Chapter 799: The Demon

The night sky was deep, with shattered stars like dust. Deep within a mountain range, Ye Chen sat cross-legged, still in a coma, his face ashen, his body covered in injuries that were slow to heal.

Across from him, Ji Ningshuang was also seated cross-legged, continuously channeling Xuanling Force into his body.

After some time, Ye Chen's body trembled slightly, and a trickle of fresh blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth. His expression remained pained, and his voice was hoarse and dry.

"Where is this?"

"Changmian Shan."

"This time, we've truly messed up." Ye Chen gently wiped away the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth.

"What exactly did you see?" Ji Ningshuang asked, her delicate brows furrowed as she looked at Ye Chen.

"A sword."

"A sword?" Ji Ningshuang's brows knitted together. "Just one glance at it injured you this badly?"

"It's no ordinary sword." Ye Chen took a deep breath, his tone filled with caution. The sword's appearance was still vivid in his mind—plain and unadorned, yet it exuded a mountain-like pressure. He knew full well that it was the sword that had wounded him, and everything had happened so suddenly that he was caught completely off guard.

"Connected to Xuanyuan Di, truly domineering." Ye Chen murmured to himself. Although his eyes were closed, he couldn't help but turn toward the direction of the Huan Hai. Just that one glance at the sword had affected both his avatar and the Taixu Ancient Dragon.

"How are your injuries?" As Ye Chen pondered, Ji Ningshuang asked cautiously.

"For now, my vision is temporarily lost, and the Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eye cannot be used for a short period. My soul has been severely damaged, and my divine sense has lost its perception of the outside world. Everything else is fine." Ye Chen slowly stood up, but as he spoke, another trickle of fresh blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth.

"Can you manage to fly? This is within Zhengyang Zong's territory. It's best to leave as soon as possible."

"I can manage, barely." Ye Chen said, stepping into the void, but his strength was insufficient, and his figure swayed precariously.

Seeing this, Ji Ningshuang quickly followed.

However, as soon as she stepped into the void, her brows suddenly furrowed, for she noticed the space around Ye Chen distorting slightly. A blood-red vortex appeared, and a sinister claw emerged, lunging straight for Ye Chen. The worrying part was that Ye Chen, having lost his divine sense, didn't notice it at all.

Zheng!

Ji Ningshuang immediately struck, unleashing a peerless sword strike.

On the spot, the sinister claw reaching for Ye Chen was severed, and black blood splattered everywhere.

Quickly, Ji Ningshuang summoned a Sanqing Avatar to protect Ye Chen at the center, all the while furrowing her brows as she looked at him, murmuring to herself, "He didn't even notice such an obvious ambush. Just how badly damaged is his soul and divine sense?"

By now, sensing the abnormality, Ye Chen had already flipped out his Chixiao Sword, desperately trying to gather his divine sense to perceive the surroundings. But his efforts were in vain—his divine sense dissipated before it could form. In that moment, he was like a blind man, surrounded by utter darkness.

"Who is ambushing us?"

"It's not a person," Ji Ningshuang said softly.

"Not a person?" Ye Chen's brows furrowed. "From the Yao Clan?"

"Most likely," Ji Ningshuang nodded lightly.

"The Desolate Ancient Holy Body and the Xuanling Body—today is truly set to be a great harvest." No sooner had Ji Ningshuang spoken than an ethereal, desolate voice echoed through the heavens and earth, laced with mockery and amusement. Most strikingly, the words seemed to carry a demonic sound that made one's mind falter.

Suddenly, the wind and clouds surged, thunder roared, and thick dark clouds gathered, shrouding the sky. A massive black dragon coiled within, spitting lightning, its blood-red dragon eyes as vast as wine vats, gleaming with bloodthirsty demonic light.

"Break!"

Ji Ningshuang formed a seal with one hand and uttered a cold command.

Instantly, the heavens cleared, as if nothing had happened.

"Your illusions are useless against me. Show yourself!" Ji Ningshuang's expression was cold and indifferent, her gaze fixed straight ahead, as if she could see through the void to the figure hidden within.

"The Xuanling Body—I've underestimated you." Came that same mocking, playful, and icy voice.

Before the words faded, the void was torn open, and a figure clad in black armor stepped out. It had dragon horns on its head, was enveloped in dark demonic energy, with lightning flickering across its body. Faintly, powerful dragon roars echoed from it.

"Yao Long." Ye Chen's expression grew more serious. Even without perceiving the surrounding aura, he could distinctly feel the unique pressure of a powerful expert. "Its strength is no less than that of Dugu Ao."

Beside him, Ji Ningshuang's face also turned grim. If Ye Chen weren't injured, the two of them working together would naturally not fear the Yao Long. But now, Ye Chen could barely manage to fly, let alone join forces in battle.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, the Yan Huang Saint Lord's condition doesn't seem too good!" The Yao Long eyed Ye Chen with interest, who was protected at the center by Ji Ningshuang and her two avatars.

"Looks like you know quite a bit!" Ye Chen sneered.

"After the commotion you caused last night, did you really think I was blind?" The Yao Long bared its rows of sharp white teeth. "I've been watching you for so long—finally, my persistence has paid off!"

"Since you know my identity, are you still looking for trouble?" Ye Chen sneered again.

"You don't seem to grasp the situation." The Yao Long advanced slowly, casually stroking its dragon horn. "Don't forget, this is Zhengyang Zong's territory. Are you sure you can hold out until reinforcements arrive?"

