Yun Che didn’t doubt that Qianye had a much better grasp of an Eternal Heaven Guardian’s strength than him.

However, the black gleam in his eyes grew even darker.

“I guess abduction is the only way left,” Qianye Ying’er transmitted in a soft voice, “but...”

Suddenly, Yun Che’s reply rang beside her ears. “Control Qu Hui and Zhou Qingchen.”

Before Qianye Ying’er could mount a response, Yun Che suddenly exploded toward Tai Yin. The instantaneous burst of energy was like a crumbling volcano; so powerful that it knocked even Qianye Ying’er away from him.

The activation of the Heretic God’s Gates only took an instant, and it was no exaggeration to say that no one was Yun Che’s better in terms of explosive power. Honorable Tai Yin was trying to fly to the profound ark when Yun Che blasted toward him like a flash of light.

His action was so sudden that even Qianye Ying’er hadn’t seen it coming, much less Tai Yin, Qu Hui, and Zhou Qingchen. They were close to one another, and Yun Che’s explosive power was downright unnatural. Tai Yin might not have been able to react even if he was at full strength.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword glowed black as it pierced through space and struck Honorable Tai Yin just as he turned around.

Boom!!

The explosion of darkness profound energy sent the stunned Qu Hui and Zhou Qingchen flying.

The Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword struck Honorable Tai Yin squarely in the chest. The man was heavily injured and completely unguarded, but the weapon still failed to penetrate his body.

This was all Yun Che needed to see to know how terrifying the Eternal Heaven Guardians truly were.

Tai Yin was already injured in the first place, so the attack caused blood to pour out of his mouth and his whole body at the same time. The sudden attack caused Tai Yin to widen his eyes to the max and clutch the pitch black sword with a death grip.

At the same time, Qianye Ying’er stopped hiding her profound strength and charged toward Zhou Qingchen. A ray of power that looked like a golden snake flew out from her waist and wrapped around Zhou Qingchen tightly.

Zhou Qingchen hadn’t inherited his father’s power yet, but his cultivation level was very impressive. He definitely deserved to be called a proud child of heaven. However, there was still nothing he could do against Qianye Ying’er’s full strength. The moment the golden light caught him, his profound energy became sealed completely. Any struggle caused it to dig deeper into his flesh and elicit a howl of pain.

“Qingchen!” Honorable Tai Yin howled. His pupils contracted as quickly as it widened when he saw the weapon for what it was. “That’s... the Divine Oracle!”

Boom—

The Guardian’s power detonated like a bomb. Although it was a pale shadow of his full strength, it was still as terrible as a disaster and powerful enough to send Yun Che and the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword flying far away.

Honorable Tai Yin did not waste a moment to breathe or rescue Zhou Qingchen. Despite the suddenness of the attack and his shock, he was able to make a terrifyingly cool decision. He sacrificed his precious blood essence immediately to grant himself a deadly burst of power before charging straight toward Yun Che.

He didn’t know how Qianye Ying’er was able to conceal herself so well that even he was fooled, but the profound energy she displayed just now clearly marked her as a middle stage Divine Master. Even worse, the weapon binding Zhou Qingchen from head to toe was the infamous Brahma Gold Soft Sword known as the “Divine Oracle”. It was a former weapon of the gods belonging to the Brahma Monarch God Realm and the symbol of Qianye Ying’er!

This meant that Qianye Ying’er only needed a thought to crush Zhou Qingchen to bits. It was highly unlikely that he would be able to force a rescue.

In that case, the best choice here was to abduct her partner in return and force a trade of hostages, no matter what the cost!

It was unthinkable that an Eternal Heaven Guardian—a level nine Divine Master—would sacrifice his blood essence just to deal with a level four Divine Sovereign, but Honorable Tai Yin had arrived at the decision without hesitation!

In that moment, the energy rolling off his body caused even Qianye Ying’er to turn and look at him in shock. It was as if an entire galaxy had exploded.

Even now, Qianye Ying’er couldn’t understand why Yun Che had chosen to attack Honorable Tai Yin by force! It wasn’t like she hadn’t told him that they were no match for the Guardian even at his current state. Abducting Zhou Qingchen was all they needed to achieve their goal, but now? His rashness might very well cost him his life!

Honorable Tai Yin had done the impossible and sacrificed his blood essence without hesitation. Yun Che couldn’t breathe even before the Guardian had tried to close the distance between them and unleash his true power. But he wasn’t afraid at all, on the contrary, this was exactly what he was hoping would happen!

A look of terrible madness flashed across his eyes before he swung the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor Sword at the world’s highest level of power.

Moon Star Restoration!

The elements crumbled, and the laws reversed before his weapon. The energy Honorable Tai Yin had unleashed at the cost of his blood essence abruptly reversed its course and struck the Eternal Heaven Guardian dead on.

The scariest part about Moon Star Restoration wasn’t its forced reversal of any power that was thrown at it, but the fact that the reversal happened while the attacker was unleashing its power; their weakest and most defenseless moment! In this case, it was extraordinarily effective because Honorable Tai Yin was seriously injured, and his attack was empowered by the sacrifice of his blood essence!

The world shuddered after a terrible explosion. The rebound was utterly illogical, but Honorable Tai Yin did not even have the time to feel fear or shock before he was struck by his own power. Countless streams of energy capable of casually destroying mountains and seas surged into his body, tearing apart everything in their path and ravaging whatever remained of his pitiful life.

The Great Void Cauldron flew out of his hands. Even his soul connection to the artifact was severed temporarily.

Honorable Qu Hui was going to charge toward Zhou Qingchen, but the unexpected outcome caused him to shout in utter shock. “Tai Yin!!”

