Chapter 788: Life-or-Death Gamble

Oh no!!

Watching the Netherworld Udumbara Flower petals being swallowed whole by the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign, a chilling dread spread through Yun Che's entire body.

The worst-case scenario had finally unfolded before his eyes in a gruesome manner.

Not only had the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, which he desperately sought, slipped through his grasp, but the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's power and injuries would also rapidly recover! Furthermore, this was a completely sealed area from which even the Primordial Profound Ark could not escape. And worse, Jasmine could not even appear here!

This was arguably the most brutal predicament Yun Che had ever encountered.

The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign, having swallowed the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, spread his arms wide in ecstasy, closing his eyes. He reveled in the power of the Netherworld petals spreading throughout his body, a sensation of immense comfort reaching the depths of his soul, causing all his pain to virtually vanish.

The dark aura around him was also recovering at an astonishing speed—a fact clearly perceived by both Yun Che and the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign himself. At the same time, faint purple light shimmered over the wounds covering his body, and these wounds began to heal at a visibly rapid and astonishing pace.

"Hahahaha!" The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign roared with laughter. Each time he consumed the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, it was his most intoxicating moment, and this time, he was more enraptured than ever before. The thought of Yun Che struggling fiercely only to face despair filled him with intense satisfaction. "Despicable human! This time, let's see how you'll struggle in my hands!!"

"Soon, you will learn the consequences of thoroughly provoking me! I will show you what the most terrifying purgatory in this world is!!"

"..." As Yun Che felt the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's aura rapidly strengthening and watched his wounds heal at an incredible speed, his body grew cold, and his heart sank. Yet, amidst the chill, his mind became extraordinarily clear and sharp...

The more desperate the situation, the clearer his mind often became!

Jasmine had previously said that given the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's condition, after consuming the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, he would recover most of his profound energy and injuries in just a hundred breaths. Since he had consumed five petals rather than a whole flower, this recovery time should be slightly longer.

While recovering most of his strength in a hundred breaths was astonishing, it still required a hundred breaths... it wasn't an instantaneous, hopeless moment!!

Five petals of the Netherworld Udumbara Flower had been swallowed... but four still remained!!

The power of four Netherworld petals... might just be enough to help Jasmine gain a new life!! Even if not, it would certainly be of great benefit.

Yun Che's brow furrowed as his thoughts raced... The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was severely injured and had expended a great deal of power. If Yun Che could kill him before he recovered sufficiently with the help of the Netherworld Udumbara Flower...

No! There was no "if"! This was his only choice, his only hope... otherwise, once the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign recovered, Yun Che would surely die!!

However, the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's overall strength and current condition were not far off from his own, and he possessed a demonic body... Even after several hours of fierce battle earlier, Yun Che hadn't been able to take half his life! Killing him in mere tens of breaths would be an almost impossible feat!

Yet, the current situation allowed no room for Yun Che to hesitate or deliberate. For with each passing breath, the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's power would increase, and his injuries would heal! This meant that with every passing second, the hope, already as faint as a firefly in an abyss, would become several times dimmer! Perhaps after twenty breaths, or even ten, there would be no possibility left.

On the other hand, he could deduce with his toes that the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's next move would not be to fight him, but to exert all his effort to shake him off and rush back to the Netherworld Udumbara Flower! At that point, not only would the remaining four Netherworld petals fall into his demonic clutches... Yun Che wouldn't even be able to get close to the flower, let alone make a final struggle or find hope!

Yun Che's eyes widened to their limit, radiating a cruel and resolute glint. His hands gripped the Heaven Smiting Sword so tightly that it felt as if it would merge with his flesh... Faced with his only option, he had completely cast aside all thoughts of consequences and costs.

"Moon—Slaughter—Devil—Sovereign!!"

Yun Che let out a roar that seemed to tear his throat, and his speed, after a momentary slowdown, suddenly surged as he charged towards the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign.

"Yun Che, you..."

Jasmine instantly understood Yun Che's intention, but before her words of dissuasion could leave her mouth, she swallowed them back... because, at this moment, this was indeed his only choice!

A choice that had to be made, with his life as the stake!

Although this move had a high probability of leading to instant death, it at least offered a glimmer of faint hope!

"Evil God's Fourth Stage — Heaven Smiting!!"

Boom!!

An incredibly dull roar erupted from Yun Che's profound veins. All his profound gates fully opened, and his entire Evil God profound veins instantly expanded to twice their usual size... almost to the point of bursting!!

Simultaneously, a violent surge of energy burst from him, pushing away all the surrounding dark aura! The sheer terror of this surge was such that the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign, mid-laughter, was struck as if by a heavy hammer, sent violently flying backward, and slammed into the stone wall at the deepest part of the cavern.

The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's maniacal laughter abruptly choked. He hastily looked up at Yun Che, his eyes, which a moment ago had been filled with triumph and satisfaction, now swelled with immense terror...

The Yun Che who had been charging towards him was gone, replaced by a blood-soaked figure exuding a terrifying aura! His hair stood on end, flames swirled around him, and the profound energy he released was a shocking crimson! His eyes, moreover, were a gory, bloody red, as if smeared with fresh blood!

