A typical person, having their heart pierced, would surely meet their end. However, Ye Jingyu possessed the Chaos Body; as long as his physical form remained intact, his soul would not perish. Never mind a pierced heart, even if he were pulverized into dust, as long as a single scrap of flesh remained, that fragment would slowly reassemble, regenerate, and ultimately resurrect, though it might take a very long time—often hundreds of thousands of years.

Yet, having his heart pierced merely inflicted excruciating pain and severe injury upon him; it was far from being near death.

Observing Fang Zhentian’s triumphant grin, Ye Jingyu, whose right hand should have been broken, suddenly snatched up the Heavenly Venerable Saber and brought it down directly upon Fang Zhentian.

Fang Zhentian was inwardly terrified. He never imagined Ye Jingyu could still strike with such force after his heart was pierced, let alone muster such power with an arm that should have been severed.

Facing the whistling blade, Fang Zhentian’s heart was filled with extreme dread. Nevertheless, he was a Venerable-level master; even stripped of all his power, his reaction speed and combat experience were extraordinarily rich. At this critical juncture of life and death, his body rapidly retreated backward.

He didn't even have time to withdraw the Heaven-Earth Halberd impaled in Ye Jingyu’s chest. Precisely because of his swift reaction, he avoided the danger of his head being severed by the Heavenly Venerable Saber, though a long gash was left across his neck.

But at this moment, his body had lost its balance, and Ye Jingyu, drawing strength from who knows where, wrenched the Heaven-Earth Halberd free. His figure lunged toward Fang Zhentian, seizing the Eastern Emperor Bell and bringing it down upon Fang Zhentian’s head.

Poor Fang Zhentian, now without any other weapon in hand, could only instinctively raise both arms to defend himself.

His physical body was indeed formidable, even tougher than ordinary magical artifacts. But the Eastern Emperor Bell was, after all, the paramount divine artifact of antiquity! Although it currently held no power and Ye Jingyu could not unleash its might, even as a mere weapon, it was not something Fang Zhentian could withstand.

Immediately, a crisp crack echoed. Fang Zhentian’s arms were instantly smashed to pieces. Following this, the Eastern Emperor Bell smashed brutally onto his skull, like a massive iron rod slamming into a ripe watermelon, causing his entire head to shatter...

The milky white brain matter and bright red blood sprayed everywhere. But the Eastern Emperor Bell continued its downward trajectory, crushing Fang Zhentian’s physical body into nothingness.

A soul erupted from within Fang Zhentian’s body, transforming into a streak of light and attempting to flee. Ye Jingyu, possessing no energy whatsoever, and even the Heavenly Venerable Saber having lost its thunderous power, was completely incapable of preventing this soul from escaping. Just as the soul was about to vanish, a massive hand appeared from the void, grasping it tightly. With a gentle squeeze, it was utterly annihilated.

Simultaneously, on the Ancient Splendor Continent, within a stone chamber buried deep beneath Kunlun Mountain, Fang Zhentian, cross-legged upon a cushion, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood...

“Big Brother, what’s wrong?” Seeing Fang Zhentian vomit blood, Fang Zhenxue, who had been sitting nearby guarding him, exclaimed in alarm.

“My avatar was killed!” Fang Zhentian stated coldly.

“What? How is that possible? Big Brother, although your avatar hadn't broken through to the Venerable realm, it was already at the peak of the Ninth Heaven, coupled with your insights. Even facing a Venerable expert, it possessed the strength to fight. How could that brat Ye Jingyu have killed it?” Upon hearing that Fang Zhentian’s avatar had been slain, Fang Zhenxue was even more shocked.

“Naturally, it wasn't a match for my main body, but my avatar and he both fell into a deep cavern. There was a powerful entity there where my strength was entirely lost, leaving only physical power. It was carelessly killed by that brat Ye Jingyu, and my sliver of residual soul also seems to have been wiped out by that powerful entity. Zhenxue, immediately mobilize the Heavenly Mandate Battle Squad and rush at full speed to that island—investigate the truth for me!” Fang Zhentian roared almost in fury.

His main body had injured its vitality battling Dugu Bacheng and Xuanyuan Jue that day, requiring a long time to recover. He never expected that during this period, continuous misfortunes would plague the Ancient Splendor Continent, forcing him to dispatch one of his avatars—this was his trump card! But now, this avatar had been slain; how could he not be enraged?

“I understand, Big Brother!” Seeing Fang Zhentian in that state, Fang Zhenxue quickly nodded.

He was the strongest expert in the Fang family besides Fang Zhentian. It was he who had single-handedly defeated Huangfu Yun back then, although Huangfu Yun was eventually rescued by the Sky Dragon he had captured years prior.

“Furthermore, you go personally and bring that rebellious son, Fang Zhuguo, back here. Deal with him according to the strictest family rules!” Fang Zhentian commanded again.

“Ah? Big Brother, I think Zhuguo is still young…”

“He dared to collude with Ye Jingyu! The deaths of Jiuyan and Jiutai are all his fault. Tell me, what use is a son like that to me?” Fang Zhentian roared.

“I understand, Big Brother. You rest here and recuperate. I will leave immediately to handle it!” Sensing Fang Zhentian’s towering rage, Fang Zhenxue quickly agreed, daring not to say another word.

“Go!” Fang Zhentian waved his hand, and Fang Zhenxue bowed respectfully before withdrawing. Only when Fang Zhenxue’s figure had completely vanished did Fang Zhentian spit out another mouthful of blood.

He possessed a total of nine avatars, each nurtured from his essence of life. The death of every avatar inflicted extremely severe trauma on his essence of life, requiring decades before full recovery was possible.

“Fortunately, you harbored no treacherous thoughts, otherwise, I would have made you pay today!” Looking in the direction Fang Zhenxue departed, Fang Zhentian murmured coldly, then slowly closed his eyes, beginning his meditation...

Meanwhile, in that cavern, Ye Jingyu had witnessed with his own eyes Fang Zhentian’s physical body being smashed to pieces, and then saw a wisp of his soul being crushed. For a moment, his mind went blank. Was he truly dead just like that? Had he really been executed by his hands? Could it have been too easy?

He was the highly elevated leader of the Sub-Alliance! Even if he were to be deposed from the leadership position after that upheaval, he was still the patriarch of the Fang family, a Venerable-level expert. Could he just die like that?

“Waaah…” A full fifteen minutes passed before Ye Jingyu finally accepted that Fang Zhentian was truly slain. Tears of blood streamed from his eyes, and his body collapsed heavily onto its knees: “Master, has your disciple finally avenged you?”

“Avenged what? That was merely an avatar; his main body is still very much alive!” Just then, that voice from before sounded again, laced with contempt in its tone...