Chapter 2869: Parting in Life and Death

Everyone knew deep down that, compared to the great decisive battle coming up, the previous three rounds of confrontation were nothing more than appetizers.

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With a soft whoosh, the yellow-skinned gourd was split in two.

The fire dragon that had originally rushed out of the gourd to meet the enemy, baring fangs and brandishing claws, let out an unwilling long howl, yet could only dissipate into smoke and clouds along with it.

This was the treasure gourd Ling Jinbao never left his side, yet now it was chopped down by a single stroke from Geng Yue Shen.

Clearing the final obstacle, his next blade went straight for He Yue's head and neck!

He Yue was covered in blood and filth, his left arm already severed at the shoulder, his right leg also injured down to the artery; after taking the previous several heavy blows he was already tottering on the verge of collapse, and at this moment he could only barely lift his blade.

Seeing a cold light flash, he thought in his heart: "It's over."

What a pity — even giving it his all, he still couldn't hold on until his elder brother arrived.

In the end he was still too weak; even the matter of betting his life to buy time for his big brother, he couldn't pull off.

At the critical moment of a thousand jun hanging by a single thread, a comet suddenly fell from the sky, crashing heavily onto Geng Yue Shen.

Its arrival had no warning whatsoever; Geng Yue Shen had not even time to react before being blasted into the ground.

By the time others saw him again, he was already a mass of mangled flesh and blood.

This sudden turn of events, even Jia Lou Tian couldn't intercept in time.

He Yue's eyes widened, because he saw clearly the savior's face — Big Brother.

At the juncture of life and death, it was his elder brother who saved him again.

He Lingchuan steadied his only remaining arm with a backhand grip and said in a low voice: "Can you still stand?"

He Yue nodded forcefully, eyes full of bloodshot veins: "Big Brother, Commander Yang is dead! He sacrificed himself to cover me, only then did he fall victim to that Heavenly Demon's poisonous hand."

On a battlefield where the disparity in strength between enemy and us is so vast, to still have to exert every effort to aid each other — the difficulty is self-evident.

All anyone present could do was devote themselves utterly until death.

He Lingchuan's gaze swept across the battlefield, only to see corpses strewn across the wilderness.

The two thousand-plus warriors who had charged out the city gate just now, now fewer than three hundred remain.

The battle had begun barely forty breaths ago, yet the Heavenly Demon had already taken over seventeen hundred fresh lives.

Even the Plain Army's Commander Yang Sheng had fallen heroically, True Immortal Ming Ke was heavily wounded, and Bao Chi Hai's Nightmares had been beaten until only a wisp of remnant soul remained.

Before a Great Heavenly Demon like Jia Lou Tian, whether True Immortals or an army of several thousand, after losing the shelter of the Panlongcheng walls and most of their Yuan Qi, all appeared that fragile and unable to withstand a single blow.

But this time, they used their own blood and lives to protect the Panlong Secret Realm, hoping it would not collapse and disintegrate before He Lingchuan arrived.

The moment they saw the Nine Nether Great Emperor manifest, everyone's eyes brimmed with hot tears.

He came — they had finally waited for their Emperor Lord. The Panlong Secret Realm still stands, their comrades' sacrifices were not in vain!

At this moment no one noticed, a triangular talisman mark on the back of He Yue's neck flashed briefly.

That light was extremely faint.

Right now Jia Lou Tian had just shattered the Earth Mother's avatar, and taking advantage of a lull in the fighting turned his head to look at He Lingchuan, frowning: "Even Tong Ming True Lord couldn't stop you?"

Tong Ming True Lord had not followed He Lingchuan into the secret realm battlefield, so Jia Lou Tian reasonably deduced that this fellow had also lost.

Truly inconceivable. Even with He Lingchuan standing right before his eyes, Jia Lou Tian still could not understand how this human had consecutively defeated three great Immortal Demons, and then stood before him.

