Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Overall, however, the Sun Emperor, having summoned his true body, was a great deal stronger than before. Each of his attacks sent Li Chang’an flying back, spitting blood.

Seeing that Li Chang’an was at a slight disadvantage but showed no signs of collapsing, the Sun Emperor had no choice but to go for the kill. He began tearing off weathered, rotting chunks of his flesh and hurling them like cannonballs, attempting to erode and corrupt Li Chang’an with Dark Energy.

But who was Li Chang’an?

He was a Reincarnator!

And a Reincarnator who was extremely familiar with Dark Energy, at that.

Upon discovering his opponent’s intent to use Dark Energy as a weapon, Li Chang’an immediately used Incense to draw a Talismanic Array in the area around his feet.

This was an Array Li Chang’an had copied back when the Immortal Palace Warship was soaring through the Star Sea. It possessed an extremely terrifying defensive capability.

Moreover, the current Immortal Realm was itself a massive Energy Gathering Array. Li Chang’an only needed to alter a few symbols to replicate the Flying Ship’s Shield Array with about seventy to eighty percent accuracy.

This Flying Ship Shield Array directly drew upon the Energy of the Immortal Realm to sustain itself. It didn’t even place any burden on Li Chang’an’s own body, yet it could continuously withstand incredibly terrifying attacks.

Although the Dark Energy blasts from the Sun Emperor could still erode and damage the Shield, they couldn’t endanger Li Chang’an’s life in the short term.

This scene was clearly far beyond the Sun Emperor’s expectations.

After all, in his view, Dark Energy was practically unstoppable. Even the slightest touch would eventually turn its victim into a grotesque creature like himself, neither human nor ghost.

He never imagined that Li Chang’an could actually use a Shield Array to temporarily resist the assault of Dark Energy. To him, it was no different from seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

If he was previously unsure of Li Chang’an’s origins, now he had several theories and answers.

The shock was so great that the Sun Emperor didn’t even continue his attack. Instead, he stopped and stared at the Energy Shield resisting the Dark Energy, his voice laced with suspicion and uncertainty. ”What kind of technique is this? Who in the world are you? I think we can sit down and talk!”

Evidently, the Sun Emperor no longer saw Li Chang’an as a so-called lowly insect. He was now willing to speak with him as an equal.

This was not just due to Li Chang’an’s strength, but also the technique he had just displayed.

He, too, was quite familiar with Dark Energy. It was precisely because of this familiarity that he knew just how terrifying it truly was.

Yet now, Li Chang’an had blocked it with a single Shield.

It wasn’t a complete block, and the source of this Dark Energy was his own body rather than a true dark invasion. Even so, to be able to resist it for even a moment was an extraordinary feat. He even began to boldly speculate that there must be a high-level civilization backing Li Chang’an!

Otherwise, it would be impossible for him to have developed such a terrifying Array on his own.

However, while he was now willing to sit down and negotiate with Li Chang’an, Li Chang’an had no intention of negotiating with him. After all, from his perspective, there was absolutely no common ground for negotiation between them.

Seeming to sense Li Chang’an’s thoughts, the Sun Emperor hurriedly spoke again. ”Don’t be hasty. Hear my offer first. Don’t you want this world? We can give it to you. As long as you tell me about that technique you just used, this entire land will be yours!”

Li Chang’an was stunned for a moment. He hadn’t expected the other party to offer him the world right off the bat. He couldn’t help but sneer, ”I can take what I want myself. Why would I need you to pretend to give it to me?”

Although his words were blunt, the Sun Emperor wasn’t angered in the slightest. As long as Li Chang’an showed a willingness to negotiate, everything else could be discussed. What he feared was Li Chang’an refusing to even give him the chance, which would force them into a mutually destructive struggle.

So, the Sun Emperor smiled. ”With your current power, you can barely handle me alone, let alone the fact that mine is not the only body in this Celestial Realm. To think you can occupy this place without our permission is pure fantasy!”

