Although it was phrased as a question of doubt, it was essentially a confirmation, because that kind of gaze was all too familiar to him—he had seen it on Hei Ya before.
Hei Ya let out a sinister, cackling laugh. "Battle Saint King, you're quite clever. You guessed correctly. I am Hei Ya."
Everyone was shocked. They had all heard that Hei Ya had been slain by the Battle Saint King, his divine soul annihilated, and his puppet body refined a second time into a brand new puppet form.
But now, the reality was clearly different from what they had imagined.
"So you're not dead after all. I miscalculated."
Ye Chen wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Cackle cackle—Battle Saint King, I really must thank you. Not only did you fail to kill me, you even actively helped me condense my divine soul. Although it's not as strong as my former Quasi-Monarch soul, it has instead granted me a heaven-sent opportunity."
As Hei Ya spoke, he waved his hand. Both the puppet body of the withered old man and the six Giant Divine Soldiers flew to his side.
Ye Chen's expression changed slightly. He hurriedly tried to exert mental control, but his heart quickly sank. He felt his connection to the Giant Divine Soldiers being forcibly severed and interfered with.
All of this could only be attributed to the Corpse Immortal Clan's puppet techniques.
Clearly, the Corpse Immortal Clan's puppet arts possessed methods unknown to him.
Xu Que and the other Quasi-Monarchs on the alliance army's side looked overjoyed, offering congratulations one after another. "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Hei Ya."
The human side, however, looked extremely grim.
Originally, the humans had relied on Ye Chen's Quasi-Monarch puppets to barely maintain a balance in the battle against the grand alliance. Now, unfortunately, all the Quasi-Monarch puppets had been taken by Hei Ya, who hadn't been completely dead, becoming a gift for him instead.
The human side's situation had become even more perilous.
"Battle Saint King, to thank you, today I'll let you personally experience the might of the Six Paths Battle Formation. Go!"
Utilizing a backdoor left by the Corpse Immortal Clan's puppet arts, Hei Ya controlled the six Giant Divine Soldiers to form the Six Paths Battle Formation and charge at Ye Chen.
In an instant, Ye Chen found himself in absolute crisis.
His heart heavy, Ye Chen was about to use his three bodies to block the attack.
"Don't you dare harm my husband!"
A clear, cold shout rang out. A graceful figure in green robes shot through the air, arriving like a celestial being descended from the Ninth Heaven, her beauty peerless.
It was none other than Yu Qing, who had actually appeared, placing herself squarely in front of Ye Chen.
Whoosh—
Azure light erupted, like a sword immortal striking out, her spiritual power unparalleled, carrying with it strands of Monarch Rule power as it clashed against the Six Paths Battle Formation.
That was Yu Qing wielding the Autumn Water Divine Sword!
Quasi-Monarch? Ye Chen was startled.
Boom—
Under the terrifying collision, Yu Qing's Quasi-Monarch-level sword strike was easily shattered by the Six Paths Battle Formation.
However, it provided a slight delay. Seizing this opportunity, the husband-and-wife pair, Ye Chen and Yu Qing, swiftly dodged sideways, avoiding the thunderous, devastating blow of the Six Paths Battle Formation.
"Another Quasi-Monarch? But what a pity, merely an early-stage Quasi-Monarch. Not worth worrying about."
Xu Que sneered.
In a battle of this level, ordinary Quasi-Monarchs simply couldn't intervene. Only Great Perfection-level Quasi-Monarchs could participate; otherwise, even a late-stage Quasi-Monarch would be suppressed and killed.
Ye Chen had no time to be surprised that Yu Qing had broken through to Quasi-Monarch in just a few short days. With her newly-advanced Quasi-Monarch cultivation, she wouldn't be able to help in this fight anyway. He said gravely, "Qingqing, you need to leave, quickly. I'll handle things here for now."
Yu Qing's jade-like hand tightly grasped his palm, their fingers interlocking firmly. Her resolve was unwavering. "You and I are husband and wife. If we fight, we fight together."
Ye Chen felt moved, letting out a soft sigh.
A fragrant breeze brushed his face as Yu Qing gently tucked away a stray lock of hair, her radiant smile captivating. "Besides, it's not like we don't have other means to counter them."
"Other means?"
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!—
Right at that moment, several supremely powerful figures descended from the sky, like ancient emperors arriving in the mortal world, appearing before Ye Chen and Yu Qing with thunderous momentum.
