Chapter 1494 (Raw 1474): Victor Humiliated
The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign seemed to reveal a bitter smile. After firmly grasping the Oath Stone, he said, "I, the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign, swear on my name that I will send out another palm strike. After this palm strike, I will absolutely not use any excuses to make a move on anyone of the Dragon's Gate."
"Whoosh!"
The Oath Stone turned into boundless light that entered the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign. Then, at lightning speed, he quickly threw a palm strike.
This palm strike was incredibly fast. The number of people who clearly saw it could be counted with two hands.
"Whoosh!" The heavy clouds in the sky turned golden and spread out over five thousand kilometers.
Instantly, piercing and dazzling golden light erupted, blanketing the area within five thousand kilometers.
It was not over yet. Five thousand kilometers of golden clouds suddenly coalesced to form a huge Deity Statue. That statue gave off bright golden light and looked very smooth as if coated in gold.
The clouds in the sky vanished. The sun, the moon, and the stars appeared before everyone's eyes, now that there was nothing in the way. It looked like one could pluck the stars just by stretching out their hands.
The huge Deity Statue radiated a supreme might, creating an illusion.
It gave the impression that the Deity Statue came from the deepest, darkest depths of the universe to the mortal world to mete divine punishment.
"The Starry Heavens Divine Palm Strike! Qitian is really not showing any mercy this time."
When Ying Zongtian saw this, his heart sank. Then, he frowned heavily.
Together with the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign, the huge Deity Statue threw a palm strike at Xiao Chen.
"Whoosh!"
Before the palm strike arrived, the palm wind came, the intense pressure warping space.
Many people who could not dodge in time felt their skin tearing and blood flowing out. Their eyes widened with extreme horror.
"Boom!" Then, all these people got knocked far away.
Xiao Chen narrowed his eyes. He simply could not block this palm strike. Even his Dharmic Incarnation would shatter.
This was the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign launching a palm strike at full power without showing any mercy.
The many Primes looking on in this place would not dare to say they could receive this palm strike without getting injured, what more Xiao Chen.
If Xiao Chen clashed head-on, he would die without a doubt!
There was only one way to break this palm strike: using the state of time to turn time back.
Xiao Chen had to return to the moment when the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign just grasped the Oath Stone. Otherwise, he would not have a chance.
The difficulty of executing the state of cycle and attacking before the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign went without saying.
However, if Xiao Chen wanted to live, this was the only way.
I'll risk it all!
The Cycle Heart shone with a brilliant radiance in Xiao Chen's sea of consciousness as it spun without pause. Cycle Energy filled his entire body. The various states—massacre, destruction, ruin, pain, grief, despair, and death—turned into vast illusions flashing around Xiao Chen.
Just as that palm strike was about to land on Xiao Chen, he roared ferociously and unleashed the state of cycle in full force.
Xiao Chen ferociously swung the Lunar Shadow Saber, a Transcendent Divine Weapon, and executed the Cycle Chop as he leaped up.
[TL Note: Apparently, Xiao Chen named the move Cycle Chop at some point in time without it being mentioned in the novel.]
"Pu ci!"
Xiao Chen felt a boundless resistance and incredible pain. The past already happened. Reversing space and time to travel to the past resulted in even stronger resistance than traveling to the future.
The resistance of space and time pressed on Xiao Chen's physical body, causing his bones to crackle—the sound of his bones breaking.
How difficult! I simply cannot move. The presence of the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign made the pressure from space and time even stronger.
Xiao Chen felt that when he crossed over to the past, his body might shatter.
Back in the present, the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign's palm strike was only an inch away from Xiao Chen. In the next moment, it would land on Xiao Chen's chest.
With the might of this palm strike, it was very possible that Xiao Chen would die on the spot without a complete corpse.
Ying Zongtian and the others changed their expressions considerably as their hearts pounded.
"Dao!"
At the critical moment, the light of the Great Dao appeared behind Xiao Chen. Then, it all curled around the Lunar Shadow Saber.
This Great Dao Energy came from the Saber Dao. With its support, the Lunar Shadow Saber's might would multiply many times over.
Ying Zongtian's heart sank. What is Xiao Chen trying to do, die together with the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign?
This is too naive. Although the might of this saber strike is strong, it will only severely injure the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign at best. It will not cause any lethal damage.
At this moment, the expressions of the Bright Moon Empress and the others distorted.
