Chapter 2661: Live Flaying

"Ming'er."

The bloody scene made Yu Di's divine body tremble as he stepped out of Xian Shan. However, as soon as he entered that stretch of void and before he could reach Yin Ming, a pitch-black divine arrow shot from the distance, its power devastating and unstoppable. It had already locked onto him, and even with his peak Quasi-Emperor cultivation, he felt a sharp pain in his primordial spirit. The one who fired that arrow must be incredibly strong.

Did his Heavenly Court truly have such a figure?

"Your Majesty, watch out."

Shouts erupted as a figure manifested—an elderly Immortal Venerable emerging from Xian Shan. He had been sealed alongside Yu Di and was now awakened. His movements were elusive; in an instant, he pulled Yu Di back and instantly retreated to Xian Shan.

Shadows stirred continuously in the mountain; they were all the powerful experts of the Heavenly Court who had been sealed with Yu Di, including many at the Immortal Venerable level, their numbers vast.

Following them came the heavenly soldiers and generals, collectively unsealed. Some stood on the mountain peaks, others hovered in the void, forming a massive army of cultivators—the hidden foundation Yu Di had stored.

"Father, save me."

Yin Ming was not yet dead. His anguished howls and frantic struggles could not free him from the war spear's restraints. Fresh blood flowed, and he gazed desperately toward Xian Shan.

"I'll handle it."

It was that same elderly Immortal Venerable who stepped out of Xian Shan.

Thud!

Blood sprayed as the pitch-black divine arrow struck again, piercing the elderly Immortal Venerable and obliterating both his physical body and primordial spirit.

As he fell, the elderly Immortal Venerable's expression was one of utter disbelief. A mighty Immortal Venerable like him had been slain with a single arrow.

What was laughable was that he hadn't even seen who fired it. He had tried to make a grand entrance but ended up cut down on the spot. Losing face was minor; losing his life was the true tragedy.

Yu Di was shocked, his face turning pale. He knew the strength of that elderly Immortal Venerable—it was no less than his own—yet he had been utterly destroyed by one arrow.

"Senior, I hope you've been well."

As Yu Di looked on, a leisurely voice rang out, laced with supreme demonic power.

Ye Chen had arrived, striding on an immortal river with a blood-dripping iron staff in hand. Demonic aura surged around him, bathed in thunder as if he were a supreme demon god. His black-hole-like eyes were like abysses, endless and unfathomable; one glance could potentially devour one's mind.

"You... Ye Chen?"

"It's me," Ye Chen replied calmly, coming to a stop and blocking the way in front of Xian Shan.

"Impossible! This is impossible."

Yu Di staggered back a step, his eyes bulging and pupils contracting. He recognized Ye Chen, but before his self-sealing, Ye Chen had only been a minor Great Saint. How much time had passed for him to advance to Quasi-Emperor eighth heaven? This breakthrough speed was too heaven-defying, and his combat power was terrifyingly strong.

The crowd of Immortal Venerables narrowed their eyes slightly, recognizing Ye Chen's state as the most domineering form in the world.

Boom! Boom!

More arrivals came—it was the Immortal Venerables who had previously protected Yin Ming. They failed to stop Ye Chen and were instead defeated in battle. Now, only about a dozen remained, all battered and covered in blood, each one more wretched than the last.

As for the others, they had already met their end on the road to the underworld.

Upon seeing Yu Di, the Immortal Venerables trembled, their aged bodies shaking as they choked out in unison,

"Your Majesty, the Lingxiao Treasure Hall has collapsed, the Pan Tao Garden is destroyed, countless immortal mountains have exploded, and innumerable immortals have perished... Our Heavenly Court is a mountain of corpses and a river of blood."

Hearing this, Yu Di stumbled, retreating step by step. Those few words made him seem to envision the scene: the world drenched in blood, his prosperous dynasty reduced to such a state.

"Senior, I hope this great gift pleases you," Ye Chen said with a smile.

