In the distant sky, Ye Chen sat atop the Demonic Flood Dragon, unable to suppress a cough that brought forth a mouthful of blood, shimmering with golden light.
This time, he had been forced to utilize the Order Divine Chains within his blood to barely escape. Otherwise, when those pursuers arrived, he would have found it difficult to get away.
He never expected that killing a Fifth Prince would provoke so many Tianqi Empire powerhouses to come after him. This was beyond his anticipation.
However, what was likely more important was the Great Dao Blood on his person.
Now, he needed to flee the territory of the Tianqi Empire as quickly as possible; otherwise, even more powerhouses would come hunting him.
Dealing with a Super Martial God had already cost him so much effort. If a Peak Martial God came, unless his Human Yuan Golden Body reached Great Perfection, he would have the strength to fight. If a Heavenly God were to take action, he wouldn't even need to fight—he truly had no choice but to flee or ask Old Yan for help. However, asking Old Yan to intervene would inevitably bring about many troubles. Unless absolutely necessary, he was unwilling to let Old Yan take action.
Once Ye Chen finished healing his injuries, he left, fleeing the Tianqi Empire's territory at his fastest speed.
But not long after, Ye Chen encountered another interception—a different group of Martial God powerhouses. A fierce battle erupted, with a Super Martial God Imperial Guard Commander leading the formation, assisted by six other Martial Gods.
This battle was still intense. Moreover, Ye Chen was unwilling to prolong the fight. He knew these Martial Gods were already aware of his strength. The best method for them would be to call for more powerhouses to support them and jointly encircle and kill him.
It was hard to imagine that a superpower like the Tianqi Empire would resort to such methods against a member of the younger generation. Yet, it was a helpless and lamentable fact because Ye Chen was too strong. Even those Supreme Divine Spirits standing atop the clouds held him in high regard.
After a bloody battle, Ye Chen ultimately resorted to his True Blood techniques. With divine fists striking out, employing terrifying divine abilities like the Great Dao Treasure Vessel Seal and Sun Seal, he broke through the blockade at the fastest speed and soared into the sky, successfully escaping.
However, this battle didn't result in him killing a single Martial God from the opposing side. His primary goal was escape, conserving as much energy as possible because he had a premonition that the days to come would not be easy; there might be continuous, unending battles.
The territory of the Tianqi Empire was vast, spanning hundreds of millions of miles in radius, far exceeding that of ordinary kingdoms and great nations. A single empire could rival the combined landmass of dozens of kingdoms, exceptionally expansive.
This was the territory of a superpower, immeasurable.
Ye Chen spent three days without truly leaving this enormous territory, mainly because he cautiously avoided the Tianqi Empire's pursuers, not daring to travel at his maximum speed.
To avoid being too conspicuous, he even shrunk the Demonic Flood Dragon to the size of a small snake, hiding it within his sleeve.
Yet, even so, the Tianqi Empire's reach exceeded his expectations. They still managed to find him, with teams composed of Martial God powerhouses continuously intercepting him.
Forced into a corner, Ye Chen engaged in continuous battles, unleashing his full strength. He pushed through eighty thousand miles of territory, fighting a total of seventeen major battles. Each battle involved at least one Super Martial God Imperial Guard Commander, and sometimes two teams of Martial God Guards would meet and join forces, engaging Ye Chen in a war of attrition.
Those Super Martial God-level Imperial Guard Commanders seemed to know that Ye Chen could only fight effectively at close range, with long-range attacks being his weakness. They all attacked from a distance with their most powerful divine arts, each time inflicting serious injuries on Ye Chen.
But Ye Chen always managed to escape, never truly being pushed to the brink of death or severe injury. He was like an unkillable cockroach, fleeing everywhere.
Because of this, the Tianqi Empire dispatched even more powerhouses to hunt him down, launching a massive manhunt across the entire empire's territory, sealing off the borders, and trapping Ye Chen, preventing his escape.
Even Peak Martial Gods had begun to take action.
Although the empire repeatedly tried to suppress the news, word eventually leaked out, becoming known to the people of the Tian Du Continent. This caused an immense uproar and had a huge impact.
The final battle took place in a thousand-mile stretch of desolate mountain range. While Ye Chen was healing his injuries, he was found. Over twenty Martial Gods surrounded him, with three Super Martial Gods assisting, all sworn to kill Ye Chen and seize his Great Dao Blood.
This battle truly wounded Ye Chen. He coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, and even the Demonic Flood Dragon was nearly severed into several sections, a pitiful sight. Blood dyed both man and beast red, leaving them severely injured and on the verge of death.
Just as the Tianqi Empire's pursuing powerhouses thought victory was within their grasp, Ye Chen flew into a rage and ultimately chose to undergo Extreme Sublimation. He unleashed the Battle God Seal, pushing all his abilities to their absolute limits. Dao techniques surged forth, his True Blood staining over half of his blood. He attacked regardless of cost, even employing some forbidden, peerless-level techniques.
The result of this battle thoroughly shocked the Tianqi Empire and shook the entire world.
Because in that battle, the Tianqi Empire's three Super Martial Gods and twenty-one Martial Gods were all slaughtered, not a single one left alive. Half of that mountain range was utterly devastated, and the remaining half was dyed red with blood, leaving behind stains and scattered limbs and broken bodies at the scene.
At that time, some powerhouses witnessed the battle from afar. They saw an unforgettable scene: during the fight, Ye Chen tore a Super Martial God in half with his bare hands, bathing in blood like a frenzied god or demon, utterly invincible, leaving them with the most profound impression.
