Chapter 1003: Losing Emotions

Bang! Boom!

In the pitch-black world, Bei Zhen Cangyuan was stained with blood, and the battle raged on with horrific intensity. The Tian Ting army charged forward relentlessly, only to fall in droves.

Cangmang Mountain, one of the few towering peaks in Bei Zhen Cangyuan, stood majestic and imposing. Though protected by a mountain barrier, it was now completely surrounded by the dense ranks of Tianmo soldiers, leaving no escape.

On the mountain, the Haotian family had a considerable number of members, but compared to the Tianmo soldiers, they were pitifully few.

The invasion from Tianmo Yu had left the entire Bei Zhen Cangyuan in ruins, and the Haotian family was no exception. Only a small fraction had escaped with their lives; the rest, aside from those trapped here, had been reduced to corpses.

Boom! Boom!

The Tianmo soldiers' eyes burned with savagery, their blood-red pupils twisted in grotesque fury as they madly assaulted the mountain barrier.

Though the Haotian family desperately maintained the barrier, they could not withstand the overwhelming onslaught. The barrier was shattered in multiple places, and the Tianmo soldiers had charged in several times, only to be repelled at a heavy cost. For this, the Haotian family had paid dearly in blood.

At that moment, the mountaintop was also drenched in blood.

The elders formed a protective ring around Haotian Xuanzhen and Huaxu, while the supreme elders channeled their vital essence into them frantically.

Both were severely wounded: Haotian Xuanzhen had been pierced through the body by a spear, and Huaxu had been struck in the soul by a sword. These were fatal blows, causing their life force to dissipate rapidly and their soul flames to flicker weakly, on the verge of extinction.

Today was supposed to be their daughter's wedding day, but instead, they faced this catastrophe, staining Bei Zhen Cangyuan and the Haotian family with blood.

Haotian Shiyue wept uncontrollably, one hand clutching Haotian Xuanzhen and the other Huaxu. With her two younger sisters missing and her father and mother on the brink of death, she felt an unprecedented terror.

"Everyone will die."

Huaxu smiled through the blood, her maternal tenderness shining through as she gripped Haotian Shiyue's hand tightly.

"Go... to Nan Chu... find... Chen Ye."

Haotian Xuanzhen's gaze dimmed, his words faint and halting, filled with tears as he looked at Haotian Shiyue, almost as if seeing Haotian Chenye.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, the mountain barrier was breached.

"Kill! Leave no one alive!"

A figure clad in icy armor, wielding an ancient battle halberd, stood in the void, pointing toward Cangmang Mountain.

This was a Zhundi, his cultivation suppressed, yet his aura surged like an ocean, radiating overwhelming demonic energy. The bloodstained halberd in his hand had slain countless from the Haotian family—it was he who had gravely wounded Haotian Xuanzhen.

The Tianmo soldiers surged in from all sides, a black tide like a vast ocean, intent on engulfing the entire peak.

"Kill!"

The Haotian family's experts roared in fury, burning their lifespans to unleash immense power and casting divine abilities wildly.

But their resistance was too feeble; wave after wave of their people were swallowed by the Tianmo soldiers.

"Xuan Hai, take... take Shiyue and go."

On the mountaintop, Haotian Xuanzhen's blurred vision turned toward Haotian Xuanhai.

"Ah!"

Haotian Xuanhai wanted to say more, but he sighed and pulled Haotian Shiyue along. With the situation dire and Haotian Xuanzhen and Huaxu beyond saving, their only task was to protect the survivors.

"I won't go, I won't go."

Haotian Shiyue struggled, tears streaming down her face. The uncertainty of the path ahead filled her with fear; better to face death with her parents than venture into the unknown.

Boom!

At that moment, a figure descended from the sky, landing with such force that the mountaintop trembled.

Chen Ye?

The Haotian family members all turned to look—wasn't this Ye Chen?

"Go!"

Ye Chen said no more, ignoring Haotian Xuanzhen's wishes and hoisting him onto his back.

Seeing this, Haotian Shiyue wiped away her tears and carried Huaxu. Ye Chen led the way, forging a path, with the Haotian family elders following and the Tian Ting army providing support, cutting through a bloody escape route.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The Tianmo general with the battle halberd sneered, stepping across the void to block Ye Chen's path. He thrust out a palm, unleashing a sea of demonic energy that surged toward Ye Chen, aiming to engulf him and the Haotian family entirely.

