Chapter 229: with translation of chapter title

"Tremble beneath my halberd!"

Li Zha went berserk, his expression ferocious, wielding the Butcher King Great Halberd to strike at Chen Zheng; blood light surged from the halberd into the sky, and its murderous aura shook the eight corners of the world.

This halberd was forged personally by Li Tianwang; over tens of thousands of years it has slaughtered countless trillions of living beings, becoming ever more ferocious, and the malice it exudes can drive celestial immortals mad.

It is a weapon born for killing.

No matter how strong Chen Zheng is, no matter how far beyond his expectations, he cannot withstand it.

He would even have to die in disgrace on the spot!

Chen Zheng kept calling him a waste, and while he was inattentive, killed his four subordinates, demanding a price in blood.

"It's indeed a fine celestial artifact, but in the hands of a waste like you it's a pearl shrouded in dust. I once had a son who loved halberds; perhaps this halberd would have let him make full use of it, but alas he was killed."

Chen Zheng sighed lightly; the Butcher King Great Halberd made him recall someone, and his hand kept moving. He raised his right hand upward, like a celestial palm holding the universe, and seized that halberd radiating overwhelming malice.

Clang!

The clash of metal rang through the cosmos, shaking infinite spacetime and causing star systems to collapse.

The universe they were in almost split apart.

It was the sound of a palm colliding with the halberd's blade; Chen Zheng seized the halberd with all five fingers, and despite its world‑shaking sharpness and sky‑covering ferocity, it remained firmly in his grip, immobile.

"Wh‑what?"

Li Zha was struck by the terrifying force transmitted through the Butcher King Great Halberd, his palm splitting open, his body riddled with tearing wounds, blood gushing, turning his golden armor a scarlet red.

But he could not even mind those injuries; shocked by Chen Zheng's horror, he roared in disbelief, "You're just a novice cultivator who has only begun to comprehend the law; even if you defy heaven, how can you bare‑handed catch the Butcher King Great Halberd?"

He was on the brink of madness.

To bare‑handedly clash with a celestial artifact, its blade unable to cut even a hair on his skin—how could this be? Has his mortal body become immortal and indestructible?

Heavens…

How could such an inconceivable aberration exist in the world?

He was so idle that he voluntarily challenged Mu Ye Yuan to a bet, to see who could first hunt down such a monster, wondering if his head had been kicked.

Who is actually hunting whom?

At that thought, Li Zha completely lost the will to oppose Chen Zheng, even relinquished the Butcher King Great Halberd, knowing he could not reclaim it, hurriedly let go, and, unabashed, turned and fled.

Whoosh!

He shot away, his body blasting through infinite spacetime, and in less than a hundredth of a heartbeat he appeared at the fringe of the universe.

"In my grasp, no one can escape, let alone you, waste."

Chen Zheng's eyes were contemptuous; his right hand held the halberd, his left arm reached out, and in an instant he pierced through layers of spacetime, arriving behind Li Zha to seize the back of his neck.

"Damn, you've already won, taken my celestial artifact, and still want to eradicate me—do you think I'm made of mud? I am not a waste; I am the number‑one prodigy of the Heavenly King Great World!"

Li Zha roared, spun sharply, and threw a punch; his aura surged step by step, even stronger than before, a fierce momentum, and from his fist emerged one blood‑colored world after another.

All those worlds were hells—Tongue‑Pull Hell, Ice Hell, Oil‑Pot Hell, and countless others—filled with all manner of evil spirits, while in the heavens countless beings continuously fell, slaughtered by the demons.

At the center of each hell's demon horde stood a Butcher King, with blue skin, fanged jaws, white hair and red eyes, wielding a wicked weapon, immensely powerful.

The Butcher Kings from all worlds moved, tens of thousands of them, converging onto Li Zha's fist, striking fiercely at the palm Chen Zheng had seized.

This is a secret technique of the Li clan, called the Butcher King Prison‑Sealing Path, extremely potent, allowing one to unleash power and fight for one's life at a critical moment.

But it was useless.

