Chapter 2569: Youth Never Fades
The angel clan deity Uriel, who became a god in three thousand years—what a peerlessly talented and proud figure—was so ridiculed by Chi Yao that even his good state of mind swelled with anger.
One after another, radiant divine wheels emerged from his body, breaking free from the suppression of Chi Yao's divine realm world. He said, "I've long heard that you killed a deity of the Hell Realm, shaking the Heavenly Court with this feat, even making the Heavenly Palace regard you with newfound respect. But to think you could kill me—that is far too naive."
Two powerful divine auras were already locked in confrontation.
Chi Yao held the Blood-Dripping Sword, using it as a mirror to gaze at her own eyes and reflection on the blade. "Uriel, you came to Jiannan Realm together with Xiolunzhe, didn't you?"
"How do you know that?" Uriel's eyes narrowed sharply.
Uriel and Xiolunzhe had secretly infiltrated the Hell Realm, almost unknown to anyone, even evading the gods of the Hell Realm. Chi Yao was merely a new god who had only ascended a few years ago—how could she be so thoroughly aware of their movements?
There was a conspiracy!
There had to be a conspiracy!
Chi Yao smiled faintly and added, "If it were Xiolunzhe, I wouldn't dare guarantee I could keep him here, given his years of cultivation in the Space Divine Temple and his profound mastery of the Way of Space. But as for you, I truly haven't taken you very seriously."
Uriel was filled with suspicion, sensing something amiss, and urgently wanted to escape to stop Xiolunzhe from bringing the gods of the Paradise Realm to Jiannan Realm.
"Whoosh!"
He spread his seven pairs of wings, radiating blindingly bright light, transforming into a pillar of white divine light as he flew out of the divine realm world.
"Do you think you can still leave?"
In an instant, Chi Yao intercepted him ahead, her snow-white skin shimmering with seven-colored divine light, calm and ethereal, like an immortal banished from the mortal world.
"Get out of my way."
Uriel showed no mercy or tenderness, his eyes fierce as he condensed a tangible divine light wheel between his hands.
The divine light wheel expanded to a thousand zhang in length, countless divine light rule patterns intertwining and spinning within it, rotating as it crashed toward the stunning figure ahead.
The wheel's energy was so powerful that it caused Chi Yao's divine realm world to tremble violently, shaking as if on the verge of collapse.
"Whoosh!"
Chi Yao casually swung her sword, dragging a streak of sword light that stretched to the horizon.
The sword light not only shattered the divine light wheel but also struck Uriel, though it didn't break through his divine realm world's defenses, it sent him flying back.
"I told you, you're not good enough—why don't you believe it?"
Chi Yao raised the Blood-Dripping Sword above her head, and countless sword dao rules from heaven and earth converged onto the blade.
The vast divine realm world instantly turned blood-red.
"Sword Dao Essence!"
Uriel was greatly shocked, looking up at the sky as dense silver light patterns appeared on his forehead, converging into an ancient and mysterious mark.
A bolt of lightning, imbued with endless divine power, shot out from the silver mark, like dozens of silver divine dragons entwined together, ferociously attacking Chi Yao.
"Crack!"
Chi Yao merged with the Blood-Dripping Sword, turning into a streak of blood light that flew forward, smashing through the silver flash.
The sword tip struck Uriel's brow, piercing half an inch deep.
The blood within Uriel's body surged out automatically, sucked in by the blood-red sword.
Uriel's handsome face twisted in pain as he let out a long roar, spitting out a purple-gold shield from his mouth, which shot toward Chi Yao like a blade.
Chi Yao flicked her wrist, lifting the sword to send Uriel flying.
Then, she swung the sword back, striking the flying purple-gold shield and sending it hurtling toward the horizon. Mid-flight, the shield split in two.
Uriel rapidly retreated, divine blood flowing from the bloody hole in his brow, along with escaping divine qi.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
...
Without giving him a chance to stabilize his injuries, Chi Yao struck like a flash of divine light, slashing out sword stroke after sword stroke.
Uriel had no power to resist. Even with his true godly body, he couldn't withstand the assault. Sword wounds multiplied on him, his white divine feathers stained red, and he let out furious roars.
Suddenly, Chi Yao stopped attacking, standing quietly to the side, even sheathing the Blood-Dripping Sword.
Uriel stabilized his disadvantage, his radiant divine power flickering as the wounds on his body vanished in an instant. His eyes cold, he said, "In the end, you still can't kill me."
"Do you think I can't kill you, and that's why you're still alive?" Chi Yao asked, slightly taken aback.
Uriel said with certainty, "I admit, you are powerful, and I am no match for you. But killing a true god is not so easy. With your current cultivation, even if you've grasped some Sword Dao Essence, it's far from enough to kill me. And the cost of failing to kill me is too great—you can't bear it."
Chi Yao sighed softly. "If only all the gods of the Paradise Realm were as arrogant as you."
"Am I wrong?" Uriel asked.
"You might not know this, but I am a woman with a very narrow mind and a strong sense of revenge. Using my sword to cut you down is only because I don't want you to die too easily. Every word you spoke to insult Chen Ge, I will repay with my sword. Do you remember how many words you said, and how many sword strikes you've taken?" Chi Yao asked.
