Chapter 2251: Teasing

Chapter 2251: Kai Liao

It was still a starry river, separating the eastern and western mortal worlds, with two Sheng Ti standing in opposition across the vast sky. Time seemed to freeze once more, and the hazy starlight reflected an eternal glow.

"Don't tell me you're well," Ye Chen said indifferently, his expression showing no fluctuation.

"That day, you failed to burn me away completely. Do you feel any regret?" the female Sheng Ti murmured, her words ethereal and desolate. Her beautiful eyes still flickered with a cold light.

"And what about you?" Ye Chen's words remained calm.

"I never intended to kill you."

"Back then, if I hadn't gone to the Ling Yu, the heavenly demon's iron hooves would have already trampled through the myriad domains and heavens. As a Sheng Ti ancestor, why don't you teach this junior: if the heavens fall, should I go to war, or kneel like a dog and beg for mercy from your people, pleading for them to spare a dog's life?"

"Even if the heavens fall, I would protect you," the female Sheng Ti said lightly.

"Thank you for your favor, senior," Ye Chen smiled. "However, this junior has a bad habit—he prefers to die standing rather than live on his knees."

"So, you're determined to be my enemy," the female Sheng Ti said, not glancing aside.

"You're mistaken, senior."

"You deceived me, and I hurt you; you taught me divine abilities, and I saved your life. That's our fate. Since we're fated, why must we fight to the death?"

"Why not join forces with this junior and form an alliance?"

"We're both Archaic Sheng Ti. Who knows, with time, we might develop feelings and even have a child."

"Whether it's a boy or a girl, their bloodline would surely be powerful."

Ye Chen kept chattering away, turning the solemn atmosphere into something warm and cozy. He knew his earlier mistakes were way off, so he couldn't repeat them—he had to try his best to make amends.

His way of making amends was to flirt with the female Sheng Ti.

When it came to flirting, it required skill: persistence, shamelessness, and more persistence with shamelessness. He excelled at all of it. This was far more practical than fighting the female Sheng Ti.

"This junior has finally wised up," Ming Di laughed.

"This attempt at redemption isn't too late," Di Huang said leisurely.

Looking at the female Sheng Ti, her aura had weakened slightly. In her cold, beautiful eyes, there was now a hint of pity. For a brief moment, she even showed a flicker of distraction.

Ye Chen noticed and thought, Oh? There's potential here.

"As the saying goes, a day as husband and wife means a hundred days of kindness."

"Fights at the head of the bed can be made up at the foot of the bed!"

"It takes ten years of cultivation to cross a boat together, and a hundred years to share a pillow."

"I've even thought of names for our child."

Ye Chen was full of energy now, launching into a torrent of words. He was a pro at sweet-talking girls with lower IQs, and most importantly, his skin was thick enough that he didn't blush at all.

His barrage of words made Ming Di's hands itch inexplicably.

Calling each other husband and wife like that—are you two married? Have you no shame?

Though his hands hitched, Ming Di was still pleased. When dealing with someone like the female Sheng Ti, you couldn't afford to have any shame—you had to be utterly shameless. In this regard, he had confidence in Ye Chen. So what if she was a Sheng Ti? So what if she was infinitely close to great achievement? In a specific time, a specific situation, and in front of a specific person, she would always harbor some attachment.

But then, the female Sheng Ti staggered slightly.

It wasn't because she was injured or moved; it was that the earlier hint of pity and distraction had given the Zhu Xian Jian an opening to seize control of her mind. As a result, her consciousness was shifting back and forth between clarity and haze.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, instantly seeing through the situation.

He immediately formed a seal with one hand and activated the Emperor's Path Separation. It was a rare opportunity for hope—he couldn't let the Zhu Xian Jian ruin it. He just needed to separate the Zhu Xian Jian, and everything else would be easier.

However, his cultivation was too shallow; the Emperor's Path Separation had no effect.

