Chapter 1231: Momentary Yan Emperor

Luo Changsheng looked utterly miserable at this moment. He seemed to have just crawled out of a blood-soaked hell, with blood oozing from his entire body. His chest was a mangled mess of flesh and blood. His once handsome and extraordinary face was swollen to twice its normal size, completely caked with blood and mangled flesh. The only recognizable features on his face were his eyes, which glowed with dark hatred.

After being repeatedly struck over a dozen times by Yun Che's Heaven Smiting Sword while his profound energy was in disarray, any other person would have died three times over. Luo Changsheng looked more pathetic than a corpse that had been tortured to death. Yet, he stood up. Although his aura was chaotic and its intensity had halved, it still exerted a chilling pressure on Yun Che.

Yun Che's heart tightened. He was truly astonished for the first time.

Fifteen sword strikes, unleashed with the full might of Phoenix flames — each incredibly violent, each accompanied by the sound of numerous bones shattering. Why could he still stand? And why did he still retain such powerful profound energy?

Little did he know, Luo Shangchen and Luo Guxie, seated in the Sacred Universe Realm section and accustomed to looking down upon all upper star realms in the Eastern Divine Region, were experiencing astonishment ten times greater than his.

"A dragon soul... How can Yun Che possess a dragon soul? Where did he obtain it?" Luo Shangchen muttered in shock.

Dragons, as the highest-tier beings in the primal chaos, possess souls that are equally of the highest tier. A dragon's soul can be forcibly destroyed or sealed if one is powerful enough, but it cannot be forcibly seized by another's consciousness. Nor can it be inherited. This means that if another being wishes to obtain a dragon's source soul, the only possibility is for the dragon to willingly bestow it. Once a being acquires a dragon's source soul, it belongs solely to them; it cannot be passed down to the next generation like a bloodline. As for transferring it to others or being forcibly seized by another's consciousness, such a thing is utterly impossible.

This is why, in the Eastern Divine Region, there are many individuals possessing various dragon bloodlines—like Lu Lengchuan—yet individuals possessing a dragon's soul are extremely rare.

Not only did Yun Che release dragon soul pressure, but from Luo Shangchen's level, he could clearly discern that it was an extremely high-grade dragon soul. But why would a dragon possessing such a high-grade soul willingly bestow its source soul upon a human junior?

"Chang Sheng's soul has been tempered by the Primordial God Water; it's even stronger than a Divine King's soul. How could it be so easily shattered!?" Watching Luo Changsheng's current state, Luo Guxie's voice trembled violently. "Even if that was a dragon soul, this shouldn't be possible!"

"That is definitely not an ordinary True Dragon's soul." Luo Shangchen furrowed his brow, suddenly considering a possibility. "Yun Che claimed he's from the lower realms... that's likely false! Such a powerful dragon soul most likely belongs to a Dragon God! Perhaps Yun Che is actually from the Western Divine Region and has some connection to the Dragon God Clan. Otherwise, how could he possess such a formidable body and dragon soul?"

Luo Guxie's chest heaved violently, her aura at times icy, at times chaotic. "How dare he harm my Chang Sheng like this... that little beast!"

The "Lonely Evil Immortal," renowned throughout the God Realm, had never been seen this out of control, not even by those who had known her for over ten thousand years.

Luo Shangchen glanced at her, moving his lips as if to speak, but then refrained.

"Such a dragon soul is likely the bestowal of a Dragon Monarch," the Brahma Heaven God Emperor said, turning his gaze to the Dragon Emperor. "Dragon Emperor, do you recognize which Dragon Monarch bestowed this?"

The Dragon Emperor neither shook nor nodded his head, saying with utmost composure, "Although Yun Che is human, his talent is exceptionally rare. It would be reasonable for one of the Dragon Monarchs of my Dragon God Realm to make an exception and bestow a gift upon him."

"Hm," the Brahma Heaven God Emperor nodded slightly. Since the Dragon Emperor did not wish to answer, he naturally wouldn't press the matter.

The Dragon Emperor's gaze remained fixed on Yun Che. Although his eyes appeared calm, his pupils and the depths of his soul were rippling with incredibly intense waves.

