KaiserBlak
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Chapter 633: Devil or Angel
🕑 Added 2025-09-10 13:00:20 +0000 UTCThe suspected Marquis Phenex’s abode was located at the top of a mountain. Even from afar, Tianyi knew that this was undoubtedly Marquis Phenex’s territory. As for why? It was a mountain bathed in flames for eternity.
The flames were split into two types. One was dark red, emanating an ominous aura. Even though it exuded extreme heat, those who neared it would feel a chill in their hearts. The second flame flickered with golden light and exuded a warmth ill-fit for the Nine Hells Abyss. It felt like anyone who walked into the flames would not be burned but healed.
Of course, this wasn’t the case for devils. They would only be incinerated faster.
Tianyi couldn’t help but recall the rumors that Marquis Phenex was a seraph who had fallen to devilhood, like Lucifer. He hadn’t put much stock into the rumors, since angels were basically tools created by the Almighty.
However, there came a conundrum: if Lucifer really was a tool, then why would he betray the Almighty?
Tianyi was curious about the secrets of this piece of history, but he had more important things to take care of right now. His realm conduit appeared at the foot of the mountain with no intention of concealing his presence. He couldn’t even if he wanted to.
Step by step, Tianyi ascended the mountain. There were no steps, but everything had a certain order. Compared to the chaotic mountains and landscapes he had come across before, it was like day and night. Eventually, Tianyi reached the mountaintop, where a magnificent castle stood. At the center of the castle was an eternal flame that burned without end.
The flame perfectly combined the properties of the ominous red flame and the sacred golden flame without any contradictions. Even though he hadn’t touched them yet, Tianyi’s intuition and insight told him that those flames were definitely at the divine level and far more dangerous than devilish energy.
But that wouldn’t make Tianyi retreat.
He stopped a hundred meters in front of the gates—not because he didn’t want to stand in front of the castle, but because there was a moat separating it. The moat was filled with gold and red water that emitted a terrifying heat. It wasn’t lava, but something far more destructive.
Tianyi reared his fist back. Black devilish energy gathered around his right arm and condensed into a giant gauntlet. After many years, he had discovered a rudimentary usage of the devilish energy that had entered his body. Because he had not accepted it, he could not perform complex techniques with it, but this basic accumulate-and-release method was perfect for his current identity.
He punched, and the gauntlet flew off Tianyi’s arm and shot toward the castle gates. It magnified in size until the clenched fist was nearly half the gate’s width. A thunderous shriek rang out when the attack struck the gates. It tore through them and entered the castle. The ground shook, and cracks appeared on the walls. The damage caused some of the walls and roofs to collapse, but not all of them.
“Tch.” Tianyi had wanted to destroy the entire castle in one attack, so the results did not meet his expectations.
Tianyi reared his fist back again, but he didn’t hold that position for long. He jumped away, instantly appearing several kilometers away. Not a second later, the ominous and sacred flames engulfed the entire castle, their range extending past the moat for nearly a kilometer. That was just on the mountaintop. Above the mountain, the torrent of flame resembled an upside-down pyramid.
When the flames died down, the castle had become a pile of rubble. Standing on top of it all was a colossal bird with a body formed of the ominous and sacred fire.
“Are you Phenex, a survivor?” Tianyi asked, his voice raspy and chittering simultaneously.
The flaming bird did not answer him. Instead, it bent its long neck and stared at Tianyi. It had no beak or physical eyes, but there were twin spheres on either side of its head, like suns. “Strange, strange.”
The voice was surprisingly pleasant, like that of a child. It was not distinguishable as a boy or girl—rather, androgynous. What surprised Tianyi the most was the even tone that could not be replicated by living beings. Although mesmerizing, the voice held an artificial note.
“I sense a familiar breath on you, but you aren’t her.”
Tianyi raised an eyebrow, not that anyone could tell. He knew that Chunsang should know Duke Dantalion, but it surprised him that she had met Marquis Phenex too. “Unfortunately, I don’t know who you are talking about; I’ve killed many devils. If you want to reminisce with them, you won’t have a chance in this life!”
Disregarding the flames, he jumped at the flaming bird that stood over a kilometer tall. While he jumped, his height grew from three meters to three hundred meters.
Compared to the other abyss lords, who were shocked by his speed, Marquis Phenex was clearly a cut above. He had folded his two wings in front of himself like barriers.
When Tianyi’s punch reached him, he thought he would pass through or hit something resembling feathers, but he actually felt like he had struck metal sheets. This rang doubly true when the force behind his punch collapsed the wings against each other, but it did not reach the devil’s chest.
Phenex released an avian cry and unfolded his wings. Accompanying the movement was a burst of flames. Tianyi shot into the distance like a flaming meteor.
Before he crashed into the ground, he changed his trajectory by flipping in the air and landed straight down. The flames still covered his body, so Tianyi opened the carapace on his back, revealing two thin wings that reflected the light in seven colors. They buzzed into action and dispersed the flames, but his armor still had a hint of red from the residual heat.
It was as Tianyi thought. The ominous and sacred flames constantly burned at his body, using the devilish energy as fuel. In fact, had he not dispersed them, he felt that they would have even consumed the dimensional boundary of his realm conduit as fuel.
