Even with the endless Forbidden Heavenly Thunder constantly descending to block it, the Great Emperor's attack was still terrifyingly boundless.
However, Ye Chen had a plan. He couldn't match the Emperor, but could he not run away?
With the mutual assistance of the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body and the Primordial Battle Body Great Halberd, and by executing the Boundary-Traversing Secret Art, Ye Chen's current speed was incomparably faster than before. Crossing a star domain was but the blink of an eye, no less than a Primordial Times Sovereign.
Yet for a Great Emperor, traversing the starry sky was trivial; they could even cross the Chaos Sea, catching up to Ye Chen in an instant to unleash an Emperor's might attack.
Boom! Boom! Boom!—
In the apocalyptic era of the Great Mythical Destruction, as the Emperors of the Sealed Realm and the alien Emperors fiercely battled, Ye Chen was also fleeing from the pursuit of an alien Emperor, swiftly traversing the once vast and boundless Ancient Divine World, entering the starry sky, then turning back to return to the Ancient Divine World.
Without a doubt, Ye Chen intended to stall for time, to drag it out until he could return to reality.
But ideals are plump, reality is cruel.
His speed was fast, but Emperor Gu Chu's speed was far faster, always able to easily chase Ye Chen down. Often, a single strike would cause Ye Chen's Great Emperor Reincarnation Body to continuously crack, riddled with fissures, constantly bleeding.
Facing the attack of a true Great Emperor, not to mention the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body condensed from one-seventh of a Great Perfection Emperor Body, even a complete, flawless Great Perfection Emperor Body might not be able to withstand it. For the opponent possessed the most crucial Emperor Soul, having stepped into the Emperor domain, controlling the universe and heaven and earth—the fundamental source of their power.
Boom!—
Boundless Emperor's might surged out from the cover of the Forbidden Heavenly Thunder, landing on Ye Chen once more, carrying endless imperial killing intent. This time, the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body, already densely covered with countless cracks like porcelain, was on the verge of completely shattering. The Primordial Battle Body Great Halberd was even shaken from his grip.
Left with no choice, Ye Chen could only circulate that one-seventh of Emperor Origin to rapidly repair the fissure-riddled Great Emperor Reincarnation Body.
This Emperor Origin was finite; using it meant less, impossible to recover unless one day he reached the Emperor domain to repair the origin. Thus, losing even a sliver of Emperor Origin pained him immensely, let alone now, where repairing the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body directly reduced it by a small circle.
Yet he understood this was no time for heartache. If his life was gone, what use was this Great Emperor Reincarnation Body?
“Great Extinction Finger!”
Boom!—
Emperor Gu Chu's Emperor Finger pointed out again, but this time it was far more terrifying than the combined force of the two fingers that had blasted apart the five coffin bodies of the Sixfold Reincarnation Coffin. Even the Forbidden Heavenly Thunder was momentarily blasted apart.
This finger completely locked onto Ye Chen's aura. No matter where he fled, it would inevitably strike.
Ye Chen no longer chose to flee. The seemingly young seven-year-old Great Emperor Reincarnation Body let out a fierce roar, its jet-black hair exploding, unleashing an unparalleled aura at this moment. He circulated the most powerful forbidden divine ability within the Battle Saint Technique—
Battle Saint Slays Heaven! Boom!—
The Primordial Battle Body Great Halberd also resonated, erupting instantly. Emperor-level fluctuations surged forth. Using the Battle Saint lineage's forbidden divine ability, Ye Chen resonated with the Primordial Battle Body Great Halberd, elevating its power to the utmost extreme. Then, it collided with Emperor Gu Chu's Great Extinction Finger, which was sufficient to destroy all the myriad realms.
Boom! Rumble!—
Countless billions of miles of void were utterly annihilated. The Ancient Divine World experienced a terrifying great collapse, shaking an immeasurably vast region.