"Ye Chen!" Yu Di roared in fury, his voice resounding like thunder, his eyes instantly turning blood-red. "Our Heavenly Court has no grudge against you. Why do this?"

"You don't even know what's happened in the outside world, or what your son has done, yet you have the audacity to claim there's no grudge," Ye Chen said casually, twisting his neck with a demonic grin. "From the moment you chose Yin Ming as the ruler, you should have anticipated this day. Since it's your own doing, why the anger?"

Those words left Yu Di speechless.

Indeed, he was unaware of what had transpired in the Heavenly Court or why Ye Chen was so hostile.

In the void, Ye Chen had already manifested three clones.

"Boss, what's the plan?" the three clones asked, rubbing their hands eagerly.

"Flay him alive," Ye Chen said indifferently.

"Got it!" The three clones rolled up their sleeves and rushed toward Yin Ming. Each held a sinister dagger gleaming with cold light as they surrounded him and began the lingchi torture.

Ah...!

Yin Ming's screams echoed through the heavens and earth. Piece by piece, his flesh was sliced away; bone by bone, his bloodied bones were torn out. Already disfigured, he now looked even more horrifying, like a demon from hell, a sight that struck terror into all who witnessed it.

Yu Di was furious. With a whoosh, he drew his killing sword and pointed it at Ye Chen from afar. "Kill! Kill him for me!"

At his command, the Heavenly Court's experts and the mountain's army charged out of Xian Shan en masse.

Buzz!

The iron staff hummed as Ye Chen shot like a divine ray straight into the Heavenly Court army. He attacked without defense, swinging the staff wildly with overwhelming force.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The clear sky was instantly stained red with blood.

Ye Chen was too powerful; even millions of troops couldn't stop him, let alone these forces. As soon as the Heavenly Court's experts rushed out, they suffered heavy casualties. From the elderly Immortal Venerables to the lowliest heavenly soldiers, they turned into blood mist one after another, row upon row, with no one able to match him. The army was routed in defeat.

At the entrance to the great hall in the mountain, Yu Di stood dazed, retreating step by step once more.

He was afraid now, truly afraid.

Ye Chen's strength far exceeded his expectations. He desperately wanted to know what fortune Ye Chen had gained during his self-sealing period to become so terrifying, enough to make even his soul tremble.

"Ring the heavenly bell! Ring it quickly!" Yu Di roared.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

Immediately, the deep and resonant sound of the bell echoed, resounding throughout the Upper Immortal Realm and even the Scattered Immortal Realm.

"The sound of the heavenly bell?"

The allied forces of the Scattered Immortal Realm, still assaulting the Southern Heavenly Gate, all paused.

"Is the Heavenly Court in danger?" Niu Mo Wang raised an eyebrow, standing on tiptoe and peering through the Southern Heavenly Gate.

"Just two people went in—could they have routed the Heavenly Court?" Jiao Long Wang also looked on, his expression full of astonishment.

It wasn't just them; the allied troops present, and even the Heavenly Court's forces on the other side, were all baffled.

The heavenly bell was not rung lightly; once it sounded, it meant the Heavenly Court faced a great crisis.

"Join the battle!"

Shouts came from the Scattered Immortal Realm's side.

The bell's toll was too prolonged; they had heard it too. Even a fool would know the Heavenly Court was in trouble, proving that the earlier Scattered Immortal Realm alliance had gained the upper hand, forcing the Heavenly Court to ring the bell. So, what was there to fear? What was there to hesitate? They pressed on with full force to seize the Upper Realm's Heavenly Court.

Boom! Boom!

The Four Mountains moved, and various races and factions advanced, converging from all directions and uniting their forces as they charged toward the Southern Heavenly Gate.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The bell continued to toll, heralding the start of a grand war between the upper and lower realms.

Unfortunately, this bell failed to awaken Jiang Tai Gong.

