Chapter 784: Bloody Battle of the Eternal Blue Sky

Chapter 784: Bloodbath on the Eternal Sky

Not even the Eternal Sky God, let alone Ye Jiuyou, had initially believed that Zhao Changhe could so easily locate the entrance to a hidden realm that had been concealed for an entire epoch, nor that he could breach it so effortlessly.

Yet before their own divine axe, the barriers of space seemed nonexistent, as if a rift had been torn in the sky above the hidden world below.

When the group leaped inside, the Eternal Sky God stood dumbfounded in a wilderness, a look of astonishment on his face.

First, he was stunned that they had broken in so quickly; second, that they truly dared to come!

Could they not perceive the blessings this place bestowed upon him and the restrictions it imposed on them?

Zhao Changhe perceived it. The environment here was exceedingly peculiar.

Mists and clouds swirled around, the ground appearing to be a grassland, yet the mist blanketed the earth so thickly that the grass was nearly invisible, as if treading upon the vaporous haze of an old rendition of *Journey to the West*. Mountains loomed in the distance, likewise obscured and indistinct, appearing and disappearing.

Yet though the ground exuded an ethereal grace, the sky above crackled with thunder and lightning, countless bolts interweaving all around, striking at every person’s head at any moment. Simply coping with this environment demanded that everyone strain their power to the utmost for protection.

It somewhat resembled the Thunderbolt Path when they had obtained that page of the Heavenly Book at Kunlun, even the intensity being very close—an environment entirely formed by thunder. Back then, without resorting to trickery, it was impossible to pass; now, they could endure while bathed in thunder.

And at the spot where the Eternal Sky God stood, there were some peculiar arrangements around him... It seemed like mountains of treasure, jade, and gems, arranged into something akin to a spirit-gathering formation. One could clearly see energy converging toward him from the surroundings, and the thunderbolts from the sky falling upon him as if in baptism. Thus, the losses he had sustained outside were rapidly replenished, and he visibly returned to his peak state. The blood-god array’s orb was also there, forming part of the spirit-gathering formation, providing for the restoration of blood and qi, as well as tempering the nature of slaughter and attack.

Zhao Changhe realized that the swirling mists here were not actually mist; they were the manifestation of the grassland people’s faith in the Eternal Sky God over the entire epoch—all extremely dense, pure energy. This energy was one with the environment and one with the Eternal Sky God, yet they could not harness it; instead, it interfered with their ability to draw upon conventional heavenly and earthly forces.

Being within it felt like being at war with the world itself, rejected by this small realm. Every wisp of air, every spark of lightning attacked you, imposing an unbearable pressure at every moment, from body to spirit. And within this place, the Eternal Sky God’s every move and gesture was infused with the might of heaven and earth; here, he could almost be considered a pseudo-Triple Realm master of domains.

This was a true home ground—within this small range, the Eternal Sky God was the absolute sovereign.

In fact, the underground firmament beneath Xia Longyuan’s Imperial Ancestral Temple had possessed a similar nature—an independent, self-contained small world. If not for the loss of the mountain and river veins back then, Xia Longyuan could have used that underground firmament to make everyone present die without knowing how.

Likewise, this was the place the Eternal Sky God had boasted “even Xia Longyuan dared not come.” Outside, everyone could hold him back, but here, even a casual punch from him might be unblockable.

“Creating one’s own small world, becoming one with the world...” Zhao Changhe lifted his head slightly, gazing at the sky of this hidden realm, and murmured, “Is this the necessary path to the Triple Realm of Domain Mastery? Are you all trying, through such means, to experience the meaning of being the sovereign of the Heavenly Dao, to become the final link in the concept of ‘mastery’? Or is it merely that your ambition to replace the Heavenly Dao has led you to experiment in this direction?”

The Eternal Sky God snapped out of his astonishment, a hint of ferocity creeping into his eyes. “The Triple Realm of Domain Mastery is far too distant for you—no need to speculate idly here... Just like your reckless intrusion into this place... Do you now realize that even getting out will be difficult?”

The group indeed found that escaping was no easy task. The entrance they had just come through was blocked by endless thunder. If they tried to force their way out now, they would be hampered, and the Eternal Sky God could strike from behind, enough to cause them immense trouble.

There was no retreat—only a hard fight. But how could this hard fight be fought?