Without hesitation, he stepped across the starry river, channeling the power of ten Emperor Weapons with his Great Saint cultivation. His vast blood energy nearly drained him dry.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The ten Emperor Artifacts hummed, suspended in the void and radiating dazzling immortal light, like ten brilliant suns illuminating the starry sky. Their terrifying ultimate Emperor's Might revived, entwined with Emperor's Path laws, and pressed down overwhelmingly on the female Sheng Ti.

His goal was clear: suppress the female Sheng Ti and pull out the Zhu Xian Jian.

Zheng!

The Zhu Xian Jian inside the female Sheng Ti's body let out a resonant cry, and multicolored immortal light instantly enveloped her. The pressure from the ten Emperor Weapons stirred its divine power, suppressing her consciousness and seizing control of her mind in one fell swoop.

With the Zhu Xian Jian in hand, the female Sheng Ti's aura shook the eight directions, and with a single sweep of her sword, she shattered the ten Emperor Artifacts.

Pfft!

Ye Chen spat blood and was sent flying backward. The masterless Emperor Artifacts merged back into his body one after another, their Emperor's Path immortal sounds trembling as they boosted his combat power.

Zheng!

Accompanied by the sword's cry, the female Sheng Ti charged through the sky, her sword carving out a multicolored immortal river. All concepts of yin and yang, laws, and principles became illusions before her strike.

Ye Chen steadied himself and instantly transformed into a Dao Sword, countering with a heaven-defying strike that also formed an immortal river.

The two immortal rivers—one multicolored, one golden—collided in the void, unleashing a wave of annihilating light that spread infinitely. Everywhere it passed, space shattered inch by inch, and dead stars exploded one after another. The destructive force upended the entire starry sky.

Boom!

The golden immortal river shattered, and Ye Chen vomited blood again. His Sheng Ti body exploded, golden blood spraying out, and the scattered blood bones were ground to ash as they fell.

This direct clash, even with the aid of ten Emperor Weapons, left him utterly defeated.

It wasn't that the Emperor Weapons weren't strong; it was that the female Sheng Ti, fused with the Zhu Xian Jian, was too terrifying. Even if ten more Emperor Weapons came, he still wouldn't stand a chance. Infinitely close to great achievement, she could contend with a great emperor—how could that be simple?

"Your Sheng Ti lineage is indeed one tough bunch after another," Ming Di sighed.

"One realm is like one heaven and earth. A Great Saint peak realm Sheng Ti is no different from an ant before a peak Quasi-Emperor Sheng Ti," Di Huang said indifferently.

As a great achievement Sheng Ti himself, he had the most authority to speak and knew best the terror of the Sheng Ti. The current female Sheng Ti was just half a step from great achievement, and with the Zhu Xian Jian fused in, only an emperor could suppress her. Even if Ye Chen had a hundred or a thousand Emperor Weapons, he couldn't defeat her.

This was the absolute suppression of realms.

In other words, without the protection of the ultimate Emperor Weapons, with Ye Chen's current power, he couldn't even withstand one palm from the female Sheng Ti.

Pfft!

Under the gaze of the two supreme beings, Ye Chen was struck again, sent flying eighty thousand li by the female Sheng Ti's sword. As he hurtled through the air, he smashed through countless stars, and his Sheng Ti body exploded repeatedly. If not for the Sheng Ti's dominant recovery ability, he would have been obliterated before he could even stop.

Great Reincarnation Heavenly Burial, activate!

Ye Chen abruptly halted and instantly activated the Heavenly Burial, multiplying his combat power tenfold.

Zheng!

The female Sheng Ti arrived, saying nothing, and slashed with her sword.

The starry sky was fragile, unable to withstand her strike, and was split in two. The spaces on both sides disintegrated in sheets, plunging into chaos. Even a Quasi-Emperor entering would struggle to escape unscathed.

Ye Chen snorted coldly and used the Flying Thunder God Technique to dodge the fatal strike.

He reappeared above the female Sheng Ti in the void, pressing down with a palm as the Emperor's Path Fuxi eighty-one arrays manifested. Enhanced by the ten Emperor Weapons, they enveloped the female Sheng Ti.

