On the other side.
After the blue-robed elder and three others killed Zheren Feng, they turned their assault on Yu Huang. With Yu Huang’s original opponent, it became five against one, relentlessly battering him.
Of course, as the distance wasn’t too great, other Martial Emperors fighting nearby managed to block a few strikes for Yu Huang.
However, those emperors were entangled with their own opponents, and with five specifically targeting Yu Huang, he was repeatedly gravely injured, roaring in defiance.
Clearly, the enemy’s tactic was to focus their firepower, hunting down one Martial Emperor at a time.
The other righteous cultivators grew anxious. If this continued, they would all be slaughtered.
Losing one Martial Emperor meant the enemy gained another’s combat power. With equal or even higher cultivation levels, no one could withstand a group assault, especially since escape was impossible.
Yet, they had no other options.
Lin Xiao’s heart raced with urgency. If this persisted, everyone would perish here.
Moreover, his dantian’s energy was far less vast than a Martial Emperor’s, limiting his endurance in battle.
His divine sense quickly probed a storage ring, but unfortunately, Xu Tianwangyue was still in seclusion, showing no signs of emerging.
Clang!
A deafening clash rang out, a terrifying shockwave erupting. Lin Xiao was forced back by a Second-Level Martial Emperor’s devastating attack.
The emperor then charged at him again.
Lin Xiao swiftly activated the Nine Nether Demon Body, black energy surging, a fearsome wave radiating outward. He swung his pillar heavily.
With a metallic “clang,” the Second-Level Martial Emperor was blasted back.
“Block that Purple Corpse Puppet. I’ll handle him!” A soft shout rang out as Feng Youyu and the puppet fought their way toward him.
The Second-Level Martial Emperor understood, turning to attack the puppet.
Lin Xiao frowned, his Yuan energy surging as he lunged in pursuit.
At that moment, a shadowy figure darted forward, crossing paths with the Second-Level Martial Emperor, who moved to intercept the puppet.
Feng Youyu charged at Lin Xiao.
Clang!
A piercing clash echoed. Lin Xiao felt his hands go numb, his body forced back dozens of yards.
His heart sank. The confrontation he dreaded had come—he was facing Feng Youyu.
Yet, her eyes showed only the intent to swiftly subdue him.
If the bronze-robed man hadn’t ordered her to capture him alive, she might have already struck to kill.
Conversely, even if he found an opening, he couldn’t bring himself to harm her, which complicated matters.
He was also shocked by Feng Youyu’s strength. Despite being only a Half-Step Martial Emperor, her combat power rivalled or surpassed the Second-Level Martial Emperor.
“Youyu, your memories must still be there. You’re being controlled, forever bound. Come with me. Once I free you, we can have a proper fight,” Lin Xiao couldn’t help but say.
“Scoff!”
Feng Youyu’s face remained cold, offering no response. A deep, mysterious light bloomed outside her dantian, a massive phantom lotus manifesting. A terrifying aura erupted, its unmatched pressure enveloping all directions.
Clearly, she had unleashed her Mysterious Lotus phenomenon, her aura surging. Her gleaming sword, radiating fearsome energy, slashed at Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao frowned, the Nine Nether Demon Body’s power surging within him. Demonic energy poured into the Dark Heaven Demon Pillar, as if awakening it. The pillar trembled faintly, and as he swung it, it felt like wielding a mountain, meeting Feng Youyu’s strike.
“Clang!”
A thunderous clash sent both retreating hundreds of yards.
Feng Youyu’s aura surged again, her body flashing like lightning as she charged at Lin Xiao once more.
Lin Xiao had no choice but to unleash powerful attacks to counter her.
Elsewhere, in mere moments, Yu Huang was battered into a desperate state by the five Martial Emperors.
“I’ll make you pay with your lives!!!”
A earth-shaking roar echoed, followed by a thunderous explosion, as if the heavens themselves trembled. A massive energy surge detonated.
A terrifying energy storm erupted from Yu Huang’s position, surging in all directions like a hundred towering waves, overwhelming the battlefield within a hundred miles.
The sounds of combat were instantly drowned out, and everyone scrambled to block the powerful shockwaves.
Even Lin Xiao, dozens of miles away, was affected, though his strength allowed him to withstand it.
“He self-detonated!” Lin Xiao’s heart jolted. Driven to a dead end, Yu Huang had detonated himself. The energy within a Martial Emperor’s dantian, unleashed in an instant, was several times more powerful than his normal strength.
He saw that the five attackers were flung back by the blast.
They were likely heavily injured, and some might even have perished.
At the array’s perimeter, the disciples and elders of the Demon, Evil, and Nether Sects were stunned.
Trapping a group of Martial Emperors within a hundred-mile battle was indeed fierce and perilous.
Even with the power to kill, an opponent’s dantian detonation could lead to their own demise.
Though their side held a significant numerical and combat advantage, the fight was far from easy.
Clang, clang, clang!
Before the shockwaves dissipated, the sounds of battle resumed, with Martial Emperors clashing across the hundred-mile radius.
Soon, as the energy cleared, all saw that the five who attacked Yu Huang were bloodied. The blue-robed elder was less injured, but the other three were severely wounded.
One plummeted toward the ground near the array’s edge, lifeless.
“A Martial Emperor is dead!”
“That’s an elder from our Nether Sect!”
The onlookers at the perimeter were shocked, especially those from the Nether Sect, their fists clenched. One of their First-Level Martial Emperor elders had fallen.
Gazing at the corpse ten miles away, Lin Xiao’s heart tightened. To kill a Martial Emperor outright with a blast was terrifyingly powerful.
The other four emperors were heavily injured, their combat strength diminished, some possibly unable to continue fighting.
Three might be out of commission.
If so, their disadvantage wasn’t as severe.
“Kill!”
The blue-robed elder shouted coldly, charging at an elder from the Nine Heavens Sect.
His strength allowed him to resume fighting immediately, as expected.
Surprisingly, two other wounded emperors, after swallowing a pill, also soared back into battle.
Lin Xiao couldn’t help but marvel. Martial Emperors were indeed formidable, able to fight on despite such injuries.
The remaining emperor, too gravely wounded, could no longer fight and began healing on the spot after taking a pill.
This detonation effectively removed two Martial Emperors from the Emperor Raiders’ combat strength.
Yet, they still held the advantage.
The battle resumed.
Some attacked the array’s barrier, but none could break it; the Demon Sect’s entrapment array was too strong.
Having experienced the detonation’s shockwave, the blue-robed elder and others fought more cautiously. With two weakened fighters, the Nine Heavens Sect elder gained some breathing room, avoiding an immediate dead end.
Still, he was repeatedly injured.
After just a quarter of an hour, the Nine Heavens Sect elder seized a moment when three opponents closed in, bursting into triumphant laughter, “Die, haha!”
A earth-shattering explosion followed.
