The woman’s eyes widened in surprise that Long Chen had recognized her identity so quickly. She had taken every precaution to disguise herself, yet somehow, he had seen through it.

A deadly glint flickered in her gaze. She was clearly afraid of Long Chen’s status, afraid of the retribution of the nine star line. As a result, she was now determined to kill him no matter what. Otherwise, calamity would surely strike the Lifehunter race.

“Die!”

Having barely escaped death moments before, Luo Zixu raised his sword high and swung down with all his might. This slash contained the will to rise above the heavens and destroy the world. It carried every ounce of power Luo Zixu could summon.

He knew that if he let Long Chen close the distance again, his chance would slip away. Hence, he had to settle it in a single blow.

“High Heaven God Ending Slash!” Luo Zixu roared, gathering his full heart and spirit into this attack.

Seeing this scene, countless experts retreated, afraid of being accidentally killed by this attack.

However, Long Chen simply lifted his hand, and a luminous cross formed above his palm, causing the stars in the sky to tremble.

As the cross pulsed, it absorbed astral energy at an alarming rate. Suddenly, a strange crackling sound came from within Long Chen’s bones, followed by a sharp, needle-like pain stabbing through his palm.

My body can’t withstand this much astral energy?

Long Chen realized, gritting his teeth.

Without further delay, he released the accumulated power in a blazing attack.

“Star Ocean—God Slaying Cross!” shouted Long Chen.

BOOM!

Long Chen’s palm destroyed the Sword Qi, along with Luo Zixu’s high heaven will.

"AHH!" Luo Zixu’s agonized scream rang out as his sword crumbled into pieces, and he clutched his head, writhing in unbearable pain.

Meanwhile, Long Chen’s right hand was bleeding, and the skin on his palm was gone. He still couldn’t endure that much astral energy. But with this blow, Long Chen had destroyed Luo Zixu’s sword and Sword Dao will. While Long Chen hadn’t killed him outright, he had effectively crippled him. For a sword cultivator, their Sword Dao will was both their greatest strength and their greatest vulnerability. With it shattered, Luo Zixu was broken.

However, no one here cared about Luo Zixu. After a brief moment of shock, they pounced on Long Chen. Leading them was the woman from the Lifehunter race.

BOOM!

Long Chen unleashed a fierce palm strike to meet her attack, only to feel a disturbing drop in his power. It wasn’t that he lacked astral energy—he had plenty left—but his physical body was strained to its absolute limit. His power surged endlessly, but his body could no longer sustain it.

With a roar, Long Chen counterattacked ferociously, but his foes were relentless. Each attacker was a peerless genius from the primal chaos era, with hundreds matching Luo Zixu's level of strength. Though he fought with everything he had, injuries started piling up as he was overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.

Blood soaked Long Chen’s robes, and his aura started to fall. In the distance, Long Chen heard Yun Feng’s desperate shout, “Save him!”

However, Long Chen knew the reinforcements would never reach him in time. He would fall long before they arrived.

“Is this it? Am I really going to die here?” Long Chen muttered bitterly, casting his gaze up to the stars above.

Their light seemed to reach down warmly, like old friends wishing to help but unable to.

Then, something clicked in his mind.

There’s still one more move!

With a sudden, guttural roar, Long Chen unleashed a surge of astral energy that sent the surrounding experts staggering backward, forced back by the sheer force of his power.

Seizing the moment, he raised his hand and gritted his teeth.

Whether I live or die... it all comes down to this attack!

Violet flames ignited on top of his hand, and starlight appeared within them, condensing astral lotuses. When the astral energy of heaven and earth poured into the lotuses, they instantly grew, devouring an enormous space.

“Star Lotus Death Blow!” Long Chen roared, not knowing why he shouted this name.

The next moment, the enormous astral lotus exploded.

The explosion consumed everything around him. Luo Zixu, the Lifehunter woman, and the other top experts—all were devoured and obliterated by the tidal wave of astral energy. The entire battlefield surrounding Long Chen transformed into a barren land of death.

This was a truly apocalyptic attack. While Long Chen had detonated the astral energy of heaven and earth, he himself was uninjured.

However, after unleashing this attack, he felt completely empty, and the world spun around him. His body fell from the sky.

Long Chen vaguely felt a pair of arms catch him and heard an extremely distant voice calling out to him.

“Little brother!”

The voice was unmistakable—it was Yun Feng’s. But all of a sudden, something warm splashed across Long Chen’s face, and the next moment, Yun Feng's voice ceased to exist.

Vague sensations crept through his fading consciousness. His body was being dragged, jostled. He heard desperate shouts and roars all around him, the sounds of chaos and panic. Even as sharp blades pierced his flesh, the pain seemed distant, his body refusing to respond.

“Great nine star heir, you have to hold on! You can’t die, you absolutely can’t—!”

Long Chen heard a woman’s voice shout right into his ear, but it was cut off by the sound of a slash. That voice pulled him back to a sliver of awareness, just in time to see the woman block a blow meant for him.

She was a fellow human, and her face was alight with fierce determination and hope. In her eyes, Long Chen was someone worth fighting for, someone priceless. Her killer’s head exploded an instant later, struck down by a muscular man wielding a massive broadsword.

After the muscular man scooped Long Chen up, he dashed toward a shimmering spatial whirlpool in the distance.

As they moved, Long Chen caught glimpses of other human warriors sacrificing themselves, using their bodies to shield him from strikes and buy precious seconds. Even with their broken bodies and incomplete limbs, they clung to their enemies, biting and clawing to hold back the onslaught.

Why? You don’t even know me... why would you do this?! Stop it!

The sight burned through his soul, and the sense of helplessness clawed at him like a sharp pain in his chest, tearing at his heart.

After that, the man carrying Long Chen fell, cut down by a devil expert. The latter then sneered and lunged at Long Chen with a clawed hand.

BOOM!

Four people charged at the devil expert and pushed it away before self-detonating. Though the devil survived, he was not a threat anymore. Another warrior lifted Long Chen, and this time, he saw that it was a woman. She looked too young to be on the battlefield, but grim determination shone in her eyes.

She didn’t last long. A Blood race woman tore her down, only to be cut in half by a human warrior in swift retaliation. Around them, warriors continued to die defending Long Chen, while others swarmed forward, attempting to take his life. Every effort—every sacrifice—was made to push him closer to the spatial whirlpool.

Finally, a man managed to give Long Chen one last push forward. Long Chen’s vision blurred as he watched the man disappear beneath a tide of enemies, his face peaceful, a smile lingering even in his last moments.

The whirlpool's energy pulsed around him, and space quivered. Everything went dark as his consciousness slipped away.