Chapter 773: Why Save Me

Boom!

Ye Chen, who had been sent flying, crashed into a mountain, causing a thunderous explosion.

Dammit!

Ye Chen crawled out from the rubble, disheveled, a deep bloody gash on his chest. That was from the burly man's axe strike. His golden bones gleamed, and as before, it was only thanks to the formidable physical body of his Huanggu Shengti that the earlier axe hadn't split him in half.

"Even without a head, you're still this fierce." Ye Chen wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth and looked up at the sky ahead.

In that direction, the burly man gripped his battle axe and advanced step by step. His body was incredibly heavy, and each step made the sky tremble. Without a head, his form was utterly terrifying.

"If you're that tough, then I'll chop off your arm," Ye Chen sneered and stepped into the sky.

"Suppress him for me," he shouted softly. The Chaos Shen Ding and Jiuzhou Xuan Tian Tu radiated their divine power once more, their overwhelming pressure reappearing and sealing off the surrounding thousand zhang of space.

Perhaps aware of the might of the Chaos Shen Ding and Jiuzhou Xuan Tian Tu, the burly man was prepared this time. He swung his battle axe in a heaven-defying strike, sending the Chaos Shen Ding flying, while the Jiuzhou Xuan Tian Tu fared no better, swept away by a single palm.

Eight Wastelands Slash!

Ye Chen had already closed in, gripping the Ba Long Dao with both hands and raising it overhead for a devastating downward strike, severing the burly man's left arm with one blow.

Buzz!

The burly man immediately swung his battle axe in a sweeping attack.

"I'll take another one." Ye Chen narrowly dodged the burly man's axe, drew the Chi Xiao Jian, and enveloped it with thunder and immortal fire. He poured his surging Shengti true essence into it, then slashed through the arm that held the battle axe.

"Without both arms, let's see how tough you are," Ye Chen shouted and charged forward.

However, even after losing his head and both arms, the burly man kept moving. He lifted a leg and kicked out, and the unfortunate Ye Chen, who hadn't even thrown his punch, collided squarely with it.

Damn!

Another curse rang out as Ye Chen was kicked away, smashing a deep crater into the ground.

"You're forcing me to chop you into pieces!" Ye Chen was furious and charged up from the ground, but to his surprise, the burly man stopped using his legs and rammed forward with his entire body.

"Get down!" Ye Chen roared, combining nine Eight Wastelands Fists into one and punching through the sky, blasting the burly man straight down.

Bang!

With a massive tremor in the earth, the burly man's body created a huge pit.

Yet, as a lifeless thing, he only knew attack after attack. He quickly climbed up and tried to rush back into the sky, but Ye Chen struck with a Shrouding Heavens Palm, slamming him down to kneel on the ground.

Ye Chen descended from the sky, pinning the burly man beneath him, and pounded away with fist after fist.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The sounds were rapid and rhythmic, the scene incredibly bloody. Ye Chen hammered the burly man relentlessly, and even with the burly man's powerful body, Ye Chen beat it into a pulp.

At some point, the sounds faded away.

Looking around, the burly man under Ye Chen was now twisted into a mangled heap, no longer resembling a human form.

Whew!

Only then did Ye Chen let out a deep breath of relief.

Though the battle was brief, he knew the burly man's combat strength was extraordinarily powerful. It was just because he was a lifeless entity that he lacked flexibility. If he had advanced combat techniques and terrifying secret arts, Ye Chen admitted he wouldn't stand a chance.

With a wave, Ye Chen summoned immortal fire to burn the burly man's ruined body to nothingness, then turned toward Ji Ningshuang.

Ji Ningshuang's condition had improved, but her face was still pale.

"Why did you save me?"

Ji Ningshuang stood up and looked at Ye Chen quietly. Her words were a bit indifferent, but her beautiful eyes held a hint of hope.

"Because you owe me a favor!" Ye Chen shrugged casually. "Xuangling Zhiti, a heaven-defying bloodline and an undefeated legend. Since you're no longer with Zhengyang Zong, we're no longer enemies. Since we're not enemies, maybe we can be allies, like teaming up to take down Zhengyang Zong."

