Chapter 657: Chance of Survival (Two-in-One)

"What is that thing?!"

Seeing the dust kicking up below, Ning An's expression changed, and he hurriedly steered the Bone Bird to gain altitude.

But it was already too late.

The seemingly slow-moving dust was actually unimaginably fast, forming a giant mushroom cloud that instantly engulfed the Bone Bird.

"Ugh—"

Unable to dodge in time, Ning An swallowed a mouthful of sand and was nearly thrown off by the blast.

"Ning An—mmph—"

Behind him, Zheng Youlan was in a much more miserable state. Already unsuited for combat, she tumbled straight off the Bone Bird. She tried to call for help but only choked on the sand. Fortunately, she managed to grab a tail bone at the last second, keeping herself from falling into the dust storm.

Several times in the chaos, she tried to use the weird energy of a Divine Envoy to levitate, but she couldn't control her body at all.

This didn't feel like the aftershock of a battle; it felt like a natural disaster.

Even a Divine Envoy couldn't escape unscathed. The sheer power their opponent displayed filled Zheng Youlan's eyes with terror.

She couldn't even imagine the state of Yin Tianhuang, who was right at the center of this bombardment.

Her instincts were correct.

Yin Tianhuang was dead.

His body had been pulverized into mush. His bones were shattered into slag, and his head, feet, and stomach were smashed together like a crushed can.

This was a strike from an expert at the Demigod Realm—someone who, even at the Ninth Tier, possessed unrivaled physical strength beneath the Demigod Realm, and who had now fully ascended to it. It was a strike fueled by a unique-quality ultimate strength enhancement potion, and on top of that, Yan Jing had used his full power.

So Yin Tianhuang died.

It only seemed logical.

Except he came back to life.

One of the three red Crystal Stones on the giant beast's shoulder flashed. Bathed in its light, he obtained a new life.

This was an ability he had devoured from a heavenly prodigy, which granted him a single rebirth.

Countless times in the past, that heavenly prodigy had relied on this ability to escape certain death and even turn the tables in desperate situations.

After learning about it, Yin Tianhuang had set his sights on the ability. After numerous twists and turns, he finally devoured the prodigy, fulfilling this long-held desire.

However, since acquiring it, he hadn't found a single opportunity to use it.

He never expected to be forced to use it here today.

The instant he was reborn, he fled into the distance with everything he had.

The final image of being smashed into the ground by his opponent's power still echoed in his mind, making his heart pound violently.

This was absolutely not a problem that having an extra life could solve.

Fleeing immediately was his only way out.

At this moment, any thoughts wondering how Yan Jing—a piece of rural trash he had once looked down upon—could possess such power had long been thrown to the back of his mind.

In the face of an absolute gap in strength, shame, anger, and indignation meant nothing. The only thing left in his heart was terror.

He fully ignited the weird energy within him, tearing open spatial rifts in midair. Shuttling between the Space Rifts, his figure darted like a ghost, crossing dozens of li in an instant.

Hovering in midair, Yan Jing watched this scene, the corners of his mouth curving slightly upward.

He didn't choose to give chase. Instead, he turned his head and looked toward a specific spot in the air.

There, a small bone fragment hung suspended.

On the back of the bird, Ning An and Zheng Youlan had just steadied themselves. Still reeling from the shock, they looked at Yan Jing's smile in the Bone Mirror, and every hair on their bodies stood on end.

"Hurry, go!!!"

Ning An immediately commanded the Bone Bird beneath them.

But it was too late.

A soft voice rang out right beside them.

"Where are you two off to?"

Ning An and Zheng Youlan's expressions froze. Eyes wide, they stared at Yan Jing as if looking at a ghost, feeling as though they had been plunged into the Glacial.

How could he be so fast?!

The distance between them had been at least several li just a moment ago.

Yet he had merely turned his head, and now he was standing right in front of them.

Yan Jing, however, wore a smile.

"You two are also from the Central Region, aren't you?"

"Attack!"

Zheng Youlan roared, and in an instant, both of them unleashed their trump cards.

But...

The next second, their breathing stopped.

Something terrifying descended.

A massive force plummeted from the sky with unstoppable might, completely wrapping the two of them in its palm.

"Hah—"

Zheng Youlan and Ning An felt that they could no longer move.

It wasn't that they couldn't, but that they didn't dare to.

Under such a massive disparity in power, if they resisted any further, they would die in the very next second.