Given what they saw, it seemed impossible unless someone broke through to the Second Realm of Domain Mastery.

The Eternal Sky God finally raised his battle axe. “Since you’re here... then die!”

“Boom!” Thunder far more violent than before outside instantly crashed down upon everyone’s heads.

“Clang!” Longque suddenly left its sheath.

Strangely, it did not block the thunder. Instead, while Huangfu Qing, Yue Hongling, and the others formed a defensive formation, and Li Shentong and the Taiji Diagram assisted in defense, Zhao Changhe himself slashed a horizontal strike toward the void above the Eternal Sky God.

Thousands of miles away, Ye Jiuyou’s heart leaped, and she unconsciously clenched her delicate hands.

This slash appeared very slow, as if heavy seas pressed against it, forcing the blade to advance only with great effort. Layers of afterimages trailed behind the blade, countless scenes flickering within.

The people of the northern deserts rose amid freezing cold, herding cattle and sheep through the vast, misty clouds.

In awe of the sky’s vastness, the majesty of thunder, the bitter wind and snow, and the all-burying sandstorms, they knelt devoutly in the desert, offering cattle, sheep, wives, and daughters, praying for the protection of the Eternal Sky.

An ancient slumbering body opened its eyes within the hidden realm, gradually awakening.

Whether it was he who protected the people, or the grassland folk who gave him life, was unclear.

As for protecting the people—what protection was needed? They had always relied on themselves, rising and surviving on this land for millennia. Instead, the god descended, lashing the desert, enslaving the tribes, raising great projects, and building temples. Countless cattle and sheep, inexhaustible treasures.

All labored for his full revival, countless dying amid the storms and snows.

He grew ever stronger. The grassland’s curved sabers broke through the Western Regions, reaching Kunlun.

That was not enough.

Thus, decades ago, the mightiest grassland tribe shattered the great pass and swept down.

But they encountered the rising Xia Longyuan, who drove them back beyond the pass, locked in a stalemate to this day.

What had he brought to the grassland people? Only war and plunder, from beginning to end.

Moments ago, endless “divine punishment” blasted apart the defenses of the most devout temple guardians, shattering their hearts. All prayed for the Eternal Sky’s protection, but the Eternal Sky could not protect them. The eastern front collapsed; Bo’e fled in defeat; Huangfu Shaozong and Xue Canghai led their forces in slaughter for a thousand li, straight to the sacred mountain.

At this moment, on the western front, Ying Wu thrust into the rear of Tiemuer’s army; the Tuyu and Lieya tribes began to withdraw; Tiemuer’s entire army was in turmoil. Hundreds of thousands called out in their hearts for the Eternal Sky’s favor—no response.

The temple’s most promising new star, the fox demon Chilie, who was most likely to succeed the Great Shaman, was trapped in the army and took her own life—the Eternal Sky gave no response.

Corpses littered the ground; a sea of blood flooded over the desert. Wu Weiyang charged straight for the royal court; the Batu tribe slaughtered wildly—the Eternal Sky gave no response.

“Qi veins” had always been merely a trend, just as when a false emperor’s chaotic decree had once caused the Great Xia’s qi veins to vanish entirely, without waiting for full reflection in reality. The same applied here.

Such a trend in qi veins was strikingly similar to what Xia Longyuan had faced... Mountains and rivers lost, people’s hearts lost, the state no longer recognized the Xia ruler; now, across the entire grassland and desert, qi veins were lost, turmoil was dying, and faith in the Eternal Sky had plummeted to the depths.

Xia Longyuan could be stripped of control over the underground firmament—what about the Eternal Sky God?

Zhao Changhe, combining the qi-vein page of the Heavenly Book, had studied and trained from the art of observing qi to this day, and now unleashed the first truly ethereal and profound blade of this world: the Qi-Vein Severing Strike.

Seizing upon your turmoil, he severed your connection entirely.

The Eternal Sky God’s expression changed in horror. He did not even know how to stop this blade—it was a blade of nothingness, with no point of impact, targeting no physical entity. How could it be stopped?

The blade cut through the void, appearing to have no power at all. But everyone could see that the Eternal Sky God’s oneness with the small world suddenly vanished. The thunder ceased to be exclusive, the mists became shared by all—nothing here attacked or repelled them anymore; they could even benefit from it. The Eternal Sky God’s terrifying pseudo-Triple Realm ability visibly regressed, instantly dropping to about the same level as outside, and even further, plummeting all the way to the early Second Realm, teetering.

