"M-My power—what's happening to my power?" The Evil God-King tried to stabilize his divine power, but it was useless. The rate of loss only accelerated.
The others were the same—Supreme God-King… God-King… First-Rank God.
In no time, all had fallen to first-rank, weaker than before. And the drain didn't stop, as if it wouldn't end until they were sucked dry.
For some reason, they couldn't mobilize their divine power at all.
"Hehe. Make a deal with a demon, and you bear the consequences," Evil Sword Immortal said.
The five God-Kings were like greedy mortals tempted by a demon, craving demonic power.
But borrow from a demon and it's like loan-sharking—you not only repay, you repay with interest.
Only now did the gods notice black beams coursing through the Sin Array. They recognized the energy—it was the power of the Evil Spirit Pearl.
So the pearl hadn't dissipated. It had dispersed its power throughout the array, then forcibly seized control of the formation from the Seven Sins.
The five God-Kings, the Rakshasa God, and the Seven Sins had absorbed too much of the pearl's power. Now that energy within them was being controlled by the pearl; it wasn't theirs to command. They couldn't even force their way out of the formation.
"This guy plans to use the Sin Array to refine us instead. That Evil Spirit Pearl isn't some super or supreme artifact—it's far beyond even that!" Asura finally grasped Evil Sword Immortal's plan—too late.
An artifact that could restrain five Supreme God-Kings couldn't be merely supreme.
"Correct. In truth, Jun Tianlin's Demon-Supressing Sword and the complete Demon Sword are supreme artifacts. The fully unleashed Evil Spirit Pearl stands above them. It surpasses 'supreme,' but your God Realm has no term for artifacts beyond that. Allow me. If mine were a righteous divine weapon, it would be a Creation Artifact. Alas, it represents ultimate evil, so let's call it a World-Destroying Artifact." Evil Sword Immortal spoke as if it were obvious.
"Beyond supreme, named Creation or Destruction… fitting. But I won't let you succeed." Asura roared, manifesting an energy-formed Asura Demon Sword to slash at Bibi Dong.
But now his strength had fallen below second rank, and he couldn't mobilize divine power. The sword in his hand was false. No matter his swordsmanship, it was useless. Bibi Dong simply raised a hand and flung him away.
"Why bother? Sit still and let me drain you—an easy death. Why struggle?" Evil Sword Immortal said impatiently.
The other four God-Kings were shaken. Breaking the array from outside was impossible.
Just then, three decent powers rattled the formation—Qian Renxue, Chen Xin, and the Strength God.
A first-rank god wasn't a fool. With the five God-Kings' power plummeting like this, if he still blocked the other two, his brains must have been eaten by Luo Sanpao.
Unfortunately, three first-rank gods alone couldn't shake one of the God Realm's three great arrays.
"Stop! Strength God, you can't break this. Go find the Seven Element Gods. Only the Elemental Divine Punishment Descent, another of the three grand arrays, can break the Sin Array." Even now, the calmest was the Goddess of Goodness. She had absorbed the least energy from the pearl and so was being drained slowest.
As the highest God-King who had governed for ages, her judgment was beyond doubt.
"Yes!" The Strength God obeyed and flew toward the Seven Elements' domain. Only he could do this—Qian Renxue and Chen Xin were new to the realm.
"Going for the Seven Elements? Those seven together are a bit troublesome," Evil Sword Immortal muttered, though unbothered. By the time they arrived, he could drain the five God-Kings and the Seven Sins, plus the Rakshasa.
Then, even the Elemental Grand Array would be helpless. They would all die.
He poured more power from the pearl. The Seven Sin Gods' seven rings of light, once signifying first-rank gods, had dimmed to a flicker of a single ring; at this point they couldn't beat a third-rank god.
"I can't… Evil Sword Immortal, please spare me. Have you forgotten? Back on Douluo Continent, I helped you. I was bewitched this time and made a terrible choice. If you spare me, I'll leave the God Realm at once and never appear before you again. I've already passed on my god position."
Seeing the situation, the Rakshasa God switched sides yet again.
Normally, Destruction would have blasted him to ash with a bolt of annihilation. But now Destruction couldn't muster any power.
"Rakshasa—worthy avatar of evil thoughts: greedy and craven. You lack none of the negative emotions." The Evil Spirit Pearl gathered again, and a handsome, devilish man emerged—Evil Sword Immortal's true body. Aside from appearing before Xue Bing, this was his first time appearing openly.
He had the confidence now. After draining the Seven Sins and the five God-Kings, he was fully formed, beyond Supreme God-King and about to step into God-Emperor.
"Yes, my lord, I am despicable. Killing me is pointless. Please spare me." The Rakshasa God pleaded again.
"Rakshasa, you're not only evil—you're stupid. Don't you know your kind is my favorite food?" Evil Sword Immortal pinched his head. A surge of power shattered the body; the soul became a blood mist.
He opened his mouth and inhaled the mist, then licked his lips. "Tasty. Pity there wasn't more."
"Who's next?" His gaze swept around. "Of course, you Seven Sins. Your flavor entices me most."
"But I still need you to maintain the formation, so you're the main course. Before that, a dessert."
He looked to the Evil God-King.
"Damn it!" The Evil God-King ground his teeth, furious and humiliated. Since the dawn of the God Realm he had been a highest God-King; today he had become a lamb to the slaughter.
The Seven Element Gods hadn't arrived; Qian Renxue and Chen Xin couldn't break the array. All hope seemed lost.
At that moment, as Asura raged, he suddenly felt a loosening. His power hadn't returned, but somehow he could use it.
"I can use my power? Does that mean…? Good. Evil Sword Immortal, you won't succeed now." Though not fully certain, Asura wouldn't waste the chance. He knew his current strength couldn't threaten Evil Sword Immortal, but that seemingly perfect plan had a fatal flaw.