Chapter 991: A Carefully Directed Play

After an unknown amount of time, Ye Chen silently turned around and returned to Yu Nü Peak, stepping onto its summit and standing there like a stone statue, allowing the fierce winds of the mountain to lash against his body.

Chu Ling'er and the others saw this but did not approach, instead letting out sighs filled with sorrow and helplessness.

The matter of Xing Yue Sheng Nü and Ye Xingchen's wedding was known only to a few, and news of their deaths had not been spread. They wished to avoid causing panic and did not want the world to gossip about it.

The night in Heng Yue was exceptionally quiet, the seemingly splendid and radiant immortal realm shrouded in a stifling atmosphere.

In the pitch-black night, Heng Yue Zong was utterly silent, without a single sound, enveloped in deep tranquility.

Everyone was asleep, unaware that a wisp of purple ethereal light had drifted out from the underground palace, like a beam of purple divine radiance, flying away from Heng Yue Zong. Upon closer inspection, it was the purple-robed figure.

He had escaped without alerting anyone, everything appearing as normal, as if nothing had ever happened.

It was only after a long while that a cry of alarm echoed through Heng Yue Zong: "That person has escaped, that person has escaped!"

In an instant, the entire Heng Yue Zong was stirred. The high-ranking elders mobilized en masse, with groups of figures soaring out from Heng Yue Zong.

Not just Heng Yue Zong, but all of Nan Chu was alerted. They assembled armies of cultivators, numbering in the tens of millions, centered on Heng Yue Zong and spreading out in all directions to search every possible location.

"Despicable ants."

Already beyond Nan Tian Men, the purple-robed figure glanced back at the bustling Nan Chu, his mocking smile twisted with ferocity and cruelty. "All of you wait for me. When I return, you will all die."

With that, he streaked across the vast starry sky like a dark shadow, his destination unknown, only intent on fleeing far from Nan Chu. Once his injuries healed, he would return with overwhelming force to avenge his humiliation.

Hm?

No sooner had he entered the airspace above a range of mountains than he was blocked by a figure.

The man stood tall and imposing, his silhouette like a mountain, with a head of blood-red hair and eyes as vast as the starry sky, profound and boundless. His aura made the heavens tremble, causing the void to rumble incessantly under the pressure.

Wasn't this Ye Chen?

The purple-robed figure halted abruptly, narrowing his eyes at the opposing Ye Chen. It seemed less like Ye Chen had pursued him from behind and more like he had been waiting here all along. The scene felt strangely eerie.

"Can you escape?"

Ye Chen spoke calmly, his voice ethereal, majestic, and icy cold, as he advanced step by step. With each footfall, the void shook, unable to bear the weight of his aura.

"With you alone?"

The purple-robed figure laughed viciously, striding across the sky and thrusting a finger of divine light toward Ye Chen's forehead.

Ye Chen shifted in a flash, his form like a ghost, easily dodging the strike and instantly closing in on the purple-robed figure.

The purple-robed figure's expression changed, and he retreated hastily.

But Ye Chen was faster, stepping forward and merging his Ba Huang Fist into a single blow, sending the purple-robed figure flying with blood and bones scattered.

"Be slain by me!"

The purple-robed figure roared in fury, firing a blood-red killing sword from his brow.

Ye Chen did not evade, seizing the sword with a wave of his hand and slamming a palm down, forcing the purple-robed figure into the void below.

"Xue Ji Xian Jie, truly domineering!"

On the ground, the blood-robed figure staggered to his feet, his flesh mangled, as if realizing just how terrifying Ye Chen's current state was.

"Shift Heaven and Earth!"

He immediately invoked a secret technique, knowing he was no match, and had no intention of lingering in battle. He aimed to use this heaven-defying escape method to flee.

Buzz!

Space trembled as he swapped positions with a distant mountain.

Yet Ye Chen was quicker, shrinking the distance in an instant and shadowing him like a phantom. In a flash, he struck from behind, his finger of divine light piercing the purple-robed figure's body.

"Die!"

The purple-robed figure whirled around, his eyes shooting forth a bolt of thunder aimed at obliterating Ye Chen's soul and true form.

Ye Chen raised his hand, erasing the thunder with a palm and sweeping the purple-robed figure into the void once more. He followed with over a hundred rapid punches, leaving the falling figure a mangled heap of flesh by the time he hit the ground.

However, the heap of flesh writhed and reformed into the ferocious purple-robed figure.

"You're forcing my hand!"

The purple-robed figure bellowed, soaring like a black divine light into the sky. His hands formed seals at blinding speed, and as the seals locked in place, his chaotic eye burst apart.

Buzz!

In that instant, the heavens and earth shook, ethereal thunder rampaged through the void, and the sky split open. Two massive hands emerged, entwined with ancient black patterns, lunging from the heavens to seize Ye Chen.

Ye Chen looked up silently, recognizing those colossal hands grasping from above.

Back when he had battled the Shen Chao Sheng Zi, similar hands had tried to capture him, claiming to act on behalf of the heavens. Now, it was clear that the one who had secretly attacked him then was this purple-robed figure.

"Die!"

The purple-robed figure's face contorted savagely, his entire body bleeding profusely, as if the secret technique had drained him greatly.

