As the piercing alarm sounded, the strong warriors inside the city quickly entered a state of intense battle.
The Cold Moon Yan Grand Array was activated to its peak. Only by harnessing the power of the formation could the two of them barely hold their ground against the Heaven-grade Underworld King.
However, last time, Leng Yueyan and Tuoming fought for a long time, drawing a lot of the power from the grand formation. Ming Cangyue's attempt to break through to the Underworld King realm also drew a lot of the array's power. Now, the formation has not yet recovered, and the situation is not optimistic.
Watching the distant spatial gate tremble, countless powerful beings poured in, and the army was gathering. Soon, Long Chen saw Tuoming's figure.
This guy was completely clad in red armor, with only his eyes visible, making him very easy to recognize.
Accompanying him was another burly creature, carrying a pair of huge axes on its back and horns growing from its head.
That being's vitality and energy filled the sky, his pressure overwhelming. He was also a Heaven-grade Underworld King-level powerhouse, and likewise a dominant force like Tuoming.
As soon as the two appeared, their subordinates swarmed out. Judging by the color of their armor, Tuoming's men only made up twenty percent of the army; the rest were from other factions.
Watching the billions of Underworld armies assemble, Long Chen suddenly felt a stir in his heart and looked toward the chaotic space. Only then did he notice that the Heavenly Dao Tree, which had been completely harvested, was once again bearing fruit.
Long Chen was overwhelmed with excitement. It turned out that this Heavenly Dao Tree could even conquer beings from the underworld. Seeing that the ten Earth-grade Heavenly Dao Fruits were fully ripe, he immediately understood that these ten were the six Earth-grade Underworld Kings under Tuoming's command, as well as the four Earth-grade Immortal Kings of the Nine Nether Hall who had previously been killed in the Tianhong Domain with the Guardian Courtyard Divine Stone.
Moreover, the nine fruits at the very top of the Heavenly Dao Tree also grew larger, the runes became denser, their auras stronger than before, and their Heaven-grade aura becoming more prominent.
At that moment, Long Chen understood: the Heavenly Dao Tree could only bear 9,999 Heavenly Dao Fruits. That was its limit—no matter how many first-generation beings he killed, the number would not increase.
However, it still continues to absorb energy. When energy reaches a certain level, the quantity remains unchanged but the quality improves.
If only ordinary first-generation powerhouses or mortal-grade Immortal Kings are killed, the Heavenly Dao Tree will only produce ordinary Heavenly Dao Fruits. However, as it continuously absorbs energy, the fruits undergo a qualitative transformation, resulting in spiritual-grade Heavenly Dao Fruits, Earth-grade Heavenly Dao Fruits, and Heaven-grade Heavenly Dao Fruits.
Directly killing an Earth-grade Immortal King will earn you Earth-grade Heavenly Dao Fruits. The maximum is 9,000 Ordinary Grade Heavenly Dao Fruits, 900 Spirit Fruits, 90 Earth-grade fruits, and 9 Heavenly Fruits.
Now, the nine thousand ordinary fruits and nine hundred spirit-grade Heavenly Dao Fruits were all ripe. Long Chen examined them closely. Besides the ten directly ripened Earth-grade Heavenly Dao Fruits, there were a few others showing signs of ripening.
Back then, Long Chen had to use more than a dozen half-ripe Earth-grade Heavenly Dao Fruits to help Luo Changwu advance to Earth-grade Immortal King, and one ripe Earth-grade Heavenly Dao Fruit was enough.
According to Long Chen's calculations, when the mortal, spiritual, and earth-grade Heavenly Dao fruits all mature, all the energy absorbed by the Heavenly Dao Tree will be used for the fruit, accelerating its maturation.
A Heaven-grade Heavenly Dao Fruit can directly create a Heaven-grade Immortal King—what an extraordinary ability that is! Looking at the endless army of the underworld opposite him, Long Chen's eyes lit up blue. How could they be enemies? They were clearly fresh Heavenly Dao Fruits.
"Rumble...
The enemy's army finally assembled and began to slowly approach the city. The army closed in, and the number of experts above the Divine Lord realm was nearly dozens of times greater than those on Leng Yueyan's side.