Li Chang’an’s expression remained cold. Hearing this, he retorted sarcastically, ”Then you might as well keep fighting, or just capture me and interrogate me. Why are you here wasting your breath with me?”

The Sun Emperor was choked speechless.

Clearly, he was not skilled at negotiation, nor did he have any experience negotiating with enemies. By comparison, he was much better at direct plunder, or simply wiping them out completely.

But the current situation was out of his hands. The other Emperors and Celestial Monarchs were all busy fighting the native army of the Magnetic Sea. He could only patiently try to persuade him again, ”There’s no point in this nonsense. Just say it. What do you want? As long as it’s something we can give, everything is negotiable!”

Li Chang’an sneered.

In truth, he had no intention of negotiating. He was only playing along to prepare for his next killing blow.

Even so, he realized he had still underestimated how alluring the Flying Ship’s Shield Array was to the Sun Emperor.

The man had lived for so many years; logically, even if his true self were a pig, it would have become cunning with age.

But his own aggressive intent was so obvious, yet the Sun Emperor hadn’t noticed it at all. He was still desperately trying to negotiate.

This naturally gave Li Chang’an his chance. He abruptly activated the Array at his feet. The Protective Shield from the Immortal Palace’s Flying Ship suddenly expanded, swallowing the nearby Sun Emperor in one go.

One must understand that the Immortal Palace’s mastery of Arrays was terrifyingly profound. The Arrays inscribed on an Immortal Ship capable of navigating the Star Sea were the most advanced and powerful in the Immortal Palace’s arsenal. How could they possibly have only a simple defensive effect?

In fact, the Protective Shield could be used not only for defense but also for offense. It’s just that its offensive application was rather clumsy compared to its defensive one, making it difficult to hit a moving target.

But now, with the Sun Emperor having willingly stopped to negotiate, it presented Li Chang’an with a perfect opportunity.

Due to the Fusion with his true body, the Sun Emperor’s mind was not actually clear.

Therefore, he completely failed to notice that Li Chang’an was deceiving him with words.

Caught completely off guard, he was instantly enveloped and devoured by the Protective Shield. The intense pressure from all directions caused his body to crack and shatter, inch by inch. His already severely decayed flesh began to flake off madly, as if being peeled away layer by layer.

He wanted to roar, to fight Li Chang’an to the death, but why would Li Chang’an play by the rules of martial honor at a time like this? A massive amount of Soul Fire surged from Li Chang’an’s body as if it were free, completely engulfing the Emperor.

Even so, it was difficult to kill him quickly with Soul Fire alone. So, Li Chang’an simply used Guiding to channel the vast Incense of the Immortal Realm to ignite the Dark Energy already present on the Emperor’s body. This strike hit the Sun Emperor’s vital point. In the span of just a few breaths, the Sun Emperor completely vanished into smoke and dust.

The Soul Fire burned away, leaving behind a large mass of pure Energy. However, Li Chang’an didn’t dare to absorb it rashly. After all, the Sun Emperor’s body contained so much Dark Energy; who knew if any of it remained within the purified Energy.

He didn’t want to lose a great deal for a small gain. So, he simply used an Array to envelop the residual Energy, planning to absorb it only after studying it thoroughly and confirming it was safe.

With the Sun Emperor dead, the massive, zombie-like tide of rioting creatures below finally came to a halt. All the lucky survivors looked at one another, their faces a mixture of relief at having survived the disaster and the dazed feeling of being reborn.

Looking out, one could see that half of the entire Celestial Realm had been reduced to ruins by the battle between Li Chang’an and the Sun Emperor. While the other half wasn’t as severely damaged, there were basically no intact buildings left, a testament to just how fierce the fight had been.

When they finally came to their senses, the members of the Celestial Realm expeditionary force slowly looked up. Upon seeing Li Chang’an leisurely return to their line of sight, everyone couldn’t help but cheer loudly.

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