"I don't want to get involved in any more wars."

Ji Ningshuang's expression was forlorn, her eyes dim.

"What's wrong? Got hit hard?"

Ye Chen looked at Ji Ningshuang with interest. "It's not that big of a deal! Back when Zhengyang Zong abandoned me, I was left wandering and destitute, but now I'm doing just fine, aren't I?"

Ji Ningshuang said nothing, standing silently in place as the wild wind howled around her, like an ice sculpture. Her face was full of weariness and hardship, as if she had just recovered from a serious illness, without a trace of vitality.

Seeing this, Ye Chen sat down on the ground and began wiping his Ba Long Dao, speaking leisurely as he did. "The world of cultivators is far more brutal than the mortal world—full of deceit, life and death in an instant. I despise this world, so I want to create an era of peace and prosperity."

"But in your eyes, I see ambition."

Ji Ningshuang looked at Ye Chen quietly.

"And?"

Ye Chen asked casually.

"Ice-cold, bloodthirsty, brutal, and cruel."

Ji Ningshuang spoke without any hesitation, her tone flat.

"This world always needs a hero to be remembered forever, and a villain to bear eternal infamy." Ye Chen smiled faintly, his words even calmer. "From the moment I was revived, I understood a truth: grand ambitions aren't built on bold words alone, but on ambition, ice-cold resolve, bloodthirst, brutality, and cruelty. Since this is a world of the strong, we'll use violence to control violence. Without an iron heart, how can there be an era of peace? Between hero and villain, I choose the latter. From the day my heart grew ice-cold, I was prepared to bear eternal infamy."

Beside him, Ji Ningshuang fell silent, her eyes filled with complex emotions.

She found it somewhat amusing. In the past, one was called Ji Ningshuang and the other Ye Chen.

But now, one was Xuangling Zhiti and the other Huanggu Shengti. She had returned to her original self, unwilling to partake in the world's deceptions, while he had become iron-hearted and ruthless, ready to tread on blood and bones while carrying eternal infamy.

Everything seemed to have passed in an instant, like a thousand years had gone by, evoking a sense of distant haze that left one lost.

"Sometimes I wonder, if you and I weren't cultivators but ordinary people, would we live more freely?"

In the end, Ji Ningshuang spoke, her beautiful eyes blurred with a touch of longing.

"Tired of this path?"

Ye Chen turned his head and smiled.

"Yes, tired of it."

Ji Ningshuang's expression was desolate and hazy. "I've never hated this world more than I do now. A long life has left my memories scarred and battered, and this turbid world has made the path so full of resentment and solitude. I want to go home, to散尽 my cultivation and live as a mortal, but where is home? There's not a single trace of home's warmth in my mind."

As Ji Ningshuang spoke, her beautiful eyes grew blurred, and under the moonlight, the mist in them gradually condensed into frost.

In that moment, she was no longer the lofty Xuangling Zhiti, but more like a fragile woman, her eyes full of tears and confusion, shivering in the dark night.

Seeing this, Ye Chen shook his head helplessly, unable to bear letting her get drawn back into this chaotic world.

"Forget it, you don't have to repay the favor."

Ye Chen waved his hand and jumped to his feet.

"Ye Chen."

From behind, Ji Ningshuang's call rang out. For some reason, as she said the name again, the tears in her eyes flowed uncontrollably.

"Can you take off your mask? I want to see you."

Ji Ningshuang looked at Ye Chen with hope.

"I can't."

Ye Chen replied faintly, without turning around. "I believe you're still the Ji Ningshuang of before, but I'm no longer the Ye Chen of the past. From now on, we're strangers to each other."

With that, Ye Chen stepped into the void, like a streak of golden light cutting through the dark night sky.

Below, watching Ye Chen's receding figure, Ji Ningshuang burst into tears once more. Her slender form stood alone in the dark night, radiating profound solitude, unsure of where to go.