Chapter 164: Nightmare Demon

Without a sound, having made up his mind in his heart, Zhou Tian directly used the Earth Escaping Technique to plunge straight to the side of the Dream Demon. Then, just as he leaped out from underground, without a second word, Zhou Tian directly invoked the Chaos Clock, poured ninety percent of his magical power into it, and then left it to fate as he launched a sneak attack from the Dream Demon's blind spot behind.

Given Zhou Tian's current strength, not only was he unable to bring out the full might of the Chaos Clock, but he was also incapable of distinguishing between friend and foe within its blast radius. Therefore, either Zhou Tian chose not to use the Chaos Clock at all, or once it was utilized, the attack would practically make no distinction between allies and enemies.

Earlier, it was not that Zhou Tian did not want to test how much power he could currently elicit from the Chaos Clock. However, out of fear of harming his own people, Zhou Tian had never dared to do so. It was only because the Dream Demon had already slaughtered the vast majority of the church envoys, leaving practically no one remaining on his side, that Zhou Tian was driven to launch this attack regardless of the consequences.

The offensive power of the Chaos Clock was indeed no joke. As a chime echoed from within it, the demons and church envoys surrounding Zhou Tian all groaned in unison, as if they had each suffered a heavy blow.

Compared to the others, the force of the attack borne by the Dream Demon was by far the greatest.

After all, Zhou Tian's strike with the Chaos Clock was specifically targeted at him; the other demons had only been affected by the ripples to end up in that state. Having taken the brunt of the attack head-on, the Dream Demon's condition was naturally far more miserable.

Under the sonic wave attack of the Chaos Clock, the Dream Demon's body was almost completely pulverized beyond recognition by the sound waves. If it weren't for the fact that he was still standing, looking at his battered and tattered appearance, it would be truly hard to believe that someone in such a state was still alive.

Although he failed to kill the Dream Demon in a single blow, Zhou Tian was already satisfied with such an outcome.

For one thing, having severely injured the Dream Demon with this attack, the Dream Demon naturally lost the ability to strike at the remaining church envoys. Relying solely on the other demons, while they still held an absolute upper hand, at least the church envoys would no longer have to face the Dream Demon. Even if there were casualties, they would presumably be able to hold out for a longer period.

At the same time, by severely injuring the Dream Demon, Zhou Tian had effectively tested the limits of his current maximum offensive output. Having severely wounded a powerful demon like the Dream Demon, Zhou Tian felt thoroughly confident in his present combat prowess.

Yet...

Just as Zhou Tian thought he had heavily injured the Dream Demon, the demon's subsequent actions instantly sent a chill straight to the bottom of Zhou Tian's heart.

"Heh, heh~ An interesting attack!" Acting as though the one who was injured was not himself, the Dream Demon casually tossed aside a chunk of shattered flesh from his body. Following a strange surge of energy fluctuations radiating from his form, the severe wounds that Zhou Tian had inflicted with all his might using a sneak attack from the Chaos Clock actually began to heal back to their original state at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"How... how is this possible?" Zhou Tian found it extremely hard to imagine that after he had unleashed such a formidable attack with the Chaos Clock and inflicted such massive damage, the opponent could recover so easily. Not only would this mean that their situation remained entirely unchanged, but judging by what he had just done, Zhou Tian had no doubt that he had now been targeted by the Dream Demon.

Sure enough...

Amidst Zhou Tian's silent lament, the Dream Demon licked his chin with his tongue, gazed at Zhou Tian, and said excitedly, "I never expected you to have such a trick up your sleeve! What a pity that your strength is a bit too low, and your attack contained too few sound-type rules; otherwise, you might have genuinely inflicted a grievous injury upon me." Having said this, the Dream Demon even raised his right hand slightly toward Zhou Tian.

And as the Dream Demon did so, Zhou Tian finally managed to see clearly that there was a tiny, fresh scratch on the Dream Demon's right hand.

