Chapter 2014: Something's Wrong!

"Ye Chen, retreat," Xie Mo said softly, taking a step forward and striking out with a palm towards the void.

Without needing her reminder, Ye Chen instantly retrieved the countless magical artifacts scattered in the air.

Since Cang Lan had arrived, using self-detonating artifacts to resolve the deadly situation was pointless. Mu Liuqing was incredibly powerful, but Xie Mo was no pushover either. Being on par with Hong Lian was no simple feat.

Boom!

Mu Liuqing's palm descended from the heavens, colliding with Xie Mo's jade hand that rose against the sky in the void. The thunderous roar shook the night, causing the heavens and earth to tremble. Xie Mo was forced back half a step, and Mu Liuqing fared the same. The black robe shrouding his body was blasted to ashes, revealing his true appearance.

"This..." Gazing at that face, Xie Mo's delicate body trembled, her eyes welling up with mist.

She couldn't be mistaken—it was indeed Mu Liuqing.

Yet, she was puzzled as to why he was here and why he had beaten Ye Chen and the others so badly.

Her chaotic thoughts and bewildered state clouded her mind.

"Watch out," Ye Chen suddenly warned, for Mu Liuqing was launching another attack. Thousands of secret techniques merged together, aimed straight at Xie Mo's brow—this was an attack on the primordial spirit. With no consciousness of his own, controlled by the Zhu Xian Jian, he didn't recognize Cang Lan. His attacks were merciless, showing no quarter, even against Xie Mo.

Xie Mo snapped out of it with a step, dodging the fatal blow.

"He has been subjected to the corpse-revival forbidden technique by the Zhu Xian Jian," Ren Wang explained.

Xie Mo's daze vanished in an instant, her beautiful eyes flashing with cold light.

Now the truth was clear: the one who abducted Mu Liuqing was undoubtedly that damned Zhu Xian Jian, using evil curses to desecrate his spirit. As his wife, how could she tolerate that?

A breeze blew by, and her aura instantly reached its peak.

A supreme queen in all her glory, radiating unmatched elegance, with immortal radiance enveloping her entire body—even her long hair was tinged with threads of immortal light. Ancient divine patterns were etched in her heart, and behind her, a magnificent immortal realm materialized. A chilling killing intent, centered on her, spread across the four seas and eight wastes. Everywhere it touched, whether mountains, rivers, grasslands, or vast deserts, froze inch by inch into ice.

But this killing intent was directed solely at the Zhu Xian Jian.

It had touched her reverse scale—Mu Liuqing.

Retreat!

Ye Chen grabbed Ren Wang and fled far away. Xie Mo was on a rampage, and that was no joke. When a couple fought, it was best to stay out of the way—one wrong move, and they'd get caught in the crossfire.

Sure enough, as soon as they escaped, Mu Liuqing and Xie Mo clashed.

Boom! Bang!

The world-shaking explosions were like ancient thunderbolts, collapsing the firmament.

Looking into the distance, that stretch of sky was enveloped in devastating thunder. Two figures darted through it—one like a war god, the other like a queen—battling so fiercely that mountains shattered and the heavens crumbled.

They were evenly matched.

Mu Liuqing was merely a physical body enhanced by the corpse-revival curse and not at his peak. Xie Mo had reformed her body from a remnant soul, so her combat power was also not at its peak. Neither was at full strength, so their auras were evenly balanced from the start.

"Xie Mo is still holding the line," Ye Chen coughed dryly.

"The great gods from the primordial era were all heaven-defying tyrants," Ren Wang said, his breath weak. In his primordial spirit state, he swayed with the wind, still unable to coalesce a physical body.

Boom! Bang!

As they spoke, the battle in the void grew even more ferocious.

The mindless Mu Liuqing showed no mercy or tenderness towards women, each strike a deadly technique, forcing Xie Mo to spill blood repeatedly. His expression remained dull and emotionless throughout.

In contrast, Xie Mo was more restrained.

Unlike Mu Liuqing, she was a living person with blood, flesh, and emotions. Her attacks were quite considerate, afraid of damaging his body. Because of this, she didn't dare to recklessly use world-reversing immortal techniques. To her, Mu Liuqing's face held a magical allure that made her mind wander momentarily. Considering all these factors, she gradually fell at a disadvantage.

"Oh no!" Ye Chen frowned.

"Cang Lan, he isn't Mu Liuqing—he's the Zhu Xian Jian," Ren Wang shouted hoarsely, reminding her again. If Xie Mo didn't fight at full strength, she was doomed to lose, and might even be destroyed by Mu Liuqing.

Hearing this, Xie Mo took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed her thoughts.

Her attacks began to incorporate more imperial divine abilities, once even driving Mu Liuqing back without a chance to counter. Though it was just a physical body, his fresh blood rained down, staining the void.

Ye Chen coughed, his heart racing at the sight.

Xie Mo was truly formidable when she raged, capable of devastating the heavens and earth. The way she overpowered Mu Liuqing was nothing short of masterful—it wasn't hard to guess that, back in ancient times, she must have beaten him more than once.

"Seal him," Ren Wang bellowed.

Xie Mo understood, striking Mu Liuqing back with a palm before lightly waving her jade hand.

Immediately, over a dozen beams of immortal light shot into the sky.

Upon closer inspection, each beam was a quasi-emperor weapon, radiating brilliant divine glory like nine dazzling stars illuminating the world. The quasi-emperor pressure resonated, its aura piercing the heavens.

Mu Liuqing was stubborn, completely ignoring the suppression and sweeping out with a palm.

