Chapter 1615: Forcibly Killing Taiyin
The strength of the Zhou Tian Guardian was undoubtedly something Qianye understood far better than Yun Che ever could.
Yun Che did not doubt Qianye Ying'er's words, but the faint glint in the depths of his pupils did not fade; instead, it grew even more profound.
"It seems we can only take him hostage," Qianye Ying'er transmitted in a low voice. "Although..."
Into her ears suddenly came Yun Che's voice: "Restrain Zhou Qingchen and Quhui."
The moment the words fell, before Qianye Ying'er could even respond, Yun Che beside her suddenly burst forward. The instantaneously erupted power was like a collapsing volcano, violently shoving even Qianye Ying'er aside.
The Evil God Realm Gate required but a single moment to open. In terms of instantaneous explosive force, it could be said that no one in the current era could compare to Yun Che. He became like a fleeting streak of light, charging straight at Taiyin Venerable, who was about to fly into the Primordial Mystic Ark.
This sudden turn of events caught even Qianye Ying'er off guard, let alone the three: Taiyin, Quhui, and Zhou Qingchen. And at such close range, with a burst of power beyond the limits of cognition, even a fully healthy Taiyin might not have been able to react in time.
The Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor Sword, trailing a flash of dark light, pierced through space and struck straight into the abruptly turning Taiyin Venerable.
Boom!!
Dark Profound Force exploded, blasting the startled Quhui and Zhou Qingchen far away.
The Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor Sword struck squarely into Taiyin Venerable's chest... Under his extremely severe injuries and complete lack of defense, the sword tip came to a dead stop against his chest, failing to pierce through his body.
This scene clearly told Yun Che what terrifying monsters figures like the Guardians were.
Already covered in wounds, Taiyin spewed large amounts of blood from his mouth and all over his body under this sword strike. Under this sudden upheaval, his eyeballs bulged to the point of nearly bursting. A completely blood-stained hand at that moment grabbed fiercely onto the black sword body.
In the same instant, Qianye Ying'er's Profound Force no longer held back. She struck out abruptly, closing in on Zhou Qingchen in an instant. A golden light flew from her waist, like a slender golden serpent, tightly coiling around Zhou Qingchen.
Zhou Qingchen, who had not received the inheritance, could still be considered a prodigy of his generation with his current cultivation. But faced with Qianye Ying'er going all out, there was no possibility for him to struggle or resist. When the golden light wrapped around him, his Profound Force was also completely sealed. At the slightest struggle, the golden light cut straight into his flesh and bones, causing him to let out agonized howls.
"Qingchen!" Taiyin Venerable cried out. As his eyes met that glint of gold, his suddenly dilated pupils violently contracted: "Oracle!"
Boom!
The Guardian's power erupted. Though it was only the remnants of his strength under extreme injury, it was still as terrifying as a natural disaster, slamming into Yun Che along the Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor Sword, sending him and his sword flying heavily backward.
Without even a single breath of respite, and without attempting to rescue Zhou Qingchen, Taiyin Venerable, under the shock and horror, made a chillingly calm decision. He instantly offered up his precious Guardian essence blood, causing his broken body to erupt with a terrifyingly vast power aimed directly at the thrown-back Yun Che.
Though Qianye did not know how she had managed to hide herself so perfectly just now, the Profound Force she had just erupted reached the astonishing level of a mid-stage Divine Lord. The Brahma Gold flexible sword, named "Oracle," that coiled around Zhou Qingchen's entire body, was a Divine Legacy Artifact of the Fan Di God Realm and also a symbol of Qianye Ying'er's identity!
With Oracle binding him, Qianye Ying'er merely needed a single thought to shred Zhou Qingchen's body. There was almost no chance of forcibly saving him.
Thus, the best choice was to pay any price and take hostage the person traveling with her instead!
A Zhou Tian Guardian, a Ninth-rank Divine Lord, actually offering up essence blood against a Level 4 Divine Sovereign. This was an utterly incomprehensible scene, yet Taiyin Venerable made the decision in an instant, without the slightest hesitation!
