At the passage leading from the fourteenth floor to the fifteenth floor.
There, a massive Divine Beast stood guard—it was undoubtedly the gatekeeper of the fourteenth floor.
A mid-tier God-level gatekeeper. Unlike the one on the thirteenth floor, who had only just stepped into the realm of mid-tier Gods, this one had likely already fused with profound mysteries—and not just two. It might have fused even more.
Yet even so, Sadius did not feel fear. He was confident in his own strength. Even if he couldn't win, he could still easily escape.
Sadius swiftly flew forward.
At the northern side of the enormous lake, deep at the lakebed, a gigantic fish slowly opened its three pairs of eyes, each as large as mountains.
"Intruder… return to the previous floor. I have no desire to kill anyone yet."
The giant fish had already sensed Sadius and immediately transmitted its divine sense.
"Heh. Fight—or move aside."
Sadius had already flown above the giant fish.
The fish's body was so immense that it occupied a full tenth of the entire fourteenth floor.
At that moment, the giant fish transformed into a human form and flew up from the lake. The entire enormous lake instantly sank by a tenth, stirring up a world-shaking tidal wave.
"Since you think you have the ability… then defeat me and proceed to the fifteenth floor."
As he spoke, his divine body split off a divine clone.
"Water–Wind dual-element mid-tier God!"
Sadius had thought he would only face one mid-tier God. He hadn't expected the opponent to have an additional divine clone.
But it didn't matter. Even if another clone joined, Sadius still felt no fear.
The opponent's Wind-element divine clone attacked first.
His true body was currently within the Wind clone.
The opponent's speed was astonishing—so fast that even Sadius could not clearly see his movements.
Sadius hurriedly raised his defenses.
The opponent had completely fused the Profound Mysteries of Fast and Slow within the Elemental Laws of Wind, resulting in the Profound Mysteries of Velocity. Both his movement and attack speed were terrifyingly quick.
And this was a mid-tier God whose original form was a giant fish—yet he possessed such high talent in Water as well!
Sadius dared not be careless. He unleashed divine power of three elements, forming a layered defense over his body.
When the opponent's attacks struck, the Wind-elemental energy continuously cut across Sadius, forcing him to retreat again and again.
"Good defense. But if all you can do is defend… then crawl back to the thirteenth floor!"
In response, Sadius swung his Violet Blood Sword and unleashed his ultimate technique—Phantom Kill Slash.
By now, he had fully comprehended the Profound Mysteries of Darkness and the Sword Path of Destruction & Slaughter.
This move's power had increased dramatically. The fusion of disparate laws was no longer superficial; it was taking true form.
The technique was bizarre—melding the Laws of Darkness and the Edicts of Destruction. The attack was insidious, almost impossible to evade or defend against.
As the eerie sword-light swept forth, even though the Wind-element clone was extremely fast, it was still caught and entangled by the strange blade light.
"Interesting… to think you can fuse the Laws of Darkness with the Edicts of Destruction. I underestimated you."
The opponent's Water-element divine clone then joined the battle.
"More clones? I have plenty as well."
Sadius immediately activated Azure Dragon Transformation.
His body transformed into a two-thousand-meter-long colossal Azure Dragon.
Then three divine clones split off from his true body.
Four lower-tier God bodies simultaneously engaged the opponent's two clones in combat.
Suddenly, the opponent's true body transformed again. But instead of reverting to the previous giant fish, it became an enormous bird!
The giant bird was like a massive Roc, its speed astonishingly fast.
"Impossible?!" Sadius could hardly believe it. Previously the opponent was clearly a giant fish, yet now it had become a Roc.
"Could it be… a Kunpeng?!" Sadius suspected.
But Kunpengs were super Divine Beasts. How could one be merely a mid-tier God?
Sadius was inwardly doubtful, but the battle continued.
His Darkness-element clone and Destruction-element clone fought the giant Roc.
Meanwhile, his Azure Dragon true body and his Earth-element clone fought the opponent's Water-element clone.
The battles on both sides were fierce and magnificent.
Even though the Azure Dragon true body was only at lower-tier God level—and hadn't undergone a soul mutation—its physical body already rivaled a mid-tier God's.
Moreover, his soul was that of an Azure Dragon. Its soul defense was extremely strong, completely unfazed by the opponent's Water-element clone.
As for the Roc, it gained no advantage at all against Sadius' two divine clones.
Both clones were capable of using Phantom Kill Slash, though with slightly different effects, allowing Sadius to continually refine and deepen the fusion of laws within this move.
The Roc seemed to realize something was wrong. It stopped engaging and instead flew toward its Water-element clone.
Then the true body shifted into the Water-element clone. In the next instant, the true body transformed back into a giant fish.
The fish immediately plunged into the water.
"Let's see if you can withstand this technique."
The entire massive, ocean-like lake was stirred into a terrifying tsunami by the fish.
"Hah!"
The opponent's Wind-element clone transformed into a gust of wind, spinning up the massive waves, then forming a terrifying water tornado.
This water tornado carried both Water-element and Wind-element profound mysteries. Although these differing mysteries weren't fused, they mimicked the ocean's natural waterspouts, creating devastating power.
Sadius' four bodies were unable to stabilize themselves within the violent storm.
He quickly canceled the Azure Dragon Transformation and retracted his divine clones into his body.
Then he swiftly fled the storm's range.
"This guy is definitely a Divine Beast Kunpeng… perhaps one that hasn't fully matured yet."
The storm continued expanding. The entire fourteenth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods now resembled the apocalypse.
Sadius pondered how to counter the opponent's terrifying attack.
"Perhaps the Azure Dragon's innate Dragon Roar can interrupt his storm… but the effect wouldn't last long."
"If I could completely master Phantom Kill Slash, then I'd have a real chance."
A true fusion of different profound mysteries would definitely surpass even the fusion of same-type profound mysteries.
Sadius made his decision. For now, he would retreat to the thirteenth floor, perfect his comprehension of Phantom Kill Slash, and then return for another challenge.
Seeing Sadius retreat, the opponent stopped the storm.
Sadius returned to the thirteenth floor.
By now, he had already spent five and a half years within the Necropolis of the Gods. He still had four and a half years left. He believed he could fully merge the two mysteries into a single technique within that time.
His three divine clones and his true body all meditated on the move together, sparring with one another to test it.
Time passed bit by bit as he continually refined Phantom Kill Slash.
"This move deserves a new name… Oblivion Sword Intent suits it better."
As Sadius unleashed a single strike, the entire castle on the thirteenth floor was cleaved apart.
Sadius immediately flew toward the fifteenth floor.
As soon as he entered the fifteenth floor, that deity immediately noticed him.
"You dare come back again?"
"I've gained new insights. Time for another challenge."
"I admit you have talent. But without becoming a mid-tier God, you'll find it hard to even survive under my ultimate move."
"You won't know until you try, right?"
"Very well. I'll grant you your wish!"
Once more, the deity transformed into a giant fish.
Then his Water-element clone turned into a whirlwind, stirring up a terrifying waterspout.
The dreadful storm descended once more.
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