Li Guangrui's eyes were also cold and calm, completely changing his usual frivolous and flamboyant demeanor. He spoke solemnly, "Brother Ye, you are not fighting alone. Although my strength, Li Guangrui, is meager, I will never stand by and do nothing!"
"We can definitely do it. That Jiang Ye is truly detestable. We have retreated so much, yet he still wants to utterly annihilate us. If this grudge is not avenged, we swear we are not human!"
"You two..." Zhang Chaoxian's throat choked, his gaze flickering, but in the end, he only said, "Surviving is more important than anything."
The night was deep, stained like ink.
The mountain ranges surrounding Wangchen Village became increasingly oppressive amidst the dark clouds and Killing Intent.
Everyone said no more and dispersed one by one.
Old Village Chief Zhang Chaoxian, accompanied by the elders of the village, appeared on the west side of the mysterious valley. A hidden teleportation Formation emerged in the Void Realm.
Their robes fluttered, and ancient Formation inscriptions lit up on their bodies, clearly indicating they had long been prepared.
On the other side, within the secluded valley to the east, Li Shou, along with Ye Qingyun and Li Guangrui, hid beneath the most treacherous Ghost Cliff, using the power of the earth veins to conceal their Qi, preparing to break through when the great battle on the west side began.
The night wind swirled, and the mountain forest wailed like ghosts.
Above the western peak, Zhang Chaoxian's figure appeared, his robes fluttering. His Emperor's aura was like an abyss, like a prison. He was like a sleeping ancient Battle God, slowly ascending into the air.
The sky was silent as death, the wind ceased, and the clouds settled.
"Come out, Su Hongye."
Zhang Chaoxian stood with his hands behind his back, his voice booming like thunder, shaking the mountains and rivers.
"I know you must be here."
"Since you're here, don't hide your head and tail. Whatever methods you have, just use them!"
Before his words finished, a blood-red cloud suddenly appeared on the horizon, like a red Fire Lotus on the sea, rolling in.
In the center of the blood cloud, a graceful figure slowly emerged, like an peerless female demon walking out from the depths of a sea of blood.
Su Hongye appeared, her face still stunningly beautiful, but the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, forming a cold, chilling sneer: "Zhang Chaoxian, it's been many years, and you are still as stubborn as ever. If you had been willing to bow down to my Jiang Clan back then, you wouldn't have ended up like this today."
Below, the elders from the ruins of Fire Lotus City, seeing the blood-red figure in the sky, also rose into the air, their expressions solemn as they stood shoulder to shoulder with Zhang Chaoxian.
Mo Beixuan looked at Su Hongye in the sky, and the hatred that had accumulated for two hundred thousand years surged within his heart.
He almost lost control, opening his mouth to speak, but in the end, he swallowed his anger back into his heart.
He wanted to say something, but he never did.
And Su Hongye seemed to have noticed this old enemy, but her eyes swept over him as if he were an insignificant ant, without any emotional fluctuations.
She didn't even show a hint of hatred.
It was as if Mo Beixuan, in her eyes, was truly like a stubborn rock by the roadside, not even worthy of her hatred.
Zhang Chaoxian's expression was calm. Facing Su Hongye's oppressive aura, he merely shook his head gently.
With a casual wave of his large sleeve, a brilliant river of stars suddenly poured out, and a blurry yet majestic Emperor's shadow slowly emerged from behind Zhang Chaoxian, exuding an ancient and vast Emperor's prestige.
"It wouldn't have happened in the past, and it won't happen today."
Zhang Chaoxian's voice was calm and firm.
"I, Zhang Chaoxian, have never bowed to anyone. What if it's the Longevity Jiang Clan?"
"We act not based on right or wrong!"
"We only seek a clear conscience and to be true to our original intentions!"
Boom!!
As he spoke, the Emperor's might on Zhang Chaoxian's body suddenly climbed to a new height. A dazzling light flashed in his eyes, and the Dao's rhythm overshadowed the mountains and rivers.
