Chapter 2762: 厄魔

Boom! Bang! Boom!

In the dim Boluoyu subspace, the roaring sounds shook the immortal vault. The outside world was calm, but here the battle raged fiercely. The heavens flashed with lightning and thunder, manifesting destructive omens—fiery suns collapsing amid the thunderbolts, and stars exploding into oblivion.

At the misty peak's summit, Ji Ningshuang and Xueyi Xianzi were nowhere to be seen. Both had transformed: Xueyi Xianzi into a seven-colored phoenix, and Ji Ningshuang into a crimson Zhuque. Both in forms beyond the Dao, they clashed in the void, their fresh blood raining down like light, spilling across the sky and reshaping into various forms to continue the fight until one was utterly destroyed.

It was clear that Dongshen Yaochi had the upper hand, battering the seven-colored phoenix until it was covered in wounds.

Buzz! Buzz!

The Zhu Xian Jian hummed violently, as if in rage. Every time the seven-colored immortal light dimmed, it forcibly gathered more strength, employing countless prohibitions to boost its power and drive Xueyi Xianzi's immortal body in battle against Ji Ningshuang. Wave after wave of emperor-level immortal techniques erupted, each one devastating.

Yet, this seemed to have little effect.

It had severely underestimated its opponent—Ji Ningshuang's strength far exceeded its expectations, her comprehension of the Dao approaching the Great Dao itself.

It was fortunate that both Tianming Liangdi were in self-seal.

If those two emperors were still active and saw this scene, they would surely mock the Zhu Xian Jian with a single phrase: "You never learn."

Still in a weakened state, it had stubbornly emerged to show off, and now it was paying the price. Did it really think all junior quasi-emperors were as fragile as paper? In this era of emperor-level upheavals, concepts like the balance of yin and yang, or the constraints of laws, had become utterly illusory. Viewing the world through old lenses wouldn't just lead to defeat—it could mean total destruction.

Indeed, the Zhu Xian Jian felt melancholic.

This era was too bizarre. The speed at which later generations rose defied all expectations, as seen with Ye Chen and Yaochi. In just a few centuries, they had reached the peak of the world. With no great emperors around, who could suppress them? Even the Zhu Xian Jian itself couldn't compare.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The seven-colored blood poured down like dazzling light rain from the void.

Xueyi Xianzi and the Zhu Xian Jian were being relentlessly pushed back. The seven-colored phoenix form shattered repeatedly, reforming only to be severely wounded by Ji Ningshuang again and again, plummeting from the mists several times.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Elsewhere in the sky, Ye Chen's battle with the First Shengti was equally brutal.

Ye Chen's battle intent soared to the heavens, while the First Shengti was indestructible as a diamond. Their secret techniques collided, shattering the heavens and earth, reversing the cosmos, and overturning yin and yang. The falling blood rain stained the entire sky.

The two were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand.

A hint of ferocity had appeared in the First Shengti's eyes.

As fellow Shengti, its origin was purer than Ye Chen's, and its Shen Zang empowerment was stronger. It had expected to easily defeat Ye Chen, but after hundreds of rounds, it grew increasingly alarmed. Not only had it failed to win, but it was frequently injured. This junior Shengti was far tougher than anticipated, with a combat mindset that was supreme.

Alongside the ferocity, its gaze burned with intensity.

From Ye Chen, it found immense thrill and grew deeply interested in him. Greed was unmistakable in its desires—it yearned to uncover Ye Chen's secrets and discover what made this second-lineage Shengti different.

Ye Chen remained expressionless, launching domineering attacks.

Between Shengti, there was an unspoken understanding. The First Shengti hadn't unleashed its full power, not yet activating its bloodline limit; Ye Chen was holding back as well, concealing his depths. Up to this point, both were still probing.

It was undeniable that the First Shengti was powerful, stronger than the one from the Funeral God Ancient Land.

However, Ye Chen was no longer the Ye Chen of the past. With memories carried through tribulations and countless fortuitous encounters, he could bridge certain gaps with the First Shengti using his emotion-infused chaotic Dao.

Roar! Roar!

