A sharp, despairing scream abruptly rang out, filled with utter desolation, then suddenly vanished, causing almost everyone within the ancient city to change color.
What exactly had happened?
Nearly everyone rushed towards that direction. At this moment, the mist suddenly thinned out many times over, allowing clear visibility for a radius of thirty zhang.
At least a hundred young powerhouses had gathered. The location was a training ground, long since dilapidated and covered in cracks. A young powerhouse lay dead there, his clothes intact, but his eyes wide open, filled with disbelief and terrified horror.
What had he seen? It was as if he had been scared to death, causing everyone present to pale with fright.
Someone had been killed so quickly. It was terrifying.
Moreover, the death was unclear and unexplained. The unknown was the most frightening thing of all.
At this moment, almost everyone began to feel restless and panicked, looking around in all directions, fearing that some fearsome thing might suddenly appear and attack them.
Several Saints and Saintesses appeared, including Daochu, the Saint of the Daoyan Sacred Land. He was wreathed in divine radiance, like a deity descending to the mortal world, appearing extraordinary. The bright smile on his face was gone, replaced by a grave expression.
Faced with this sudden, unexpected event, even Saint-level figures like them had changed color.
What exactly was it that could make a young powerhouse seem to have been scared to death?
Ye Chen suddenly stepped forward, crouched down, and began examining the corpse.
He inspected it repeatedly and soon understood the cause, but his brow furrowed even deeper.
"Brother Ye, have you discovered anything?" Daochu asked.
"Hmph, what could a wild brat possibly discover?" someone sneered disdainfully. It was a follower of Zhao Wudao and the Canglan Saint, slandering Ye Chen.
Ye Chen glanced indifferently at that person, took a step forward, and an invisible ripple fluctuation erupted, striking out like lightning.
Zhao Wudao's face changed slightly, and he immediately stepped forward, but it was too late. The invisible ripple struck the young powerhouse who had spoken, sending him flying backward, spitting blood, and landing in the dust in a sorry state.
"What is the meaning of this?" Zhao Wudao was furious, showing a tendency to take action.
"He insulted me," Ye Chen replied impassively. "Those who disregard propriety deserve a lesson."
At this moment, Daochu also stepped forward. "Brother Ye is right. He is a King. The dignity of a King cannot be desecrated; he deserves to be taught a lesson."
"Indeed, it should be so," even the Beiming Saint stepped forward to speak for Ye Chen.
With two heirs of immortal forces speaking in succession, even Zhao Wudao had nothing to say, coldly flicking his sleeve.
Daochu then turned to Ye Chen. "Brother Ye, have you discovered anything?"
Ye Chen nodded gravely. "They weren't scared to death. Look."
He turned over the young powerhouse's corpse, revealing the back of the head. There was a bloody hole there, hidden among the hair. Because it was concealed, because the mist blocked spiritual sense, and because people were panicked and startled by the sudden event, no one had truly noticed this point until now.
Only now did everyone understand that this young powerhouse hadn't been scared to death. He had been pierced through the back of the head from behind, all his brain matter drained, and even the Primordial Spirit within his Mud Pill Palace between his brows had been extinguished, leading to his death.
Many people breathed a sigh of relief. The mystery was finally solved. But soon, their brows furrowed even deeper, for who had done this? It was so ruthless, killing a young powerhouse in an instant, seemingly without any chance for resistance.
The heirs of several immortal forces were all present, observing gravely. They discovered that the victim's wound had been pierced through by an extremely sharp instrument in a single strike, offering no chance for resistance. It was only the size of a finger, unlike a weapon such as a sword or knife.
"Ah—"
While everyone was deep in thought, another scream rang out, cutting off abruptly. Another person lay dead on their back elsewhere, with the same horrified expression, a bloody hole pierced through the back of their head, blood flowing, having died just like that.
This person was less than a hundred meters from the scene, quite close, yet no one had detected the enemy's trace.
Not long after, terrifying exclamations sounded one after another from within the ancient city district. One young powerhouse after another was killed, all with identical death states—their brains and Primordial Spirits completely annihilated, causing people to pale.
And most importantly, the other side wasn't just one person, but several, or even more, capable of striking simultaneously. For a time, it caused panic among the young powerhouses, each fearing for their own safety.
Only the outstanding heirs of the major forces and some truly top-tier young powerhouses could remain unflustered, confident in their high skills and boldness.
And most worryingly, as time passed, the mist once again enveloped the entire ancient city district. Heaven, earth, and the void were all hazy, making it difficult to see anything clearly. An eerie aura spread through the air, causing many powerhouses to panic and worry.