This was no longer the divine world the Eternal Sky God had obtained through the faith of the earth; it was merely an ordinary ring of the celestial realm, no different from any other hidden realm in the world.

“Boom!” The earlier thunder that had struck Huangfu Qing, Yue Hongling, and Li Shentong caused them all to spit blood, blasted apart and retreating far, several li away.

But that was all... The Eternal Sky God stood silent, knowing he could never strike with such power again.

Zhao Changhe’s mouth once again seeped blood. This slash seemed to have consumed all his essence, energy, and spirit, also aggravating his unhealed wounds. To buy time, he spoke: “Does Your Holiness find this scene familiar... You once mocked Xia Longyuan with such words—how is it that you are the same?”

“How can a martial artist who has trained for less than two and a half years grasp such ethereal power as qi veins?” The Eternal Sky God could not be bothered to discuss the differences between himself and Xia Longyuan, and instead asked, “Is it the Heavenly Book?”

Zhao Changhe secretly circulated the Return Spring Art, doing his best to regulate his breath, and said slowly, “It is the Heavenly Book.”

“But I did not sense you using the power of the Heavenly Book... This is your own ability.”

“I learned it from the Heavenly Book as well.”

In this brief exchange, both understood what the other meant.

The Eternal Sky God also possessed a page of the Heavenly Book—the Book of Truth and Illusion, which he had used earlier, only to be broken by Zhao Changhe’s eye behind his head. But he had achieved that by invoking the book’s power; he did not know the technique himself, perhaps because it was too obscure to master, or because he felt that having a treasure in hand made it unnecessary to waste time learning.

Zhao Changhe, on the contrary, did not use the Heavenly Book’s power—he could not use it, and even if he could, he might not want to. But he had learned it, and struck this blade with his own ability.

The power of the Heavenly Book would naturally be countered by someone who had merged with the book, but what about one’s own ability?

The Eternal Sky God nodded and sighed, “The younger generation is formidable.”

He did not dwell on the issue. Taking a deep breath, he glanced at Huangfu Qing and the others, who had been wounded and retreated several li, then swung his battle axe and said calmly, “Then let us fight.”

“Roar!” The axe brought a wild, howling gale, cleaving toward Zhao Changhe’s forehead. He was, after all, still a Second Realm Domain Mastery expert.

At this moment, the weakest person was Zhao Changhe himself—he had almost no combat strength left.

Yet Zhao Changhe did not dodge or evade. Instead, he raised his blade in a horizontal block, determined to clash head-on.

He could not retreat.

The others were retreating to dissipate the power of the earlier pseudo-Triple Realm thunder; if he retreated as well, the Eternal Sky God could simply slip away, hide somewhere, and all their efforts would be in vain. Now, this environment was actually perfect—a sealed small realm, with only the rift they had carved open. As long as they blocked it, there would be no escape above or below—Zhao Changhe had deliberately waited for the Eternal Sky God to return to his own hidden realm, making it his tomb.

All the groundwork that could be laid had been laid. This battle had been calculated in every aspect. To succeed, it all came down to their ultimate strength.

The Taiji Diagram on the ground still spun faintly, helping to dissipate power. How could they not dare to fight?

Just as Zhao Changhe braced himself to withstand the blow, Yue Hongling, who was staggering backward, suddenly burst forth with a dazzling radiance from her hand, a fierce sword light hurtling straight toward the brow of the Eternal Heavenly God.

A flying sword!

At the same time, within the Eternal Heavenly God’s still unsettled heart, emotions of chagrin, fury, and resentment kindled into a blaze of inner fire, raging fiercely within him.

The Vermilion Bird’s Heartfire!

Though the three appeared to exchange no words, their souls were fused in silent accord—they needed no communication.

The covert strike of the Vermilion Bird’s Heartfire tormented the Eternal Heavenly God immensely. Half a cup of tea earlier, he could have been entirely immune, but now he could not resist it. The heartfire blazed, churning his insides, and sparks of flame even leaped out through his skin. Meanwhile, the sword light that could bring down the sun was already at his face.

