wake. He moved aggressively, clearly intending to kill Duan Ling Tian as soon as he could.

Upon seeing this, Duan Ling Tian commanded his sword, "Go!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sword flew out with a whistle, and the sword formation also seemed to have morphed into a divine dragon as it flew out to intercept the patriarch's attack.

Bang!

A blinding light appeared as a result of the collision, causing everyone present to squint.

Bang!

Another explosion rang in the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Shortly after, another series of explosions reverberated in the air again.

When the light faded away, the members of the dragon clan saw Duan Ling Tian stumbling a few steps back. After he steadied himself with much difficulty, he spat out a mouthful of blood. Their eyes brightened instantly!

"So Lord Patriarch is stronger!"

Unfortunately, a wretched cry rang in the air soon after.

The members of the dragon clan discovered that their patriarch had returned to his human form. He was standing further away as he spat out a mouthful of blood as well. He looked worse for wear.

"Lord Patriarch is injured as well?"

"Then, this means neither side has won?!"

It did not take long for the members of the dragon clan to figure this out. After all, their patriarch could not defeat Duan Ling Tian even after he had reverted to his true form, an Eight-clawed Golden Dragon.

After the patriarch of the dragon clan caught his breath, he said in a deep voice, "Duan Ling Tian, although I can't kill you, you can't kill me as well. You better give me a satisfactory explanation or compensation for killing a Supreme Elder of my clan. Otherwise, I'll turn over the entire Saint Province Realm just to annihilate the Seven Absolutes Sect after you ascend to a Devata Realm!"

"Oh?" Upon hearing the patriarch's words, Duan Ling Tian narrowed his eyes. He suppressed his anger with great difficulty as he asked, "I'd like to know what kind of explanation or compensation you want..."

"I'll disregard the enmity between the Seven Absolutes Sect and the dragon clan if you leave your Celestial Supreme Treasure behind!!" The patriarch said as his eyes flashed greedily.

"So, you want my Celestial Sword…" Duan Ling Tian said knowingly, "Since you want it so badly, I'll give it to you!" As soon as he finished speaking, he threw the Celestial Sword over to the patriarch as though he was tossing out trash.