Xie Mo suffered backlash, stumbling back as her delicate brows furrowed slightly. Breaking through the suppression of over a dozen quasi-emperor weapons with one palm, Mu Liuqing's strength far exceeded her expectations. She realized that quasi-emperor weapons were ineffective against him—truly suppressing him would require an extreme dao emperor weapon, as quasi-emperor tools were far from sufficient.

Thinking of this, she stood firm and formed seals with one hand.

As her seals solidified, the heavens and earth trembled.

Then, nine ancient bronze pillars rose from the ground one after another. Each was inscribed with divine patterns, representing the nine attributes of metal, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, yin, and yang. The pillars hummed and vibrated, their array patterns evolving on their own, forming a massive sealing formation.

"The Nine Paths Sealing Immortal Array," Ren Wang murmured, staring in a daze.

"What's the origin of this array?" Ye Chen asked curiously.

"It comes from Hong Lian Empress," Ren Wang said slowly. "Legend has it that before Hong Lian Empress achieved the dao, she used this array to seal a primeval taotie. That so-called primeval taotie was the first of its kind since the creation of heaven and earth, its bloodline and origin as dominant as the primordial ancestral dragon."

Gulp!

Ye Chen swallowed hard upon hearing this. Something that rivaled the primordial ancestral dragon could be sealed—that made him wonder just how terrifying the pre-dao Hong Lian Empress was, and how dreadful this Nine Paths Sealing Immortal Array truly was.

Boom! Bang!

Elsewhere, Mu Liuqing was already trapped inside the array, rampaging chaotically and unleashing various immortal techniques, but still unable to break the seal. The divine power woven from the nine attributes was utterly devastating, suppressing his aura drastically and slowing his movements significantly.

"Seal!"

Xie Mo parted her lips lightly, her words clear and ethereal, yet stern and icy.

As she spoke, the nine bronze pillars trembled in unison. Each attribute transformed into forbidden chains, binding Mu Liuqing's limbs, sealing his origin, and locking his bloodline, pinning him firmly in the array.

Whew!

Seeing Mu Liuqing suppressed, both Ye Chen and Ren Wang breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Mo did the same, slowly advancing.

Now that he was sealed, everything could be resolved. She had countless methods to sever the connection between Mu Liuqing and the Zhu Xian Jian, thereby erasing the corpse-revival forbidden technique and restoring his peace.

Looking at Mu Liuqing, he stood like a statue, completely still.

His expression remained dull, his eyes vacant—he was just a physical body, a puppet. Beyond that, traces of time were etched all over him, ancient and weathered.

"I'll take you home," Xie Mo said with a gentle smile, her eyes full of tenderness.

However, before she could approach, colorful immortal light suddenly manifested on Mu Liuqing's body, strand by strand merging into him and granting him divine power. In the next instant, a devastating force burst from within him, creating a halo of destruction that expanded outward with him at the center, actually shattering the Nine Paths Sealing Immortal Array.

Xie Mo spat blood and was sent flying, plummeting from the sky.

Below, both Ye Chen and Ren Wang looked grim, knowing full well that the colorful immortal light belonged to the Zhu Xian Jian. That damned sword had enhanced Mu Liuqing's power, making even the profound Nine Paths Sealing Immortal Array unable to contain him—it was broken in one strike.

"I underestimated it," Ren Wang said gravely.

"That damned Zhu Xian Jian," Xie Mo staggered, steadying herself with effort. Blood nearly overflowed from the corner of her mouth, her stunning face pale and bloodless, her clear eyes filled with cold fury. With Mu Liuqing's power boosted by the Zhu Xian Jian, she was no longer his match.

Glancing at Mu Liuqing, his divine body trembled, and a colorful divine mark appeared on his brow.

He didn't attack immediately, as if the power transmission wasn't complete and needed time to integrate.

"Stop him," Ren Wang urged hastily.

Without a second thought, Xie Mo shot into the void, striking at Mu Liuqing with a palm.

Boom!

The heavens collapsed, but Mu Liuqing stood unmoving.

Or rather, in the instant she attacked, his body turned ethereal, and her palm passed right through him, hitting nothing substantial and causing no real damage.

"Imperial Ethereal State," Ye Chen murmured, recognizing the technique.

He had witnessed the mysteries of the Imperial Ethereal State in the Tian Zun ruins. In that state, one could ignore others' attacks while their own strikes remained effective—this was a dominant immortal technique. To his surprise, Mu Liuqing also knew it, just like Song Yu's innate divine ability.

Pfft!

Xie Mo spat blood again, falling from the void. Her palm was powerful, but it hadn't harmed Mu Liuqing at all. Though she was unharmed, his palm struck her directly.

"While he's still fusing his power, retreat!" Ye Chen advised solemnly.

Xie Mo steadied herself, but her expression showed no intention of retreating. She had finally found Mu Liuqing—how could she leave so easily? If she retreated now, finding him again would be nearly impossible.

Worse yet, this retreat might mean a permanent farewell.

"Don't force it anymore—you can't beat him," Ren Wang also advised.

"I haven't lost yet—I won't retreat," Xie Mo snorted coldly, suddenly reaching out towards Ye Chen and pulling a bronze furnace from his body, suspending it in midair where it hummed and vibrated.

The bronze furnace was a great saint weapon, nothing special, except that it sealed a person inside.

That person was, of course, Lin Xing.

"What are you doing? What are you doing!" As soon as Lin Xing emerged, he shouted and struggled to return to the furnace. He had always wanted to escape before, but now he felt safer inside. It was all because Mu Liuqing was too terrifying—standing outside, even a stray wave could turn him to ash, the kind that would scatter without a trace.

Xie Mo said nothing, simply pressing a palm to the top of Lin Xing's head.

"You're insane," Ren Wang scolded Cang Lan.