Chapter 16: A Series of Traps

Three arrows in rapid succession appeared a thousand meters away in the blink of an eye. These three blazing white light arrows, resembling three bolts of lightning, plunged directly into the backs of three deities who were in the midst of slaughtering Apollo’s subordinate warriors.

Ordinarily, these three deities would not have been struck by such arrows, but they placed too much trust in Xing Tian’s strength and far too much confidence in their own reaction speeds. Consequently, they failed entirely to notice Apollo’s final maneuver. By the time the light arrows were released, it was already too late for them to react. The three projectiles forced a mouthful of blood from each of the deities.

Instantly spinning around, the three deities found Xing Tian standing there holding a blood-stained battleaxe, offering them a bitter, helpless smile. Apollo’s corpse lay sprawled upon the ground, and one glance was enough to tell that he was thoroughly and irrevocably dead.

One of the three deities rushed up to Xing Tian, pointed right at him, and demanded, "What is the meaning of this? Didn’t you say you could handle him alone? How did this end up getting us wounded?"

These words instantly enraged Xing Tian. One had to understand that Xing Tian was already deeply frustrated; the previous blow had essentially been granted by Apollo yielding to him, trading his own life to inflict heavy injuries upon three deities. Now, this blind fool dared to run up and shout in his face, provoking Xing Tian to the brink of splitting him in two with his axe.

Having blurted out his accusation, that deity finally regained his composure, realizing that Xing Tian was not someone he could afford to provoke. He immediately thought to back away.

Yet he failed to realize that his abrupt advance instantly triggered a defensive reaction from the other two deities. Even if those two had initially wished to avoid any confrontation with Xing Tian, they now felt compelled to step forward alongside him, as if demanding an explanation for what had transpired.

With no retreat left to him, the first deity had no choice but to brace himself and stand opposite Xing Tian. This delicate situation instantly plunged the atmosphere into a bizarre and eerie tension. Those in the know remained silent, while those ignorant of the truth let their imaginations run wild. Above all other suspicions, one dominated their minds: after slaying Apollo, was Xing Tian intending to eliminate the remaining deities as well?

In that fleeting instant, Xing Tian considered this very possibility. Yet, in his immense pride, he offered no explanation. Instead, he simply glared with cold eyes at the three deities before him. Should they harbor such intentions and dare to make a move, Xing Tian was fully prepared to spark another all-out war among the gods.

Meanwhile, Li Mingxing and his companions sensed that something was amiss. Although he secretly desired for Xing Tian to eliminate a few more deities so that Xing Tian could better control this inner world, an intuitive unease lingered in his mind.

He cast his gaze around the surroundings. The entire battle had tilted in favor of Xing Tian’s faction, with Apollo’s subordinates falling one by one. Li Mingxing and Zheng could continuously deliver finishing blows to harvest soul coins and spiritual energy.

Yet, where exactly did the wrongness lie? Li Mingxing looked around once more, finally uncovering a glaringly severe problem: one of the deities was missing.

A thought flashing through his mind, Li Mingxing quickly sprinted to the side of the Forest Goddess, whispering, "What kind of person is the Shadow God?"

At that moment, the Forest Goddess was closely watching the standoff between Xing Tian and the three deities. Hearing Li Mingxing’s question, her expression shifted drastically. Instead of searching the surroundings for the Shadow God, her gaze locked onto Apollo’s corpse lying at Xing Tian’s feet.

After a brief silence, the voice of the Forest Goddess echoed softly in Li Mingxing’s ear. "This is no longer your concern. I will handle it."

Li Mingxing knew instantly that there was nothing left for him to do here; all he needed to do was stand back and observe how the events below unfolded.

What followed next left Li Mingxing utterly astonished. After Xing Tian and the three deities had confronted one another for a moment, one of the deities suddenly shouted out, "Xing Tian! I knew it! The moment you killed Apollo, you intended to purge the rest of us! But we aren't afraid of you. Injured though we may be, there are still six of us gods remaining. You are alone, and you cannot defeat the six of us!"

Hearing this, Xing Tian slowly swept his gaze across the battlefield. All fighting had already ceased. The Forest Goddess, the Nature Goddess, and the little female dragon had gathered together. From their positioning, it was impossible to discern their true intentions.

Xing Tian instinctively tightened his grip on his battle-axe. He knew that powerful as he was, facing six deities simultaneously would still prove exceedingly strenuous.

Noticing Xing Tian's tense posture, the deity who had stepped forward chuckled, pointed straight at Xing Tian, and declared, "Now we shall eliminate you, warmonger. Once you are gone, our world can finally find peace."