Simultaneously, the devil’s whispers intensified. Unlike pure devilish energy, an angelic voice accompanied this temptation. The true horror lay in this duality. Anyone who was constantly tempted by the devilish whispers would find solace in the angelic voice, not knowing that it would lead to greater despair. It was akin to having to split one’s mind to guard against two corrupting forces.
Still, that would not stop Tianyi. It must be repeated that such tactics were the least effective against someone like Tianyi, whose mind equaled a universe. Even if it was only limited to a mere realm, it still held a huge advantage over such methods.
Tianyi did not back off and shot toward Marquis Phenex once more. What followed was an epic battle that destroyed the mountain and extinguished the everlasting flames.
Great Marquis Phenex fought like an elegant dancer, twirling his legs and swinging his wings in a mesmerizing manner. Each of his movements was immaculate, as if he had calculated the precision thousands of times before performing them. He could always accurately strike or block Tianyi.
The longer the fight went on, the more defensive Tianyi became. After all, compared to the myriad methods of Marquis Phenex, he only had his fists. Even when he used all six arms, his advantage dwindled with time.
But Tianyi did not retreat. He still had confidence in one aspect—his endurance. Even if Marquis Phenex could absorb the devilish energy, Tianyi did not believe he could absorb it endlessly without drawbacks. So, he continued to rush forward.
Even though Tianyi was on the defensive, the countless clashes allowed him to refine his techniques. The movements of this body—which had six arms and contradicted his usual form—became smoother. His realm conduit, which had always felt like wearing a second skin, no longer had this discomfort.
Of course, while Tianyi perfected his bodily control, Marquis Phenex also adjusted. Except for the initial dip in effectiveness, the devil phoenix swiftly returned to its normal level of suppression.
The battle lasted for hundreds of years. Many devils came nearby to watch and see if they could pick up a bargain. Marquis Phenex had tried several times to leave, but Tianyi would not let him. Even if he exposed his identity, Tianyi felt it was worth it if he could capture this primeval devil.
Still, it was not yet time to reveal his true abilities. It would be best to take Marquis Phenex into the inner realm and then let the realm conduit ‘die.’ And so, the battle continued for one thousand seven hundred and forty-one years.
“Tch, so annoying. No wonder you could kill that girl, Chunsang,” Marquis Phenex said. The next moment, the twin suns on his head vanished, and the flames lessened as he fell toward the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Tianyi didn’t have time to think about whether it was a trap or not, so he rushed toward the falling devil phoenix with his hands stretched out. He immediately opened a portal into his inner realm. The moment he did so, he felt a threat as the seemingly unconscious devil whirled to life.
He frowned and subtly activated his divine-level Law of Spacetime.
“This power. I see. Did you survive the Godsfall War too? Which one are you, Morax, Bifrons—” Marquis Phenex still tried to speak, but Tianyi didn’t want to waste any time and sucked him directly into his inner realm.
Then, he shot straight toward the ground. The impact splintered the ground, and the corpse of a powerful beetle-like demon remained. Of course, this wasn’t Tianyi’s real body, but a double he had prepared ahead of time. His realm conduit had already disappeared.
“Now, let’s see what you know.” Tianyi appeared in front of where he had left Marquis Phenex and stood still.
Anyone who saw the body on the ground would surely think it was a legendary bird of sorts. Its pristine body seemed to have been forged out of mithril or some other argent metal. The only thing that took away from its sacred appearance were the black runes covering parts of its body. More importantly, it looked like a mechanical bird.
Tianyi walked forward and poked the kilometer-tall construct. Sure enough, the feedback he received only confirmed his previous suspicions. He could even see the outlets where the flames were ejected and coated the body like a second skin.
Simultaneously, he also discovered the source of the queer feeling he had felt when fighting Marquis Phenex. It was because the person he fought wasn’t a person—but a machine!
Still, that didn’t explain why Marquis Phenex suddenly became inactive upon entering his inner realm. Just to be safe, he brought the mechanical body into his second inner realm and allowed the realm conduit to expel the devilish energy into a distant area of the True Nothingness.
Upon taking a second look at the lifeless phoenix, Tianyi couldn’t help but recall the rumor that Marquis Phenex was originally an angel. He put more credence into the rumor now. That still didn’t answer why the mechanical phoenix went limp the moment it entered his inner realm.
With no one to enlighten him, Tianyi could only investigate himself. Thanks to his near-omnipotent powers in his inner realm, he quickly discovered openings in the mechanical phoenix. He didn’t immediately rush to pry it open. After all, he only had this one, so he couldn’t waste it.
For a moment, he considered bringing it to his inner universe, where he had greater powers, but immediately rejected the idea. The mechanical phoenix was still a danger.
No matter how long it took, it would not exceed the time it had taken to capture it. So, he eventually found the core. There, a black sphere emanating devilish energy rested. Even now, it was still inputting devilish energy into the machine, but faintly, as if it were running dry.
Erring on the side of caution, Tianyi used a puppet to bring it out—and nothing happened.
Well, that wasn’t entirely correct. The ominous runes on the mechanical body disappeared. That said, the puppet did not show any obvious signs of being controlled, so he put the sphere onto an animal. The animal immediately took on devilish features, but its eyes showed pure malice with no signs of possession.
After many attempts, Tianyi finally decided to pick it up with his own hands. And nothing happened.