The Eternal Heavenly God desperately suppressed the erupting flames within him, his battle axe veering sharply mid-swing to deflect Yue Hongling’s sword light. The sword light solidified into a tangible form, circled around, and returned to Yue Hongling’s hand. She merged with her sword, body and blade as one, and charged again.

Seeing the Eternal Heavenly God pull back his axe, Zhao Changhe altered his defensive stance with the horizontal blade, slashing outward instead.

Heaven’s light was obscured, wind ceased, thunder vanished—the blade emerged from the realm of ghosts.

Hell itself!

“Clang!” The butt of the battle axe struck the side of the Dragon Sparrow Blade, deflecting the blow.

Zhao Changhe swallowed the blood rising to his throat. The Star River Sword had somehow appeared in his left hand, and he viciously thrust it toward the opponent’s lower abdomen.

Behind him, flames surged—the Vermilion Bird’s fiery spear had already reached the Eternal Heavenly God’s back.

Once again, it was a scene of Zhao Changhe’s family of three encircling their foe in a formation, with even Li Shengtong unable to wedge himself in.

“Your formation… lacks something after all,” the Eternal Heavenly God said calmly. “You speak of day and night, two polarities, yet there are three of you. You speak of four symbols converging, yet only three stand here. You speak of heaven, earth, and man, of sun, moon, and stars—yet the positions of heaven and sun belong to the strongest. But now, Zhao Changhe, you are extremely weak… My condition is troublesome, but is yours any different? Watch me break it!”

As he spoke, he swung his battle axe in a full circle, blocking the attacks of Yue Hongling and Huangfu Qing almost simultaneously, leaving only Zhao Changhe seemingly exposed. Yet at the same time, the spirit-gathering formation, which had appeared to be built from heaps of treasure, suddenly erupted with terrifying light.

He had hidden one more strike here! Reversing the spirit-gathering to release it, boundless power crashed down upon Zhao Changhe’s head. Yue Hongling and Huangfu Qing were startled and tried to join their formation to assist, but the battle axe precisely sealed the positions where their formation connected, severing them like the Milky Way.

Indeed, it was easy to break. A formation that seemed unified, once a flaw appeared, became isolated battles in the eyes of a strong opponent.

Zhao Changhe’s eyes showed neither sorrow nor joy. He no longer thrust the Star River Sword toward the Eternal Heavenly God’s ribs but suddenly tossed it upward, soaring into the sky.

The dome of the secret realm suddenly glittered with countless stars, as if a girl’s phantom spread her arms, and the waters of the Milky Way cascaded down like a river from the nine heavens, colliding head-on with the formation’s dazzling light.

The Eternal Heavenly God had forgotten… Zhao Changhe, aside from being forced to use the power of divine artifacts a few times when he first took over the remnants of the Han Empire, rarely employed them—but that didn’t mean he lacked divine artifacts.

The Star River Sword was a thoroughbred divine artifact, its rank indeed higher than that of the Dragon Sparrow.

The Eternal Heavenly God had the external force of his formation, but did the Star River Sword not have its own?

“Boom!” A violent collision erupted at the center of the battle, blasting everyone backward once more. Zhao Changhe’s Dragon Sparrow Blade was stained with blood… He had no strength left to swing it; the blade itself had taken the chance to extend and secretly slash a cut across the Eternal Heavenly God’s lower abdomen.

As if to prove that Zhao Changhe’s external aids were not limited to one.

The Eternal Heavenly God, who had broken the formation only to be wounded by a sneak attack, let out a pained roar. He fiercely shook off the Dragon Sparrow Blade and, amid the explosive roar, shot straight into the sky—toward the rift that the divine axe had earlier split open in the heavens… He was trying to flee in the chaos!

Again!

Suddenly, darkness loomed before him.

A figure like an iron tower blocked the rift.

“Get out of my way!” The Eternal Heavenly God swung his axe fiercely, slashing diagonally from upper right to lower left.

Based on his earlier combat understanding of Li Shengtong, the man was not one to endure blows with his body; his fighting style leaned toward defense… But no matter what technique you used, you had to pull back slightly first to neutralize the force. If he pulled back even a little, he would be out.

“Crack!” The sound of the battle axe striking flesh was hard to describe… neither metal, nor leather, nor wood.

Li Shengtong did not dodge.