The flesh on his arms was turned inside out, and countless ghastly cracks had burst open across his entire body, with blood gushing out like fountains. He looked as if he had been subjected to a thousand cuts and then dragged out of a pool of blood, with hardly a single intact spot on his whole body!

Such an appearance would be enough to blanch a normal person's face, but it would certainly not scare the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign. What truly terrified the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was the violent aura emanating from Yun Che!!

If Yun Che's previous aura was a mere flicker of flame... then the blood-soaked figure before him was like a furiously erupting purgatorial volcano! It was so terrifying that it caused every nerve in the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's body to spasm, and his soul, which was being nourished by the Netherworld petals, was instantly enveloped by an extreme sense of danger.

And the scarlet greatsword in his hand was further proof... this blood-soaked figure was indeed Yun Che!!

"You..." The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign leaned desperately against the wall, unable to laugh any longer.

The moment he activated the "Heaven Smiting" realm, Yun Che's nerves were overwhelmed by endless excruciating pain. He felt an incredibly terrifying power erupting within his body... a power far beyond what his body could withstand. He felt his limbs and internal organs completely shattering the instant his profound energy erupted... Even the world before his eyes turned a bloody red.

Apart from the crimson, he could see nothing else...

Only an unyielding will, refusing to be extinguished, remained firmly locked onto the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's aura.

He raised his arms, which were almost completely numb, and with all his conviction, he smashed them towards the direction where the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's aura was located.

The Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's pupils instantly contracted to pinprick size... A million years ago, such power would have been utterly negligible to him. But now, it was a catastrophic force that filled him with uncontainable terror.

Following the purple light in the corner of his eye, he wanted to rush towards the Netherworld Udumbara Flower, but the moment his demonic body took a step forward, he was forcibly pushed back by the terrifying aura surging towards him. His back felt as if it were nailed to the wall; let alone charging forward, even lifting his foot became incredibly difficult. Every part of his body felt as if it were being crushed by a towering mountain.

The scarlet sword glow drew closer and closer, and the terror in the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's eyes grew exponentially. With a great roar, he desperately surged all the power in his body, conjuring a pitch-black vortex thousands of times darker than any abyss, and roared as he unleashed it forward.

The moment the black vortex blasted forth, the scarlet sword glow, infused with the "Heaven Smiting" power, also descended. Immediately, the pitch-black vortex, concentrating all of the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's remaining power, halted its advance. It was then suppressed, devoured, and engulfed by the scarlet sword glow, bit by bit... until it vanished completely.

The world before the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign was engulfed in an endless crimson. His eyes, dilated to their limit, burst with countless blood vessels. An earth-shattering roar, mixed with howls of pain and despair, echoed through every corner of the Moon Slaughter Devil Cavern...

Boom—

"Wuuuaaaahhhhhh!!!"

The pitch-black stone walls shattered furiously, and countless fragments tumbled down. The Moon Slaughter Devil Cavern trembled, and the entire world seemed to shake. A destructive storm surged throughout the demon cavern, crashing back and forth, annihilating everything in its path. The entire deep interior of the cavern was completely filled with fiercely burning pale golden flames and a wildly raging calamitous storm that persisted for a long time...

This was Yun Che's first time activating "Heaven Smiting," and the first sword strike he unleashed after doing so. Jasmine did not know what the outcome of this strike would be. However, she was absolutely certain that the power of "Heaven Smiting" was something Yun Che, in his current state, could not possibly withstand! The instant Yun Che forcibly activated "Heaven Smiting" and his profound energy ran wild, Jasmine clearly saw his internal organs rupture, his blood flow backward, and his meridians shatter into tiny pieces. Only his bones, infused with the Dragon God's Marrow, barely managed to remain unbroken.

This was merely the first instant... In every tiny moment thereafter, his condition would worsen severalfold!!

Perhaps in just one or two breaths, Yun Che's body would explode, leaving not even a complete corpse.

In such a predicament, Jasmine could not afford the slightest hesitation. The moment Yun Che, with all his will, unleashed that sword strike, Jasmine's soul body also swiftly left the Sky Poison Pearl and entered Yun Che's body. Four points of crimson profound energy light shot out with immense urgency, piercing through several of Yun Che's internal organs and directly into his profound veins, precisely landing on his four Evil God realm gates.

Jasmine's power was incredibly potent. The instant the four points of crimson light vanished, Yun Che's four Evil God realm gates simultaneously closed, and his rampant profound energy rapidly dissipated. Jasmine let out a small sigh of relief and immediately returned to the Sky Poison Pearl.

Her soul body feared the demonic aura within the Moon Slaughter Devil Cavern. As Yun Che was deep within the cavern, a small amount of demonic aura would inevitably seep into his body through exposure. Although Jasmine only stayed in Yun Che's body for a very brief period, she still felt an extremely uncomfortable sensation upon returning to the Sky Poison Pearl.

Jasmine quickly composed herself, and it was quite a while before the uncomfortable sensation finally subsided.

She reopened her eyes and looked out at the world.