Although the Dream Demon's words indicated that Zhou Tian's previous attack had not been completely without effect—at the very least, a scratch had appeared on his hand—Zhou Tian found it difficult to feel happy. After all, his all-out strike had only caused this tiny bit of damage; even if he could continuously unleash such attacks, it would likely be extremely difficult to kill the Dream Demon. Not to mention the fact that Zhou Tian no longer had the capacity to unleash an attack of that caliber again.

Looking at the pale-faced Zhou Tian, the Dream Demon smiled and then initiated a counterattack against him...

With a wave of his hand, as if he were slaughtering those church envoys from earlier, the Dream Demon attempted to kill Zhou Tian from afar using his own abilities. Yet, when his attack was unleashed, Zhou Tian merely felt an invisible ripple sweep past his side. Following that, until everything settled, Zhou Tian did not feel any abnormalities at all.

It was only at this moment that Zhou Tian realized that the demon who had previously launched a sneak attack on him from the shadows was actually this very Dream Demon in front of him. Although Zhou Tian still did not know what kind of ability the Dream Demon was wielding, judging by the current situation, Zhou Tian had at least confirmed one thing: the Chaos Clock possessed a defense capable of resisting the Dream Demon's abilities. Having made this discovery, Zhou Tian could not help but breathe a sigh of relief.

The Dream Demon's abilities were simply too bizarre. If Zhou Tian lacked the means to counter his attacks, he would truly fear perishing at his hands for no apparent reason. Now knowing that the opponent's abilities could do nothing to him, although their predicament remained as dire as before, it was already enough to allow Zhou Tian to draw a breath of relief.

Flee!

With things reaching this point, the only option Zhou Tian could think of was to run away. The idea of holding his ground had not only crossed Zhou Tian's mind, but he had also acted upon it; however, judging by the current circumstances, the results were not very favorable. Although Zhou Tian had helped the other church envoys kill quite a few demons, the overall battlefield situation still remained disadvantageous to them. Especially after the Dream Demon made his move, Zhou Tian's side now looked as though they were on the verge of total annihilation. Since the sneak attack had failed, Zhou Tian—believing that if things continued this way, all the church envoys would soon die at the hands of the Dream Demon—now wished to avoid death and naturally had no choice but to escape.

With this thought forming in his mind, Zhou Tian subconsciously opened up his system shop.

However, just as Zhou Tian made a move, the Dream Demon reacted a step ahead of him...

"Want to flee?" Almost at the exact moment Zhou Tian prepared to purchase items to escape, the Dream Demon vanished right before his eyes. Then, Zhou Tian felt his surrounding environment instantly shift. Looking back, it felt as though he had suddenly been teleported to an entirely different place.

Although the words spoken by the Dream Demon filled Zhou Tian's heart with unease, at this juncture, Zhou Tian was hardly going to abandon his actions simply because of a remark from the opponent. Therefore, upon discovering that the Dream Demon had vanished and his surrounding environment had changed, Zhou Tian hesitated for only a fraction of a second before purchasing a rather expensive high-grade escape talisman from the system shop and crushing it directly, hoping to use its aid to flee from this dangerous place.

Yet, when Zhou Tian truly crushed the escape talisman and his figure flickered once, the recovering Zhou Tian realized that while the talisman seemed to have taken effect, his surrounding environment appeared to undergo no changes whatsoever. Judging by its appearance, his attempt at escape had apparently failed.

"How could this be?" Ever since he started using the items from the system shop, they had always worked with infallible success, and he had never encountered a situation that the shop's items could not resolve. This was probably the first time he had encountered such a circumstance. For a moment, while suffering a heavy blow, Zhou Tian did not even know what he should do next.

"I'll give you a chance. Hand over the treasures you possess, and I will spare your life!" Just as Zhou Tian was wondering what to do next, the voice of the Dream Demon echoed into Zhou Tian's ears from all directions.

"Dream Demon." Hearing the Dream Demon's words, Zhou Tian regained his composure somewhat. Narrowing his eyes, he quickly made a decision.

"In your dreams!" Refusing the Dream Demon's demand flatly, Zhou Tian placed the Chaos Clock above his head and sat down right where he was.

