Chapter 464

Kunpeng stood before the rift in empty space, hands hanging at his sides, ready to strike again.

Above Flame Mountain, the blood rain from Yuanhai’s corpse still fell.

Half of the Fuhai Demon Kun’s true body crashed into the valley, crushing several volcanoes; black blood streamed down the crimson rock, hissing and smoking.

Niutouwang and the other two stared at Kunpeng’s chest, heaving violently as he faced Su Chen in the air.

Though they despised Kunpeng’s actions in the ancient Honghuang era, they could not deny that this ancient demon master’s strength was among the very top of the Three Realms.

“Brother Su Chen!”

Niutouwang tried to rush forward.

Su Chen raised a hand to stop him, then waved it—Hong Haier flew out of the Nine Demon Tower and landed beside Niutouwang.

“Big Brother Niu, take Hong Haier and the Demon Alliance brothers and leave first.”

Niutouwang gritted his teeth: “Old Ox ain’t a coward who runs from danger.”

“But staying won’t help.” Su Chen’s words were blunt.

Jiaowang grabbed Niutouwang’s arm: “Big Brother, go! Don’t hold Brother Su Chen back!”

Shitouwang, hefting his great blade, cursed: “Damn it, never in my life have I been told I’m holding someone back—and had no retort. This is infuriating.”

Hong Haier lay on Niutouwang’s back, turning his head to look at Su Chen: “Uncle, don’t you dare die—I haven’t even kowtowed to you yet!”

Su Chen nearly laughed; this kid, amid such disaster, still had the nerve to joke.

“Don’t worry, your uncle’s got plenty of life left.”

Niutouwang no longer hesitated; he raised his hand and summoned a demonic cloud, wrapping all the demons of Cuiyun Mountain inside.

Jiaowang and Shitouwang guarded the flanks as they retreated beyond Flame Mountain.

Kunpeng made no move to stop them—his target had always been, and would always be, Su Chen.

“You’re loyal,” Kunpeng said, watching Su Chen. “Too bad loyal men usually die quick.”

Su Chen’s fingers brushed the axe’s haft.

“If you’d shown even a shred of loyalty back then, the Demon Court might not have fallen so badly.”

At those words, Kunpeng’s face stiffened; he snorted coldly and fell silent.

Soon after, all the demons of the Demon Master’s Palace and Niutouwang’s group had left Flame Mountain.

Kunpeng moved again; behind him, the Great Northern Kun’s spiritual form expanded.

His body gradually faded, merging with the spiritual form behind him—in an instant, a colossal Northern Kun stretched across the heavens, blotting out the sky.

Its fish body was tens of thousands of miles long, obscuring sun and moon; all of Flame Mountain plunged into darkness.

The Great Northern Kun opened its monstrous maw, and Kunpeng unleashed his divine art: Northern Devouring Heaven.

Instantly, a powerful sucking force swept across Flame Mountain; the ground beneath Su Chen’s feet was ripped upward—a whole volcano tore free from the earth, its magma trailing a long fiery line toward the giant mouth.

Rocks, red sand, demon corpses—all within the devouring range—were dragged into the black vortex.

Even space itself was not spared; the void around Su Chen collapsed silently, the entire region torn away.

This was Kunpeng’s innate divine art: Devouring Heaven, Swallowing Earth—nothing escaped its hunger.

Kunpeng made no further probes; he unleashed his full power at once.

He knew well: the moment he appeared, Zhenyuanzi and the Heavenly Court would arrive; the longer he delayed, the worse his position became.

So he intended to end Su Chen swiftly.

Su Chen’s robes flapped violently; the sucking force dragged him forward dozens of zhang, his five viscera and six bowels churning—the injuries from Kunpeng’s earlier ambush began to flare.

He looked up at the devouring maw, snorted, and sent the Chaos Bell soaring.

The primordial yellow bell swelled with the wind; its surface lit up with sun, moon, and stars in sequence, while the primal forces of earth, water, fire, and wind surged along its walls.

Chaotic spiritual power flooded into the bell; Su Chen’s Great Luo Dao Fruit trembled, the Five Phases and Yin-Yang merging into a vast torrent of Chaotic power.

At the same time, the Chaos Nine Turns was activated.

The 365 acupoints opened and closed; the miniature worlds within each pulsed in unison; the great dragon of his spine pushed chaotic blood and qi; deep within his flesh, drumlike thuds echoed.

“Dong—”

The Chaos Bell rang; the primordial yellow waves protected a hundred zhang around Su Chen, freezing the space being pulled by the devouring force in place.

The black vortex surged forward; the primordial yellow waves met it head-on, the two forces locked in a brutal tug-of-war above Flame Mountain.

But Su Chen’s cultivation was far below Kunpeng’s; even with the Chaos Bell protecting him, he was losing ground.

The green robe woven from Chaotic spiritual power tore inch by inch; the Chaotic patterns on his arms glowed bright; fine beads of blood seeped from his skin, instantly torn into mist by the devouring force.

Far away, Niutouwang and the others had just reached the edge of Flame Mountain, yet the residual waves still shook their demonic clouds.