Everything happened in a flash—this was the dominance of the Flying Thunder God.

Unfortunately, he had underestimated the female Sheng Ti. In just an instant, the Emperor's Path Fuxi arrays were cleaved apart by a single sword, not through any array-breaking method, but by sheer overwhelming force.

Blood overflowed from Ye Chen's mouth as he retreated swiftly.

The female Sheng Ti was even faster, shadowing him like a ghost, her speed rivaling the Flying Thunder God. Her wooden beautiful eyes were utterly vacant, devoid of any human emotion, only wisps of multicolored immortal light swirling around.

Ye Chen gathered his pupil power and cast the Great Reincarnation Heavenly Illusion on the female Sheng Ti.

Awkwardly, the illusion had no effect—or rather, the Zhu Xian Jian was inherently immune. Even his Great Reincarnation Heavenly Blaze was useless. It seemed that aside from the Archaic Sheng Ti origin, the Zhu Xian Jian ignored all secret techniques.

Emperor's Path Trapped Heaven!

The female Sheng Ti invoked a forbidden law, reversing the laws and principles, sealing the yin, yang, and universe.

Ye Chen, who was retreating at high speed, was instantly immobilized.

Zheng!

In that moment, the female Sheng Ti thrust her sword forward, piercing through time and space straight for Ye Chen's brow.

This strike was incredibly powerful. Though still dozens of feet away, Ye Chen's brow was already breached by the killing intent, ignoring even the Divine Dragon Shield and targeting his primordial spirit directly.

Break for me!

Ye Chen roared in his soul, using the power of the ten Emperor Weapons to break free from the restraints.

Roar!

A dragon's roar followed as the Eight Divisions Heavenly Dragons materialized, their eight dragon tails lashing out with earth-shattering force.

But the female Sheng Ti was strange—in the instant the dragon tails struck, her body etherealized, allowing the tails to pass right through her. This technique was similar to Dong Zhou Wu Wang's Emperor's Path Etherealization—or perhaps it was exactly that. By etherealizing her body, she ignored external attacks, a truly heaven-defying divine ability.

Pfft!

Golden blood splattered as Ye Chen's Sheng Ti was instantly pierced. Thankfully, it wasn't his head but his shoulder—he had used the Taixu Shift to evade the vital point.

Even so, he wasn't in good shape; half his Sheng Ti exploded, and that was with the ten Emperor Weapons protecting him. Without them, he would have been reduced to ash before the sword even pierced him.

"You're really something else!" Ye Chen staggered back, experiencing for the first time a real fight with the female Sheng Ti and realizing just how terrifying this woman was. She was incredibly fierce.

As he spoke, the female Sheng Ti arrived again, still with a single, deadly sword strike.

Ye Chen didn't dare take it head-on and instantly used the Flying Thunder God to escape to the eastern starry sky, but he was still wounded by the sword's residual force.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The starry sky trembled with a slow, rhythmic vibration—it was the female Sheng Ti, holding the Zhu Xian Jian and advancing step by step, as if treading on the river of time. She was so distant as to be untouchable. Perhaps her Sheng Ti was too heavy, for each step made the stars hum.

With every step she took, this vast starry sky visibly lost its depth, transforming into multicolored hues. Each strand of multicolored immortal light carried supreme divine power, erasing the universe of the stars and collapsing their laws.

Ye Chen frowned, unsure of what secret technique this was, but he realized his Reincarnation Marks etched across the four directions of the starry sky had been erased. In other words, he could no longer use the Flying Thunder God in this starry sky.

Or perhaps, the female Sheng Ti had used this secret technique specifically to counter his Flying Thunder God.

Ye Chen coughed and activated the Great Reincarnation Heavenly Dao, escaping into a black hole.

No wonder the female Sheng Ti was exceptional—Ye Chen had just arrived, and she followed right after, without so much as an opening line, raising her sword to attack.

You're too strong; I'm out!

