Gao Wu insists on cultivating immortality.

Chapter 415 Life is the Beginning of Death

The Heavenly Dragon Sword Intent, combined with the Divine Light of the Blazing Fire and the sharpness of the White Tiger Divine Weapon Curse, is enough to kill any human.

As for Athena's reversal spell, Gao Wu had already witnessed it once. The sharp and agile sword intent pierced through the gaps in the spell's changes, and the terrifying speed enhanced by the White Tiger Divine Weapon Spell did not give the opponent a chance to counter.

The key lies in the transformation of the Yang Spirit, which can freely transform between the tangible and the intangible, breaking through almost all source power barriers and spatial changes.

With the miraculous transformation of the Yang God, Gao Wu's process of killing Athena was very smooth, even easy.

Gao Wu looked at the carbonized ash drifting in the air. Any life form that turned into this form was doomed to die.

Even Athena's invisible spiritual magnetic field was pierced by the Heavenly Dragon Sword Intent.

How could Athena survive under such circumstances?

Gao Wu's Taiyi Battle Body also regained its freedom. Without Athena's divine incantation, the layers of invisible restrictions naturally dissipated.

This makes perfect sense. Divine incantations are extremely complex and require the convergence of divine power, necessitating a powerful spiritual force to control them; it's impossible for them to operate on their own.

Gao Wu turned his gaze to the statue carved out of the mountain. It was a colossal statue with an eagle's head and a human body. The eagle's head was slightly tilted, and a sharp eye was looking at the Eternal City. It had an air of superiority and cunning treachery. It was the statue of the White Eagle King.

Such a massive statue, yet it accurately expresses a certain divine essence, demonstrates the sculptor's skill.

As the source of power for the Eternal City, it gathers endless source power. Its core is also blessed with divine power.

Even with his current cultivation level and insight, Gao Wu couldn't see through the changes at the core of the divine statue. It was precisely because of this that he felt Athena wasn't quite dead!
The statue itself is just made of stone, which isn't the main point. The main thing is that the statue serves as the central hub of the Eternal City, gathering endless source power.

In terms of source power alone, the statue surpasses him by hundreds or thousands of times. Moreover, divine power serves as the core driving force for its operation.

Even if the statue looks like an inanimate object, it is not something he can easily destroy.

Just as Gao Wu was pondering whether to make a move first, the White Eagle King's eye flashed, and Athena, dressed in white robes and with golden hair, appeared out of thin air in front of the statue.

"She's actually alive?" Gao Wu examined Athena above the statue. Her figure and appearance were exactly the same, and her source power and mental magnetic field were also the same.

Nothing in the world is exactly the same, and no two people are exactly the same. By observing from different perspectives and levels, we can see countless differences.

Gao Wu's observations were meticulous, especially his ability to directly observe Athena's spiritual magnetic field through his Yang Shen.

Such a complex mental magnetic field is almost impossible to replicate.

Athena reappeared, her emerald eyes gleaming with divine light, her body and mind clearly at their peak. The destruction she had just suffered seemed to have no effect on her.

Gao Wu was somewhat confused. Was he resurrected through divine power? Or had he simply killed a clone?
In terms of their appearance, the two were exactly the same. What he killed didn't seem like a clone. It can only be said that the power of the demon god is indeed wondrous, capable of bringing people back to life.

He then realized something was amiss; death is the end of all living beings. No matter how powerful a life form may be, it cannot control the power of death.

If a demon god could wield the power of death, it would violate the most basic principles of life and the most basic principles of energy and spacetime.

From the perspective of time, all changes are irreversible.

Just like people don't truly go back on their path. So-called going back is simply making the same choice a second time while moving forward.

Gao Wu possesses the Taiyi Battle Body, which allows him to unite his Yang Spirit and Battle Body into one. If either the Battle Body or the Yang Spirit is damaged, it can be re-formed using the power of the other half.

But he knew very well that this re-cohesion was not about returning to the original form, but about reshaping a new body or spirit through energy.

Of course, he had never suffered such a severe injury that required complete reconstruction. He also had no experience with this.

