Chapter 649: Retreat and Flee

Boom! Bang! Rumble!

The sounds between heaven and earth did not fade away; instead, they grew even more ferocious, each one striking like thunder.

In the vast sky above, a dense crowd of figures watched the battle intently, afraid to miss any thrilling moment.

"After over five hundred rounds, they still haven't decided a winner. These three are incredibly tough fighters." People had already sighed in amazement more than once.

"This epic battle isn't going to end so quickly." Someone said this while watching with full energy, while others had taken out memory crystals to record the scenes here, planning to sell them later. This stuff should be worth a fortune—it's definitely a bragging artifact.

"Are you kidding me?" Amid the discussions, the furious voice of Taixu Gulong echoed in Ye Chen's divine sea. "Stop talking nonsense and just unleash your peak combat power to wipe out Yin Zhiping."

"You're just talking from a safe position." Ye Chen shot back. "That guy isn't just ordinarily strong. If I go all out, I'd have a slight edge over him, but does he plan to stand there and let me hit him? If he decides to flee with all his might, I couldn't stop him. And if I expose my identity, I might end up getting ganged up on."

"He's that strong?" Taixu Gulong exclaimed in surprise.

"Nonsense." Ye Chen continued his attacks while glancing aside. "Today, I've truly witnessed the dominance of the Taixu Gulong soul. Although I haven't gone all out, I was fighting alongside Ji Ningshuang at her peak strength, and even then, we couldn't defeat him. That proves just how powerful he is."

"So, if you don't go all out, you can't kill him."

"That's why I need a battlefield—one that's just for the two of us."

"Understood." Taixu Gulong took a deep breath, and the way he looked at Ye Chen changed. From Ye Chen's words, he heard a powerful sense of confidence—a belief that he could take down Yin Zhiping alone, not arrogance, but the conviction of an invincible warrior.

Boom! Rumble!

As they spoke, a thunderous roar came from one side of the sky.

There, massive clouds rolled like waves, carrying a chilling killing intent. Divine light burst forth in all directions, with an overwhelming aura. Though there were only a few dozen figures, it felt like thousands of troops charging forward.

Upon closer inspection, it was the experts from Qingyun Zong, led by one of their venerable ancestors: Qingyun Laozu.

"Kill them all, leave no one alive." Soon, Qingyun Laozu's icy voice echoed through the heavens, laced with authority and an ethereal quality.

Immediately, the Qingyun Zong experts charged forward with surging killing intent. There were nine Zhun Tian Jing experts and dozens of Kong Ming Jing ninth-heaven cultivators. Their oppressive force crushed everything in their path as they advanced through the sky.

Damn it!

Seeing the Qingyun Zong experts closing in, Ye Chen cursed under his breath and didn't waste a word—he turned and fled.

After all, Qingyun Zong's nine Zhun Tian Jing experts were all ancestor-level powerhouses, along with dozens of Kong Ming Jing ninth-heaven cultivators. If they unleashed a massive attack, the outcome would be painfully disastrous.

On her side, Ji Ningshuang furrowed her brows and took a deep breath, forced to turn and escape like a streak of divine light.

As for Yin Zhiping, his face had already twisted into a grotesque expression. Though his combat prowess was immense, he had no choice but to retreat temporarily. He had schemed against Qingyun Zong before, causing them heavy losses, and they had long been itching to settle the score. With such a massive force from Qingyun Zong, they certainly wouldn't spare him.

Where do you think you're going?

Qingyun Laozu was the fastest, with the other Qingyun Zong experts not far behind. Each one had their life-bound spiritual weapons hovering above their heads and killing swords in their hands, their auras soaring to the skies.

The Qingyun Zong experts' goal was clear: to eliminate Ye Chen, Ji Ningshuang, and Yin Zhiping while the reinforcements from Zhengyang Zong and Hengyue Zong hadn't arrived yet. The three of them had enormous potential and would inevitably become major threats to Qingyun Zong.

Would they pass up this once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity when they held such an absolute advantage?

Boom! Bang! Rumble!

