Chapter 1232: Death's Edge

The instant "Yama Emperor" activated, a burst of intense blood-red light erupted from Yun Che, followed by an overwhelmingly terrifying wave of energy. Under this energy wave, Luo Changsheng's storm and recently condensed power were instantly obliterated. He screamed as if struck by a heavy hammer and was sent flying sideways.

The sudden anomaly left everyone aghast; even the Star Realm Kings wore expressions of shock... because accompanying that blood-red light was an unbelievably violent and terrifying aura.

Yun Che's arms were torn open, flesh exposed, and countless scarlet cracks appeared all over his body. The moment "Yama Emperor" activated, his body and the depths of his soul were filled with a thunderous roar. He felt his physical body, internal organs, and even his soul being instantly shattered by the explosively surging power. His consciousness became an infinite expanse of blood-red, unable to feel pain or perceive Luo Changsheng... or anything else.

Only a final shred of will remained, driving him to unleash a desperate power, like a demon god awakening, in a single sword strike forward.

A blood-red sword beam erupted from the Heaven Smiting Sword, instantly piercing through space and colliding with the barrier at the edge of the God Conferring Stage. It left a blood-red mark nearly two hundred miles long on the stage's spatial fabric.

Everywhere the blood-red sword beam passed, space violently twisted, then collapsed layer by layer.

This was the space of the God Realm, yet under this single sword strike, it collapsed consecutively like thin paper... This was also the first time Yun Che had truly destroyed space since arriving in the God Realm. However, he himself could not witness this long-dreamed-of scene.

However, Yun Che's consciousness also collapsed the moment "Yama Emperor" activated. The sword strike he had risked his life to unleash missed Luo Changsheng's location by a wide margin.

Only a faint ripple of blood-red afterglow brushed gently against Luo Changsheng.

"Uuuaaaahhh!!" A scream of endless agony, as if from the abyss of despair, echoed above the God Conferring Stage. The instant the blood-red afterglow touched Luo Changsheng, he exploded like a blood bag, showering blood everywhere, and was blasted high into the distant sky...

The Heaven Smiting Sword fell from Yun Che's hand, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Yun Che's body hung motionless in the air for a brief moment; the fleeting burst of blood-red light and all his profound energy vanished completely, leaving only an unnatural blood-red glow in his eyes... but they were lifeless and unfocused. Then, he plummeted straight down like an empty puppet, crashing onto the ground.

No... I can't... lose consciousness... Otherwise... I'll be declared defeated... I'm still... alive... I can still... feel pain... I mustn't faint... Wake up...

The spectator stands were deathly silent. Everyone witnessing the battle at this moment simply couldn't believe their eyes or their spiritual senses.

"Just now... what... was that?""I... I don't know...""Yun Che actually... suddenly again... *hiss*... just now... such terrifying power... Luo Changsheng isn't... dead, is he?""Look at Yun Che... that last move was terrifying, but the cost is clearly horrific... My heavens! What just happened? Sect Master, even you... don't know?""What kind of monster is Yun Che?!"

The Snow Song Realm, the Burning Moon Realm, the Sacred Universe Realm... all were deathly pale, their hearts clenching. They stared blankly, unable to speak, unable to breathe.

Venerable Quhui's brows twitched repeatedly, but he never forgot his duty, his aura remaining firmly locked onto Yun Che and Luo Changsheng. As Yun Che fell, he was about to confirm if he had lost consciousness when he noticed that Yun Che's body, sprawled in a pool of blood, was trembling slightly. His fingers were constantly curling and struggling, and then his two wrists gripped and clawed at the ground, clearly desperately trying to perceive the world's existence and desperately struggling to prevent his consciousness from fading.

Venerable Quhui: "..."

A whistling sound came from the sky as Luo Changsheng, blasted dozens of miles high, finally fell, accompanied by a large shower of thick blood, crashing heavily onto the God Conferring Stage.

CRASH!! The Dragon-Slaying Blade also fell from the sky, landing with uncanny precision right beside his hand.

"Chang... Sheng..." Luo Guxie's body swayed, her face a sickly pale. The two short words were so tremulous they were almost inaudible.

Luo Changsheng was already severely wounded, but now he was indescribably wretched. His entire body was utterly ravaged, as if he had been flayed a thousand times, then thrown into a blood pool and fished out to be left exposed. In this state, an ordinary profound practitioner would have been long dead. Yet, Venerable Quhui saw at a glance that Luo Changsheng's body was faintly twitching, and faint groans could be heard.

He wasn't dead; he even retained consciousness.

The smell of blood rapidly spread across the God Conferring Stage. The spectator stands grew increasingly quiet, all eyes fixed on the two bloodied figures sprawled on the ground, not daring to blink for an instant.

Both bodies convulsed strenuously, neither willing to fall into unconsciousness, for their remaining will told them that whoever fainted first would be defeated.

