Chapter 1459: Hou Yi Shoots the Sky

Upon seeing Ye Chen's golden blood essence burning like fire, those who did not know his true identity were stunned, completely caught off guard by this turn of events.

"No wonder his combat power is so overwhelming," an old fellow stroked his beard, finally understanding why Ye Chen was so formidable. As an invincible Huanggu Shengti in the same realm, it would be strange if he weren't powerful.

"Rumors said he died in the ancient ruins, so how is he still alive?" Many people scratched their heads, shocked that the Huanggu Shengti was not only alive but had also come to the Kongque family.

"This king should have guessed it earlier." In the virtual sky, Jinwu Taizi revealed a sinister smile, his golden eyes flashing with intense light. He waved his hand again, adding more secret techniques to the sun that was bearing down from above, intent on delivering a fatal blow to the legendary undefeated myth.

Empowered by his secret techniques, the already blazing sun erupted with even more brilliant divine radiance. Its annihilating force rampaged like the sun at the end of days, aiming to destroy all living beings in the world.

"Xiao Yuan Huang, assist me." Ye Chen spoke calmly, summoning his immortal fire and heavenly thunder. The immortal fire transformed into a divine bow, and the heavenly thunder into a divine arrow. He drew the bow to a full moon, gazing northwest toward the sun in the sky.

"Watch this!" Xiao Yuan Huang instantly turned into a strand of immortal light and merged into the thunder divine arrow. His full support infused the annihilating thunder arrow with a domineering aura, making its power so immense that it horrified many old fellows. It was destined to be a world-ending strike.

"The Hou Yi She Tian technique." The two great saints of the Jinwu clan narrowed their eyes, immediately recognizing the divine ability Ye Chen was using. It was the immortal law of the Wu clan from ancient times. Long ago, the great Wu god Hou Yi had used this very technique to shoot down eight great gods of the Jinwu clan.

"This matter today won't end well." Kongque Shengzhu pondered silently in his heart, clearly sensing the killing intent from the Jinwu great saint. The Jinwu clan and the Wu clan had been eternal enemies, and anyone or anything connected to the Wu clan was within their range of extermination, even a single secret technique.

"Divine fire and thunder, one arrow across the ages." With a roar, the thunder divine arrow, now fused with Xiao Yuan Huang's essence, pierced through the void and shot straight toward the domineering sun in the sky.

In that instant, everyone held their breath, looking up at the heavens. The Jinwu sun and the dark thunder arrow were drawing closer, both carrying world-ending power. No one could tell which was stronger.

As thousands watched, the two collided. Golden light and thunder intertwined, weaving into a halo that spread out endlessly from the point of impact. Everywhere it went, space shattered inch by inch, and even the protective barrier set up by the Kongque family was instantly shattered.

The thunder divine arrow and the Jinwu sun were locked in a stalemate, grinding against each other without either gaining the upper hand. Layer upon layer of annihilating halos spread in all directions, causing the void to tremble and the heavens and earth to lose their color.

Below, people's expressions changed. This level of battle had clearly surpassed that of quasi-saints and saints. The peak evolution of their secret techniques seemed to sketch out a scene from a golden prosperous era.

"Perish for me." Jinwu Taizi shouted coldly, pressing down with one hand and further empowering the Jinwu sun.

"Nine Heavens Ape Transformation, upholding the world." A roar echoed through the heavens, coming from within the thunder divine arrow—it was Xiao Yuan Huang's shout. He burst out from the arrow, transforming into a hundred-zhang giant ape that held up the sky with both hands, blocking the Jinwu sun. His domineering aura spanned the firmament.

The evenly matched confrontation finally shifted slightly. Xiao Yuan Huang's ape form blocked a third of the Jinwu sun's power, buying precious time for the thunder divine arrow to counterattack.

True to expectations, the thunder divine arrow rampaged with thunder, destroying the Jinwu sun in a single shot.

In that moment, the dim heavens brightened again. The shattered Jinwu sun turned into a shower of radiant light rain, sparkling as it fell upon the world, while the thunder divine arrow also dissipated.

Jinwu Taizi spat blood, suffering backlash, and his body staggered, nearly falling from the virtual sky.

Ye Chen and Xiao Yuan Huang also coughed up blood, enduring the same backlash. Xiao Yuan Huang was more severely injured, his flesh and bones torn and bloody. It was only thanks to the thunder divine arrow's heaven-defying breakthrough that he had avoided death.

After ten rounds, the powerful Jinwu Taizi had failed to eliminate Ye Chen and Xiao Yuan Huang. This peak one-against-two battle ended in a draw after ten rounds.

"Magnificent, truly magnificent." Below, exclamations rose one after another. "The Xiao Yuan Huang of the Dou Zhan clan, the Huanggu Shengti, and the Jinwu Taizi—this fight is even more wonderful than imagined."

"If all three were at the quasi-saint level, or all at the saint level, that would be exciting." The young disciples of the Kongque family all harbored such hopes. "A same-realm battle would surely be world-shaking."

"Kill." As the exclamations continued below, Jinwu Taizi in the virtual sky charged down fiercely, his face still twisted in rage. He formed a deadly technique with his hands, determined to slay Ye Chen and Xiao Yuan Huang.

Though the ten rounds appeared to end in a draw, everyone knew he was the one who had lost.

After all, he was at the saint level, while Ye Chen and Xiao Yuan Huang were only at the quasi-saint level. Even in a one-against-two fight, he should have won within ten moves, yet he had failed to eliminate them.

