The red-haired man’s strength was too terrifying. Once Ye Xingchen was locked on, there was only one outcome—death.
He couldn’t withstand it, couldn’t dodge it.
However, just when the situation seemed critical, Xiao Zuiji suddenly blocked in front of him, activating all his energy and power to construct a defensive line for him.
In fact, the two were closest in distance, stemming from the tacit understanding cultivated through years of training together.
Attack and defense.
Complementing each other, passionately coordinated.
When Xiao Zuiji stood before him, the intense crisis Ye Xingchen felt dissipated. This meant he’d broken through the death trap, but it also meant…
The blazing fire power—no one could resist it!
“BOOM—”
Time didn’t allow Ye Xingchen to think further, because Heroic Soul Xiang Yu punched him flying. While escaping from the danger zone of suppression, he witnessed the moment Xiao Zuiji was consumed by flames!
This was the most heartbreaking!
“No!!”
Night Emperor’s anguished roar echoed through the shattered void.
*I am willing to use this broken body to bear the thunderous fury for all of you.*
This was what Xiao Zuiji said before his death—words he’d spoken years ago when entering the Valley of Life and Death, and had put into action.
From the day he focused on tempering his physical body, he defined himself as a meat shield. No matter the circumstance, no matter how dangerous, he would stand without hesitation at the forefront of his fellow disciples.
This was the fate of a front-line tank—it wasn’t about whether the healer could keep up, but that the opponent was too terrifying and he was instantly killed.
“Junior Brother Xiao!”
Su Xiaomo and Li Fei roared in anguish!
Fury erupted within them, channeling into their weapons as they frantically slaughtered the surrounding Heavenly Demon Emperor soldiers.
Their bond ran deep, requiring no further explanation.
At this moment, all they could do was transform grief and anger into power to annihilate all enemies, to comfort Junior Brother Xiao’s departed spirit!
“Frost Covering the Heavens!”
Just then, Snow God Teng Liu appeared on the battlefield. She raised her head toward the sky, naturally extending both hands, lips moving in incantation. From around her body surged cold air seemingly from the frozen underworld, spreading with overwhelming force across a vast area.
“Crack crack!”
“Crack crack crack!”
Where the frost covered, enemy soldiers all transformed into ice sculptures.
“Die!”
“You all must die!”
The bare-chested Purple Lin Demon King wielded pink boxing gloves, carrying murderous intent in his eyes, moving like a professional boxer among the frozen soldiers—left hook, right hook, horizontal kick, side kick.
“BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM—”
Bodies shattered, blood splattered.
After witnessing Xiao Zuiji’s death, the Eternal Sect’s leadership and disciples all unleashed their potential, fighting enemies with maddened ferocity.
Especially He Wudi.
He blamed himself for not arriving in time!
“Whoosh whoosh!”
Immortal Sound power gradually gathered in his fists, his gaze showing an intense killing intent rarely seen in his life.
Living cautiously in the Eternal Land, He Wudi had always been careful, even trying to disguise himself as invisible, almost never fighting enemies to the death.
Today.
For Xiao Zuiji.
He was willing to kill and become a demon!
The entire Eternal Sect exploded with rage, all abandoning defense, fighting with a mentality of either you die or I die.
The already terrifying disciples now saw their combat power surge dramatically.
The red-haired man smiled: “Such deep bonds between fellow disciples.”
“However.”
He shook his head: “Before absolute strength, you’re all weak as ants.”
“Whoosh whoosh!”
He casually raised two fingers. Blazing flames gathered again. Just as he was about to release them, he suddenly stopped, looking with puzzled eyes toward the Eternal Sect disciple who had been sent flying by the Heroic Soul.
…
Time rewound to the moment before Xiao Zuiji’s death, before everyone’s fury.
Ye Xingchen continued flying backward, tears sliding down his anguished, twisted face, scattering into the cosmic starry sky.
Slowly, a massive black hole appeared behind him, and his entire body sank into it.
Darkness, silence.
Ye Xingchen seemed to lose his soul, drifting alone.
After an unknown time, light appeared before his eyes, dispelling all darkness, revealing azure skies and warm sunlight pouring over his body.
This was… Xingyun Continent!
Ye Xingchen gently landed on a mountain where stood a red-lacquered gate. Hanging on the gate was a plaque carved with the five characters ‘Iron Bones Clanging Sect.’
Xingyun Continent was long gone.
The Tiegu Sect had also become history.
Could Ye Xingchen have returned to the past from the black hole?
“Junior Brother Ye.”
From within the Tiegu Sect came a familiar voice. He saw Xiao Zuiji walking out with a smile.
Though his gaze appeared mature, it couldn’t hide youthful inexperience. This seemed to be from when the Eternal Sect was just beginning, about several decades ago.
