Chapter 975: He

Fresh blood flowed continuously from Chen Fazheng's chest, rapidly staining his white robes red.

Boom, boom, boom!

Waves of destructive intent belonging to the 【Dao Severing】 continuously eroded the interior of Chen Fazheng's body.

Pfft!

Chen Fazheng spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

In the distance.

Roars erupted continuously from within Wuhen Jun's body as he pulled out the formation longsword that had pierced him.

His appearance began to change, shifting from Wuhen Jun into the likeness of Chen Yuan.

"I almost forgot; even this face is not my original appearance."

As Chen Yuan spoke, his features changed once more, transforming into an old man with greying hair.

Subsequently, a trace of vitality emerged upon his body.

The wrinkles vanished, and the white hair turned pitch-black and lustrous, strand by strand.

Finally, he transformed into a man with long, narrow brows, a straight nose, and refined, clear lips.

He was so handsome he seemed to have stepped out of an ink wash painting, yet he carried an inherent coldness and depth.

"The ancestors certainly chose a good place for me."

Chen Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the towering tree behind him.

"This place is unknown to the Evil Realm and unknown to the outside world.

The world believes that I, Chen Yuan, am dead, yet they do not know that I, Chen Yuan, intend to reach the pinnacle right here."

Xuan Yi and Ying stared fixedly at the Chen Yuan of this moment.

A chill arose from the depths of their hearts.

"So, the one who appeared in the outside world was always Wuhen Jun; no wonder he never attacked, he was just a Qi-Blood Clone!"

Xuan Yi's voice was hoarse:

"Were those Qi-Blood Clones something you planted on Wuhen Jun in advance?"

Chen Yuan did not answer Xuan Yi, but instead looked calmly at Chen Fazheng.

What Xuan Yi said was indeed Chen Yuan's arrangement.

Once the 【Calamity Corpse Thousand Shadow Kill】 Qi-Blood Clone is deployed, it can only be maintained for fifteen minutes.

But if one condenses and stores them after deployment, these Qi-Blood Clones can be preserved.

Chen Yan's Ember Evil Spear was exactly like this, capable of storing Qi-Blood Clones in advance.

Arriving at the Evil Realm.

When Chen Yan left the Yun Hai Dao Prefecture, he had given Mu Yanwan three light orbs.

Inside those three light orbs were the Qi-Blood Clones that Chen Yan had condensed and stored.

When the tide arrived, as long as Mu Yanwan crushed a light orb, a Qi-Blood Clone of Chen Yan would appear to deal with the Malice Tide.

Chen Yuan clearly used the same method.

He deployed the 【Calamity Corpse Thousand Shadow Kill】 in advance, letting Wuhen Jun appear in the outside world carrying hundreds of condensed Qi-Blood Clones.

As long as Wuhen Jun himself did not take action, it was difficult for the world to detect anything unusual about him.

As for Chen Yuan himself.

He had transformed into Wuhen Jun to participate in the final Dao Child Struggle.

By doing so, he sought out the greatest secret belonging to Chen Fazheng.

Namely, the origin of the Emperor Fruit.

From beginning to end, only Chen Fazheng knew the location of the Emperor Fruit.

At this moment.

Chen Fazheng's eyes were cold as he looked mockingly at Wuhen Jun, or more accurately, at Chen Yuan:

"You certainly have good calculations, but now that Wuhen is dead, you have completely lost the qualification to interfere in the Dao Child Struggle."

Chen Fazheng spat blood, his internal organs still being wantonly destroyed by the destructive aura.

It stood to reason that the sword strike Ying used to kill Wuhen Jun was actually something Wuhen Jun had done on purpose.

Chen Yuan did indeed hold Chen Fazheng's life and death in his hands at this moment.

But Chen Fazheng did not care.

Because Wuhen Jun was already dead.

The seven Dao Children were linked to each other by Chen Fazheng's grand formations, such as the Divine Armor, which contained the highest mysteries of the path of formations.

It was absolutely impossible for Chen Yuan to fathom the mysteries of the Dao Child Struggle through the path of formations.

Now that Wuhen Jun was dead, Chen Yuan had even less possibility of interfering in the Dao Child Struggle.

