Evan Yang smiled. "Titus Skyflood, you'd better just try to kill me outright. As for surrendering the Soulreaver Godblade or submitting, that's impossible."
"If that's how you want it, then today I'll send you on your way—and I'll take all those God-grade artifacts too." Titus Skyflood snorted coldly. To ensure he could kill Evan in one blow, he brought out the Divine Demon Saber. The moment the saber appeared, it locked onto Evan Yang.
Evan Yang, however, was all smiles, making it impossible for Titus Skyflood to read what he was up to. As the saber swung out, Evan suddenly vanished. Titus was shocked, remembering Evan still had the Realm-Shuttle Pen. In such a cramped space, Evan could easily shuttle to the opposite direction and escape, while the Divine Demon Saber's power was restricted by the space, striking only where Evan had disappeared. At that moment, a crack suddenly opened up ahead—the very fissure left by the Divine Demon Saber. Clearly, Titus had unleashed the saber's full might.
Just as Titus Skyflood was talking to Damon Darklord and searching for Evan, Evan appeared in the fissure ahead, holding something that radiated a dense aura. Anyone with sharp eyes could tell it was a God-grade artifact.
Evan Yang laughed. "Thanks for that saber strike—I was just wondering how to retrieve it without damaging it."
"You—how could it be here?" Titus Skyflood was shocked.
"There are three God-grade artifacts, and this is just one of them. Did you really think they were all in the same place?" Evan Yang chuckled.
"Damn it, you dare play me for a fool? Today, let's see where you run. Damon Darklord, seal the exit—don't let him shuttle away!" Titus Skyflood roared in fury, unwilling to repeat what just happened.
A barrier formed by Damon Darklord instantly appeared, filled everywhere with dark attribute. Not only that, it could also block artifact shuttling.
Evan Yang was shocked when his Realm-Shuttle Pen failed to work, but quickly calmed down.
"What's wrong? Can't escape now, can you? You got lucky before, but it's not so easy this time." Titus Skyflood laughed, feeling he'd made the right call bringing Damon Darklord along.
Evan Yang hadn't expected this, but he was already prepared. He just smiled and said, "I've got plenty of other tricks up my sleeve."
"Oh really? I'd like to see how you escape now." Titus Skyflood sneered.
Damon Darklord, meanwhile, was thinking about the three God-grade artifacts. If Titus Skyflood got them now, it'd be almost impossible for him to take them back later. So he tampered with the barrier, planning to divert Evan Yang to a place only he knew about.
Just as Evan Yang was about to keep fighting Titus Skyflood, he suddenly vanished from within the barrier.
Titus Skyflood was shocked. "What's going on?"
"No idea. Did he really have some other artifact that could get through my barrier?" Damon Darklord was shocked too.
Titus Skyflood, fuming, shouted, "Quick, after him!"
Actually, Evan Yang was now inside another barrier, one isolated from the outside. He could see what was happening outside, and those outside could see what was going on inside.
"Weird, what's Damon Darklord up to—suddenly hiding me away and dragging Titus Skyflood off?" Evan Yang muttered suspiciously.
Titus Skyflood, now completely frustrated, chased after Damon Darklord. Damon, pretending he'd left a trace on Evan Yang, led Titus away and sent word to Lan Wind and Darkbane, telling them to deal with Evan inside the Nether Shard Realm.
Lan Wind was overjoyed when he got the news. "Darkbane, truly worthy of your name—actually managed to trap Evan Yang in the Nether Shard Realm!"
"Really? Then I'd better hurry over. Once the Nether Shard Realm's timer runs out, everyone inside will be crushed, and we'll collect the artifacts." Darkbane was delighted as well.
"Right, let's go." Lan Wind urged. But Lord Ridge was confused. "What's the Nether Shard Realm?"
"You'll see when we get there. Let's head over now." Lan Wind said, then led Darkbane and Lord Ridge quickly toward the Nether Shard Realm.
Inside the Nether Shard Realm, Evan Yang looked deeply thoughtful.
"How do I break out?" Evan Yang muttered, running through all sorts of possible methods. Eventually he realized that since Damon Darklord was dark attribute, maybe light could counter it.
Evan acted on the thought, sending a beam of light at the barrier. The light pierced through, proving the method worked, but the energy was too weak—only a tiny hole opened up, and it closed so fast that even Evan couldn't escape in time.
"Not enough light energy. Let's try the Divine Seal." Evan knew the Divine Seal was one of the God-grade artifacts and had some power, especially since it was light attribute. So he took it out.
He closed his eyes and communed with the Divine Seal for a long time. Suddenly, a massive beam of light erupted from the Divine Seal, shooting straight through the barrier.
At that moment, the hole was just big enough for a person. Evan Yang was overjoyed and quickly flashed out of the barrier, which closed right after.