Boom—
Suddenly, a great battle erupted not far away. Two powerful young powerhouses soared into the sky, their bodies shining with dazzling brilliance, blood energy permeating the air. They were actually engaged in a great duel, directly wielding powerful Divine Transformation magical instruments. Dao marks shot forth and splashed, piercing through the sky.
This fluctuation attracted the attention of many, but more people shook their heads and sighed inwardly at their foolishness. To act so brazenly in this ancient city filled with mysterious unknowns would only draw the attention of the crowd and perhaps attract the notice of some terrifying, eerie things that might exist in the city. It was undoubtedly extremely disadvantageous and could lead to death.
But the two paid no heed to any of this, fighting desperately in the sky, their vast might directly affecting the earth, causing many already half-collapsed houses and dilapidated palaces to crumble completely.
"Dare to ambush me? Die!"
One of them let out a great shout, his entire body erupting with intense light, displaying a powerful divine ability. A sheet of lightning power descended from the heavens, summoned by him, and blasted his opponent into a charred, blackened corpse, dying within the ancient city, drawing much attention.
This moved many. This was a quite powerful young prodigy, having long since stepped into the ranks of the Divine Transformation Realm, at least at the second heaven or above, far surpassing many other young powerhouses. Among the three thousand young prodigies, he could likely rank among the top hundred experts.
After slaying his opponent, that young powerhouse was in high spirits, looking down with arrogance, sweeping his gaze over the numerous powerhouses. But at this moment, several Saints looked over coldly, instantly making him feel a chill throughout his body. He dared not act arrogantly and vanished into the mist.
Not long after, another scream was heard. Many people chased after it, and it was precisely that same high-spirited young top-tier powerhouse. He had fallen headlong to the ground, actually lifeless and dead, shocking many people and leaving them with a sense of disbelief.
He had clearly just displayed great might, cleaving his opponent in two. Although he himself was injured, it wasn't a fatal wound. How could he just die like that?
Someone mustered the courage to step forward and take a look, immediately changing color, his face pale and bloodless. For he was horrified to discover that a bloody hole had somehow appeared between the brows of this young talent, with blood mixed with milky-white fluid gushing out together. His expression at death was one of extreme terror, as if he had encountered something fearsome.
It was the work of the mysterious existence again. Even someone as powerful as this young prodigy couldn't avoid it.
Daochu and the other heirs of immortal forces arrived. Seeing this scene, their sword-like brows furrowed even deeper. Clearly, the other side was truly terrifying, cutting down young prodigies like grass.
Perhaps it was a lightning-fast assassination carried out when they were caught off guard, impossible to defend against. Even so, it further proved the other side's fearsomeness; they were simply perfect assassins.
"From now on, we all need to be careful."
The heirs of the major immortal forces left one after another. Ye Chen and Zhao Tianyi left together. In fact, at this point, Ye Chen truly feared nothing, for he was a True King and had Old Yan protecting his path. If there really were eerie figures capable of killing him, he would have nothing to say.
As they walked, he once again discovered Heaven and Earth Treasures and divine materials flying about, captivating the minds of the young powerhouses. Even though there might be fatal dangers within the mist, many were still willing, throwing caution to the wind and charging in.
Swish—
A nine-thousand-year-old Heaven and Earth Treasure flashed before them, then vanished into the mist. Ye Chen remained expressionless, for he sensed an aura locking onto him, ethereal and merging with the mist, making it difficult to pinpoint its true location.
But this was only for ordinary people. How powerful was Ye Chen? His five senses and six perceptions were sharpened to the utmost limit for his level, far surpassing even those who dominated the fifth heaven of the Divine Transformation Realm. In an instant, he traced it in reverse and locked onto its location.
Whoosh—
Two pitch-black shadows appeared behind them like lightning, stabbing towards the back of Ye Chen's and Zhao Tianyi's heads respectively. They were extremely fast; even Zhao Tianyi changed color, for he could hardly react.
But Ye Chen just smiled, saying softly, "You sneaky fellows, finally willing to show yourselves? I've been waiting for you for a long time."
Clang! Clang!
Ye Chen's slender, jade-like fingers flicked out twice in quick succession, with exquisite precision, steadily and accurately striking the sharp points thrust out by the two black shadows, producing metallic ringing sounds and causing the two shadows to shudder as if struck by lightning.
The next moment, the two shadows turned to leave, clearly sensing Ye Chen's fearsomeness. Having failed in their first strike, they turned to leave, waiting for the next opportunity.
"Restrain!"
With a light shout, Ye Chen activated the Void Divine Art, resonating with the Void Tree within his body, restraining the void of this area of heaven and earth, forming a seal, making movement impossible.
"Let's see exactly who you are, daring to assassinate me." Ye Chen and the other turned around. When they saw the true faces of the shadows, they were immediately shocked, especially Ye Chen, whose expression changed dramatically—
"It's actually them!"