"How dare you harm my clan's King! You seek death!"
A cold snort exploded through this desolate mountain range, causing the myriad mountains and ravines to tremble. Countless barren peaks cracked and crumbled, a terrifying display of the boundless pressure emanating from a Demi-Saint.
In the sky, a crimson-gold divine ship sailed in. It was the divine ship of the Scarlet God Valley. Numerous Scarlet God Valley experts stood upon it, led by none other than the Seventeenth Elder—a peerless Demi-Saint.
He had finally found this place, having broken through the void array patterns Chen Ruo had laid down to block him. He appeared at this critical moment.
Majestic divine might bloomed, accompanied by faint threads of fearsome Saint might, rippling through heaven and earth. The world hummed and shook as if the void itself could be restrained.
The Scarlet Scale King was covered in blood, severely wounded. His confidence as a King had been dealt a heavy blow, for Ye Chen seemed not like an ordinary King at all, but more like an Immortal True King, invincible among his generation.
He cried out in terror, calling for help. He no longer wished to fight Ye Chen, for his opponent was far too powerful, utterly unmatched.
"You have quite the nerve, daring to secretly teleport away my clan's King right before this old man and even trying to kill him. Today, you will undoubtedly die," the Seventeenth Elder snorted coldly. But Ye Chen gave a chilling smile. "Since that's the case, then you shall pay the price first."
The Seventeenth Elder's expression changed drastically. He felt uneasy, as if foreseeing an unfavorable turn of events, and hurriedly roared, "You dare, junior!"
"Why wouldn't I dare!" Ye Chen sneered.
Boom—
He executed the Four Extremities Connecting to Sage Style. Four-colored divine light merged into one, transforming into chaotic light that shot forth. The Scarlet Scale King's entire body exploded completely, annihilated in both body and spirit, ceasing to exist.
A King had fallen!
The world fell into utter silence, especially among the Scarlet God Valley experts, who stared dumbfounded at the scene.
The Scarlet Scale King was dead. The King upon whom the Scarlet God Valley had placed great hopes for this generation was dead. He had been slain right before their eyes, utterly exploded, annihilated in both body and spirit, ceasing to exist, beyond resurrection, his death so clean and decisive.
They had witnessed it all, powerless to stop it, filling them with terror. They could already feel the severe punishment awaiting them upon their return to the Scarlet God Valley. The entire valley would surely be in an uproar; the Valley Master and those ancient recluses would be alerted and would severely punish them for their failure to protect him.
A fearsome punishment awaited them.
"Junior, you seek death! How dare you kill my clan's King!"
A terrifying roar shook heaven and earth. The Seventeenth Elder was filled with boundless rage, making the very world seem to grow colder, sending chills down one's spine.
Yet Ye Chen stood firm and unafraid, meeting his gaze with a cold sneer. "How laughable. You think only you are allowed to kill me, but I'm not allowed to kill your people? Do you truly believe your Scarlet God Valley is invincible under heaven, dominating the world?"
At the same time, the blood mist from the Scarlet Scale King's explosion coalesced, forming a fist-sized mass of blood that shimmered and floated. It was kingly blood, containing Qilin ancestral blood. Faint, blurry Order Divine Chains could be seen intertwining within the kingly blood, clattering softly.
It could be said this mass of kingly blood was even more extraordinary than Xia Shuangwang's kingly blood due to its Qilin ancestral blood content. Naturally, the Scarlet Scale King might have been slightly stronger than Xia Shuangwang, but not by much; even a sliver was already remarkable.
This mass of kingly blood hovered in his palm before he flipped his hand and stored it within his internal space, where it hung suspended alongside Xia Shuangwang's kingly blood, both emanating kingly majesty.
It could be said Ye Chen had taken another step closer to activating his Saint Body.
Simultaneously, it could be perceived that within the Scarlet Scale King's kingly blood, a king's divine crown was actually floating, integrated with the blood. Unfortunately, it was collected by Ye Chen along with the blood.
This king's divine crown shot into the space between Ye Chen's eyebrows. There, an unparalleled True King's divine crown floated, worn upon Ye Chen's Primordial Spirit, overflowing with supreme majesty.
Now, the Scarlet Scale King's crimson-gold king's divine crown disintegrated, transforming into a mass of crimson-gold divine radiance that merged into the True King's divine crown. The missing star gem was replenished by another tenth; it now possessed two-tenths.
"You little beast! You killed my clan's King and still dare to quibble! Today, I shall kill you to appease the heavenly spirit of my clan's fallen King!" The Seventeenth Elder attacked. The wrath of a Demi-Saint sent boundless divine might sweeping forth, winds and clouds churning, heaven and earth changing color, the myriad mountains and ravines shaking violently.
Ye Chen's expression changed slightly. At this moment, Chen Ruo arrived by his side from afar in a single step, Shrinking the Earth to an Inch, traversing a thousand miles in an instant. "Let's go together," she said.
"Good!" Ye Chen did not hesitate. Chen Ruo then took a step, her lotus feet shifting. With each step, she flickered, and in an instant, vast stretches of mountains and rivers flashed by in reverse.
After three steps, they had completely left that desolate mountain range, covering at least several hundred, if not a thousand, miles. It was unbelievably fast, astonishingly swift, peerless in the world.
Even Ye Chen was shocked. Could Chen Ruo truly possess such speed?
Seeing his astonishment, Chen Ruo shook her head. "Don't overthink it. I had previously set up spatial coordinate points, which is why I could teleport such a great distance in one go. Did you think I was a Saint?"
Ye Chen understood. Chen Ruo must have made ample preparations long ago, setting up corresponding spatial coordinate locations so she could teleport away from the desolate mountain range when necessary. She also understood that mere spatial barriers could hardly withstand the assault of a Demi-Saint.
Boom—
A terrifying aura was rapidly approaching from behind. The two exchanged a glance, their expressions changing slightly, and quickly performed spatial teleportation again. Each jump covered several hundred to a thousand miles. They soon crossed over ten thousand miles, but the pre-set spatial coordinates were also exhausted.
However, although ten thousand miles seemed a great distance, a Demi-Saint's speed was too fast. Even across the myriad realms, he could quickly catch up.
"Chen Ruo, can you construct a long-distance teleportation channel like last time?" Ye Chen inquired.
Chen Ruo furrowed her beautiful brows slightly and gently shook her head. "No. That process is far too cumbersome, requiring over half an hour to construct. Last time, I succeeded only because I was building upon an existing foundation. Otherwise, it would not have been possible."
Constructing a long-distance teleportation channel was exceedingly cumbersome. Even Chen Ruo could not complete it in a short time. Ye Chen sighed. They truly had to flee now.
"Let's flee toward the central region of the Black Sky Plains. The Eight Great Bandits of Black Sky are entrenched there. Even an Immortal Sacred Land would be wary of them. This Seventeenth Elder will surely have some reservations as well," Ye Chen suggested after some thought. At present, this seemed the only plan. Otherwise, across the vast expanse of the Black Sky Plains, how could they escape the great pursuit of a Demi-Saint?
"Good, let's head for the central region of the Black Sky Plains." Chen Ruo agreed. And so, the two of them sped toward the depths of the Black Sky Plains.