Chapter 118: Bloodbath in the Imperial City

  Ye Chen took another step forward, and those city guards retreated one step back.

  "Get out of the way, or die!"

  Ye Chen let out a cold drink, his hair dyed red with fresh blood fluttering in the windless air, a fierce and chilly killing aura burst forth, scaring those city guards to shiver all over, but they absolutely couldn't really open up a path for him. If they really did open up a path, that would be them intentionally letting Ye Chen escape, and at that time, they would also be put to death by military law.

  "Bang! Bang! Bang!!"

  Far away, another burst of rapid footsteps came, Ye Chen turned his head to look, and saw that the four people in front were flying over, each and every one of them emitting endless killing intent, especially the middle-aged man in the very front whose aura was extremely violent. Behind the four people followed a large group of soldiers, who were pushing rows and rows of machinery.

  "Ballista!"

  Ye Chen's heart sank, that was actually a steel-made assault crossbow! And those four people flying in front were all figures from the Secret Realm of Fate, with spiritual energy flowing all over their bodies.

  Before anyone arrived, a loud roar shook the sky and earth: "Kill my beloved son, I will chop you into ten thousand pieces!!"

  This roar shook the eardrums of all the city guards, almost deafening them.

  Bang!

  Town West General Zheng Bian's far-flung jump, a loud crash landed in front of Ye Chen tens of meters away, a pair of eyes already blood-red, the whole body wrapped in killing intent and evil energy, relying solely on that momentum could suffocate people, worthy of being Town West General, with hands that had slaughtered thousands of lives, an aura not comparable to ordinary people.

  "Come and take my life!"

  Zheng Bian let out a loud roar, his palm opened and an eight-ringed golden knife appeared in his hand, chopping down towards Ye Chen with great force.

  "Whoosh!"

  A blade of light over ten meters long, shining with golden light, a huge knife shadow pierced through the void from top to bottom, about to split Ye Chen in two.

  "Ye Chen!" Zhan Xiaoling's face turned pale as she anxiously cried out.

  Buzz!

  Ye Chen's arm swung in a circular motion, and the long red knife chopped down, also a flash of light, heavily meeting the incoming attack.

  Boom!

  Two flashes of knife light collided and exploded, at the same time Ye Chen's hand that was originally holding onto Zhan Xiaoling suddenly let go, and a fist shot out to kill.

  "Roar!!"

  The Tyrant's furious roar shook the heavens and earth, a massive fist light pierced through nothingness, carrying an aura of invincibility as it charged towards Zhengbian Pass.

  Zheng Bian's sword was horizontal and one file.

  Ding!!

  The Eight-Ringed Golden Blade quivered incessantly, a surge of immense power arriving, causing him to stumble backward seven or eight steps, his internal energy and blood churning, the back of his throat sweetening as he nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.

  Zheng Bian's body shape was stable and he was about to rush up again to kill Ye Chen, when three old men walked out and said, "General, leave this child to us."

  "Alright, I'll trouble the three of you. This child killed my beloved son, today he must be made to pay with his life and blood will splatter within five steps, for my mountain child's revenge!" Zheng Bian gritted his teeth, his eyes bulging with rage.

  Ye Chen's heart sank, his eyes filled with solemnity. These three people should be the strong ones from the second wave of the Secret Realm of the Nether Sea, although their combat power was not comparable to Qin Feng, the senior brother of Shangguan Ziyue. However, they were not to be underestimated. Now that all three had made their move at the same time, and he still had to protect Lingling, this battle would be extremely difficult!

  "Little one, you killed Zheng Yuan Shuai's beloved son, now come and surrender your life!" The old man with the eagle-like nose said, as he spread his arms wide. With a loud eagle cry, a gust of wind burst forth from his arms, forming a pair of spiritual wings that instantly brought him to Ye Chen's side.

  "Hiss!"

  The old man curled his fingers into claws, with spiritual energy emanating from the tips of his five fingers, condensing into sharp claws that tore through the air and grasped towards Ye Chen.

  A blue claw mark flashed in the air, enveloping Ye Chen and Zhan Xiaoling. Ye Chen's toes pointed, pulling Zhan Xiaoling back several meters as he simultaneously activated his secret technique. His right palm turned orange-gold, unleashing a massive explosion with his hand.

  Buzz!!

  The void seemed to be collapsing, Ye Chen slapped out with one hand, and the orange-gold palm print shattered the cyan claw mark with a loud bang, directly slapping towards the old man.

  "What a golden-orange vital energy!" The old man exclaimed, his face filled with greed, his eyes burning with excitement. In a low voice, he said: "We've been refining medicine and just happened to be missing one catalyst. I've heard that special blood is the best catalyst, but I didn't expect you to deliver it right to our doorstep today! It's truly a case of 'no need to search far and wide'!"

  A huge golden-orange palm print emerged from thin air and slapped down. The old man sneered, and a burst of cyan light shot out from his hand as he reached out to grab something.

  "Pffft!"

  Blood splattered everywhere, the old man let out a loud cry and instantly retreated, his hand already dripping with blood, his palm completely shattered. His face shocked, he exclaimed: "How is this possible? How can a mortal realm person like you have such powerful attacking strength? It's impossible!"

  "A frog at the bottom of a well!" Ye Chen sneered.

  "Let's go up together and kill him to extract his blood as our elixir!" said another elderly man with a gloomy gaze who walked out.

  "Hiss!"

  Someone made a move, a palm shot out, and the fire spirit's power emerged from the palm, transforming into a fire snake that roared towards Ye Chen. At the same time, two other old men also launched their attacks, a knife light extending nearly twenty meters, as if to cut through the void, carrying a fierce killing intent towards Ye Chen. The old man whose hand was shattered by Ye Chen gritted his teeth and pounced forward, his other hand waving continuously, filling the sky with cyan claw marks that tore through the air with a whooshing sound.

