Chapter 1023: The Great Gift of the Heavenly Demon

Kill! Leave none alive!

Zhan Wang's voice rang out powerfully, his war halberd in hand as he charged straight at one of the *Tian Mo* generals, displaying overwhelming dominance and the full majesty of a king.

Kill! Leave none alive!

Xiao Chen followed closely behind, wielding Zhan Wang's great halberd and targeting another *Tian Mo* general.

The battle erupted in an instant. The armies of *Yin Ming* Holy Domain and *Jiu Tian Zhan Long* Sect surged forward like a black ocean from all directions, engulfing waves of *Tian Mo* troops.

The *Tian Mo* forces were already defeated and deep in enemy territory, caught completely off guard by an attack from ten times their number of *Da Chu* cultivators. From the start, they were utterly suppressed, with no chance to fight back.

Thud!

Blood splattered across the sky as Zhan Wang ended his fight first, piercing the *Tian Mo* general's chest with his spear and pinning him to the heavens.

Thud!

At the same moment, Xiao Chen beheaded the other *Tian Mo* general, sending his head tumbling through the air, and crushed his soul with a single palm.

Quick and decisive victory!

Zhan Wang's voice echoed through the heavens as he plunged into the *Tian Mo* army, swinging his war halberd like a club. Each strike wiped out swaths of demonic soldiers. Xiao Chen was not far behind, making a name for himself as Zhan Wang's son with his fierce prowess.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The *Zhongzhou* region of *Nan Chu* shook with thunderous roars, and similar rumbling sounds echoed from hidden forests elsewhere.

Looking into the distance, groups of *Da Chu* cultivators soared through the sky, relentlessly destroying transmission portals one after another.

The transmission portals that had appeared in *Nan Chu Zhongzhou* were not limited to just one.

To minimize casualties, Zhan Wang and Xiao Chen had focused on one of them. They couldn't spare more forces to suppress the others, so the remaining portals were destroyed on the spot.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

At the same time, deafening roars resounded across the other regions of *Nan Chu*: *Dong Yue*, *Nan Jiang*, *Xi Shu*, and *Bei Chuan*.

The *Tian Mo* transmission portals had not only appeared in *Nan Chu Zhongzhou* but also in the other four major regions.

The descendants of past kings and emperors shared a tacit understanding, treating this as *Tian Mo*'s great gift, just like Zhan Wang and Xiao Chen. They were using overwhelming force to suppress and annihilate the *Tian Mo* armies that had been transmitted in.

After an unknown amount of time, the roars across *Nan Chu* finally subsided.

In this battle, *Nan Chu* achieved a complete victory. All the *Tian Mo* soldiers who had secretly transmitted in were exterminated, with not a single one escaping.

Naturally, the descendants of past kings and emperors remained on high alert.

Scanning the skies, cultivators patrolled back and forth.

Surveying the ground, more cultivators searched meticulously.

This was a life-or-death war for *Da Chu*; no one dared to be careless. If any *Tian Mo* soldier slipped through undetected, the consequences would be dire. Ye Chen had issued a strict order: No *Tian Mo* shall be seen in *Nan Chu*.

Boom! Boom! Rumbling!

Although the roars in *Nan Chu* had died down, the direction of *Nan Chu*'s city walls was still ravaged by sounds like billions of thunderclaps.

Kill! Kill for me!

The *Tian Mo* generals continued to roar madly, waving their killing swords toward *Nan Chu*'s city walls.

They had executed their feint attack flawlessly, but they had no idea that all the transmission portals in *Nan Chu* had already been destroyed, and the *Tian Mo* soldiers who emerged from them had been completely wiped out.

Sound the retreat! Pull back!

Not long after, a cold and authoritative voice came from *Bei Zhen Cang Yuan*.

The *Tian Mo* generals were all stunned. The battle was at its peak—why retreat now?

Of course, they dared not disobey the orders of the demon lords and reluctantly sheathed their swords, glaring viciously at *Nan Chu*'s city walls before withdrawing.

In *Bei Zhen Cang Yuan*, the demon lords wore grim expressions.

They never imagined that their carefully planned inside-out strategy would be uncovered in advance. Not only did they fail to infiltrate a single soldier, but they also lost numerous transmission portals and *Tian Mo* troops. This was a tremendous humiliation for them and a devastating loss for the *Tian Mo* army.

*Da Chu*! *Da Chu*! *Da Chu*!

As the *Tian Mo* forces retreated, cheers erupted from *Nan Chu*'s city walls, shaking the earth. They had repelled the *Tian Mo* once again.

Ye Chen remained on the massive cloud platform, having stopped beating the war drum. Like a sovereign, he gazed down at the retreating *Tian Mo* soldiers.

Ji Ningshuang stepped forward, smiling gently as she said,

"If we hand *Nan Chu* over to you, can you hold it?"

"You're handing it to me?" Ji Ningshuang was momentarily stunned.

"Defending passively like this, it's only a matter of time before *Nan Chu* falls and *Da Chu* is destroyed."

"What are you trying to say?"

Ji Ningshuang furrowed her brows slightly as she looked at Ye Chen. From her understanding of him, she knew he was about to propose a bold and risky plan—a true gamble.

"To completely drive back the invading *Tian Mo*, we need to destroy their source."

"You're talking about the *Qingtian Mo Zhu*."

"Yes."

Ye Chen took a deep breath and gazed toward the direction of *Bei Chu*. "I want to assemble a *Da Chu* expeditionary force, made up entirely of Quasi-*Tian* realm experts. I'll lead them in a secret infiltration of *Bei Zhen Cang Yuan* to launch a direct assault on the *Qingtian Mo Zhu*."

"Entirely Quasi-*Tian* realm?"

Even Ji Ningshuang, with her composure, couldn't hide her shock at such a formidable assembly.

"This is a gamble."

After a couple of seconds, Ji Ningshuang frowned at Ye Chen.

"It's indeed a gamble."

Ye Chen's voice was hoarse. "But as the commander of *Da Chu*, I have no other choice. The *Tian Mo* are continually reinforcing their troops in *Da Chu*. We might hold them off the first time, the second, even the third, but can we withstand their endless assaults? *Da Chu*'s strength is being depleted every moment. This war can't be won by passive defense—we'll be worn down eventually."

"If we lose the bet, *Da Chu* will have no way to recover."

"Of course I know that."

Ye Chen inhaled sharply again. "But if we win, *Da Chu* will be saved."

At that, Ye Chen turned his head slightly, still looking straight ahead at his former lover. "Ji Ningshuang, if I take away over eighty percent of the Quasi-*Tian* realm experts, can you protect *Da Chu*'s people?"

"As long as I'm here, *Nan Chu* stands firm."

Ji Ningshuang breathed deeply, her beautiful eyes shining with unprecedented determination.

"Thank you."

Ye Chen smiled and abruptly turned to leave.

"Ye Chen."

Seeing him about to go, Ji Ningshuang quickly stepped forward, instinctively reaching out to grab his sleeve, but she let go just as quickly, embarrassed by her own action.

"Come back alive."

She lowered her eyes, her tone carrying a hint of plea, her gaze soft and tender, revealing the vulnerability of a young woman. In that moment, she was no longer the lofty Palm Master of *Zhengyang* Sect or the world-dominating queen, but simply a delicate wife bidding farewell to her husband on an expedition.

"I will."

Ye Chen didn't turn around, his laughter hoarse and weary, as he stepped down from the cloud platform.

Ji Ningshuang wanted to say more, but her lips parted without a sound. She simply watched his retreating figure blur in her vision. With this departure, they might never meet again.