Chapter 1559: Three Punches and Two Kicks Cripple the Semi-Saint, the Chaotic Overlord Stirs Up Trouble

"Aren't any of you going in?"

In Nan Yu, just before they parted ways, Dao Qiong Cang glanced at his companions and said in a tempting tone, "The Zu Shen Ming Ge is waiting!"

A brief reunion with old friends always brings a sense of joy.

Of course, that joy comes from setting aside their positions and future relationships, focusing only on the present.

Now that they'd finished discussing business and casual matters, one group was heading to Xu Yue Hui Gong, and the other to Tian Ji Shen Jiao—it was time to say goodbye.

"Anyway, I'm not going; I'm just Tai Xu."

Shuo Shu Ren twirled her fingers in her red skirt and tossed the question back after speaking. "What about you all?"

"Yeah, what about you?"

Dao Qiong Cang turned to Wei Feng and Gou Wu Yue. "Although I brought you out, I won't stop you if you want to go further."

It was all very free.

If you want to go, just go!

Wei Feng shook his head and weighed the Yan Wang Banquet in his hand. "Fifty or sixty years ago, you'd only see me in the ruins."

Now?

Forget it!

Why did he follow Dao Qiong Cang out? It was for an easy life—put his mind at rest when he didn't need to, and swing his blade mindlessly when he did.

A slacker's life needs no explanation!

Gou Wu Yue, being relatively young and full of ambition, caught Wei Feng's glance. "Why aren't you going in?"

Gou Wu Yue sighed softly. "When everyone thinks there's profit to be had, it's time to retreat bravely."

After saying that, he looked at Dao Qiong Cang.

If anyone here was most drawn to the words "seal as god, claim as ancestor," the Ba Zun An would rank second—the top spot undoubtedly went to Dao Qiong Cang!

But even he wasn't going in.

He showed no interest at all in the Zu Shen Ming Ge.

There must be some deeper thought behind it, and now, at this moment of parting, he deliberately brought it up...

Was there something wrong with the Ran Ming Yi Zhi?

Gou Wu Yue's heart stirred, but he didn't ask. Instead, he turned to Ba Zun An. "What about you?"

Shuo Shu Ren's head turned with him, wondering if Yue Gong Nu might have entered too—would they really not meet?

Ba Zun An watched the sand dust gently splash under his feet and replied casually, "With Sheng Zu in the hall and Jian Zu in the tower, each lineage is beyond reach. Why should I just call out this one's name and expect the inheritance to fall into my hands?"

Gou Wu Yue, Wei Feng, and Shuo Shu Ren were all taken aback—this perspective was a bit fresh.

Dao Qiong Cang raised an eyebrow. He was sure Ba Zun An hadn't received any messages along the way, and neither had Shuo Shu Ren, so this was his own judgment? He said:

"Give it a try. There's no loss anyway. Even if you fail, you won't die. What if you actually get the Zu Shen Ming Ge?"

Shuo Shu Ren nodded vigorously.

She always believed that the Ten Zun Seats were the strongest contenders for the Zu Shen inheritance in the Ran Ming Yi Zhi—even Xu Xiao Shou would have to step back a bit.

Ba Zun An stopped in his tracks, his gaze fixing on the dust at his feet:

"Something free often costs your life; something that demands your life wants your money. If it wants neither money nor life, it's probably after something else."

"If it wants none of the three—color, wealth, or life—and offers it for free, it's only for kin... I don't believe that."

Shuo Shu Ren frowned, sensing her brother had more to say. "What do you mean?"

Ba Zun An looked up at him, his expression indifferent:

"The price of something free is unlimited."

Something was wrong!

Now, even Shuo Shu Ren realized there was an issue with the Ran Ming Yi Zhi—though she wasn't stupid, she hadn't spoken yet...

Ba Zun An shook his head slightly. "I don't know."

You don't know?

Then what are you talking about?

"Instinct."

What a convenient instinct!

Is yours instinct? And is his also instinct?

Shuo Shu Ren turned to Dao Qiong Cang. "You flashy old daoist, do you know something, or have you calculated it? Just say it straight—you're already a Sheng Shan traitor, no need to hide."

The others' gazes shifted to him in unison, but Dao Qiong Cang just shrugged. "This hall doesn't know."

"You definitely know!"

"I don't know, so I don't know."

"Are you going to say or not?"

"Tian Ji..."

"Ah—"

Shuo Shu Ren irritably covered her ears and looked at Gou Wu Yue, her eyebrows squeezing together as if to say: Don't you want to know? Ask him!

Gou Wu Yue couldn't decipher her look, but he was curious enough to speak up. "What happened?"

Dao Qiong Cang glanced at him and shook his head lightly.

"Really don't know."

"Not everything can be calculated."

"Tian Ji technique is for seeking fortune and avoiding disaster, not for getting answers just by snapping your fingers."