Ye Chen responded with no words, only his most powerful strike—a single slash that cleaved the demonic sea and sent the Tianmo general staggering back, each step crushing the void beneath him.

The Tianmo general's face twisted in rage.

Who was he? A true Zhundi from Tianmo Yu, under the command of Yanmo Jun. Even with his cultivation suppressed, he was no match for an ordinary Zhuntian realm opponent. Now, being forced back by Ye Chen's blade, his authority was utterly shattered.

"Kill!"

The Tianmo general bellowed, shaking the heavens, and slammed down a massive palm from the sky.

"Get back!"

Ye Chen snorted coldly, punching upward into the void. His fist was etched with ancient seal scripts, fused with over a hundred divine abilities, shattering the massive palm seal.

Thud!

The Tianmo general's hand bones exploded, black blood spraying as he retreated once more.

Ye Chen pressed the attack, delivering another dominating punch that obliterated half of the general's body, then kicked him flying away.

"Go!"

With a sweeping palm, Ye Chen cleared a path, carrying Haotian Xuanzhen and moving with incredible speed. His goal was to escort the Haotian family to safety; otherwise, he would unleash a full slaughter.

"The Huanggu Shengti!"

High in the distant, ethereal void, the nine great demon lords stood watching, able to glimpse Ye Chen's formidable silhouette from afar, like an unstoppable war god.

"This small land actually has a Huanggu Shengti."

Lei Mo Jun chuckled softly.

"Just half a Huanggu Shengti."

An Mo Jun smirked mockingly, reigning supreme as if Ye Chen were beneath notice.

"He's mine—don't fight me for him."

Di Mo Jun licked his crimson lips. "The blood of a Shengti must be exquisite."

"Shouldn't we join the battle?"

Feng Mo Jun glanced at the others.

"What's the rush?"

Tian Mo Jun replied calmly. "Before the great emperor arrives, our task is to guard the Qingtian Mo Zhu. As for those minor foes from Da Chu, leave them to the Tianmo generals and soldiers."

"Surround him!"

As the demon lords spoke, Yanmo Jun's echoing voice resounded through the heavens.

He was furious; the one Ye Chen had kicked away was his own subordinate, a Zhundi from Tianmo Yu. To be sent flying by a Zhuntian realm fighter from Da Chu was a grave humiliation.

At his command, the black tide of Tianmo soldiers surged toward Ye Chen like a flood.

Buzz!

Ye Chen swung the Xue Ling Shen Dao, cutting down a swath of enemies, leaving a shocking trail of blood in his wake.

"Put me down!"

From behind, Haotian Xuanzhen's voice was weak and hoarse, laced with a tearful smile.

This might be the closest he had ever been to his child, perhaps the only time.

On the brink of death, his eyes blurred with bloody tears, filled with sorrow, fatherly love, and regret for duties unfulfilled. In his final moments, he did not want to burden his child.

"You haven't even visited my mother's grave to pay respects—do you plan to die like this?"

Ye Chen's words were calm but heavy with grief, his body's pores exuding Huanggu Shengti essence, which he channeled into Haotian Xuanzhen to sustain his life. Despite his resentment, the one on his back was still his father.

"Chen Ye, just... just pity me. Tell me, your mother... who... who is she?"

Haotian Xuanzhen looked exhausted, bloody tears tracing his weathered face.

"The woman you loved most in this life is my mother."

Ye Chen replied, choosing not to name her—he didn't know who she was.

"The woman I loved most..."

Haotian Xuanzhen's gaze darkened further, obscured by bloody tears. In his blurred vision, he seemed to see a simple woman standing under a peach blossom tree, smiling at him.

"Nian Ci."

As his eyes lost their final light, Haotian Xuanzhen's hoarse voice, in the last instant of his mortal life, whispered a name long buried in memory. She was Nian Ci, a devoted woman.

He was gone, yet fortunate in death, passing on his son's back—but never hearing Ye Chen call him "father." He departed with regret, guilt, and the ties of worldly affection.

"Father."

Haotian Shixue's eyes brimmed with tears, overflowing with pain.

"In the end, I still lost to her."

Gazing at Haotian Xuanzhen's closed eyes, Huaxu's tear-blurred eyes held a touch of bittersweet tenderness as she slowly shut her trembling eyelids. Her bloodstained arm slid limply down.

"Mother."

Haotian Shiyue's eyes spilled forth sorrowful tears, watching her parents die before her—a pain beyond words.

"Father, rest in peace."

Ye Chen's eyes, too, were misted with tears.