The battle in the valley was fierce.
"Half-step Martial Sovereign, if you fall here, wouldn't that be a waste?"
A sigh suddenly echoed. "Joining my Tianyuan is the wisest choice you could make."
As the voice faded, a silver-haired elder appeared.
Everyone inside the stone cave stepped out.
Yang Cheng recognized the silver-haired elder at a glance.
In his past life's future, this man was the Imperial Academy's Sacrificial Wine under the Heaven's Mandate Emperor, and a True God powerhouse.
Even now, he wasn't weak—his aura clearly belonged to a Martial Sovereign.
"You really think you've got me cornered?"
Cheng Junyi smiled.
At those words, the silver-haired elder's heart skipped a beat.
Thud, thud, thud!
The sound of hooves rang out.
A young man in black armor, riding a black horse like a streak of black lightning, burst into the valley.
"Whoa!"
He pulled on the reins. The horse reared almost straight up before slamming its hooves down and halting in place.
Once the horse steadied, the young man in black armor smiled. "Looks like I've been waiting for you after all."
"What?"
The silver-haired elder's eyes widened in shock.
From this youth, he felt a threat even greater than Cheng Junyi's.
"Marquis Champion!"
Yang Xiu blurted out in surprise.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…
Almost at the same time, figures appeared from all around the forest.
They were none other than the elite troops under the Marquis Champion's command.
Every one of them held a Divine Crossbow, aimed straight at the Tianyuan crowd.
"Kill Yang Cheng at all costs!"
Yang Xiu's voice was sharp.
He reacted instantly—right now, his only chance to turn things around was to kill Yang Cheng.
If Yang Cheng died, he would be the most gifted prince of Great Zhou.
At that point, even if he committed a grave crime, the royal family would still protect him.
Elder Sun reacted first, turning to pounce at Yang Cheng.
Yang Cheng didn't flinch—he grinned right at him.
Elder Sun's fury spiked. To him, Yang Cheng's look was naked provocation.
"Die!"
His strike was vicious.
Yang Cheng's body flickered, and he slipped behind Jin Yanyu.
There was already a rift between Jin Yanyu and Yang Xiu, so why not make it bigger?
For a moment, she didn't react.
She hadn't expected Yang Cheng to hide behind her.
Gu Wentian reacted faster, intercepting Elder Sun's attack.
He was no match for Elder Sun and was sent flying again.
But Yang Cheng and Jin Yanyu remained unharmed.
Now both Jin Yanyu and Gu Wentian stood in front of Yang Cheng, glaring coldly at Elder Sun.
In truth, both of them were bewildered. How had things ended up like this?
They were the ones who had captured Yang Cheng—so how did they suddenly become his protectors?
Yang Xiu was livid. "You dare betray me?"
Jin Yanyu's lips moved as if to explain, but she realized it was pointless.
Even if she had never intended to betray Yang Xiu, her actions now amounted to it.
She hadn't expected Yang Cheng to hide behind her, and she had instinctively chosen to protect him.
"Your Highness, why did you hide behind me?" she asked via sound transmission.
"Of course, so you could protect me."
Yang Cheng replied matter-of-factly, "You're the one who brought me here. Shouldn't you keep me safe?"
Jin Yanyu was at a loss for words, and unexpectedly, a faint warmth rose in her heart.
She had never met the Heavenly Venerable before, but for her family's mission, she had helped capture the Crown Prince of Great Zhou.
The Heavenly Venerable, on the other hand, had shown her no gratitude at all, refusing even her smallest requests.
Yang Cheng had once saved her, yet she, with a heart like a snake and scorpion, repaid kindness with betrayal by capturing him. And still, Yang Cheng chose to stand behind her.
The contrast between Yang Xiu and Yang Cheng couldn't have been clearer.
Yang Cheng didn't know what Jin Yanyu was thinking.
If he did, he would only say she was overthinking it.
He had never trusted Jin Yanyu at all—hiding behind her was purely to drive a wedge between her and Yang Xiu.
As for safety, with Shrinking the Earth to an Inch and a Space Teleportation Talisman in hand, he had never been worried.
"Kill them all together!"
Yang Xiu's hatred for Jin Yanyu deepened.
A cheap woman like her deserved to die alongside Yang Cheng.
He even thought his future self must have been blinded by pig oil to make this kind of woman a Noble Consort.
Unfortunately for him, the Tianyuan experts were already stretched thin.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—
The sharp sound of arrows tearing through the air rang out.
Yun Jinghuai's troops had drawn and released their Divine Crossbows.
A storm of bolts poured toward the Tianyuan masters.
Eighteen-Star Divine Crossbows were hard to make—so far, only 50 had been forged.
Because the number was too few, the Divine Machinery Battalion supplemented their force with 200 Nine-Star Divine Crossbows and 800 Five-Star Divine Crossbows.
Even so, the power was terrifying.
An Eighteen-Star Divine Crossbow could threaten a Martial Saint.
The Nine-Star and Five-Star models could threaten Martial Emperors and Martial Kings.
The Tianyuan masters were strong, but facing such overwhelming firepower, they suffered miserably.
The Martial Sovereign-level silver-haired elder still wanted to break the stalemate, but Yun Jinghuai was already charging straight at him.
In no time, Yun Jinghuai's terrifying strength showed itself.
Even though they were both Martial Sovereigns, the silver-haired elder was crushed instantly.
"At this point, there's only one way…"
A vicious glint flashed in the silver-haired elder's eyes.
At this rate, their entire force would be wiped out.
In the next moment, he sliced a finger across the space between his brows.
A crack opened, and a single drop of black blood flew out.
"What's that?"
Many people felt a chill in their hearts—the drop radiated a terrifying pressure.
"Dragon blood—it's dragon blood!"
"God-tier dragon blood!"
Gasps turned into fear.
"Hahaha! This is the Nether Dragon Blood of Tianyuan—die!"
The silver-haired elder laughed wildly.
He had planned to use this blood to lure and control the Heavenly Venerable.
Now, to save himself, he had to use it early.
The Nether Dragon Blood's terrifying energy surged into him, and his aura spiked to the peak of Martial Sovereign, nearing demi-god level.
"Kill him!"
With a furious roar, the silver-haired elder turned the Nether Dragon Blood into a black dragon that lunged at Yun Jinghuai.
In an instant, the tide seemed to turn—Yun Jinghuai was driven back step after step.
Just then, a seemingly ordinary yellow stallion pulled a golden dragon chariot into view at the mouth of the valley.
The black dragon's body froze in midair.
"Don't stop—kill him!"
The silver-haired elder shouted.
The black dragon thrashed violently.
The yellow stallion seemed displeased and opened its mouth to inhale toward it.
Faintly, one could sense a massive golden dragon coiled within the stallion's body.
It was the dragon soul of Lao Huang.
Yang Cheng knew the Tianyuan experts too well—of course he knew they possessed Nether Dragon Blood.
And Lao Huang, with his divine dragon soul, was its perfect counter.
Sensing danger, the black dragon struggled even harder.
This made it slightly harder for Lao Huang to pull it in.
Then the golden dragon chariot behind him began to hum, amplifying his dragon might.
The chariot itself was forged from dragon bones.
The black dragon could no longer resist—it was sucked to Lao Huang's mouth, its body exploding apart and reverting into a single drop of black dragon blood.
Lao Huang swallowed it in one gulp.
Boom!
His aura surged instantly.
"Pu!"
The silver-haired elder spat blood.
Yun Jinghuai seized the chance—his spear pierced straight through the elder's body.