After a loud curse, Ye Chen fled. Facing an existence like the female Sheng Ti fused with the Zhu Xian Jian, there was no way to fight. If he were in the Quasi-Emperor realm, he might hold his own for a bit, but as a mere Great Saint, he was like a child before her—one slap and he'd be done for.

It had to be said, the Great Chu Emperor's escape was still quite imposing.

Unfortunately, it was useless.

In terms of speed, the female Sheng Ti absolutely surpassed him. Fused with the Zhu Xian Jian, she was ruthless and silent, chasing and slashing all the way, each sword more domineering than the last, carrying world-ending might.

And so, the two Archaic Sheng Ti—one fleeing, one pursuing—flew one after the other. One carried ten Emperor Weapons, the other the Zhu Xian Jian, like two divine lights streaking through the endless darkness, adding two splashes of brilliance to the deep black hole.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The once silent black hole became quite unsettled because of them.

The rumbling echoed to the outside world, alarming forces from all sides. Many people rushed to investigate but couldn't find the source.

"Weird, where's that rumbling coming from?" Too many scratched their heads, clueless.

"Who's battling in the black hole?" The more insightful elders raised their aged eyes to gaze at the ethereal void, knowing the fighters weren't in the starry sky but in the spatial black hole.

"In this era, aside from those fated for tribulation, few can enter the black hole."

"In my view, one of them must be the Great Chu's Tenth Emperor."

"Freely entering and exiting the black hole—only a Sheng Ti can do that."

Discussions buzzed everywhere. The younger cultivators were baffled, while the elders stroked their beards thoughtfully. Crowds gathered, one group after another, chasing the faint rumbles through the void. Even the Hong Huang Clan was stirred, concealing their aura, donning black robes to hide their status, and blending into the crowd. They occasionally looked up at the ethereal void, certain that Ye Chen was in the black hole.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The outside world was lively, but the scene in the black hole was hard to watch.

The usually formidable Ye Chen was being hammered mercilessly, his head bowed in defeat. His combat power was crushed, and his speed was too. What was said to be a chase was really just him being slashed and sent tumbling all the way.

Looking at him now, it was beyond miserable—his body covered in countless bloody gashes, each one glowing with multicolored light and carrying annihilating killing intent that rampaged through his Sheng Ti, affecting his limbs, organs, meridians, and even his primordial spirit and true form.

Fortunately, he bore the ten Emperor Weapons, whose domineering might was grinding away the killing intent. His ability to stay alive was all thanks to them; they'd blocked more than one fatal strike. One Emperor Seal in particular was the most battered, carved with numerous sword marks from the Zhu Xian Jian.

Pfft!

Accompanied by a spray of blood, the fleeing Ye Chen was sent flying again, his Sheng Ti nearly split in half.

"You damn thing, can't we take a break?"

"You're also infinitely close to great achievement—can't you snap out of it?"

"Serves you right for having a flat chest."

Ye Chen was driven mad by the chase, scrambling and rolling as he cursed loudly, his voice booming over the rumbles.

Surprisingly, his outburst worked. The female Sheng Ti's speed slowed slightly, and her aura weakened a bit.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, turned around, and started flying backward instead, sizing up the female Sheng Ti from top to bottom.

She was breathing unsteadily now, the multicolored immortal light on her body flickering between bright and dim. Her vacant beautiful eyes occasionally showed signs of clarity, and the Zhu Xian Jian in her hand buzzed and groaned. Though it kept slashing at him, it lacked any real technique—it was basically wild hacking, with no accuracy, and Ye Chen could dodge each strike easily.

It was clear that the female Sheng Ti's consciousness was fighting back against the Zhu Xian Jian, trying to regain control of her body. There was also a vague anger building like flames.

Ye Chen took a moment to stroke his chin, his mind racing. The female Sheng Ti's sudden change must be related to his cursing.

More precisely, it was tied to his last curse.

To test it, he took a deep breath and let out another string of curses, as satisfying as it gets.

"Serves you right for having a flat chest."