Long Chen threw a punch, neither hurried nor slow, neither fast nor slow. Starlight flickered on his fist, as if a sea of stars were attached to it. With a single punch, heaven and earth collapsed.
Before Long Chen's fist could reach Li Tianfan, the rumbling divine sound echoed through heaven and earth, as if the universe had exploded. At that moment, everyone finally understood why Long Chen could crush the Dragon Bone Zither with his bare hands. The force of this punch was almost equivalent to a full-force strike from the Human Emperor's divine weapon.
A terrifying killing intent instantly locked Li Tianfan in place. At that moment, he was horrified to find his body trembling uncontrollably. The threat of death enveloped him, making his body begin to lose control.
He knew that Long Chen had already made him fearful, his will suppressed. If this continued, he wouldn't even be able to use half his strength and would surely die at Long Chen's hands.
"Want to kill me?" That depends on whether you have the ability. Li
Tianfan shouted angrily, using his shout to boost his rage and bolster his courage. Amid his roar, the Destiny Wheel appeared behind him, and he smashed the three-foot-square, pitch-black chessboard at Long Chen.
"Boom!"
Long Chen slammed his fist onto the chessboard. With a loud explosion, imperial might surged, and the air currents shot out like sharp swords, creating countless large holes in space. Long Chen staggered back three steps, while Li Tianfan spat out blood, transforming into a rolling gourd that flew far away.
Li Tianfan propped himself up with one hand and stood up. Ignoring the blood on his chest, he laughed heartily:
"I see. The reason you can crush the Dragon Bone Zither is simply because the dragon blood power within you suppresses the spirit of the instrument.
Your dragon blood power can only counter the Dragon Bone Zither, but not my Ink Blood Chessboard. Not only can you control me, but you can't control anyone either. Today, you will still die! Li
Tianfan's voice echoed through the void. At that moment, Lu Fan and the others suddenly understood, and their fear of Long Chen greatly diminished.
"Whether you restrain or not doesn't matter. As long as you're the first to die, that's the case." Long Chen snorted coldly, took a step forward, and charged toward Li Tianfan like a bolt of lightning.
Li Tianfan shouted sharply, "Go ahead and kill with all your might. Leave Long Chen to me!" As
he spoke, Li Tianfan spat a mouthful of blood onto the Ink Blood chessboard. On the crisscrossing lines of the board, chess pieces appeared and slammed fiercely toward Long Chen.
Li Tianfan gritted his teeth and launched a fierce attack on Long Chen. In fact, this was a form of strategy. He was also afraid of Long Chen, but he knew that if he showed weakness, he might be killed by Long Chen within a few moves, and he wouldn't be able to hold out for reinforcements.
But when he said he handed Long Chen over to him and let everyone kill Bai Yingxue and the others without restraint, he was actually warning Long Chen to abandon him and go rescue them.
"Boom!" However,
his plan failed. Long Chen did not support Bai Yingxue and the others, but instead struck Li Tianfan's chessboard with a punch.
Previously, only the star pattern appeared on Long Chen's fist; now, his entire arm was covered in starlight. The force of this strike was several times stronger than the previous punch.
"Pfft" Li Tianfan's
whole body trembled violently, blood spraying wildly onto the Ink Blood chessboard. The ground beneath him suddenly collapsed, forming a massive pit stretching ten thousand miles.
This time, Long Chen's power was not forward, but downward. Lu Fan did not fly backward; all his power could not be leaked out, and it was all caught by him and the Ink Blood chessboard in his hands.
This was a true head-on fight, with no room for shortcuts. Li Tianfan felt as if his insides were about to burst, his body burning like flames. At that moment, he was filled with both shock and anger.
"Kill them quickly..." Li Tianfan roared. He knew he was no match for Long Chen, and once again drew Long Chen's attention.
At this moment, Lu Fan and the others had already rushed close to Bai Yingxue and the others. The tide formed by that group of demons was about to swallow them whole.
"Buzz!"
Long Chen still ignored Bai Yingxue and the others, raising his fist again. At this moment, half of Long Chen's body began to glow with starlight.
The moment Long Chen raised his fist, time and space froze, all paths came to a halt, and all sounds in the world ceased. At that moment, Li Tianfan's scalp tingled and a chill ran down his spine. In that moment, he felt as insignificant as an ant before Long Chen.
"Blood Sacrifice!"
Li Tianfan gritted his teeth, igniting all his essence blood and transforming into a torrent that surged into the Ink Blood chessboard. He also imitated Lu Fan and used his own lifespan to awaken the Human Emperor's divine weapon.
However, without the support of faith power, his strength was uncontrollable. After the blood sacrifice, his whole body shriveled away, like a dried corpse.
"Buzz!"
The Ink Blood Chessboard received Li Tianfan's blood sacrifice, awakening like a wild beast. Its aura surged violently, radiating the divine might of the imperial Dao.
"Today, it's either you die or I die." Li Tianfan roared, his eyes bloodshot, his whole body frenzied. He shoved the Ink Blood chessboard forward—this was his strongest strike.
"Boom!"
Long Chen slammed his fist onto the Ink Blood chessboard, and a deafening explosion rang out. Starlight and black energy surged, the earth exploded, the sky cracked, and the entire world was nearly shattered by Long Chen's punch.
Long Chen stood above the void, half his body shimmering with starlight. Through his clothes, half of his body seemed like a vast and mysterious universe, appearing vast and mysterious.
The earth's crust had completely deformed, countless divine stones exposed, and beneath the earth, a vein of ore was actually hidden, shattered out by the two strikes.
The hard ore had already turned to powder. A gust of wind blew by, sending dust flying, waking Li Tianfan, who had fallen into a semi-conscious state in the soil.
At this moment, Li Tianfan's hands had vanished, his whole body covered in cracks. Any slight touch would split open him, and his Ink Blood Chessboard abandoned him and escaped alone.
"Pfft"
At this moment, Li Tianfan was on the verge of death. He spat out a mouthful of blood. With such terrifying injuries, he could not survive; no one could save him.
"Heh heh ..."
Li Tianfan gritted his teeth, his face twisted as he glared at Long Chen. Knowing he was doomed, he was no longer afraid. Instead, he said with a sinister expression:
"So what if you kill me?" Having your partner accompany me in death, haha, worth it. Li
Tianfan was unwilling to accept this. He had never understood why Long Chen didn't go save Bai Yingxue and the others, but chose to fight him to the death. Could it be that his life was more important than Bai Yingxue and everyone else's?
"Bury with me?" No, you're overthinking it. They won't die with you. But don't worry about loneliness on the road. Soon, I'll send them all down to keep you company." Long Chen shook his head and said.
Li Tianfan chuckled. He didn't believe Long Chen's words, because he had already seen that the spear of the Dark Dragon Wushang had already reached Bai Yingxue's front.
"Thunder and Fire Break the Heavens"—
just as Li Tianfan was dying, wanting to witness the tragic fate of Bai Yingxue and the others, the cold shouts of the two girls echoed through the world.
With a loud explosion, as thunder and flames intertwined, Lu Fan, Minglong Wushang, and the others were sent flying in a sorry state by the terrifying force of the flames and thunder.