"Whew, good thing I had the Divine Seal—otherwise I'd have been finished here," Evan Yang muttered.
Steadying himself, Evan Yang, now holding all three God-grade artifacts, didn't hesitate to withdraw, heading for the Chaos Current and then toward the Immortal Realm exit.
But in the Chaos Current, Evan Yang had to be extra cautious—after all, he could run into Titus Skyflood or Damon Darklord at any time.
So Evan Yang managed to escape smoothly. When Lan Wind and the others arrived, they smiled at the Nether Shard Realm, thinking all they had to do was wait for it to dissipate and collect the treasures inside.
As for Titus Skyflood, he kept chasing after Damon Darklord, but Evan Yang had already erased all traces from his body. Even Damon Darklord wouldn't have guessed Evan had escaped.
"Damon Darklord, have you found him yet?" Titus Skyflood asked anxiously.
"I'm still following the traces, but honestly, I don't know exactly where he is," Damon Darklord replied.
"What do we do now? That guy just slipped away like that," Titus Skyflood raged.
After a bit of calculation, Damon Darklord said, "Titus Skyflood, how about this? Let's split up. I'll keep tracking the traces, and you wait outside the Chaos Current by the Immortal Realm. He'll have to return to the Immortal Realm eventually."
Titus Skyflood thought it made sense—no matter what, Evan Yang would have to return to the Immortal Realm. All he had to do was wait in ambush.
So he smiled. "Alright."
"Just be ready to go all out—he's fast," Damon Darklord warned.
"Don't worry, I've got something prepared. I kept this safe for emergencies, but looks like it's time to use it." Titus Skyflood took out a pill.
When Damon Darklord saw the fiery red pill, he frowned. "What's that?"
"It's said to be a pill made from Fire Phoenix energy. I got it by chance and never used it, but now it'll boost my speed many times over. I don't believe Evan Yang can beat me to the Immortal Realm entrance." Titus Skyflood declared.
Damon Darklord was stunned—he hadn't expected Titus Skyflood to have such a heaven-defying item.
"Those are the three God-grade artifacts—a divine sword, a life. Trading a pill for them is worth it. I'm off, contact me if anything comes up." Titus Skyflood said.
Damon Darklord nodded, then watched Titus Skyflood leave. He sighed, "Titus, you're too trusting. But this time, you wasted a pill for nothing. What a pity." With that, Damon Darklord flashed away toward Lan Wind and the others.
After some time, Damon Darklord arrived outside the Nether Shard Realm, but it had already disappeared. Lan Wind and the other two were left frowning at their surroundings.
"What's going on?" Damon Darklord asked suspiciously as he appeared.
Lord Ridge was startled to see Damon Darklord was part of their group, but quickly calmed down and acted like nothing had happened.
Damon Darklord just glanced at Lord Ridge. Lan Wind said to him, "Strange, the Nether Shard Realm vanished, but there's nothing here."
"Impossible. I definitely trapped Evan Yang in the Nether Shard Realm—how could he be gone?" Damon Darklord insisted.
Lan Wind and Darkbane explained what happened. When they finished, Damon Darklord looked shocked and incredulous. "Did he really escape?"
"What do we do now? If he escaped, the God-grade artifacts are lost." Lan Wind exclaimed.
"Quiet, quiet. Maybe he's heading for the Immortal Realm entrance now. Let's go there—Titus Skyflood is already on his way and will definitely intercept Evan Yang," Damon Darklord said grimly.
Hearing this, Lan Wind and the others were stunned for a while, then angrily followed Damon Darklord toward the Immortal Realm entrance.
Evan Yang never expected Titus Skyflood would use a pill to reach the Immortal Realm entrance, so he kept moving through different Chaos Currents to avoid them and minimize trouble.
After several years, Titus Skyflood waited at the entrance. "I'm sure I got here first. I'd better hide."
Titus Skyflood hid himself with an artifact. Meanwhile, Evan Yang, after much effort, drew closer to the entrance. Seeing the familiar Immortal Realm gateway, Evan sighed, "This Chaos World is terrifying—even Immortal Sovereigns and Demon Sovereigns can't escape unscathed."
Just as Evan Yang was about to enter the Immortal Realm, a powerful aura appeared—it was Titus Skyflood, grinning viciously. "Die!"
Seeing Titus's palm about to strike, Evan Yang knew he'd die if it landed. The only thing he could do was quickly enter the Spiral Shell Haven. Acting on instinct, Evan dove inside.
Evan Yang's sudden disappearance and the appearance of the Spiral Shell Haven left Titus Skyflood stunned. He struck the artifact, but it didn't budge. Titus was shocked—what kind of treasure was this? As he wondered, the Spiral Shell Haven suddenly sped off.
Titus Skyflood roared, "Trying to escape?"