Su Hongye's eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at Zhang Chaoxian, her tone carrying a hint of surprise as she said, "I didn't expect that you, who suffered such severe injuries back then, almost cutting off everything."
"Now you can suppress your Dao injuries purely by your state of mind, and even unleash Battle Intent far exceeding your past. It seems you haven't spared any effort these past years."
"However, that's all there is to it."
Zhang Chaoxian also sensed the aura on Su Hongye, which was so profound it made one's heart palpitate.
He had also imagined that Su Hongye's cultivation had reached a level they could only dream of.
Now seeing it with his own eyes, although there was inevitably some regret in his heart.
But now... nothing else mattered anymore.
Zhang Chaoxian looked up to the sky and laughed, a sense of calm and relief appearing on his face: "Hahaha, Empress, you need not worry. Our meeting today can be considered the settling of old grievances."
"No matter the outcome..."
"I have lived a worthwhile life!"
As his words fell, his figure transformed into a divine rainbow, like a burning meteor, carrying endless Battle Intent and resolve, and fiercely attacked Su Hongye in the sky!
But Su Hongye only smiled coldly.
Her figure instantly vanished like a ghost, disappearing from her original spot.
And the next moment, the world changed drastically!
Rumble!
The entire valley was instantly covered by dense Formation patterns. Ancient Killing Formations emerged from the Void Realm, imbued with the might of world annihilation.
The Great Annihilation Killing Wheel Formation, the Ten Thousand Corpse Mountain Formation, the Myriad Tribulation Ghost Lightning Formation, the Boundary-Breaking Void Lock Formation, the Four Symbols Sealing Formation... dozens of terrifying Formations, long lost in ancient history, appeared simultaneously, trapping Zhang Chaoxian and the others within them like a cage.
Thunder roared, corpse Qi soared into the sky, illusions and poisonous mist intertwined and spread, and Killing Intent was everywhere.
The faces of the elders of Fire Lotus City changed dramatically. They all made their moves to resist, but still found it incredibly difficult.
"She... she had already set up this trap, not even bothering to fight head-on!"
Mo Beixuan roared, his eyes bloodshot, waving the Dharma seal in his palm, conjuring a crimson-gold ancient mirror to block the Lightning Tribulation, and gritting his teeth, he cursed, "Su Hongye, you are still as malicious as ever!"
But what responded to him was only the roar of thunder and the collapse of the Formations.
Su Hongye never appeared from beginning to end, as if she disdained to compete with them.
Before long, two Supreme-level elders screamed as they were blasted into ashes by the Lightning Tribulation, their Primordial Spirits even being drained and annihilated by the Formation.
They were once influential figures in Fire Lotus City, once making all realms tremble, but at this moment, they didn't even have a chance to resist.
Zhang Chaoxian stood in the air, his expression still as calm as ever.
He sighed slightly: "The Jiang Clan... still maintains this style."
"Cautious, without any flaws. Even with world-shaking cultivation, they never give the enemy a single chance."
"This is perhaps the true reason why the Jiang Clan has been strong for ages and stands unshaken."
Mo Beixuan remained silent for a long time upon hearing this, his heart still filled with unwillingness and resentment.
But he also understood that Zhang Chaoxian's words were absolutely true.
Things in the world are just like this: the victor gains everything, the loser loses everything.
The strong prey on the weak, an unchangeable truth since ancient times.
At this moment, he seemed to have completely let go, and the weary aura on his body was replaced by a sense of freedom.
He suddenly straightened his body, his Battle Intent soaring to the sky, a long halberd held horizontally in his hand, lightning coiling around his body, instantly regaining a hint of his former heroic bearing.
Mo Beixuan turned to look at Zhang Chaoxian, his eyes burning with Battle Intent, and said loudly, "Chaoxian, since that's the case, let us old fellows have one last hearty battle!"