This battle also caused significant losses for the Tianqi Empire.
It was too brutal. So many Martial God powerhouses were killed, including three Super Martial Gods. Even for a superpower like the Tianqi Empire, this was quite painful. Although they had more Martial God-level powerhouses compared to forces like the 108 Kingdoms, they weren't like tofu sold on the street—you couldn't just have as many as you wanted.
Super Martial Gods were especially precious powerhouses.
The world was in an uproar. It was hard to imagine that Ye Chen, as a member of the younger generation, had grown so powerful. Killing Martial Gods was one thing, but now he could even kill Super Martial Gods. The world's evaluation of this youth rose another level. Some older-generation powerhouses even claimed that with such strength, he was almost, if not, the number one among the younger generation.
Even the Ancient Talents from antiquity fell short in comparison.
Afterwards, Ye Chen also paid an unimaginable price. His body was cracked, his Primordial Spirit dimmed. Injured, he fled far beyond the Tian Domain, employing the world's ultimate speed to escape. Not long after, a Peak Martial God appeared, wanting to pursue, but could do nothing because Ye Chen had vanished without a trace, impossible to track.
This battle also shook the entire Tian Du Continent. The battle achievements were too glorious: over twenty Martial Gods, including three Super Martial Gods. Such a record was almost, if not, unprecedented among the younger generation throughout history.
Ye Chen's name once again shook the Tian Du Continent, causing an immense uproar.
However, everyone shook their heads and sighed. Because by doing this, he had thoroughly offended the Tianqi Empire. Even if Ye Chen won, it was a pyrrhic victory paid for with a heavy price. The days to come would be miserable.
But to achieve such glorious battle achievements, even though he might likely be killed afterwards, it made countless members of the younger generation look up to him with admiration. Even if he died, he would have no regrets.
Every member of the younger generation was young, arrogant, and burning with passion. Such dazzling brilliance, even if it might be like a meteor in the sky—shining with a moment of dazzling radiance before quickly dimming—who would be willing to resign themselves to mediocrity, fading into the crowd? They would rather be like Ye Chen, briefly illuminating the world with their brilliance, than fade into obscurity among the masses.
However, some of Ye Chen's former enemies were now quite pleased. The current Ye Chen, being so audacious, had basically declared full-scale war on the Tianqi Empire, that colossal empire overlooking the entire Tian Du Continent. The result could only be death.
They very much wanted to see Ye Chen die, his Dao extinguished. That would be a very satisfying thing for them.
After this, the Tianqi Empire no longer concealed its actions. They launched a comprehensive search for Ye Chen's traces, with the most powerful Martial God Guards dispatched, and even Peak Martial Gods taking to the field.
The imperial family even wanted to request that ancestor to perform divination, but unfortunately, the ancestor refused.
Not long after, Ye Chen's traces appeared in the southern region of the Tianqi Empire. That area was an endless expanse of desolate ancient forests, dotted with lakes across the southern lands, beautiful like scattered pearls.
The Tianqi Empire's pursuing forces engaged Ye Chen in battle. Two Super Martial Gods took action, leading over ten Martial Gods into the fight.
Initially, they thought Ye Chen might kill these Martial God powerhouses, as he had already killed three Super Martial Gods before. Killing those two Super Martial Gods and ten Martial Gods would be a matter of course.
But the results showed that Ye Chen had truly suffered extremely severe injuries and was fundamentally incapable of fighting.
In that battle, only a single Martial God perished in the end. However, Ye Chen's injuries worsened. During the fight, he continuously coughed up blood and even had two clear-through bloody holes blasted through his body, shedding large amounts of golden blood before fleeing far away.
Afterwards, everyone pursued him and sent messages to other powerhouses to come, all for the purpose of surrounding and killing Ye Chen, ensuring his complete demise.
This made many people in the world sigh helplessly. Was Ye Chen, that young great demon king who dominated the Trial Path, truly going to be like a meteor under the night sky—shining with the most dazzling radiance, streaking across the heavens, only to completely fall and dim afterwards?
Countless people were watching. Subsequently, within the Tianqi Empire, powerful fluctuations at the Heavenly God realm appeared and then vanished. The world was astonished; a Heavenly God powerhouse had personally set out.
After this battle, no matter what, Ye Chen was undoubtedly doomed to die, because with a Heavenly God taking action, no Martial God, no matter how powerful, could stand against them.
On a lake in the southern region, Ye Chen was sitting cross-legged in the void. A black hole appeared above his head, frantically devouring the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to continuously heal his injuries.
But his injuries were truly severe. Golden blood had completely dyed his clothes gold. While healing, the corners of his mouth continuously coughed up golden bloodstains. His face was as pale as gold paper, and his aura was extremely weak.
Now, he couldn't even match an ordinary Martial God. His injuries were too heavy. Probably even a Xiantian cultivator coming could threaten Ye Chen's life.
In the distance, powerful auras appeared one after another. Over thirty Martial God powerhouses stood there, along with five Super Martial Gods.
"Ye Chen, you've finally come to this day. Today is your death day. Today, I'll send you off on your final journey."
An Imperial Guard Commander, leading three Martial Gods, actively appeared before Ye Chen. This was the same Imperial Guard Commander who had first intercepted Ye Chen, named Li An. He slapped his palm toward Ye Chen's glabella, wanting to completely scatter his Primordial Spirit.
But at that moment, his entire body shuddered because that hand exploded into pieces, and a fist as bright as fresh blood pierced through his chest from front to back.