Chen Zheng, after perfectly overlapping his clones, fully unleashed his combat power; his flesh and magical force were now infinitely close to a divine immortal.

He could even spar with divine immortals.

Without exaggeration, it can be said that a single breath he blows in one universe can kill millions of celestial immortals in another universe.

And although Li Zha is a pinnacle celestial immortal with outstanding combat strength, he does not possess power near that of a divine immortal.

He is far from it.

The gap between celestial immortals and divine immortals cannot be measured by reason.

Bang!

With a single grab, Chen Zheng completely shattered the so‑called Butcher King Prison‑Sealing Path, and seized Li Zha's neck, lifting him in his hand.

He ignited the True Fire in his hand, flowing like magma over Li Zha's body; wherever it touched, the flesh melted inch by inch, turning into pure essence.

In an instant, only Li Zha's head remained.

"No, I admit I'm a waste; please spare my life. I am Li Tianwang's son—surviving ten thousand years among his hundreds of thousands of offspring was not easy; I cannot die…"

Li Zha's dying soul wailed; the remaining head screamed in terror, his body and spirit fading, feeling boundless agony.

The Li family's backstage in the celestial realm had already issued an edict, tasking Li Tianwang to confront the invading divine clan army of the Xuanhuang Great World; after this calamity, Li Tianwang will ascend to the celestial realm, and with destiny bestowed, become the next sovereign of the Great World of the Heavenly King.

How could he die at this moment?

"Nonsense, even ants cling to life; who wants to die, and who finds it easy? You have committed a crime of cosmic magnitude; regardless of whose son you are, you must die."

Chen Zheng shook his head coldly, and the True Fire in his palm incinerated the head completely amid Li Zha's final resentful howl.

From then on, that prodigy who boasted of hunting Chen Zheng vanished completely from the world.

The essence of Li Zha merged through Chen Zheng's palm into his body, boosting his magical power to the strength of sixteen celestial immortals, the stacked power reaching two hundred and four.

Chen Zheng can now assault the fourth tier of Eternal Life.

But he has no time for it now.

Mu Ye Yuan is still alive.

He is extremely slick‑tongued, far more so than Yuan Wushang, not only boasting of devouring his flesh, blood, and soul, but also planning to forge the exquisite Celestial Sovereign into a puppet, embed the Heart‑Demon Elder into a vessel as a spirit, and then suppress the Crimson Abyss Demon Lord.

Chen Zheng wants to see whether, when Mu Ye Yuan is later brutally slain, he can still keep up his sharp tongue.

He moved his foot and stepped forward.

One universe after another receded behind him.

Before long, five figures appeared in the universe ahead, rushing wildly toward the outskirts of the Great Primordial Celestial Residence; they were Mu Ye Yuan and his four celestial immortal subordinates.

I will reach the Exquisite Bliss Land before Li Zha, seize Chen Zheng, and transfer his great fortune onto myself. That fortune, capable of killing enemies across several major realms, once I obtain it and add it to my own original fortune, I will surely break through to the God-Immortal realm! By then, who could still be my rival? Even if it is the Azure-Son of the Dragon Clan or the Chaos-Son of the Divine Prefecture Gate, I will suppress them all—I will truly be the number one under heaven!

Muyeyuan hurried along, bursting into wild laughter, his laughter full of exhilaration, as if he had already seen himself invincible under heaven.

"Yes, after capturing and killing Chen Zheng, my lord will be invincible!" a black-clad heavenly immortal said obsequiously.

"It is said that the Exquisite Bliss Immortal Venerable most enjoys cross-dressing as a man; surely there is a special flavor. My lord, you will get to see her, hehe..." the linen-clad heavenly immortal wore a malicious grin.

Boom!

He hadn't finished laughing when a huge hand descended from the sky, smashing him into a thin meat patty.

Blood spurted wildly, splattering the nearby people all over, a gruesome sight.

"Ahhh!" came a shrill, panicked howl from the meat patty, the linen-clad heavenly immortal's voice extremely loud, sharp as a pig's squeal.