At that moment, it was as if a river of stars had exploded. The world-shaking aura made Qianye Ying'er, who had just subdued Zhou Qingchen, turn her head in shock.
She had just warned Yun Che that even with Taiyin so grievously wounded, they were still no match! She couldn't understand why Yun Che had forcibly attacked Taiyin Venerable! He could have simply taken Zhou Qingchen hostage directly!
By doing this, he might have instead handed himself over to Taiyin!
The resolute power of a Zhou Tian Guardian offering up essence blood, even before it drew near or erupted, had already suffocated Yun Che completely. But he showed no fear. Instead, a madness that made hearts tremble appeared on his face, because this was exactly the result he wanted!
The Heaven's Calamity Demon Emperor Sword in his hand swung out in a seemingly casual motion, meeting what was undoubtedly one of the highest-level forces in the world.
Moon-Returning Star-Reflection!
Before the Heaven's Calamity Sword, elements collapsed, and laws reversed. Taiyin Venerable's power, unleashed at the cost of his depleted essence blood, violently rebounded, striking Taiyin himself.
The most terrifying aspect of Moon-Returning Star-Reflection was not its forced rebound, but the moment the power reversed—when the opponent's power was released, their own defense was at its weakest and most unpredictable. Moreover, Taiyin Venerable was both severely wounded and had offered up essence blood!
A deafening explosion shook heaven and earth. Faced with this scene that completely defied common sense, Taiyin Venerable didn't even have time to feel terror before he was viciously struck by his own power. Countless torrents of energy, capable of shattering mountains and splitting seas, wildly surged into his body, rampaging and wreaking havoc within, mercilessly destroying the last remnants of his pitiful life.
The Cosmic Cauldron also flew out of his hand, its spiritual connection temporarily severed.
"Taiyin!" Quhui Zunzhe, who had been about to rush toward Zhou Qingchen, was so terrified that his liver and gallbladder nearly burst.
All of Taiyin Venerable's wounds split open, making him look like a torn blood bag. But at that moment, a black light stabbed in sharply. The sword that had been firmly held back now mercilessly pierced through his body, breaking him like rotten wood!
"Urgh... ahh..." Taiyin Venerable's throat emitted hoarse and agonized moans. His gaze scattered, and he could barely make out the black shadow right in front of him. The only remaining arm instinctively struck out.
Boom!!
Even a dying Guardian could overturn mountains and shift seas. This blow sent Yun Che flying backward, spewing a large cloud of blood mist. The Heaven's Calamity Sword was also pulled from the body.
But the sprayed blood mist ignited in midair, spreading a sea of golden flames that instantly buried Taiyin Venerable. Yun Che's thrown-back figure twisted sharply in midair, using Star God Remnant Shadow to flash once more before Taiyin. The Heaven's Calamity Sword struck the center of his heart, piercing straight through a second time... At the same time, a low roar echoed in his soul sea:
"He Ling!"
A dark green light flowed along the sword body, silently exploding within Taiyin's flesh.
"Haah!!"
Even in extreme pain, Taiyin Venerable's roar still carried astonishing momentum. Under the violently erupting Zhou Tian Divine Power, the Golden Crow Flame was annihilated in an instant. Yun Che's entire body shook violently, spraying blood as he flew away. But among the blood scattered everywhere, it was unclear whether it was Yun Che's or Taiyin's.
Bam!
Yun Che crashed heavily to the ground. His body swayed, but he used the sword to steady himself, refusing to fall.
Far ahead, a horrifying blood hole was stamped in Taiyin's chest. The flesh around it hung like tattered rags, shocking to behold.
His already severe injuries, further exacerbated by Yun Che's rebounded force and his two sword strikes, would have killed anyone else... no, even an ordinary Divine Lord would have already died.
But Taiyin still stood there, his body straight, his aura keeping all living things at a distance.