But even though they offered no resistance, that power pressed down onto their bodies an instant later.

"Gah!"

"Gah!"

It was like juice bursting out of overripe watermelons.

Red blood sprayed frantically from their mouths, and their bodies instantly shriveled up.

Ning An subconsciously opened his mouth, gasping for air, but he only managed to suck blood back into his windpipe.

Almost all the blood vessels inside him had ruptured. From his limbs to his head, to his internal organs—blood spurted wildly from everywhere.

He stared at the man across from him in horror, unable to utter a single word.

It was an all-encompassing crushing force, as if countless fists had struck his body simultaneously.

The terrifying power battered him until his entire body split open.

He turned his head and looked at Zheng Youlan beside him.

By comparison, she looked even more miserable.

Her skin had completely burst, and grotesque tumors were growing wildly, forming lumps of blood and meat wrapped in veins at her gashes.

"Urgh—hurgh—blegh—"

She vomited with all her might, as if trying to expel every last drop of blood from her body.

"Sister Lan!"

Ning An used all his strength to call out her name, terrified that she wouldn't survive.

In truth, his own condition was no better. His body trembled like a leaf. If his opponent threw even one more punch, he would be one step away from death.

"Stop! Stop! We surrender!"

Ning An reached out a hand, making his final choice.

"We surrender! We'll tell you whatever you want to know! We'll do whatever you ask! The locations of everyone who came this time, their abilities, the factions behind them—I'll tell you everything!"

He shouted this with a desperate, all-or-nothing mindset. He never expected that after those words, the power suspended in the air would actually vanish.

"I quite like those terms."

Yan Jing smiled faintly.

Seeing that Yan Jing truly had no intention of attacking anymore, Ning An hurriedly rushed over to Zheng Youlan.

"Sister Lan, Sister Lan..."

Weird energy surged around him as he tried to heal her, but his own body was already riddled with holes. The surge of weird energy only made him look like a leaky bucket, with blood dripping from his wounds.

"It's all my fault... It's all my fault..."

Ning An watched Zheng Youlan, who was now exhaling more than she was inhaling, as tears poured uncontrollably from his eyes.

If it weren't for him, Zheng Youlan would still have an Advanced Healing Potion on hand and wouldn't be on the verge of death like this.

But things had already reached this point.

Left with no other options, he could only pin his final hopes on Yan Jing.

"That will cost extra."

Faced with Ning An's begging, Yan Jing's expression remained calm.

"What else of value do you have on you?"

"I... I..."

Ning An anxiously looked left and right, but he couldn't find a single thing.

He did have valuable items on him, but why would this man care for them?

Compared to his opponent's strength, the items he cherished were practically garbage.

"..."

Yan Jing raised an eyebrow.

"It seems you have nothing."

"No, no, no, I do, I... I..."

Ning An's heart skipped a beat as he suddenly remembered something he could actually offer.

"I'll give you this!"

Saying this, Ning An yanked a pendant from his neck.

The pendant looked like a piece of white bone, crystal clear and faintly glowing with white light.

Yan Jing looked at the white bone and blinked.

"What is this?"

"It's my family's heritage item. As long as you smear my blood on it, it will attract the gaze of the Deity of the corpse path. If you earn their approval, you can obtain a Divine Throne."

Ning An swallowed hard.

"This is the most valuable thing I have."

His heart pounded with immense anxiety after speaking. He had already explained how to use it. If the man went back on his word and simply took it by force, Ning An would have no way to stop him.

But...

"Acceptable."

Yan Jing's nonchalant voice rang out.

Joy bloomed in Ning An's heart.

He looked at Zheng Youlan, whose eyes were shut tight, and hurriedly said:

"Quick, please hurry, she's not going to make it!"

His mind was in absolute turmoil; he would have blindly believed anything he was told right now. Yet, when he heard Yan Jing say 'done', he still froze in disbelief.

Done?

What did he mean, done?

Before Ning An could even process it, he saw a pale hand lift away. Looking down, he found Zheng Youlan sitting unharmed in his arms.

What in the world had just happened?

He was the first of the Ten Halls of Yama in the Underworld, a well-deserved heavenly prodigy of the Central Region, a true Divine Envoy.

Yet at this moment, his mind was filled with question marks.

He couldn't even comprehend what had just taken place!

How the man had arrived, he didn't know.

How to block the man's attacks, he didn't know.

And now, he didn't even know how the man had managed to heal the person in his arms.