Although the Dream Demon claimed he would spare his life, Zhou Tian did not believe his words at all. For one thing, the reputation of the demon race itself was less than stellar. For another, Zhou Tian had no prior friendship with the Dream Demon, so he certainly would not believe that the demon genuinely wanted to let him live. If the Dream Demon truly had the ability to kill him, Zhou Tian was certain the demon would show no mercy; after all, once Zhou Tian died, everything he owned would naturally belong to the victor. Thus, the Dream Demon had no reason to utter such words in the first place.

The only explanation for why the Dream Demon would say such a thing now was simple: the Dream Demon was utterly incapable of harming him. Only under such circumstances would the Dream Demon offer to spare his life.

If Zhou Tian were foolish enough to believe the Dream Demon and hand over the Chaos Clock, he had no doubt that the demon would immediately turn around and kill him without a second word. Therefore, knowing what scheme the opponent was playing at, Zhou Tian naturally would not obediently follow his instructions.

"Damn it!" The Dream Demon truly had no way of dealing with Zhou Tian. All of his offensive methods relied on special abilities, and once Zhou Tian placed the Chaos Clock over his head, the Dream Demon's abilities basically lost all threat against him. It was precisely in this situation that the Dream Demon had attempted to trick the Chaos Clock out of Zhou Tian's hands. Now finding that Zhou Tian had not fallen for the ruse, aside from feeling infuriated, he genuinely had no further methods to deal with Zhou Tian.

Thus, Zhou Tian sat quietly within the protection of the Chaos Clock, observing his surroundings while pondering the Dream Demon's abilities. Meanwhile, the Dream Demon kept up a ceaseless stream of persuasion from the side, urging Zhou Tian to surrender the Chaos Clock. The two sides simply locked into a stalemate right there.

"Strange, so much time has passed. Logically speaking, reinforcements from the churches and the Divine Realm should have arrived long ago. Why hasn't the Dream Demon retreated yet? What is going on here?" At first, Zhou Tian did not think too much into it. He simply sat cross-legged on the ground, waiting for the arrival of external reinforcements.

However, Zhou Tian had not anticipated that he would wait for nearly a full day. Given the reaction speed of the churches and the Divine Realm, Zhou Tian certainly did not believe they would fail to dispatch reinforcements after an entire day.

Therefore, seeing that reinforcements had failed to arrive after all this time, Zhou Tian could only attribute the reason to the Dream Demon. Although it seemed a bit hard to believe, Zhou Tian was forced to conclude that the Dream Demon must have used some method to isolate him entirely from the outside world. If that were the case, Zhou Tian's original plan of waiting for external reinforcements to rescue him was naturally very difficult to realize.

If he could not rely on others for rescue, he had to save himself. Knowing that reinforcements were unlikely to arrive, the only thing Zhou Tian could consider was whether he possessed the ability to escape from this ghostly place on his own.

To achieve this, while the strength of Zhou Tian's abilities was one aspect, more importantly, he needed to figure out the nature of the Dream Demon's ability. If he could not comprehend what the Dream Demon's ability actually was, escaping from the Dream Demon's clutches would likely prove exceedingly difficult.

First of all, since the Dream Demon bore such a moniker, his abilities should naturally be inextricably linked to dreams. Furthermore, if one were to connect all the manifestations of the Dream Demon's abilities back to dreams, then...

Suddenly, Zhou Tian broke out in a cold sweat.

In reality, the Dream Demon's ability was not particularly difficult to guess; the only difficulty lay in whether one dared to think in that direction.

Dream Demon, Dream Demon—if the Dream Demon's ability was truly the kind of power Zhou Tian suspected, then all the capabilities he had demonstrated through his previous actions could more or less be deduced.

In a certain anime, there existed an ability that allowed someone to walk between dreams and reality, where the damage sustained in reality could be converted into a dream. And since it was merely a dream, the injuries naturally ceased to exist.

With this ability as the foundational premise for deduction, all the various powers the Dream Demon had displayed could naturally be understood in terms of their underlying principles.