"But..."

As soon as he said "but," everyone watched as Dao Qiong Cang subtly pinched his fingers again. Shuo Shu Ren's mouth twisted in exasperation.

He said it couldn't be calculated, but when things get tricky, out come the finger calculations?

Soon, Dao Qiong Cang withdrew his hand into his robe and said with a bright smile:

"Use your brain a bit. Anything involving the Zu Shen Ming Ge means high-level Sheng Di are involved."

"Anything about the Zhan Shen Guan inheritance means sealing as god and claiming as ancestor."

"Since we all sense it's not good, it's definitely bad."

"At worst, everyone dies in there."

The others' faces changed.

Shuo Shu Ren's brows knitted tightly. "But isn't it..."

"Latest news," Dao Qiong Cang laughed. "You can get in, but you can't get out. You'll die."

Shuo Shu Ren froze for a moment, then burst into anger, raising the hood in her hand to strangle this flashy old daoist. "Then why are you encouraging us to go in!"

Dao Qiong Cang dodged easily, using Gou Wu Yue as a pillar to circle away.

"Wait!"

As Shuo Shu Ren chased, she suddenly stopped, her voice filled with shock. "What about Xu Xiao Shou..."

Dao Qiong Cang snapped his fingers. "No need to worry; something's up."

"Shut your crow mouth!" Shuo Shu Ren turned and shouted angrily.

This group of Ten Zun Seats—all full of mischief!

So, except for Ai Cang Sheng, who went in willingly and came out in time, every one of the Ten Zun Seats closest to the Zu Shen Ming Ge had a premonition, sensed something off, and didn't want to enter the site?

Shuo Shu Ren glanced at her brother, her eyes flickering.

You had a premonition and didn't say a word—Xu Xiao Shou isn't just a pawn anymore!

Ba Zun An seemed to know what she was thinking. "Don't worry; nothing will happen to him."

How could she not wor—

"Someone went in," Ba Zun An said.

Shuo Shu Ren froze, then her eyes widened in realization.

Yes, someone went in!

Among the Ten Zun Seats, perhaps now, whoever did anything had to think ahead and consider the consequences...

Including her brother.

Including the flashy old daoist!

But there was one person who didn't have to.

He had a brain, but he'd never used it once in his life!

High-level Sheng Di?

The realm of Zu Shen?

In front of that guy who didn't even know the word "retreat," anything a single punch couldn't solve, just use ten punches.

If ten punches couldn't solve it, then...

"Warm-up's over!"

Shen Yi slammed his hand to his side, and in his palm, a phantom formed, solidifying into a black-golden staff taller than he was.

The staff had gold ends carved with intricate patterns, and its dark red gold glow seemed to carry heat, like flowing lava.

The middle was plain, wrapped in thick sealing bands soaked with years of sweat stains, turned black-brown.

"Thud!"

With a light strike on the ground, the earth boomed like a heavy drum, and dust billowed out for miles, suddenly...

The entire miles of land shattered into powder, sending yellow sand flying everywhere!

"Damn..."

Chang Yi stared at the bald man in front of him, who was two heads taller, and felt his mindset shatter.

Who was this?

Where did this thing come from?

He'd been away from the Five Domains for just over sixty years, and Sheng Shen Continent had developed to this point?

A mere Tai Xu...

Three punches could break Deng Kou's defense, pierce his chest, rupture his abdomen, and leave him gravely injured.

Two kicks could snap Dun Ling's legs, shatter his shield, break his arms, and beat him until his eyeballs flew out.

Deng Kou, Dun Ling...

Were these ordinary people? No, they were Ban Sheng!

Not just any Ban Sheng, but ones hardened by years on the front-line battlefield, tempered in blood and life-or-death struggles!

Chang Yi had arrived just a step late, and in that instant, Deng Kou and Dun Ling were down.

And after taking out two Ban Sheng...

This guy! This bald man! He even brazenly said it was just a warm-up?

"I sense you might have something."

Shen Yi ran a hand over his bald head, kicked up Bawang, flipped the black-golden staff in the air, tearing through it, and rested it on his elbow.

His tiger eyes widened instantly, fierce and predatory.

"Wait!"

"Little bro... big brother, is there some misunderstanding here?"

Chang Yi, known as one of the North Domain's Seven Stars and a battle maniac, had slightly graying temples but looked only fifty or sixty, though he was over a hundred years old.

Yes, he was a battle maniac!

On the front-line battlefield, he was the kind who charged at ghost beasts without a word!

But in this moment, he felt like he finally had a mouth and wanted to explain something to this Tai Xu bald man...

"Swoosh."

The yellow sand drifted.

Before he could finish, the bald man's figure turned into a blur.

"You mother... Really think I'm easy to mess with? You're asking for it!"

