Aspiring to the Immortal Path - Chapter 1297: The Last Battle

Yu Cheng let out a long breath when Tang Jie died.

Tang Jie had finally fallen, and with the death of this opponent that had given him so much trouble, there was nothing left that could stop him. Moreover, in doing this, he had defeated the Martial Lord’s disciple and fulfilled his long-held wish.

Only one last goal remained.

He collected the Sovereign Blade and dragged himself to the entrance of the seventh floor.

At this moment, Yu Cheng was so exhausted that he didn’t even want to fly.

After taking a few steps, Yu Cheng suddenly remembered something and looked back.

He looked at Tang Jie’s corpse.

“Strange,” Yu Cheng muttered.

Since Tang Jie was dead, the Heavenly Dao Realm’s protective energy should have ceased to exist, and the last sliver of Wang Yao’s Divine Soul should have dissipated. So why did he not sense its dissipation?

There was only one possibility: the Heavenly Dao Realm was still active.

Yu Cheng’s eyes widened at the thought.

Could it be…

He stared hard at Tang Jie.

No, it couldn’t be. All traces of life had vanished from that corpse, and the Divine Soul had also disappeared. Tang Jie’s will had been completely quashed, and there should have been nothing left to control this body.

Wait!

A thought appeared in Yu Cheng’s mind, and he shuddered as he cried out:

“Shit!”

Boom!

A black fog emerged from the depths of his Sea of Cognition, rapidly filling Yu Cheng’s mind. Part of the black fog billowed out, taking on Tang Jie’s face.

The avatar’s will!

“Give me back my body!”

The avatar’s will thundered in the Sea of Cognition as he began to occupy his former territory. As the avatar seized more and more of the Sea of Cognition, Yu Cheng was rendered immobile, stripped of the ability to control the body.

“So it was this dreg!”

In the Sea of Cognition, Yu Cheng snorted and took on the offensive directly, and a storm erupted in his mind.

Clashes of wills were very straightforward. There were no tricks, feints, or tactics, only direct confrontation, a struggle for territory. The one who occupied more of the Sea of Cognition would be stronger and thus the owner of the body!

In the past, Yu Cheng’s will would have easily crushed that of Tang Jie’s avatar, but it was precisely because he was so weak from the battle that Tang Jie had an opening.

But even then, Tang Jie defeating Yu Cheng and occupying the Sea of Cognition was no easy task.

“The perfect time to clean you up!”

Yu Cheng ruthlessly bellowed, his will transforming into a hurricane and sweeping toward the fog.

The fog and hurricane traded blows, engaging in a simple yet extremely lethal duel.

Even though he was at the end of his strength, Yu Cheng still displayed the formidable power of the “owner”, gradually seizing the upper hand once more. As the hurricane howled, the rampaging fog withdrew once more, giving up most of the territory it had just seized.

Amid the howling winds, Yu Cheng’s callous face appeared. “You were very clever, and you almost got me. Alas, your will is too weak, so what does it matter if you got a sneak attack? There is no stopping my momentum, and all your efforts are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot!”

As he spoke, he scattered more of the black fog, but the storm he had conjured up also wavered before gathering itself up again.

Tang Jie’s avatar saw this and said, “You’re also at your limits, no?”

Yu Cheng laughed. “Perhaps I am, but so what? Once I get rid of you, no one will be left to oppose me. Once I receive that heavensent opportunity and surpass the Heavenly Dao, becoming as eternal as the heavens, all will be restored!”

“Agreed,” Tang Jie casually said. “But did you not wonder why I only waited to attack you after my original body died? Wouldn’t it have been better to duel you while you were still fighting him?”

Yu Cheng froze.

True.

The prime time for the avatar’s sneak attack was actually not now, but when the original body had still been alive. If the original body had still been alive, then when the avatar launched its sneak attack and temporarily stripped Yu Cheng of his control over the body, the original body could have gone for the killing blow. This would have been much better than letting Yu Cheng deal with them one after another.

This couldn’t be called tactical on Tang Jie’s part, only idiocy!

And Tang Jie was no idiot.

Thus, he must have had an even better plan.

Could it be…

Yu Cheng suddenly thought of a possibility and almost yelled. At that moment, with more than half of the body now back under his control, he sought to cast away the Sovereign Blade.

“Too late!” Tang Jie laughed.

Boom!

Golden lightning exploded in Yu Cheng’s Sea of Cognition, imbued with such terrifying power that the hurricane made of Yu Cheng’s will was instantly blown to pieces.

“Awooo!” Yu Cheng howled in pain.

Having one’s mind blown apart was not a pleasant feeling.

But the golden lightning simply redoubled its assault.

One golden bolt of lightning after another crashed down like the Heavenly Tribulation, tearing away at Yu Cheng’s Divine Soul, blasting away at his will.

