Chapter 772: The Same Suffering

Instinctively, Ji Ning Shuang opened her eyes. The first thing she saw was half of a Gui Ming mask, along with the character for "Chou" that was still dripping blood. The scene froze in that instant.

"Ye Chen." Ji Ning Shuang was stunned, standing there motionless.

"Keep track yourself—this is the umpteenth favor I've done for you," Ye Chen said as he swiftly retreated while carrying Ji Ning Shuang. "Favors aren't just words; they have to be repaid."

Ji Ning Shuang parted her lips but couldn't speak. Her beautiful eyes filled with mist that slowly crystallized into frost.

Bang!

As they exchanged words, a thunderous roar echoed from ahead. Because Ye Chen had suddenly whisked Ji Ning Shuang away, the burly man's grab missed, leaving a massive handprint on the ground.

"Who is it?"

An angry shout rang out as the burly man swept his palm across the sky, forcing both Ye Chen and Ji Ning Shuang into the open.

"Who the hell is this guy? And who's controlling him?" Ye Chen summoned his Yi Qi Hua San Qing avatar, Huo Miao Dao Ti, and Tian Lei Dao Ti to charge at the eerie burly man, while he himself continued retreating with Ji Ning Shuang.

"He's Kui," Ji Ning Shuang replied immediately. "The one controlling him is Yin Wang."

"Yin Wang?" Ye Chen furrowed his brow and glanced at Ji Ning Shuang questioningly. "The same Yin Wang that Zhan Wang suppressed years ago?"

"Exactly." Ji Ning Shuang spoke, biting her lip slightly. "All these years, he's been hiding in Zheng Yang Zong, revered as the supreme being by the sect's elders, the ultimate authority in Zheng Yang Zong."

"Looks like the hidden ultimate expert that Long Ye mentioned in Zheng Yang Zong must be this Yin Wang." Ye Chen's gaze deepened, and he stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Wasn't Yin Wang supposed to be dead? Him still being alive explains why Zheng Yang Zong has so many Yin Ming death generals."

As he pondered, Ye Chen turned to Ji Ning Shuang with a puzzled expression. "That doesn't add up. You're the holy maiden of Zheng Yang Zong, the master of the Jiu Dian, and the next sect leader. Yin Wang should be protecting you, so why is he hunting you down? What's going on here?"

"He's collecting special bloodlines to create an even more heaven-defying one," Ji Ning Shuang answered. "My Xuan Ling bloodline, Shangguan Han Yue's Dao Ling bloodline, Huo Zun's Tai Yin bloodline, and your Sheng Ti bloodline are all targets for him to seize."

"His ambitions are huge!" Ye Chen sneered. "He's even willing to go after you, the future sect leader, for this."

Hearing that, Ji Ning Shuang gave a self-mocking smile. "To him, in the face of ultimate power, ultimate bloodlines, and ultimate cultivation, everything else is worthless."

As she spoke, she wrapped her arms around herself, shivering. In that moment, she was no longer the proud Xuan Ling body but more like a vulnerable woman, abandoned by her own people, feeling an unprecedented loneliness.

Perhaps only now did she truly understand the bitterness Ye Chen had felt when he was expelled from the mountain years ago. Now, she was in a situation eerily similar to his back then, the harsh reality making the world feel incredibly cold to her.

Suddenly, she felt a warm hand on her shoulder, a surge of warmth flowing into her body, dispelling the killing intent within and replenishing her depleted Dantian.

In the next second, the tears welling in her eyes overflowed, streaming down her sorrowful cheeks.

"Is this karma?" Ji Ning Shuang murmured, her face a mix of tears and a wry smile, as if crying and laughing at once.

Back then, she had been so arrogant, with her Xuan Ling body and the legend of invincibility. That arrogance had pushed away the most important person in her life. But the events that followed made her realize just how wrong she had been. Ye Chen's brilliance had shattered her perceptions time and again, showing her how laughable her pride truly was.

Yet, what was lost could never be regained. Now, this scene was like a cruel echo of the past, full of irony.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen was unaware of Ji Ning Shuang's turmoil. His eyes were fixed on the distant sky.

