Chapter 698: Battle Against Heaven

“Xuanyuan? Ye Wushuang? Both are fine names!”

The figure muttered to himself as he walked to stand opposite Ye Wushuang. He had a tall, slender build and wore a profound-black robe with an open collar, revealing the curved lines of his muscles and giving him a statuesque, athletic appearance.

His silver hair cascaded over his shoulders like a weeping willow, resembling a waterfall from the Milky Way. A few strands would occasionally be stirred by an unseen wind.

Behind him, the phantom of an entire world took shape.

His eyes were fixed on Ye Wushuang, and they held nothing but indifference. Only indifference.

No, that wasn’t right. There was also a trace of fear.

This sliver of fear seemed to be innate, hidden so deep beneath his apathy that perhaps even he himself had not noticed it.

“You are Heaven!”

Ye Wushuang stared at the man before him. He emanated no aura whatsoever, yet he felt more solid and imposing than a great mountain, exuding a heavy, oppressive presence.

“You could say that. I am the Rule Spirit, born of the Grand Emperor Heavenly Dao. I am called Heaven, the master of all life in the Grand Emperor Heaven. Or, you could call me the Celestial Dao.”

The Celestial Dao spoke indifferently, his voice carrying an endless, noble majesty.

“The Celestial Dao!”

Ye Wushuang murmured the name, then said no more. He unleashed his Dragon Blood Saint Body, and the roar of a vast, ferocious Five-Clawed Golden Dragon echoed endlessly through the Star Universe.

“You wish to fight already?”

The Celestial Dao gazed at Ye Wushuang with indifference. “Aren’t you curious? You don’t want to ask me why I wish to destroy the world? Why I could have killed you at the Source of Darkness but let you in instead? Or why I have appeared here to converse with someone as insignificant as you? Are you not curious about the Emperor’s schemes, or the schemes of the Nine Heavens Domain?”

“Your life is mine.”

Hearing the Celestial Dao’s questions, Ye Wushuang shook his head, looked up, and uttered those four words. He drew his Ancient Battle Spear and charged forward. Myriad spear-shadows, wreathed in Holy Dao Slaughter, thrust through the void to kill.

“Although I have not yet recovered my Great Saint Cultivation, I am still an invincible existence among Saints. I am perfectly aware of what trump cards you possess. You cannot kill me. To attack now would be to make a fool of yourself.”

The Celestial Dao’s figure took a single step, retreating ten thousand miles in a flash. With a flick of one hand, two whole stars shot forward like beams of light, smashing toward Ye Wushuang and annihilating the myriad spear-shadows.

“God-Suppressing Stele!”

Ye Wushuang sketched in the air with one hand, endlessly producing runes. Nine Ancient Divine Steles descended in unison, causing the stars to explode in a brilliant flash of light as if the very heavens and earth were being destroyed.

The nine Ancient Divine Steles circled out and descended upon the Celestial Dao, possessing the power to suppress the Great Dao itself.

“Not bad. That’s a threat to me. This must be a Saint King Secret Technique. You received the inheritance of that individual. Very impressive!”

The Celestial Dao seemed to know of the man in green from the Saint-Ending Cloud Sea, and he also understood the power of the Saint King Secret Technique. He waved a hand, and the void hummed with the unbearably piercing sound of sharpened metal.

Stream after stream of Sword Qi materialized from the void, each one formed from the Great Dao. They crisscrossed the Star Universe, ringing out as if they were real swords as they slashed at the Ancient Divine Steles.

BOOM!

The Sword Qi was extinguished, the Divine Steles crumbled, and the endless Star Universe collapsed along with them!

The Celestial Dao had once again neutralized the attack. He said indifferently, “Ye Wushuang, I know all of your trump cards, yet you know nothing of my methods. Even if your Combat Power is immense and your techniques are heaven-defying, in my eyes, you are nothing but a tiny ant.”

“So what?”

Ye Wushuang retorted, unleashing his Golden Holy Feathers. With a thirty-fold speed boost, he activated the Seven Steps of the Reversed Dragon and gave chase as countless runes erupted from his body.

“So… you will submit to your execution!”

The Celestial Dao’s figure also moved. His speed was like teleportation, and he instantly appeared in front of Ye Wushuang, surpassing his speed!

Ye Wushuang moved quickly as well, his Golden Holy Feathers constantly lashing out to kill, but his attacks were dodged time and time again.

