Dugu Ba Chen's desperate channeling of his life force at this final moment caused a flicker of surprise in Xuanyuan Jue’s eyes. His gaze inadvertently swept toward Yulan hanging in the sky, and he let out a soft sigh...

Meanwhile, upon witnessing the colossal Void-Shattering Blade and sensing the immense power contained within that single strike, Fang Zhentian’s face turned ashen once more. This was undeniably a blow that threatened his very existence...

Holding nothing back, he flipped his hand, and a square pagoda materialized in his grasp. Raising it directly toward the void, the pagoda instantly swelled in size, hovering above his head and enveloping his entire form...

“The Fang Tian Pagoda? I never thought that Dugu Ba Chen would actually force that fellow to deploy the Fang family’s ancestral treasure, the Fang Tian Pagoda! It seems we all underestimated those people!” A soft sigh emanated from the domineering figure maintaining the barrier in the void upon seeing Fang Zhentian summon the pagoda.

“Indeed. Legend says the Fang family’s ancestor discovered this artifact in some ruins; it is genuinely an Immortal Tool!” Another voice chimed in.

“Precisely. This is absolutely an Immortal Tool, and one of no low rank, either. If the Fang family didn't possess this artifact, how would he dare lord it over us?” A third voice cut in, laced with indignation...

“Alas, with this thing out, even if Dugu Ba Chen exerts himself to the extreme, there is no hope of killing that old scoundrel Fang Zhentian!”

The void was filled with murmurs of discussion, while the blade Dugu Ba Chen had transformed into landed with brutal force upon the Fang Tian Pagoda summoned by Fang Zhentian.

“Rumble, rumble, rumble…” A series of concussions echoed, violent explosions erupting continuously where the blade met the pagoda. Billows of azure light sprayed outward, spreading rapidly in every direction...

Xuanyuan Jue, Zhuge Zhengwo, and even Yulan simultaneously retreated backward. As for Yu Luosha, whose chest had been pierced, and Xiao Cangtian, who had already met a tragic end, they were utterly annihilated into dust by this strike.

The ferocious energy slammed into the sea surface below, instantly driving the waters apart. Seawater thousands of meters deep was forcibly displaced by this surge of power, creating a dry expanse beneath them stretching several thousand zhang wide. The reefs and rocks on the seabed fractured under the immense pressure. Soon, this waterless zone transformed into a ruin, and countless marine creatures had their bodies crushed by the violently compressed seawater, turning the surrounding waters a blood-red hue...

A wall of water, forming tidal waves towering over a thousand zhang high, encircled the seabed that had just been leveled. Such a spectacle caused everyone present to gasp in awe—this was merely the residual aftermath of a clash between two individuals...

Though the Fang Tian Pagoda managed to block Dugu Ba Chen’s attack, blood continuously streamed from Fang Zhentian’s lips. The pagoda was intimately linked to his spirit, and thus it could not withstand such a terrifying backlash.

However, the blade light that Dugu Ba Chen had manifested began to shatter intermittently, his once robust life aura steadily dissipating. Yet, he showed no hint of retreat, driving his blade against the Fang Tian Pagoda again and again...

Having retreated, Xuanyuan Jue watched Dugu Ba Chen continue his suicidal assault. He glanced once more at Yulan, a resolute expression flashing in his eyes, preparing to unleash his own ultimate attack by recklessly channeling his life force. At that moment, a figure rushed toward them from the distance, covering the ground in just a few steps until he arrived right before them...

It was a man with a cascade of white hair. His face was etched with unwavering determination, and a sharp, piercing blade aura lunged toward them...

“Master…” Feeling the life force of Dugu Ba Chen rapidly draining away, Ye Jingyu’s eyes burst forth with two streams of bloody tears. His body moved like a moth drawn to a flame, relentlessly throwing himself toward Dugu Ba Chen...

Hearing Ye Jingyu’s anguished cry, Xuanyuan Jue, who was about to channel his life force, froze. He is Dugu Ba Chen’s disciple? Didn't he go to the Demon Realm? How is he here now? And how could his cultivation level suddenly bring him here? How could he possibly withstand such violent energy?

As Xuanyuan Jue stood in astonishment, Dugu Ba Chen also paused, the blade his body had formed trembling slightly...

“Get lost, you idiot! Don’t come here to die!” This shout was nearly a roar, and with it, the blade light intensified.

Hearing Dugu Ba Chen’s harsh rebuke, Ye Jingyu felt no anger, but rather a surge of emotion. Memories of his time with Dugu Ba Chen flashed through his mind. Although their time together was brief, even spanning only a few encounters, the Master’s care and protection had been deeply imprinted on Ye Jingyu’s heart. Especially remembering the Master’s irrational protectiveness back in the Hundred Families—that memory moved him deeply.

This was his Master, one of the few people in the world who treated him best. How could he allow him to perish like this?

The Celestial Venerable Blade flew from his hand, cleaving directly toward Fang Zhentian. But with his current strength, how could he possibly shake Fang Zhentian in the slightest...

“You damned brat, if you still hold any respect for me as your Master, then get the hell out of here immediately! Wait until you become stronger, then come back for revenge!” Dugu Ba Chen roared again, the light around his blade flaring even brighter. He was determined not to give Fang Zhentian any opening to strike.

But Ye Jingyu seemed not to hear, his figure already having arrived beside Dugu Ba Chen...

“Master, if we’re rolling away, we roll together...” Ye Jingyu declared, his right hand already pulling out the cyan ancient bell from his Sea of Consciousness. Without a second thought, he hurled it toward the Fang Tian Pagoda. This was the most powerful item in his possession; if even this couldn't overcome Fang Zhentian, then both his life and Dugu Ba Chen’s were truly forfeit here...

As soon as the cyan ancient bell left his hand, it moved like a tiger confined for more than ten days, charging directly toward the Fang Tian Pagoda as if it were the most prized prey...

“Boom!” A deafening crash resonated. The cyan ancient bell, now only three zhang in size, slammed directly into the spire of the Fang Tian Pagoda—the very spire that had withstood Dugu Ba Chen’s full-power strike—and was instantly shattered...

Streams of azure light burst forth, yet every one was absorbed by the cyan ancient bell...

Fang Zhentian shuddered violently, spitting out a streak of blood. Dugu Ba Chen was also shaken back into his human form, though he now appeared even more withered than before, truly resembling nothing more than a desiccated corpse...

“Master, let’s go!” Ye Jingyu ignored everything else, grabbing hold of Dugu Ba Chen, recalling the cyan ancient bell, and preparing to flee toward the distance...