Chapter 774: You Forced My Hand

“Go on, run.”

When Ghost Ruler Emperor heard Ye Xuan, he couldn’t help but laugh even louder, almost splitting his sides. “A mere First Layer Martial Emperor like you, where do you think you can run? You dare threaten me? Haha, this is perfect. If you die here in Jueyin Cave, it’ll save me the trouble of killing you myself.”

‘In Jueyin Cave, the stronger you are, the deeper you can go. For that kid to try and escape this way… what is he doing if not courting death?’

Ghost Ruler Emperor spoke with a sinister grin as he walked toward Ye Xuan.

“You…”

Ye Xuan gritted his teeth. With no other option, pushed by Ghost Ruler Emperor, he continued deeper into the Jueyin River.

The chill seeping into his body grew stronger with every step. The entire Jueyin River felt increasingly cold and terrifying, like a ferocious beast with its gaping, blood-red maw wide open—a forbidden zone of death.

Ye Xuan’s body began to sway.

‘That kid has already made it eight hundred meters deep. According to my information, the thousand-meter mark in the Jueyin River is the absolute limit for a Martial Emperor. No matter how strong they are, they can’t go beyond that. He’s about to hit his breaking point.’

Ghost Ruler Emperor watched with unhurried amusement as Ye Xuan struggled onward, following close behind. Although he too felt the extreme chill, he was a Nine Heavens Martial Emperor, after all. A cold of this degree wasn’t enough to stop him.

Finally, after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Ye Xuan reached the thousand-meter mark.

He could barely stay on his feet, and his body was swaying violently.

“Go on, keep going. Why have you stopped?”

Ghost Ruler Emperor caught up, sneering, his face a mask of smug arrogance.

“Ghost Ruler Emperor, are you really intent on being so ruthless?” Ye Xuan growled through gritted teeth, his eyes wild.

“That’s right, I am. What are you going to do about it, bite me?” Ghost Ruler Emperor jeered. “A thousand meters should be the limit for a Tier Eight Martial Emperor. You can’t take another step now. Just wait for death to take you.”

Ghost Ruler Emperor snorted, and his hand transformed into a giant palm of Profound energy, reaching out to grab Ye Xuan.

“You forced my hand.”

With a furious roar, Ye Xuan plunged into the area of the Jueyin River beyond the thousand-meter mark.

A bone-chilling aura, like that of ten-thousand-year-old ice, permeated his entire body. Even his soul seemed to freeze under its power.

Ye Xuan appeared to be frozen solid, his body completely still.

‘This kid’s gone mad.’

Ghost Ruler Emperor was startled by Ye Xuan’s move. The thousand-meter mark was the limit for Martial Emperors. Even the strongest Tier Eight Martial Emperor couldn’t venture into the depths beyond that point. To enter meant certain death.

‘Fine. Let the Jueyin River kill him directly. Then I’ll just collect his Storage Ring. Saves me the effort.’

Ghost Ruler Emperor walked toward Ye Xuan, stepping past the thousand-meter mark. ‘The kid should be dead by now.’

But before he could make a move—WHOOSH!—Ye Xuan suddenly seemed to awaken and started walking even deeper.

‘Impossible.’

Ghost Ruler Emperor was shocked. ‘How can a First Layer Martial Emperor like Ye Xuan survive beyond the thousand-meter mark? No, wait… That aura on his body… It’s… an Earth Fire!’

A purple halo emanated from Ye Xuan’s body, where a cluster of violet flames danced, standing out starkly in the pitch-black cave.

‘The Purple Wound Flame, ranked thirteenth on the Earth Fire List! How does this kid have so many treasures?’

Ghost Ruler Emperor ground his teeth in frustration, but at the same time, his heart pounded with excitement.

‘I know how precious an Earth Fire is. It’s something any Alchemist or Artifact Refiner would kill for, especially one like the Purple Wound Flame that ranks so high on the Earth Fire List. Its value is simply staggering.’

‘If I can get my hands on this Earth Fire, any price would be worth it.’

Fueled by excitement, Ghost Ruler Emperor resumed his pursuit of Ye Xuan.

Meanwhile, Ye Xuan continued deeper, his body trembling.

‘Hmph. The kid still dares to go deeper. He may have an Earth Fire, but the waters of the Jueyin River are a terrifying force in their own right, no weaker than an Earth Fire. His flame won’t last long. An ordinary Martial Emperor might be scared off by this display, but if he thinks he can scare me away, he’s dreaming.’

Ghost Ruler Emperor thought coldly.

‘My title is the Ghost Ruler Emperor; my resistance to this kind of chilling yin energy is a cut above that of ordinary Martial Emperors. I refuse to believe that in this Jueyin River, I can’t even handle a puny First Layer Martial Emperor.’

And so it went, one man forging ahead in the Jueyin River, the other in hot pursuit.

Ghost Ruler Emperor had expected Ye Xuan to give out quickly.

But to his shock, after unleashing the Earth Fire, Ye Xuan just kept going deeper.

Eleven hundred meters.

Twelve hundred meters.

Thirteen hundred meters.

Fourteen hundred meters.

He finally reached a depth of fourteen hundred and fifty meters.

By this point, Ye Xuan’s body was bobbing and swaying uncontrollably. His face was ashen, like a corpse’s, and the Purple Wound Flame burning on him flickered erratically, so weak it seemed it could go out at any moment.

CHATTER! CHATTER!

Ghost Ruler Emperor’s face was livid, his teeth chattering. He stood at the fourteen-hundred-and-forty-meter mark, daring not to take another step forward.

