Chapter 965: Ants

Under the sunlight, the cracks in the scorched earth shimmered with a dry, white light.

The little boy sat cross-legged on the gravel, plucked a blade of dry grass, and gently poked at the ant formation, causing a flurry of panic among the ants.

On the ground, two groups of ants were entangled with each other.

The little girl knelt beside him, her skirt sweeping over the withered grass, her fingertips tapping the ground as she laughed and played:

"Look, that one ran the wrong way!"

Both of them had fine dust on the tips of their noses, and their eyes were filled with shimmering sunlight.

The little boy took out a lighter.

"What are you doing?" the little girl looked at the little boy vigilantly.

"Burning ants, I like burning ants the most."

"Don't."

The little girl muttered:

"Look, this group of ants is fighting."

The little boy giggled:

"Even if they fight for half a day, it won't be as many as I can kill with one stomp."

A smile appeared on the little girl's face:

"They really are pitiful."

"That's just what ants are." The little boy spoke indifferently:

"Forget it, after they finish fighting, I'll burn them all with one fire."

"Yay."

The little girl laughed and jumped up.

"Chen Yuan, go back and cultivate!"

Outside, an adult said.

The little boy stood up and looked at the little girl with some hesitation:

"I have to go cultivate."

"Alright then." The little girl muttered with some disappointment.

The little boy was still a bit reluctant, perhaps thinking of the bleak cultivation lessons he was about to face, and sighed:

"Look, this group of ants is so pitiful; their mutual slaughter is, in our eyes, nothing more than a farce."

Time is like flowing water.

In the blink of an eye, two thousand years had passed.

When a huge crack appeared above the void of Yu Province.

Within the void.

A man in green robes watched the battle outside.

He saw his own Qi-blood clone suppressed by Li Zhiyi and Lu Xunyang, and saw the experts of the five clans, including Chen Youqing, clashing with the experts of Great Xia and Yu Province.

At this moment, he suddenly looked up at the firmament.

As if, in the depths of that endless starry sky.

There were nebulae twisting like rotting flesh, and viscous dark purple seeping out of the deep space.

There was a gaze piercing through the barriers of light-years, a giant pupil that saw through everything.

It carried an ancient indifference and hunger, like the breathing of a slumbering giant beast, pressing down until the stars trembled, and even time curled and rotted under this gaze.

"Do you see it?"

Chen Yuan whispered:

"Do you also feel that we are just like a group of ants?"

Behind Chen Yuan, the Pool Master and Chen Liu stood calmly.

"You two, look for an opportunity; do not strike prematurely."

Chen Yuan spoke:

"If my true self does not appear, they will not reveal their strongest trump cards."

The Pool Master's expression faltered, a touch of sadness appeared in their eyes, and they bowed to the Chen Master.

The next moment.

The Chen Master took a step forward.

Boom—!

In the sky of Yu Province, countless streams of fire collided.

Xia Hanzhou sat cross-legged in the void, still ascending.

Lu Xunyang and Li Zhiyi looked up at the high sky in unison.

The Chen Master's true self appeared.

At this moment, the three looked at each other but did not immediately begin to fight.

"The current human race is like a small boat floating on the ocean.

Yet you all want to tear through this province to meet that behemoth submerged at the bottom of the sea."

Li Zhiyi looked at the Chen Master, wiping the Xia Master Sword in his hand:

"You are right, Chen Yuan.

If one cannot surpass you, one is indeed not qualified to face the Ancient Gods."

Li Zhiyi raised his head, blood-red light flashing in his eyes.

Until this very moment.

He thoroughly acknowledged Chen Yuan.

The human race needs an existence like Chen Yuan.

If the human race did not have Chen Yuan, perhaps it would crumble even faster.

Chen Yuan's existence serves to remind everyone just how terrifying the Ancient Gods are.

This is Chen Yuan's mission.

But when the human race truly has the ability to face the Ancient Gods, Chen Yuan's mission will have been fulfilled.

He should die then, too.

To die while bearing infamy, bearing the eternal scorn of all.

Chen Yuan looked at Li Zhiyi, a flash of killing intent surging within the icy depths of his eyes.

Until now.

He had never seen the true face of the Lord of Will.

Every time he played against the Lord of Will, he appeared far too passive.

Not once had he ever won against the Lord of Will.

Throughout his life, Chen Yuan had used the Lord of Martial Dao as a chess piece.

