A figure shot out from the ocean and landed right beside Di Shi.

That figure is Di Xiang!

He stared at Di Shi with mixed feelings, he asked, "Why did they send you down?"

"Hmph!"

Di Shi condescendingly looked at Di Xiang from top to bottom. His head was dripping with blood while his robe was torn and looked like rags. He was in a sorry state.

“Is there even a need to ask? You're losing the battle!” Di Shi scoffed.

Di Xiang was furious! The Mortal Haven World was one of the stronger Lower Worlds. Even though the Nether race came prepared, they held no advantage. Di Shi's strength was unquestionable, but that was only in the Upper World, in the Lower World, however, he was still a little lacking compared to Xia Lihua. Especially with all the restrictions.

Di Xiang questioned why the Nether race even bothered to send him down. At the same time, he couldn’t help but inwardly curse the Universal Will, these restraints were too much!

“Di Shi, I’m sure they didn’t send you down without a plan so I won’t argue with you. But know this, if you fail even with whatever advantage you have, you can kiss your title as an Absolute goodbye.” Di Xiang said mockingly.

Di Shi’s eyes turned serious. He looked at his hand and used his thumb to caress a ring on his forefinger. His confidence returned and he regained his arrogant demeanor.

“I will not fail.”

He turned and fixed his gaze on Xia Lihua.

“Silver scales… dragon’s bloodline... that time ability of yours isn't a Divine Art, but an innate ability from your bloodline. How exceptionally rare. A miracle. You are indeed formidable. Your strength has already reached the absolute limit of the Lower World yet you choose not to ascend. This world must mean quite a lot to you.”

Di Xiang's eyes widened after hearing Di Shi. He looked at Xia Lihua like she was the greatest oddity he has ever seen.

"Are you saying..."

Di Shi nodded, "Yes. The Great Sovereign told me himself."

"..."

Xia Lihua ignored the two of them as she primed herself, totally prepared for a fight.

Di Shi’s eyebrow twitched upon seeing this. He brought up his hand, the water rose from the ocean in a spiraling motion, it moved like a snake, continuously pouring itself into a ball above his palm. The water turned pitch black and strange enough, did not increase in size despite the amount of water being added.

Xia Lihua narrowed her eyes upon seeing this black ball of water, she shifted her eyes toward Di Xiang and saw he was also looking at her. Sure enough, if she were to attack Di Shi right now then Di Xiang would step in to stop her. She was able to beat Di Xiang the first time because she caught him by surprise, this time he was more prepared.

As Xia Lihua hesitated whether or not to attack, Di Shi cut off the water pouring into the ball. He raised his other hand and slammed down on it! It didn’t burst as one might expect, rather it attached to his hands. It moved incredibly quickly, taking only seconds before the black water devoured him entirely. The water hardened and became a pitch-black suit of armor that covered Di Shi from head to toe, only his green eyes could be seen from the helmet.

Xia Lihua currently had an unusual expression on her face. She looked at Di Shi up and down.

Oh, it’s only armor… why did I think he was going to do something big.

Di Shi saw the look on Xia Lihua’s face and knew what she was thinking. Inside the helmet, his expression turned ugly.

How dare you look down on the Nether Armor.

He flew towards her at high speed and let loose a punch!

Xia Lihua met his fist with hers, not backing down one bit. No divine arts were used, just pure strength. As their fist collided.

Boom!

The World shook and water rained down from the ocean.

Di Xiang's eyebrows twitched. He looked at Xia Lihua who was unmoved and then at Di Shi.

Di Shi was forced to take a step back!

Looking at his arm, Di Shi was stunned. His arm was currently trembling with pain. Unconvinced, he attacked again.

Rumble. Rumble.

Their battle brought intense shaking to the Mortal Haven World. Exchanging moves one after the next. The space was warping due to their destructive strength. Their divine arts brought about environmental changes to the planet. The sky darkened and lightning struck. The ground was constantly shaking while the ocean brought incredibly tall tsunamis. If it weren’t for them being in the middle of an ocean, their battle would’ve been deadly towards mortals and cultivators alike.

Boom!

After exchanging several hundred moves, Xia Lihua stood in the sky with her long black hair flowing In the wind. Her body was bloodied from top to bottom. There were patches on her body where the silver scales are missing, destroyed by the impact. Several of her claws were also broken and dulled.

huff..huff...

Her tired body worked at a fast pace trying to heal her wounds. Fortunately, she had a special physique, if it was another expert in the Holy realm, they would’ve already died. She flipped her hand. A handful of pills appeared in her palm and she stuffed them all in her mouth. A wave of cooling sensation passed through her body, allowing her to steady her breathing as she felt her Astral Essence recovering.

