The God of Destruction's pillar of light lasted a quarter-hour before slowly dissipating.
That far exceeded Ning Fengzhi's usual support duration. To ensure Chen Xin's safety, Ning Fengzhi ultimately gave up all other buffs, focusing solely on Undying Body, barely enduring World-Annihilation's duration. Even so, both he and Chen Xin were completely spent, with no strength to fight on.
The Golden Dragon King was in even worse shape. Its bodily defenses already shattered by Chen Xin, it took the God of Destruction's heavy blow—half its body nearly disintegrated. Where was its dragon-king dominance now? It lay like an earthworm, more air going in than out.
With Tianlin and the Evil Sword Immortal unable to appear, Chen Xin and the Golden Dragon King incapacitated, and Bibi Dong and Qian Xunji dead, the God of Destruction was now the strongest on the field.
He flashed forward. First-rank gods like Ma Hongjun and Ning Rongrong couldn't even track his movement. In a blink, he pinched the God of Lust's neck, sealed her divine power, and seized her.
"Well done, God of Destruction. Bring her up, and I'll spare the God Realm at once," the Evil Sword Immortal said excitedly.
The God of Destruction sneered. "Bring her up? Are you joking, Evil Sword Immortal? You think I'll hand over the God of Lust so easily? Or do you think I'm a fool who believes you'll return the God Realm?"
The Evil Sword Immortal snarled a threat. "What do you mean? Don't forget, I control half the Core. I can collapse half the God Realm at any time."
"Heh, be my guest. Try it. Don't forget: the moment you leave the Core, the gate closes. You can't get out now. And you need at least two more days to seize full control. That's two years in the human world. Our new Asura God will likely reach half-step God Emperor soon. Then, how will you fight? Or do you think you can snatch the God of Lust from him?" The God of Destruction was now confident.
What Chen Xin had drawn with his sword told him: while the Evil Sword Immortal held his weakness, he held the Evil Sword Immortal's in turn. The latter was even more pressed than Tianlin.
His own growth had stalled; Tianlin kept getting stronger. In two years, Tianlin might even reach God Emperor. Then what game could he play?
"What do you want?" The Evil Sword Immortal calmed down, knowing the God of Destruction would name terms.
"Simple. Immediately relinquish control of the Core to the Goddess of Life in the God Realm. She'll keep the gate open in your stead. When you leave the God Realm and arrive in Douluo, I'll hand over the God of Lust. I don't trust your kind at all—only a transaction," the God of Destruction said. "My only condition. If you refuse, we keep the stalemate and see who outlasts whom."
The Evil Sword Immortal ground his teeth. From the God of Destruction's position, he wouldn't trust himself either.
And he never planned to return the God Realm anyway; he wanted to use its power to counterattack the Sword-Immortal world.
But given the situation, he had to return it first—or he wouldn't get the God of Lust.
After careful thought, he deemed the deal workable. First, by mutual sensing, he estimated Tianlin needed a few more days to emerge, while he only needed a second to devour the God of Lust.
Second, in the human realm, the God of Destruction was no match for him. He needn't fear betrayal. In front of him, neither the God of Lust's suicide nor the God of Destruction killing her to ruin his plan would succeed. A Supreme God King's power dwarfed them.
Third, after devouring the God of Lust and becoming the Evil Emperor, the world's rules could no longer restrain him. Even without opening the gate, he could force his way into the God Realm. It would still be his.
All gain, no loss.
"Fine. I accept." He released the Evil Spirit Pearl's suppression on the Goddess of Life and handed Core control back to her.
The Goddess of Life didn't know his purpose, but she and the God of Destruction were husband and wife for many years, trusting each other absolutely. If he set this condition, he had his reasons.
"Keep the gate open honestly. No tricks. Destroying the God Realm or killing your husband is nothing to me," the Evil Sword Immortal said coldly.
"Rest assured. My husband and I care only for the God Realm. I'm happy to see you leave it," the Goddess of Life replied—pure truth, without a hint of falsehood.
The Evil Sword Immortal nodded and shot toward the portal. At his speed, in less than half a minute, he descended to the human world.
"God of Destruction, I've returned the Core to the Goddess of Life. Hand over the God of Lust," he said, lunging at her like a starving tiger.
He had coveted this final Original Sin for too long—not a word more.
At that moment, the God of Destruction loosened his grip on the God of Lust's neck, a meaningful smile on his face.
Just a split-second before the Evil Sword Immortal could seize her, the God of Lust vanished. Then, the God Realm gate closed.
It happened so fast the Evil Sword Immortal was stunned. The field fell silent.
After a long moment, the God of Destruction couldn't hold it in. He laughed madly. "Heh-heh-heh-heh, hahahahaha!"
Echoing him was Ning Fengzhi. Their laughter rang across the Seven Treasures Mountain, full of mockery.
"Where did she go? Where is my God of Lust? Why did she disappear?" The Evil Sword Immortal ignored the laughter. He frantically searched for the God of Lust.
Even scanning the whole continent, he found no trace.
But how? No matter how fast she was, she couldn't outpace him. She couldn't even kill herself.
And he hadn't sensed any divine power fluctuation. Otherwise, he would have used the Evil Spirit Pearl to seal her divine power.
Just then, he touched the space where she had been and felt a faint spatial ripple.
"Could it be… the God of Lust is…?"
"You guessed right. She's in the God Realm—via my Star-Shifting Talisman." A calm voice sounded. For some reason, Tianlin had emerged early from seclusion.
Smiling playfully at the Evil Sword Immortal, Tianlin said, "You're completely finished. Thanks to you, my dear father-in-law's plan went off beautifully—and my closed-door cultivation ended ahead of schedule."