Chapter 553: Astonishing

The great‑world's phantom image slowly rotated, exuding a massive, awe‑inspiring power that suppresses the heavens and nurtures all things; the boundless primordial world energy, like a reversed Star River, poured incessantly into the old man's gaunt body!

His aura surged again, and the surrounding Void moaned under the unbearable weight of this world‑level power, displaying bizarre twisted and folded visions.

A vast, towering world bent to his will; the terror of its power is easy to imagine!

This is no longer a contest of personal cultivation, but a crushing of one world's will and energy!

Seeing the old man finally unleash his trump card, a hint of solemnity flashed in Ye Wuque's eyes, yet the boiling battle intent remained dominant!

"The internal world of the Marquis Immortal… perfect, let me test where my current limit lies!"

Ye Wuque whispered, then, with no further restraint, the terrifying flesh power long suppressed within him erupted like a sleeping volcano!

"Boom—!!!"

A pure, domineering, terrifying Blood Qi blaze, as if capable of holding up the heavens and crushing the Star River, surged from Ye Wuque's celestial spirit cover upward, blasting into the sky and carving a massive hole through the chaotic energy turbulence above!

Immediately, a dazzling, pale‑golden divine radiance burst from his body, as if it could illuminate darkness for ten thousand ages!

Within the radiance stood a flesh Great Emperor Dharma Image towering ninety million kilometers, earth‑piercing, its features vague yet exuding the supreme authority that suppresses Nine Heavens Ten Earths and sweeps Liuhe Bahuang, bursting forth to cover the heavens!

That Dharma Image was not a phantom but solid as stone, seemingly forged from the purest Undying Immortal divine gold and Chaos Blood Qi, its muscular contours the perfect creation of heaven and earth, containing destructive power.

The instant the Dharma Image appeared, even the massive pressure emitted by the old man's internal‑world phantom was abruptly halted and split!

This is precisely the ultimate flesh form—Emperor Form—that Ye Wuque awakened after refining the Undying Indestructible Imperial Golden Body to the Eighth Turn, Supreme Emperor Descends Dust!

It is also his current strongest flesh path form!

"Roar—!"

Ye Wuque and the ninety‑million‑kilometer flesh Great Emperor Dharma Image roared in unison, a sound that shook the Star River!

His figure instantly merged with the Dharma Image, becoming one indistinguishable!

In this moment, he is the Dharma Image, and the Dharma Image is him!

His will is the Dharma Image's will, and the Dharma Image's power is his power!

"Kill!"

Ye Wuque, fused with the Emperor Form Dharma Image, stood ninety million kilometers tall, like a chaotic deity that opened Heaven and split Earth, simple and direct yet harboring terrifying power that could shatter the universe; his massive fist shot across the void with a thunderous blow!

Where the fist passed, the Void was pierced layer by layer like paper, revealing the raging Chaos turbulence behind; the pure force and speed reached an inconceivable realm, directly targeting the Grey‑robed Old Man's true body!

That punch involved no flashy divine techniques, only force! Ultimate force! Enough to pierce world barriers and shatter the stellar sequence with absolute power!

The Grey‑robed Old Man's complexion changed completely! He hadn't expected Ye Wuque's flesh to be so overwhelmingly strong! The pressure emitted by that Dharma Image even gave him a faint palpitations!

"World Barrier!" the old man shouted without hesitation; the vast internal‑world phantom behind him suddenly flared, endless world power surged forth, instantly coalescing before him into an immensely heavy, dark‑golden barrier that seemed compressed from countless world crusts! Across the barrier, the outlines of mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas were clearly visible, exuding an indestructible, eternal aura!

"Dong—！！！！！！！！！"

Ye Wuque's terrifying fist, fused with the Emperor Form Dharma Image, struck solidly onto the World Barrier!

An indescribable crash wave and energy explosion!

As if two massive stars that birthed countless lives collided! It also resembled the first thunderous roar when Heaven was opened and Earth split!

At the collision's core, the light completely devoured everything! It was the most direct annihilation and mutual consumption of power and law!

Boom—boom—boom—boom—!!!

The wave of destruction was more than ten times fiercer than before! This time, not only the Northern Icefield but the entire ancient star trembled violently from the collision's aftershock! The star's surface cracked into countless terrifying chasms reaching the core, volcanoes erupted, tsunamis swept across! Within the Star Domain, nearby asteroids and meteor belts were pulverized into dust!

The colliding light and turbulence lasted for several breaths, only then allowing a glimpse of the interior.

