**Chapter 1340: Desperate Star Return**
"Thirty-Seventh Elder!"
To break free from the Star Binding Chain, he had destroyed his own right arm with incomparable decisiveness. The pain of a severed arm should have torn his heart and soul apart, making him wish for death. Yet Yun Che instantly launched a furious one-armed assault on Xing Mingzi. Xing Mingzi had concentrated all his power on the Star Binding Chain; he had never dreamed that Yun Che would destroy his own arm, let alone that he could erupt with such force immediately after severing it...
Even for a supreme Divine Lord, being struck on the crown of the head by Yun Che's wrathful sword plunged his vision into darkness and scattered his consciousness.
Yun Che's body swayed, then slammed hard onto his knees. But in the next instant, he lifted his head again, hatred flashing in his eyes. His single arm gripped the Heaven-Defying Sword, which still erupted with terrifying momentum as it smashed down toward Xing Mingzi.
But this sword strike did not land on the consciousness-scattered Xing Mingzi. Behind him, furious roars erupted, and over a hundred Star Guards had already pressed closer. Their overlapping energy waves swept the severely wounded Yun Che away like a hurricane. His sword veered off course, struck the ground, and he was thrown violently away.
Sizzle...
Sizzle...
Blood gushed from the stump of his right arm. His entire body was drenched in blood. No one doubted that before long, all the blood in his body would drain dry. He slowly stood up. Around him, one hundred... two hundred... three hundred... five hundred... more and more Star Guards swarmed in, encircling him layer upon layer.
But until he was fully standing, not a single Star Guard attacked. Especially those in the innermost circle—their pupils quaked violently, and their hearts couldn't stop convulsing.
His chest pierced through, his right arm self-destroyed, countless wounds all over his body, blood nearly drained... yet he could still stand. The aura on his body remained as ferocious as ever, suffocating those nearby.
"He's at the end of his rope! Kill him now!"
This command came directly from Xing Shendi, a testament to just how much fear a Star God Realm King held for Yun Che. If he could break free from the ritual and barrier, he would have personally acted, regardless of his status, to completely annihilate him.
The moment his voice fell, before the Star Guards could even respond, a flash of blood-red light mixed with gore exploded.
Boom!!
From stillness to eruption, with only one arm remaining, the terror of that single sword strike still sent all Star Guards' souls flying. Over thirty Star Guards were sent flying in one sweep, nearly all of them severely wounded.
A blood-red shadow flickered. Yun Che's figure had already pierced into the ranks of Star Guards like a ghost. The blood-stained Heaven-Defying Sword simultaneously pierced through the bodies of two Star Guards, cruelly impaling them on the massive blade.
Screams like those of desperate ghosts rang out again. As the Crimson Flame reignited, the screams abruptly ceased. The Divine Sovereign bodies of the two Star Guards erupted in the crimson fire, and the scattered embers ignited a large group of panicked Star Guards, sparking another wave of sky-piercing screams.
Boom!!
Boom!!
Boom!!
...
In this world, the only thing more terrifying than a devil is an enraged devil. And the only thing more terrifying than an enraged devil is a desperate devil. Step by step, strike by strike, every swing of his sword carried showers of severed limbs and blood, annihilating one after another, wave after wave of Star Guards' bodies and lives.
Countless spears, swords, and profound lights rained down on him, covering his body with wounds until not a single undamaged spot remained. But he didn't dodge or evade any of the Star Guards' attacks, nor did he divert even the slightest bit of power to suppress his injuries. He let his body be riddled with holes, yet his single arm still brandished the Heaven-Defying Sword, wielding the sword's might and flames born from the abyss of despair.
The world in Yun Che's vision had long blurred into a sea of red. His body shattered layer by layer, pierced and wounded time and again. But his eyes were terrifyingly calm—only hatred and killing remained. As for his own life, it no longer mattered.
Just like back then, after Su Linger had fallen, when he had been so calm, and yet so desperate...
Over seven million lives... a blood debt that ten lifetimes could never wash clean.
Blood soaked one patch of ground after another, and scattered flames dyed the sky blood-red.
