Chapter 3244: A Fight for Fate, Merit Complete

Chapter 3244: A Life-and-Death Battle, Merits Fulfilled

Buzz! Buzz!

The Yongheng Shen Ding vibrated unsteadily, shaken by the relentless assaults of the two demons. Each collision unleashed waves of destructive light that spread endlessly through the void. Even if Huang Di were hit, he would suffer greatly, but trapping these two was a feat Ye Chen could take pride in.

"Hold on."

The person in the coffin roared, his bronze ancient coffin trembling with a buzz. Silver cascades poured down once more, mending the cracks that had formed across the Yongheng Shen Ding. This prime opportunity couldn't be wasted; the Xu Wang Mo and Xu Wu Mo absolutely could not escape.

"You cannot destroy me."

Xu Wu Mo howled in rage, transforming into a colossal giant with rolling demonic energy forming an ocean around him. Being caged like this infuriated him, especially as a being of the Ta Huang realm.

"Break for me."

Xu Wang Mo attacked even more fiercely, unleashing world-ending divine abilities with every strike. Each blow forced Ye Chen to grunt in pain, nearly causing him to lose consciousness.

"Suppress."

Ye Chen gritted his teeth and held firm, refusing to let go. If the two demons broke free, even if he could seal Huang Di against the heavens, he would still be annihilated. Their power was on an entirely different level.

The situation was at a deadlock.

The two demons struggled to break out of the cauldron, while Ye Chen suppressed them relentlessly, turning it into a grueling stalemate. Neither side dared show the slightest negligence; the consequences would be dire.

This patch of void had become a realm of destruction.

From a distance, it looked like a sea of annihilating immortals, with the Yongheng Shen Ding standing like a mountain amid it, etched with Dao patterns and the essence of eternity. No one would believe that this forsaken place held five beings surpassing Huang Di—one unconscious, one in the unknown, one in the coffin, and the remaining two sealed in the cauldron, desperately bombarding it.

And Ye Chen had the lowest cultivation among them.

Though his realm was low, his role was crucial. The outcome of this battle hinged on him. If he could hold the line, there was a chance to refine the two demons; if not, the disaster would be catastrophic, with their counterattack capable of destroying heavens and earth.

He had no way out.

"Hold firm."

Ye Chen snorted coldly, making the Yongheng and Dao Zi tremble together.

Unfortunately, the Xing Zi was unyielding.

Even with Ye Chen and Dao Zi combining forces, they couldn't suppress it and nearly lost control. In this state, forget refining the two demons—simply containing them was a struggle. The Xing Zi was truly insidious.

Buzz!

At that moment, a unique aura of eternity bloomed from Ye Chen's body. This eternity was different, not his own but from an external source.

More precisely, it came from the little one.

Though the little one was in deep slumber and unconscious, its subconscious was resisting, fighting against the Xing Zi seal. Vaguely, Ye Chen could hear its furious roars, filled with anger, all because of that damned seal that had left it in a stupor.

"Wake up."

Ye Chen called out desperately; he couldn't handle the situation alone and needed the little one's help.

But there was no response.

The little one wanted to wake, yet it couldn't. The issue stemmed from Ye Chen's fusion with the unknown, which had disrupted a delicate balance, forcing it into forced slumber.

To awaken, Ye Chen would have to separate from it first.

For now, it only acted on instinct, subconsciously channeling eternity to counter the Xing Zi.

Thanks to this, Dao Zi regained control.

The Dun Jia heavenly characters and the Xu Wang flower also lent their power, collectively forcing the Xing Zi down. Immortal light radiated across Ye Chen's sacred body.

"Destroy."

Ye Chen snorted coldly, and the Yongheng surged powerfully, enveloping the entire cauldron. The cracks sealed in an instant—what might have been millennia or eons felt like a single moment as he eternalized it, elevating the cauldron to its peak.

"Damned thing."

Xu Wu Mo roared in fury, his towering form engulfed by eternal sword energy, carved with unhealing bloody gashes. His foundations were damaged, and worse, his primordial spirit was assaulted by a destructive force, on the verge of collapse.

Xu Wang Mo fared no better.

Trapped in the cauldron and under constant assault, both demons could barely stand. The forces of annihilation, combined with eternal light, painted a scene of apocalypse. Their demonic bodies crumbled inch by inch, and their origins withered away.

"Excellent."

With the two demons suppressed, the person in the coffin exuded immense power. The divine patterns on his coffin all activated at once, enhancing his silver cascades and bolstering the eternity.

Ah!

The demons' roars shifted to wails of agony. Trapped in the cauldron with no escape, their blood and bones were being annihilated, and even their primordial spirits faced destruction. They struggled desperately, but as their bodies crumbled and spirits faded, reversal was impossible.

Boom! Boom!

The battles raged deeper in the void, where the third demon tried to rush to their aid but was blocked. The little one's forces, the great generals of humanity, were no pushovers, their mighty auras shaking the universe as waves of blood energy exploded in the depths, fighting to the death.

"Get clear."

Ye Chen snorted coldly.

This was directed at the person in the coffin, for the two demons inside the cauldron were blood-sacrificing their cultivation to unleash their most terrifying strike, aiming to shatter the Yongheng Shen Ding's refinement. If the cauldron broke, it would trigger massive destruction, and the person in the coffin would suffer.

