Chapter 1016: Inspiring

Retreat! Quickly retreat!

Watching the Tian Mo soldiers fall in droves, the Tian Mo demon generals roared in fury. Their enemies were well-rested and waiting. If they charged recklessly, who knew how many lives would be lost.

In an instant, the Tian Mo soldiers collectively retreated in disarray, not stopping until they were beyond the maximum range of the city wall's Xu Tian Sha Zhen. There, they reformed into neat ranks of demon troops.

On their side, Tai Xu Gu Long and his companions had already climbed onto the city wall, their faces pale and most of them wounded. The kings of past generations and the descendants of the emperors gazed at the wall beneath their feet, their eyes flickering with profound meaning. Was this a precaution for the future? Despite the immense pressure of the past, they had insisted on building this wall, which had seemed useless in their eyes back then. Now, it had become their greatest barrier against the Tian Mo.

Xing Wang?

When Gu San Tong and the others saw Xing Wang among them, they froze, thinking they must be seeing things. The legendary Xing Wang—hadn't he died during the Zhengyang Sect's great battle?

Tai Xu Gu Long fell silent, his heart aching unbearably. How could he not know why Xing Wang had been reborn? It was at the cost of his disciple's life.

Xing Wang ignored their puzzled stares.

At that moment, like the demon kings, he looked down at the city wall. With his keen insight, he could see that it was no ordinary structure; every inch of its surface was inscribed with array patterns.

What about Ye Chen?

As everyone fell silent, Zhong Jiang asked the question.

The moment he spoke, everyone's brows furrowed, realizing that Ye Chen was not there.

Over there!

Someone shouted.

At the sound, all eyes turned in the direction the person pointed.

What they saw was an endless Tian Mo army, like a black carpet covering the earth and a dark canopy shrouding the sky.

Amid the vast sea of Tian Mo forces, they spotted two figures. Compared to the army, they were like tiny grains of sand. It was Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang, carrying Hu Wa and Xi Yan on their backs, charging wildly through the Tian Mo ranks.

Any who block me shall die!

Though Ye Chen's form was small, his icy voice echoed through the vast heavens, resonating endlessly between heaven and earth.

Kill!

The Tian Mo army surged like tides, swallowing Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang wave after wave, only to be carved out a bloody path by the two of them time and again. The scene was utterly harrowing.

Dammit!

Man Shan roared in anger and grabbed his battle axe, ready to lead a charge out of Nan Chu's city wall. But Tai Xu Gu Long held him back.

It wasn't that Tai Xu Gu Long and the others didn't want to save them; the distance was simply too great. Charging out now would mean needless sacrifices. All they could do was wait until the two were closer, then rescue them in one swift move.

Pfft! Pfft!

In the midst of the Tian Mo army, Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang fought back to back, their combined strength allowing them to plow through tens of millions of Tian Mo soldiers without anyone halting their advance.

On their backs, Hu Wa and Xi Yan's breaths had grown extremely weak, their flickering soul flames on the verge of extinction. Even a Da Luo Jin Xian could do nothing to save them now.

"Shiniang, Xi Yan is so tired."

On Ji Ningshuang's back, Xi Yan murmured weakly, her clear and beautiful eyes growing hazy, her gaze fading as her eyelids trembled, as if they might close at any moment.

"Girl, we're almost home."

Ji Ningshuang whispered softly, pouring her surging Xuan Ling essence madly into Xi Yan's body, desperate to sustain her life long enough to return to Nan Chu and let her see her emperor father and empress mother one last time.

"Big brother, Hu Wa didn't let you down, right!"

On Ye Chen's back, Hu Wa lay exhausted, murmuring in his simple, honest way. Just like in the old days at the small spirit garden, his fiery eyes had dimmed to near darkness. No matter how much essence Ye Chen infused, it couldn't stop the decline.

"From beginning to end, you've done great."

Ye Chen's voice was hoarse, his smile weary and aged.

"Big brother, thank you."

Hu Wa gave a simple smile, utterly spent. His dim eyes, which he had refused to close, finally trembled shut, and his arms around Ye Chen's neck slid limply down.

In his final moments, he thought of the small spirit garden from years ago.

It was a memory of ordinary hardship—an elderly Zhang Fengnian, a low-level spirit beast named Xiao Ying, and the big brother he had always respected. He had felt the warmth of home there, never to forget it until death.

Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang both trembled, their eyes brimming with misty tears.

In a way, Ye Chen was Hu Wa's enlightenment master, and Ji Ningshuang his true teacher in the Dao. In every sense, they were the most important people in Hu Wa's life. The honest boy from the past had brought them much pride.

"Ye Chen."

Xi Yan on Ji Ningshuang's back seemed to summon her last bit of strength, lifting her eyes filled with tears to look at Ye Chen, calling him by name instead of "master."

"In the next life, will you marry me?"

Xi Yan's eyes were blurred with tears. In that moment, she was not a little girl or his disciple, but a devoted woman, her misty gaze full of tender affection.