But facing the Lord of Will, he could feel a powerful sense of oppression.

Chen Yan...

Chen Yuan thought of that young man once again.

That young man whom he had stopped time and again, and who had broken through time and again.

Chen Yuan had thought Chen Yan could do it.

He had thought Chen Yan could reach the final step.

Yet Chen Yan was harmed by the Lord of Will and devoured by Li Zhiyi and Zhang Huizhi.

A sliver of killing intent emerged from the bottom of Chen Yuan's heart.

Immediately.

Hum!

Two figures stepped through the air toward him.

The Lord of Elements and the Lord of Universe appeared on Chen Yuan's left and right sides.

Outnumbered.

Both being supreme powerhouses, this time Chen Yuan had to face four.

Boom!

One after another, Qi-blood clones appeared, and fifteen figures charged first toward the Lord of Universe and the Lord of Elements.

"Each Qi-blood clone has a maximum lifespan of fifteen minutes; I don't believe you can keep this up forever!"

The Lord of Universe's voice was low, and cannon barrels emerged from his arms.

Countless beams of fire blasted toward the Chen Lord clones.

The Lord of Elements instantly unleashed all his methods, wielding elemental power to intercept the Chen Lord's various Qi-blood clones.

Unless they killed the Chen Lord's true body, killing these Qi-blood clones was useless.

Yet what even the Lord of Elements had not expected was this.

Even as mere Qi-blood clones, the Chen Lord's strength remained unfathomable.

The other party was definitely the fourth strongest of the human race.

That is to say, the number one person excluding the two Ancient Gods and the Lord of Xia.

This kind of strength had already transcended ordinary human supreme powerhouses.

Moreover, the Chen Lord had only cultivated for two thousand years.

At the same time.

Boom, boom, boom!

Countless laser beams shot toward the various Chen Lord clones.

Hum!

Li Zhiyi's sword light flickered as he instantly stabbed toward the Chen Lord.

Lu Xunyang followed up simultaneously, raising a fist and smashing it down toward the Chen Lord's head.

The Chen Lord stood atop the void, his robes fluttering, his eyes icy cold.

Boom!

One after another, Qi-blood clones appeared again, forming an encirclement to charge at Li Zhiyi and Lu Xunyang.

In an instant.

Li Zhiyi raised his sword to parry, as over a dozen 【Dao Slash】 sword lights had already struck.

Bang, bang, bang!

A wave of destructive energy, capable of crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood, poured in frantically, forcing Li Zhiyi to retreat continuously.

Lu Xunyang's fists were wrapped in monstrous power, smashing toward the Qi-blood clones like falling stars.

Each of these punches was enough to blast through mountains and shatter the void.

But every one of Chen Yuan's Qi-blood clones could execute 【Dao Slash】, and Lu Xunyang was unable to reach the Chen Lord's side for the moment.

"Just how many Qi-blood clones does he have!"

The Lord of Universe roared.

He had become somewhat numb.

As the third divine technique, the 【Calamity Corpse Thousand Shadow Kill】 could theoretically manifest three thousand blood-Qi clones.

But this was fundamentally impossible.

Throughout the entire human realm, only incomplete fragments of the 【Calamity Corpse Thousand Shadow Kill】 had been passed down.

Even now, Zhang Huizhi could only manifest seven.

Yet Lord Chen had, by this point, already manifested nearly one hundred blood-Qi clones.

At this moment, it could be said that all the technological power of the entire Yu Province was being poured onto these blood-Qi clones.

But it was still unable to break through the encirclement and slaughter of these blood-Qi clones.

Boom!

The firmament of Yu Province shattered completely, and firelight poured down from the cracks in the void, like a heavenly river surging backward, annihilating ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers.

Chen Yuan's green robes snapped in the gale; he stood in the center of the endless blood-Qi clones, his gaze as indifferent as ice.

He had not moved a single step, merely watching the great battle all around him calmly, as if he were a spectator.

The world watched this scene in shock.

Lord Chen, as a single person, was actually suppressing Li Zhiyi and the other three outright.

"See that? This is the might of Lord Chen!"

A powerhouse from Chen Province roared, charging into the fray against the powerhouses of the Great Xia.

The Director of the Directorate of Celestials, the Grand Minister of Rites, and others watched this scene in astonishment, but they were unable to attend to themselves.

Now that they had joined the battle, they too had to face the eighth-rank powerhouses from the Five Clans.