Every injury Honorable Tai Yin suffered collapsed at the same time; the Guardian bleeding like a punctured bag of blood. A black flash stabbed him again, and this time the sword was able to penetrate his body as easily as if it was made of rotten wood!

“Ugh... Aaah...” A painful groan escaped Honorable Tai Yin’s throat. His vision was so blurry he almost couldn’t see the black shadow right in front of him. Almost by instinct, he threw out his remaining arm in retaliation.

Boom!!

Honorable Tai Yin was dying, but even at death’s door a Guardian could still move mountains and seas. The counterattack easily sent Yun Che flying and caused a shower of blood to burst out of the latter’s mouth. The Heaven Smiting Sword also slipped out of the Guardian’s body as a result.

However, the shower of blood suddenly turned into a sea of golden flames before enveloping Honorable Tai Yin completely. At the same time, Yun Che charged toward him again with Star God’s Broken Shadow and slammed the Heaven Smiting Sword through his solar plexus. He shouted in his mind:

“He Ling!”

A dark green light flowed through the sword and exploded soundlessly inside Tai Yin.

“Haah!!”

Although Honorable Tai Yin was tormented by immeasurable pain, he let out a shout and detonated his Eternal Heaven divine power once more. It annihilated the golden crow’s flames instantly and shook Yun Che violently. The young man fell backward in a shower of blood, but it was impossible to tell if it was Yun Che’s or Tai Yin’s.

Bang!

Yun Che hit the ground heavily and swayed on his feet. However, he leaned against his sword and used it to prop himself upright.

To the front, Tai Yin stood with a bloody, empty hole where his chest used to be. The fact that his flesh looked more like the tattered fabric of a doll only made the sight even more gruesome.

Tai Yin was already heavily injured before Yun Che reflected his power and struck him twice with his sword. Had he been anyone else, had he just been an ordinary Divine Master, he would’ve been dead a long time ago.

However, Tai Yin was still standing. His aura was still imposing.

This was the strength of a Guardian of Eternal Heaven God Realm. His tenacity and life force were equal to his power.

Qianye Ying’er frowned deeply as she probed Tai Yin’s remaining aura. She stretched a finger and summoned the Divine Oracle back to her hand, although the blade of the weapon was still wrapped around Zhou Qingchen.

Right now, Zhou Qingchen was drenched in cold sweat. Even the tiniest struggle caused golden flashes that ripped his body apart. But despite the pain wracking his entire body, Zhou Qingchen couldn’t move his eyes away from Qianye Ying’er... As the Eternal Heaven Crown Prince, no one knew better than him what the golden light binding him was.

“You... you’re...” He groaned painfully, but his eyes were unfocused.

“You’re the Brahma Monarch Goddess!” Honorable Qu Hui shouted in shock. His muscles were completely stiff.

Instead of looking at Honorable Qu Hui, Qianye Ying’er moved her fingers lightly and elicited a terrible scream from Zhou Qingchen. She said, “Tai Yin, surrender the divine fruit now or I’ll tear him apart!”

Honorable Tai Yin didn’t respond to her threat, however. It was almost as if he hadn’t heard her. He stared straight at Yun Che and said slowly, “The Golden Crow flame... that sword... You are Yun Che!”

“Wh... what!” Qu Hui abruptly turned towards Yun Che, and even Zhou Qingchen was staring at the young man with bulging eyes.

Yun Che wiped a hand across his face and revealed his true self. However, his expression was terrifyingly blank.

“You...” Qu Hui felt like he was dropped into a frozen pond in purgatory. His entire body was as cold as ice.

Yun Che and Qianye Ying’er—the two names that had vanished from the eastern divine region—had somehow appeared together in the God Realm of Absolute Beginning!

Yun Che... the man that the Eternal Heaven God Emperor and all three divine regions had sworn to destroy at all cost had shown himself before their eyes!

No, that wasn’t all. These two monsters were even hanging out with Zhou Qingchen this entire time!

Qu Hui couldn’t even begin to describe the shock, terror, and realization he was feeling right now.

“It... is... you!”

As one of the Guardians who spent his last few years chasing after Yun Che and only Yun Che, both Tai Yin and Qu Hui could hardly forget the young man. However, two years ago Yun Che was only a level one Divine King, but now his aura marked him as a level four Divine Sovereign.

Even more shocking was the fact that his strength was almost on par with a middle stage Divine Master!

historical

No words could describe the shock he was feeling. Tai Yin suddenly understood why the Eternal Heaven God Emperor was so afraid of Yun Che, and why he had committed all those seemingly insane actions.

Tai Yin could still remember the gentleness in Yun Che’s eyes when he was called the “God Child Messiah”. But now, his eyes were so dark that he almost didn’t dare to look him in the eye.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”

A terrible scream suddenly cut through the air as another dozen or so wounds appeared around Zhou Qingchen’s body. Qianye Ying’er said coldly, “It looks like you missed me the first time, so I’ll say it again: surrender the divine fruit now, or I’ll turn him into mincemeat! This is your last warning!”

But Honorable Tai Yin didn’t react to her threat at all. He had never been as hurt as he was now, and his consciousness was steadily fading. However, his tall, proud figure was unwavering as he said, “Not even the heavens can make the people of Eternal Heaven submit, much less the likes of you!”

“If Qingchen dies... you will pay with your life!”

Every word he spoke struck the heart like the sound of the heaven’s bell.

But Yun Che replied in an icy, ridiculing tone, “You don’t need to negotiate, Qianying. An old dog of Eternal Heaven isn’t worthy of speech!”

“Both the divine fruit and their lives are ours to take!”

Qianye Ying’er shot him a sideways glance.

“Heh.” Tai Yin looked like he was smiling. “You think you can make us submit? Do you really think that an Eternal Heaven Guardian is—”

He suddenly cut himself off and stiffened all over. His eyes started glowing dark green as his pupils widened.