He had sensed long ago that Yun Che possessed both a dragon bloodline and a dragon soul. After all, he was the Dragon Emperor, leader of all beings and venerable among dragons, and he had also judged it to be a high-grade dragon bloodline and dragon soul. Although he had never spoken of it, he had already paid Yun Che several times more attention than usual.

If Yun Che were to use his dragon soul, from the Dragon Emperor's level, he could immediately know what kind of dragon soul it was, and even easily determine which True Dragon it came from.

However, when Yun Che's dragon soul domain was truly unleashed, a momentary fright actually arose within the soul of the King of the Dragon God Realm—the foremost figure in the primal chaos, revered and feared by all under heaven. This was accompanied by a sense of insignificance he had never experienced in his three hundred and fifty thousand years of existence.

The pair of azure dragon eyes that opened above Yun Che remained clearly imprinted in the very center of his soul, lingering persistently, even now.

His gaze towards Yun Che underwent a monumental change; it was no longer the gaze he would direct at a mere human junior.

"Yun... Che!!"

Luo Changsheng's voice was completely distorted. At this point, he was either no longer coherent or entirely disregardful of his image as Young Master Chang Sheng. Extreme anger, resentment, and frenzy erupted from him like a storm. His eyes, glowing with purple light, wished they could slice Yun Che into a thousand pieces and scatter his ashes.

He took a step forward, fountains of blood splattering from his body. But his hands, little by little, raised the Dragon Fault blade, which was drenched in his own blood. An unstable yet overwhelmingly lethal pressure enveloped Yun Che's entire body.

Yun Che used almost all his strength to barely lift the Heaven Smiting Sword, his arms trembling violently and uncontrollably.

Luo Changsheng had underestimated Yun Che, and Yun Che, too, had underestimated Luo Changsheng.

He had not underestimated Luo Changsheng's strength, but rather his unnaturally formidable physique.

After being slammed by over a dozen of his full-force sword strikes, with his body shattered and dozens of bones broken, he could still unleash such pressure. Luo Changsheng's body resilience was comparable to his own!

His own body was so formidable due to the Dragon God's bloodline, Dragon God's Marrow, and the Great Way of the Buddha. What did Luo Changsheng rely on to achieve this?!

Luo Changsheng was a true Level Ten Divine Spirit, and his profound energy was many times more abundant than Yun Che's. With his body not completely collapsing, this huge advantage immediately became apparent. While Yun Che's injuries were far lighter than Luo Changsheng's, his profound energy aura was vastly inferior.

"...Die!!"

With a hoarse, strange cry from Luo Changsheng, the Dragon Fault blade stirred up a massive storm, threatening to blast and shred Yun Che directly into blood and flesh fragments.

Yun Che abruptly lifted his sword and used his profound movement skill to rapidly retreat. However, Yun Che's energy consumption was too severe; even the lingering shockwaves were difficult to resist. He was swept far away, and over a dozen wounds instantly burst open on his chest, while large sections of his internal organs ruptured as they churned.

Luo Changsheng was, after all, too severely injured. With this single strike, both his internal and external injuries erupted. He spat out five or six mouthfuls of blood foam, and his body swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground. At that moment, Yun Che leaped high into the air, counterattacking Luo Changsheng. While airborne, intense and dazzling golden flame light, like a scorching sun, suddenly erupted from his body, accompanied by an overwhelming flame might that seemed capable of incinerating heaven and earth into nothingness.

"Golden Crow... Divine Blood!" Huo Rulie cried out involuntarily.

Following the Phoenix Divine Blood, all nine drops of Golden Crow Divine Blood were also ignited by Yun Che.

Amidst the sky-filling flames, the Heaven Smiting Sword, imbued with Golden Crow divine power, smashed down from the sky. Luo Changsheng's body was utterly uncontrollable; he could not retreat. With a roar, the Dragon Fault blade once again conjured a terrifying storm that twisted space itself.

Boom!!

Like a scorching sun plummeting to the earth, the sudden burst of golden light temporarily blinded countless profound practitioners. Beneath the blazing light, the Dragon Fault blade firmly resisted the Heaven Smiting Sword, and two equally grim gazes met in the gap between the clashing blade and sword.

RUMBLE...