Di Shi, who looked just as terrible, coughed a mouthful of blood when he saw Xia Lihua's aura improving after downing a dozen pills. He clenched his teeth angrily and silently cursed at the Universal Will.

Di Xiang appeared next to Di Shi and said, “Di Shi, looks like you’ll need my help.”

“Get lost! You are not needed.”

Before Di Xiang can even reply, Di Shi swiped the ring on his finger and brought out a gold pill. Before anyone can even take a good look at it he threw it in his mouth and swallowed.

!

Everyone looked on with shock. The people of Mortal Haven World have fought the people from the Upper World for a long time. They knew that these people are heavily restricted upon descending to the Lower World and there would deadly consequences if one break these restrictions.

The Nether race opened their eyes wide. Di Xiang who was standing closes to Di Shi shuddered with horror. He flashed and flew away from Di Shi by a considerable distance.

“Di Shi! Do you wish to die!?”

As Di Xiang yelled, the sky turned darkened and thunder clouds formed and rumbled above. A rainbow light mysteriously appeared, shining through the clouds. From a distance, the contrast between the dark sky and the rainbow light looked beautiful, but for the people underneath the pressure from the light was too much to handle.

Xia Lihua, Di Xiang, the Ancestors, and the Nether race couldn’t resist and they could no longer maintain being in the air and they dropped like flies into the ocean.

As they fell, the rumbling suddenly stopped, and the seven-colored light fades away. The dark clouds also dispersed, revealing the bright sky once more.

Feeling the pressure disappear, the people falling called upon their Essence to fly once again. Confused, they looked at Di Shi. He was still wearing his black armor but he glowed with a golden light. Above his head, sat the source of that light, a golden halo. It pulsed with a heavenly aura.

His aura erupted as his cultivation pushed beyond the Holy realm. As his cultivation increased, the golden halo dimmed and reduced in size.

Di Xiang’s jaw dropped.

“He wasn't taking a recovery pill but the Heaven Merit Stone. The Nether race gave Di Shi a Heaven Merit Stone!” He muttered.

Looking at his body, Di Shi was not happy. He could feel his cultivation method and Divine Arts were still being suppressed by the Universal Will.

The amount of merit given by the stone wasn’t a lot. Going beyond the Holy realm is already the limit, any more and the merit will be completely consumed. I need to finish this fast. Xia Lihua is the only threat here, once she is out of the picture the rest can be easily dealt with.

Di Shi pointed at Xia Lihua. Instantly, a hundred thousand black water arrows materialized in the air and shot at her at high speed. Then he conjured a large amount of black water in the air that blocked out the sun. With a hand sign, the water formed into a huge hammer.

With a wave of his hand, the hammer smashed down toward Xia Lihua. The terrifying pressure it brought made it impossible for her to move.

With no way to dodge, she burned her Blood Essence and used all the remaining Astral Essence she has! Her patchy silver scales grew once more and covered her body. Her aura exploded!

“Phase Lock!”

She concentrated her punch on the incoming hammer at the same time tanking the arrows that were striking her body.

The hammer slowed but was unaffected by Phase Lock.

Xia Lihua’s pupils shrunk, she quickly adjusted herself and threw out another punch.

“Heaven Disintegration!

A sharp blinding light met the hammer.

The hammer and the fist collided! The explosion was loud enough for all beings in Mortal Haven to hear it. The World rumbled, cracks appeared beneath the ocean floor and volcanos underwater and on land erupted!

A figure dropped down from the sky, upon a closer look, it was Xia Lihua!

“Lihua!”

A tall man who looks to be in his thirties flew towards Xia Lihua. He grabbed her and looked at the heavy injuries on her body and frowned.

Di Shi floated in the air looking at Xia Lihua, he was surprised she had not died. He glanced at his Halo and mentally calculated the amount of merit he had left.

I can conjure the Nether Water four more times. It should be enough to destroy this World's Will and return to the Nether World before…

Di Shi was thinking when he suddenly broke out in cold sweats. He slowly looked up and in front of him was a man who looked to be in his early twenties smiling at him. His long black hair gently swayed in the wind. He wore his black robe loosely revealing a part of his defined chest. He appeared completely ordinary but his otherworldly appearance says otherwise.

Di Shi looked at this handsome man who was only two arm's lengths away and his heart raced.

Who is this person? He got so close to me and I didn’t even notice!

“Interesting… using Heavens Merit to shield your existence from the Universal Will and consuming it to increase your cultivation. I wonder what will happen to you after the Universal Will knows you tricked it. ” the man said.

Di Shi’s heart skipped.