The two Kings chased and fled, each possessing incredibly swift movement techniques. In just a short moment, they had traversed a distance of tens of thousands of miles.
Xia Shuangwang had been in relentless pursuit, always following closely behind Ye Chen, constantly taunting him with insulting words about being a coward who dared not face him.
But Ye Chen paid no heed, continuing to charge toward the deepest part of the King's Ancient Path.
Finally, a broad river, wide enough to span ten li, lay before them. Its waves rolled like thunder, surging up to the Nine Heavens, deafeningly loud, as if countless lions and tigers were roaring in unison, shaking the very soul.
That was the Soul-Snatching River, home to countless fearsome river demons. It was a perilous checkpoint on the King's Ancient Path, located at its very end.
On the Soul-Snatching River, waves crashed and rolled, washing away the sand. Layer upon layer of waves, tens to hundreds of zhang high, pounded down as if trying to beat down the heavens themselves.
Standing upon the river was a slender figure, his robes fluttering in the wind. It was Ye Chen. He had stopped fleeing and turned to face the approaching Xia Shuangwang.
Boom—
The void trembled as Xia Shuangwang arrived like lightning, his entire body radiating an overwhelming divine might that made the very void quiver.
Clad in white-gold divine armor, his stature was tall and imposing, with thick black hair. He was a rather heroic and spirited Young King. Now, striding forward with a white-gold divine sword in hand, he looked at Ye Chen on the river surface with a mocking smile. "Why have you stopped running?"
Ye Chen did not answer but instead asked, "Do you know the name of this river?"
Xia Shuangwang replied indifferently, "I do not, nor do I intend to know. But the river's water is yellowish, much like a river of the Yellow Springs. It makes for a fitting Yellow Springs road to send you on your way."
Boom—
A King's divine might erupted overwhelmingly, sweeping forth. Xia Shuangwang swung his white-gold divine sword, unleashing a brilliant, soaring sword radiance thousands of zhang long, like a dazzling river cutting across the sky, slashing toward Ye Chen on the river surface.
Swish—
Ye Chen's figure shifted sideways like lightning. The thousand-zhang sword river could not truly strike him, instead exploding on the river surface into towering waves. Many of the strangely shaped river demons lurking within the river were instantly slain, their blood dyeing the river surface crimson.
Xia Shuangwang soared across, but the moment he approached, he was subjected to immense suppressive force. He could not fully soar through the air and was forced to descend.
At this moment, Ye Chen stepped forward with the Reverse Void Eight Steps. The Heavenly God Spear appeared. Man and spear became one, flashing across the sky to kill with lightning speed.
"This river is called the Soul-Snatching River. It can snatch all souls, including yours."
Boom—
The entire surface of the Soul-Snatching River was blasted apart. The two Young Kings clashed here, continuously exchanging blows and colliding. Every move involved the collision of supreme divine techniques. Even the ten-li-wide Soul-Snatching River could not withstand such King-level combat power and was blasted open.
The two Young Kings fought from the river surface down into the river itself. Divine sword and black spear clashed. Countless river demons within the river were annihilated by the aftershocks of the battle.
"God-Slaying Thirteen Styles!"
Xia Shuangwang roared. The white-gold divine sword in his hand shone brilliantly, like a sun or star. He unleashed a terrifying ancient divine technique from the alien realm.
The God-Slaying Thirteen Styles was a supreme divine technique created by an ancient Heavenly King Invincible from the alien realm in antiquity. Its intent was to slay the heavens, its meaning profound, its power peerless. It had thirteen styles, hence it was also called the God-Slaying Thirteen Styles.
In ancient times, countless super-powerful experts from the myriad realms had fallen to this move.
A terrifying aura spread out, blasting open the entire Soul-Snatching River, revealing a vacuum zone.
"First Style, Slay God!"
Xia Shuangwang roared. The white-gold divine sword shone as brightly as a heavenly sun, incredibly dazzling. Sword light like sharp rays pierced through all obstacles, charging toward Ye Chen.
Even Ye Chen felt a sense of danger. Every Heavenly King Invincible was extraordinary in the world. They had transcended Samsara, so the life-taking great techniques they created were naturally extraordinary.
At the very least, Ye Chen could fully sense the true terror of this God-Slaying Thirteen Styles.
Just the first style, Slay God, gave him a palpitation-inducing feeling.
Naturally, Ye Chen was not afraid. In his previous life, he was well-versed in many supreme divine techniques and killing moves.
He used the Heavenly God Spear to execute the killing form of the Spirit Rhinoceros Sword Finger. Pointing out the Spirit Rhinoceros Sword Fluctuation with a finger was just one method. As long as one mastered its essence, it could be executed in any form.
Just like Ye Chen now. The Heavenly God Spear pointed out, and an invisible circle of destruction spread from the spear tip as its center, generating ripples of fluctuation that annihilated the void and shattered everything.
Spirit Rhinoceros Sword Fluctuation versus Slay God Style!
The two great life-taking techniques collided. If this were in the outside world, it would surely cause an uproar. Here, destructive light and invisible destructive force collided, silently annihilating into an extremely deep, dark black hole. The void could not withstand it and shattered.
A clash of titans!
In the end, the two Kings fought together once more, continuously unleashing various divine techniques. Divine light clashed massively. The Soul-Snatching River was repeatedly blasted open with terrifying waves that surged skyward, making the void tremble.
Xia Shuangwang successively executed the life-taking great techniques of the God-Slaying Thirteen Styles. Each style was terrifyingly peerless, capable of slaying peak experts of the same level. Especially Xia Shuangwang, who, at such a young age, had unleashed the first four styles, annihilating the void as they came, incomparable.
Ye Chen also faced terrifying pressure. The God-Slaying Thirteen Styles were so extraordinary that even he had to treat them seriously. But he had never feared any opponent of the same level, whether in the past, present, or future. It was always the same.
He also unleashed the supreme divine techniques he knew from his previous life, clashing with the first four styles of the God-Slaying Thirteen Styles.
In the blink of an eye, over a thousand exchanges had passed between the two. They fought their way out from the depths of the Soul-Snatching River and resumed their duel on the river surface.
The terrifying combat fluctuations swept across, actually affecting the mountains on both banks of the Soul-Snatching River. Countless peaks were directly shattered, collapsing to the ground with a rumble, stirring up clouds of dust.
But what infuriated Xia Shuangwang was that after such a long battle, he still could not overpower his opponent. This made him somewhat angry.
Who was he? A leading figure among the younger generation of the alien realm, a King of his generation, with peerless combat power, unmatched by any.
He was a peerless genius entrusted with great hopes of one day walking the path of the Human Sovereign and contending with the supreme experts of past generations. Yet he was evenly matched with a King who emerged from a prison-like world, making him feel stifled.
"Ah, I will end this battle!" Xia Shuangwang's black hair flew wildly, his rage making his hair stand on end.
"Correct, the battle is about to end."
Ye Chen responded, his voice cold. At this moment, layer upon layer of divine halos actually began to rise from his body—nine layers in total.
"This is..." Xia Shuangwang's eyes widened. In a daze, he seemed to see that Immortal True King, invincible in the mortal world, descending.
The Yuan Yao Divine King!?