"The ancestors were indeed correct."

Chen Yuan stood with his hands behind his back, pacing through the void, ripples forming beneath his feet.

"The Dao Children are linked by formations; I, Chen Yuan, could never fathom the mysteries within.

I thought of this a long time ago."

Chen Fazheng narrowed his eyes, instinctively feeling that something was wrong.

The next moment.

Chen Yuan reached out with one hand.

Ying was pulled by an extremely powerful force and was instantly seized by the throat by Chen Yuan.

"Chen Yuan!"

Ying struggled incessantly, her long lashes trembling suddenly, her phoenix eyes flashing with shock before being instantly filled with coldness.

Now, she was already one of the last two Dao Children.

The physical opportunities and martial arts memories of Dao Children like Ruan Qingwu, Mu Yun Hai, and Lord Wuhen had all been devoured by her and Xuan Yi.

Logically speaking, the current Seventh Dao Child, Ying, possessed strength far exceeding her past self.

Yet at this moment, she was completely unable to resist Chen Yuan.

"Chen Yuan!"

Xuan Yi roared, having discovered that something was wrong.

"The sword technique cultivated by Wuhen modifies the internal structure of the body, and it is completely countered by you."

Chen Fazheng's eyes flashed wildly.

He instantly discovered where the problem lay.

"Chen Yuan!"

Chen Fazheng roared, spitting blood.

"Ancestor, for this day, I, Chen Yuan, have waited for a long time."

Chen Yuan looked up and sighed:

"The technique learned by Lord Wuhen is called Devour Brightness.

It can remodel the physical structure, causing a martial artist's body to generate a unique martial path circuit.

A complete Devour Brightness would not allow anyone to notice any issues.

But as long as the Devour Brightness is incomplete, it will cause a martial artist's internal organs to develop a martial path flaw.

This flaw is perfectly countered by my Dao Slash."

Chen Yuan's expression was calm, and streams of light flowed from Ying's body into Chen Yuan's.

"Chen Yuan..."

Ying roared with difficulty.

Her black hair faded to frost white at a speed visible to the naked eye, her taut skin wrinkled, and her figure quickly hunched over.

The aura on Chen Yuan's body became increasingly profound and overbearing; he was devouring Ying's martial arts memories and physical energy through 【Dao Slash】.

"Ancestor, Dao Slash was created by me, Chen Yuan, but in these two thousand years of my life, how could I have only created this one martial technique?"

A trace of pity appeared in Chen Yuan's eyes:

"The world's second divine technique, Dao Slash, is not a complete martial technique.

The truly complete one is Dao Slash Devour Brightness!

In my life, how could I, Chen Yuan, be satisfied with just a second divine technique?"

Chen Yuan laughed out loud; the Ying in his hands already showed signs of extreme old age.

Chen Fazheng's eyes constricted wildly, and he instantly roared:

"Kill Ying!"

If Ying is not killed.

Xuan Yi will never be able to obtain the complete 【Devour Brightness】 circuit.

And afterwards, Xuan Yi will only be devoured by Chen Yuan just like Ying.

Boom!

Xuan Yi erupted instantly, and as he threw a punch, endless true intent transformed into a golden sun, bombarding Chen Yuan.

Chen Yuan's eyes were indifferent as he reached out with one hand.

Hum!

Xuan Yi's physical body was controlled by a strange force and suddenly froze.

"Ahhhhh!"

Xuan Yi roared, feeling his vitality and physical energy disappearing.

"Chen Yuan, I, Xuan Yi, am the Lord of True Intent!"

Xuan Yi's eyes were blood-red:

"I am the Lord of True Intent!!!"

A smile appeared in Chen Yuan's eyes:

"What does it matter if you are a Lord of Martial Path?

The Lord of True Intent was secretly harmed by me, and the Lord of Arrays has been working for me, Chen Yuan, for so many years!

Even in the outside world, there are three Lords of Martial Path who have been deceived by me!"

Chen Fazheng's eyes constricted wildly:

"What did you say?"

The next moment, rage erupted in Chen Fazheng's eyes:

"So, Zhuohe Umeng was entrusted by you to join me in besieging the Lord of True Intent!"

