Heaven-Surpassing Divine Emperor

HUFF!

HUFF...

Jiang Chen gasped for air, his once-black hair now completely silver.

A Human King Realm Powerhouse had a lifespan of about three thousand years. Jiang Chen had just sacrificed five hundred years of his own to power the God Slaying Sword and kill Li Ru, severely draining his Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

That was why his hair had turned white in an instant.

WHOOSH!

Jiang Chen strode through the air, appearing before a massive crater. He looked down at Li Ru, who lay at the bottom.

Li Ru was incredibly weak; most of the bones in his body were shattered.

His meridians were ruptured, making it impossible to even circulate his True Essence. Paralyzed, he lay on the ground and stared at Jiang Chen, his gaze filled with venomous hatred. ”Never... Never did I, Li Ru, think that after a lifetime of dominating the world, I would fall at your hands.”

”You reap what you sow. That saying fits you perfectly,” Jiang Chen said calmly, his silver hair drifting in the air.

”Reap what I sow? Ha... COUGH, COUGH, COUGH...”

A savage grin spread across Li Ru’s face, tugging at his wounds and making him cough up a mouthful of blood. The light in his eyes dimmed further. ”In this world, the victor is king and the loser is vilified. The weak are prey for the strong. As long as you have enough power, you can trample over everything... Today, my luck ran out. I ran into a monster like you. I accept my defeat. But don’t celebrate too early. The Fengyang Ancient Country has countless experts, and they will eventually avenge me!”

Li Ru was, after all, a top-tier master at the Seventh Stage of the Human Emperor Realm.

Knowing that his death was certain, he naturally stopped resisting or struggling.

Jiang Chen’s gaze was incomparably serene. The loss of five hundred years had not only left his body extremely weak but had also settled his state of mind, making it more profound.

Holding the Spirit-Slaying Sword, he slowly walked toward Li Ru.

”Do it!”

Li Ru closed his eyes, calmly awaiting his death.

Jiang Chen raised his right hand, and Li Ru was instantly pulled toward him. He clapped his hand on top of Li Ru’s head, and his calm voice rang in the man’s ear, ”Li Ru, I was going to kill you outright, but then I thought that would be letting you off too easy. I want you to experience the agony of losing all the power you worked so hard to cultivate, and then I’ll let you taste the suffering and torment that Xiaoyou endured!”

”What? Jiang Chen, what are you trying to do? Just kill me... No... No...”

Li Ru roared madly.

He wasn’t afraid of death!

But he didn’t want to die so miserably.

He knew better than anyone what Xiaoyou had gone through. It was a fate worse than death!

Unfortunately for him, Jiang Chen felt not a shred of pity.

”Devour!”

RUMBLE!

Surging waves of Devouring Power continuously consumed the power within Li Ru’s body—his Martial Soul, his Essence Blood, and the True Essence of a Seventh Stage Human Emperor Realm expert.

Under Jiang Chen’s deliberate control, he only devoured Li Ru’s True Essence and Martial Soul. The God-slaying Sword pulsed with light, leveling up to Saint Tier Second Grade!

Some of Jiang Chen’s vitality returned as well, and a faint flush of color appeared on his pale face.

Li Ru shriveled up, his eyes sinking into their sockets and his eyeballs bulging out. He looked utterly hopeless. ”You... how could you do this? My Martial Soul, my True Essence... Jiang Chen, you’re a Demon, a Demon... You’ll die a horrible death...”

Li Ru cursed him hysterically.

He could no longer feel any power within him. Only a trace of his Essence Blood remained, just enough to keep him from dying.

Jiang Chen lifted Li Ru with one hand and walked toward the Ice Lake.

At this moment, the corpses of many Sword-toothed Fish floated on the Ice Lake, while even more of the fish were busy gnawing on the bodies of their own kind. Jiang Chen stood above the surface of the lake.

The color drained from Li Ru’s withered face. ”You... you... what are you going to do?”

”I told you... I would make you pay back a hundred, a thousand times over for what you did to Xiaoyou!” Jiang Chen said calmly.

”You’re going to feed me to the fish? No, you can’t, you absolutely can’t...”

Li Ru struggled violently, his hands desperately grabbing at Jiang Chen’s clothes. But he was far too weak now and couldn’t muster any strength.

