Chapter 2012: It Again

"Quasi-Emperor." Ye Chen's face drastically changed, his eyes wide. His already pale complexion instantly turned ashen. He could clearly sense the chilling coldness of the killing sword thrusting towards him. The attacker had to be a Quasi-Emperor, and with his level of insight, he couldn't even discern who was launching the sneak attack. The Quasi-Emperor's sword was overwhelmingly powerful; before it even reached him, a crack had already formed on his brow.

It was a naked, absolute kill.

Ye Chen was fully aware that at such a close distance, with the opponent's strike as swift as lightning, even at his peak state, he would find it nearly impossible to evade. Let alone now, when he was in a half-dead condition. After all, he was just a Saint King, while his opponent was a genuine Quasi-Emperor.

In that instant, he smelled the scent of death, icy and bone-chilling.

In that instant, his soul seemed to have fallen into the underworld of hell.

Without any surprise, he would be instantly slain.

However, at that very moment, two beams of divine light suddenly shot out from beside Ye Chen. One beam struck the killing sword, knocking it off course, while the second beam repelled the attacker.

Everything happened in a flash, and the two beams of divine light resolved the deadly crisis.

Ye Chen trembled, momentarily dazed.

When he regained his senses, he saw a figure materializing in front of him. Looking at the back, the person was gaunt and bony, with white hair fluttering in the wind. Upon closer inspection, it was the long-vanished Ren Wang.

Ye Chen's eyes narrowed sharply as he looked at the attacker again.

Wasn't this the black-robed figure that Ren Wang had chased before?

That day, he and Ren Wang had encountered the black-robed person in the starry sky. Ren Wang had pursued him, and since then, there had been no news.

To Ye Chen's surprise, it was this person who had launched the sneak attack.

Now, observing the black-robed figure, he still appeared as eerie as before. His body flickered in and out of reality, like a shadow, elusive and distant. Though right in front, he seemed more remote than a dream. Ye Chen still couldn't make out his true appearance; his face was entirely blurred, revealing only a pair of dull, empty eyes that flickered with desolate, dim light, sinister and ancient, like a walking corpse.

"Finally caught up." The tranquility of the starry sky was broken by Ren Wang's words.

As he spoke, Ren Wang staggered, blood overflowing from the corner of his mouth. His face was deathly pale, and his once wise and bright eyes now appeared extremely dim. His aura was chaotic, as if some force was rampaging within his body.

Seeing this, Ye Chen hurriedly stepped forward.

Upon closer inspection, he realized Ren Wang was severely injured. There was a gruesome blood hole on his brow, surrounded by flickering dim light that was eroding his vital energy, preventing the wound from healing. It looked as if it had been pierced by a finger, penetrating his divine sea and affecting his primordial spirit.

Ye Chen was shocked, his brows furrowing even deeper.

Who was Ren Wang? He was the remnant soul of the Human Emperor, a peak Quasi-Emperor in his true form, mastering numerous Emperor Path immortal techniques. Even the Zhutian Sword God might not be able to defeat him, yet he had been wounded to this extent. Ye Chen could hardly imagine how terrifying the opponent was, and this so-called opponent was the black-robed figure before them.

"Who is he?" Ye Chen transmitted his divine sense to Ren Wang.

"Mu Liuqing." Ren Wang coughed up blood, his condition worsening. Fresh blood from the wound on his brow trickled down his face, and his entire head felt on the verge of splitting. He was injured too gravely.

Hearing this, Ye Chen was stunned, staring in shock at the black-robed figure.

He was certain he hadn't misheard—Ren Wang had said Mu Liuqing, the lover of the demon spirit. But Ye Chen couldn't understand; Mu Liuqing had perished hundreds of thousands of years ago, leaving only a corpse. How had he been revived? Not only revived, but also become so mysterious. What puzzled him most was how Mu Liuqing had been revived, why he had injured Ren Wang, and why he was trying to kill him.

"He hasn't truly revived," Ren Wang replied, perhaps sensing Ye Chen's confusion.

"Then what is this?"

"It's someone who used the Corpse Awakening Forbidden Technique on him." Ren Wang explained, "The Corpse Awakening Forbidden Technique is an extremely vicious curse that allows one to control a corpse for their own use. The older the ancient corpse, the more terrifying it becomes. Unlike zombies, it can freely wield the secret techniques from its lifetime. The current Mu Liuqing has no consciousness; in simple terms, he's just a killing puppet."

"Who is desecrating the spirits of our predecessors?"

"The Zhuxian Sword." Ren Wang said each word deliberately.

"Damn it, it's that thing again."

"It could enter the Canglan Realm without breaking the seals, and do so without leaving any trace. That's exactly why we couldn't deduce it." Ren Wang spat blood as he revealed the secret from that day, his chaotic aura growing weak.

His words echoed like a buzzing steel blade.

Beside him, Ye Chen's sacred body trembled uncontrollably. His brilliant golden eyes flashed with cold light. The three words "Zhuxian Sword" were like a curse, stirring a fury from deep within his soul. That self-proclaimed heavenly sword had once again ignited his raging anger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As they transmitted their thoughts, banging sounds erupted, slow and rhythmic. Listening carefully, it was the sound of footsteps. Perhaps due to the immense weight of the body, each step caused the starry sky to shake, shattering the void inch by inch.

It was Mu Liuqing, slowly approaching the two.

He was a dead man, yet more like a god of death. As he walked, a brilliant immortal domain manifested behind him, with Dao principles intertwining and all things evolving within. Numerous visions outlined, cycling through rebirth and destruction. The laws of the world were inverted because of him, disrupting the balance of yin and yang.