Chang Yi roared, his eyes turning blood-red in an instant. As his blood-colored Sheng Domain expanded, he swung his black long knife forward:

"Zhan Long Jin!"

As the words left his mouth, time seemed to slow...

The sand dust in front shattered.

In his pupils, honed by three realms of combat awareness, the somewhat illusory bald figure solidified right in front of him.

"Slap."

The momentum arrived before the person.

Chang Yi's hair tie snapped first.

His black hair mixed with silver strands blew back.

"Swoosh..." A fine cut opened on his cheek.

Blood mixed with dust, streaking his face.

"Crack." His brow bone made a slight cracking sound.

A faint stinging pain pierced his battle-scarred Sheng body.

It didn't hurt much, but it gave an ominous feeling.

"Slap, slap, slap..." The Sheng artifact Hu Long Pearl at his waist shattered suddenly.

The Xuan Hu Tower, nurtured with his blood for over thirty years, exploded before it could even enlarge.

Then the Yu Xin Mirror, Bai Long Armor, Lin Hu Zhi Shui...

Under the twisted Sheng Domain, the Ban Sheng laws couldn't affect the bald man in front of him. All that was left was his clothes tearing in the wind, his flesh and chest bones cracking...

"What the hell is this?!"

Chang Yi's eyes nearly burst with rage. In that instant, he felt like he was dreaming.

The staff opposite hadn't even swung yet, but his many protective artifacts were shattering one after another, and even his armor and Sheng body were damaged...

What kind of human monster was this?

He wasn't Tai Xu; he was Sheng Di?

A hoarse, low voice, calm and emotionless, rang in his ear, far plainer than the Sheng Wu "Zhan Long Jin":

"Horizontal Sweep."

The gold-ended staff and the black long knife—one vertical slash, one horizontal sweep—clashed in a flash.

Whoosh—

The vacuum for miles shook, and dust rose.

Chang Yi felt darkness for a moment.

In that moment, the bald man turned into his long-deceased great-grandmother, whose face he could barely remember.

When his senses returned...

He saw the fully swung gold-ended staff, carrying his black knife, smashing through the Bai Long Armor on his back and driving deep into his chest!

"You son of a... Pfft!"

Slap, slap, slap, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh!

Chang Yi's divine artifact, the Black Knife Yan Tun Mang, didn't shatter, but his tiger's mouth exploded, his hand bones shattered, and his entire arm was crushed.

His chest bones shattered, ribs shattered. The Black Knife fought desperately to resist devouring its master, but his heart was still split.

His right eye socket swelled...

Now, Chang Yi finally understood why the defensively renowned Ban Sheng Dun Ling had his eyeball bizarrely knocked out.

Blood spurted from all seven orifices...

Not just the eyeball—his two rows of teeth didn't leave a single intact one.

Just one strike!

Only one strike!

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom..."

Chang Yi felt he'd smashed through an entire mountain, and the momentum hadn't stopped.

He lost sensation in his hand.

He lost sensation in his foot.

How could one strike do this!

"You damn... Who the hell are you—ahhh—"

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Ten mountains in three breaths.

After the last mountain was smashed through and the momentum finally slowed, that long three breaths ended, and he regained a bit of control over his body...

Chang Yi panicked.

His knife was gone; he was about to die.

Without hesitation, he pulled out his trump card.

"Blood Sacrifice: Fei Yi Sheng Body!"

The blood spraying from his body turned into patterns, etching into his shell.

Like a snake shedding its skin, Chang Yi leaped up, leaving a layer of blood scab that transformed into a massive python covering the sky.

The python seemed to come from ancient times, exuding a wild aura, pitch-black with blood-red scales...

"Vertical Chop."

Before Chang Yi could react, he heard that indifferent voice.

In the Fei Yi form, where even colors were lost and the world was blurry, his enhanced senses locked onto a black staff shadow descending from the sky!

It was larger than the Fei Yi, striking right at the seven-inch vital point.

From behind the bald man, it fell like a sword image, like the shadow of a Zu Shen.

"Thud."

"Gurgle..."

The Fei Yi vanished.

The human form returned.

Chang Yi's head rolled on the ground, tumbling two body lengths away.

His headless corpse thudded to the ground, blood flowing into the stream, dyeing the riverbank red.

"Thud."

The scorching gold-ended staff head planted in front of the tilted eyes, and the head bounced on the ground like a ball.

Chang Yi's expression blurred for a moment as he recognized the staff's origin.

One of the nine supreme divine artifacts, and one of the few that, like Sui Jun Shield, ranked on the heavy weapons list—Bawang!

So...

He was Shen Yi?

That troublesome Ten Zun Seat?

Heard they were the strongest ten in recent eras, but aren't they all from the younger generation?

Is the younger generation this strong now?

Even Yan Sheng, the alliance leader who cultivated his physical body—no, he modified his body—with his abilities, could he withstand one strike... maybe?