Just over half an hour ago, he had been defending himself, saying, “I don’t rely on my body to take hits,” but now he did not evade. He truly used his body to meet the axe of an enemy at the second level of the Imperial Realm, stubbornly blocking the rift without moving.

The battle axe directly severed his left arm, lodging in his left chest bone. The sound of bone cracking could almost be heard, but… it seemed to stop just short, not splitting him in two.

A cruel smile spread across Li Shengtong’s ugly face. His right hand seized the axe handle: “If you weren’t trying to flee, you might not have been easy to kill. But the moment you thought of running, I had already foreseen this moment.”

The Eternal Heavenly God instinctively tried to wrench the axe away, but it was stuck in the bone and wouldn’t budge. Behind him, sword light and flames arrived together—Yue Hongling’s sword and Huangfu Qing’s spear pierced simultaneously into his back.

The Eternal Heavenly God urgently abandoned the axe and tried to dodge, but a Taiji pattern swirled around him, slowing his movements slightly.

The sword and spear plunged into his back.

With a furious roar, the Eternal Heavenly God shook himself violently.

Yue Hongling and Huangfu Qing spat out blood, their beautiful eyes resolute and unyielding. Even as the endless backlash churned through their meridians and blood, they bit down like mountains and refused to retreat a step.

Above their heads, the sound of a blade whistled.

Looking up, they saw Zhao Changhe, his eyes bloodshot and blazing, gripping his blade with both hands and slashing down fiercely. Behind him, the Milky Way still shimmered; above, the blood-red hue had become the sky.

Buddhas and immortals scattered!

“Boom!”

An earth-shattering explosion rang out. Zhao Changhe, his family of three, and even Li Shengtong could no longer withstand the force and were flung in all directions.

But at the very center of the explosion, a graceful figure suddenly appeared. Smiling, she pressed down on the Eternal Heavenly God, reached into his bosom, as if taking something.

The Eternal Heavenly God grabbed her wrist in turn, his voice squeezing out through gritted teeth: “You… don’t even think about it…”

“Since he’s about to die, what use is the Heavenly Scripture to him?” Ye Jiuyou said with a smile to the Blind Woman. “Do you think I should make him vanish without a trace, or grant him the honor of being a corpse puppet?”

The Blind Woman smiled faintly and did not respond.

She had long known that Ye Jiuyou had sent a clone in advance to lie in ambush, all to seize that page of the Heavenly Scripture, enduring in silence until now—so naturally, she would act.

But Ye Jiuyou seemed not to notice the change coming from the mortals.

Just before Ye Jiuyou appeared to seize the scripture, and at the moment when the Eternal Heavenly God raised his axe to strike Li Shengtong, the outer temple of the secret realm was bustling with activity. A large force of troops stormed the sacred mountain, and Xue Canghai’s voice boomed: “Eh? Why are all the people here dead? Did we come too late?”

Zhao Changhe’s voice came from within the secret realm: “Old Xue, catch!”

Xue Canghai was startled, and then saw Zhao Changhe, who had just been thrown back onto the treasure-piled spirit-gathering formation, use his blade to flick a blood-red orb upward. It flew past Li Shengtong and out of the temple.

Xue Canghai caught it, overjoyed: “The last orb of the formation disk!”

Without waiting for Zhao Changhe’s orders, he quickly pulled out the Blood God Formation Disk and embedded the orb into it.

A blood-red hue enveloped the entire sacred mountain. The violent baleful energy blasted the temple into ashes, leaving not even a speck of dust.

Xue Canghai: “…”

At that moment, Ye Jiuyou appeared to seize the scripture.

Zhao Changhe’s voice came just in time: “Aim the formation disk at the rift and activate it!”

Xue Canghai instinctively activated the formation disk.

The most powerful and savage blood baleful energy of the current era surged down toward the rift.

Zhao Changhe yanked the unconscious Li Shengtong aside, and the tidal wave of blood instantly engulfed Ye Jiuyou and the Eternal Heavenly God, locked in their struggle.

Ye Jiuyou’s main body, still in confrontation with the Blind Woman, parted her small lips slightly, her expression one of shock: “Was this… also within his plan?”

“Of course, he had no such plan. In the ever-changing chaos of battle, to make the most accurate choice amid all the variables—that is the combat instinct that has most impressed me about Zhao Changhe since he emerged on the scene. Such keenness surpasses both you and me.”