  Facing the attack of the three, Ye Chen did not dare to be careless. He stretched out his hand and wrapped it around Zhan Xiaoling's waist, and with a slight movement of his foot, he leaped into the air. At the same time, he continuously slapped out several palms with his Bursting Fist technique, shattering the cyan claw marks and spiritual energy blades. His body swayed to one side, narrowly avoiding the fire snake that took advantage of the opportunity to attack, barely escaping danger once again.

  Under the siege of three powerful beings from the Mystic Realm of the Second Life Spring, Ye Chen had to divide his attention to protect Zhan Xiaoling and could only defend passively without counterattacking, soon falling into a disadvantageous position, constantly dodging with his Divine Wind Steps.

  The battle seemed to have reached a stalemate, with the three of them attacking at triple the speed of Shen Feng's steps, but none of their attacks were effective. However, the prolonged battle also allowed Ye Chen's blood energy to recover somewhat. Earlier, he had killed his way from the city to here, slaughtering tens of miles and beheading nearly 10,000 Zheng family soldiers and city guards, already exhausted. Now, under the siege of the three, Ye Chen's blood energy was being consumed fiercely.

  Zheng Bian Guan seemed to be watching the battle between the four with bloodshot eyes, a cruel smile spreading from the corner of his mouth. He raised his hand and gave an order, "Prepare the assault crossbows, fire ten bolts in succession!"

  "Yes!"

  The rear soldiers took orders and immediately loaded two-meter-long fine iron crossbow arrows onto the strong crossbow, looking for opportunities to aim at Ye Chen.

  Ye Chen was entangled in a fierce battle with three powerful warriors, and he had already exhausted all his strength. At this moment, seeing ten assault catapults aiming at him, his heart sank heavily.

  "Lingling, we might really die here today, are you scared?"

  "I'm not afraid, I've thought this way for a long time, but back then I had too many ties. Now that I've come to this world, except for you, I have no more attachments. To be able to die with you, I will have no regrets in this life..." Zhan Xiaoling looked at Ye Chen's face covered in bloodstains, as if everything outside had disappeared, and there was only Ye Chen in her eyes.

  "But I won't let you die with me, even if there's only a glimmer of hope, I'll make sure you live on!" Ye Chen's voice became unyieldingly firm, as he struck out with his palm, shattering a blade of light and then slashing through the void. With a humming sound, an orange-golden seal suddenly appeared in the void, shining like a sun.

  "Hum!!"

  The giant seal fell, enveloping the three powerful men. The three of them immediately felt as if a massive mountain had collapsed on top of their heads, and they were greatly shocked. Their figures flickered and disappeared from the spot in an instant, desperately avoiding it.

  At this moment, the ten soldiers who controlled the siege crossbow finally found their opportunity. The ten crossbows fired in unison, and the ten two-meter-long fine iron crossbow arrows whizzed through the air, with a piercing sound that shook the sky, and an infinite power.

  Ten crossbow arrows had three locked onto Ye Chen, the remaining seven shot towards the left and right sides of Ye Chen as well as above him, sealing off all his escape routes.

  At the critical moment, Ye Chen's heart was as calm as water. He dodged to one side, avoiding the two crossbow bolts that had locked onto him, and swiftly pulled Zhan Xiaoling to his side, instantly moving her away from his chest.

  Pfft!!

  A flash of golden light burst out, a two-meter-long fine iron crossbow arrow pierced through the void and penetrated Ye Chen's chest, leaving a two-foot-long arrowhead on his back.

  Ye Chen's body shook violently, and with a loud "pu" sound, he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

  "Ye Chen!" Zhan Xiaoling burst into tears, washing away the bloodstains on her face and leaving two streaks behind. "No, Ye Chen, you can't be hurt, don't be hurt..."

  Just then, the three old men's attack arrived, covering Ye Chen all over the sky, Ye Chen gritted his teeth and turned around to protect Zhan Xiaoling in front of his chest.

  Pfft!!

  Knife light, claw marks, fist prints, all slammed onto Ye Chen's back, the powerful flesh instantly became bloody and blurred. A deep blood groove and a large hole appeared on his back, with five claw marks, bones clearly visible, orange-golden blood gushing out like a fountain.

  Ye Chen's face turned deathly pale, and the intense pain was piercing his heart. However, he knew that he had to endure it now, or else he would be dead the next moment. With a swift movement, he suddenly sprinted out tens of meters before the three men could launch their second attack.

  "Ye Chen, Ye Chen..." Zhan Xiaoling shook her head, tears streaming down her face as she stroked Ye Chen's pale face, her heart aching like a knife cut.

  "Don't cry..." Ye Chen curled up his lips, revealing a set of neat and white teeth. The muscles on his face twitched, and he said weakly: "I've said it before, as long as I'm still alive, no one can touch you."

  "How touching!" An old man chuckled in a low voice, "You still want to be together as lovers even at the moment of death. Let us fulfill your wish and let you become a pair of mandarin ducks in the underworld!"

  "Die!"

  Three old men moved again, the eagle-nosed old man rose into the air, waving his single hand continuously, and several cyan wind spirit claws flew over from a distance, accompanied by a sharp breaking sound.

  Ye Chen hugged Zhan Xiaoling and dodged the attack of the eagle-beaked old man by a hair's breadth, but at this moment another old man struck with a knife.

  Whoosh!

  A twenty-meter-long spiritual energy blade slashed through the air, causing the airflow to rush wildly to both sides wherever it passed. Its sharpness was unmatched, and its speed was too fast. Just as Ye Chen's body had just moved, the old man made his move, seemingly having calculated Ye Chen's next position, and struck with a knife a moment earlier.