Chapter 1976: Not Following the Script

A Zhǔn Dì struck with a palm, a Shèng Wáng countered with a fist, clashing from afar. Thunderous roars erupted, halos filled the vision, and that section of starry sky shattered in an instant.

Ye Chen spat blood, his fist bones exploding into a mist of blood. He staggered back over a hundred zhang before steadying himself, then coughed up another mouthful. That Zhǔn Dì palm was terrifying, cracking his Shèng body wide open, with dazzling golden blood spraying from the fissures.

In contrast, the hunchbacked old man stood like a massive mountain, unmoving and imposing.

Yet, despite holding an absolute advantage, he furrowed his brows deeply. He was a Zhǔn Dì level expert, after all! A single palm from him could crush a great saint, but this time, he failed to eliminate a mere Shèng Wáng.

"You've impressed me." The hunchbacked old man sneered coldly, his old eyes flashing with sharp, icy menace. He pressed forward with a second palm, and even before it landed, the space around it crumbled inch by inch.

"Don't fight anymore, I give up." Ye Chen waved his hand without a second thought and turned to flee. He had underestimated the Zhǔn Dì—even at the first level, it was beyond his ability to withstand. The old man's first palm hadn't even used secret techniques, yet it had shattered his body. If the old man unleashed divine powers, he wouldn't stand a chance.

"Where do you think you're going?" Seeing Ye Chen escape, the hunchbacked old man snorted coldly and stepped forward in a single stride, thrusting a divine light straight at Ye Chen's yuánshén.

"I said stop fighting!" Ye Chen cursed loudly, barely dodging the lethal strike. He spun around abruptly, raising his hand to set up an array—the Dì Dào Fú Xī eighty-one arrays, all deployed at once.

This move caught the hunchbacked old man off guard. In his carelessness, he charged headfirst into the Fú Xī array, emerging in utter disarray.

"Think an array can trap me?" The hunchbacked old man roared furiously, not even bothering to find the array's weak point. He simply blasted through it with a palm.

Ye Chen wasn't surprised by the array's destruction. The Dì Dào Fú Xī array was powerful, but it depended on the opponent's level. It might work against a great saint, but the hunchbacked old man was a Zhǔn Dì.

The absolute suppression of power rendered even the most profound arrays useless—not because the array was weak, but because the hunchbacked old man was overwhelmingly strong.

Still, the Dì Dào Fú Xī array bought Ye Chen a moment's time. In that instant, he had already escaped tens of thousands of zhang away.

"Can you really escape?" The hunchbacked old man snorted coldly, his face twisted in savage fury. Zhǔn Dì might surged forth as he advanced over a sea of blood, devouring the heavens and earth. His chilling killing intent turned the starry sky into a frozen wasteland.

Ye Chen didn't respond. He activated Tài Xū Bù and enhanced it with Suō Dì Chéng Cùn, streaking through space like a bolt of lightning, fleeing with incredible speed.

"Hold on, give me a little time." From within the Hún Chùn Shén Dǐng, Xié Mó's voice echoed. She had sat down in meditation, channeling her origin to heal her wounds and eradicate the lingering calamity of fate.

Ye Chen glanced back briefly and couldn't help but cough awkwardly at Xié Mó's condition. She was gravely injured, on her last legs. If she could just eliminate the calamity, that would be impressive enough—she shouldn't even think about fighting.

As he spoke, the hunchbacked old man attacked again, launching another divine light aimed at Ye Chen's yuánshén. A peak Zhǔn Dì strike could instantly kill a great saint level expert.

Ye Chen felt a stabbing pain in his yuánshén. Even before the hit landed, his true body seemed to crack, his shénhǎi buzzing and roaring, fresh blood surging from his mouth.

In a flash, Ye Chen used Huà Yǔ Wéi Chén, escaping into the dust space to evade the fatal blow.

"Petty tricks." The hunchbacked old man arrived swiftly, pinpointing the dust space with uncanny accuracy and shattering it with a palm. It wasn't that the dust space lacked profundity—it was simply that his level was too high, making any concealment futile.

As the dust space collapsed, Ye Chen was blasted into the air, coughing up blood profusely. His Shèng body was mangled, bones exposed, and he crashed onto an ancient star.

Immediately, a thunderous boom followed as a massive mountain was smashed to rubble.

The hunchbacked old man stepped in after him, pressing down with a palm like a dark canopy. The mountain range where Ye Chen had fallen couldn't withstand the pressure, with peaks exploding one after another.

"Break for me!" From the ruins, Ye Chen shot up into the void against all odds. Weaponless, he relied on his pair of domineering golden fists, infused with countless secret techniques, punching straight through the emptiness.

"Excellent." The hunchbacked old man grinned ferociously as he descended from the sky.

"Excellent my foot!" Ye Chen shouted in defiance. He didn't know where he found the courage, but he stopped fleeing. Instead, he charged head-on at the Zhǔn Dì with ferocious intensity.

"Who gave you the nerve to attack a Zhǔn Dì with just Shèng Wáng cultivation?" The hunchbacked old man scoffed mockingly, assuming Ye Chen was making a desperate last stand as a cornered beast.

"Then let's test it." Ye Chen stepped into the void without another word and launched into action. It wasn't just one or two divine powers—it was a full set, each one a devastating ultimate move, unleashed without regard for cost, as if fueled by madness.

