172: Chapter 172 Do you submit? Ye Lanxi: No!

Lu Chen withdrew the Nanming Li Fire and stood with his hands behind his back.

He thought it would end here.

The Great Emperor had burned her clothes without harming her person, giving her plenty of Face; Ye Lanxi should have known when to stop.

He was wrong.

The words "backing down" simply did not exist in Ye Lanxi's phoenix eyes.

The moment the Nanming Li Fire extinguished and the deep blue glow in Lu Chen's palm had just dissipated, Ye Lanxi moved.

There was no warning.

The eruption of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body required no gathering of power, no hand Seals, and not even a moment to adjust one's breathing.

The blood and Qi of a Major Achievement Holy Body were always in a boiling state within her, ready to pour out at any moment.

Her figure lunged upward as two long, straight legs burst out from her split skirt, her right leg lifting high above her head.

The blood and Qi of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body flooded into her right leg; from thigh to calf to instep, golden spiritual runes surged beneath her skin.

The arc of that leg drew a perfect curve under the sunlight; from hip bone to the back of the knee to the ankle, firm muscles tensed beneath the skin, every inch containing terrifying power capable of splitting mountains.

As the whip kick descended, wind and thunder exploded.

The energy carried by this kick crushed the entire Void Realm within thirty feet of her, with spatial fragments swirling in the wind of her leg.

The Ancient Desolate Runes on her inner thigh brightened to the extreme during the high-speed movement, golden markings extending from the root of her leg to the tips of her toes, turning the entire limb into a divine weapon capable of splitting heaven and earth.

Her battle skirt was completely blown upward by the wind of the kick; from waist to hip to the root of her thigh, everything was exposed to Lu Chen's gaze, a dazzling white. Beads of sweat slid from the small of her back, scattering along the curve of her hip bone.

The Faces of the Ye family Elders all changed color simultaneously.

With this kick, even the head of an ordinary Quasi-Emperor would be kicked into smithereens.

Lu Chen's pupils contracted.

It wasn't because of the power of this kick.

It was because, from this angle, he saw some things he shouldn't have seen.

But he did not suffer from a Divided Soul.

The Broken Illusion Divine Eye turned deep within his pupils, profound Dao runes rotating in circles.

Under the divine eye, the trajectory of Ye Lanxi's kick was completely deconstructed: the starting point of the force was at the left hip, transmitted to the right leg through the twisting of the waist and abdomen, the eruption of blood and Qi concentrated in the tibia below the knee, and the final point of impact was on the outer side of the instep of her jade-like foot.

The speed was incredibly fast.

But in Lu Chen's Broken Illusion Divine Eye, no matter how fast it was, there were tracks to follow.

Lu Chen stepped to the side.

That long leg, carrying the power of wind and thunder, sliced past three inches in front of his Face, the wind from the leg blowing a few strands of hair at his temples upward.

Then his right hand reached out, fingers spread wide, accurately grabbing Ye Lanxi's ankle.

The moment his fingertips touched her, Lu Chen's brow twitched.

Exquisite.

It was so smooth it didn't seem like the ankle of a Nine-Turn Quasi-Emperor, but rather felt like high-quality mutton-fat jade that had been soaked in warm water.

The ankle was slender and the joints were distinct; when his five fingers gripped it, it was just enough for a full handful.

But immediately after, the force transmitted from that section of the ankle caused his finger bones to crack.

The strength of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body's Physical Body lived up to its reputation.

Even if it was just an ankle, the power contained within was enough to crush a mountain Peak.

Lu Chen's fingers went slightly numb, and there was a fine, stinging pain at the webbing between his thumb and index finger.

He gripped tighter.

Ye Lanxi's body hung in mid-air, one leg held in Lu Chen's hand, freezing her whole person in an extremely undignified pose.

Her phoenix eyes widened suddenly, and then she laughed.

"Little friend Lu, feel free to fight with all you've got. This big sister has a Rebirth secret technique; as long as you don't completely exterminate me, you can't kill me. This kick from being so close doesn't feel good, does it!"

Lu Chen finally felt at ease.

He looked down at Ye Lanxi, the curve of his lips completely vanishing.

No smile, no teasing, no nonchalance.

Just cold.

"Very well, Sister Ye. But Sister Ye, this kick of yours felt very good to me—I even enjoyed it!"

