Chapter 677: Once the Red Sun Rises, Still Equal to Heaven

Chapter 677: When the Red Sun Rises, It Still Stands Level with Heaven

The moment Zhao Changhe dodged, his mind was already communicating with Longque: "Little brat, how's your recovery?"

Longque: "Still a bit off..."

"Damn, you're useless at everything but showing off!"

Longque fumed: "You think Xinghe, that nobody, can do any better?"

Xinghe: "..."

Zhao Changhe had no time to bicker with Longque, for the wind blades were already sweeping toward Wuzhui.

A man could dodge, but how agile was a horse? Feng Yin had shown particular interest in the horse during their exchange, clearly planning to strike the rider by targeting the mount.

Zhao Changhe instantly condensed a protective barrier of qi to shield Wuzhui from the attack, while simultaneously abandoning the horse and diving straight downward.

Wuzhui, without any hesitation, changed direction and bolted away, looking utterly heartless. Feng Yin couldn't help but laugh from behind: "It seems you care for the horse, but the horse doesn't seem to care much for you."

Zhao Changhe ignored him. What did that old zombie know? Wasn't this far more reliable than some melodramatic heroine? Did he expect them to act out a scene of "I won't leave, we die together"? Even a horse had more sense.

Before Feng Yin could close in, Zhao Changhe accelerated his descent and plunged into the sea below with a splash.

Even Feng Yin was taken aback; he hadn't noticed that in their constant chase, they had reached the Eastern Sea.

Earlier, Wuzhui had seemed to fly south to avoid the northern battlefront, but in truth, the south was the Cao Gang's territory and unsuitable as a battlefield, lest it harm their own people. When Zhao Changhe guessed Feng Yin was a wind cultivator, he immediately directed Wuzhui eastward.

The sea was where wind could best display its power, but the seabed was the opposite—windless.

Once underwater, Feng Yin's abilities would inevitably suffer some hindrance.

Watching Zhao Changhe dive swiftly, sinking dozens of zhang in an instant, Feng Yin couldn't help but feel a grudging admiration. Fame was no accident; Zhao Changhe's combat instincts were indeed remarkable. He didn't seem like a young man who had only been active for two years—more like a veteran who had fought his whole life.

Yet Feng Yin plunged in without hesitation.

The seabed might hinder him, but could Zhao Changhe avoid it entirely? From his earlier battle with Huang Yang, he showed no affinity with water. Killing the Sea King didn't mean he was strong in water—that was a different matter.

Logically, the environment should affect Zhao Changhe more severely. If being underwater could render his wind useless, what kind of imperial realm would that be?

So Zhao Changhe was walking into a trap.

Feng Yin entered the water, showing no sign of resistance from the water's pressure. He moved like a dragon, diving faster than before and quickly closing in on Zhao Changhe.

Zhao Changhe suddenly swung his blade backward, a crescent-shaped blade light cutting through the waves straight at Feng Yin's face.

Feng Yin waved his hand, and the blade light veered off course, twisted by a strange force like a passing breeze.

There was no wind underwater, but his every gesture created wind. Wind wasn't just a form; its essence was his dominion.

Zhao Changhe inwardly raised an eyebrow, finding this interesting. Compared to Huang Yang, Feng Yin's nature was more "subtle," reminding him of the thief Ye Wuzong. Perhaps Ye Wuzong had inherited some of this man's techniques.

With this clash, the seawater between them began to bubble violently from the collision of their energies—a common sight.

Zhao Changhe narrowed his eyes and held his broad blade upright like a shield.

The seemingly harmless bubbles surged forward, crashing against the blade in a series of terrifying explosions.

"Impressive, truly impressive. Keen senses indeed." Amid the explosions came Feng Yin's laughter, and a withered, corpse-like hand, just like Huang Yang's, had somehow reached Zhao Changhe's back, pressing lightly toward his heart.

Zhao Changhe twisted slightly, trying to trap the strike under his arm, but Feng Yin wouldn't allow it. The hand twisted and turned like a clinging curse, still pressing toward his heart, impossible to shake off.

Meanwhile, the explosions grew more intense as bubbles multiplied, spreading to his sides. Longque could no longer block them.

It seemed Zhao Changhe's decision to lure him into the sea was digging his own grave, as if he had entered his enemy's domain. Instead, Zhao Changhe himself, hindered by the underwater environment, found even dodging difficult.

Worse still, both Longque and Xinghe, though still powerful, couldn't unleash the massive attacks they had used against Huang Yang earlier—their cooldowns weren't ready. He couldn't rely on their divine power.

How could he fight this?

"Slap!" Finally, Zhao Changhe, overwhelmed by the explosions, failed to dodge Feng Yin's hand. It plunged solidly into his ribs. Zhao Changhe spat a mouthful of blood, staining the seawater red.