First, when the Dream Demon attacked those church envoys at the beginning, he had very likely slaughtered them within a dreamscape and then translated everything from the dream into reality. In this way, just as he had killed those church envoys in the dream, the church envoys in reality would naturally perish in the exact same manner.

As for his performance of recovering as good as new after being severely injured by Zhou Tian's Chaos Clock, that was likely achieved by employing a method similar to that fictional ability, turning all of his wounds into a mere dream.

Lastly, the reason Zhou Tian had not seen any reinforcements arrive even after so much time had passed was presumably because the Dream Demon had used his ability to pull him into a dreamscape. Within a dream, time naturally did not operate at the same pace as the external world.

Having figured out the Dream Demon's ability, Zhou Tian's heart sank.

The Dream Demon's power was simply too overpowered (OP). Armed with such an ability to control dreams and reality, even if his raw strength weren't overwhelming, he could still stealthily eliminate countless individuals far superior to him in strength.

Fortunately, based on the current situation, the Chaos Clock was a genuine nemesis to the Dream Demon. Although the Dream Demon's ability was overpowered, it seemingly could not harm Zhou Tian, who was protected by the Chaos Clock. Consequently, while Zhou Tian was trapped by the Dream Demon, at least for the short term, he faced no immediate danger.

Drawing a slight breath of relief in his heart, Zhou Tian still did not abandon the idea of escaping.

Trapped within the Dream Demon's dreamscape, although Zhou Tian appeared to be safe for the moment, no one knew if the Dream Demon still had other trump cards up his sleeve. If the Dream Demon possessed other methods to deal with Zhou Tian when the time came, given Zhou Tian's current strength, he truly had no shred of confidence in being able to handle it.

Therefore, even though the Dream Demon could not threaten him right now, Zhou Tian made up his mind early on: regardless of whether the Dream Demon had other hidden cards, the moment he figured out a method, he would immediately escape from the dreamscape.

However, as much as Zhou Tian wished for that, how high-end was the Dream Demon's ability? If it were so easily broken, the Dream Demon would not hold such a formidable reputation among those church envoys.

Despite searching diligently, due to his limited abilities, Zhou Tian strove for a long time yet ultimately failed to find any weakness in the Dream Demon's power.

Of course, failing to find a weakness in the Dream Demon's ability did not mean Zhou Tian would simply give up resistance. Though the Dream Demon's power was formidable, Zhou Tian believed that no matter what kind of ability it was, it would ultimately turn to dust in the face of absolute power. Therefore, after restoring his condition to its peak within the Chaos Clock, Zhou Tian directly utilized the Chaos Clock to launch a wild, indiscriminate bombardment all around him.

And remarkably, the attacks of the Chaos Clock did indeed affect the Dream Demon. The moment the Chaos Clock rang out, Zhou Tian immediately felt the Dream Demon's dreamscape show signs of instability. Although it merely felt like the world was shaking a few times without actually shattering, such a result undeniably confirmed that the attacks of the Chaos Clock could indeed breach the Dream Demon's ability.

Unfortunately, while the offensive power of the Chaos Clock was fierce, the dreamscape constructed by the Dream Demon's ability was exceptionally stable. Even though the Chaos Clock's power was useful, given Zhou Tian's strength at the time, he simply had no way to completely shatter the dreamscape created by the Dream Demon. He could only watch helplessly as the meager progress he had worked so hard to achieve was restored to its original state by the Dream Demon in less than a minute.

Yet, even though his previous efforts were rendered completely void, Zhou Tian did not become discouraged. After the Dream Demon restored the dreamscape once more, Zhou Tian sat quietly within the Chaos Clock to recover his spiritual/demonic energy. Once his internal energy had fully recovered, Zhou Tian would once again use the Chaos Clock to launch an attack on his surroundings.

Time and time again, completely ignoring the words the Dream Demon muttered beside his ear, Zhou Tian single-mindedly went about his task. Ultimately, relying on this method, though he still had not managed to escape, due to the prolonged usage of the Chaos Clock, Zhou Tian gained a much deeper understanding of how to wield it. By channeling the exact same amount of energy into the Chaos Clock, Zhou Tian was now capable of drawing out an even greater might.