Uriel's eyes darkened sharply, his fists clenched, but he didn't act rashly, knowing this woman was indeed formidable. Trapped in her divine realm world, escaping would be as difficult as reaching the heavens.
Suddenly, his gaze pierced through the divine realm world, landing on Zhang Ruochen, who stood beside a divine corpse over a thousand zhang long at the bottom of the sea. A plan formed in his mind.
"Since you care so much about that insignificant, half-breed ant, I'll kill him first."
Uriel pulled a white halberd from the void.
Dense supreme inscription runes emerged on the halberd, unleashing a terrifying supreme power.
Even the same supreme sacred artifact, in the hands of a god, unleashed power a thousand or ten thousand times greater than in the hands of a Great Saint.
"Boom!"
The white halberd transformed into a pillar supporting the heavens, each supreme inscription rune flowing like a great river, as it thrust toward Zhang Ruochen's location.
Cracks appeared in Chi Yao's divine realm world, on the verge of being pierced through.
"You really are asking for death."
In an instant, Chi Yao's eyes turned fierce and sharp. Her speed was like light, and before Uriel could react, she struck his chest with a palm, denting the red armor he wore.
Uriel spat divine blood and flew backward.
"Come back."
Chi Yao grabbed Uriel's wrist and pulled him back.
Changing her palm into a fist, she struck his chest again.
"Snap!"
The red armor cracked.
"Thump, thump."
Another twelve consecutive strikes, and the red armor was shattered. Blood sprayed from Uriel's chest, and he was utterly frustrated—unable to muster power to counterattack or even flee, completely overwhelmed.
"Divine blood, burn!"
Uriel's eyes were cold and venomous, his heart shouting this command.
"Shush, shush."
Countless sword qi flew from Chi Yao's brow, piercing Uriel's divine body like a sieve, then exploding it into a cloud of blood mist and shattered divine bones.
Not giving him a chance to reform his divine body, a lotus emitting chaotic light flew from her snow-white palm, absorbing all the blood mist.
This lotus was the supreme treasure left by Xumi Saint Monk—the Chaotic Time-Space Lotus.
Inside the lotus, Uriel reformed his divine body, but spatial cracks and time imprints continuously attacked him, gradually eroding his life force.
"Chi Yao, you'd better release me, or the Kunlun Realm will face utter destruction, and billions of lives will die because of you." Uriel's voice roared from within the lotus.
The Chaotic Time-Space Lotus hovered in Chi Yao's palm, and she said calmly, "Is that so? Can you really decide the fate of the Kunlun Realm? I only know that I can decide your fate now."
"You will regret this."
"I just want to grind you to dust sooner, so my ears can have some peace."
After a moment's thought, she took out a clay bottle and poured a golden flame from it into the lotus.
This clay bottle was shaped by the Third Confucian Ancestor when his dao reached perfection, moved by inspiration. Legend has it that after the bottle took form, all the words within a hundred thousand li fell from the pages and flew into it.
A billion words forged its soul.
Thus, this Confucian path supreme treasure was also called the "Literary Bottle."
The flame stored in the bottle was collected by Chi Yao from the place where the Fire God fell, called "Refining God Fire." Legend says the Fire God was burned to death by the Refining God Fire he himself cultivated, leaving only a set of Flame God Armor.
Refining God Fire could incinerate a fire god, so refining a new god was naturally effortless.
After Uriel finally stopped screaming, Chi Yao put away the Chaotic Time-Space Lotus, withdrew her divine realm world, and descended silently to the seabed, appearing less than ten zhang from Zhang Ruochen.
She sat on a piece of broken stone, propping her chin with her fingers, quietly watching Zhang Ruochen. Seeing him sternly threatening Night Travel Master and Seven Hands Old Man with the Underworld King, she couldn't help but laugh.
These past days, she had been like this, standing nearby and watching, as if returning to eight hundred years ago.
Back then, Zhang Ruochen and she were in the most youthful and beautiful years, with the purest love and the kindest hearts. They had never killed anyone, never stained themselves with any living being's blood. They were simply inseparable, filled with infinite hope for the future.
At that time, everything in the world was good, beautiful, and pure, as if evil and filth didn't exist, nor separation, death, joy, or sorrow.
She had never thought of parting from Zhang Ruochen—not eight hundred years ago, and not now.
But she knew that being able to follow him closely like this was only temporary. Eventually, they would have to separate, and perhaps one day, Abyssal Depths and Blood-Dripping would cross swords.
But...
So what?
At least that day hadn't come yet.
Chi Yao cleared her mind of distractions, took out a wooden comb, and combed her flowing black hair. She felt that in eight hundred years, she had never been as relaxed and free as she was now, able to shed all the burdens and responsibilities on her shoulders.
What Empress Chi Yao? What great virtue and power? Far from the Kunlun Realm, she only wanted to be a quiet woman.
That woman was called Yao Yao.
A girl who seemed to have frozen time at the age of sixteen.
Youth never fades, always in the heart.
...
There will be another chapter tonight.