Chapter 1029: Emperor's Sorrow

Chapter 1029: Di de Sang

The Da Cheng Sheng Ti, rivaling the Great Emperor!

This phrase echoed endlessly in Ye Chen's mind.

In an instant, his dim eyes once again shone with divine light, and his despondent will reignited with towering fighting spirit. Even though he was only half of the Huang Gu Sheng Ti, it was still a precious glimmer of hope.

Kill!

With a roar, he swung the Xue Ling Shen Dao.

Following him, Tai Xu Gu Long, Zi Xuan, and Chu Ling Er closely guarded his sides, protecting him as they advanced.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The Tian Mo army surged like tidal waves but was turned into clouds of blood mist in droves. Millions of soldiers couldn't halt the four of them, breaking through the impregnable defenses of Bei Zhen Cang Yuan and carving out a bloody path.

High in the void, the Tian Mo Great Emperor still stood there.

At that moment, his cultivation had been forcibly suppressed to the Tian Jing level, yet his pressure remained like an eight-thousand-zhang mountain, overwhelming the heavens. The patch of void where he stood had become a realm of chaos.

At some point, billions of demonic lights danced behind him, converging into a massive throne.

The Tian Mo Great Emperor casually sat down, resting his chin on one hand, and looked down at Ye Chen and his companions with great interest. "Huang Gu Sheng Ti, Tai Xu Gu Long, and the soul of Nu Di Yue Shang—this tiny Da Chu is full of surprises for me."

"Great Emperor, what about Tian Mo Jun and the others..." Tian Nu Mo Jun stepped forward, hesitating as if about to speak.

"They died, so be it." The Tian Mo Great Emperor laughed mockingly, slowly raising his arm. Thunder surrounded his fingertip, weaving together imperial Dao principles and forming a bolt of thunderous divine light.

"How boring." A slight smile curved his lips as he flicked the thunderous divine light toward Ye Chen and his group.

The dark thunderous divine light silently cut through the ethereal void, without any earth-shattering phenomena or thunderous booms. It was all so ordinary, as if it had traveled from ancient times through eternal vicissitudes.

Yet, this single bolt of thunderous divine light made Tai Xu Gu Long and the others, still in the midst of battle, abruptly turn around.

Though it appeared ordinary, it carried the power to destroy heaven and earth, infused with the Tian Mo Great Emperor's imperial Dao principles. If it struck, they would likely be obliterated on the spot.

Go!

Tai Xu Gu Long roared, quickly forming hand seals.

Seeing this, Zi Xuan gritted her teeth, grabbed Ye Chen with one hand and Chu Ling Er with the other, and instantly teleported thousands of zhang away. She burned her lifespan, desperately using the Shrink the Ground to an Inch technique, hoping to escape the reach of the Tian Mo Emperor's imperial Dao principles.

Tai Xu Cave!

At the same time, Tai Xu Gu Long ignited his dragon soul power, summoning a swirling Tai Xu vortex.

Buzz!

The thunderous divine light streaked through the sky, collapsing that section of the void, and struck directly into the Tai Xu vortex.

However, though the Tai Xu Cave was profound, it only held for less than a second before shattering.

Pfft!

Tai Xu Gu Long spat blood and was sent flying, his body a mess of blood and bones.

Useless!

The Tian Mo Great Emperor chuckled sinisterly and flicked out another bolt of thunderous divine light.

Fight!

Tai Xu Gu Long roared, sacrificing his dragon soul power and essence, transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang dragon. His scales gleamed with radiant immortal light, burning with dragon Dao principles.

Yet, even in dragon form, he was no match for the Tian Mo Emperor.

On the spot, Tai Xu Gu Long was pierced through, his life soul suffering devastating damage. Fresh blood sprayed across the void, a shocking sight, as he fell like a drifting leaf from the sky.

Lord Dragon!

Ye Chen, still fighting, suddenly looked back and saw Tai Xu Gu Long bleeding in the void, his dragon body exploding.

"Supreme One, I've disgraced you." Tai Xu Gu Long's dragon eyes dimmed, his gaze rapidly fading. His body was crumbling, his soul disintegrating, as the Tian Mo Emperor's imperial Dao principles devoured his last bit of life.

Tai Xu Gu Long was a remnant soul of Tai Xu Long Di, who had endured endless ages to develop consciousness and take dragon form. He had experienced the world's trials and tribulations. His former self was Tai Xu Long Di, shaking antiquity and illuminating history, unmatched across the heavens, yet he met a tragic end just short of full ascension.

In Nan Chu, Long Yi and Long Wu had tears welling in their eyes.

They were originally one with Tai Xu Gu Long, split into three by Chen Huang Xuan Chen. They were closer than brothers, and now, with Tai Xu Gu Long's destruction, they felt heart-wrenching pain.

Ah...!

Ye Chen's face was streaked with bloody tears, his roar like thunder, shaking heaven and earth.

Go!

Zi Xuan cried out sharply, suddenly raising her hand to fling Ye Chen and the pale Chu Ling Er thousands of zhang away.

Then, she turned abruptly, quickly forming hand seals, for the Tian Mo Emperor's thunderous divine light was hurtling toward them again.

Twelve Heavenly Characters Great Nether Array!

Zi Xuan clasped her hands together, summoning an ancient formation array, and sacrificed her lifespan along with the Nu Di remnant soul power.

But no matter how strong she was, she couldn't withstand the Tian Mo Emperor's assault.

Pfft!

As brilliant blood splashed across the void, Zi Xuan was pierced through by the thunderous divine light and plummeted from the sky.

Zi Xuan!

Ye Chen's face was wet with tears. The beautiful puppet who had trained with him and walked beside him all along also met a tragic end just short of ascension, withering like a flower in the wind.

