Chapter 1244: Those Who Do Not Kneel, Die

Chapter 1244: Those Who Do Not Kneel, Die

The ancient city was extremely prosperous, with people bustling in and out, all of them cultivators. Not a single ordinary person could be seen. Among them were many with great divine abilities, and along the way, they had already encountered more than one Zhun Sheng.

One section of the street was particularly crowded.

Upon closer inspection, the onlookers were all pointing and whispering about a woman in tattered clothes.

She appeared to be around twenty years old, barefoot with disheveled hair, clutching a steamed bun and nibbling on it while trembling as she walked down the street. In her ragged clothes, she looked just like a beggar.

She seemed to have suffered some kind of trauma, her mind not quite right. She kept her head down, eating the bun, occasionally glancing up in fear at the people around her, as if terrified of everything in the world.

The people on both sides of the street wore expressions of disgust, many covering their noses and scurrying away like they were avoiding a plague, hurling insults and curses, wishing the woman would just drop dead.

However, two people didn't back away and instead blocked her path in the middle of the road.

They were two burly men with beards, looking fierce and menacing, like bandits who lived by the blade.

They showed no hesitation, each stroking their chins and eyeing her up and down, their savage eyes flickering with lewd intent, as if they wouldn't mind taking this female beggar back for their own pleasure.

"Little girl, come with me!"

One of the burly men laughed, revealing a mouthful of disgusting yellowed teeth.

The woman seemed startled, hugging her bun and curling up, especially terrified by the savage grin on the man's face, making her whole body shake uncontrollably.

"I'll treat you well."

The burly man stepped forward, his laugh lewd and cruel, reaching out to brush aside her disheveled hair, but she dodged away instinctively.

"Ungrateful wretch."

The burly man's face turned vicious in an instant, and he swung his hand to slap her.

But as his palm swung down, it was suddenly caught by a hand that appeared out of nowhere.

In the next moment, the burly man felt his body lose balance, his feet leaving the ground as he was hurled into the air. Before he even hit the ground, he exploded into a mist of blood in midair.

"You—!"

The other burly man paled in shock and tried to flee, but a beam of divine light shot from behind him.

Thud!

Blood sprayed as the second burly man also turned into a mist of blood.

The scene was gruesomely bloody, sending a shiver through the hearts of the people on both sides, who all turned to look at the two who had struck: a young man and a bald man, none other than Ye Chen and Long Yi, who had come searching for the reincarnated one.

Ye Chen stepped forward, wanting to touch the woman's cheek.

But she dodged again, stumbling backward while staring at him in terror, clutching her bun tightly as if afraid he would rush over and snatch her food.

Ye Chen's nose tingled, tears welling in his eyes. He stepped forward abruptly and pulled her into his arms.

The woman struggled to break free, but Ye Chen held her even tighter.

"Shi Hua, don't be afraid. Your senior brother is here."

Those warm words made the struggling woman tremble, and she lifted her face. Through her messy hair, she saw a weathered face, her expression turning somewhat dazed.

"Don't be afraid!"

Ye Chen choked back emotion, gently patting her back.

The woman stopped resisting, just staring blankly at his face. His embrace was so warm.

Witnessing this, the people around began murmuring again, pointing at Ye Chen and Lin Shi Hua, and with Ye Chen holding her, even more covered their noses in disgust.

"What are you looking at? Get lost!"

Long Yi exploded in anger, shouting with a flash of cold light in his eyes.

"Young man, watch your words, or you might bring disaster upon yourself."

A leisurely voice spoke up—it was a purple-robed elder, his tone somewhat sinister, annoyed by Long Yi's outburst.

"All of you, kneel and apologize to her. Those who do not kneel will die."

Ye Chen held Lin Shi Hua with one arm, his expression indifferent, his words calm yet ethereal. Lin Shi Hua was the reincarnated one from Da Chu, who had died a hundred years ago fighting for the survival of the myriad domains, yet now she had fallen to such a state. The very people she had protected were showing her such revulsion—how could he not be furious?

"A mere Huang Jing, what audacity!"

It was the purple-robed elder again, his rebuke echoing like thunder.

But in the next second, his head was severed from his body, his rolling head still wide-eyed in disbelief. A dignified Huang Jing at the sixth heaven had been instantly slain.

"This..."

The people present changed color at once. That was a Huang Jing, after all!

"So, will you kneel or not?"

Ye Chen spoke calmly.

As soon as he said this, everyone frowned, and some muttered, "If we can't afford to offend him, can't we just avoid him?"

But as soon as that person took a step, a divine beam pierced his heart.

He stared in shock at the blood hole in his chest, his eyes bulging in disbelief, before collapsing on the spot, dead instantly.

"Young friend, you've gone too far."

A gray-haired elder at the peak of Huang Jing spoke coldly.

"One word: kneel or not?"

Ye Chen's tone remained flat.

"You're asking for death."