However, the imperial artifact, the Whip of Gods, responded to the summons and revived its imperial might, shooting like a divine ray toward the Xian Shan where Yu Di was, ready to aid the Heavenly Court in battle.

Its arrival made Yu Di's eyes gleam with shock.

Beside him, a purple-haired Immortal Venerable soared into the sky, seized the Whip of Gods, and merged it into his body. Then, he charged out of Xian Shan and pointed a finger from the heavens, piercing through Ye Chen's body.

"Get lost!"

Ye Chen snorted coldly, raising his hand to strike and sending the purple-haired Immortal Venerable flying.

"Suppress!"

"Forbid!"

"Exterminate!"

In that instant, Immortal Venerables from all sides acted, casting forbidden techniques, secret arts, or wielding magical treasures in a relentless assault that engulfed Ye Chen.

Yet Ye Chen remained domineering, relying on his Bloodline Limit to resist head-on. With a swing of his staff, he struck out.

Thud! Bang! Boom!

Experts flew through the air in all directions; that single strike perfectly demonstrated what it meant to sweep across the eight wastelands. Apart from the purple-haired Immortal Venerable wielding the imperial artifact, no one else could withstand Ye Chen's staff—some had their bodies destroyed, others had their souls scattered.

"How can he be this strong?" Yu Di's expression grew grave, his heart trembling once more.

"It's likely due to the Bloodline Limit," At his side, many Immortal Venerables and Immortal Monarchs offered such guesses, their faces deathly pale.

Clang... Clang!

As they watched, the sound of metal scraping against the ground suddenly rang out.

Everyone turned to look.

What they saw was the Third Prince, Yin Yang.

Yes, it was him, dragging a killing sword and climbing step by step. The sword's tip scraped the ground, producing that harsh clang. His white hair was disheveled, his expression dull and vacant, and the bloody hole in his chest still gushed blood. He moved like a walking corpse, his eyes devoid of any light.

"Third Highness?"

The Immortal Monarchs were stunned. If not for recognizing Yin Yang's primordial spirit, they wouldn't have believed it was the Heavenly Court's Third Prince.

Yu Di's heart ached fiercely at the sight. Was that still his child?

Under everyone's gaze, Yin Yang reached the final step. Without a word, he thrust his sword into Yu Di's chest, just as Bi Xia had stabbed him earlier—without warning, without emotion, everything utterly abrupt.

"Yang'er, you... " Yu Di's eyes bulged as he stared at Yin Yang in shock. Being stabbed by an enemy didn't hurt as much as being stabbed by his own child—it tore at his very heart.

"Father, Bi Xia is dead," Yin Yang said blankly, looking at Yu Di.

"You bastard!" Yu Di exploded in rage, striking Yin Yang with a palm and sending him flying. "For a woman, you would commit regicide and patricide?"

Yin Yang soared through the air, tracing a bloody arc until he crashed into a copper pillar and finally fell, landing in a pool of his own blood.

Yu Di clutched the bloody hole in his chest, his eyes blood-red. The pain that had torn at his heart now shattered his insides with anger.

Yin Yang coughed up blood as he struggled to his feet, barely able to stand.

Ha ha ha...!

The Heavenly Court's Third Prince seemed to have become a madman, staggering and laughing wildly in his frenzy.

But as he laughed, his laughter abruptly stopped. With a swift motion, he swung his sword across his neck, extinguishing his own primordial spirit. Amid the spray of blood, he collapsed to the ground.

"Yang'er!"

Yu Di stepped forward and caught the falling Yin Yang. After all, he was still his child—anger was anger, but blood was thicker than water.

Yin Yang's laughter remained weary, tears of blood streaming down his face, yet he refused to look at his father. It was his father who had chosen a demon as ruler, destroying his love and his dreams, turning what should have been a bright world into an endless hell.

Everything had come so unexpectedly.

Who would have thought that the Heavenly Court's undefeated war god would not die on the battlefield but take his own life before his father?