A few low-cultivation demon soldiers were dragged from the cloud; Shitouwang cursed, slashed open the wind eye with his blade, and yanked them back.

“Get farther!”

Niutouwang stared at Su Chen in the heart of Flame Mountain, veins bulging on his neck; finally, he smashed his staff into the cliff beneath him, using the recoil to carry the demons away in haste.

Kunpeng paid no mind as the demons retreated.

The giant Kun’s eyes lowered, filled with icy killing intent.

“Let’s see how long you can hold out.”

The devouring vortex expanded again; the Chaos Bell’s aura around Su Chen shrank—from a hundred zhang to eighty, then fifty, then thirty.

The primordial yellow shield flickered weakly within the black vortex; the bell itself trembled violently.

Su Chen gritted his teeth and held on—but his Chaotic spiritual power was draining too fast. The Chaos Bell was a primordial treasure of infinite power, yet the one wielding it was still only a Great Luo Jin Xian of mid-stage.

If Taiyi were here, one strike of the bell would crush Kunpeng back to the Northern Abyss. But Su Chen was far from that realm.

All he could do was hold on. He knew now was not the time to summon Bai Ze or the others.

Kunpeng’s voice echoed from deep within the maw: “Su Chen, I give you one final chance—surrender the Chaos Bell, and I’ll leave your corpse whole.”

Su Chen smiled at that, speaking with difficulty.

“Do you even believe what you just said, Demon Master?”

He looked up at Kunpeng. “If you left now, you might still survive. But if you stay, my reinforcements will arrive—and you’ll die right here on Flame Mountain.”

Kunpeng’s fury surged; the devouring vortex grew stronger. Su Chen’s chest tightened, blood rising to his throat—he swallowed it back.

At that moment, starlight blazed from beyond the heavens, tearing open the daylight.

Doumu Yuanjun led the Dou Division’s gods through the void; star banners shook, and the power of the celestial constellations poured down, forming countless star-chains that sealed the eight directions of space around Flame Mountain.

“Kunpeng!”

Doumu Yuanjun’s voice rang across heaven and earth: “Today, you won’t leave.”

On the other side, the earth surged; yellow divine light spread for ten thousand li.

Zhenyuanzi descended on a cloud, the Earth Book floating above his head, his dust whisk hanging down; the usually gentle Ancestor of Earth Immortals now radiated dense killing intent.

“Kunpeng, today you won’t escape.”

Two peak-level Zhun Shengs had arrived. At Flame Mountain’s edge, Niutouwang and the others saw this—and the heavy stone in their chests lifted halfway.

Shitouwang slapped his thigh and laughed: “Here they come! Now even the old bird can’t fly away!”

But before they could rejoice, the situation shifted again.

As Doumu Yuanjun and Zhenyuanzi moved, a tide of bloodlust flooded the sky.

Outside Flame Mountain, a river of blood cut across the starry heavens; the Twelve-Petal Karma Red Lotus rose from the crimson waves.

Upon the lotus throne sat Minghe Laozu, the Yuan Tu and A Bi swords hanging on either side; though their blades had not moved, their killing aura had already sliced through the starlight.

“Doumu, Zhenyuanzi.”

Minghe Laozu’s laugh was shrill: “Your opponents are me.”

Before his words ended, Yuan Tu slashed—dozens of Dou Division star-chains snapped; A Bi swept sideways, the blood sea roiled, and forcibly blocked the Earth Book’s yellow light.

Doumu Yuanjun’s expression turned icy; she spread the celestial constellations again—but the Twelve-Petal Karma Red Lotus blocked them; the edges of the starlight ignited with karma fire.

Zhenyuanzi swept his dust whisk; the Earth Book unfolded a vision of mountains and rivers, its earth power suppressing the blood sea—but beneath Minghe’s feet, the Twelve-Petal Karma Red Lotus spun, the karma fire hissing as it burned the mountain-river vision to ash.

The entire sky above Flame Mountain split into two zones: one, Kunpeng’s devouring vortex and Su Chen’s Chaos Bell aura;

the other, Doumu’s boundless starlight and Zhenyuanzi’s earth veins locked in stalemate against Minghe’s blood sea.

Seeing Minghe block Su Chen’s two strongest allies, Kunpeng could no longer suppress his elation.

“Su Chen! Today, your doom is sealed!”

The giant Kun’s maw unleashed a surge of devouring force; the primordial yellow shield shrank to ten zhang.

Su Chen’s robe was shredded, half his body drenched in blood; the Chaos Bell trembled violently above his head.

Kunpeng’s voice dripped with triumph.

“Now, let’s see who can save you!”

“Once more—I demand you surrender the Chaos Bell, or I’ll leave you a whole corpse!”

At the heart of the devouring vortex, Su Chen lifted his head, gazing at the ecstatic Kunpeng—and a faint smile curled his lips.

That smile sent a chill through Kunpeng; to him, Su Chen’s smile resembled a hunter watching his prey finally step into the trap.

“Kunpeng, aren’t you celebrating a bit too soon?”

As he spoke, the Nine Demon Tower reappeared before Su Chen; deep within its core, two suppressed auras had been waiting long enough.