The gray-haired elder roared in fury, striking down with a massive palm, only for Ye Chen to casually swat it away, sending him flying hundreds of zhang. When he landed, he lay in a pool of blood.

Hiss!

The scene filled with gasps, everyone shocked by Ye Chen's power and ruthless methods.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Amid the shocked murmurs, beams of immortal light shot out, turning one standing figure after another into blood mist.

"We kneel! We'll kneel!"

Some dropped to their knees with a thud. If they didn't kneel, they would be next. Though they didn't know Ye Chen's connection to the female beggar, they knew kneeling meant survival.

However, not everyone knelt. A few still stood there with icy expressions.

Ye Chen said nothing. With one arm around Lin Shi Hua, he waved his other hand, and wherever it passed, only blood mist remained—no one who stood lived, as groups of people were wiped out in waves.

"We kneel! We'll kneel!"

Now, even those who had held out dropped to their knees in panic.

Ye Chen stood still, rooted in place.

In this ancient city, there were still those who didn't kneel: two in the tavern to the left, four in the tavern not far away, one in the tavern behind, and one in the tavern to the east.

They were all Zhun Sheng, currently sipping wine with carefree ease, unfazed by Ye Chen's slaughter, as if confident he wouldn't dare touch them, fully trusting in their own strength.

"The eight of you up there, come down."

Ye Chen spoke calmly.

"Kneel and apologize to her."

"Young friend, those who are arrogant meet no good end."

A purple-robed Zhun Sheng replied leisurely, still sipping his wine.

"Those with a heart full of killing will never achieve true enlightenment."

Ye Chen didn't respond. He lightly stamped his foot on the ground.

Immediately, the entire ancient city trembled violently, and the towering taverns collapsed under his stomp.

Now, the eight Zhun Sheng descended, floating gracefully to the ground.

It was still the purple-robed Zhun Sheng who spoke, stroking his beard as he looked at Ye Chen.

"You can choose your method of death."

Ye Chen remained silent, taking a step that shrank the distance in an instant, appearing right in front of the purple-robed Zhun Sheng.

"You—!"

The purple-robed Zhun Sheng, who had been so composed a moment ago, now paled in shock. He hadn't anticipated Ye Chen's mysterious movement technique, which even his Zhun Sheng cultivation couldn't track.

Splash!

Blood splattered as half of the purple-robed elder's body was blasted into mist by Ye Chen's punch.

The purple-robed elder staggered back, unsteady on his feet, when a domineering beam of immortal light pierced his Dantian. His Zhun Sheng cultivation was completely destroyed in an instant.

"My... my cultivation!"

The purple-robed Zhun Sheng howled in agony, unable to accept this reality.

Thud!

In the end, his faltering body could no longer hold up, and he knelt on the ground with a bang.

With his cultivation utterly ruined, he was no longer the lofty Zhun Sheng he once was, but a complete waste.

Perhaps only now did he truly understand regret. He had thought his Zhun Sheng power made him invincible, yet he couldn't even withstand a single move from a Huang Jing. If he had known Ye Chen was this strong, he would have knelt obediently and avoided this catastrophe.

"This... this...!"

The other seven Zhun Sheng retreated in unison, their faces ashen. Ye Chen's strength far exceeded their expectations—a full Zhun Sheng had been crippled in one strike.

As they retreated, the seven Zhun Sheng suddenly turned and fled into the sky. If they couldn't win, they would escape.

But as soon as they entered the air, a massive golden hand descended, slamming them down.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Beams of immortal light flew, blood spraying as the seven Zhun Sheng's cultivations were also completely destroyed on the spot.

"My... my cultivation!"

Their roars shook the heavens. They were no longer the exalted Zhun Sheng, but complete wastes. This was more painful than death—cultivation was their very life.

Seeing this, Long Yi sneered.

"I told you to kneel, but you didn't. This is what you brought on yourselves."

"Ah...!"

The seven Zhun Sheng howled in pain, collapsing to their knees. Only now did they know true regret. If they had knelt, they wouldn't have faced this disaster. As Long Yi said, they had only themselves to blame.

From that point on, no one in the ancient city remained standing. Row after row knelt, all trembling like Lin Shi Hua had earlier, their faces pale and filled with terror.

Ye Chen left, leading Lin Shi Hua by the hand as she still trembled in fear.

She no longer resisted, letting Ye Chen guide her. His warm hand gave her endless comfort, making her feel an inexplicable closeness to this young man.

"Why? Why?"

Behind them, the eight Zhun Sheng roared and wailed desperately.

"We had no grudge against you. Why?"

Ye Chen had already walked out of the ancient city, his figure vanishing, but an ethereal, majestic, and icy voice echoed back.

"The survival of the myriad domains was won with the lives of ninety million heroic souls. She was one of them. Every mountain, every river, every tree, every blade of grass, every flower, every living being in the myriad domains—including all of you—owes them a debt."