Fengshen Jue!

One of Ji Ningshuang's avatars immediately attacked, moving like the wind, swift as a shadow. Her ultimate single-target strike, Fengshen Sword, carried devastating piercing force as it thrust straight at the Yao Long.

"Just an avatar daring to block me?" The Yao Long snorted coldly, suddenly raising its hand and gripping the killing sword precisely. Demonic power surged, and Ji Ningshuang's avatar was shaken back on the spot.

In that brief exchange, Ji Ningshuang and her other avatar had already protected Ye Chen and fled into the distance.

Where do you think you're going?

The Yao Long snorted coldly and charged forward, treading on a sea of demonic mist and blood.

Yinian Hua Kai!

Ji Ningshuang's avatar immediately deployed an illusion secret technique.

"Not a bad secret technique, but your cultivation is far from sufficient." The Yao Long roared, instantly breaking Ji Ningshuang's avatar's illusion, then swatted the avatar away with a palm. Following that, a beam of divine light shot straight toward the fleeing Ye Chen.

Seeing this, Ji Ningshuang's other avatar moved to block it.

"Let me handle it." Ye Chen suddenly raised his hand, enduring the backlash of his severe injuries to use the Taixu Cave secret technique, diverting the beam of divine light into a spatial black hole. For this, he paid a heavy price.

"Stay behind!" The Yao Long stepped forward a thousand zhang in an instant, its massive dragon claw covering the sky and crushing the void inch by inch.

"Take him and go." Ji Ningshuang ordered her avatar, then ascended into the sky herself, unleashing a peerless sword strike that shattered the massive dragon claw. With a flip of her hand, she summoned a Jiutian Xuanling Seal, pressing it down toward the Yao Long.

"You're still far off." The Yao Long smashed the Jiutian Xuanling Seal with a punch, seal scripts appearing in its hand and forming rune chains that slithered like serpents, wrapping toward Ji Ningshuang.

Ji Ningshuang waved her hand and produced a plain qin, her jade fingers strumming rapidly. Every rune chain that approached was dissolved by the invisible qin sounds.

"Trivial tricks." The Yao Long laughed mockingly, charging like a ghost, ignoring the qin sounds entirely, and thrust a dark beam straight at Ji Ningshuang's brow.

Ji Ningshuang said nothing, but a surge of divine light erupted from her brow, releasing a Shen Shang killing sword like a divine beam.

"You..." The Yao Long's expression changed, clearly not expecting Ji Ningshuang to pull such a move, especially a domineering soul attack. Its arrogant self-confidence led it to take the hit directly.

Uh...

The Yao Long grunted dully, its vision going dark. Even with its cultivation and combat power, the Shen Shang strike was no small matter.

In that instant, Ji Ningshuang naturally wouldn't give it a chance to breathe. She followed up with her ultimate single-target strike, Fengshen Jue, piercing straight through the Yao Long's chest, and with another palm strike, nearly severed its arm.

Ah!

The Yao Long roared in fury, shaking Ji Ningshuang back with a palm. Having been hit hard twice in succession, it was enraged, erupting with peak combat power. The overwhelming pressure made Ji Ningshuang's face change—she alone was no match for the Yao Long; this was absolute suppression of cultivation and power.

"I'll make you wish you were dead." With a roar, the Yao Long thrust out a sea of demonic mist and blood, intent on engulfing Ji Ningshuang.

Ji Ningshuang wiped the fresh blood from the corner of her mouth and summoned the Xuanling Sea to block the demonic mist and blood sea.

Boom! Bang! Rumble!

As the two clashed in the distance, bursts of roaring echoed from the void ahead. The fleeing Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang's avatar had encountered powerful enemies—all from the Yao Clan. The weakest among them were at the fifth level of Kongming Realm, and one was at Quasi-Tianjing Realm.

"Dammit," Ye Chen cursed under his breath. It was truly a run of bad luck, encountering such trouble in his weakest state. Now, forget fighting—he could barely manage to fly and escape.

"Capture him alive," the Yao Clan Quasi-Tianjing expert grinned viciously and charged at Ye Chen.

Zheng!

Ji Ningshuang's avatar immediately drew its sword, blocking the Yao Clan Quasi-Tianjing expert.

"Get him for me," the Yao Clan Quasi-Tianjing expert commanded while battling Ji Ningshuang's avatar.

At the order, the other Yao Clan experts lunged toward Ye Chen.

Buzz!

With a hum, Ye Chen summoned the Chaos Divine Cauldron to protect himself. However, due to his master's condition, the cauldron was unstable, swaying unsteadily.

What a treasure!

One of the Yao Clan experts' eyes burned with greed as it reached out with a massive hand toward Ye Chen's Chaos Divine Cauldron. The others each produced a cold, black iron chain, binding Ye Chen's limbs and imprisoning him in the void.

Ye Chen!

Ji Ningshuang in the distance wanted to rush over to save him but was blocked by the Yao Long. Her other avatar tried to assist but was intercepted by the Yao Clan's Quasi-Tianjing expert.

Pfft!

Ye Chen spat out a mouthful of fresh blood on the spot. The chains binding him were sinister, devouring his essence and sealing his Dantian. Even his immortal fire and heavenly thunder were locked inside.

"Dammit," Ye Chen gritted his teeth and cursed inwardly. In the past, he could have taken on a bunch of Kongming Realm underlings single-handedly. Now, it was a total downfall—like a tiger fallen to the plains, bullied by dogs!