Yet, despite these gains, Zhou Tian's actions still looked like a futile effort. The Dream Demon, unaware of what was happening—perhaps because his abilities had never encountered someone like Zhou Tian, against whom they were completely ineffective—grew increasingly anxious as he failed to conquer Zhou Tian over a prolonged period. Poor at masking his emotions, when speaking to Zhou Tian, his tone directly leaked the anxiety bottled up in his heart. It was precisely because he picked up on the Dream Demon's emotional state that Zhou Tian was able to persist; otherwise, having attacked for so long with the Chaos Clock without seeing any results, given Zhou Tian's personality, it would have been truly difficult to hold out until now.

What was happening in the outside world remained unknown to Zhou Tian. However, just as he was preparing to unleash the Chaos Clock for yet another round of attacks, before he could actually execute the strike, the dreamscape enclosing him abruptly shattered right then and there.

As the dreamscape fractured, the first thing Zhou Tian saw was the figure of the Dream Demon. At that moment, however, the Dream Demon appeared utterly disheveled, fleeing in a panic under the fierce onslaught of a swordsman wielding a massive greatsword. Upon seeing Zhou Tian emerge from the dreamscape, a trace of unwillingness flashed across the Dream Demon's eyes, but ultimately, gritting his teeth, he flashed and vanished into the void.

Without giving chase, the swordsman who had been hounding the Dream Demon and forcing him into a pathetic retreat simply stowed away his massive greatsword, glanced back at Zhou Tian for a moment, and then descended toward the ground.

It wasn't until the Dream Demon fled that Zhou Tian finally had the leisure to survey the surrounding situation.

With the Dream Demon having escaped, the battle had naturally come to an end. Just as Zhou Tian had anticipated, during the period he was trapped within the dreamscape by the Dream Demon, reinforcements from the Divine Realm and the churches had arrived at the scene. Coordinating with the abilities of the Tree of Life and leveraging their home-field advantage, they had easily repelled the forces of the demon race.

However, after casting a quick glance over the battlefield, Zhou Tian discovered that although the demons had been forced to retreat, they had actually achieved their intended objectives.

No matter how fast the reinforcements from the Divine Realm and the churches moved, they still arrived a step too late. As powerful as the Tree of Life was, it could only protect itself against those demon gods and prevent them from wreaking absolute havoc within the Elven Empire; it fundamentally lacked the capability to safeguard all the church envoys. Zhou Tian possessed the Five-Elements Escaping Technique—a prime tool for fleeing—and had subsequently been locked away in a dream by the Dream Demon, making his outcome relatively fortunate. As for the other church envoys, aside from a tiny fraction with good luck, the vast majority had perished at the hands of those demon gods. Although the demon race had also paid a certain price, compared to the heavy losses suffered by the churches, they had undoubtedly profited immensely.

Through this single incident, Zhou Tian knew that aside from the Church of Light, all the other churches had suffered severe damage, and their overall power had undoubtedly been weakened.

However, the Church of Light would not have it easy either. Their initial plot to frame Zhou Tian would likely be viewed by the other churches as a malicious and deliberate arrangement. If the Church of Light hadn't discovered something beforehand, why else would they have dispatched a mere bishop like Zhou Tian when they clearly knew the underworld was making a move? Especially after the demons attacked, while other churches lost numerous powerhouses, Zhou Tian emerged completely unscathed, and even the little divine tiger miraculously survived to the very end. The fact that he suffered zero damage, when viewed by the other churches, would naturally make it all the easier to arouse their jealousy.

There was zero room for doubt: judging by the current circumstances, after this incident, while the various churches had their strength depleted, they would likely harbor deep fractures and suspicions among themselves. In such a scenario, they would naturally no longer be able to cooperate sincerely to suppress the demon race as they had done in the past.