Shen Yi flicked Bawang, and it turned into black spots and vanished. He squatted down, looking at the head on the ground:

"You had something, but not much."

You bastard!

You son of a bitch!

If you have the guts, stand there and let me chop you once—see if I can chop you to death. Sneak attacking isn't...

Was it really a sneak attack?

Chang Yi despaired and closed his eyes.

He'd figured it all out. Shen Yi's hostility wasn't hidden; it was outright.

You could say his combat awareness wasn't inferior, but what good was realizing it now?

One strike!

What North Domain's Seven Stars...

What Ban Sheng battle maniac...

Chang Yi laughed bitterly, a miserable laugh, with silent tears mixing with blood sliding down his nose.

One strike, and it knocked the crap out of me!

I even suspect my Ban Sheng status is cracked!

Oh...

I still have a Ban Sheng status!

But am I even a Ban Sheng? I'm just trash! A complete waste!

"Deng Kou, Dun Ling, my brothers... Spare them... Kill me..."

Chang Yi didn't want to live anymore.

He didn't even want to ask why the conflict started; he had no right.

The front-line battlefield's rule was simple: the winner has the say; the loser is nothing.

"Hey!"

Shen Yi slapped the head hard.

Everyone he defeated felt this way—heartbroken, as if nothing in the world was worth holding onto.

From thirty years ago to now, every defeated opponent was like this, and Shen Yi didn't know why.

Did he lose when he was young?

As a kid, he couldn't outpunch the neighbor's child, got beaten until his head bled, and went home to huddle in a corner and bandage himself.

But he just trained!

After training, he beat them back!

Even if they bashed his head in, they'd learn not to!

What was this loss of confidence? A man fears nothing more than losing his self-confidence.

But...

Be strict with yourself, lenient with others.

Shen Yi wouldn't force anyone. Whenever this happened, as long as the person survived, he'd symbolically encourage them:

"Get a grip; at least you're not dead. You took my one strike."

Chang Yi spat out a mouthful of blood and went silent.

The guy wasn't bad; even at death's door, he remembered his brothers... Shen Yi said to himself:

"The one with the lamp is Deng Kou, the one with the shield is Dun Ling, right?"

"I ran into them on the way. The Sheng Di's guiding force led them—and you—all in this direction."

"I've seen six Ban Sheng, all the same, none of them noticed."

Sheng Di's guiding force?

Chang Yi opened his eyes, and in his blurred, blood-colored world, a hint of shock flashed.

He hadn't noticed either.

Shen Yi continued: "So, I kindly told them to stop..."

"Cough!" Chang Yi coughed up blood. "How did you... tell them? My brothers... aren't... hot-tempered; they wouldn't... fight you..."

Shen Yi tilted his head, thought for a moment, and snorted. "In a hurry to reincarnate? I stopped those six Ban Sheng on the road; you guys didn't believe it?"

"Pfft." Chang Yi spat blood and closed his eyes again. He was tired.

Shen Yi shrugged and sat down on the ground, picking up the head and stuffing it back onto Chang Yi's still-bleeding neck. "You know, they called me trash..."

He didn't have many pills. He crushed half a Xiao Fu Qu Dan, pocketed the other half, and smeared the powder on Chang Yi's neck wound:

"I won't say more; the one with the bigger fist calls the shots on who's trash."

"Besides, I have some questions, and we all need to be calm to talk properly."

Once the person seemed a bit better, Shen Yi asked his purpose for coming:

"Why are so many Ban Sheng suddenly coming in?"

"Are you all rushing that way because of Xu Xiao Shou?"

Yes, Shen Yi also had the Zu Shen Bang in his palm; with a thought, he could know Xu Xiao Shou's current location.

That dark forest with life rules was the best place to comprehend the human path.

But evil god power was dense, Sheng Di's will guided it, and strangeness abounded—it wasn't a place to stay long.

Yet, these foolish Ban Sheng were still charging in stupidly.

Xu Xiao Shou was one thing; he probably had his own plans. What were these Ban Sheng after?

Chang Yi heard this and paused. "It's the Sheng Order."

"But we came in just for fun; we didn't plan to kill Xu Xiao Shou..."

It was guidance!

Sheng Di's guidance, leading all Ban Sheng to that forest?

Chang Yi suddenly awakened and thought further: Could even the entry of many Ban Sheng into the site, and the issuance of the Sheng Order, have been influenced by guidance?

"Just for fun?"

Shen Yi didn't share Chang Yi's shock. He chuckled and reached into his chest, pulling out a crystal gem. "It's not that simple anymore."

"When I stopped them, I accidentally killed one."

"He was probably the Ban Sheng's true body; this thing came out with the crap from one punch."

Chang Yi's pupils dilated as he stared at the dazzling crystal gem, stunned.

Ban Sheng status?!