Waves of icy energy seeped into his body from the river. He felt as if he were being frozen solid. His mind swam with dizziness, and his soul felt dazed, on the verge of losing consciousness.

This meant he had reached his limit. If he went any deeper, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t instantly lose consciousness, sink to the bottom, and become another corpse in the Jueyin River.

“Damn it… How can that kid go this deep? Impossible…”

Standing at the fourteen-hundred-and-forty-meter mark, Ghost Ruler Emperor cursed in disbelief.

In the Jueyin River, one thousand meters was the limit for a Tier Eight Martial Emperor, while fifteen hundred meters was the limit for a Tier Nine First Layer Martial Emperor.

The fact that he could reach fourteen hundred and forty meters was already monstrously impressive.

But Ye Xuan had gone ten meters deeper than him, standing at the fourteen-hundred-and-fifty-meter mark. He simply couldn’t accept it.

Though it was only a ten-meter difference, it meant that Ye Xuan’s resistance to the Jueyin River was greater than his own.

“Ha… ha… Ghost… Ruler… Emperor… Weren’t… you… so… arrogant? If you… have… the guts… come… and… get me!”

Ye Xuan’s entire body trembled, his eyes wild, as he forced the words out one by one.

“Damn it.”

Ghost Ruler Emperor was so furious he was about to go berserk. He could tell that this was Ye Xuan’s absolute limit; he couldn’t possibly go any deeper. But the agonizing truth was, he too had reached his limit.

Ten meters. Just ten meters. He could have crushed Ye Xuan like an ant, but now all he could do was watch helplessly as the boy taunted him from just out of reach.

In the outside world, ten meters would be nothing.

But here in the Jueyin River, especially at this depth, the Profound energy in Ghost Ruler Emperor’s body was suppressed to its absolute limit. He couldn’t use techniques like the giant Profound palm, or even deploy his domain. To kill Ye Xuan, he would have to walk over, step by painful step.

Those ten meters were an insurmountable chasm holding Ghost Ruler Emperor at bay.

‘This won’t do. I have to find a way to make him come back to me.’

Ghost Ruler Emperor grew anxious as he watched Ye Xuan sway.

He was worried that if Ye Xuan died in there, all his hard work over the past several days would be for nothing.

“Kid, hand over the Earth Fire, and I’ll spare your life,” Ghost Ruler Emperor said through gritted teeth, his gaze icy.

“In your dreams.”

Ye Xuan shivered violently, his teeth chattering uncontrollably as his face grew even paler. As Ghost Ruler Emperor watched, Ye Xuan’s eyes slowly glazed over. His aura grew weaker and weaker, and his body began to slowly keel over into the frigid Jueyin River.

‘Damn it, the Jueyin River froze him to death!’

Ghost Ruler Emperor panicked. If he let Ye Xuan sink into the Jueyin River, all his efforts would have been for nothing. Not only would he lose the Earth Fire, but treasures like the Space-Stabilizing Bead would sink to the bottom of the river, lost to him forever.

Yet to grab Ye Xuan, he had to get closer, and he was already at his breaking point. If he went any deeper, he would likely end up just like Ye Xuan, unable to withstand the Jueyin River’s cold and dying in its depths.

Still, he couldn’t bear to just watch Ye Xuan die.

Ye Xuan held too many secrets. The fact that he, with his First Layer Martial Emperor cultivation, had managed to reach a place that even a Peak of First Layer Martial Emperor like himself could barely withstand was proof enough. If he could get his hands on those secrets, his own power might see an explosive increase.

A Peak of First Layer Martial Emperor wasn’t some minor figure in the Profound Domain, but they were hardly a top-tier powerhouse either.

If he could break through to the Tier Nine Second Layer, or even the Third Layer, then he would truly be an overlord of the continent.

He saw a glimmer of that hope in Ye Xuan.

‘Fortune favors the bold. I’ll risk it!’

After a fierce internal struggle, Ghost Ruler Emperor gritted his teeth and lunged toward Ye Xuan, his right hand shooting out to grab his arm.

As long as he could pull Ye Xuan’s body back, he would get all of his treasures.

An intense wave of dizziness washed over him, but Ghost Ruler Emperor forced himself to press on, finally getting a firm grip on Ye Xuan’s arm.

“Get back here!”

Ghost Ruler Emperor yanked hard but, to his surprise, couldn’t budge him.

‘What?’

He was stunned for a second before a massive force erupted from Ye Xuan’s arm. The Ye Xuan who had been slowly sinking into the Jueyin River suddenly snapped his eyes open and, in turn, yanked hard on Ghost Ruler Emperor.

“Not good!”

Ghost Ruler Emperor was so frightened he nearly jumped out of his skin. He struggled frantically, trying desperately to pull back, but it was too late. In an instant, Ye Xuan had dragged him into the deeper waters of the Jueyin River.

BOOM!

A terrifying, icy chill penetrated his mind, freezing his very soul.

“You bastard…”

Ghost Ruler Emperor’s blood ran cold. The Ye Xuan before him showed no signs of being at his limit. A cold smirk played on his lips, and his eyes were filled with scorn.

But Ghost Ruler Emperor had no time to dwell on that; the frigid chill of the Jueyin River was about to freeze him to death.

“Blood Fox Martial Soul!”

At the critical moment, a dark red fox materialized above Ghost Ruler Emperor’s head. Eight star-like rings lit up around it as a startling burst of martial soul power erupted. Simultaneously, a hazy spatial energy spread out, and his figure flickered, about to teleport toward the outer parts of the Jueyin River.