With the suppression from the churches lifted, the number of active demons roaming the outside world would likely increase. Thinking of this, Zhou Tian secretly calculated in his heart whether this recent turn of events would ultimately prove beneficial or detrimental to him.

"Awooo~" Zhou Tian, deep in thought, was snapped back to reality by the soft cry of the little divine tiger. Coming to his senses, he offered an apologetic smile to the little tiger and scooped it up into his arms.

"Your origins are truly extraordinary!" Stroking the little divine tiger's head, Zhou Tian murmured softly with a hint of emotion.

Given the circumstances at the time, numerous divine-level powerhouses had perished at the hands of those demon gods, and even Zhou Tian, equipped with numerous trump cards, had encountered quite a few dangers. Yet the little divine tiger, whose strength was not particularly prominent, had emerged from such a fierce battle without a single scratch. Naturally, Zhou Tian did not believe those demon gods lacked the ability to harm the little creature. The only logical explanation was that those demon gods had recognized the little divine tiger's true identity, and out of deep-seated apprehension, had refrained from harming it until the very end.

"You are Zhou Tian?" Just as Zhou Tian was speculating about the little divine tiger's background, an unwelcoming voice suddenly rang out from behind him.

"And you are?" Turning around, Zhou Tian saw that the speaker was a sturdy lion-man. Although he heard the hostility in the other's tone, Zhou Tian didn't think too much of it; after confirming his identity, he countered by asking the other's identity in return.

Yet, who would have thought that upon hearing Zhou Tian's response, the lion-man would instantly reach out to grab Zhou Tian without a second word?

"Aroo~" Without a doubt, the lion-man's action instantly triggered Zhou Tian's vigilance. As for the little divine tiger, the moment it saw the stranger reaching out toward them, it lunged forward and bit straight at the lion-man's outstretched hand.

"Get lost!" Noticing the little divine tiger's reaction, the lion-man swung his other hand backward and swatted the little tiger away with a harsh slap.

"Bastard!" Although Zhou Tian knew that keeping a low profile was best for him at this juncture, maintaining a low profile did not mean he could allow himself to be bullied at will. Especially since the lion-man had actually hurt the little divine tiger—given the bond between Zhou Tian and the little creature, how could he possibly not be furious witnessing such an act?

Almost the instant the little divine tiger was swatted away by the lion-man, Zhou Tian didn't even stop to think before summoning the Chaos Clock and unleashing an all-out attack directly at him.

"Dong~" With a single chime, the sonic wave attack of the Chaos Clock, guided by Zhou Tian's control, slammed violently toward the lion-man.

Facing the attack of the Chaos Clock, the lion-man did not pay it much heed; simply adopting a basic defensive posture, he met the incoming strike head-on.

While the physical bodies of the beastmen were renowned for their toughness, there was still a limit to how strong they could be. Previously, when Zhou Tian used the Chaos Clock at full strength, he could pose a threat to a powerful entity like the Dream Demon. Having gained a deeper insight into utilizing the Chaos Clock during his time within the dreamscape, Zhou Tian's all-out strike at this moment was far more powerful than before.

Whether the lion-man's physical body could match that of the Dream Demon was unknown, yet he had maintained that arrogant attitude when facing the Chaos Clock's attack. Under such circumstances, taking the Chaos Clock's strike squarely head-on, the lion-man's ultimate fate could hardly be expected to be pleasant.

"Puff~" Staring at Zhou Tian with an expression of sheer disbelief, the lion-man died with lingering reluctance, utterly unable to comprehend how Zhou Tian dared to attack him, let alone possessed the capability to strip away his life. Due to a momentary impulse and carelessness, instead of dying at the hands of the demons, he had actually perished at the hands of Zhou Tian.

Everything happened far too quickly, so much so that by the time the onlookers observing the scene from the shadows reacted, the lion-man was already dead at Zhou Tian's hands.

"Audacious!" No sooner had Zhou Tian finished off the lion-man than another figure leaped out to confront him.