Ren Wang steadied himself with great effort, gathering his combat power to the utmost.

As for Ye Chen, he was momentarily dazed again, his hazy eyes staring fixedly at Mu Liuqing.

"Just a corpse awakened by the forbidden technique, yet so powerful."

"If he were at his peak, how terrifying would he be?"

"Infinitely close to a Great Emperor?" Ye Chen murmured to himself.

At that moment, he finally understood why even Ren Wang had fought so fiercely. The one who could create the Chaotic Origin Immortal Technique and stand alongside Moyuan, Honglian, and Canglan to battle the Eight Wastelands' gods was no simple matter. Even as a dead man, Mu Liuqing still overlooked the world.

But the more this was the case, the angrier Ye Chen became.

This anger was directed at the Zhuxian Sword. What kind of existence was Mu Liuqing, yet it had turned him into a tool for killing?

"Go." Ren Wang shouted lightly, grabbing Ye Chen and fleeing.

Ye Chen didn't resist, allowing Ren Wang to pull him along.

As fellow Quasi-Emperors, Mu Liuqing's strength far surpassed that of Qiongqi Quasi-Emperor. Even if he and Ren Wang teamed up, they wouldn't stand a chance. To fight such a heavenly tyrant, they needed someone of the Sword God's level.

Ren Wang's speed was incredibly fast, already crossing over a hundred thousand zhang.

However, Mu Liuqing was even faster. With one step on the spatial laws, he drew an immortal river with a single sword, like an insurmountable chasm, blocking Ren Wang and Ye Chen's escape route.

"Emperor Path Fuxi Array." Ren Wang snorted coldly, forming a seal with one hand.

Immediately, the Emperor Path Fuxi Array appeared.

But due to Ren Wang's severe injuries, he could only set up seventy-two arrays, and their power was greatly diminished.

Seeing this, Ye Chen swung his arm, adding nine more arrays for Ren Wang.

Mu Liuqing was trapped, but he broke free in just three breaths. The only issue was that the Emperor Path Fuxi Array of ninety-nine eighty-one was incomplete. Ye Chen was only half-skilled, and Ren Wang was in a weakened state, so this version of the array was merely for show, lacking its peak power. It could seal an ordinary Quasi-Emperor, but against someone like Mu Liuqing, it fell far short.

"Go." Ren Wang didn't linger in battle, instantly fleeing.

Mu Liuqing remained silent, his body like an illusion, disrupting space as he intercepted Ren Wang for the second time. With another sword, he severed the universe. Though Ren Wang dodged the vital points with all his might, he still lost an arm. In his weakened state, even his evasion techniques lost their essence.

"Quasi-Emperor weapons, lend them to me." Seeing Ren Wang overwhelmed, Ye Chen charged forward.

Ren Wang's natal artifact responded on its own, flying out from his body. Along with it came over a dozen other artifacts, all Quasi-Emperor level without exception.

"Come back." Ren Wang called out, choking on his breath and spitting blood on the spot.

Ye Chen ignored him, fusing with the over a dozen Quasi-Emperor weapons. He activated various forbidden techniques, unfolded the Chaotic Realm, activated his Hegemon Body, and with his origin and Dao principles intertwining, he madly operated the Saint Path to reverse heaven, forcibly elevating his combat power to its peak. He was determined to exchange blows with Mu Liuqing.

Mu Liuqing's expression was dull as he slowly raised his hand, pressing it toward Ye Chen.

This palm was no joke; Dao principles evolved within it, merging numerous divine abilities in an instant. It was as heavy as an eight-thousand-zhang mountain peak. Before it even fully descended, the starry sky collapsed.

"Come on." Ye Chen roared, clenching his golden fist and charging upward against the heavens.

Boom!

Their palm and fist collided, shaking the starry sky.

Pfft!

Ye Chen's fist exploded, blood and bones flying. He failed to shatter the heavenly palm seal and was instead forced to stagger back. Mu Liuqing, however, was calm as a monument, unmoving and overlooking the four seas and eight wastelands.

"You brat, come back." Ren Wang was still calling out, barely able to stand.

This time, Ye Chen listened. He simply stopped fighting, turned, and ran. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue; he just couldn't win. The gap in strength was too vast. Even with over a dozen Quasi-Emperor weapons aiding him, it was useless. Unless the weapons fused in his body were ultimate Emperor Path artifacts, he wouldn't qualify.

As Ren Wang had said, the older the corpse, the more terrifying it was.

The current Mu Liuqing was exactly that type. From the Honghuang era to now, at least hundreds of thousands of years had passed. His indestructible body proved everything. His overwhelming strength stemmed not only from Mu Liuqing's own foundation but also from the enhancement of the Corpse Awakening Forbidden Technique.

"Fight, why aren't you fighting?" Seeing Ye Chen return, Ren Wang cursed loudly.

"Fight what? Let's go." This time, Ye Chen grabbed Ren Wang and fled. In terms of combat power and speed, the current Ren Wang was even worse off than him, and his injuries were more severe.

To be fair, Ye Chen's speed was indeed swift, boosted by the Quasi-Emperor weapons, making his escape incredibly fast.

Bang!

Behind them, Mu Liuqing stepped down, shattering a star. In an instant, he closed the distance by tens of thousands of zhang, firing a divine beam from his finger with devastating force toward Ye Chen.

"Taixu Cavern!"

Ye Chen shouted coldly, casting the secret technique of the Taixu Ancient Dragon while facing away from Mu Liuqing.

However, embarrassingly, the Taixu Cavern held for less than a moment before being pierced by the divine beam and exploding on the spot.