Buzz!

No need for Ye Chen to elaborate—the person in the coffin had already acted, summoning one final silver cascade before fleeing swiftly, escaping to the edge of the void and watching from afar.

Boom! Boom!

Ye Chen's prediction was spot on; the two demons had gone mad, driven to frenzy. Their entire bodies ignited in black flames as they blood-sacrificed their Ta Huang realm, condensing a supreme strike.

The power made Ye Chen's heart race.

Even if the little one were awake, it likely couldn't withstand this.

"Break for me."

The two demons roared in unison, firing a beam of inky black demonic light. The two beams merged into one, sweeping forth with destructive omens and overwhelming might, blasting a massive hole in the Yongheng Shen Ding and shattering the great cauldron entirely.

Puff!

Ye Chen spat blood, sent tumbling through the void as the residual force nearly destroyed his sacred body.

Puff!

The Xu Wang flower was also wounded, its fiery red bloom half obliterated in a gruesome display. It was fortunate she was in the unknown, with Ye Chen and the little one bearing the brunt; otherwise, the backlash alone could have ended her, especially in her incomplete state.

Puff! Puff!

The two demons suffered equally, hit by severe backlash from their blood sacrifice. No longer in the Ta Huang realm, they had fallen to the peak of Huang Di. Their crumbling demonic bodies and withering spirits finally halted, leaving them as bloody, mangled figures. Every wisp of energy they emitted could crush ancient immortal domes; even diminished, they still commanded the universe.

"Go."

Without a second thought, the two demons fled this patch of void.

They couldn't fight anymore.

No longer in the Ta Huang realm, they were no match for Ye Chen and the little one. Better to escape quickly—delay even a moment, and this void would become their grave.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ye Chen thundered, nocking an arrow and loosing an eternal shot. It pierced through the void, splitting into two streams that impaled the two demons.

Puff!

Black blood sprayed in a striking display.

Both demons burst into bloody mist in the void, their wails piercing.

Yet, they didn't die.

Ye Chen wanted to pursue, but he was too weakened. He stumbled, his forehead's Dao Zi replaced by the Xing Zi. No matter how Dao Zi attacked or how he and the little one resisted, control was lost. His aura plummeted instantly.

"Run? Where do you think you're running?"

The person in the coffin shouted excitedly. With Ye Chen unsteady, it was his turn to shine. The two demons were no longer in the Ta Huang realm, while he surpassed Huang Di, giving him the upper hand. They were already half-dead, their bodies and spirits irreparable—he could handle them alone, even from his coffin.

"Go."

The two demons snarled in rage, dragging their ruined forms toward the borderlands.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

In response came the person in the coffin's attacks, chasing and striking all the way. After waiting so long, he finally had his moment of triumph, radiating overwhelming dominance.

"Damned fools."

Deeper in the void, the third demon snorted coldly, unwilling to press forward. His opponent, that great general of humanity, was too formidable, offering no opening.

In truth, other demons lurked in the shadows.

But humanity's forces were not idle, holding them in check. Any clash now would engulf the entire universe in total war.

Puff!

Ye Chen spat blood again, his consciousness nearly erased as his sacred body exploded.

The Xing Zi had absolute control.

For the little one, this was a calamity.

For him, though, it was an opportunity. With the Xing Zi suppressing the little one, it gave him a chance to separate. This life-and-death gamble would complete his merits; once free, he could ascend to Huang Di on the spot.

"Come out for me."

Ye Chen roared from his soul, attempting to separate.

But he underestimated the difficulty.

Though the little one was suppressed, its subconscious persisted, refusing to let anything fused with it escape. Or perhaps the Xing Zi had covertly altered its awareness.

Ye Chen had seen this before.

Back in the Zhutian unknown, the little one had become ferocious, calling all living beings ants, mirroring the face of heaven's way—cruel, bloodthirsty, and sinister. But Ye Chen knew that wasn't its true nature; it was the Xing Zi's influence, tampering with its mind.

Such manipulation was utterly evil.

If the supreme of humanity were turned into a puppet, it would spell catastrophe.

Fortunately, the little one was resilient.

The Xing Zi was terrifying, but so was it. Its memories wiped, its will and obsessions intact, it resisted even in blank consciousness; otherwise, it would have become a puppet long ago.

"Come out for me."

Ye Chen's eyes turned blood-red, trying again and again.

Still, it was incredibly tough.

It felt like being trapped in a swamp, struggling to emerge while unseen hands dragged him down, his energy stifled.

Buzz!

In the crisis, Dao Zi and Dun Jia revealed their might, one after another etching into the unknown—or more accurately, into Ye Chen's body, enhancing his eternity.

Right, the little one had only ever expelled one thing.

That was the Dun Jia heavenly character, swallowed but undigested.

"Come out for me."

Ye Chen roared for the third time, taking refuge in Dun Jia and using eternity to swap concepts, forcibly separating from the little one's body. He emerged as a cluster of Dun Jia, floating in pieces.

Uh!

The little one remained in slumber, its expression pained. With Ye Chen's separation, balance returned, and the pain signaled its resistance, striving to awaken from sleep.

Merits fulfilled.

The Dun Jia rearranged itself, reforming Ye Chen's sacred body.

In this life-and-death battle, he had won.

In an eternal instant, the commander of all living beings advanced on the spot.