Yun Che's palm slowly clenched... He sensed Luo Changsheng's aura. Luo Changsheng... he shouldn't be... Why is he still alive... Why... is his life aura still so strong that even I can perceive it now...? Could it be... that sword strike just now... didn't hit him...?

The power Yun Che unleashed by forcibly activating "Yama Emperor" far surpassed the level he and Luo Changsheng were at. Luo Changsheng was already severely injured; if hit, even a divine body tempered by Primordial God Water would undoubtedly be shattered. After this fierce battle with Luo Changsheng, using a desperate, life-risking move to kill him should not have been deemed "malicious," at least 90% likely not a violation... And if Luo Changsheng died, there would be no need for another match; he could directly claim first place. As for the consequences of killing Luo Changsheng... compared to his "agreement" with Jasmine, it was utterly insignificant in his mind.

But fate was cruel; the sword strike he exchanged his life for went astray due to the collapse of his consciousness.

"Urgh... Guh... Urgh..." Painful, dry groans, like the desperate wails of a beast dying, emanated from Luo Changsheng. His body convulsed more and more violently, then suddenly stopped at one point. Just as Venerable Quhui thought he had finally lost consciousness, he saw Luo Changsheng's arm move, and then... he slowly lifted his head, his blood-matted eyes gradually opening.

Following this, his blood-stained arm slowly rose, reaching towards the Dragon-Slaying Blade lying nearby. After fumbling for a moment, he shakily gripped the hilt.

"Ah!!" Huo Poyun cried out in alarm.

However, a long time passed, and no matter how hard Luo Changsheng struggled, the Dragon-Slaying Blade remained motionless. In his current state, merely being alive was a miracle; how could he possibly wield the Dragon-Slaying Blade?

His hand finally slipped from the Dragon-Slaying Blade. Blood seeped from his eyes, his vision blurry, yet he remained firmly fixed on Yun Che's location. Then, supporting himself with his arms, he slowly, painstakingly, incredibly slowly, rose to his feet.

"Ah... ahh..." The disciples of the Snow Song and Burning Moon Gods felt their hearts bound by steel wires, terrified gasps escaping their throats.

Luo Changsheng stumbled forward, swaying with each blood-shedding step, moving closer to Yun Che. Though he was so weak he was nearing death, the profound malevolence emanating from him was so potent that even Venerable Quhui felt a deep shock.

At that very moment, Yun Che, who had been lying in the pool of blood for a long time, also propped himself up with his arms and shakily rose to his feet.

When he sensed Luo Changsheng's life aura and realized he was standing, his will drove his body to simply stand up... He hadn't expected to be able to stand again, but he had to.

His unique Dragon God's Marrow made his bones incredibly tough; otherwise, they would have been utterly shattered by the unbearable power of "Yama Emperor." In that case, even if his willpower were a hundred times stronger, he would never have been able to stand.

Perhaps it was a final surge of energy before death, or a desperate eruption of will, or the continuous regeneration from the Great Way of the Buddha, but he stood up... and even felt faint traces of power within him.

Both were covered in blood, their bodies terribly mangled, like two fiends crawling out of a pool of blood. This sight, coupled with the faint, terrifying malevolence emanating from them, sent a chilling dread through everyone.

The two faced each other for a brief moment, no words exchanged, then at the same instant, both lunged towards the other.

Their fists simultaneously struck each other's faces. However, the force they unleashed was weaker than that of a Profound Practitioner at the nascent stage of the Divine Origin Realm... no, it was even weaker than an ordinary Profound Practitioner. Such power, if experienced countless times in normal circumstances, wouldn't even harm a single hair. Yet, at this moment, blood gushed from their seven orifices simultaneously, and they staggered, on the verge of collapsing.

Then they immediately let out strange cries, lunged at each other again, unleashing the strength they had desperately squeezed from their bodies and wills onto their opponent.

*Thump... Thump... Thump...* The sound and force of their fists hitting bodies were comically weak in the eyes of Divine Path Profound Practitioners, like children fighting. But across the entire Eastern Divine Region, not a single profound practitioner could laugh; only their pupils constricted, and their souls trembled.

Both were covered in blood, and their physiques were similar; by sight alone, it was impossible to distinguish between Yun Che and Luo Changsheng. Their injuries were so horrific that even these powerful profound practitioners felt fear just by looking. As they fought like madmen, large bloody imprints spread across the God Conferring Stage, making one wonder if all the blood in their bodies had been drained.

Yet, Yun Che and Luo Changsheng paid no heed.

These two, clearly on the verge of death, seemed to completely disregard their own lives, seeking only to use everything they had left to push the other into the abyss of death first.

Yun Che's extreme yearning for victory; Luo Changsheng's pathological obsession with remaining undefeated; these forged two terrifying beasts who, even on the brink of death and with clouded consciousness, would tear each opponent to shreds.