The power of Divine Blood, sharp as an arrow, pierced through ten layers of Lesser Pseudo-God realm defensive talismans. The light dimmed considerably, yet it charged resolutely toward the handsome man.
Just then, the imposing man suddenly surged forward, intercepting the greatly weakened golden light. A cold glint flashed in his eyes, and he raised a hand to strike.
Bang!
The strand of golden light met his palm, shuddered violently, and then disintegrated inch by inch.
Ye Chen jolted as if that struck golden light were his own body. He staggered back several steps, his face ashen, completely drained of color. Gritting his teeth, he looked up, his long black hair whipping around him, an aura of madness clinging to his entire being.
“Stand down!” the imposing man commanded coldly.
The handsome man’s expression was complex; his face flushed slightly with shame. He couldn't believe that after dominating his life, he was forced into such a corner by a mere Demigod realm fledgling. If this spread, his reputation would be ruined. Conversely, Ye Chen’s name would undoubtedly become a legend!
A Demigod defeating a Pseudo-God!
Such legendary figures were few and far between in the entire history of the White Lotus Divine Continent, all being geniuses of unparalleled brilliance!
Ye Chen moved like a living God of Slaughter, ascending over piles of divine corpses. The news of his victory over a Pseudo-God realm expert in today’s battle would surely spread to Azure Water City, becoming fodder for endless gossip.
“Pointless struggle!” the imposing man looked down from above at Ye Chen. “Since you wish to die, this Venerable One shall grant your wish!” As he spoke, he suddenly raised his hand and struck. The Pseudo-God power within him surged forth, condensing into a scorching, cinnabar-gold palm print, which descended with a deafening boom!
This palm print seemed to replace both heaven and earth!
Ye Chen tilted his head back. The entire universe consisted only of that expanding palm print, descending fiercely as if it were divine punishment.
“Aaaaaaahhhhh…”
He abruptly lunged upward, arms thrown wide, roaring to the sky!
The sound shook the surrounding wilderness!
Heaven and earth responded in kind!
The Divine Blood power within Ye Chen condensed wildly at his fingertips, shooting toward the palm print. His entire body was compressed by immense pressure, and crimson blood streamed from his mouth and nose.
Beneath the massive golden palm print, Ye Chen’s body trembled uncontrollably. His skin split open inch by inch, turning him into a veritable man of blood. His expression was tragic, like a demon or wraith from the netherworld—frenzied and desolate.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Streaks of Divine Blood power shot out from Ye Chen’s fingertips. His life force rapidly dissipated; his strength and blood seemed to be utterly drained, stripped from his body.
His original lifespan of twenty thousand years, combined with previous battles, had now dwindled to just six thousand!
Ye Chen roared, took a step forward, and suddenly reached out toward the sky. Brilliant golden light poured from his palm, becoming the sole radiance in the world.
With a great grab, he snatched the vast expanse of golden light into his palm.
“Break for me!!!” Ye Chen bellowed. The dense golden light in his palm shot outward, taking the remaining ten-plus streaks of light with it, all charging toward the sky in unison!
Boom~~
The entire golden palm print trembled slightly, its downward pressure sharply reduced, as if held back by colossal force. Then, it began to rise, inch by inch, lifted bodily right up in the astonished gaze of the imposing man and the others!
Lifted forcefully!
Ye Chen’s expression was grim as he surged upward against heaven, pouring all his strength into colliding with the golden palm print.
Smash!
The palm print slowly cracked, then exploded entirely, dissolving into specks of golden light that drifted in the mid-air.
Ye Chen, like an unyielding demon god, fixed his gaze upon the imposing man. Having forgotten life and death, he roared and charged forward, rushing without regard for anything!
The imposing man snapped back to awareness, his brow furrowing slightly. He slowly raised his other hand, Pseudo-God power surging out again, condensing into another massive palm print to blast toward Ye Chen. In his free hand, he gripped two Pseudo-God Stones, rapidly replenishing his expenditure.
Bang!
This palm print hurtled toward Ye Chen. At the critical moment, Ye Chen rapidly tapped six times with his hand. Six dazzling golden lights erupted, striking the golden palm print, causing it to shudder momentarily before shattering completely.
All strength seemed to have been drained from Ye Chen; his remaining life force hovered around 300 years, entirely insufficient to manifest Divine Blood power again.
Boom!
The entire golden hand replaced the sky, pressing down with crushing weight.
Ye Chen spat out a mouthful of blood, which instantly vaporized into mist. His body plummeted downward as if struck by a train; bones shattered into dust, meridians within him matted into a pulp, and thick, bright red blood seeped from his pores, dyeing the Divine Flame Armor blood-soaked.
In Ye Chen’s ears, only the sound of the howling wind remained. In his vision, the sky seemed farther away, and the massive, blood-red demon moon stared down like an icy eye.
Deep within, a wave of fatigue slowly surfaced.
