"Cough—"
Ye Chen coughed up blood incessantly, large mouthfuls of golden blood staining the corners of his lips. His injuries were severe, and the light of his Primordial Spirit flickered like a dying flame, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.
"Since you're about to die, don't cling to life. Stand still and be killed, and you won't suffer so much," an imperial guard captain sneered coldly. At this moment, he took the initiative to charge forward, not even using his Heavenly God Dao Weapon. Instead, he thrust a sinister Soul-Nailing Needle toward the space between Ye Chen's eyebrows.
The Soul-Nailing Needle was an evil artifact specifically designed to target the Primordial Spirit, meant to nail his spirit and soul in the void, causing them to dissipate after enduring endless agony.
It could be said this was an extremely vicious artifact.
"Are you this malicious?" Ye Chen's expression turned cold. Then, seeing the man's face, he understood: "I see. You're related to Yang Shaoqi, aren't you?"
This captain bore some resemblance to Yang Shaoqi.
"Correct. Shaoqi is my nephew. He should have ascended to the position of Crown Prince and, one day, become the ruler of the nation. But your methods were too ruthless. You not only severed both his arms but also crippled four levels of his cultivation. Today, I shall avenge Shaoqi!" This uncle of Yang Shaoqi roared, thrusting the needle directly.
"Though I am weak, I am not someone you can kill so casually." Despite his frailty, Ye Chen's gaze suddenly blazed many times brighter, so piercing it forced others to avert their eyes.
Yang Shaoqi's uncle felt a surge of bone-chilling terror, his hair standing on end.
But it was too late. A terrifying Dao might surged from Ye Chen's body, and his palm and fingers intertwined with an immortal blood-red radiance, blasting out directly. The man was sent flying, over half the bones in his body shattered.
Then, enveloped in soaring brilliance, Ye Chen transformed into a streak of light in an instant, blasting through.
*Pfft—*
Yang Shaoqi's uncle was instantly pulverized into dust. Even the Stone Sword Prince was too late to intervene, forced to watch helplessly as it happened—it was too fast to react.
A super Martial God had been slain in a single blow.
With just that one strike, Ye Chen seemed to have exhausted all his strength. The light of his Primordial Spirit between his brows completely dimmed, his aura plummeting rapidly back to its original state, or even worse—extremely feeble.
The onlookers understood: Ye Chen had merely forced all his power to erupt in an instant, allowing him to display astonishing, even greater power than the Battle God Seal.
But it was only for one strike. After that one strike, his power completely plummeted, and he had to pay the corresponding price—his blood energy severely depleted, the light of his Primordial Spirit dimmed to the point of near-extinction.
"Now's the time—kill him!"
A group of Martial Gods charged forward to attack. Various divine arts and Martial God lights danced, shaking the void. Even a super Martial God would be instantly annihilated, reduced to nothingness if struck by so many attacks.
Even a peak Martial God would avoid their onslaught.
But at this moment, a super Martial God had a bad premonition. He saw Ye Chen's brow erupting with vast radiant light and shouted, "Don't go up!"
Alas, it was too late. Though Ye Chen's strength had dropped significantly, he was no ordinary figure. He had long been secretly accumulating a peerless killing move—the Void Divine Art. He had concealed it within his brow while in the Battle God Seal state, ready to unleash, deceiving everyone.
Just as the ten Martial Gods and two super Martial Gods charged close, he released it.
Powerful spatial force instantly swept through the area, engulfing all the charging experts.
"Spatial Banishment!"
That patch of void collapsed, forming a dark spatial channel leading to an unknown place. It directly banished the ten Martial God experts and the two imperial guard captains into it, horrifying everyone.
"You dare, junior!"
The Stone Sword Prince roared, brandishing his stone sword, trying to tear the void and rescue the ten Martial Gods. But at this moment, Ye Chen's Heavenly God Spear awakened, radiating Heavenly God Dao might to block it.
The Martial Gods and other experts outside joined forces, attacking from within and without. Their divine energy struck the heavens, capable of tearing the sky, nearly causing the mysterious spatial channel to collapse.
But at the critical moment, Ye Chen opened his mouth and spat out a stream of iceflame—comprehended from the Iceflame Heavenly King's power. Every wisp, every strand could freeze endlessly, actually causing the void to solidify.
"What kind of flame is this?" the experts exclaimed in shock.
"The flame that restrains you!" Ye Chen sneered coldly, releasing a stream of iceflame that stabilized the nearly collapsing spatial channel.
Moreover, he forcefully swung the Heavenly God Spear, Heavenly God Dao might emanating, causing the experts within the channel to shudder, their blood energy briefly unstable, their mana not manifesting, unable to act immediately.