He could curse Tong Ming True Lord as trash, but what about Bai Zhan Tian? What about Hai Huang Xuandu? Those two were renowned for their martial prowess, genuine heroes of the Two Realms.

Moreover, the speed at which Nine Nether defeated his opponents was simply inconceivably fast — front to back, only two or three quarter-hours.

Duels between great powers usually do not end quickly. Like the battle between Thousand Illusions True Person and Miao Zhantian, it lasted a full day and night, and that was already considered short.

But since Nine Nether has already been forced to manifest by him, the Panlong Secret Realm is also visibly tottering on the verge of collapse, and the Plain garrison has been slaughtered to pieces, Jia Lou Tian is in no rush.

He wants to take a good look at just what miraculous qualities this brat possesses.

He Lingchuan curled his lip: "Tong Ming True Lord surrendered. If you're as sensible as him, I'll spare your life too."

This really isn't bullshit.

Tong Ming True Lord's godhood and secret arts were both broken, and he couldn't withstand He Lingchuan and Earth Mother's frenzied assault, so in the end he raised his hands in surrender.

He Lingchuan had long known his character, so he wasn't surprised. He was also anxious to end the fight, so he had Earth Mother lock down his whole body, then made his divine soul exit the body, and then used the Divine Bone Necklace to collect Tong Ming True Lord's divine soul.

How the Great Square Pot handles Heavenly Demon divine souls, He Lingchuan knows better than anyone.

Once Tong Ming True Lord's soul body entered the Great Square Pot, it was like a winged creature unable to fly — securely sitting through the prison bottom, just like Nai Luo Tian's avatar back in the day.

It was precisely because Tong Ming True Lord surrendered that He Lingchuan could rush to the Panlong Secret Realm early. Otherwise, delayed by another ten-odd breaths, I fear it would already have been beyond recovery.

Jia Lou Tian's strength exceeded Earth Mother's estimate; she thought the Panlong Secret Realm could hold for fifty breaths — far too optimistic.

Good thing I arrived early. He Lingchuan rejoiced secretly.

"Oh right, almost forgot this one." Jia Lou Tian's gaze at him suddenly curved into a smile, "I've prepared a big gift for you."

Finished speaking, he snapped his fingers.

He Yue beside He Lingchuan, with a bang, exploded into a sky full of blood mist!

The just-risen True Immortal Ming Ke was greatly shocked, her scalp numb.

This explosive strike's power was great, even the ground beneath He Yue's feet was shaved flat by three chi.

He Lingchuan had Yuan Qi and Gang Qi protecting his body, and suffered no serious injury, but was splattered with fresh blood all over his head and face.

His own younger brother's flesh and blood, staining his battle armor red.

In this instant, the air seemed to freeze. The battlefield's clamor also vanished without a trace.

He Lingchuan lowered his head, looking at his left hand. Blood dripped from his hand, and between his fingers hung two chunks of minced flesh.

This was his own younger brother's flesh and blood.

With a hum, hot blood surged to his forehead.

In this moment, countless past events flashed through his mind.

In his youth he was a frivolous scamp, the tyrant of Heishuicheng — commoners would detour at the sight of him. And He Yue always liked to come lecturing in a pompous, old-fashioned way, so this body's original owner always found his little brother nagging.

In Heishuicheng, the two brothers still liked to sneak into the kitchen at night to steal the golden-thread jujube cakes from the cupboard.

Although after he was swept away by the flood into the demon nest, the two brothers' interactions grew fewer and fewer, and later they went their separate ways, walking completely different paths of fate, the brotherly bond between him and He Yue did not weaken by half with the passage of time.

He did not regard He Chunhua as a real father, but he regarded He Yue as a real younger brother.

Now, He Yue was right before him, right under his eyelids, with not even bones remaining.

Even though He Lingchuan had long grown accustomed to partings of life and death, this moment still pierced his heart to the core.

His breathing turned heavy and coarse in an instant, his gaze sweeping once more over the fallen soldiers present.

The ground before the Pánlóng City gates and the thick city walls were both stained red with fresh blood.