In his view, Athena's condition was similar to his. Her mental center hadn't been completely destroyed, but was hidden somewhere.

After her physical body is destroyed, she can use energy to reshape her physical body and a portion of her mental magnetic field through her mental center.

However, the demon god's divine power was so strong and strange that he could not sense the true location of Athena's mental center.

Gao Wu understood all this and breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether his guess was correct, it at least proved that Athena hadn't been resurrected; only her body had been destroyed, while her true spiritual center remained intact.

Athena looked at Gao Wu, her gaze somewhat complicated.

She has painstakingly managed the Eternal City for decades, gathering the power of countless believers within its divine realm. Furthermore, she received divine power from the God Lord, making it equivalent to a divine kingdom on earth.

As the master of the earthly divine kingdom, she possesses level nine power within the divine kingdom, making her virtually invincible in this world.

Even if Qin Liuhe came, she was confident she could kill him. She never expected to be defeated by a twenty-year-old.

If it weren't for the resurrection spell blessed by the divine authority, she would have truly died this time.

Athena understood that this was not a true resurrection, but rather a rendezvous with divine power magnetic field. When her mental magnetic field was violently impacted, she was instantly transferred and her body was reshaped by divine power.

Simply put, her soul does not only exist within her body, but resonates with the idol and the Eternal City.

Only by destroying all three simultaneously will her soul truly perish. Or, if all divine power is exhausted, she will be unable to reconstruct her physical body, and a mere soul will not be able to endure.

However, even if she dies, she won't let the enemy get away with it!

Athena had been killed by Gao Wu once, and although she was not afraid of him, she did become somewhat cautious.

She still couldn't quite understand how Gao Wu's clone could break through the protection of the God's Shield.

Gao Wu didn't rush to make a move; he was also figuring out how to break Athena's resurrection.

Judging from Athena's calm and composed demeanor, she should be able to be resurrected a few more times.

The Spear and Shield of the Gods clearly resonated with Athena; as soon as her body appeared, the Spear and Shield of the Gods appeared beside her.

Gao Wu didn't care much about these two level-nine divine artifacts. If Qin Liuhe had come, he would have used the Jade Seal of Destiny to fight them head-on, but Gao Wu was able to easily break through the Shield of the Gods with his Yang God.

They tried again, but the result was the same.

Athena suddenly spoke up, "Your martial arts are unparalleled, yet you cannot kill me. There is no point in continuing this entanglement."

"Many people died on Dongwei Island, but our Federation also lost seven Level 8 Saints. This debt can be considered repaid."

"I can swear that the Federation will never again invade the Alliance or do anything detrimental to the Alliance. Let's leave it at that, shall we?"

Athena actually conveyed the information using spiritual power, which was more accurate and prevented Gao Wu from misunderstanding her meaning.

Athena truly didn't want to fight anymore. Gao Wu was indeed despicable, but he was also incredibly powerful. Although she possessed more powerful divine magic, it would come at a great cost.

Moreover, even if Gao Wu is barely dealt with, Qin Liuhe outside will be even more difficult to handle.

Gao Wu and Qin Liuhe, one inside and one outside, complementing each other, are indeed a formidable opponent.

Athena realized she didn't have much of a chance of winning and didn't want to fight Gao Wu to the death.

With billions of believers in the Federation, do you really think Qin Liuhe and his group would dare to exterminate the Federation's people?!

Even if Qin Liuhe were utterly ruthless, no one else could have done such a thing.

How many people could Qin Liuhe kill?

Moreover, deities need a large number of believers to obtain their power of prayer. However, in the short term, the rapid death of a large number of believers will also give the deities more spiritual power in return.

Such direct spiritual power is millions of times stronger than the power of the believer's will.

In other words, the spiritual energy accumulated by a devout believer through daily worship and prayer for twenty or thirty years is equivalent to the spiritual energy released at the time of his death.

Therefore, most deities prefer blood sacrifices, as this crude and simple method is the most effective way to obtain spiritual energy.

Of course, most deities prefer to cultivate their followers gradually. For a deity, several decades is not a long time.