The dark‑golden World Barrier, condensed from the old man's internal‑world power, was now riddled with countless cracks, like porcelain about to shatter; its light dimmed to the extreme, yet it ultimately… did not completely break!

Behind the barrier, the Grey‑robed Old Man's complexion turned slightly pale, his aura showed noticeable fluctuations, clearly the effort of maintaining the barrier against Ye Wuque's supreme punch drained a considerable amount of his Primordial energy.

Meanwhile, Ye Wuque's ninety‑million‑kilometer Emperor Form Dharma Image dimmed slightly after unleashing that punch, and faint cracks even appeared on the massive fist peak.

Inside the Dharma Image, Ye Wuque's own body's Blood Qi roiled violently, a sweet sensation in his throat, but he forced it down.

The first full‑force clash seemed evenly matched, yet Ye Wuque knew he was slightly at a disadvantage.

After all, the opponent had an entire internal world as backing, energy nearly limitless, while his own Emperor Form, though powerful, consumed terrifying amounts.

"Again!" Ye Wuque's battle spirit surged, the Emperor Form Dharma Image swung a massive fist once more, the strike even more ferocious, as if to hurl this Star Domain back into Chaos!

A fierce glint flashed in the Grey‑robed Old Man's eyes; no longer merely defending, the world phantom behind him rotated, endless world power shaping into phantom mountains, rivers, Divine Weapons, and colossal beasts, launching a cataclysmic counterattack against Ye Wuque's Emperor Form Dharma Image!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! …

Fist imprints collide! Palm forces clash! Laws strangled! Energy annihilated!

The two fought from the shattered stellar surface all the way up into the starry sky!

Where they passed, Space fractured, laws tangled, barren stars were easily crushed by battle aftershocks, and nebulae were torn apart by the raging energy!

The entire Desolate Star Region now became the most terrifying battlefield!

Ye Wuque drove the Emperor Form's might to the limit; every punch and kick carried the awe‑inspiring power to shatter stars, fully manifesting the flesh secrets of the Undying Indestructible Imperial Golden Body.

He alternated turning fists into palms to rend sky and earth, then aligning fingers like swords to annihilate stars, then shoulder‑to‑knee strikes to cleave mountains!

The Grey‑robed Old Man, relying on the Marquis Immortal's profound cultivation and the endless energy of his internal world, fought steadily; the world's power evolved into myriad forms, merging offense and defense.

He condensed world power into swords and blades to slash Ye Wuque's Dharma Image; he shaped mountains and great peaks to press down; he even summoned wind, rain, thunder, and lightning within the world, turning them into endless elemental attacks.

The battle reached the utmost intensity and the utmost cruelty!

Finally, in an unadorned head‑on clash—

"Dong—!!!"

A thunderous blast more muffled and terrifying than any before erupted!

Ye Wuque's Emperor Form Dharma Image, a massive fist, collided boldly with the old man's condensed world‑power mountain peak!

"Puff—!"

This time, Ye Wuque could no longer suppress the surging Blood Qi; the Emperor Form Dharma Image's massive mouth opened, spewing a torrent of pale‑golden blood brimming with massive Life Essence, cascading like a waterfall and staining the void's dust red!

His body flew uncontrollably outward, shattering several floating meteors behind him; the Emperor Form Dharma Image's radiance dimmed by more than half, and a few clear cracks appeared!

However, the Grey‑robed Old Man was far from fine!

Ye Wuque's supreme one‑punch, although blocked by the world's mountain peaks for most of its force, still retained a pure‑to‑the‑extreme, terrifyingly penetrating Flesh punch power that, like a maggot in the heel bone, pierced the world's power defense and hammered the Grey‑robed Old Man's right arm!

Crack!

A crisp bone‑cracking sound, even amid the roar of the energy explosion, was clearly audible!

"Ugh—!" the Grey‑robed Old Man let out a painful groan; his withered skinny right arm now bent and deformed at a strange angle, the arm bone almost completely shattered!

Dark red blood, thick with the aura of Dead Silence, spurted like a fountain from the wound in his right arm, scattering a mournful spray of blood across the starry sky!

The Grey‑robed Old Man staggered back several steps, and the steady aura of Marquis Immortal showed its first obvious turbulence and decline!

At this moment, the Grey‑robed Old Man's complexion had become extremely hideous, so gloomy it seemed it could drip water!

His deep Dark Eye stared fixedly at the distant, steady Ye Wuque—still bleeding and wounded yet his gaze remained bright as fire—filled with shock and anger, disbelief, and a hint of horror that even he himself would not admit… horror!