The azure robe was stained with blood.
Chen Xia's arms were drenched in blood, and the scarlet hue in his eyes gradually faded.
Emperor Void Light indeed had some tricks up his sleeve. His final life-swapping technique nearly got Chen Xia. If it weren't for the Fifth Dao of Summoning, Chen Xia might have been seriously injured today.
But thankfully, there were no ifs.
Chen Xia twisted his Immortal Sword, thrusting it into Emperor Void Light's head, and then hurled it toward the city wall. The Immortal Sword, carrying Emperor Void Light's head, was firmly embedded in the wall.
Another Great Emperor's head was added to the city wall.
Second-tier Great Emperor, dead.
Chen Xia had made a strong start.
The cultivators on the scene were exhilarated, their morale soaring. As they shouted praises for Chen Xia, their killing intent grew even fiercer, aiming to claim the heads of the dark remnants.
Chen Xia's figure flickered at the front, instantly returning to the city wall. With a flick of his hand, a healing elixir appeared, which he swallowed. The medicinal power surged, and his arms began to heal, the wounds from his own Immortal Sword stabbing through his palm stopped bleeding.
The injuries weren't too severe, but he still needed some time to recuperate.
"Time to swap." Tian Sen the Great Emperor chuckled and charged forward, merging with the forest of trees into the chaos of battle.
"Chen Xia, you're amazing. I truly admire you!" Even Flowing Water Temple Master, who had a conflict with Chen Xia, couldn't help but raise his thumb in admiration.
"Given time, he won't fall short of Executioner Emperor." Middle-aged Emperor, shouldering the sun and moon, praised.
They held high opinions of Chen Xia, and they had to—the facts were clear. A second-tier Great Emperor stronger than them had been beheaded by Chen Xia. Judging by his current combat power, Chen Xia had clearly surpassed ordinary second-tier Great Emperors and might even be approaching the threshold of third-tier Great Emperors.
This made them sigh with emotion. They remembered that thousands of years ago, when Chen Xia first arrived at the front lines, he was only a Great Saint of Four Dao, which was already impressive but not much different from a Great Emperor.
Now?
He could cut the heads off second-tier Great Emperors.
Perhaps this was what growth looked like.
The Great Emperors sighed; they were all unparalleled geniuses, the top talents from various star domains, or else they wouldn't have become Great Emperors.
But compared to Chen Xia, they seemed a bit lacking.
Perhaps this was the ceiling for geniuses in the All Heavens World.
"It's okay, at least we're not from the same generation as Chen Xia. By the time Chen Xia becomes a Great Emperor, we might all be dead. The ones who'll suffer later are the future Great Emperors who have to compete with Chen Xia, haha." Flowing Water Temple Master gloated.
"That's true," Middle-aged Emperor agreed.
Their task was to guard the city wall, waiting for the Great Emperors to rotate, which made them relatively relaxed.
Chen Xia was the same as them, needing to heal his wounds. He snapped his fingers, and his tattered azure robe sleeve reformed, as good as new.
He looked up at the front lines of the battle.
This battle was particularly intense. Although the Saints were filled with high spirits, morale couldn't be equated to combat power. Moreover, the dark remnants they faced were mostly mad, fearless of death, which made them even more terrifying than the Saints.
Emperor Capital used Star Dao to kill a Saint remnant, but he was also injured, with bloodstains on his chest, his Dao worn down, and blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
As he caught his breath, a meteor-like figure crashed toward him, about to collide with his body.
Flames suddenly erupted, and the cry of a phoenix echoed loudly.
Chi Yu single-handedly blocked the meteor, then with a forceful pull, dragged the meteor-like Saint remnant high into the sky. His hand ignited with flames, and true fire spread, roaring, "Collapse!"
The Saint remnant's body crumbled by a third, wailing as it retreated, disappearing without a trace.
Chi Yu didn't pursue, turning to Emperor Capital and sternly said, "Be careful."
"Yeah," Emperor Capital nodded, his usual playful demeanor absent. This was a real fight; one misstep could cost him his life, no joke.
He glanced around the battlefield again. Many Saints had already returned to the city wall, injured, while others had died, their bodies absorbed by the darkness, ending in a fate worse than death.
There was no time to catch a breath in this battle. Saints fought Saints, and Great Emperors fought Great Emperors.
Emperor Tianhe was engaged in a battle with a Great Emperor remnant. Their strength was evenly matched, and the fight was intense, lasting for many days without either returning to the city wall.
As more Saints were injured, the reserves of medicinal supplies at the rear began to run low. Although great elixirs could effectively treat Saints, there weren't enough of them. Even after years of stockpiling, the supplies were still strained once the war began.
Chen Xia walked along the city wall, seeing Saints with severe injuries who hadn't yet healed. He would directly hand them his own great elixirs to aid in their recovery.
Even so, there were still Saints who died on the city wall from their severe wounds.
The continuous flow of blood numbed the senses.
Until a young Patching Heaven Realm cultivator lay dying on the city wall, his injuries severe, his consciousness nearly severed, beyond even the highest powers' ability to save him.
He leaned quietly against the city wall, not speaking a word, not saying he was afraid of death, not saying he wanted to live, just quietly looking at the city wall.
A Saint couldn't bear it and came over to ask, "Which star domain is your hometown? Shall I send your remains back later?"
The Patching Heaven Realm cultivator spoke with great difficulty, gently waving his hand to decline.
Chen Xia stood nearby, watching. He had some impression of this Patching Heaven Realm cultivator, remembering that he liked to quietly watch from the side at the city wall's chess house, never playing, just watching.
The Patching Heaven Realm cultivator had always been quiet, so quiet that the entire front line seemed to have overlooked his existence.
He leaned against the city wall until he died, not making a sound.
His silent death, the death of the weaker, seemed to further ignite the Saints' fighting spirit, transforming their long-suppressed emotions into a surge of killing intent as they charged into battle with the dark remnants.
Chen Xia had seen many deaths, but his heart wasn't greatly moved, especially after learning that to alleviate the descent of the Heavenly Dao, cultivators had to sacrifice themselves. His emotional fluctuations became even smaller.
He would do his best to save those who could be saved and not overly grieve for those who were meant to die.
This was Chen Xia's current mindset.
But after seeing too many, a slight ripple inevitably stirred in his heart. Seeing former chess companions end up in such a state made him ponder.
If only he were strong enough to cut open the Heavenly Dao with a single sword strike, then everyone could survive.
Ideals were always good; reality didn't give you a slap in the face already being generous.
Chen Xia shook his head, chuckled wryly, and stopped thinking about these unrealistic things. For now, as long as he could protect the Blue Sky Sword Sea, it was already the best.
Focused, undistracted, only holding onto his original intent.