A devout believer who marries and has children will grow into three to five devout believers within twenty or thirty years. The long-term benefits are clearly far greater. Athena's willingness to negotiate shows she's not afraid of the alliance's interference. For her, as long as the Eternal City remains intact, nothing else matters.

If we can hold out for a year or two, the spatial barrier will shatter, the other world will merge into the planet, and all alliances and federations, and Qin Liuhe High Martial Arts, will only become slaves of the gods or sacrifices to them.

With this in mind, Athena was willing to take a step back.

Gao Wu understood Athena's thinking perfectly; she simply wanted to buy time. He shook his head slightly: "You are not qualified to negotiate."

Athena pursed her lips tightly, reached out and grabbed the Spear of Light, coldly saying, "As you wish!"

She did not attack Gao Wu, but instead knelt on one knee, bowed her head, and silently recited an incantation.

Gao Wu couldn't understand what Athena was saying; he could only see her mental magnetic field constantly changing frequency, expanding and contracting.

"Invite a god to possess you?" Gao Wu roughly guessed what Athena was going to do. These people who believed in demon gods would resort to evil magic or borrow the power of demon gods if they couldn't defeat them.

The fact that a powerful being like Athena knelt and prayed so solemnly must mean she was trying to communicate with the demon god.

Gao Wu moved swiftly and pounced on Athena. The Shield of the Gods, shining with silver light, unfolded once more, transforming into a giant eggshell that enveloped Athena.

At the same time, the Shield of the Gods and the colossal statue resonated in unison.

The colossal statue of the White Eagle King radiated a brilliant silver light, soaring straight into the sky.

Such a phenomenon could not be blocked even by spatial barriers, and the inhabitants of the Eternal City all witnessed the magnificent, sacred, and heaven-reaching silver light.

The inhabitants of the Eternal City are all devout followers of the White Eagle King. Although they do not know what is happening, upon seeing the holy light, no matter what they are doing, they will immediately kneel down and pray devoutly.

The prayers of believers will converge through the Eternal City, forming a vast magnetic field.

For ordinary believers, such resonance can bring harmony to the mind and body, spiritual satisfaction and joy, which is a very good experience.

It is precisely because faith provides believers with positive feedback, bringing satisfaction to the soul and even positive benefits to the body.

Blood sacrifices are always done in private. Even in public blood sacrifices, the offerings are heretics or sinners.

The publicly revealed doctrines of a demon god are at least not too contrary to human nature. Only such sects have vitality.

There were also many tourists in the Eternal City. Most of them had never seen such a scene before. They stopped and looked up at the holy light that reached the sky, marveling at it.

Many people took out their phones to take pictures, while some bowed their heads in reverence for the gods and prayed.

In fact, no matter how devout the believers outside are, their reactions are too slow.

However, the soaring silver holy light naturally served to guide the believers' source power. They didn't need to do anything specific.

As long as they worship the White Eagle King, their willpower will become part of the silver light magnetic field, continuously enhancing the power of the sacred silver light.

For the Eternal City, all believers are like individual batteries; when needed, they can be directly connected to draw upon the power of their wishes.

The soaring silver holy light naturally integrated internal and external energies and willpower, unified all magnetic fields, and bestowed all blessings upon Athena.

Gao Wu unleashed a palm strike, but the powerful, straight-forward palm force unleashed by the Kanglong Spear only caused the silver holy light to vibrate, failing to penetrate it.

He did not urge the Yang God to take action because the silver holy light contained various complex spiritual magnetic fields, including a part of the magnetic field transformed from divine power.

When the Yang Spirit does not control its source power, it can ignore various barriers and obstacles. However, the Yang Spirit can be interfered with by powerful spiritual magnetic fields, especially the divine power magnetic field it contains.

The silver holy light contained a complex magnetic field, all unified by divine power. For the Yang God to enter the holy light, he would have to confront that powerful divine force head-on.

Gao Wu, however, did not want to take the risk. It was easy for the Yang God to penetrate the Heavenly God's Shield, but it was very dangerous to penetrate the powerful magnetic field of the Divine Power Unification.