Everyone who could see the trajectory of the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign's attack felt very anxious and could not bear to continue watching.
"Boom!"
However, in the next moment, the situation veered unexpectedly. The might of the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign's palm strike plummeted.
The light of the Great Dao on Xiao Chen diminished, and the palm wind struck his chest, knocking him back into the air.
Instantly, Xiao Chen's internal organs ruptured, and he slid back on the ground for one kilometer. He appeared so pale that he looked like he was drained of blood.
He vomited a large mouthful of blood before stabbing the saber in his right hand into the ground. Then, he said, "Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign, many thanks for teaching this lesson!"
How can this be?!
The onlookers were all in disbelief. Xiao Chen actually did not die. Although he was in a sorry state, severely injured and weak, he truly managed to receive the full-power strike of the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign.
What happened to cause the might of the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign's palm strike to decrease sharply?
Countless eyes fell on the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign. Everyone thought that he had shown mercy. However, when they saw his face, there was a faint saber wound trickling blood on his smooth right cheek.
A saber wound?
When did the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign receive a saber strike? Why did they not see it?
One flew back, skidding for one kilometer, and struggled even to stand up. The other showed a flourishing aura with only a faint saber wound on the face.
It was clear who was the victor of this exchange.
However, the victorious Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign appeared extremely sullen, looking even more unsightly than the injured Xiao Chen.
"I will keep my oath. From today onwards, I will show the people of your Dragon's Gate due respect," the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign said without any emotion in his voice.
Maintaining a sullen expression, the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign did not say anything else as he quickly left the place with his hands clasped behind his back. No one could understand why he was in such a poor mood.
Both the East Mountain Ghost Monarch and the Heaven Punishing Corpse God were confused. However, when they saw the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign leaving, it was not convenient for them to remain here, so they promptly followed him.
Five hundred kilometers away, above the vast ocean, the three giants of the Deity Dao Union looked at Heavenly Star Island in the distance in silence.
"Qitian, what happened with that palm strike earlier? Why did its might suddenly decrease?" The East Mountain Ghost Monarch could not help asking; he simply could not understand.
The Heaven Punishing Corpse God was equally confused. He said calmly, "I could tell that you did not weaken the blow on purpose. Rather, it weakened all of a sudden. Such rapid changes are taboo for the attacker. The force of the palm strike would rebound and would not be easy to bear."
The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign's expression remained sullen as he said, "If I say that I do not know why, either, will you believe me?"
When the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign said that, both the Heaven Punishing Corpse God and the East Mountain Ghost Monarch showed expressions of disbelief.
"That's impossible. You are the person involved. How could you not know how the force of your palm strike weakened?!" the Heaven Punishing Corpse God rebutted, unwilling to accept that.
The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign reached up and touched the wound on his face. When he saw the blood on the tip of his finger, he asked indifferently, "What is impossible about it? Do the two of you know how the wound on my face came about?"
"This…" At this question, the East Mountain Ghost Monarch and the Heaven Punishing Corpse God were stumped for words, not knowing what to say.
Indeed, they had not seen how the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign sustained the wound on his face.
It clearly was a saber wound, but they did not see Xiao Chen send out the saber strike.
The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign had not been injured or even seen his own blood for many years. As he looked at the blood on his fingertip, he felt emotionally stirred and remained silent for a long time.
There were mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens. This Kunlun Realm was merely an abandoned land.
[TL Note: There are mountains beyond mountains and heavens beyond heavens: This is an idiom for there is always someone better.]
The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign did not know what the true great realm was like at all. The adage "frog in a well" probably referred to him.
"Should we change our plan?" the East Mountain Ghost Monarch asked carefully.
The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign flicked away the blood on his hand and replied sullenly, "There are no changes. There is also no need for the three of us to return. We will just wait here for him to come out. I believe when he comes out, he will definitely head for the Azure Dragon Palace."
The original plan was for the Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign to come and beat Xiao Chen up, to humiliate him.
This would teach Xiao Chen that there was someone stronger, to let him know that he was not strong enough. After being humiliated, he would surely go to the Azure Dragon Palace in order to raise his strength.
The Heaven Abandoning Deity Sovereign was an ambitious and ruthless character. Naturally, he would not come simply to humiliate Xiao Chen.
He was just being impatient and wanted to do something to hasten Xiao Chen's trip to the Azure Dragon Palace.
However, now, it looked like the one that was truly humiliated and received a blow was not Xiao Chen but himself.