Chapter 124: Divine Abilities

At this moment, even the Ten Thousand Dragon Armor, which had always been invincible, temporarily lost its effectiveness. Enveloped within this black mist, the armor seemed to lose its original luster.

"Perhaps, the opponent is the very manifestation of that primordial Yin-Yang energy," Yi An thought, his expression shifting with a touch of complexity. He had originally assumed his adversary was merely some malevolent creature that had obtained the supreme treasure of primordial Yin-Yang energy without knowing how to wield it. He had never expected that the energy itself had actually taken form.

The phantom before him was precisely that manifestation. While he could not be certain his hypothesis was entirely correct, there was at least a seventy percent chance that the entity was indeed the primordial energy in physical form. This was no mere conjecture; aside from being the energy itself, who else could wield it with such consummate skill, even developing their own "Momentum"? At the very beginning, Yi An had failed to recognize it, only realizing the truth once he was deeply entrapped and bound by it.

Momentum is a form of divine ability, profound and mysterious. Before attaining immortality, it is nearly impossible for one to comprehend such a power. However, the phantom before him was a unique existence—a being born of primordial essence, naturally gifted, and favored by the heavens themselves. Given this, such an impossibility became far easier to accept.

Yet, considering it was a primordial entity, it was truly pathetic to have fallen to such a state. Throughout the ancient era, which of those primordial deities was not of the Taiyi or Daluo realm? This phantom, however, let alone reaching Taiyi, possessed no cultivation base at all.

Though physically restrained, Yi An was not overly panicked. It was not yet a desperate situation; he had ways to respond. Furthermore, the divine ability the entity displayed was entirely different from one wielded by an immortal. Even with his body fully caught within the opponent’s Momentum, it was merely a primitive form of physical restriction, not a terrifying technique that could imprison one’s very consciousness or make breathing difficult.

As for how to counter it, the solution was simple: the opponent was a primordial entity, which naturally exerted suppression over acquired things. He only needed to use the same tactics against it—employing a more powerful primordial object to suppress the entity, and its Momentum would naturally crumble.

"Do not struggle; you cannot escape."

"If you had turned and fled just now, I truly would have been powerless to stop you."

"Unfortunately, you simply did not take me seriously enough."

The next moment, Yi An heard the heartless mockery from his side. The phantom showed no sign of stopping, continuing to speak to itself: "I find you humans truly foolish. I gave you two very clear warnings earlier, yet you refused to turn back until you hit the wall. Did you not sense that something was wrong?"

"Yet, driven by greed, knowing full well that the path ahead was fraught with danger and that you might lose your life at any moment, you still charged in with such determination. Should I praise your courage or ridicule your ignorance? Ha... how laughable!"

Yi An, hearing this, was in no rush to break free. Instead, he smiled and said, "As cultivators, we struggle against the heavens and fight the earth; we ought to be fearless and press onward. If we were to shrink back and lose our resolve at the mere sight of uncertain obstacles, we would never achieve anything great. Caution is necessary, but to be timid and fail to consider the feasibility of a situation—that is a flaw of character."

"Born from the primordial, have you ever wondered why, after countless eons, you have ended up in such a sorry state?"

The phantom fell silent for a moment. Soon, Yi An heard a sharp retort, filled with resentment and anger: "Nonsense!"

"You humans are best at sophistry. I will not argue with you. I only know that you are about to die, and it will be a miserable end!"

"That remains to be seen," Yi An’s eyes narrowed. He forcefully suppressed his inner rage; now was not the time to burn bridges. There was much he still wished to ask. Even if he knew the information might be useless, satisfying his curiosity while victory was within his grasp was harmless.

"I am curious," Yi An asked, puzzled. "Given your strength, why did you not come yourself instead of hiding and sending your subordinates to their deaths?"

"On the brink of death, yet your curiosity remains strong."

"However, do you think I am unaware of what you are thinking?"

"Stop putting on an act. Delaying for time is useless. Within my Momentum, no matter who you are, you must submit to my will—even the highest of gods could not save you."

Yi An was taken aback. The opponent’s response was unexpected—not because of its ruthlessness, but because the entity did not seem as foolish as he had first imagined; rather, it was quite shrewd. Yi An sighed helplessly; it seemed his curiosity would remain unsatisfied.

Just as Yi An prepared to end this farce, the phantom’s mocking voice rang out again.

"Not speaking? It seems I guessed right. Did you think I was about to strike immediately and destroy you without mercy?"

"No! I refuse to!"

"Besides, this matter is trivial. It does no harm to tell you. Even if you rack your brains, you will never escape. You probably don't even realize what you are facing, do you?"

"This is Momentum! The supreme divine ability of heaven and earth. Any struggle you put up is nothing but a pipe dream."

"You should feel fortunate. You are the first person to die under my Momentum; I only just realized it myself."

"You are also the one who nearly caused all my previous efforts to go to waste. You appeared at the most critical moment. Had I not had a flash of inspiration and set up these obstacles at all costs, the consequences would have been unthinkable."

"Tell me, do you not deserve to die!?"

Yi An suddenly understood. So that was it. No wonder the opponent’s technique was riddled with flaws. Had it been someone truly proficient, he would not have had even a chance to resist. Even with a countermeasure, being fully restrained would have left him no opportunity to use it.

As for the two exotic beasts he had fought to the death earlier, and the strange bird that had intercepted him, they were likely just pawns raised by this phantom. Their lives were of no consequence; if the entity wished, it could cultivate more in an instant.