"Nu Di, Sheng Jun, Zi Xuan has finally caught up to your footsteps." In her final moments, Zi Xuan smiled, blood surging from her mouth, mixed with tears. Her dimming eyes flickered with teary light.

In her blurred vision, she seemed to see a peerlessly elegant woman and a majestic figure—Dong Hua Nu Di Yue Shang and Huang Gu Sheng Ti Di Huang, the two myths of the myriad realms.

Like Tai Xu Gu Long, her final smile was one of weariness and resignation.

After enduring the changes of seas and mulberry fields, the Nu Di's remnant soul had extended a path full of scars through the mortal world.

Ye Chen, you must win!

In her last instant of life, she looked toward Ye Chen, just as Nu Di had once looked at Di Huang.

In that ancient era, Di Huang had fought alone against five great emperors of the Tian Mo domain to protect Yue Shang's ascension. Yue Shang became emperor, but Di Huang fell in battle, expending the last drop of Huang Gu Sheng Ti blood.

Now, after endless ages, fate's threads intertwined once more. She was the Nu Di's remnant soul, he the half-inherited Sheng Ti—both incomplete. The difference was, this time, the Nu Di's remnant soul was protecting the Sheng Ti inheritance.

Ah...!

Ye Chen wept on the battlefield, wildly swinging the Xue Ling Shen Dao. He didn't even have time to glance back at Zi Xuan.

The Da Chu expeditionary force was nearly wiped out, leaving only him and Chu Ling Er, the holy lord of Da Chu Heavenly Court, fleeing for their lives.

He wasn't afraid of death; he needed to survive, to phoenix from the ashes in this desperation, reaching quasi-Tian perfection and achieving full Da Cheng Sheng Ti.

Only then could he stand against an emperor, protect Da Chu's people, and on this road paved with blood and bones, carve out a bright future for posterity, avenging the souls who died for Da Chu.

Beside him, Chu Ling Er was also in tears.

The Tian Mo Emperor's power made her heart tremble. Even the heaven-piercing Tai Xu Gu Long and Zi Xuan couldn't withstand a single strike from him. She saw no hope ahead; her path was shrouded in darkness.

How boring!

The Tian Mo Great Emperor lazily stretched his neck and raised his hand, pointing a finger at Ye Chen and Chu Ling Er from afar.

Once again, that bolt of thunderous divine light streaked across the vast heavens.

Fight!

Ye Chen's roar was hysterical, his eyes blood-red. He burned his Sheng Ti essence and bloodline power, unleashing chaotic Dao principles that wove into reincarnation forces, pouring them into the Hun Dun Shen Ding.

However, just before the thunderous divine light collided with the Hun Dun Shen Ding, a graceful figure blocked his path—it was Chu Ling Er.

Boom!

The sound of the thunderous divine light crashing into the Hun Dun Shen Ding was crisp.

Yet, the thunderous divine light didn't pierce the Hun Dun Shen Ding, making the Tian Mo Great Emperor raise an eyebrow slightly. Gazing at the Dun Jia Heavenly Characters circling the Hun Dun Shen Ding, he smirked again, his imperial Dao eyes flashing with a hint of light.

"Da Luo Jin Xian, Dun Jia Heavenly Characters, Hun Dun Qi, and the Dao of All Things." The Tian Mo Great Emperor's laughter echoed eerily, ethereally vast, carrying supreme demonic power that resounded endlessly in this dim world.

Pfft! Pfft!

Though the Hun Dun Shen Ding didn't shatter, Ye Chen and Chu Ling Er both spat blood.

They were sent flying, and under everyone's gaze, they fell like two shooting stars from the ethereal void of Bei Zhen Cang Yuan, streaking across Zhong Tong Great Earth and crossing Nan Yan Great Marsh, ultimately crashing into Nan Chu.

Boom!

A tremendous boom echoed across Da Chu as a majestic mountain in Nan Chu collapsed from their impact.

Save them! Save them!

Shouts rang out across Nan Chu's five domains as countless figures rushed toward that land. They had watched Ye Chen and Chu Ling Er plummet into Nan Chu but were powerless to intercept them.

Beneath the gloomy sky and over the blood-soaked earth, rubble lay everywhere.

Ye Chen crawled out, his powerful Sheng Ti body covered in blood and bones. He was still alive; the Hun Dun Shen Ding and Chu Ling Er had shielded him from the imperial Dao principles' destruction.

Ling Er!

Staggering, Ye Chen made his way unsteadily to one side and knelt with a thud, using his remaining strength to frantically dig through the bloodstained rocks.

Finally, a bloodied figure appeared before him.

He went mad, cradling Chu Ling Er in his arms and crushing pills to feed her.

"I knew... I knew this day would come, that Chu Ling Er would die in Ye... Ye Chen's arms." She struggled to lift her bloodied hand, trembling as she touched his face, her beautiful eyes blurred by bloody tears.

"Don't leave me."

Ye Chen's face was streaked with bloody tears as he forcibly drew out his Sheng Ti essence and poured it into her, but he couldn't stop her fading life force. The tears on his face soaked her clothes.

Chu Ling Er smiled through her tears, wearily nestling in his arms to feel that final warmth. Her trembling eyes extinguished their last light, leaving only soft murmurs of a woman's tenderness.

"In the next life, may we both be mortals, unconcerned with the affairs of the red dust, untouched by the ways of the world. We'll till three acres of rice fields, plant ten li of peach blossoms, rise with the sun, and rest at sunset."

Chu Ling Er's voice faded as her eyes slowly closed, leaving only two trails of crystalline tears on her sorrowful cheeks.

Ah...!

Ye Chen threw his head back and roared, his voice shaking the heavens and earth.