“Ye Wushuang, you possess the mysterious Divine Tomb, a Life Chart that all living beings envy, and heaven-defying Destiny! These are not things you can control. No matter how formidable you once were, you are not worthy of them now. Give them to me! I want Changsheng, I want eternal life, to become an Eternal Deity!”

The Celestial Dao spoke continuously as he moved. On his apathetic face, Ye Wushuang once again saw a hint of fanaticism and greed.

Changsheng, eternal life, eternity!

These were forbidden concepts, existing only in ancient records—illusory and insubstantial. Even a ruling Heaven would one day face the fading of its Rules. They could not attain Changsheng, could not achieve eternal life, and could not step into eternity!

Thus, the Celestial Dao yearned for it.

He was born from the Rules and understood the mysteries of heaven and earth. He knew that only ants pursued mere survival. For an existence like him, who already stood above survival, the true pursuit was eternal life!

After all, life has an end. Even a mighty Saint had a lifespan of merely ten thousand years and could not defy the erasure of time. No one wished to wither away in the river of ages.

Therefore, for experts at the Saint realm and above, the ultimate pursuit was the higher goal of eternal life!

The Celestial Dao was the same. He had grown greedy. He had achieved survival and gained control over the countless lives in the Grand Emperor Heaven, but he could not attain eternal life, which left him utterly unwilling to resign to his fate.

He had once suppressed these unrealistic thoughts, but upon learning of all that Ye Wushuang possessed—all the possibilities—the suppressed ideas resurfaced, festering in his mind and making him even more covetous.

“Ye Wushuang, give everything to me, and I can promise not to destroy the world or slaughter a single person in the Grand Emperor Heaven.”

The Celestial Dao was becoming fanatical. The indifference was fading from his face, bit by bit. The temptation of eternal life was simply too great.

“Fine! I’ll give it all to you!”

Ye Wushuang clapped his hands together, and a supreme Heaven-Reaching Sword Array erupted from his body. Nearly one hundred thousand Immortal Slaying Swords enveloped an area of one hundred thousand miles, all of them piercing downward to kill in unison!

PFFT!

PFFT!

It was too late for the Celestial Dao to dodge. He was annihilated by the myriad swords, his body blown apart in a spray of flesh and blood. That mass of flesh quickly writhed, shot out of the Heaven-Reaching Sword Array, and once again manifested the Celestial Dao’s figure!

“You actually managed to wound me!”

The Celestial Dao was enraged. He looked up at Ye Wushuang, his aura beginning to climb.

But before he could fully unleash it, a giant golden foot suddenly stomped down from high up in the Star Universe, directly crushing the Celestial Dao’s head. His mutilated body was sent flying tens of thousands of miles away.

“You dare to covet my things?!”

Ye Wushuang seized the opportunity to pursue him. The immense, baleful might of the one hundred thousand Immortal Slaying Swords hovered above his head before descending to envelop the area once more.

“Kid, kill this bastard! He actually discovered the Dragon Tomb! If you don’t kill him and word gets out, you’ll be in grave danger.”

The Dragon Cat shouted at Ye Wushuang, suddenly remembering something. It was extremely anxious!

But at that moment, the Celestial Dao’s head regenerated. A terrifying holy aura spread out, shaking the Star Universe and causing stars to explode!

The pressure of a Peak Saint caused the Heaven-Reaching Sword Array to tremble unstably!

“Ant! I sentence you to death!”

The Celestial Dao was truly furious now. The previous Celestial Dao had been without wants or desires, feeling neither joy nor anger. But the Celestial Dao of today had the seven passions and six desires. Having been cut down once and then stomped on by Ye Wushuang, how could he not be enraged?

He struck out with a palm full of rage, a blow containing the Heaven and Earth Path itself. It sent the Heaven-Reaching Sword Array flying back. Ye Wushuang’s body was also blasted away, his Dragon Blood Saint Body shattering the void upon impact.

The Celestial Dao had previously been a Great Saint, and now he only possessed the power of someone approaching a Peak Saint. However, this was still not something an ordinary Saint could contend with, to say nothing of Ye Wushuang, who was merely at the Yun Dao realm and not even considered a Saint!

“Ant! I will strip you of everything you have!”

The Celestial Dao roared as he gave chase, viciously striking down with the intent to completely obliterate Ye Wushuang!