Just as the Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path fled in grievous wounds, transforming into a streak of white light, while Chongxuan Chuliang was intercepted by Yang Jiande—
Boom boom boom boom boom!
From the military formation led by Chongxuan Sheng alone, dense explosions rang out.
Jiang Chen transformed into a Flame Meteor, crossing the sky in an instant.
Leaving behind only a single sentence: "That being owes me an eternal vendetta!"
It served as explanation.
Under these circumstances, Chongxuan Sheng could not possibly leave the army on his own. Only Jiang Chen, as an advisor not bound by military rank, could move freely.
Regarding the great war between Yang and Qi, had it not involved Chongxuan Sheng's personal success or failure, he would not have had the slightest interest.
The killing of Shi Jing, the management of Qingyang, the assassination of Song Guang—Jiang Chen had already done more than enough. Now, with two armies facing each other, the role he could play was negligible, his impact minimal. And so, he would attend to his own business.
Enmity could only be settled with killing; hatred could only be cleansed with blood.
The scene of Maple City's annihilation, the journey spanning tens of thousands of miles... He had never forgotten!
"Chase Him! Chase Him!"
Jiang Yan inside the Celestial Palace clearly could not control his emotions. Or rather, he deliberately did not restrain his excitement, so that Jiang Chen would see clearly his urgency, and thus carefully weigh his desire.
At this moment, the Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path had failed to complete the refinement of the Sacred Bone Body, and had even been chopped to mince by Chongxuan Chuliang. Although He had barely recovered, this was His weakest moment.
In other words, if Jiang Yan wished to seize this body, this was the best opportunity. If Jiang Chen did not act on this behalf, he would certainly rebel.
"He cannot escape! Once I take this Sacred Bone Body and sever His connection to the Netherworld, from then on you and I together will be able to roam freely under heaven!"
The Nether Candle swayed ceaselessly within the Celestial Palace.
The Flame Meteor was a short-distance burst-type escape art, unsuitable for long-distance travel. Fortunately, the Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path could not flee too far either.
The entire State of Yang was contained within a great array's restrictions.
Before the blockade was broken, no one could directly escape beyond the national borders.
Even the Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path could only leave through the Bone Gates He had prepared beforehand.
This Jiang Yan knew very well, and had long since told Jiang Chen.
"As long as we catch up to the Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path and engage Him in battle, I am willing to directly command the Nether Candle and leave the Celestial Palace. Whether we succeed or fail, you need not bear responsibility."
"You are me, and I am you. Our shared liberation lies today, in this very attempt!"
Jiang Yan ceaselessly urged Jiang Chen on.
Jiang Chen also understood clearly why Jiang Yan was so desperate.
First, this was indeed a once-in-a-millennium opportunity. Second, after pushing open the Gate of Heaven and Earth, the Celestial Palace had essentially been opened. In other words, Jiang Chen now had considerable room and ideas to deal with Jiang Yan and the Nether Candle.
If not for his wariness of their unfathomable depths, he might have already acted.
Yet as Jiang Chen grew ever stronger, that day would come sooner or later. No powerful being would allow another consciousness to dwell within their body, especially in such an "unsafe" manner. Unless Jiang Yan could keep pace with Jiang Chen's growth, always maintaining the ability to threaten his soul.
Therefore, today was the best opportunity.
For Jiang Yan, such a body that even the Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path cherished was also a once-in-a-millennium vessel.
...
For the Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path, He had chosen a completely different escape direction from Lu Yan.
To deceive His other subordinates, He had in fact opened three Bone Gates as escape routes.
The one Lu Yan rushed to destroy was merely one of them.
There were two more Bone Gates leading to different locations. So as far as escape was concerned, He was not worried at all.
Only the losses were too great. After this battle, one could say He had lost both the wife and the soldiers.
Not only had the Sacred Bone Body been left incomplete, but the divine power He had brought when descending into the Dao Child's body had also been mostly spent.
