Chapter 2013: Coming Out to Serve

Pfft! Pfft!

Blood light flashed, piercing through Ye Chen and Ren Wang one after another. From a distance, the two of them looked like candied haws on a stick, strung together in a line. Ye Chen was still in relatively good shape. He had fought Qiong Qi earlier, and although his injuries were severe, his Yuan Shen remained intact. Ren Wang, however, was in a dire situation, nearly being wiped out entirely.

Despite being hit, Ye Chen showed great determination and immediately got up to run.

He dragged Ren Wang along with him, racing through the starry sky like a bolt of divine lightning amidst roaring winds and thunder.

Behind them, Mu Liuqing pursued relentlessly without pause.

It had to be said, he had truly become a tool of slaughter. The Zhuxian Jian's orders to him were likely to exterminate both Ren Wang and Ye Chen, simply because Ren Wang knew too many secrets and Ye Chen's potential was terrifyingly high. Leaving either of them alive posed a massive threat.

The vast starry sky was thrown into chaos once again by this chase and escape.

Wherever the three passed, the space rumbled continuously. Meteors shattered one by one, stars exploded in succession, and even the cultivators in their path suffered greatly, none able to withstand Mu Liuqing's oppressive aura.

"We'll be caught sooner or later. Call for help."

"You call for help then!" Ye Chen shouted back.

"I'd have to find someone—use Di Dao Tong Ming to summon Yan Luo from Ming Jie," Ren Wang transmitted urgently, his voice strained. "In my current state, I can hold them off for a while longer for you."

"The problem is, Di Dao Tong Ming isn't working."

As he spoke, Ye Chen shared a strand of his divine sense with Ren Wang, embedding the details of Ming Jie's isolation within it.

Ren Wang absorbed it and, caught off guard, spat out another mouthful of blood.

If Ye Chen hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have known Ming Jie had such a mechanism in place. Damn it, a heads-up would have been nice! Now that they needed help, everything had fallen apart.

"Summon the divine generals or the emperors—Donghuang Tai Xin would do too!"

"Don't joke around. This part of the starry sky is separated from Da Chu by countless star domains. Even if they could come, they probably couldn't make it in time. At your speed, we'll be caught in less than half a shichen."

"Are we forgetting someone?"

Hearing this, Ren Wang turned his head to glance at Ye Chen, and their eyes met with a meaningful look.

Then, both of them took a deep breath.

"Xie Mo."

"Come out to entertain guests."

These two shouts were delivered with absolute dominance and power.

No exaggeration—their voices and sound waves spread out directly across the starry sky, infused with their cultivation power. A few stars were even shaken to pieces.

In another part of the starry sky, Xie Mo was striding through the void.

The moment she heard those words, she stumbled, nearly losing her footing.

Xie Mo—wasn't that referring to her? No issue there.

But the follow-up line was outrageously bold.

As a supreme being like the Chi Mei Xie Mo, on par with others in her class, even the Hong Lian Nü Di before becoming an emperor might not be her match. Such a legendary and peerless queen, radiant and extraordinary, was now being called out to "entertain guests." Her temper flared up instantly, rising like a rocket at 180 miles per hour.

Xie Mo's beautiful eyes sparkled with fury as she charged straight toward the source of the sound.

Boom! Bang!

Over here, two more explosions echoed through the starry sky as Mu Liuqing's sword strike sent the two flying, hurtling them over eight thousand zhang. A perfectly intact star was smashed into rubble by their impact.

"Xie Mo."

"Come out to entertain guests."

Amidst the flying debris, the howls continued unabated. Ye Chen and Ren Wang, those two, one scrambling and rolling, the other crawling and tumbling—one shamelessly persistent, the other utterly unashamed—didn't even bother looking back. The mighty Huang Gu Sheng Ti and the remnant soul of the Ren Huang had completely abandoned all dignity.

"What talents the Zhutian has!" This sigh came from the peak of Jie Ming Shan in Ming Jie.

Although Ye Chen couldn't communicate with Ming Jie, those in Ming Jie could still observe the Zhutian.

At that moment, on the ethereal peak of Jie Ming Shan, twelve figures stood tall: the Ming Di, Di Huang, and the ten Yan Luo of the underworld, all watching the Zhutian, witnessing Ren Wang and Ye Chen being hunted.

"Xie Mo."

"Come out to entertain guests."

Especially these two howls, which they heard crystal clear.

The ten Yan Luo clicked their tongues in amazement, thoroughly impressed by those two. In particular, Qin Guang Wang of the first hall felt an inexplicable itch to act; Xie Mo was the one he admired, and hearing this made him seethe with anger.

As for Ming Di, he simply rubbed his forehead.

Although he was a great emperor, in terms of seniority, Chi Mei Xie Mo far surpassed him. This "come out to entertain guests" was refreshingly novel, something only scoundrels like Ye Chen and Ren Wang could dream up.