Accompanied by their dragon roars, Ye Chen and the First Shengti transformed—one into a golden Shenlong, the other into a pitch-black Molong. Both were massive as mountains, coiling through the nine heavens and crushing vast swaths of space. Spatial rifts spread like sharp blades, tearing through the hidden cosmos.

"This couple, they can really fight."

Shura Tianzun cleaved a monster in half with his blade and glanced briefly at the sky. Whether it was Dongshen Yaochi or Shengti Ye Chen, both were incredibly dominant. As a fellow young emperor-level figure, he felt he fell a bit short.

Pfft!

At his side, the Hunluan Ti swung his war spear, wiping out a swarm of monsters. In a moment of distraction, he also looked up at the heavens, wary of Ye Chen while equally wary of Ji Ningshuang. The three of them shared similar Daos, but Ye Chen and Yaochi seemed to have a deeper comprehension. He realized it was because Ye Chen and Yaochi had experienced far more—he couldn't compare in that regard.

"They're coming again."

Tianzun averted his gaze, popped a handful of pills into his mouth, gripped his divine blade tightly, and prepared for the onslaught. The monsters were surging in like a tidal wave. That enormous eye was threaded with dense blood vessels, rolling restlessly, and paired with their terrifying forms, just looking at them was enough to send chills down the spine.

Buzz!

The Hunluan Ti's immortal body trembled lightly as he performed a blood sacrifice of his true essence, forcibly condensing his vital energy.

From a bird's-eye view, amid the black ocean formed by the monsters, the Hunluan Ti and Shura Tianzun were like mere specks in a vast granary, tiny as grains of sand, always at risk of being swallowed whole.

To this day, neither of them knew what these monsters were.

If the Tianming Liangdi were watching, they would surely recognize them.

These were Ēmó—Ē as in calamity, and mó as in demon. The word Ē alone signified disaster, and mó meant exactly what it implied. Together, they spelled trouble, and just by their appearance, they were unnaturally grotesque.

The origins of the Ēmó were ancient indeed.

Their existence dated back to the era of the Ancient Heavenly Court, with deep ties to the Tianmo and the First Shengti. As for their true identity, only great emperor-level figures knew, and any emperor aware of the secrets never underestimated the Ēmó. Their power was on par with the Tianmo.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Tianzun and the Hunluan Ti stood back to back, holding on desperately in a frenzy of combat. No longer at their peak, they were exhausted from the fight, having been surrounded and attacked for three to five months. Their survival was proof of their strength—if it were Ye Chen and Yaochi in their place, they wouldn't fare much better.

Roar! Roar!

The roars from the sky were deep and prolonged. The two giant dragons' assault was brutally savage.

Ye Chen's golden Shenlong was riddled with wounds.

The First Shengti's pitch-black Molong was covered in scars, its body on the verge of exploding.

In their contest of Daos, Ye Chen had the edge.

At some point, the First Shengti's dragon form suddenly collapsed, reverting to human shape as it staggered back. Each step crushed a chunk of void, and with every retreat, its expression grew more ferocious, its gaze more intense, excited to the point of madness.

"What a stubborn one."

Tianzun sighed, still slaying Ēmó but diverting a thread of his divine sense to watch the sky battle. He had fought the First Shengti before and always been on the defensive. Now, seeing Ye Chen surpass it, he realized—as fellow young emperors—he and Ye Chen were no longer on the same level.

Stubborn!

The Hunluan Ti wanted to say the same. It seemed the First Shengti couldn't win against Ye Chen without activating its bloodline limit. Even without special abilities, Ye Chen was clearly slightly stronger.

Roar!

The dragon roar faded, and Ye Chen reverted to human form, his golden light radiant and his vital energy overwhelming.

"The warm-up is over."

The First Shengti chuckled darkly, casually cracking his neck, his lips curling with a playful, mocking smile. As he spoke those demonic words, his form changed instantly. His hair turned strand by strand to blood-red, his deep, desolate eyes losing their pupils and becoming twin black voids. Rolling demonic aura rampaged, carrying wails of vengeful ghosts that had buried countless lives and disrupted the mind.

Indeed, he had activated his bloodline limit, elevating his state to immortality.