Inside the barrier, Xing Shendi, the Star Gods, and the Elders stood dumbfounded. Their expressions twitched and froze intermittently, yet for a long time, no one spoke. In their eyes were blood, severed limbs, and Star Guard lives falling one after another. In their ears were the roar of the sword's might and screams and wails that never ceased for a single moment...
But Yun Che, covered in blood, pierced by who knew how many wounds from the Star Guards, simply refused to fall.
They didn't know when this nightmare would finally end.
At that moment, Xing Mingzi's body convulsed, then he suddenly stood up.
A Divine Lord was not so easily defeated. The consciousness scattered by Yun Che's sword strike finally recovered. He scrambled to his feet, his head wracked with piercing pain. He slowly raised a hand and touched it, clearly feeling several terrifying cracks in his skull.
The skull is the hardest part of a person's body, and the hardness of a Divine Lord's skull went without saying. Yet Xing Mingzi's skull had been shattered by blunt force... He knew very well that if the Star Guards hadn't immediately surrounded him, Yun Che would have surely killed him while his consciousness was scattered.
Aftermath, trembling, fear, anger, humiliation—every blood vessel in Xing Mingzi's body felt like it was about to burst. He suddenly grabbed his chest and spat out a large mouthful of dark red blood.
"Essence... Essence Blood!?" The sight made one of the Star God Elders exclaim in shock.
"Has the Thirty-Seventh Elder gone mad?"
"He hasn't gone mad... The greatest rage and greatest humiliation of his life have all happened today. He is willing to sacrifice his essence blood at a tremendous cost to ensure Yun Che's death." The Star God Grand Elder said in a deep voice.
The essence blood dripped down, then emitted a strange red light in his hands. He gathered that red light, and all his power frantically surged toward his hands, accompanied by the trembling of his body. A small profound formation slowly took shape, and finally, from within the formation, a wisp of red radiance floated up.
This red radiance was only the size of a fist, but the moment it appeared, the large space around Xing Mingzi instantly warped in layers upon layers. When the gaze touched that red light, it felt as if sight had suddenly fallen into a bottomless abyss. Even the soul seemed to be violently yanked by a terrifying force, as if about to leave the body.
"It's... the Ghost-Annihilating Star Remnant!"
"Indeed." The Star God Grand Elder breathed a slight sigh. "Even I find it somewhat difficult to unleash the Ghost-Annihilating Star Remnant. For Xing Mingzi to forcibly cast it at his cultivation level will not only severely deplete his essence blood but also cause his cultivation to stagnate for at least a thousand years. But in doing so, even if Yun Che were a true ghost or god, he would have no place to die except in a burial ground."
"But the cost... sigh."
The star radiance emitting strange red light fully took shape. Xing Mingzi's eyes widened, and a twisted satisfaction spread across his blood-smeared face. He lunged toward Yun Che's location, letting out a hoarse roar: "All of you, get out of my way!"
The furious roar of a Divine Lord pierced the heart and stabbed the soul. The Star Guards surrounding Yun Che instinctively looked toward the source of the sound. The moment their gazes touched the red radiance in his mouth, their entire bodies shook violently, and they scattered in all directions as fast as possible.
Xing Mingzi's gaze locked onto Yun Che, and the red radiance in his hand firmly fixed onto him: "Yun Che... DIE!!!!"
This howl seemed to release all the rage and humiliation in his heart. His arm swung out, and the red radiance shot toward Yun Che like a meteor, faster than a falling star from the sky.
Wherever the red radiance passed, space seemed to be torn by an irresistible force, contracting layer by layer. Even light was devoured, leaving a dim darkness.
The horror of this scene made even the Star God Elders tremble inwardly.
This was power obtained by Xing Mingzi at the cost of his essence blood and future, already surpassing the level of a first-rank Divine Lord. Even if Yun Che had been at his peak during his initial rampage, he would absolutely be unable to withstand it, let alone now.