There were beastmen, humans, elves, and even a fair number of goblin-like races. Over a dozen church members of considerable strength immediately surrounded Zhou Tian the moment he killed the lion-man. If they hadn't harbored lingering apprehension toward the terrifying power Zhou Tian had just displayed, they likely would have launched an assault upon him right then and there.

The other people who had been busy cleaning up the battlefield finally noticed the commotion after the conflict broke out between Zhou Tian and those church members.

Whether driven by a desire to watch a good show or harboring other motives, upon discovering what was happening on Zhou Tian's side, most of them halted their tasks and closed in around the scene.

Once they laid eyes on the traces left around Zhou Tian, the onlookers—being mostly shrewd veterans—essentially understood what had just transpired.

Some were gloating, while others were harboring ill intentions. Just as Zhou Tian had anticipated earlier, because the Church of Light was the only faction that had suffered zero losses, members of the other churches naturally harbored deep hostility toward them. The other members of the Church of Light were shielded by powerful leaders, meaning that although members of rival churches felt aggrieved, no one dared to openly provoke them. Only Zhou Tian stood out: unliked by the majority of his fellow Church of Light members and now eyed with suspicion by outsiders, seeing him run into trouble prompted almost all the observing church members to cast hostile glares in his direction, with only a tiny fraction holding back.

Witnessing this scenario, Zhou Tian genuinely didn't know what to say.

In terms of danger, the perils Zhou Tian had experienced were by no means fewer than those faced by any other church envoy. It was simply because Zhou Tian possessed the necessary capabilities coupled with good luck that he ultimately managed to avoid dying at the hands of the Dream Demon. Zhou Tian hadn't uttered a single complaint despite surviving such ordeals, yet these church members still treated him this way; naturally, Zhou Tian could not help but feel enraged.

Even though he knew that given his current strength, it was best not to pick a fight with others right now, under the influence of his anger, Zhou Tian genuinely toyed with the idea of simply unleashing the Chaos Clock right here and slaughtering everyone around him.

"What are you all gathering around here for?" Just as Zhou Tian was on the verge of going on a rampage, a figure floating in mid-air strode toward them.

"Greetings, Divine Envoy!" Floating in mid-air—this was not something a divine-level powerhouse possessing merely divine patterns could achieve; the only ones capable of such a feat were deities who had already condensed divine crystals.

Zhou Tian knew that the so-called divine envoy who had approached them must be a god dispatched from the Divine Realm. Come to think of it, since the demon race had dispatched demon gods on the level of the Dream Demon, the Divine Realm naturally could not remain completely idle. Recalling the Dream Demon's abilities, coupled with the swordsman who had earlier chased the Dream Demon into a panicked flight, the rationality that had nearly been burned away by Zhou Tian's anger finally recovered a fraction of its footing.

It wasn't that Zhou Tian wouldn't consider acting without regard for consequences; rather, even if Zhou Tian truly intended to do so, judging by the current situation, it would be extremely difficult for him to pull off such a feat.

Compared to a divine-level powerhouse possessing divine patterns, a deity possessing a divine crystal belonged to an entirely different tier of existence. If possessing divine patterns marked the preliminary threshold into the domain of divinity, then possessing a divine crystal served as definitive proof of possessing genuine divine power.

Earlier, because the Dream Demon's tier far surpassed that of those church envoys, he had managed to accomplish in mere minutes what his subordinates could not achieve even at a heavy cost. If the Dream Demon hadn't shifted his focus onto Zhou Tian out of obsession with him, perhaps by the time this reinforcement arrived, the remaining surviving church envoys would have been dead at the Dream Demon's hands long ago.

By now, Zhou Tian no longer harbored excessive awe toward divine-level powerhouses. Although he couldn't sustain a prolonged battle just yet, when employing the Chaos Clock at full power, ordinary divine-level powerhouses would find it genuinely difficult to withstand his strikes.

However, because of his encounter with the Dream Demon, Zhou Tian held a deep apprehension toward true deities. While the Dream Demon had been countered by the Chaos Clock, Zhou Tian still had no means to deal with him; yet if other deities—whose combat power might fall short of the Dream Demon's, but who were not hard-countered by the Chaos Clock—were to fight him, the threat Zhou Tian could pose to them might not even equal the slight pressure he had managed to exert on the Dream Demon.