Soon, the heavens shook as majestic mountains collapsed one after another. The Qingyun Zong experts' pursuit was on a grand scale, and even Ye Chen and the others didn't dare confront them head-on. If they got surrounded, the consequences would be dire.

"This is getting really lively now." The onlookers were stunned for a moment before rushing to follow, swarming in waves that blanketed the sky.

"Xuan Dao Wushang, Di Fa Tian Luo." Qingyun Laozu spared no expense, unleashing two forbidden divine arts once more. The unmatched divine radiance pierced straight through the void, hurtling toward the three.

"Damn it." Yin Zhiping's face turned savage, as if he had heard of these two forbidden secrets before. He instantly sidestepped, barely dodging the divine light.

"Not this again." Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang had suffered from this divine art before and knew its terror well, so they naturally didn't want to take another hit. They each used secret techniques to evade the divine light.

Though Xuan Dao Wushang and Di Fa Tian Luo were domineering, they weren't unbreakable—as long as you avoided being struck, you'd be fine. But if you were unlucky enough to get hit, the outcome would be disastrous.

Seeing that his two forbidden divine arts had missed their targets, Qingyun Laozu's face darkened as he charged after them again, with the Qingyun Zong experts swarming behind him in a massive wave, their momentum overwhelming.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Far off in the void, three streaks of divine light sped away at incredible speeds.

Among them, Ye Chen was the one fleeing the fastest, leaving the onlookers utterly baffled. No wonder so many people hadn't caught this guy before—his escape skills were top-notch.

"The clever me, lucky I learned Taixu Shenxing Technique." Ye Chen ran while smoothing his hair, and in less than thirty seconds, he had pulled thousands of zhang ahead of Ji Ningshuang and Yin Zhiping.

Soon, he vanished from sight, slipping away faster than a rabbit.

Bang! Boom! Rumble!

Not long after, roars echoed from the direction Ye Chen had fled. The crowd watched as massive mountains crumbled in an instant.

Then, they saw Ye Chen scrambling out of the flying debris, rolling and crawling.

At the sight, the onlookers were momentarily stunned.

Kill him!

Soon, a cold and furious voice rang out, drawing the onlookers' attention.

Looking into the distance, that patch of void was thundering, the noise like claps of thunder, with clouds churning and killing intent filling the air. There were also dozens of figures, their auras merging into one as they barreled forward, crushing the heavens.

Upon a closer look, it was undoubtedly the Zhengyang Zong experts, led by one of their ancestors: Zhengyang Laozu.

Now, the onlookers understood.

Ye Chen had indeed fled quickly, but he had run straight into the oncoming Zhengyang Zong experts. No surprise he got beaten—who could blame them? He had kidnapped their holy maiden, taken the ransom, and still hadn't released her. Of course, they wouldn't let him off.

Son of a bitch!

Ye Chen's figure was in disarray as he instantly changed direction and fled elsewhere. After getting pummeled, he didn't look defeated at all; instead, he was full of energy, leaving the onlookers sighing in disbelief.

"Frost'er." Zhengyang Laozu used a great divine ability to pull Ji Ningshuang to his side, then glared angrily at Qingyun Laozu and his pursuers.

Hmph!

Qingyun Laozu and his group snorted coldly, realizing it was impossible to kill Ji Ningshuang now, so they shifted their target to Yin Zhiping and Ye Chen.

Meanwhile, Yin Zhiping had changed direction the moment the Zhengyang Zong experts appeared and was now charging toward the path Ye Chen had taken.

In response, whether it was the Zhengyang Zong or Qingyun Zong experts, they all rushed after Ye Chen and Yin Zhiping.

Yin Zhiping was the sect leader of Hengyue Zong, with immense potential. Killing him would not only cripple Hengyue Zong but also eliminate a future major enemy.

As for Ye Chen, disguised as Qin Yu, they hated him to the bone and were determined to kill him. Whether it was Yin Zhiping or Ye Chen, they wouldn't let either escape. For them, killing these two would only bring benefits, no downsides.