Chapter 1466: A Bunch of Rats

The Honghuang Forest roared violently, as if the void were being ravaged by thunder, caught in a chaotic cycle of shattering and mending.

The battle was fiercely brutal, with everyone fighting desperately. Blood of various colors splashed like colorful light rain, weaving into stunning scenes, though those vivid displays were gruesomely bloody.

Qinglong, Baihu, Zhuque, and Xuanwu sprang into action, each forming seals and jointly summoning a barrier to protect this realm. The two combatants' fluctuations were too intense, and they wanted to prevent those below from being caught in the aftermath.

Someone said tentatively, "This is getting a bit bloody. Won't Xuanwu Wang step in?"

"A junior's affair, as long as no seniors get involved, the South Domain's Xuanwu Wang won't interfere," a mouse spirit said, stroking his small mustache. "It's like this every year; he's already accustomed to it."

"It's over, Jiutou Niao is done for." Someone shouted this, drawing the attention of those scanning for Xuanwu Wang's figure, all looking up toward a distant, hazy expanse of the sky.

In that section of the void, the fighting was the most intense. Ten Zhun Sheng surrounded and attacked Ye Chen, but he left them all in disarray. Jiutou Niao was the most wretched among them, his divine body already shattered.

Ye Chen paid special attention to him, directing every major technique straight at Jiutou Niao. He harbored a killing intent toward Jiutou Niao, solely because that creature had crossed his boundaries—he had to die.

"Save me." Reduced to just his primordial spirit, Jiutou Niao burned his spiritual power, fleeing clumsily through the void. What drove him mad was that Ye Chen was fixated on him, darting over whenever possible to strike.

"Can you escape?" Ye Chen snorted coldly, crossing the void to pursue him. He unleashed a palm strike that dominated the heavens, obliterating half of Jiutou Niao's primordial spirit and swatting him down from the sky.

"In your next life, don't provoke those you shouldn't." Ye Chen's expression was icy, his words like a death sentence. Gripping a pitch-black war spear, he hurled it toward the falling Jiutou Niao. The spear carried devastating force, piercing through the void space in a lethal thrust.

Jiutou Niao's face was filled with terror, desperately fleeing for his life. His primordial spirit hadn't even been pierced by the spear yet, but he already felt an bone-chilling cold, as if being dragged into the depths of Jiu You to endure infernal torment.

He truly sensed the aura of death. All his so-called pride meant nothing in the face of demise.

Perhaps only at this moment did he truly understand regret. He could have simply attended the grand event peacefully, but instead, he had foolishly challenged the Huanggu Shengti, leading to this miserable end.

Save me, save me! In his final moments, Jiutou Niao looked toward Jinwu Taizi. With Jinwu Taizi's power, a mere gesture could rescue him from this crisis.

But Jinwu Taizi merely watched with interest, a slight curve to his lips. "Waste."

Jiutou Niao roared in fury, his face twisted with resentment and rage, his eyes blood-red.

His current plight was half due to Jinwu Taizi. Had Jinwu Taizi not revealed Ye Chen and his old friends' whereabouts, he wouldn't have orchestrated this spectacle today.

Regret was futile now, for the spear had already struck, nailing him in midair. The killing intent on the spear rapidly obliterated his primordial spirit, utterly dispersing it into nothingness.

Following him, more blood rained down from the sky as another was slain, torn apart on the spot by Ye Chen. It was another large bird with a respectable bloodline, though no one knew its exact race.

Ye Chen didn't bother figuring out its race—he killed it outright. If you insist on opposing me, be prepared to be wiped out. As the old saying goes, those who live by the sword will die by the sword.

Of the ten Zhun Sheng, two had been eliminated, yet the remaining eight showed no sign of retreating. They fought like frenzied beasts, unleashing world-shaking divine abilities and terrifying artifacts from the heavens, refusing to stop until he was dead.

Ye Chen was anything but polite, striding through the Taixu, soaring across the nine heavens. With his Huanggu Shengti, he clashed head-on, countering their supreme divine abilities. Facing eight opponents, he still gained the absolute upper hand.

The onlookers below watched in astonishment. Three years ago, they had heard rumors of Ye Chen taking on twenty-seven at once outside the Donghuang Ancient City, but back then, it was just hearsay, and not everyone believed it fully. Now, seeing it with their own eyes, no one doubted it anymore.

In the midst of it, another was slain—it was the opponent of Xiao Yuan Huang, an ancient Feng Diao, killed horribly by a club smash that exploded its body. Its primordial spirit tried to flee but was still extinguished.