“TANG JIE!” Yu Cheng roared, but all he received was an even more vicious assault.

This was an opportunity Tang Jie had given up his life for, so how could he possibly show mercy and give Yu Cheng another chance at a comeback?

Yes, this golden lightning was the will of Tang Jie’s original body.

Tang Jie’s Divine Soul had not been extinguished!

The Xuanyuan Sword truly had cut into Tang Jie and extinguished his Divine Soul. There would have been no way to fool Yu Cheng otherwise.

But that was not all of his soul, because as he was being struck, he had already placed the majority of his Divine Soul in the Sovereign Blade.

When Yu Cheng took the Sovereign Blade, Tang Jie’s Divine Soul had the opportunity to infiltrate his body. In normal circumstances, Tang Jie’s Divine Soul would have undoubtedly been detected, but his avatar had launched a sneak attack, temporarily taking control of the body from Yu Cheng and letting the original “trespass”.

Yes, the avatar’s sneak attack hadn’t been to defeat Yu Cheng, but to create an opportunity for the original body.

Even though Yu Cheng’s will was at its weakest, Tang Jie had still not had any hopes that the avatar could win. He was far too aware of the gap between the two, so he chose his current method.

At this moment, the Divine Soul of Tang Jie’s original body had entered Yu Cheng’s body, merging with the avatar’s will and then unleashing their combined might on Yu Cheng.

Tang Jie’s revenge had finally begun.

Lightning scattered Yu Cheng’s will, while black fog rampaged through the Sea of Cognition. The two combined quickly seized territory. On the outside, Yu Cheng’s body began to tremble and walk toward Tang Jie’s original body.

He squatted, grabbed the corpse, and activated the Dao Unity Realm, the golden halo enclosing Tang Jie’s remains.

It was by his hand that he had died, and it was by his hand that he would be saved.

“Bastard! Get out of me!”

Yu Cheng roared within the Sea of Cognition.

“It’s my body,” Tang Jie rumbled.

This had always been Tang Jie’s body.

Yu Cheng had stolen it from him, and now, he was finally taking it back.

Golden lightning and black fog combined and fused as they occupied more and more territory, Yu Cheng’s will ceding more and more.

The battle of wills was on once more, but this time, the winner and loser were reversed.

Tang Jie finally had the upper hand.

“Don’t even think about it!” Yu Cheng gritted his teeth and roared.

In his hurricane form, he suddenly raised his hand and grabbed.

He seemingly grabbed at nothing, but in the outside world, Yu Cheng suddenly used his other hand to grab the Xuanyuan Sword, aiming at his own head and stabbing.

Just when it was about to strike true, the black fog expanded.

Outside, Yu Cheng cocked his head and evaded the blade, while the right hand reached for the left hand and held it down.

The battle of wills resulted in what appeared like a madman who was trying to kill himself and save himself at the same time.

As the left hand turned the blade to stab into Tang Jie’s body, the right hand seized the Xuanyuan Sword. Meanwhile, golden light erupted from his feet to continue the process of saving Tang Jie.

Then Yu Cheng’s left foot rose to give his right foot a savage kick. But then Yu Cheng looked down and simply fell over, causing the kick to fail.

By now, Tang Jie had occupied more than half of the Sea of Cognition, controlling Yu Cheng’s head, torso, right hand, and right leg. Yu Cheng only had the left hand and left leg under his control.

Yu Cheng knew that his defeat was almost certain, so he hardened his resolve and gathered up all his will to call out:

“Xuanyuan Sword, kill me!”

The outside world.

The Xuanyuan Sword let out a ring of light, indicating that it had received its master’s command. But it clearly hesitated, not understanding the order.

“Hurry and kill me!!!” Yu Cheng shouted.

As he couldn’t transmit the order through his voice, he could only use his Divine Soul, but this weakened his ability to resist in the Sea of Cognition, causing Tang Jie’s black fog to spread like a plague. Yu Cheng could sense that he was already starting to lose control of the left leg, and even the left hand was in danger.

He frantically roared.

Commanded by the Divine Will, the Xuanyuan Sword let out a cry of sorrow and spiraled upward to stab Yu Cheng in the head. It knew what would happen if this attack struck true, but it could not defy its master’s command.

But a moment later, Yu Cheng raised his head and said, “Sovereign Blade, stop it!”

It was Tang Jie’s voice.

Whoosh!

In a golden flash of light, the Sovereign Blade rose up and blocked the Xuanyuan Sword.

The two supreme divine weapons began to clash and clang in the air.

“NO!” Yu Cheng wailed in despair.

Tang Jie’s will swept through the Sea of Cognition, completely engulfing Yu Cheng’s will…