Though it was only for two or three breaths before they could recover, it was enough. Ye Chen forcibly endured the immense weakness from exiting the Battle God Seal state and withstood a blow from the Stone Sword Prince that erupted a large spray of blood from his back. With the Heavenly God Spear, he struck out once, sending them all completely into the spatial channel.
"No—!"
The experts roared, but it was futile. In a flash of light, the two super Martial Gods and ten Martial Gods were banished, disappearing into the other end of the spatial channel, completely cut off from the world.
This scene truly stunned many. The Tianqi Empire had truly run into the worst luck, losing four super Martial Gods and ten Martial Gods in one go. The losses from pursuing Ye Chen were heavy.
But after this strike, Ye Chen's aura sank to its lowest point in history, utterly feeble, covered in blood, only emitting a faint light. Even the Heavenly God Spear dimmed, lying quietly before him.
Yet at this moment, the remaining experts were wary, not daring to act, because just moments ago, Ye Chen had feigned weakness and instantly dealt with so many experts.
Looking at this weakened young great demon king, everyone felt a chill run down their spines, shivering uncontrollably.
Too terrifying. This youth could not be judged by common sense.
Including the Stone Sword Prince, this peak Martial God, all felt a sense of wariness, momentarily not daring to attack.
"Cough—"
Ye Chen coughed up large mouthfuls of blood, his gaze somewhat dim. He merely glanced at the opposing experts, then, as if no one else was present, sat down cross-legged, took out a few refined pills, swallowed them, and began healing his injuries.
Soon, the wounds on Ye Chen's body surface rapidly healed. But the wound inflicted by the stone sword was difficult to close, with faint strands of Heavenly God might suppressing its recovery, blood flowing like a stream.
Seeing this, the imperial guard captain and the few remaining Martial Gods dared not act rashly. The Stone Sword Prince, his expression gloomy, still charged forward to attack. He refused to believe Ye Chen still had the power to turn the tables.
*Pfft—*
A spray of blood appeared. Indeed, Ye Chen was slashed by the stone sword, a wound deep enough to see bone, blood spurting. If he hadn't sensed the danger immediately and shifted sideways, his situation would have been even more dire.
"Truly at the end of the road," the Stone Sword Prince snorted coldly. He saw Ye Chen's current state and couldn't help but sneer. The other party was truly very weak, with little strength left to fight back. The earlier spatial banishment was merely a prepared divine art, accumulated and ready, but only once—impossible to repeat.
After barely dodging the attack, Ye Chen was injured further, stained with even more blood, even his hair soaked with it.
Moreover, his body seemed on the verge of splitting, with tiny cracks covering every inch, golden blood seeping out, horrifying to behold.
Everyone could see Ye Chen was truly very weak, but they also wondered if he was still deceiving them, holding something in reserve.
But the Stone Sword Prince didn't think so. He strode forward. The last remaining imperial guard captain exclaimed, "My lord, please be careful. This youth is strange."
"No matter. I believe this junior has truly reached the end of his rope. Even if he has those methods, they likely cannot harm me." The Stone Sword Prince spoke with full confidence. He had enough courage because he was a peak Martial God.
He attacked directly, striking three times in succession, nearly cleaving Ye Chen apart. Large amounts of blood sprayed out; he was almost dismembered into several pieces, his internal organs visible.
This scene made the spectators sigh inwardly—Ye Chen ultimately could not defy the heavens.
Severely wounded, Ye Chen took out the alliance leader's token and shouted, "The alliance leader's token is here! Stop immediately, or it will be tantamount to offending the majesty of a Divine Spirit!"
But the Stone Sword Prince showed no shock, sneering contemptuously: "Junior Ye Chen, don't you understand even now? Not to mention the alliance leader's token, even if a Supreme Divine Spirit appeared, it couldn't save you. You've reached the end of the road. Just accept your death."
"Are you offending the majesty of the alliance leader's token?" Ye Chen demanded.
"It's not offending. But junior, you've harmed too many people. You're not worthy of possessing such a token. I believe even the Divine Spirit who bestowed it upon you would not stand up for you if they saw this."
Ye Chen gritted his teeth and threw a punch at the vital point of the Stone Sword Prince's left chest. But the Stone Sword Prince allowed the attack to land. His battle armor manifested automatically, blocking the blow with only a light sound. He sneered, "How much strength do you have left now? Even if I stood here, you might not be able to harm this prince."
"Is that so?"
Though blood stained his lips, Ye Chen suddenly smiled at this moment, a brilliantly bright smile despite his pale, bloodless face. It gave the Stone Sword Prince a sudden bad premonition. He swiftly swung the stone sword, but his body shuddered, and a spray of blood flew from his back.
The Stone Sword Prince froze completely. He saw a massive amount of blood spraying from his chest, front and back, drenching the youth before him from head to toe. An Order Divine Chain, as if forged from crimson gold, pierced through, with Dao talismans flickering upon it. His battle armor had failed to block it in the slightest.