"I will."

Ye Chen smiled through his tears.

"Then, in the next life, I'll wait for you."

Xi Yan smiled radiantly, her eyes that had refused to close finally shutting as she gazed at Ye Chen, hoping to etch his weathered face into her soul for all eternity.

Ye Chen's body shuddered again, blood tears overflowing from his eyes.

Years ago, it was he who had given her that hope—a princess from the mortal world who had traveled thousands of miles to Hengyue Sect. The scene was still vivid in his mind, but that mischievous girl had now faded away with her last warmth.

Boom!

A Xu Tian Sha Zhen swept in, striking the grieving Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang and sending them flying into the void, crashing into the ground and forming a deep crater.

The two quickly took out jade belts and secured the lifeless bodies of Xi Yan and Hu Wa to their backs.

Your master will take you home!

Your master will take you home!

Speaking in unison, they gripped their killing swords and charged at the oncoming Tian Mo army.

Pfft! Pfft!

Blood sprayed everywhere as swaths of Tian Mo soldiers were obliterated into ash.

The two fought side by side, one like an Eight Wastelands War God and the other like a Peerless Queen, striking fear into the hearts of the Tian Mo. Not only the Da Chu cultivators, but even the Tian Mo demon generals were stunned, their hands trembling on their weapons.

Watching this, the Da Chu cultivators felt a sense of daze.

In the past, Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang had been lovers and rivals. Now, fighting together again, they showed the world their prowess. Among the Qing generation disciples, no one could surpass their glory.

Kill! Kill them for me!

The Tian Mo generals, whether from fear or something else, roared in rage and raised their killing swords, directing all the Xu Tian Sha Zhen at Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The dark Xu Tian Sha Zhen blanketed the sky, unleashing devastating power. Before the divine light even struck, the heavens collapsed under the pressure.

Suo Di Cheng Cun!

Ye Chen unleashed a secret technique, shrinking the ground to cover thousands of zhang in an instant.

Qian Kun Dao Zhuan!

Ji Ningshuang also used her secret technique, similar in effect, escaping thousands of zhang away.

They had just moved when the barrage of divine light arrived, enveloping thousands of zhang of sky and earth.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

They had escaped, but the Tian Mo soldiers were not so lucky. That stretch of void turned to smoke in an instant, and in that area, whether soldiers or generals, none survived.

Bastards!

The Tian Mo generals bellowed in fury, gripping their battle halberds and charging from all sides on ancient war chariots.

Get lost!

Ye Chen roared with heart-wrenching pain and unrelenting fury, slashing out a monumental blade light. A demon general who had just charged in was cut down before he could even attack.

Pfft!

Meanwhile, Ji Ningshuang executed a supreme divine ability, decapitating a demon general from hundreds of zhang away.

Roar!

A dragon's roar echoed as a demon general was forced to reveal his true form—a massive black Jiao Long. Its enormous dragon body crushed the void, its dragon eyes firing thunderbolts aimed at destroying Ye Chen's soul and physical form.

Ye Chen swept his hand across the sky, shattering the thunderbolts with a palm, then closed in instantly. He combined over a dozen Shen Shang secret techniques in a flash, obliterating the demon general's soul.

Next, Ye Chen manifested a massive hand, seizing the black Jiao Long's tail and wielding it like a whip. Any Tian Mo soldiers that rushed forward were instantly swept away, and any generals were flung through the air.

The battle was brutal and shocking; the Tian Mo army of tens of millions was thrown into chaos by just the two of them.

Great!

On Nan Chu's city wall, roars of excitement erupted, igniting the blood of all Da Chu cultivators.

This was the might of the Heavenly Court Holy Lord, the might of the Zhengyang Sect Leader. The union of the Huang Gu Sheng Ti and Xuan Ling Zhi Ti was invincible. Their power inspired immense confidence in the Da Chu cultivators. Though the Tian Mo were numerous, they were not unbeatable.

In this war, without fighting to the end, victory or defeat remained uncertain.

The massive Heavenly Court war banners waved as they cheered for Ye Chen and his companions, even if they couldn't rush out to rescue them yet.

Dammit!

In the distant Bei Zhen Cang Yuan, the Dark Black Mo Jun snorted coldly, as if he could see Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang rampaging here.

With that, he drew his battle spear, and a black river appeared beneath his feet, instantly bridging Bei Zhen Cang Yuan and Nan Chu. He stepped onto it, and the black river vanished, taking him with it.

When he reappeared, he was in the midst of the Tian Mo army at Nan Chu's edge.

Mo... Mo Jun?

At the sight of the Dark Black Mo Jun's arrival, whether demon generals or soldiers, their hearts trembled.

Useless, all of you!

The Dark Black Mo Jun's voice boomed like thunder. With a wave of his hand, he summoned ninety-nine war banners that filled the void, forming a massive array that trapped Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang, draining their essence.