Chapter 2086: Understanding the Implicit Agreement

"Quasi-Emperor." Ye Chen's expression changed, his eyes bulging wide, his already pale face turning instantly ashen. He could clearly sense the icy coldness of the killing sword thrusting toward him; the attacker must be a Quasi-Emperor. With his level of insight, he couldn't even discern who was launching the sneak attack. The Quasi-Emperor's sword was overwhelmingly dominant; before it even reached him, a crack had already formed on his brow.

This was a blatant, absolute kill.

Ye Chen was prepared for it. The distance was so short, and the sneak attack was as swift as lightning—in such a situation, even at his peak, he would find it nearly impossible to evade, let alone now when he was in a half-dead state. After all, he was only a Saint King, while his opponent was a genuine Quasi-Emperor.

In that instant, he smelled the scent of death, bone-chillingly cold.

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

Without a doubt, 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.

Once he regained his senses, he saw a figure materialize in front of him. From the back, the person appeared gaunt and frail, with white hair swaying 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.

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 him, the black-robed figure remained as eerie as ever, his body flickering in and out of visibility like a shadow, elusive and indistinct. Though right in front, he seemed more distant 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 flickering with desolate, gloomy 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, fresh blood overflowing from his mouth, his face even paler. His eyes, which should have been wise and bright, 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 bloody hole at his brow, surrounded by eerie light that was consuming his vital energy, preventing the wound from healing. It seemed to have been pierced by a finger, penetrating his divine sea and affecting his primordial spirit.

Ye Chen was shocked, his brows furrowing deeper.

Who was Ren Wang? He was the remnant soul of the Human Emperor, a peak Quasi-Emperor in his prime, mastering numerous Emperor's 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 his opponent was, and that 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 at his brow trickled down his face, and his entire skull felt on the verge of splitting. He was injured too gravely.

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

He was certain he hadn't misheard—Ren Wang had said Mu Liuqing, the lover of the malevolent spirit. But he 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 wanted to kill him.

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

"Then 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 as a puppet. 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 essence, he's just a killing puppet."

"Who is desecrating the spirits of our forebears?"

"The Zhu Xian Jian." Ren Wang said each word deliberately.

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

"It could enter the Canglan Realm without breaking the seals and leave no trace whatsoever. 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 ringing steel.

Beside him, Ye Chen's sacred body trembled uncontrollably, his brilliant golden eyes flashing with cold light. The three words "Zhu Xian Jian" were like a curse; every time they entered his ears, they ignited a fury from deep within his soul. That self-proclaimed sword of the heavens had once again stoked his raging anger.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As they communicated, banging sounds erupted, slow and rhythmic. Listening closely, it was the sound of footsteps. Perhaps due to the immense weight of his body, each step made the starry sky tremble, causing the void space to fracture 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 blankly 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 desperately. The one who could create the Chaos Origin Immortal Technique and stand alongside Moyuan, Honglian, and Canglan to battle the Eight Desolations' 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 Zhu Xian Jian. 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 Qiong Qi Quasi-Emperor. Even if he and Ren Wang joined forces, they wouldn't stand a chance. Such a heavenly tyrant required someone of the Sword God's level to confront.

Ren Wang's speed was extraordinarily 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's Path Fuxi Array." Ren Wang snorted coldly, forming a seal with one hand.

Immediately, the Emperor's 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. It was unfortunate that the Emperor's Path Fuxi Array of ninety-nine eighty-one formations wasn't complete. Ye Chen was only a novice, 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 as illusory as a ghost, disrupting space as he intercepted Ren Wang for the second time. With another sword, he severed the cosmos. Though Ren Wang evaded 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 at a disadvantage, Ye Chen charged forward.

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

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

Ye Chen ignored him, having already fused with the over a dozen Quasi-Emperor weapons. He activated numerous forbidden techniques, expanded the Chaos Realm, unleashed his Hegemon Body, and intertwined his origin and Dao principles. Even in his half-dead state, he madly operated the Saintly Dao to Reverse Heaven, forcibly elevating his combat power to its peak, intent on exchanging blows with Mu Liuqing.

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

This palm was no joke; within it, Dao principles evolved, and numerous divine abilities merged instantly, as heavy as an eight-thousand-zhang mountain. Before the palm 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 everywhere. He failed to shatter the towering palm seal and was instead forced to stagger back. Mu Liuqing stood firm like a monument, unmoved, overlooking the four seas and eight desolations.

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

This time, Ye Chen listened. He simply stopped fighting and turned to flee. It wasn't that he didn't want to continue; he just couldn't win. The gap in their combat power was too vast. Even with over a dozen Quasi-Emperor weapons aiding him, it was useless—unless the weapons fused within him were ultimate Dao Emperor tools, then he'd truly qualify.

Unfortunately, he had no Emperor tools. If he stubbornly fought on, he'd die miserably.

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 profound 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. In terms of combat power and escape speed, the current Ren Wang was inferior to him, and his injuries were even more severe.

Ye Chen's speed was indeed impressive, boosted by the Quasi-Emperor weapons, making his escape swift.

Bang!

Behind them, Mu Liuqing stepped down, shattering a star, instantly closing the distance by tens of thousands of zhang. With a finger of divine light carrying devastating power, he shot 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 light and exploding on the spot.