Even the Yang spirit can perish, especially with the power of demonic gods, which is most likely to corrupt it.

Is the pre-cast animation of a special move invincible?
Gao Wu inexplicably thought of this, which just goes to show that reality can sometimes be quite like a game.

He wasn't that kind of pedantic person, and this wasn't a game; he could only watch as the boss unleashed his ultimate attack.

Since Athena is sticking out like that, it would be a disservice to Athena in that position not to give her a shot.

Upon realizing this, Gao Wu immediately activated the Crimson Sky Sword, for while his opponent had a pre-cast animation, he did not.

He hadn't used the Crimson Sky Sword earlier because it was difficult to control, making it hard to hit a target within the Divine Realm. Now that Athena was standing still, the opportunity had arrived!

The Crimson Sky Sword transformed into a dazzling crimson light that shone across the sky. Under the control of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Intent, it became a giant sword and was further enhanced with the sharpness of the White Tiger Divine Weapon Curse.

The crimson blade, solidified as if it were a physical object, pierced the silver holy light, which then twisted, dissipated, and exploded with a bang.

The crimson blade paused for a moment, then continued its straight thrust forward, piercing deeply into the chest of the White Eagle King statue, and deep into the towering mountain wall...

All the high-ranking believers inside the temple were instantly burned to ashes by the divine power unleashed by the Crimson Sky Sword; even a level seven expert could not survive.

When the dazzling crimson sword light dissipated, the air was filled with the acrid smell of burning.

Athena, who had melted in the crimson light, reappeared out of thin air. She looked at Gao Wu proudly and said, "This is the earthly kingdom of gods. I am the Lord and lead the believers. I am immortal."

Athena was indeed somewhat shocked and angry. The power of the divine artifact released by Gao Wu was too strong, actually destroying the holy light that was being converted from divine power, preventing her from using the divine power, and interrupting the divine oracle she was about to unleash.

Because she was interrupted, she didn't pay any price; she was simply reborn again using a divine spell.

While her resurrection came at a price, Gao Wu's peerless artifact could not be continuously activated.

Once she summons divine power again, she can unleash a divine decree and execute Gao Wu in the name of the gods.

Gao Wu smiled at the confident Athena: "I already saw through your tricks last time. There won't be a next time."

Before Athena could speak again, he pointed at her and activated the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Spell.

However, this time he used the Azure Dragon Divine Qi Curse in reverse. In order to defeat Athena in one fell swoop, Gao Wu invested his life essence of a thousand years.

After being resurrected twice, he also understood that Athena had only lost her physical body; her spiritual magnetic field had not been destroyed, which was why she could be rebuilt by divine power and resurrected repeatedly.

Even shattering the statue of the White Eagle King with a single sword strike couldn't stop Athena's resurrection. He probably won't find the key to her resurrection anytime soon.

They simply destroyed all of Athena's life force, causing her spiritual magnetic field to collapse. Even with a resurrection spell, Athena couldn't be brought back to life!
The upgrade of the White Tiger Divine Weapon Spell not only transformed his body into a divine weapon and increased his agility, but more importantly, it allowed him to comprehend the art of killing.

The Reverse Azure Dragon Divine Qi Incantation is an application of the method of killing and destruction.

A flash of azure light pierced through Athena's protective energy field and landed on her.

Athena didn't care. This ray of light had no power, so what could it do to her?

Even if she truly possesses some extraordinary power, she can simply be resurrected!

Constantly reviving not only depletes her high-level martial arts power, but also allows her to accumulate experience from failures. The same tricks won't work on her next time.

Athena immediately sensed something was wrong; the blue light, carrying a strange power, instantly drained all her life force.

Gao Wu could see it very clearly from the other side; the stunningly beautiful Athena aged instantly in the blue light.

First, her hair turned white, her skin wrinkled, her body hunched over, and the light in her eyes dimmed. Then her white hair fell out rapidly, her body withered and shriveled, her skin aged and peeled off, and little by little, she decomposed into black ash…

Gao Wu watched Athena turn to ashes and muttered to himself, "There probably won't be a third stage..."

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(End of this chapter)