Imperial Wushuang, Imperial Wuming, Shen Rong, Ye Cangqiong, Nanhuang Imperial Maiden, Angel Imperial Maiden, Xiao Family Imperial Son, Xia Family Imperial Son, and the other Ten Imperial Sons and Daughters of the human side had appeared. Each one erupted with supremely powerful, peerless auras.
At the very least, they were all super Divine Kings who had surpassed the seventh tribulation.
A few individuals had even reached the eighth tribulation.
They were clearly a group of peerless Divine Kings.
Ye Chen was somewhat astonished. In such a short time, these Imperial Sons and Daughters had actually reached such a level, successively becoming super Divine Kings.
However, considering they were all Imperial Sons and Daughters, with Emperor-level tempering methods specially left behind by their supreme Great Emperor fathers—methods no less formidable than the Heaven-Defying Immortal Pool Ye Chen had obtained, perhaps even more extraordinary—he understood.
Yet he also frowned. Faced with a Six Paths Battle Formation comparable to a Great Perfection Quasi-Monarch, not even if Imperial Wushuang and the others came, even if ten peak Divine Kings arrived, they would be unable to resist.
Their arrival now could only be considered suicide.
Yu Qing tightened her grip on his broad palm and said softly, "Trust them. Although they are not as powerful as you, they are, after all, Imperial Sons and Daughters. How could they not have some means at their disposal?"
At the same time, Imperial Wushuang, who stood at the forefront, spoke up. "Everyone, form the formation!"
"Agreed!"
The Ten Imperial Sons and Daughters immediately formed a formation, encircling each other in a circle. Astonishingly, each of them had ten layers of heavenly halos manifesting around them, which then resonated with one another.
Finally, a massive circular magic array appeared. Each person was surrounded by a layer of divine light rings, radiating brilliant light.
Simultaneously, the divine light rings of each Imperial Son and Daughter connected, transforming into an even larger divine light ring.
At first glance, it resembled Ye Chen's Tenfold Heavenly Divine Halo, but an enlarged version, with an Imperial Son or Daughter standing within each divine light ring.
Boom—
In the blink of an eye, the Ten Imperial Sons and Daughters formed a peerless grand formation, called the Ten Heavens Grand Formation, flawless and perfect. Instantly, the formation erupted with waves of overwhelming, majestic aura, soaring powerfully into the heavens.
At this moment, its power was already no less than that of a Quasi-Monarch.
But it was only comparable to an early-stage Quasi-Monarch like Yu Qing.
Faced with the Great Perfection Quasi-Monarch-level Six Paths Battle Formation, it still seemed utterly insignificant.
The five major levels of Quasi-Monarch—early-stage, mid-stage, late-stage, Great Perfection, and Heaven-Defying—each had a significant gap between them.
"Hahaha, Battle Saint King, is this the strength of your human race? Although the formation formed by your human race's Ten Imperial Sons and Daughters can rival a Quasi-Monarch, you should understand the terrifying power of the Six Paths Battle Formation you yourself created. It's enough to crush and shatter this so-called Ten Heavens Battle Formation formed by these human Imperial Sons and Daughters. But that's fine. Since the human race's Imperial Sons and Daughters wish to throw their lives away, I'll send them on their way today." Hei Ya laughed heartily.
Gritting his teeth fiercely, Ye Chen stepped forward. "Everyone, you should retreat first. I'll hold them off here for now."
At this moment, he also regretted it. Why had he created the Six Paths Battle Formation? If not for that, relying on the six Giant Divine Soldiers, not to mention any single opponent, even if everyone attacked together, with his own power, the Chaos Supreme Body, and the Chaos Divine King Spirit—three late-stage Quasi-Monarch-level supreme forces—he could have easily swept them all aside.
But the terror of the Six Paths Battle Formation lay precisely in this: it not only allowed the power of the six Giant Divine Soldiers to stack upon each other, but also maximized their enhancement, reaching a staggering level.
Imperial Wuming smiled gently, his smile like a spring breeze. "Brother Ye, you needn't worry. Since we dared to come, we have some confidence."
He looked at the other Imperial Sons and Daughters. "Everyone, let's hold nothing back anymore. Attack with full force."
"Agreed!"
The other Imperial Sons and Daughters responded in unison. With a deafening boom, the might of the Ten Heavens Battle Formation actually began to rise steadily, finally reaching a whole new height—one that was actually not inferior to the Six Paths Battle Formation.