Seventeen Great Emperor heads now hung on the frontline city walls.
Although they no longer possessed divine consciousness, they still looked terrifying, and remnants of their Dao still lingered. Lower-level cultivators who gazed upon them might lose their mental balance, allowing the remnants of the Great Emperor's Dao to invade their minds.
Fortunately, there were no lower-level cultivators on the frontline city walls now.
In fact, there might soon be no cultivators left at all.
Haha.
Cultivators were dying too quickly, mostly in exchange for the lives of remnants of the Dark Invasion. Saints traded for Saints, Grand Saints for Grand Saints, and those at the Patching Heaven level just went to fill in the numbers.
Despite the high death toll, no cultivator feared death, as they believed that exchanging their lives was not a bad deal.
At least by killing a cultivator of the same level, they proved themselves.
The rotation of the Great Emperors also constantly changed, with three Great Emperors going out to battle and three guarding the city.
Injured Great Emperors would return to rest and heal, taking on the relatively easier task of defending the city.
Initially, things were fine, and each Great Emperor could fully recover before rotating again. But as the fighting intensified, there was little time left for rest.
Especially for Chen Xia, who had to make frequent trips between the logistics department and the frontline to refine medicinal pills, making him even more exhausted.
The Great Emperors of the Dark Invasion seemed to be on a suicide mission, pulling the six Great Emperors of the left frontline into a relentless battle.
Chen Xia later killed another Great Emperor remnant, but after that, he couldn't kill any more.
He was targeted by a Three-Path Great Emperor.
This Three-Path Great Emperor seemed to have received some order, focusing solely on killing Chen Xia. Whenever Chen Xia left the city walls, he would be pursued by this Three-Path Great Emperor until Chen Xia returned to the city walls or died.
There were two instances where Chen Xia was so angered by the pursuit that he almost called upon his inner demon to deal with the Three-Path Great Emperor together.
But the Three-Path Great Emperor was clever and didn't press the attack too hard, always leaving himself an escape route.
His Dao was also cunning, possessing a "substitute path" that was different from the "outer incarnation path." This substitute path couldn't be used for combat but could absorb damage.
When Chen Xia's immortal sword struck him, the damage would be absorbed by the substitute, and less than ten percent of the killing force would actually land on the Three-Path Great Emperor.
The Three-Path Great Emperor didn't seem to have the intention of truly risking his life to kill Chen Xia. During the pursuit, he even engaged in light conversation with Chen Xia.
"Chen Saint, slow down a bit. I'm your fan."
"You're a damn what?" Chen Xia, holding his immortal sword and using the Light Yin Dao to twist his body, turned back and cursed.
The Three-Path Great Emperor shook his head and laughed.
"That's not how you should talk. I'm pursuing you out of necessity. There's a Five-Path Great Emperor above me forcing me to do this, and above that, there's the Heavenly Dao driving me. Sigh, it's tough. Why don't you join the Dark Invasion? It's actually quite good."
Chen Xia's figure flashed, and with a horizontal swing of his immortal sword, a roaring sword aura, like a sudden flash of white light, slashed towards the Three-Path Great Emperor's head.
The Three-Path Great Emperor reached out and grabbed the white light sword aura, nodding.
"No matter how many times I experience it, I'm still amazed. It's truly a magnificent sword. If Chen Saint becomes Chen Emperor, I might not be able to block this flying sword."
"Soon, soon. I'll make sure to hang your head on the city walls too." Chen Xia retorted, then turned his body with the sword, casually killing a Saint-level remnant of the Dark Invasion, and quickly escaped while the Three-Path Great Emperor wasn't in pursuit.
The Three-Path Great Emperor crossed his arms, now showing no intention of chasing Chen Xia. Instead, he looked higher up, towards the pinnacle of the Heavenly Dao Reckoning.
The Heavenly Dao Reckoning seemed to press down on the entire Great Heaven, aiming to revert the Great Heaven back to a chaotic state, essentially restarting it.
Some Great Emperors believed that the will of the Heavenly Dao couldn't be defied and chose to join the Dark Invasion under the Heavenly Dao Reckoning, becoming servants of the Heavenly Dao to preserve their lives.
There was nothing shameful about this, as it was the Heavenly Dao.
Other Great Emperors refused to submit to the Heavenly Dao, wanting to defy the will of the heavens and protect their own star domains. This was understandable.
There was no right or wrong, only which side was stronger.
But with the Heavenly Dao Reckoning looming and the highest beings not showing themselves, could the few Great Emperors of the Great Heaven really hold out?
The Three-Path Great Emperor shook his head, not thinking too much about it, and then chased after Chen Xia's figure, laughing.
"Chen Saint, stop killing. Wait for me!"
Chen Xia, taking the rare opportunity to kill two Saint-level remnants, saw the Three-Path Great Emperor approaching and frowned in annoyance. He didn't want to waste time with him and decided to return to the city walls to refine medicine.
Seeing Chen Xia leave, the Three-Path Great Emperor smiled and walked back towards the Dark Invasion, muttering to himself.
"Time to clock out."
He was the type of Great Emperor who strictly followed a clock-in, clock-out routine, seeking only survival and ease.
The Heavenly Dao Reckoning didn't offer him any additional benefits, so why would he risk his life?
Chen Xia stood on the city walls, waved his hand, and said helplessly, "Change shifts."
Emperor Tianhe then replaced Chen Xia on the battlefield, patting Chen Xia's shoulder and softly comforting him.
"It's okay."
Even Emperor Tianhe, who was usually serious and unsmiling, offered comfort, which was indeed a rare sight.
Chen Xia nodded in response, "Don't die either."
"Mhm," Emperor Tianhe replied, stepping forward and transforming into a stream of light that shot straight ahead.
Flowing Water Temple Master sat nearby, looking at Chen Xia and shaking his head. "Chen Saint, it seems you're being pinned down by that Three-Path Great Emperor!"
"It's fine. Chen Saint attracting the attention of a Three-Path Great Emperor is no small feat," replied the middle-aged Great Emperor, Sun Moon Star Lord, who carried the Sun and Moon on his shoulders.
"Damn," Chen Xia frowned and discussed with the two, "Why don't the three of us set a trap and take down that Three-Path Great Emperor?"
"Uh..." Flowing Water Temple Master chuckled awkwardly, waving his arm, which was still injured, and said, "My injuries haven't healed yet. You two go, I'll cheer for you, haha."
Chen Xia frowned and then turned his gaze to Sun Moon Star Lord.
"My injuries haven't healed either. Let's just forget it. Chen Saint, you go alone, and we'll cheer for you together."
They weren't afraid of death, but they didn't want to die for no reason.
Moreover, to be honest, the Three-Path Great Emperor's killing intent wasn't strong. Each time he pursued Chen Xia, he never went all out, more like passing the time.
Some things Chen Saint had to bear alone.
This was the responsibility that came with great power!