It was not that He had been unaware of the movements between the States of Qi and Yang, but from His perspective, the machinations of mortals were not worth mentioning.
No matter what purpose the other side harbored, He only needed to completely seize the Dao Child's body and refine the Sacred Bone Body.
He had even been prepared to let both sides scheme, simply going with the flow—He was going to go with the flow and directly refine the Sacred Bone Body, then depart leisurely from between the two armies.
But Lu Yan's betrayal was unexpected.
Not only did Lu Yan betray, but He seemed to have guessed His intentions, understood His concealment, and launched the betrayal ten breaths ahead of time. This was the second surprise.
It successfully stopped Him at the final moment.
The third surprise was Chongxuan Chuliang.
Having not descended into the mortal world for several hundred years, and having only fought the State of Zhuang's Du Ruhui through the medium of imprints before, He had truly underestimated the strength of this martial-path powerhouse, Chongxuan Chuliang.
He had intended to fight while perfecting the Sacred Body, but He had not expected that Chongxuan Chuliang would erupt so powerfully in a single burst that He was left completely unable to fight back.
That blade... even for Him, it felt vicious.
To preserve this body, He had not hesitated to draw upon His true self from the Netherworld to strike from afar, expending immense effort to channel divine power. Even so, it was severed by Chongxuan Chuliang's Life-Shearing Blade.
Now, although He had escaped using the contingencies prepared during the battle, the flesh body that had been so painstakingly assembled still risked falling apart. Moreover, the pestilence qi so laboriously gathered had been slain, making the final step of the Sacred Bone Body nearly impossible to perfect. He could only plan for the long term.
What was more, though Chongxuan Chuliang's blade had already passed and the man had not given chase, the blade intent still remained within His body, clashing and entangling with every shred of flesh.
These things, however, could be endured.
"So weak, and yet He dares to chase after Me."
He thought indifferently.
Jiang Chen's full-power pursuit was naturally impossible for Him to ignore, even in His current state of weakness.
He harbored the thought of turning around and crushing this insect to death, but for some reason, from that tiny ant, He not only sensed "disgust," but also a faint trace of hidden threat.
This was truly laughable.
Yet the emotion of "laughability" held little meaning either.
But He could not take any more risks. This body was far too precious, even more so than the descent from several hundred years ago.
Moreover... awakening from the depths of the River of Oblivion was no easy feat.
Though He possessed a vast lifespan, even so, He could hardly endure an equally vast wait.
His thoughts drifted by like the waters of time.
The Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path simply "plucked" off His left hand and flung it to the left.
That hand swelled, flesh and blood intertwining, and in mid-air condensed into another Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path. Then, expressionless as well, it flew off at full speed.
He and His hand thus parted into two directions, each racing toward one of the two remaining Bone Gates.
The Flame Meteor swept down to this place, revealing Jiang Chen's form.
"Which way?" Jiang Chen asked.
He could not see through the illusion, so naturally he asked Jiang Yan, who knew the Bone Path better.
"This is not an illusion. This is the Bone Path's secret art—the Flesh Puppet Body," Jiang Yan said gravely from within the Celestial Palace. "We cannot catch up. Both are the true body. He can switch to either one at any time."
There was actually another option: for Jiang Yan to take command of the Nether Candle and leave to pursue both sides separately with Jiang Chen. But first, relying on the Nether Candle alone, he might not necessarily catch the Holy Sovereign of the Bone Path. Second, once he left, Jiang Chen might not continue the pursuit. Third, if the pursuit failed, Jiang Chen might not allow him to "return" to the Celestial Palace.
His own safety was of utmost importance.
So this option could only be set aside. For this, he was willing to give up this opportunity.
"Then go left!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Jiang Chen transformed into the Flame Meteor and gave chase to the left.
"I don't know what kind of secret art the Flesh Puppet Body is, but tearing off one's own arm can't be an easy thing to do, can it?"
"Even if we can only sever one of His arms, that will suffice—even if it is just a vessel for His possession!"