As someone of high status, how could he tolerate this? Moreover, the technique that had shot down his Jinwu sun was the Wu clan's Hou Yi She Tian, reminding him of the ancient humiliation. How could he let it go?

Ye Chen frowned, and Xiao Yuan Huang gripped his Wujin iron staff tightly, ready to continue the fight.

Qian Shang Yue moved, stepping into the sky to block Jinwu Taizi. She said coldly,

"Ten rounds are up. Is the prince being so aggressive because he is disregarding the Kongque clan?"

"So, the Kongque clan intends to protect them?" Jinwu Taizi stared coldly at Qian Shang Yue, his golden eyes flickering with murderous intent, his terrifying killing aura impossible to contain.

"The prince's words are too harsh." Qian Shang Yue's expression remained cold. "This battle was initiated by the prince, meant to stop at a certain point. Where does protection come into this? If the prince insists on fighting, I will accompany you."

"You—" Jinwu Taizi was at a loss for words, blocked by Qian Shang Yue's resolve. The Kongque family's princess was firmly protecting Ye Chen and Xiao Yuan Huang—what could he do? Start a war with the Kongque princess? That was impossible. He was here to propose marriage, and this was the Kongque family's territory, where he couldn't act recklessly.

"Kongque Dao You, don't you have anything to say?" The Jinwu clan great saint turned to Kongque Shengzhu, his expression extremely gloomy. "My clan only needs one word from Kongque Shengzhu."

"Matters among the younger generation are best left to them; us elders shouldn't interfere." Kongque Shengzhu smiled faintly. "Jinwu Dao You, don't make things difficult for this old man. Let's just drop this matter, shall we?"

"Good, just drop it then." Before the Jinwu great saint could respond, Jinwu Taizi snorted coldly and abruptly turned to leave, striding out of the immortal mountain in one step.

Before departing, he glanced back at Xiao Yuan Huang and Ye Chen, his eyes blood-red and filled with chilling light. This visit to the Kongque family had been a complete loss of face for the Jinwu clan. Not only had he failed to kill Ye Chen and Xiao Yuan Huang, but the Kongque clan had also protected them.

"I had thought of forming a marital alliance with your Kongque clan, but since your clan lacks sincerity, so be it." The Jinwu great saint also snorted coldly and ascended to the virtual sky, following Jinwu Taizi out of the mountain.

"So be it then—who needs you anyway?" Xiao Yuan Huang jumped three zhang high, leaping around in midair. Even after the others had left, he was still cursing, spitting everywhere.

"Don't hold me back; I have to beat him today." A group of old fellows from the Kongque family rushed over, all rolling up their sleeves, their faces dark with anger, each holding some weapon.

Ye Chen was pulled aside, while Xiao Yuan Huang, jumping about, was surrounded by the old fellows in layers. It was quite a spectacle.

"What are you doing? What are you all doing!" Xiao Yuan Huang cowered a bit but remained arrogant, yelling loudly. "I'm not trying to scare you, but my old man has a terrible temper."

"As if anyone has a good temper." The old fellows cursed and charged en masse, their faces twisted in fury as they beat and kicked him relentlessly, not holding back at all.

"Dad, someone's beating me." Xiao Yuan Huang's cries were as domineering as ever. He crawled out from the crowd, but was quickly dragged back in.

Kongque Shengzhu rubbed his forehead, and the many great saints of the Kongque family did the same. A perfectly good marriage alliance between the prince and the princess had been turned into a complete mess.

"Sorry for causing trouble for your family." Ye Chen looked at Qian Shang Yue and coughed lightly.

"It's for the best." Qian Shang Yue smiled charmingly. She had never liked Jinwu Taizi anyway, and with Xiao Yuan Huang and Ye Chen stirring things up, it had saved her a lot of trouble.

"Even so, I feel a chill down my back." Ye Chen chuckled dryly, glancing at Xiao Yuan Huang still getting beaten nearby, then at the old fellows, all stroking their beards with glaring eyes, as if they might come over and give him a thrashing too.

"You're tough-skinned; a few hits won't hurt." Qian Shang Yue laughed and took Ye Chen's hand, leading him away. "Let's go to my mountain peak; it's important to unseal the people from your Great Chu homeland."

Witnessing this, the old fellows of the Kongque family all stroked their beards meaningfully. In their memory, their princess had always been proud and aloof, speaking very little. Now, she was being so affectionate with a male cultivator—clearly, something was up.

"Don't say it, but our princess and the Huanggu Shengti do make a good pair." Many people stroked their chins thoughtfully.

"That thunder arrow of his was incredibly cool." The young disciples rubbed their hands excitedly, their eyes shining. "Compared to Jinwu Taizi, I prefer the Huanggu Shengti—he's invincible in the same realm!"

"What do you think, Shengzhu?" The old fellows turned to Kongque Shengzhu in unison.

"If Que Er has feelings for him, this old man has no objections." Kongque Shengzhu smiled warmly.

The Huanggu Shengti appeared only once every hundred thousand years, with a bloodline stronger than Jinwu Taizi's. Apart from a slightly weaker background and cultivation, there was nothing lacking; he would make a fine son-in-law.

In terms of character, Kongque Shengzhu favored Ye Chen. Jinwu Taizi had a king's bloodline but lacked a king's bearing and vision, so his future achievements would never match Ye Chen's.

Most importantly, his daughter liked Ye Chen—that was the key factor. His attitude toward Jinwu Taizi and Ye Chen was clearly worlds apart; even a fool could see there was something there.