He suddenly grew calm, as if all the sounds in the world had vanished, leaving only the sky moving farther and farther away from him.
Just like that, he fell.
A desolate thought crossed Ye Chen’s mind: If I die, will she be sad for me? Will she weep?
Will she ever know that, in a distant place, someone fought and bled for her?
Years have passed; does she still remember the promise they made?
He raised a hand to wipe the blood and water from the corner of his eye.
That golden hand, seeming like an unfeeling object, struck down coldly, replacing Ye Chen’s entire view of the sky, dominating his vision. For some inexplicable reason, Ye Chen’s expression finally settled into peace. He simply watched the relentlessly approaching golden palm print, even sensing the searing heat radiating from it and the mighty gale that whipped his long black hair.
Is this how it ends?
He slowly closed his eyes, his entire body enveloped, shrouded, and finally swallowed by that dazzling golden light…
In the sky, the imposing man and the handsome man both experienced a sudden relaxation. The woman with the cool expression looked down from above at the scorching palm print with utter indifference.
The previously chaotic battlefield suddenly grew quiet, as if all turmoil had subsided.
Just then—
The smile on the imposing man’s face froze instantly. His pupils contracted as he lowered his head, gazing at the searing golden palm print with dawning horror.
The golden palm print began to tremble slightly, as if a colossal entity beneath it was forcing it upward. Then, the entire print suddenly cracked open and collapsed completely.
As the golden palm print disintegrated, a streak of black light tore through the layers of golden waves, emitting a dense black mist that enveloped Ye Chen’s body, causing him to slowly levitate.
The imposing man and the others rushed to look. It was a black iron piece, about the size of two fingers, shaped vaguely like a gourd, spinning silently and radiating waves of mysterious and vast pressure.
The imposing man and his companions stared at the black iron piece in disbelief.
“That person is unconscious, yet this iron piece automatically protects him!”
“Could it be a Divine Artifact?”
“Only a Divine Artifact possesses an independent soul!”
“A Divine Artifact? Are you serious?!”
While these men were stunned, the iron piece spun slightly, as if surveying the imposing man and the others. Then, with a flash of black light, it shot rapidly into the distance.
“It’s getting away!” the handsome man urged.
A cold glint flashed in the imposing man’s eyes. He slammed his hand down. “Break!” A streak of scorching golden light shot out, sharp as a tiny knife, cleaving toward the dark iron piece.
Bang!
The golden sliver of light automatically disintegrated. The black iron piece remained utterly unmoved, swaggering onward as it floated leisurely into the distance.
The imposing man and his group paused momentarily, then quickly shouted, “After it!”
The few of them boarded their warships, engaging maximum speed to chase the black iron piece that enveloped Ye Chen. Long after they departed, a figure slowly crawled out from the undergrowth below, entirely wrapped in white bandages.
“Phew, that scared the hell out of Grandpa,” Kaba patted his chest. Sensing the powerful auras in the sky vanish, he finally felt a measure of relief. “Those bastards, wonder where they went. Damn it, when I get stronger, I’ll raid all their families! They actually forced Grandpa into such a corner!”
After muttering curses for a moment, he suddenly thought of something and looked around frantically. He noticed small spots of bright crimson blood trickling down the green foliage of some trees, refusing to be wiped away by the wind—it was clearly not ordinary blood.
“That looks like the kid’s blood,” Kaba frowned. He glanced around and murmured to himself, “Those bastards, they didn't actually flay the kid’s corpse, did they?”
He shook his head. “Unlucky kid, when I get stronger, I’ll flay their corpses for you too.” Saying this, he dared not linger. His figure flickered, and he shot rapidly into the distance.
“I better get out of this cursed place before they issue a warrant for me. The Ancient Continent is the way to go. Luckily, that kid left me some Pseudo-God Stones; that’s enough for the transit fee.”
Flying in the air, he looked down at the many trees below. Suddenly, a pang of distress hit him. He stopped, turned back toward the distant horizon, bit his lip, and muttered, “Damn kid, I swear I’ll avenge you!”
With those words, he seemed to have made a firm resolution, turned resolutely, and sped away into the distance.
…
In the pitch-black night sky, the blood moon hung suspended amid scattered stars.
From countless bushes and thickets, beast roars assaulted the air. A streak of black light suddenly streaked across the distant sky, followed closely by three dazzling streams of light—revealed to be three interstellar warships.
“Target lock!”
“Engage maximum function!”
“Countdown…”
“Fire!”
Inside the warships, the imposing man and the others issued orders from the central control room. Cannons extended from the Pseudo-God rank interstellar vessels, aiming at the tiny speck of the black iron piece ahead, and fired with a roar!
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh~~~
Dozens of brilliant beams of light blasted out. Each laser cannon blast was capable of severely wounding a primary Pseudo-God realm expert, yet here they converged, slamming toward the minuscule black iron piece.