Pfft!

Chen Fazheng was so furious that he spat out a mouthful of blood.

He could not believe it; how old was Chen Yuan at that time?

Only fifty.

At that time, Chen Yuan was just the Great Elder of Chen Prefecture, suppressed by the Lord of True Intent and the Xia Clan, unable to turn the tables.

Who could have imagined that Chen Yuan was already plotting against two Lords of Martial Path back then!

Chen Yuan looked at Chen Fazheng, the smile on his face gradually disappearing, replaced by disappointment at his failure to live up to expectations:

"You keep saying you want to change the world.

Yet you cannot even overcome me!"

Chen Yuan's voice was icy, and he shouted in a low tone:

"You think I wanted this!

You think I wanted to kill all the strongest in the world, that I wanted to shoulder the human race all by myself?!

You cannot even kill me, so how can you face the Ancient Gods!

You are obstinate and will only bring about your own destruction!

A bunch of trash!"

Chen Yuan's voice grew colder and colder, carrying endless killing intent.

"I, Chen Yuan, have tolerated you for long enough!"

Chen Fazheng's pupils contracted wildly, and eventually, endless despair welled up in the depths of his eyes.

He was going to lose.

He had not lost to the Ancient Gods, but had lost to Chen Yuan.

The high wall that he, Chen Fazheng, had spent fifty thousand years building had completely collapsed today.

Chen Fazheng looked up at the giant tree canopy covering the sky, his heart filled with complex emotions for a moment.

"The heroes of the world all have their own Dao.

Whether it is you, Chen Yan, or the Xia Lord..."

Chen Fazheng sighed:

"Today, my Dao has come to an end."

He closed his eyes, and his anger gradually vanished.

"I... I don't want to die..."

Ying spoke with difficulty; those phoenix eyes that had just been tempered with cold sharpness were now veiled in murky twilight, leaving only a gaze full of unwillingness.

She had survived in the Evil Realm for tens of thousands of years, and this was the first time she had seen the sky of the outside world.

It was so azure, so clear.

She wanted to see it one more time.

And the warmth of the sun.

She wanted to feel it one more time.

The hot noodle soup of the outside world was so delicious.

She wanted to eat one more bowl.

The next moment, Ying's pair of murky eyes slowly closed, and her head lolled to the side.

She was dead.

But Chen Yuan did not let go of Ying.

A continuous stream of flesh and blood energy was still being extracted by Chen Yuan from within Ying's body.

Crack, crack, crack!

Until Ying was drained into a withered corpse less than half a meter tall.

Chen Yuan let go, and the withered corpse fell to the ground.

With a *snap*.

It turned into fragments.

"Chen Yuan, even if I become a ghost, I will not let you go!"

Xuan Yi's hoarse voice rang out.

At this moment, Xuan Yi was already aged, his physical body shriveled, with only that pair of eyes still condensing endless hatred.

Phantoms of True Intent emerged on Chen Yuan's body, and his aura grew increasingly powerful.

…………

Ying began to fall.

Falling continuously.

As if sinking into a quagmire, her consciousness was gradually disappearing.

She could not perceive her surroundings, nor could she describe them with accurate words.

She could not even understand the concept of death.

She was changing from a living being into an eternal dead object like a pebble.

It was just cold.

Such a cold feeling.

She opened her mouth, but she had already forgotten how to speak.

She was about to disappear from this world completely.

Yet, in this endless darkness.

A light suddenly appeared.

A pitch-black, white, gray, divine light.

It was as if it were the guidance of the Divine Court.

A hand suddenly appeared, incomparably vast, suppressing all darkness.

Upon those hands, rules were born and rules perished; it seemed boundlessly vast, capable of encompassing the entire universe.

Just like that, this hand guided Ying.

The next moment.

Atop an incomparably thick tree branch, Ying, in the form of a remnant soul, slowly opened her eyes.

A figure sat cross-legged in front of her.

Ying opened her mouth, her eyes filled with shock.

It was only because that person sat there, yet could not be accurately captured by her.

It was just like a low-level life form being unable to describe four-dimensional space.

He was just sitting there.