The gap between them was simply far, far too massive.

So massive that he couldn't even grasp the facts playing out before his eyes.

It was like the difference between a Deity and a mortal.

Was this man... a Deity?

Ning An stared at Yan Jing in disbelief as this utterly absurd thought surfaced in his mind.

But Yan Jing extended his hand, yanking him back to reality.

"Hand it over."

"Oh, right."

Realizing that Yan Jing was asking for his pendant, Ning An hastily took it off and handed it over.

Yan Jing nodded in satisfaction. Then he pulled out a small vial, placed it against Ning An's skin, and collected a single drop of blood.

"I can use this whenever I want."

Yan Jing smiled.

Looking at Yan Jing's expression, the sense of dissonance in Ning An's heart grew even stronger.

Looking at him like this, the man was far too different from the Deities of his imagination.

"What are you two looking at?"

Yan Jing asked softly.

"Since the first thing you promised is complete, let's move on to the second."

"Lead the way."

...

...

In less than an hour.

No, to be exact, thirty-seven minutes.

Yan Jing had completely swept up all the heavenly prodigies from the Central Region.

Following beside him, Ning An and Zheng Youlan grew more horrified the more they watched.

No matter the opponent's background, their Pathway, or their Ritual.

Yan Jing simply reached out and delivered a single slap.

There wasn't even... a single fluctuation of weird energy.

It was pure physical domination.

It made their hearts twitch in dread.

Furthermore, Yan Jing held back his strength every time. He left each of them with a single breath of life and tossed them into a remarkably familiar Screen behind him, though the two didn't know exactly what it was used for.

"Did you say there were thirty-four in total?"

Yan Jing counted the people he had captured.

Thirty-three.

"Alright, that means there's only one left..."

Yan Jing stated.

"It's Yin Tianhuang," Ning An reminded him.

"The one who escaped earlier."

Yan Jing nodded.

"It's time to go back and find him."

Go back?

Go back where?

Ning An and Zheng Youlan exchanged a glance, both seeing the shock in each other's eyes.

Based on what they knew of Yin Tianhuang, the man had surely long since fled back to the Central Region. He might even be preparing to ask the Demigod Realm experts backing him to intervene.

Yan Jing wasn't planning on fighting his way right into the Central Region, was he?

Both of their hearts skipped a beat simultaneously.

But Yan Jing didn't explain further; he simply started walking forward. Left with no other choice, the two could only trail behind him.

...

...

"What's going on..."

Yin Tianhuang muttered.

Staring at the familiar forest ahead, he halted his spatial shuttling, his face etched with suspicion.

He remembered passing through this exact forest earlier.

He glanced back and saw no sign of anyone pursuing him. After a moment of hesitation, he finally chose another direction and fled that way.

After several more jumps, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was no longer facing a forest, but a rocky plain.

He must have just lost his bearings from being too tense. He'd almost thought something was actually wrong.

Relaxing, he continued to shuttle forward.

Until... several jumps later.

He saw that same rocky plain again.

"What the hell?!"

Alarm bells blared in Yin Tianhuang's mind.

He hastily changed directions once more and continued to flee.

But... it was ultimately useless.

It was as if he were trapped. Every direction was a dead end.

The thought that he might still be under Yan Jing's control—that Yan Jing might even be watching him from somewhere right now—made his hair stand on end.

As a result, he moved faster and faster. He frantically churned the weird energy around him, desperate to get just a little bit further away.

Up in midair, Ning An and Zheng Youlan wore complex expressions as they watched Yin Tianhuang spinning around a small area below like a headless fly.

Whenever Yin Tianhuang was about to break out of that zone, he would act as if possessed, suddenly swerving and looping right back inside.

"..."

The two looked at Yan Jing, who was standing beside them with a calm expression, knowing that this was his doing once again.

Seeing them looking at him, Yan Jing chuckled.

"Why are you looking at me? Haven't I been standing right here with you two the whole time? He must just be making a fool of himself."

Just like that... they watched for a while longer. Yan Jing yawned, feeling a bit bored, and prepared to drop down and make his move.

But right at that moment, all three of them suddenly froze. In the distance...

An incredibly dense aura of death was creeping toward them.

The deathly aura was a pale gray. Wherever it spread, all vegetation withered away, the earth turned barren, and everything seemed to drain into a lifeless shade of gray.

Ning An and Zheng Youlan exchanged a knowing glance.

It was here.

Their chance of survival had arrived!