This was a Zhou Tian Guardian—matched by terrifying strength was a toughness and vitality beyond ordinary imagination.
Feeling Taiyin's remaining aura, Qianye Ying'er frowned deeply. She extended a slender finger, and the hilt of "Oracle" returned to her hand, the slender blade still coiled around Zhou Qingchen.
Even the slightest struggle from Zhou Qingchen caused the golden light to cut into his body, bringing unbearable pain. His body covered in cold sweat, he stared blankly at Qianye Ying'er... As the Zhou Tian Crown Prince, how could he not recognize the golden light wrapped around him?
"You... you are..." He let out a pained murmur, his gaze flickering like mist.
"You are the Fandi Shennü!" Quhui Zunzhe exclaimed in shock. His entire body stiffened, utterly dumbfounded.
Qianye Ying'er didn't look at him. With a light flick of her finger, a blood-red light flashed, eliciting an even more miserable scream from Zhou Qingchen: "Taiyin, either hand over the Divine Fruit, or... I'll tear him apart!"
Taiyin Venerable paid no heed, his gaze fixed on Yun Che, his voice low and slow: "Golden Crow Flame... and that sword... you are Yun Che!"
"What... what!" Quhui's eyes snapped around, and even Zhou Qingchen's pupils bulged suddenly.
Yun Che wiped his hand across his face, revealing his true features, his cold demeanor chilling to the bone.
"You..." As if suddenly plunged into a netherworld icy abyss, countless streams of cold air wildly surged through Quhui's body.
Yun Che and Qianye Ying'er—these names that had vanished from the Eastern Divine Region—had actually appeared here!
And especially Yun Che... the man whom the Zhou Tian Divine Emperor and even the three divine regions had spared no effort and stopped at nothing to destroy, now stood before their eyes!
No—they had been right next to them all this time, right next to Zhou Qingchen!
Quhui could not describe the horror and terror of this moment with any words.
"So... it really... is... you!"
As the Guardians who had been relentlessly hunting Yun Che these past years, how could they have forgotten his face? But two years ago, Yun Che had only just entered the Divine King realm. Now, his aura was already that of a Level 4 Divine Sovereign.
And the power he had unleashed clearly approached that of a mid-stage Divine Lord!
The shock in his heart was beyond measure!
And he suddenly understood why the Zhou Tian Divine Emperor was so wary of him, why he had made one near-irrational move after another.
Taiyin clearly remembered that when Yun Che was hailed as the "Savior Divine Son" back then, his eyes were so deep and gentle. Now, they were like a bottomless abyss, so dark that even he hardly dared to look directly into them.
"Aaaaaahhhhh!"
A heart-rending scream suddenly rang out. The golden light coiled around Zhou Qingchen sliced dozens of cuts into his body. Qianye Ying'er spoke coldly: "It seems you didn't hear me clearly. I'll say it one last time. Either hand over the Divine Fruit, or I'll leave you a pile of minced meat!"
Taiyin Venerable remained expressionless. He had never suffered such severe injuries in his entire life, and his consciousness was continuously blurring. But his blood-soaked body stood proudly: "The people of Zhou Tian bow to neither heaven nor earth. How could we bow to you?"
"If Qingchen dies, you... will surely be buried with him!"
Every word rang out like a celestial bell, shaking the soul.
But immediately following this soul-shaking declaration came Yun Che's cold, mocking whisper: "Qianye, there's no need to bargain with them. Do these old dogs of Zhou Tian even deserve it!?"
"Today, the Divine Fruit stays, and their lives stay too!"
Qianye Ying'er shot him a sidelong glance.
"Heh," Taiyin seemed to smile. "Just you? Do you really think that I, a Zhou Tian Guardian..."
His voice suddenly stopped. His entire body stiffened sharply, and deep within his dilated pupils surfaced two profound green glows.
[Reminder: Your output must contain ZERO Chinese characters. Translate or transliterate everything.]