"Who dared ambush the Hope King Dao Master!"

Muyeyuan and the three unharmed heavenly immortals started, turning in unison to look behind, where they saw Chen Zheng walking step by step toward them.

"How noisy." Chen Zheng's eyes flashed cold; he flicked a finger, sending a spark piercing the clouds like lightning, striking the meat patty that the linen-clad heavenly immortal had become.

"My lord, this person is Chen Zheng—save me quickly!" the linen-clad heavenly immortal recognized Chen Zheng and shouted in panic.

"This is Chen Zheng? How could he possess such strength?" The three great heavenly immortals were startled; Chen Zheng's power was far beyond merely defeating the Taihuang Heaven, almost reaching the peak of heavenly immortals.

"This boy is indeed only the third layer of Longevity! Excellent—only such a heaven-defying existence as him is worthy to be my stepping stone!" Muyeyuan was not startled but delighted, his gaze locking onto Chen Zheng like a hungry wolf.

He flicked his finger, shooting out a dazzling immortal light that blazed across the sky, aiming to obliterate Chen Zheng's spark and save the linen-clad heavenly immortal.

But to his surprise, the immortal light struck the spark, not only failing to annihilate it, but was itself scattered into nothingness.

"Ah..."

The spark landed on the meat patty, the fire spreading like a prairie blaze, burning the linen-clad heavenly immortal to death.

"The Hope King Dao Master is dead? My lord actually couldn't withstand a single strike from Chen Zheng!" The three heavenly immortals jumped up like startled rabbits.

"This boy exceeds even my expectations." Muyeyuan's face showed surprise for the first time.

Although he hadn't used his full strength in that strike, he had been confident it would crush Chen Zheng, yet the outcome surprised him.

Besides the surprise, he grew angry from embarrassment.

His subordinate had been smashed into a meat patty by Chen Zheng and killed right before his eyes; even his attempt to rescue had failed, an intolerable disgrace.

"Great Immortal Art of the Nine Provinces' Mountains and Rivers—kill!"

Muyeyuan roared, his body swelling upward like an ancient monarch holding up the heavens; he thrust out a palm, the immense power within his hand pouring forth like a torrent, forming a vast central river whose surface bore the shadows of the Nine Provinces' mountains and rivers, as if concentrating the mountain-and-river force of an entire world, which he slammed down upon Chen Zheng to crush him into a meat patty and then refine and devour him, using the opponent's own method against him.

"What damned great immortal art, daring to be brought out to embarrass oneself?"

Chen Zheng smirked contemptuously, continuing to stride forward as flawless radiance burst from his body, with countless ancient great demons encircling the light, bowing and shouting.

He was like a supreme true demon strolling through an ancient paradise, his invincible aura crushing the gods, causing the central river to explode, the Nine Provinces' mountains and rivers to shatter, and the so-called great immortal art to vanish completely.

"What?" Muyeyuan, who had been furious at Chen Zheng's contempt for his great immortal art, now found his anger replaced by shock.

He never imagined Chen Zheng could be so overpowering as to shatter his great immortal art without using any technique.

Strictly speaking, the outcome of this exchange had already been decided—he had lost.

Yet he was not crushed by the defeat; his blood suddenly boiled, as if activating the frenzied blood of the War King Heavenly Sovereign.

Chen Zheng's strength excited him.

As long as he devoured his opponent, becoming the number one genius under heaven was trivial, let alone the number one genius of the immortal realm.

Moreover, once he ascended to the immortal realm, the Muyeyuan clan could swiftly become a Golden Immortal of the Great Luo, then, with a Golden Immortal's body, slay the heavenly sovereigns, shaking the entire immortal realm and terrifying the War King Heavenly Sovereign's ancestor and the Five Great Heavenly Sovereigns of the Heavenly Court.

How refreshing and delightful!

Muyeyuan trembled with excitement all over, and with a grasp of empty air he suddenly held a bronze sword.

The sword bore no patterns, its surface a dull blank, yet strange light flowed along its edge; the slightest movement sent the blade shooting forth, shattering billions of star systems.