There, his three Dao Bodies were locked in a fierce battle with the eerie burly man.

From what he could see, even his three Dao Bodies combined weren't a match for the burly man. In particular, his Huo Miao Dao Ti and Tian Lei Dao Ti had been beaten nearly back to their original forms. The burly man was extraordinarily powerful and strange, unkillable and with a terrifying recovery speed that left Ye Chen astounded, far beyond his expectations.

At some point, Ye Chen withdrew his hand from Ji Ning Shuang's shoulder and swung his Ba Long Dao, charging straight into the fight.

Ba Huang Zhan!

He was as dominant as ever. Once in the fray, he launched his ultimate attack without a word, the golden blade light of Ba Huang Zhan dominating everything as it soared toward the heavens.

The burly man responded by swinging his axe to knock Ye Chen's three Dao Bodies flying, then countered with a heaven-shattering axe strike.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing rang out instantly. Ye Chen's blade light shattered on impact, and even he was forced to grunt and retreat, his arms aching from the shock, a trace of fresh blood spilling from his throat.

"Is this guy cheating or what?" Ye Chen wiped the blood from his mouth and leaped into the sky, quickly forming seals with one hand.

Tai Xu Long Jin!

With a light shout, the Tai Xu Long Jin cage materialized, trapping the eerie burly man inside.

But in the next second, the burly man shattered the cage with a single axe blow.

Wan Jian Gui Yi!

Ye Chen had already merged ten thousand swords into one, shooting toward the burly man from the front.

Thud!

The burly man, just emerging, was hit head-on, his chest pierced. But for him, it was barely an injury—it healed almost immediately, so fast that even Ye Chen was caught off guard.

Feng Shen Jue!

Ye Chen shouted again, moving like the wind, swift as a shadow. His Feng Shen sword, wreathed in thunder and immortal fire, carried devastating piercing power as it thrust directly at the burly man's forehead.

However, despite the sword's might, the burly man caught it firmly in his palm, shattering the terrifying force it carried.

Ye Chen retreated abruptly, darting back over a hundred zhang in an instant.

The burly man reacted swiftly, closing in with a single step and swinging his axe from above, its power making even Ye Chen's expression change.

In a flash, Ye Chen raised his Ba Long Dao overhead to block.

Clang!

The burly man's axe struck the Ba Long Dao, sending Ye Chen staggering back as he spat out a mouthful of blood.

Feng Shen Jue!

Tian Jian Shen Fa!

Wan Jian Gui Yi!

Ye Chen's three Dao Bodies joined the assault, each unleashing their ultimate attacks and stabbing three holes into the burly man's back, freeing Ye Chen from the deadlock.

Roar!

The burly man roared for the first time, his cry like that of a beast, thunderous as he swung his axe in a wide arc. Ye Chen's Yi Qi Hua San Qing avatar dissipated on the spot, while his Huo Miao Dao Ti and Tian Lei Dao Ti were forced back to their original forms.

"Suppress him!"

Ye Chen snorted coldly and summoned the Hun Dun Shen Ding and Jiu Zhou Xuan Tian Tu. The two divine weapons linked their auras, collapsing half the sky under their pressure.

This time, the eerie burly man was subdued, nearly brought to his knees, unable to resist the combined suppression of the Hun Dun Shen Ding and Jiu Zhou Xuan Tian Tu for the moment.

Seizing the opportunity, Ye Chen lunged forward and swept his blade horizontally, decapitating the burly man in one stroke.

"That should do it!" Ye Chen wiped the blood from his mouth and crushed the fallen head into ashes with a palm strike.

But just as he was about to catch his breath, the burly man, who had been still, suddenly moved, swinging his axe fiercely.

"Damn!"

Ye Chen cursed out loud, stunned that the burly man could still attack even after losing his head.

Caught off guard by the burly man's residual power, Ye Chen was sent flying. If not for his Huang Gu Sheng Ti's formidable physique, he might have been cleaved in two by that axe.