The "Ghost-Annihilating Star Remnant" was ferocious and unmatched. In less than a tenth of an instant, it was upon Yun Che. Xing Mingzi's pupils dilated to their limit. He was absolutely certain that the moment the red star radiance touched Yun Che, he would be reduced to dust. He wanted to witness this scene clearly, not missing a single instant.
Yun Che half-turned his body. The spatial tremor from the approaching red radiance made it hard for him to stand, and he seemed completely unable to escape. He raised his right arm, and the Heaven-Defying Sword met the red radiance with a very light swing...
The red star collided with the Heaven-Defying Sword, then, like light reflected off a mirror, it abruptly reversed its course... In Xing Mingzi's pupils, there was no scene of the "Ghost-Annihilating Star Remnant" instantly destroying Yun Che. Instead, he saw the red radiance that had already reached Yun Che drawing closer and closer in his vision, growing larger and larger...
Boom!!!
A thunderous roar, as heavy as if the entire ground of the God Realm had suddenly overturned. The reversed star radiance struck Xing Mingzi's body. The exploding red light shot up into the sky, piercing the heavens. Xing Mingzi's body was hurled into the distant sky. The red light flashed crazily on him, as if countless stars were exploding on his body. Each explosion brought sky-piercing screams and showers of blood rain...
"How... how... how is this possible? What happened?"
Even though their nerves had already been numbed by Yun Che's shocks today, and their understanding had been shattered into pieces, this scene once again utterly terrified these Divine Lords.
Xing Mingzi, in his extreme fury, had paid a heavy price in essence blood to unleash the Ghost-Annihilating Star Remnant, only to have it... casually sent back by Yun Che with a single sword strike!?
How could such a thing be possible!? Even if it were Xing Shendi, even a hundred Xing Shendi... they could easily defend against it, but there was absolutely no way to instantly send a power like the Ghost-Annihilating Star Remnant back!
Boom... boom... boom... boom... boom... boom... boom... boom... boom...
The red light continued to chain-explode on Xing Mingzi's body. It only stopped after several hundred explosions. Xing Mingzi fell straight down from the air, his entire body a mess of blood and flesh, broken and tattered. The moment he hit the ground, Yun Che's blood-soaked figure pounced down with a wild roar, the Heaven-Defying Sword smashing down heavily.
Bam!!
A Divine Lord was still a Divine Lord. Even though half his life had been destroyed by his own Ghost-Annihilating Star Remnant, Xing Mingzi still had some consciousness and power left. He raised both arms and braced them desperately against the Heaven-Defying Sword. Their eyes clashed, both blood-red like demons.
"Ugh... AAAAAHHH!"
Yun Che roared, pressing the Heaven-Defying Sword down. With an explosive crack, he snapped Xing Mingzi's raised arms. The blood-red light in his eyes intensified. Like a completely insane devil, he let out strange roars as the Heaven-Defying Sword descended like a madman onto Xing Mingzi's broken body.
Boom!!
Xing Mingzi's right arm shattered.
Boom!!
Xing Mingzi's shoulder and neck split.
Boom!!
Xing Mingzi's legs were smashed into four pieces by a single sword strike.
Boom!!
Xing Mingzi's sternum and ribs were simultaneously reduced to powder, his internal organs flying everywhere.
"AAHH! Stop!"
The cries of Star Guards rose from behind. They swarmed forward, trying to save Xing Mingzi's life. But Yun Che didn't even turn his head. The Golden Crow Phantom God shot out from his body and mercilessly unleashed a Yellow Springs Ashes among the charging Star Guards.
The loud shouts instantly turned into countless screams. Golden flames engulfed all the nearby Star Guards into a crematory hell. At that moment, Yun Che's sword stabbed down heavily, piercing through Xing Mingzi's body, then deeply embedding into the ground of Star God City.
"Ah... ah..." Xing Mingzi's pupils were completely scattered. His lips trembled in fear, emitting the last sounds of his life...
"Mon... ster..."
Boom!!
The flames on the Heaven-Defying Sword exploded, instantly engulfing Xing Mingzi's entire body. With a deafening explosion that shattered everyone's heart, the fire-burning Divine Lord's body erupted under the sword, scattering into countless flaming fragments.