Almost simultaneously, Da Di Wu Xiong slew an ancient Xue Yan with a single slap, sending it flying to its death. Both body and spirit were annihilated, leaving only a puddle of flesh upon impact.

The two let out fierce roars and charged toward Ye Chen's side, fighting shoulder to shoulder against the enemies.

Below, more people rushed upward, one after another, most heading straight for Ye Chen.

Someone tallied it up: Besides Ye Chen and his six companions, over twenty others had joined the battle. The enemy side, excluding the Baqi Great Snake at the Sheng level, consisted entirely of Zhun Sheng, all fiercely aggressive.

"A group of rats." Among the Zhun Sheng, Ye Chen was the most ferocious, skewering a three-headed strange bird with a single spear, completely obliterating its primordial spirit. Its body plummeted from the void, turning into a wisp of bloody ash.

"Suppress him for me!" A red-winged bird attacked, activating a blood-colored ancient seal that descended from the heavens. As the prince of the Yi Clan, he was somewhat renowned among the Zhun Sheng.

That blood-colored ancient seal collapsed vast swathes of space, but it failed to suppress Ye Chen. Instead, it was flipped away by his palm, and his Chaos Shen Ding buzzed loudly, smashing it to pieces.

With his natal artifact damaged, the red-winged bird suffered backlash, his body cracking open as blood sprayed out. He staggered back, but before he could steady himself, Ye Chen was upon him, tearing him apart alive.

In retaliation, Ye Chen's back was struck by a sword. The attacker was an ancient Fei Huang, the strike vicious and deadly, a killing divine ability that would have slain an ordinary Zhun Sheng.

Ye Chen whirled around, hurling a massive Smashing Monument Hand that sent the ancient Fei Huang flying, followed by his Ninefold United Shen Shang divine light piercing its divine sea and annihilating its primordial spirit.

"Die!" Yet another assailant struck from ambush, a sword thrust swift and destructive.

This one was no ordinary foe—an ancient three-eyed divine bird whose ancestors were major powers in the Honghuang era. Their bloodline origins were innately aligned with the Shen Cang, overwhelmingly dominant.

However, no matter how powerful the bloodline, as long as it was a Zhun Sheng, it was meaningless before the Shengti.

Ye Chen charged forward, neither dodging nor defending, allowing the three-eyed divine bird's sword to pierce his chest. But his raised palm had already transformed into a divine blade, splitting the bird in two.

In that instant, princes from three powerful races joined the assault, all avian in form with ancient and mighty bloodlines. They united to activate a dark kill sword, slashing down from the heavens.

That kill sword was a genuine Zhun Sheng Wang weapon, having devoured countless lives' blood and bound numerous vengeful spirits, enhancing its power immensely. It actually cleaved the heavens apart in one strike.

Ye Chen was wounded, his arm nearly severed, hanging by a thread of flesh to his shoulder.

The Shengti's recovery was overbearing; the arm reattached in an instant. Ye Chen ascended to the sky, transforming his Chaos Ding into a war spear and smashing it down. One opponent was instantly reduced to blood mist, another's body was pierced, and the third met the worst fate—his primordial spirit directly impaled.

Seeing Ye Chen's dominance, companions like Xiao Yuan Huang and Kui Niu in the fray burst into laughter, their battle spirit soaring. On their first day as sworn brothers, the seven fought side by side, bathing in blood, fighting madly and killing with bloodshot eyes in a raw, primal manner.

More blood rained down as another prince fell, slapped into a pulp by Ye Chen.

By now, he had slain eight princes, yet he grew fiercer with each fight. Though surrounded, he held the absolute advantage, not the enemy chasing him, but him pursuing them.

He was truly like a blood-soaked war god, dazzling and impossible to look at directly. Wherever he went, bloodbaths followed, and princes from various races were cut down, the scenes gruesomely vivid.

The heavens were stained red with blood, figures plummeting one after another, their blood flowing freely, none surviving—all corpses. Most were slain by Ye Chen, with rolling killing intent rampaging through the skies.

Those attacking him were beaten into fear, no one daring to approach anymore. Each was covered in blood and wounds, dragging their maimed bodies in frantic retreat, their princely dignity utterly shattered.

The spectators below clicked their tongues in awe, drawing in cold breaths. These princes, who usually acted with such grandiosity, were like child's play before the Huanggu Shengti. A group of them chased by one man—not only failing to take him down but ending up in utter disarray. Truly ironic.

"A bunch of wastes." Jinwu Taizi snorted coldly and suddenly rose, stepping into the heavens.