Jiang Chen loosened his grip, and Li Ru fell into the Ice Lake. He thrashed about in the bone-chilling water, and the commotion instantly attracted the Sword-toothed Fish. With the sound of frenzied splashing, countless Sword-toothed Fish surged forward, viciously tearing at Li Ru’s body. The agony was unbearable, and he shrieked venomous curses.

”Jiang Chen, I curse you to a horrible death...”

”I won’t let you go, not even as a ghost...”

GLUG, GLUG, GLUG...

A series of bloody bubbles churned on the lake’s surface as Li Ru was submerged by the swarm of fish.

Jiang Chen glanced at the crimson patch of water, then his figure flashed, and he flew into the Celestial Demon Ancient Castle.

「Inside the castle.」

Black Emperor, Little White, and Xiaoyou were all lying quietly, deep in slumber.

Xiaoyou was enveloped in golden True Essence, which sustained her life. Jiang Chen gently caressed her cheek. ”Xiaoyou, don’t worry! Big Brother won’t let you die!”

He looked over at Black Emperor and Little White.

Shaking his head helplessly, he flicked his fingers, sending two streams of Divine Thought into the two beasts’ bodies.

”Ngh...”

The two beasts slowly regained consciousness. They looked around and spotted Jiang Chen and Xiaoyou.

Black Emperor’s expression changed abruptly. ”Jiang Chen, what happened to Xiaoyou?”

Little White’s blank look instantly turned to fury. ”Who did this to Xiaoyou? Boss, you have to kill them...”

”The person who hurt Xiaoyou is already dead,” Jiang Chen said calmly.

It was only then that Black Emperor and Little White noticed Jiang Chen’s full head of silver hair. Both were stunned. ”Jiang Chen,” Black Emperor said, at the same time as Little White cried, ”Boss! What happened to you?”

Jiang Chen shrugged and briefly recounted how they had been captured by Li Ru and his men, used as bait to lure him into the Void Realm, and how he had killed Li Ru to rescue them.

”So, you’re saying you sacrificed five hundred years of your lifespan to kill Li Ru?” Black Emperor’s eyes flickered, visibly moved.

Jiang Chen nodded.

Little White’s face was full of self-reproach. ”It’s all our fault for being so useless. We’re the reason you’re like this, Boss...”

Jiang Chen rubbed its head and smiled. ”My conflict with the Fengyang Ancient Country was always to the death. Even without this incident, they would have found another chance to come after me. The important thing is that you’re all okay... One day, I will raze the Fengyang Ancient Country to the ground and cut down the Fire Emperor with my own sword!”

”Yeah!” Little White nodded emphatically.

Black Emperor’s expression grew grim. He said in a deep voice, ”Jiang Chen, Xiaoyou’s injuries aren’t the main problem; she’ll recover as long as she’s properly cared for. As for her severed limbs, you can refine a Withered Wood Rejuvenation Pill to make them regrow. The most crucial issue right now is you. You’ve lost five hundred years of your lifespan. That’s shaken the very foundation of your Martial Dao. If you don’t find a way to replenish that lost life force, you’ll have trouble even reaching the Human Emperor Realm in the future.”

Jiang Chen flinched almost imperceptibly and looked at Black Emperor. ”Is there a way to get back the lifespan I lost?”

Black Emperor grinned. ”Didn’t you just say we’re in a Void Realm?”

”Yes,” Jiang Chen nodded, looking at Black Emperor in confusion. He didn’t understand what being in a Void Realm had to do with restoring his lost lifespan.

Black Emperor said gravely, ”Every Void Realm has a Void Realm Heart. This Heart is the core of the entire Void Realm, nurturing everything within it. Usually, the powers and experts who own a Void Realm develop it into their main base and wouldn’t dare damage the Void Realm Heart. But this Void Realm belongs to the Fengyang Ancient Country, so we don’t have to worry about damaging it at all. If you devour the Void Realm Heart, it’s like obtaining the essence of an entire Void Realm. It’ll be more than enough to replenish your five hundred years of lifespan. It might even allow you to advance further and step into the Human Emperor Realm Ninth Stage!”

’A Void Realm Heart?’

Jiang Chen’s expression shifted. He had already made his decision...