Chapter 502: Cycle of Life and Death

A smug smile tugged at the corners of Heilong's mouth, and the remaining cultists cheered for him with fanatical fervor. "Long live the Black Dragon Pope!"

Only Su Mu stared at Zero's corpse with deeply furrowed brows. He hadn't brought out the Xuantian Origin even at the brink of death? Was it because he hadn't had the time, or...

Right at that moment, something bizarre occurred.

Time seemed to flow backward over Zero's headless corpse. The splattered blood and mangled flesh rushed back toward his neck in reverse, coalescing to form a brand-new head.

Not only that, but the injuries Zero had suffered at the hands of Wuming and the others completely healed as well.

"What!?" Heilong's expression changed drastically as he stared in utter disbelief at the fully resurrected Zero.

Zero offered a dark smile. He slowly raised his palm, revealing an eyeball-shaped divine taboo object resting in his grasp.

"Surprised? As long as I have this treasure, I cannot be killed!"

"That's impossible! That is clearly just an Illusion Technique-type divine taboo object. How could it resurrect you?" Heilong asked in horror.

A composed smile curled the corners of Zero's mouth. He even took the time to smooth out his wrinkled robes. "The Illusion Technique as you know it can only deceive living beings. A truly profound Illusion Technique, however, can deceive the world itself and fool its rules. I merely inverted the rules of life and death just now.

"This is the... Cycle of Life and Death!"

Cycle of Life and Death!?

Heilong stared at the eyeball in horror. How were they supposed to fight an unkillable enemy?

He had only managed to kill Zero earlier by relying on their sheer numbers and taking advantage of his severe injuries. Now that Zero had resurrected in peak condition, that advantage was completely gone.

Just then, Su Mu offered a helpful reminder from the sidelines. "There is no need to worry, Pope. Zero consumed a massive amount of mental energy to resurrect just now. He won't be able to cast it a second time so soon."

Heilong instantly felt a wave of relief and regained his confidence. "Attack!"

Tens of thousands of cultists surged toward Zero in a mighty wave.

Zero's face darkened like still water. He locked his gaze onto Su Mu, murderous intent boiling in his eyes.

"I don't need a second resurrection to deal with the likes of you!"

The great battle erupted once more. Fully healed, Zero unleashed terrifying strength that far surpassed his previous state, practically suppressing Heilong and the others single-handedly.

Su Mu was forced to act as well, lest Heilong be beaten to death too early.

He refrained from using his Illusion Technique. Relying solely on the power of the Fallen Sin Maitreya, he commanded eight mechanical arms gleaming with cold metallic light to bombard the area relentlessly, leaving trails of afterimages in the void.

The God's Eye between his brows flashed with dazzling holy light, resonating with the Primal Angel. A sudden surge of divine power flooded into his body, pushing his strength infinitely close to the Demigod Realm!

Aside from Zero, Su Mu was remarkably the one capable of borrowing the most power from the Primal Angel.

With his addition to the fray, the pressure on Heilong dropped sharply.

Damn it!

Zero cursed inwardly. He hadn't expected Su Mu's strength to be this formidable, already infinitely approaching the Demigod Realm. Under normal circumstances, he naturally wouldn't have taken the young man seriously, but while facing the combined siege of Heilong and tens of thousands of cultists, the power Su Mu displayed could not be ignored.

Things couldn't continue like this. He realized that if the battle dragged on, he was highly likely to be defeated.

He had to break the stalemate immediately!

If he were facing any other enemy, he could naturally cast Primal Divine Magic and use the Primal Angel's power to break the stalemate. But this was an internal conflict. Everyone here borrowed power from the Primal Angel, and everyone knew Primal Divine Magic. He couldn't counter their moves that way.

Therefore, he could only pin his hopes on this special divine taboo object.

With a single thought, Zero made his move.

The eyeball in his hand suddenly erupted with boundless, crystalline blue light. Like a stone tossed into a tranquil lake, the void rippled outward in layers of crystalline blue.

At that moment, time seemed to stand still. Everyone's minds went completely blank; their eyes lost focus as they froze in place.

Seizing this brief window, Zero contorted his face into a savage sneer and hurled the eyeball.

He had to capture the ringleader first. Right now, the greatest threat to him was Heilong. As long as he eliminated Heilong, the rest of the mob would be of no consequence.

For this very purpose, he played his final trump card!

No one else knew just how terrifying the Illusion Technique within this divine taboo object truly was. Only he understood its depths.

The Cycle of Life and Death was powerful, but the divine taboo object itself was far more devastating. It contained an inescapable illusion space—once a person was dragged into it, they would never find their way out.

As long as he could seal Heilong into that illusion space, his victory in this battle would be absolutely assured!

After his brief stupor, Heilong snapped back to his senses. But when he saw the eyeball looming right in front of him, he was terrified out of his wits.

The eyeball was like a bottomless black hole, threatening to swallow him whole. Alarm bells shrieked in his mind. His Demigod Realm instincts screamed that if he were sucked inside, he would never see the light of day again.

He desperately tried to dodge, but it was far too late. The eyeball moved too fast—as though it possessed zero mass—arriving in the blink of an eye.

"No!!" Heilong roared in utter despair.

In that split second, a figure in a black swallowtail coat abruptly rushed between Heilong and the eyeball.

Staring at the figure that had just materialized, Heilong froze, his eyes wide with disbelief. "Pride, you..."

Bang!

The eyeball slammed into Su Mu's body. The surrounding void instantly warped into a vortex, tearing at him with an invisible, overpowering suction.

His body elongated as he was dragged deeper into the vortex, yet his gaze remained incredibly resolute.

Su Mu shoved the horrified Heilong away. His lips moved, though the voice that came out was already distorted.

However, Heilong heard him perfectly clearly.

"Black Dragon Pope... I leave the Primal Divine Cult... in your hands!!"

Whoosh!

Su Mu was completely sucked into the eyeball, vanishing without a trace.

Staring at the spot where Su Mu had sacrificed himself to save him, Heilong's heart churned with complex emotions. He was unable to calm down for a long time.

He lowered his gaze, staring at the Bronze Eyeball that had fallen to the ground...

Suddenly, Heilong slowly raised his head, his fists clenched tight. Determination steadily eclipsed the shock in his eyes. The howling wind battered his robes, but it couldn't shake the resolve settling in his heart.

"Leave the rest... to me!"

"All cultists, heed my command!" A shadow-like spectral glow erupted from Heilong's body as his violent aura pierced the heavens.

"Avenge... the Bishop of Pride!!"

Boom!

The earth beneath Heilong's feet instantly collapsed. Starting from where he stood, dense, spiderweb-like cracks spread rapidly across the ground as he vanished from the spot.

Zero's pupils shrank violently. The God's Eye between his brows poured out liquid holy light, instantly enveloping his entire body and forming a suit of Holy Light Armor.

At that precise moment, Heilong's attack arrived.

Facing a Heilong overflowing with murderous intent, Zero dared not be careless. He fought back with everything he had!

The two transformed into streaks of afterimages, constantly clashing in the void and unleashing terrifying torrents of power with every impact.

Inside the eyeball, Su Mu leisurely admired their fierce battle while taking the opportunity to fuse the Xuantian Origin.

The eyeball truly contained an inescapable illusion space that even someone at the Demigod Realm could not flee from. However, it was completely useless for trapping Su Mu, who also possessed the Xuantian Origin. On the contrary, it gave him the perfect opportunity to fully fuse with the Xuantian Origin.