Acting recklessly stemmed from a relative sense of confidence. Now, with a deity whom Zhou Tian suspected capable of threatening him standing nearby, Zhou Tian naturally had no choice but to rein in his impulses.

Fortunately, although members of the other churches held some hostility toward Zhou Tian, the deity in question clearly showed no intention of targeting him. After a brief sweep of the surroundings, the deity directly issued a command: "The Divine King has long since issued strict orders prohibiting private duels among the churches. Having just experienced such a disaster, you actually dare to engage in this kind of behavior—do you really think we wouldn't dare to severely punish you?"

"It wasn't us, Divine Envoy! This fellow named Zhou Tian murdered our companion, which is why we..."

"You've already reached the divine level, yet you were killed by a saint-tier opponent; dying means you only had yourself to blame. Furthermore, do you really take me for a fool who can't see through something so obvious? Forget it; the ones who suffered losses this time are you lot, so I'll pretend this matter never happened. If anything like this happens again, don't blame me for being discourteous!" Having said that, the deity pointed behind him and directly issued an order: "Get moving and back to work right now!"

Hearing the deity's words, though most of the church members felt deeply resentful in their hearts, they ultimately dared not utter another word out of fear of the deity's power. Responding with reluctant compliance, the church members finally dispersed in all directions.

Seeing this outcome, Zhou Tian didn't say anything further, turning around with the intent to leave the scene.

However, seeing Zhou Tian about to leave, the deity suddenly spoke up: "Your name is Zhou Tian, right? Come with me for a moment; I have a few things I'd like to ask you."

"Very well." Showing no sign of awe, Zhou Tian nonetheless accepted the other's request. With a nod, Zhou Tian followed the deity toward a secluded location nearby.

"Your performance this time was quite commendable. I heard that if you hadn't managed to drag the Dream Demon down, not a single survivor would have been left today."

"It's nothing; just my duty."

Hearing Zhou Tian's flat response, the deity cast a sideways glance at him before abruptly asking: "The Dream Demon's strength is among the top tier even among demon gods. In past wars between gods and demons, quite a few of our deities perished at his hands. For a saint-tier practitioner like you to hold out against the Dream Demon for so long, you must have some unique method up your sleeve, no?"

Listening to the deity's words, a jolt went through Zhou Tian's heart; he finally understood what the other party was truly after.

The performance of the Chaos Clock had simply been too eye-catching. The Dream Demon, having witnessed its prowess, had been willing to abandon the slaughter of the church envoys just to seize the Chaos Clock. Thus, upon learning of this, the deity before him naturally could harbor greedy thoughts as well.

Deities were no better than demon gods. Although they belonged to the same camp, as long as sufficient benefits were at stake, Zhou Tian believed that such a deity was capable of doing anything. A treasure coveted even by the Dream Demon—to claim that the deity remained unmoved after hearing this tale would be an absolute lie.

If Zhou Tian possessed strength capable of instilling fear in him, perhaps the deity would not dare harbor improper thoughts. Yet Zhou Tian's external appearance was merely that of a holy beast, and relying solely on that saint-tier strength, Zhou Tian had easily slain a lion-man possessing divine-level power. The formidable might displayed by the Chaos Clock naturally made the deity's heart leap with covetous intent; even if he had initially merely entertained the idea of forcibly seizing it, he was now likely planning to take direct action.

Zhou Tian was not afraid of the deity. Given his strength, while he felt quite helpless against the Dream Demon, this deity's power fell far short of the Dream Demon's. Zhou Tian might not be able to defeat him in a direct fight, but if he wished to escape, the deity would never be able to catch him.

However, Zhou Tian did not simply choose to flee on the spot. He knew that running away from the monk wouldn't run away from the temple; the capabilities of the Chaos Clock were enough to provoke the greed of deities. Unless he resolved the root of the problem, even if he managed to escape today, those deities would likely track him down to his headquarters eventually.