Ye Chen moved, raising his hands to manifest two enormous ones of his own, hundreds of feet tall and infused with his bloodline power and Dao principles. He tore the descending black hands to shreds on the spot.

Pfft!

The purple-robed figure spat blood, suffering severe backlash, his body exploding into a mist of blood and plummeting from the void once again.

"I'll send you on your way!"

Ye Chen said indifferently, manifesting a black war spear in his hand and hurling it at the falling purple-robed figure.

The black war spear, wrapped in apocalyptic thunder, possessed the power to pierce all things. If it struck, both the purple-robed figure's body and soul would turn to ash.

But at that moment, a streak of seven-colored divine light sliced through the sky from an unknown source, severing Ye Chen's thrown spear.

The spear shattered, and the purple-robed figure was caught by a swirl of seven-colored clouds.

Ye Chen's expression remained impassive as he turned his gaze to one side of the void.

There, surrounded by seven-colored divine radiance, a stunning figure materialized—a woman in white robes with white hair and a white mask, wielding a seven-colored divine sword. The sword's resonant hum made the heavens tremble.

"I've been waiting for you a long time."

The white-haired woman appeared, but Ye Chen showed no surprise, remaining calmer than expected. His vast eyes stared straight at her without wavering.

The white-haired woman said nothing, standing silently in the void, her lithe form enveloped in brilliant seven-colored divine light. She seemed close yet impossibly distant, like a dream, her watery eyes devoid of emotion, cold as ice.

"Now it's two against one."

The purple-robed figure staggered upright, his laughter savage and cruel, his shattered body regenerating with some mysterious force. His aura surged dramatically, confident in the white-haired woman's combat prowess. With her by his side, there was no reason they couldn't kill Ye Chen.

"You seem to have misjudged the situation."

A ethereal voice, laced with royal authority, echoed through the heavens as Tai Xu Gu Long emerged from the void, gripping the Tai Xu Dragon Sword.

Following him, Zi Xuan stepped out from another part of the void, also holding a divine sword.

Next came an elderly man striding through the sky—it was Chu Hai Shen Bing Ou Yang Wang—closely followed by Dao Huang Sui Yan, their wild and dominant auras sweeping across the heavens.

Then, more figures appeared one after another, over a thousand in total: Tian Zong Lao Zu, Du Gu Ao, Zhuge Lao Tou, and Gu San Tong among them. Each was at the Quasi-Tian Jing level, their auras piercing the sky, forming an immense formation that sealed off the retreat of the purple-robed figure and the white-haired woman.

Even the white-haired woman's formidable power couldn't help but furrow her brows at the sight, her seven-colored divine sword humming in response.

The purple-robed figure's face darkened at the array of experts before him.

Only now did he awaken as if from a dream, his expression twisting ferociously as he glared at Ye Chen. "You deliberately helped unseal me."

"How else could I orchestrate this grand play to draw her out?"

Ye Chen's words were flat, completely ignoring the purple-robed figure. His eyes had been fixed on the white-haired woman from the start.

Indeed, this was a meticulously planned scheme.

Ye Chen's soul search of the purple-robed figure was a ruse; his true goal was to break the seal and create an opportunity for escape. By intercepting him, he forced the white-haired woman to come to the rescue.

And the results proved his plan had succeeded flawlessly, unfolding exactly as he had foreseen.

The purple-robed figure's face grew even more twisted.

Well, then! He had foolishly believed Ye Chen had been careless, even secretly rejoicing until recently.

Now he realized everything tonight had been a calculated trap. He had escaped, but his situation was dire. Not only him—the white-haired woman had been drawn in as well.

"Who exactly are you?"

As the purple-robed figure raged, Ye Chen spoke, his gaze locked on the white-haired woman in the distant void.

True to form, the white-haired woman remained silent, as if she had never spoken a word, like a puppet indifferent to the world.

"What grudge do we have?"

Ye Chen pressed again, his eyes filling with bloodshot veins as images of Ye Xingchen and Xing Yue Sheng Nü's deaths replayed endlessly in his mind.

It was this white-haired woman who had turned a joyous occasion into utter tragedy, who had shattered the bond between Ye Xingchen's Dao body and Xing Yue Sheng Nü.

Yet his questions were met only with her silence.

Zheng!

Ye Chen asked no more, drawing his killing sword and stepping forward, thrusting a wind-god strike that pierced the void straight toward the white-haired woman.

Zheng!

The white-haired woman moved as well, her seven-colored divine sword humming as she unleashed a devastating sword strike.

Crack!

Their swords clashed, and Ye Chen's Chi Xiao sword shattered on the spot. Since its forging, Chi Xiao had followed him through countless battles, slaying innumerable foes and drinking rivers of blood, only to break now.

Ye Chen sheathed Chi Xiao, his eyes blood-red, his bare fists unleashing a killing intent that made the heavens quake.

"Kill!"

Tai Xu Gu Long and the others charged, joining Zi Xuan, Ou Yang Wang, and Dao Huang in a united assault on the white-haired woman.

"Kill!"

Tian Zong Lao Zu, Du Gu Ao, and the rest drew their killing swords, lunging at the purple-robed figure.