To his credit, Ye Chen's all-out assault was genuinely impressive. The array of secret techniques left the hunchbacked old man dazzled, marveling at how a single Shèng Wáng could master so many dominating secret arts—any one of them could be called peerless.

The more he saw, the more excited the hunchbacked old man became, because once he captured Ye Chen, all those secret techniques would be his.

With that thought, the hunchbacked old man's eyes turned cold, and he swept out with a palm.

Instantly, Ye Chen's secret techniques—whether fist shadows or sword beams—were obliterated by that single palm, and Ye Chen himself was sent spitting blood into the void, a gruesome sight.

"What else do you have?" The hunchbacked old man chuckled darkly, standing like a sovereign overlooking the heavens, gazing down at Ye Chen as if he were an insignificant ant.

"Fine, I admit defeat." Ye Chen steadied himself and shrugged helplessly, his aura fading as he gave up resistance.

"Ants will always be ants." The hunchbacked old man approached slowly, his old eyes gleaming with fervent light. To him, Ye Chen was a treasure trove, and that half-dead Zhǔn Dì level expert surely carried exotic treasures. This would be a massive windfall for him.

But just as he savored the moment, Ye Chen, who had seemingly surrendered, suddenly moved again—not to flee, but to charge straight at him. His aura surged back to its peak in an instant.

"How dare you toy with me!" The hunchbacked old man shouted in rage and struck out with a palm.

However, he was a split second too slow. Ye Chen was already upon him, flashing a grin with two rows of pearly white teeth.

Ye Chen's body expanded to its limit in that moment.

That's right—he was going to self-destruct. If he couldn't win, he'd make a big bang.

Another thunderous boom echoed as Ye Chen's self-destruction targeted the hunchbacked old man directly. The explosion was like a blazing sun erupting, even sending the hunchbacked old man flying.

"Dammit!" The hunchbacked old man raged like a mad dog, his eyes bloodshot with veins bulging.

Being blasted away wasn't the worst part—what infuriated him was that Ye Chen's treasures and secret techniques had turned to ash in the explosion.

In other words, all his efforts had been for nothing. He gained nothing and was left in a pathetic state by a minor Shèng Wáng.

What a humiliation, an utter disgrace. Since becoming a Zhǔn Dì, he had never been so utterly shamed. If word got out, he'd lose all face.

"Why so angry, senior?" As the hunchbacked old man fumed, a leisurely laugh rang out from the ruins below. There stood a figure—it was Ye Chen.

Clearly, Ye Chen wasn't dead. The one who had self-destructed was his fǎshēn. While his fǎshēn fought the hunchbacked old man, his true self had slipped away to do something else, like chatting with the lord of the underworld about life's ideals.

"How is this possible?" The hunchbacked old man narrowed his old eyes sharply.

"Seeing me again—aren't you thrilled, senior?" Ye Chen chuckled casually.

"Thrilled? I'm overjoyed!" The hunchbacked old man snarled viciously and dove down from the sky like a divine light, straight for Ye Chen.

Ye Chen remained calm, not moving an inch.

But his stillness didn't mean others were idle. The hunchbacked old man charged down arrogantly, only to be met by a massive black hand emerging from the space behind Ye Chen. Without deviation, it smacked him squarely.

Ye Chen tilted his head back, watching as the hunchbacked old man was sent flying—he had no idea how far, but he knew the old man's bones were nearly shattered, his body torn apart.

"Did I hit too hard?" Qín Guǎng Wáng glanced up as well. He was the one Ye Chen had summoned from the underworld.

"You could have been a bit more restrained." Ye Chen replied meaningfully.

As they spoke, the hunchbacked old man, who had been flung away, managed to stabilize himself in the void, swaying and coughing up blood heavily.

What just happened? Did someone just attack me?

The hunchbacked old man was completely baffled. The Ye Chen who self-destructed was still alive, and he couldn't figure out how. Now, out of nowhere, another Zhǔn Dì had appeared—a peak Zhǔn Dì at that. That palm strike had nearly killed him. As fellow Zhǔn Dì, the difference between them was vast, not even in the same league.

"According to the plot, that old guy should ask who you are." Ye Chen stroked his chin, speaking thoughtfully.

But as soon as he finished, the hunchbacked old man turned and fled. He had no choice—knowing he couldn't win, staying would just mean death.

His escape speed and technique were impressive; in the blink of an eye, he had left that ancient star behind.

"Not following the script!" Qín Guǎng Wáng was even faster, stepping into the starry sky and blocking the fleeing hunchbacked old man. The peak Zhǔn Dì pressure radiated outward infinitely, making the hunchbacked old man seem like a mere joke in comparison.

"It's all a misunderstanding." The hunchbacked old man cowered, his body trembling violently, his face pale as he stammered.

"No easy trip goes without bloodshed." Qín Guǎng Wáng's voice boomed like thunder, ignoring the excuses as he struck with a palm. Even suppressed in the heavens, a peak Zhǔn Dì like him was far beyond the hunchbacked old man's reach.

Blood splattered as the hunchbacked old man was pulverized into a pulp on the spot, his yuánshén barely escaping. He didn't dare look back, burning his yuánshén power to flee desperately.

Qín Guǎng Wáng showed no mercy. His massive black hand covered thousands of zhang of starry sky, a palm that could destroy heavens and earth. The void collapsed in visible waves.

"No... no... no!" The hunchbacked old man screamed, not even having time to regret before being obliterated by Qín Guǎng Wáng's palm.