Chapter 3031: Appearance Over Substance

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Xu Wang was in chaos, filled with thunderous roars. The supreme battle of the Tian Di caused utter destruction, but even the mysterious forces of fate could not touch the Sheng Ti or the Sheng Mo. This emperor-level assault unfolded like an apocalyptic scene.

The battle was fiercely brutal, or more precisely, it was Ye Chen who suffered the most. In his extremely weakened state, he faced two Tian Di-level Sheng Mo, fighting one against two and falling completely on the defensive. He was beaten across Xu Wang, drenched in blood, his sacred body exploding repeatedly. His sacred bones were stained with imperial blood, scattering throughout the void. From afar, he no longer resembled a human form.

In contrast, the two Sheng Mo were only slightly disheveled, with no major wounds on their bodies. Their bloodline limits sustained them, making their demonic forms indestructible and their primordial spirits unyielding and eternal. With their two-on-one formation, they relentlessly suppressed the Sheng Ti.

The people of the myriad heavens watched with bloodshot eyes, their hearts filled with sorrow. Ye Chen fought alone, facing such hardships, yet they were powerless to help.

If the female emperor were still alive, she would surely feel heartbroken.

After all, Ye Chen was only a few thousand years old! At such a young age, bearing such a heavy burden had far exceeded his limits. Even his eternity had been corrupted by decay.

"This little Sheng Ti is truly strange."

The second Sheng Mo frowned. The two of them against one, and after over a hundred rounds, they still couldn't take him down. That mid-level Tian Di Sheng Ti was far tougher and more resilient than expected. They had shattered him multiple times, yet he still stood, all while in a weakened state. If he were at his peak and fighting solo, the two of them would likely not be his match.

"Quite intriguing."

The first Sheng Mo let out a sinister laugh, full of malice. The more Ye Chen endured, the more excited he became. He was eager to see what other surprises that little Sheng Ti could bring. Slaughtering him would surely yield heaven-defying opportunities and fortunes. Perhaps he could even advance to the quasi-huang level through this. Greed and desire amplified his demonic savagery, turning Ye Chen into nothing more than prey in his eyes.

Ye Chen fought while retreating, his expression unchanging from start to finish—no joy, no worry, no anger, no hatred. He remained as indifferent as ice, like a puppet devoid of pain. The chaos of the world could not stir the slightest ripple in his heart. He had faced all manner of storms before, and this battle could not shake his indestructible dao heart. Even without the female emperor, he would defy the heavens and slaughter these two Tian Di Sheng Mo, or he would not be worthy of her spirit or the souls of countless heroes.

Boom! Rumble!

Amid the roaring thunder, the battle grew even more savage. Desire and greed fueled the Sheng Mo's attacks, making them more ferocious than ever. Each strike was a deadly technique, aimed at quickly slaughtering Ye Chen to uncover the fortunes hidden within the Sheng Ti.

Ye Chen's imperial body was both tough and battered, his unbreakable will sustaining his eternity and turning decay into immortality. The blood-red eternal light became the most brilliant sight in Xu Wang.

There was a moment when both Tian Di Sheng Mo furrowed their brows, all because of Ye Chen. That little Sheng Ti's aura was severely weakened, yet his momentum continued to rise. An invisible battle intent transformed into an unseen force, scattering much of their bloodline limits—a first in history.

In reality, Ye Chen was gathering his strength. They had their bloodline limits, and he had his eternity, though incomplete. His recovery might not match theirs, but his origin divine power was fully reviving, bolstered by the eternal immortal river and eternal blessings, turning his depleted imperial dao into a wellspring of power.

"Seal for me."

The second Sheng Mo snorted coldly, no longer patient. He summoned a massive bell, enveloping Ye Chen from above. The bell was etched with demonic patterns and surrounded by demonic energy, vast as a mountain, with its own inner realm—a vast domain where lightning flashed overhead and lava flowed below. It was a sealing technique and a destructive divine ability. He had used it before to seal many supreme beings of the ancient heavenly court, whose resentful spirits still struggled in the lava, suffering eternally without release.

Unfortunately, Ye Chen was no supreme being of the heavenly court; he was a Sheng Ti supreme. From within, he punched a gap open and burst out like a soaring dragon, delivering a massive palm strike that flipped the second Sheng Mo. Before the second Sheng Mo could steady himself, a dazzling golden light chased after him—a golden war spear that impaled him into Xu Wang.

For this, Ye Chen paid a heavy price. The first Sheng Mo's blade struck his back, carving a deep gash. Through the wound, his radiant spine was visible. The demonic blade's power was terrifying, infusing killing intent that turned into strands of demonic energy, wreaking havoc on his sacred body and causing it to explode repeatedly, shattering sections of his sacred bones.

Ye Chen soared into the sky, manifesting an eternal sword in his hand, and slashed toward the void—a spacetime attack aimed directly at the first Sheng Mo.

Pfft!

A burst of dark imperial light exploded, strikingly vivid. The first Sheng Mo, charging forward, had his head separated from his body in an instant, completely severed.

"Damn it."

The second Sheng Mo howled, pulling out the eternal war spear embedded in him and crushing it to ash in his palm. His eyes, like black holes, were now tinged with blood, red as if dripping, filled with rage and bloodlust. Across the upper and lower epochs, this was the first time he had suffered such a loss.

"Spacetime attack. Good, very good."