Di Huang's expression was equally awkward.

How could the Sheng Ti lineage, known for its unyielding strength, produce someone like that? And the Ren Huang, who shook the ancients and dazzled the moderns—his remnant soul was acting this way. An Huang Gu Sheng Ti and a Ren Huang remnant soul were both an embarrassment.

Pfft! Pfft!

As they watched, Ye Chen and Ren Wang coughed up blood again, once more strung up like candied haws.

Serves them right!

The ten Yan Luo cursed in unison.

Mu Liuqing and Xie Mo made a fine pair, yet these two had insulted his wife. They deserved to be hunted. For some reason, the ten Yan Luo all felt a shared hope: that those two scoundrels would be eliminated.

"Xie Mo."

"Come out to entertain guests."

In the vast starry sky, Ye Chen and Ren Wang kept fleeing, howling all the way.

By now, both had lost their human forms. They dodged one fatal strike after another, but the residual force from Mu Liuqing's pursuit drove them to the brink of madness. They couldn't beat him, so all they could do was run.

"That black-robed figure—what's his background?"

"Can't see his true face clearly; he seems real yet illusory, eerie as hell, and incredibly powerful."

"Those two being chased are shameless enough!"

The pursuit and chase created quite a stir, drawing cultivators from all directions. Discussions erupted everywhere, filled with shock and confusion. They only knew Mu Liuqing was extraordinarily strong and that Ye Chen and Ren Wang were utterly without shame.

Some even wanted to follow and watch the spectacle, but no one could keep up.

Mu Liuqing's movements were guimì and elusive, and Ye Chen and Ren Wang weren't far behind, appearing as two streaks of light.

It wasn't clear when, but the two finally fled into an ancient star.

More accurately, they were blasted in by Mu Liuqing. Ren Wang was in a pathetic state, nearly exploding on the spot.

Ye Chen wasn't much better; his Sheng Ti had been reduced to a pulp.

In less than a breath, Mu Liuqing arrived, silent and expressionless, raising his hand to slam down a palm. His palm print blotted out the sky and covered the earth, its power capable of destroying heavens and earth, sending tremors through all who witnessed it.

Ye Chen gritted his teeth and suddenly stood up.

He activated his Wai Xiang Ba Ti, raising both hands to hold up the palm print.

Crack!

In an instant, the hundred-zhang Wai Xiang Ba Ti fractured inch by inch, unable to block Mu Liuqing's palm. Even Ye Chen's newly healed Huang Gu Sheng Ti suffered devastating damage—his limbs, organs, meridians, and veins were all ground into blood and ash in that moment.

"Get out of the way!" Ren Wang roared hoarsely, forcing himself upright and striking at the void with a palm.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed once more; Ren Wang fared even worse than Ye Chen, his body disintegrating into dust, leaving only a faint Yuan Shen. Still, his desperate strike finally shattered Mu Liuqing's palm print.

"This guy's way too overpowered," Ye Chen said, swaying unsteadily and coughing up blood.

"Zhuxian Jian is secretly aiding him," Ren Wang replied coldly, also staggering. He wanted to reconstruct his body, but his injuries were too severe; he lacked the strength and could only maintain his Yuan Shen form.

"Is there a way to sever his connection with Zhuxian Jian?"

"I've tried before. Not only did it fail, but I got tricked by Zhuxian Jian instead," Ren Wang gasped. "It's not inside Mu Liuqing's body; it's probably in some distant part of the starry sky, controlling him with secret techniques."

"Dammit." Ye Chen's eyes turned blood-red with rage, spitting out blood in fury.

Buzz!

As they spoke, the void trembled, and Mu Liuqing's second palm descended, even more powerful than the first. Everywhere the palm passed, everything turned to ash, its supreme pressure locking down the entire world.

In an instant, Ye Chen found himself unable to move.

Ren Wang, in his Yuan Shen state, was even more immobilized.

The palm's pressure was overwhelming, but it wasn't just from Mu Liuqing—it came from Zhuxian Jian, which was likely using some heavenly secret art to boost his combat power and annihilate Ye Chen and the others.

"Pushing me to go all out!" Ye Chen's eyes were wild with madness.

In that moment, all the artifacts within him—including the Hun Dun Ding, Da Shen Bian, and Lü Tian Da Ji—from Quasi-Emperor level weapons down to Saint-level ones—shot into the sky. He intended to detonate them all to block Mu Liuqing's palm, as it was the only method he could think of.

The cost would be enormous.

Among those artifacts were over a dozen Quasi-Emperor weapons, hundreds of Great Saint weapons, and his own life-bound tools. Once detonated, they would vanish into history forever.

It pained him deeply.

But for survival, he was willing to pay any price.

However, just as he was about to detonate them, a brilliant immortal glow manifested before him, transforming into a blurry, graceful figure that gradually solidified into a dreamlike beauty.

Wasn't this figure Xie Mo?