Yun Che's power fiercely pressed forward. Luo Changsheng's entire body shuddered, blood spurted from the corner of his mouth, and the Dragon Fault blade was violently forced down. His right knee slammed onto the ground, shattering the kneecap.

Luo Changsheng's gaze was terrifyingly sinister. His arms trembled violently under Yun Che's powerful suppression; every piece of his mangled muscle bulged to its extreme, and his joints audibly popped.

"URGGGHHH... AAHHH!!!"

With a beast-like roar, purple patterns suddenly flashed across Luo Changsheng's body. He erupted with immense power, violently blasting Yun Che away. Luo Changsheng staggered as he stood up, and before he could stabilize himself, he lunged at Yun Che like a madman.

Yun Che twisted his body in mid-air, completely ignoring his own injuries, and went straight to meet Luo Changsheng. The Heaven Smiting Sword, burning with golden flames, and the pale blade light, swirling with a storm, clashed fiercely in the sky, bringing forth roars that threatened to tear apart the firmament.

Flames blazed across the sky, storms raged boundlessly. It was as if dense, world-shaking profound lightning had suddenly descended between heaven and earth.

Both Yun Che and Luo Changsheng's aura intensity was far from their initial state, but their ferocity and wildness far surpassed before. Flames incinerated storms, storms tore through flames. Sword might shattered blade light, blade light devoured sword might. The two blood-soaked figures fought and clashed wildly above the Conferred God Stage, accompanied by roars like those of beasts.

The spectator stands were deathly silent. All eyes were wide open, staring blankly, unable to utter a single sound for a long time.

"Brother Yun... keep going!" Huo Poyun clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white.

"Yun Che... you must win... you must win!" the disciples of the Snow Song Realm and Flame God Realm frantically shouted, both out loud and in their hearts.

His opponent was Luo Changsheng, and he had been forced to unleash the Burning Heart Thunder and the Dragon Fault blade. In this battle, even if Yun Che lost, it would be an honorable defeat, and he would undoubtedly become famous throughout the Eastern Divine Region after the battle. But he had fought until this moment, and everyone clearly saw his intense desire for victory.

The phrase "honorable defeat" was cast aside by them. They poured all their will into shouting for Yun Che's ultimate victory.

"Yun Che... you must hold on!" Huo Rulie's entire body was tense. His fingernails dug deep into his flesh from his clenched fists, yet he felt nothing. He knew very well that Yun Che could now contend with Luo Changsheng only by relying on the divine power unleashed from burning the Golden Crow Divine Blood. Once the Golden Crow Divine Blood was consumed, he would be completely defeated.

Now, the only hope was that the heavily injured Luo Changsheng would collapse from his wounds before the Golden Crow Divine Blood was completely burned away.

But no one knew that Yun Che's crisis at this moment was far more than just the Golden Crow Divine Blood running out.

The burden on his body was rapidly intensifying. The "Heaven Smiting" state he had desperately maintained had finally reached the verge of collapse.

Yun Che's arms were a mangled mess of flesh and blood, yet he could barely feel any pain. Countless meridians were ruptured, and the sensation of his arms became increasingly vague with each swing...

No... if this continues... there will be no chance of victory...

Yun Che's eyes suddenly widened at this moment, emitting a sinister and resolute light.

The final step... just one more step... No one... will stop me!

My body... must hold on...

It *must* hold on!!

The wind whistled softly. Outside the Conferred God Stage, high above in the clouds, a pair of scarlet eyes had been silently watching the bloody battle. At this moment, she suddenly felt an inexplicable pang in her soul, as if something had pierced it sharply. A terrible premonition made her delicate body tremble abruptly, and she let out a fearful cry: "No!!"

"HAAAAAAAAHHH!!"

At the very same moment, Yun Che suddenly let out a hoarse, desperate roar.

BOOM----

An incredibly dull rumble echoed within Yun Che's profound veins. Instantly, his Evil God profound veins swelled to several times their usual size, and his remaining profound energy suddenly became chaotic, as if the most violent hurricane had suddenly surged into them.

After activating the four Evil God realms—Evil Soul, Burning Heart, Purgatory, and Heaven Smiting—the fifth Evil God realm defiantly opened.

As if a terrifying demon god, long dormant, had been awakened.

The Fifth Evil God Realm—Hades!