The sword's aura seemed to eternally reside at the center.

"My lord has finally gotten serious, offering the Central Ancient Sword personally forged by the Central Great Emperor! This sword has merged with my lord's flesh, blood, and immortal Dao; its spirit has become his avatar, making it invincible! It will surely turn the tide and slay Chen Zheng!" The three great heavenly immortals were invigorated.

"My Central Ancient Sword will take your life!" Muyeyuan sneered, his aura merging with the Central Ancient Sword and climbing steadily, nearly equaling the combined strength of dozens of heavenly immortals.

"Just a mere immortal artifact—how is it any different from roadside weeds?" Chen Zheng glanced askance at Muyeyuan, and that single remark left the three great heavenly immortals stunned to the point of nearly fainting.

"Arrogant—attack again!" Muyeyuan bellowed, not expecting Chen Zheng to be even more arrogant.

The Central Ancient Sword thrust forth, releasing a sword intent that dominated all under heaven, striking toward Chen Zheng's face; its chilling sword qi resembled the heavenly dao's grand momentum, capable of collapsing a great world.

"Not worth a single blow." Chen Zheng, offhandedly, pointed without even looking.

With a bang, the endless sword qi collapsed; his fingertip struck the tip of the Central Ancient Sword, causing it to tremble violently, fly from Muyeyuan's hand, and pierce through the boundless sun, moon, and stars, vanishing who knows where.

Then he swung a slap, striking Muyeyuan's face, swelling his cheeks, sending his teeth flying, and he toppled in the void, tumbling repeatedly.

"How can my lord, who wields the Central Ancient Sword, have no power to resist Chen Zheng?" The three great heavenly immortals cried out in alarm, stepping back repeatedly.

"I am the Youthful Heavenly Sovereign—how dare you strike my face?" Muyeyuan, after rolling who knows how many times, barely managed to cover his pig-like head and stand, glaring at Chen Zheng with a furious roar, his lungs near bursting.

"You, a waste, dare to call yourself the Youthful Heavenly Sovereign?" Chen Zheng snorted contemptuously, gesturing with empty air to force Muyeyuan to kneel in the void, while his piggish head also swelled up.

"Damn it! You actually made me kneel—utter madness! I will make you regret this today, Sovereign Holy Law—kill!" Muyeyuan's eyes turned red, his teeth gritted until they bled, his roar like thunder.

Boom—

He unleashed the ultimate divine art from his lineage, behind which appeared a phantom with countless arms and heads, its body covered in ancient battle armor.

Boom—

The phantom was towering and mysterious, lofty beyond reach, unfathomably deep, treading the river of time, like a myriad‑dao bearer, yet seeming to transcend all rules, overlooking past, present, and future, judging the life and death of myriad beings as a heavenly sovereign; as Muyeyuan moved, it extended a great hand, shaking the ages, and pointed a finger to kill Chen Zheng.

"My lord has summoned the phantom of the War King Heavenly Sovereign! Supreme Heavenly Sovereign, a towering presence standing at the pinnacle of the immortal realm, none can oppose, none can defy!"

"The bloodline of the War King Heavenly Sovereign may be defeated but never insulted! This is what the War King Heavenly Sovereign himself wrote in the Muyeyuan clan precepts; Chen Zheng has dared to insult it, so he is doomed—the War King Heavenly Sovereign will immediately obliterate him!"

The three great heavenly immortals, roused from their decline, gazed at the phantom of the War King Heavenly Sovereign and shouted in trembling fury.

"Can the War King Heavenly Sovereign obliterate me? Does he himself know? I think his greatest mistake in life was failing to write in the Muyeyuan clan precepts: 'Upon seeing me, Chen Zheng, kneel.'"

Chen Zheng likewise raised his hand, pointed at the phantom of the War King Heavenly Sovereign, and from his fingertip flew the character "kneel," which landed upon the phantom's body.

Boom—

The War King Heavenly Lord's body collapsed like a primordial immortal mountain, kneeling down in the void.

(End of chapter)