In this collision, the Primordial Battle Body Great Halberd completely dimmed. The Heavenly Desolation Divine Spirit groaned, suffering heavy injuries. Even the great halberd developed numerous cracks before being completely flung from his hand, about to vanish into the Mythical Era, seemingly lost forever within it.
But at this moment, Ye Chen was utterly helpless, for even he himself was in dire straits. The Great Emperor Reincarnation Body was once again covered in cracks, with countless bones and tendons fractured, nearly crushed to dust.
The Supreme Dao Body suffered a massive impact, developing fissures. Fortunately, the Chaos Saint Soul infant was protected, or it would have certainly been annihilated.
Even so, his Chaos Saint Soul infant still endured a tremendous impact, dimming many times over, becoming very weak.
From this single strike, Ye Chen's Form and Spirit suffered utterly severe injuries, nearly perishing completely.
He desperately circulated the Saint Body Regeneration Art, the Emperor Origin drastically shrinking by another small circle, only then allowing his Form and Spirit to recover.
And at this moment, his figure began to turn illusory, finally starting to detach from the Mythical Era, returning to the River of Time, returning to reality.
“Senior, please return to position swiftly!”
Ye Chen shouted, circulating the Battle Saint Technique, using the supreme Great Emperor Reincarnation Body to summon back the dimmed Primordial Battle Body Great Halberd.
At this moment, he was truly becoming illusory, returning to reality.
Seeing this, the alien Emperor Gu Chu immediately roared, his voice shaking past and present, carrying boundless, vast killing intent surging forth: “This Emperor paid a heavy price, finally managing to summon you back to this era. How could I let you leave alive? Die!”
Boom!—
Emperor Gu Chu attacked at all costs. Even though the Forbidden Heavenly Thunder in the sky instantly became many times more terrifying, as if capable of destroying everything, causing him to continuously cough up blood, shedding Emperor's Blood, he still attacked Ye Chen, who was continuously turning illusory and returning to the future.
Splat! Splat! Splat!—
Visibly, Emperor Gu Chu's immortal Emperor Body, which had only shed a few drops of Emperor's Blood from Ye Chen's previous series of attacks, now developed numerous terrifying bloody holes. Emperor's Blood continuously flowed forth, but Emperor Gu Chu, using supreme means, imbued it with the most dreadful imperial killing intent, all surging to drown and kill Ye Chen.
Ye Chen felt the most terrifying killing intent and, moreover, sensed a fatal crisis emanating from the depths of his heart.
This time, he truly had no escape. Under this strongest imperial attack, even with the Great Emperor Reincarnation Body, Ye Chen would perish.
He truly had nowhere to go.
Boom!—
Suddenly, that dimmed Primordial Battle Body Great Halberd exploded with unparalleled, supreme, and most radiant golden light, actually reviving at this critical moment. Moreover, it surpassed its previous state, reviving to its peak condition. A majestic Emperor's shadow identical to the Formless Sovereign stood tall, supporting heaven and earth, as if the number one Sovereign of past and present had returned.
“Senior!”
Ye Chen's heart trembled abruptly. He understood what the Heavenly Desolation Divine Spirit intended to do. He wanted to open his mouth to stop it, but the Heavenly Desolation Divine Spirit, with its back to Ye Chen, its form majestic, resolutely charged toward Emperor Gu Chu. Only a single voice transmitted into Ye Chen's mind: “Little fellow, you are the successor of the Battle Saint lineage, a Chaos Young Supreme, and a key figure for the Sealed Realm. You cannot die, so you must survive.”
“I have lived long enough. I am not a true living being, merely a weapon's divine spirit. Dying in battle is my only destiny.”
“It's just a pity I cannot witness the scene of my master defying the heavens and returning.”
“Farewell—”
A single farewell, accompanied by boundless light, was the Heavenly Desolation Divine Spirit's unwavering charge toward Emperor Gu Chu, burning itself to display its strongest attack, colliding with a true Great Emperor.