On the other side, the first Sheng Mo laughed menacingly, his face twisted. He picked up his own severed head with one hand and advanced through the air, reattaching it to his neck. The wound healed instantly, and in the same moment, a layer of dark armor covered his body, encircled by time laws and inscribed with bloodline limit seals. No matter which moment of him Ye Chen targeted, his defense had to be at its peak. A spacetime attack was hard to guard against, but it wasn't invincible.

The second Sheng Mo relied on his own abilities as well, mastering causality. Like the quasi-huang Tian Mo from before, he directly severed the causal links. A half-baked spacetime attack was beneath his notice.

Ye Chen stood firm, eternal sword in hand, his entire body covered in gashes that healed one by one. His previously weakened aura surged like a vast sea in an instant. The radiant eternal light enveloped him, making him shine like a blazing sun, illuminating the boundless Xu Wang.

"Jin Yu Qi Wai, Bai Xu Qi Nei."

The second Sheng Mo sneered, his words laden with meaning. He saw it clearly: though the Sheng Ti appeared glorious on the outside, he was rotten and decayed within.

In plain terms, the Sheng Ti was barely holding on.

His guess was correct. Ye Chen was indeed forcing himself. From the moment the female emperor fell and he took over the Tai Gu Road, he had never returned to his peak. Hidden injuries plagued his body, growing worse as he sustained the Tai Gu Road with his life. He stood only because eternity upheld his imperial body.

"The warm-up is over."

The first Sheng Mo laughed demonically, cracking his neck contentedly as another version of himself emerged—a Sheng Mo dharma body.

In the same instant, the second Sheng Mo manifested his dharma body as well.

Thus, the two Tian Di Sheng Mo became four.

But for Ye Chen, it made no difference. They had dharma bodies, and so did he. In a flash, he summoned his sacred war dharma body, using a mutually destructive immortal technique to drag two of the Sheng Mo dharma bodies into oblivion together. If they wanted a fight, let it be with their true forms—dharma body tricks wouldn't work on him.

"You've underestimated him."

The two Sheng Mo snorted coldly. One wielded a war halberd, the other a demonic blade, sweeping in with overwhelming demonic aura, one from the left and one from the right. They had delayed long enough; it was time to slaughter him.

Ye Chen said nothing, suddenly turning and fleeing deeper into Xu Wang. In his current state, he couldn't forcefully destroy the two Tian Di Sheng Mo; he needed external power—the destructive forces within Xu Wang.

Before leaving, he caught sight of the Chaos Cauldron and sent it back to the Tai Gu Road. Because he might die in this battle, he had to leave something for the myriad heavens, the ancient wilderness, and all living beings—a trace of hope.

The emperors and divine generals had bloodshot eyes, just as before, as if Ye Chen were settling his final affairs. They all wanted to rush out, but the cauldron's restrictions held them back—it was sealed by Ye Chen's Tian Di-level power.

"Where do you think you're going?"

A roar echoed from Xu Wang as the second Sheng Mo caught up, thrusting his spear with world-shattering force.

Ye Chen halted and countered with a simple finger strike, equally devastating, containing profound divine abilities despite its plain appearance.

At their level, they had simplified all complexities. Beyond a few exceptional immortal techniques, their powers were formless.

Clang!

The spear collided with his finger, producing a metallic ring. Ye Chen's finger bled, and the Sheng Mo's spear shattered. The second Sheng Mo was forced back, stumbling and underestimating Ye Chen's strength once more.

"Exterminate!"

The first Sheng Mo arrived, his blade sweeping across eighty thousand li.

Ye Chen charged upward, slashing with his eternal sword.

Clang!

Another metallic clash. The demonic blade exploded, and the eternal sword shattered. One spat blood, the other had his arm burst open, with destructive halos spreading. The second Sheng Mo, who had just steadied himself on the other side, was knocked off balance.

"Come on!"

The two Sheng Mo roared in fury, launching a joint assault. The second Sheng Mo manifested a dark demonic realm, filled with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, trapping countless resentful spirits and depicting scenes of destruction. It could crush a Tian Di in an instant—this was his demonic outer manifestation.

Boom! Rumble!

The first Sheng Mo was even more formidable, surging forth with a sea of demonic aura and blood, capable of devouring the heavens and earth. Every strand of demonic energy weighed like a mountain; an ordinary Tian Di swallowed by it would be refined into ash as fuel.

Ye Chen stood his ground, manifesting eternity as an immortal domain to hold back the dark demonic realm, and summoning the eternal immortal river to block the sea of demonic aura. Facing two opponents, his might was absolute.

In less than three breaths, the eternal immortal domain and the dark demonic realm collapsed, followed by the eternal immortal river and the sea of demonic aura, mutually destroying each other and fading into dust.

"Quickly, exterminate him."

The first Sheng Mo snorted coldly, attacking first.

The second Sheng Mo followed suit.

The Sheng Mo weren't fools; their bloodline limits had a time limit. The longer they delayed, the worse their position. Once it faded, the mysterious forces would overwhelm them.

Ye Chen tried to escape but was forcefully blocked.

The battle erupted again, the scene bloody and grand. Ye Chen bled profusely, and the two Sheng Mo sustained frequent injuries, yet they still couldn't take him down.

Buzz!

In the midst of the fight, a deep hum resounded, overshadowing the battle's roar.

It was a meteor in Xu Wang, the size of a wine jar, hurtling from the depths and carrying destructive power capable of killing a Tian Di in one strike.

In that instant, Ye Chen's eyes flashed.

He was close enough to the zone of destruction now, and this was what he had been waiting for. The meteor itself was unremarkable, but the terrifying force it carried was something he had experienced before. Using it to trap the Sheng Mo was far simpler than destroying them directly.