In the last battle with Tuoming, Leng Yueyan's side suffered heavy losses, countless powerful warriors died, and the gap in strength between the two sides was vast.
If Tuoming's side hadn't been betrayed by Long Chen, gathering everyone together and being wiped out in one strike, even with Long Chen joining, it wouldn't have changed the city's destruction.
Because those Earth-grade Underworld King experts wouldn't give Long Chen such a long time to charge, and Long Chen couldn't unleash the World-Destroying Fire Lotus to its limit. To put it bluntly, without their cooperation, Long Chen couldn't have delivered such a brilliant strike.
But such a huge loss would never be given to Long Chen a second time, so Long Chen would basically not try to take shortcuts again.
"Leng Yueyan and Ming Cangyue, hand over the Divine Dao core, or else today your city will be destroyed and you will die in humiliation."
Tuoming led the army, standing where the city formation could not be attacked, shouting angrily.
With his shout, the army behind him erupted with momentum, their pressure shaking the heavens, ready to attack the city.
The so-called Divine Dao Core holds the key to the laws of this domain. With this key, one becomes the executor of this world and will gain the recognition of the Heavenly Dao.
It's like contracting land—you need the Underworld's approval before you can farm here. The profits from farming belong to you personally, provided you control the core of the Divine Path.
"Speak properly, don't brag. If you boast in front of Master Long, be careful not to slip away."
You can be arrogant, but only if you can't be more arrogant than me. Otherwise, today I'll make you regret it, do you believe me? Long Chen stood atop the castle, with Leng Yueyan and Ming Cangyue behind him, sneering coldly at Tuoming from afar.
"Damn bastard, you ruined my big plan and now I regret it? Do you know what kind of punishment you will face if you fall into my hands? "Looking at Long Chen, Tuoming gritted his teeth and shouted.
Just as success was about to happen, if it had been ruined by a Heavenly-grade Immortal King, he would have accepted it. But if it ended up being ruined by an ant, he was about to lose his mind.
After returning, he immediately gathered his men and cooperated with others to attack Leng Yueyan. But the benefits he gained were only 40/60, and he was 40% and that person 60%.
Because he had lost part of his forces, and the enemy had more troops than him, he had no choice but to rely on them. How angry must he be inside? Seeing Long Chen now, he wished he could strangle him.
"Punishment?" Are you trying to make me laugh to death? What right do you have to punish me? To be honest, this city definitely can't be held, but do you think I'll hand over this piece of fat meat to you? You're too childish.
Why have we stayed here these past two days? To be honest, we were prepared long ago.
Once you make a move, we will self-detonate the ancient city and activate the power of the Divine Dao Core, deliberately alarming the surrounding forces. If the Divine Dao Core is shattered, this area will become ownerless.
I wonder how many forces will be attracted then. You should go shopping hard—I don't believe your two families will become the ultimate rulers of this land.
And we were already prepared to leave. We teleported away directly, and you wouldn't get a single hair. You might even be devoured by someone else, left with a heavy blow. Long Chen smiled sinister as he measured a light orb about the size of a baby's fist. That orb was the core of the Divine Path, possessing infinite power.
As soon as Long Chen spoke, Tuoming and the powerful figure beside him all changed their expressions. The reason Tuoming was so eager to attack here was because he feared alerting other forces, which wouldn't be his turn then. He had to take it down before anyone else found out.
And Long Chen saw right through his thoughts. Long Chen, with a determined stance, managed to capture him.
"Hmph, who are you trying to scare? Even if you self-destruct the Divine Dao core, we still have a way to quickly gather a new one and take control of this place before others arrive. The powerful figure carrying the giant axe beside Tuoming snorted coldly.
His tone was firm, but it was deliberately tough; he didn't want to be intimidated by Long Chen.
Long Chen sneered, "I told you, don't brag. Everyone's own strengths and weaknesses, each of us is our own heart."We all know that if you were really that strong, you wouldn't be so eager to attack us.
How about this: let's make a bet. If you win, how about we obediently hand over the core hands of the Divine Dao? "