The moment the Goddess of Life appeared outside the Snow Eye and saw Fang Chang and his group, her expression tightened. She then let out a long sigh.
Her plans, schemed over for many years, with every detail meticulously calculated, had ultimately come to nothing. Perhaps this was the destined fate of the Divine Realm.
Back when they had targeted the Dragon God and the other divine beasts so relentlessly, they should have known that one day, they too would meet such an end.
On Fang Chang's side, the dozen or so gods formed an encirclement, trapping the Goddess of Life completely.
Compared to the other fallen gods, she was in much better condition, having preserved most of her strength.
Even so, it was impossible for her to face more than a dozen powerful gods alone, especially when Fang Chang and Gu Yue were, on their own, already slightly stronger than her.
"Since you've found me, then come. I am the esteemed Goddess of Life. Even in death, I will never surrender and allow myself to be humiliated by you beasts," she declared, her body standing proud against the frigid wind, her words filled with arrogance.
Faced with such a dangerous opponent, Fang Chang was not foolish enough to ignore his numerous subordinates and insist on a one-on-one duel.
He gave the order, charging forward himself with Gu Yue and the other dozen gods following close behind, all attacking the Goddess of Life in unison.
The Goddess of Life let out a bitter laugh at this offensive. She had hoped her earlier words would provoke Fang Chang's pride, perhaps forcing him into a duel out of respect for his status.
If that had happened, she might have had a sliver of a chance. But now, she found her opponent completely devoid of martial ethics, choosing to swarm her instead!
She slammed the Tree of Life in her hand into the ground, and countless vines suddenly erupted from the ice and snow.
The vines shot through the snow, wrapping around the dozen gods. But these were no ordinary deities. In an instant, they each used their unique abilities to break free and once again charge toward the Goddess of Life.
She was secretly alarmed by this. After ten thousand years, the spider clan had grown so much stronger. These dozen selected gods each possessed combat power on par with a first-tier god.
Fang Chang, leading the charge, had already reached the Goddess of Life. With a light wave of his hand, an "Ice-Fire Demonic Spear" materialized in the air.
The next moment, the demonic spear shot forward with terrifying momentum, aimed straight at the Goddess of Life's chest.
She let out a muffled grunt, swinging the Tree of Life, which had been planted in the ground, horizontally to form an emerald-green shield brimming with life force.
Clang! The Ice-Fire Demonic Spear slammed heavily into the Goddess of Life's shield, piercing a small hole the size of a pinky finger.
Cracks spread out from the hole, quickly covering the entire shield.
However, the shield's defensive capability was quite impressive. It managed to fulfill its duty to the very end, only shattering after the Ice-Fire Demonic Spear had disintegrated.
The force of the spear's explosion sent the Goddess of Life stumbling back several steps, a trickle of crimson blood seeping from the corner of her mouth.
At that moment, Gu Yue closed in, striking with a heavy blow from her transformed dragon claw.
Unable to dodge in time, the Goddess of Life could only raise the Tree of Life to block Gu Yue's claw. She was forced back several more steps, her injuries worsening.
"Damn it!" Having been a supreme being for countless millennia, now facing a life-and-death crisis, the Goddess of Life began to lose her composure.
Before the other gods could continue their attack, she launched a counteroffensive.
She let out a sharp cry to the heavens, and the Tree of Life left her hand. The ancient tree grew continuously, transforming in the blink of an eye into a towering, suspended tree dozens of meters high outside the Snow Eye. She herself stood at its very peak.
The Goddess of Life had become somewhat hysterical. To the rhythm of her wavering cries, the Tree of Life swayed, scattering vast quantities of green leaves, each the size of a palm.
These leaves looked delicate, but in reality, they were like sharpened steel blades, assailing the dozen gods from all directions.
This was the desperate counterattack of a former God-King. The gods did not dare to be complacent, each unleashing their ultimate skills. Shields of multicolored light bloomed across the snowy ground almost simultaneously.
Watching this from a distance, the Ice Empress's eyes were wide with disbelief. In her nearly four hundred thousand years of life, she had never witnessed such a spectacle.
If those green leaves released by the Goddess of Life had been aimed at her, a single one could probably have taken her life ten times over.
What was a battle of gods? This was it!
Wave after wave of dense green leaves came, seemingly without end. Fortunately, such an attack placed a heavy burden on the Goddess of Life as well.
After about ten minutes, the leafy onslaught began to weaken. Seizing the opportunity, Fang Chang was the first to act.
This time, he transformed directly into his true form and used the power of the "Nightwalker" to create clones. A total of four "Fang Changs" swarmed forward, aiming straight for the Goddess of Life.
The objective of Fang Chang's attack was clear. He didn't expect to kill the Goddess of Life directly, but merely wanted to force her away from the Tree of Life.
The Goddess of Life was no fool and quickly guessed Fang Chang's intention. She huddled tightly under the protection of the Tree of Life, using its branches to continuously block Fang Chang's attacks.
Seeing that Fang Chang was temporarily unable to succeed, Gu Yue also chose this moment to reveal her true form. The moment the silvery-white dragon, over three thousand meters long, appeared, it captured everyone's attention.
In her eyes, the Tree of Life now looked like a small toy. She snatched it with a single claw, holding it in her palm.
At the same time, she began to inject her own life-god power into the Tree of Life. The two generations of Life Goddesses were now fighting for control of the Tree of Life!
In the past, Gu Yue would certainly have been no match for the Goddess of Life. But now, thirty-some years had passed in the Divine Realm, which equated to ten thousand years in the mortal realm.
The Goddess of Life's divine power had waned, and she was no longer at her peak. In contrast, Gu Yue had continued to grow over these years. Her own strength had long surpassed the God-King level, and she had no fear of her predecessor.
Although she couldn't seize control of the Tree of Life directly, she caused a significant lag in the Goddess of Life's ability to command it, making it increasingly difficult to block Fang Chang's attacks.
The dozen other gods took advantage of her weakened control over the Tree of Life, swarming onto its canopy and launching a combined assault.
Under the siege of the gods, the Goddess of Life's injuries grew heavier, and her consciousness began to fade. Finally, at a certain moment, Gu Yue successfully wrested control of the Tree of Life and turned its branches against its former master.
Rip! The body of the already severely injured Goddess of Life was pierced by the tree's branches. Even the divine life force flowing through her could no longer heal such a fatal wound.
She felt her eyelids grow heavy, her vision blurring. Finally, the life of a generation's Goddess of Life, the last survivor of the five original God-Kings of the Divine Realm, came to a close.
Gu Yue shrank the hard-won Tree of Life and reverted to her human form, cradling it in her hands with a look of utter satisfaction on her face.
Fang Chang helplessly rubbed her forehead. "Let's go. There are still other remnants of the gods. We'll wipe them all out this time."
For the rest of the day, Fang Chang's group, led by the Ice Empress, successfully annihilated all forty-plus gods who were sealed in ice within the Land of Extreme North.