Ye Xingchen first froze, then joy surged wildly in his heart.
Not dead.
Senior Brother Xiao wasn’t dead!
“Swish!” Just then, Xiao Zuiji strode forward and passed right through Ye Xingchen’s body, leaving him stunned on the spot.
He struggled to raise his hand, discovering his arm was ethereal.
“A dream?”
The joy on Ye Xingchen’s face was quickly replaced by pain again.
He slowly turned around, watching the departing Xiao Zuiji, emotions beyond control, tears flowing uncontrollably.
“Junior Brother Ye, hurry up!”
Xiao Zuiji stopped at the stairs, shouting toward the gate.
Ye Xingchen closed his eyes tearfully, his consciousness recalling various past events, finally concluding that he should be coming out now.
Sure enough.
Someone walked out from the red-lacquered gate.
Wheat-colored skin, looking simple and unadorned if you ignored his eyes and only looked at his face.
Who?
Pei Aniu.
Or more precisely, at this moment the body was still temporarily controlled by Night Emperor’s soul.
Ye Xingchen, like air, witnessed Xiao Zuiji and his former self descending the mountain one after another, the pain in his heart deepening.
What now appeared was the scene from years ago when the reborn powerhouse and the genius-turned-waste first teamed up for external training.
Though quite distant in years, it was something Night Emperor would never forget, nor would he forget what came next and the various experiences he and Xiao Zuiji had in the wilderness, and…
“Swoosh!”
Suddenly, the scene jumped.
Ye Xingchen appeared on a high slope.
He saw himself sitting on a rock, and Xiao Zuiji lying on the ground.
If he remembered correctly, this should be Lingquan Mountain, below the ruins of Lingquan Sect, where Sect Master Jun Changxiao was leading disciples in confrontation with three Wuzong from the Sacred Spring Sect.
Back then, he thought Xiao Zuiji was particularly foolish and deliberately circulated the Supreme Profound Scripture to help conceal his aura, preventing discovery by those below.
Next.
The scenes jumped repeatedly.
All were things that had happened, all points of contact with Xiao Zuiji.
Very warm scenes.
But as Ye Xingchen repeatedly witnessed these playback segments like a passerby, the pain in his heart intensified, and the power long sealed in the depths of his soul gradually cracked.
Until the memory node reached just now, when he was suppressed by flame power and Xiao Zuiji saved him with self-sacrifice, finally reaching the critical point!
“Ahh—”
Ye Xingchen clutched his head and roared skyward.
“BOOM BOOM BOOM!”
In an instant, the chains sealed in the depths of his soul all shattered, waves of terrifying aura spreading around his body.
“Hmm?”
The red-haired man, about to continue his killing strike on Eternal Sect disciples, looked over in shock and saw the fellow who’d been knocked away with a twisted expression, a ‘King’ character gradually appearing behind him.
“This is…”
Feng Wanli and the others were instantly dumbfounded upon seeing this.
“What… what’s happening!”
As Ye Xingchen roared, Gu Zhaoxi’s Reincarnation Spirit completely escaped her control, forcibly separating from her dantian—she couldn’t stop it at all!
“Swoosh—”
Finally, the spirit seed shot out, flying toward Ye Xingchen.
“Swoosh! Swoosh!”
Simultaneously, two streaks of light also flew at extreme speed from within the Sacred Fire Judgment.
These were the Evil Spirit and Fire Soul Spirit, passing by the red-haired man’s left and right ears.
The spirit seeds within Liu Sinan, Gongsun Hou, and even Li Qingyang also escaped their control!
“Swoosh!”
“Swoosh!”
“Swoosh!”
Seven different-colored streaks of light flew before Ye Xingchen.
They represented the Evil Spirit, Fire Soul Spirit, Space Spirit, Reincarnation Spirit, Five Thunder Spirit, Sand Spirit, and the Space-Time Spirit that emerged from Zhang San’s body!
Clearly, these had all once been controlled by Night King!
However.
Three were still missing.
“Swoosh swoosh swoosh—” Suddenly, three streaks of light penetrated the void, flying in, then arranging themselves in coordination with the other seven spirit seeds, continuously rotating clockwise above Ye Xingchen’s head.
“Purgatory Spirit, Frost Spirit, Space-Time Spirit!” Feng Wanli couldn’t hide his excitement: “The Ten Spirits gather, our King returns!”
“Swoosh swoosh!”
“Swoosh swoosh!”
Just then, the rotating ten streaks of light rapidly flew into Ye Xingchen’s body, causing his entire being to be enveloped by a certain terrifying aura.
“…”
The red-haired man’s brows furrowed tightly.
An intense sense of danger instantly filled his heart!
—