Feng Yin was about to smile, but Zhao Changhe, seizing the moment while the hand was still lodged in his ribs, grabbed the wrist with lightning speed, dropped Longque, and spun around to throw a punch.

Feng Yin's smile froze, his face changing drastically.

At this moment, Zhao Changhe showed none of the earlier desperation or the limitations of being underwater. This punch was overwhelming, domineering, combining the trajectory and nature of seawater with his own power. Its force was more than double what he could muster on land!

It was the essence of both the Black Tortoise Fist and the Heaven-Slapping Sea-Calming Palm—the two most ferocious fist and palm techniques tied for second in the world, both tied to water. In the sea, this punch was no different from Xia Longyuan's "My Fist" on land!

At such close range, with his hand caught, Feng Yin couldn't fully evade even with his superior agility. He only managed to avoid the punch's strongest point, but the force still struck his ribs.

Feng Yin tried to absorb the impact, barely avoiding a crippling blow, but still spat blood, his heart trembling.

Now both had identical injuries, and Zhao Changhe had achieved this without relying on divine weapons!

"Courtesy demands reciprocity..." Zhao Changhe's eyes were bloodshot, his grin savage. "Now... this is my home ground!"

As he spoke, the blood he had spat into the sea, the blood flowing from his ribs, Feng Yin's blood, the shattered sea life from the explosions—all the killing intent and bloodlust turned the entire environment into a crimson ocean, a hell of slaughter.

When the sea was dyed red with blood, blood and slaughter were everywhere.

Blood filled the mountains and rivers; hell was here!

No blade was needed. Zhao Changhe's understanding and control of blood and slaughter were nearly at the imperial level!

Now it was Feng Yin who endured the relentless explosions.

While Feng Yin was bombarded, Xinghe, which had been lying low, rose silently from the seabed sand and stabbed into the sole of his foot. Zhao Changhe gripped Longque with both hands and brought it down like splitting a mountain.

Feng Yin, ignoring the assault of blood and slaughter, forced himself to shake off Zhao Changhe's blade and fled.

He felt he still had many powerful moves unused, yet he had inexplicably lost like this. On the surface, it would never have happened. He had thought Zhao Changhe was walking into a trap, but now he realized that from the moment he chose to dive, Zhao Changhe had planned every step of the battle.

"Splash!" Feng Yin burst out of the sea, flying toward the distant horizon.

As long as he stayed on the surface, Zhao Changhe wouldn't dare pursue!

Just as he thought this, a warhorse neighed behind him. Wuzhui had returned from somewhere. At the same time, Zhao Changhe leaped out of the sea, mounted Wuzhui, and pointed his whip: "Chase!"

You actually dare to chase?

Feng Yin almost turned back to fight, but when he glanced over, he saw Zhao Changhe's wound at his ribs was eerily healing. In just that short time, only a tear in his clothes remained; his abdominal muscles were pristine, with no sign of injury.

Feng Yin looked down at his own wound, feeling as if he were in a dream. Who was the demon here? How could he still fight?

"Chase!" Zhao Changhe spurred his horse, drew his bow, and aimed at Feng Yin.

Feng Yin, terrified, began weaving in an S-pattern to evade.

"Whoosh!" Zhao Changhe couldn't resist and fired another wasteful arrow.

Longque fumed: "You'll miss anyway, why waste it?"

"...I just couldn't help wanting to complete a B-shape for him."

Longque: "?"

Zhao Changhe's voice turned into a mental transmission: "My external wound is healed, but internally I'm wrecked. I'm just bluffing. Don't let him realize it and turn back, or you'll have a new master..."

Longque's blade obediently glowed with a blood-red light, as if signaling that its big move was ready.

The sun rose from the distant horizon, the sea and sky brightening, sun and moon shining together. Xinghe sparkled as if in resonance.

Feng Yin turned his head, saw this, and was terrified out of his wits. Ignoring his worsening injury, he unleashed all his potential and vanished in an instant.

"Pfft..." Zhao Changhe spat another mouthful of blood and lay motionless on Wuzhui.

Even the blood spray seemed like laughter.

The blind man was silent for a moment, then suddenly said, "Want a hand?"

Zhao Changhe said weakly, "How?"

"Beg me."

"Cut it out. If you're offering to help, it's because you think it's something that should be done."

The blind man continued to be silent; after a moment, golden light flashed across the sky.

This time, the format of the Chaos Chronicle was different from before:

"In the twelfth month, Zhao Changhe defeated Huangyang at Tancheng, trapped Fengyin in the East Sea, drove off gods and demons, his divine might unmatched, no less than the Xia Emperor."

"Huangyang and Fengyin are ancient demon gods."

"Gods and demons descend upon the world; events change and preparations vary. The Heaven, Earth, and Human rankings will be rearranged on a chosen day."

"Once the red sun rises, it will still be as high as the sky."