Before the other two injured deities could utter a word, the three goddesses made their move first. Just as a look of triumph washed over the face of the blustering deity, hoping to sway his two companions, his expression suddenly contorted. The two goddesses were not attacking Xing Tian; instead, their assault was directed entirely at Apollo’s corpse beneath Xing Tian's feet. Meanwhile, the little dragon's attack targeted the deity who had just been shouting.

Caught in the onslaught of the three goddesses, Xing Tian finally understood. He immediately retreated, clearing the space.

At that exact moment, Apollo’s corpse was blasted into fragments. Amidst those shattered remains, a brilliant stream of light burst upward, soaring directly toward the sky.

For Xing Tian, who had been prepared all along, this was the ultimate moment to strike. With a single swing of his axe, he cleaved the beam of light straight down the middle, splitting it into two halves.

Those two halves of light were precisely intercepted by the joint strikes of the Forest Goddess and the Nature Goddess. Under such a coordinated assault, the light emitted a reluctant, piercing shriek before dissolving completely into the air. Only then did all the deities realize that Apollo had truly been finished off this time. That previous ray of light was the Greater Resurrection spell he had prepared for himself; as long as that technique remained, he retained the capability to resurrect at any time.

At this point, the two injured deities turned their fierce gazes toward the one who had jumped out to instigate the conflict. No matter how foolish they were, they finally realized something was deeply wrong.

Concurrently, the Forest Goddess and the Nature Goddess joined forces to seal off the surrounding air, keenly aware that as the mastermind behind this scheme, the Shadow God must still be hiding nearby.

If this entity, who so relished scheming from the shadows, was not eradicated, there was no telling when he might strike at the other gods again.

While the deities descended into infighting, Li Mingxing scoured the area for the Shadow God. Having grasped the overall situation, he knew that if he could locate this elusive deity, he would secure rich rewards from the surviving gods.

Little did Li Mingxing know that as he searched for the Shadow God, his own shadow was undergoing a bizarre transformation. His shadow appeared to twitch and writhe slightly on its own accord, as though hunting for something.

Zheng, who had kept most of her attention focused on Li Mingxing, noticed the anomaly instantly. She yanked Li Mingxing back, pulling him directly before the three goddesses. Upon hearing Zheng's warning, the three goddesses inspected Li Mingxing's shadow, yet could discern nothing unusual within it.

Even so, the warning proved sufficient. Every deity present knew of the Shadow God’s ability to conceal himself within shadows, yet the only power capable of eradicating all shadows entirely belonged to the Sun God.

At that juncture, Xing Tian abruptly grabbed Li Mingxing by the shoulder. "Boy, isn't there a Sun God behind you? Find a way to summon him here for me!"

Hearing those words, Li Mingxing broke out in a cold sweat. It was true that Di Jun existed behind him, and Di Jun held a considerable degree of trust in him, but that did not mean Li Mingxing possessed the capability to summon Di Jun into this inner world.

Observing Li Mingxing's predicament, the Forest Goddess interjected, "Forget it. Even his true form cannot enter this realm; how could he possibly summon that so-called Sun God?"

Hearing the Forest Goddess, Xing Tian dropped the matter. He strode purposefully toward the deity who had undoubtedly proven to be an ally of the Shadow God, launching a ferocious assault.

Watching the five remaining deities frantically search for the Shadow God, Li Mingxing hesitated. Recalling everything he had witnessed inside Di Jun’s temple and meditating upon his own abilities, Li Mingxing brought his hands together over his chest, conjuring a banner of absolute darkness before him.

This marked the very first time Li Mingxing summoned his Banner of Darkness. As he channeled his skill, billowing black mists surged from all directions, converging right before him into a dark banner measuring five meters in length and three meters in width.

Before the nearby deities could properly register the appearance of the banner, Li Mingxing shouted at the top of his lungs, "I beseech the Great God Di Jun to impart the power of sunlight, using the Banner of Darkness as a focal point to illuminate everything in the vicinity!"

In that split second, Li Mingxing's Banner of Darkness shattered and vanished. Countless beams of dazzling light flooded the entire battlefield, causing every single shadow on the ground to instantly evaporate, leaving behind merely a solitary trace of dark silhouette frozen motionless upon the earth.

Yet the sunlight vanished as quickly as it had arrived. For deities, however, that fleeting instant was more than enough. Having already slain his opponent, Xing Tian, alongside the five other deities, closed in on that solitary shadow. Unleashing their powers in unison, they pulverized the shadow into dust.

Following that, a humanoid figure composed entirely of shadows materialized before them. The moment the figure formed, it spewed a mouthful of blood and locked a venomous glare onto Li Mingxing. "Brat, I never imagined you would be the one to ruin all my plans. But I won't let this go. Even if I perish here, Apollo and I still share a chance at resurrection. Just you wait!"