His left hand rose, Great Emperor spiritual energy gathering in his palm, as colorless and invisible Law power condensed between his fingers.

"It seems if I don't let you suffer a little, Sister, you'll really think this Emperor has no temper?"

Ye Lanxi's phoenix eyes contracted; she read a signal from Lu Chen's gaze—this man was getting serious.

Her other leg kicked out violently, trying to break free.

Lu Chen didn't give her the chance.

His right hand, which was gripping Ye Lanxi's ankle, suddenly pulled back.

The force was precise to a freakish degree—neither too much nor too little, just enough to destroy her balance while hanging on one leg.

Ye Lanxi's body lost all support in mid-air, and she involuntarily fell toward Lu Chen.

Her tattered battle skirt fluttered in the fall, and her loose long hair brushed against the side of Lu Chen's Face, carrying a faint fragrance unique to after a battle, mixed with the scent of sweat.

Her body crashed into Lu Chen's embrace in an almost uncontrollable manner.

Chest pressed against chest; softness collided with hardness.

Ye Lanxi's Face instantly burned red.

She instinctively thought Lu Chen was going to...

But the next moment, a palm containing profound Dao runes slammed fiercely onto her back.

A Heaven-Burning Palm carrying Nanming Li Fire was struck out at close range, the terrifying Nanming Li Fire flames bursting through the palm.

Crack.

Ye Lanxi's body jolted and she was sent flying backward.

She felt the blood and Qi that had been rushing like a river within her body suddenly cut off by an invisible dam.

The golden spiritual runes of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body turned from bright to dim, and from dim to extinguished, the runes beneath her skin going out one by one.

Not all of them, but at least seventy percent.

Her cultivation at the Peak of the Nine-Turn Quasi-Emperor remained, but the augmentation of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body was temporarily gone.

Without the support of the Holy Body, Ye Lanxi was like a fierce beast whose claws and teeth had been pulled out.

"You... you even sealed my Bloodline!"

As she flew backward, her voice changed from shock and anger to a cry of surprise, and then she was caught by Lu Chen, falling limply into his arms.

Her legs were weak and couldn't support her; her hands wanted to push him away, but she couldn't muster the strength.

Lu Chen's right arm took the opportunity to encircle her waist.

His arm wrapped around her lower back, gripping her side, his forearm pressed against her slender yet powerful waist, fixing her entire person in his embrace.

His Great Emperor aura poured out without reservation, suppressing all the remaining spiritual energy within Ye Lanxi from top to bottom, and from inside to out.

Ye Lanxi struggled.

Her body twisted uncontrollably, her hands pressing against Lu Chen's chest in an attempt to push him away, her knees coming up to try and create distance.

But she only had thirty percent of her strength now.

A Ye Lanxi with thirty percent strength could not push away Lu Chen at the Great Emperor Peak.

Every time she struggled, her body rubbed against Lu Chen in his embrace.

The tattered battle skirt couldn't cover much, and the large areas of exposed skin were transmitted through Lu Chen's thin Black Robe.

The soft, burning sensation with the unique body temperature of the Desolate Ancient Sacred Body pressed tightly against him from chest to abdomen to thighs, fitting without a single gap.

Lu Chen sucked in a breath of cold air and began chanting the Heart-Clearing Incantation.

"The heart is clear as water, clear water is the heart."

"No breeze arises, the waves are undisturbed."

"Sitting alone in silence, whistling and playing the zither."

"Entering Zen stillness, the poisonous dragon hides its form."

"My heart has no openings, the Heavenly Dao rewards the diligent..."

...

Ye Qingxian stood on the deck of the Flying Boat, covering her Face with both hands. She took a peek through the gaps of her fingers, then let out another "ah" and buried her Face back into her palms.

Revered Master was holding her mother.

And her mother was being held in Revered Master's arms, still squirming.

This scene gave her enough psychological trauma to last twenty years.

In mid-air.

Ye Lanxi finally stopped struggling.

It wasn't that she admitted defeat.

It was that she realized the more she struggled, the more embarrassing it was; the man's arm was locked around her waist, unmoving, making it completely impossible to break free.

She tilted her head back, her phoenix eyes staring straight at Lu Chen.

The distance was too close; she could see the Dao runes rotating deep in his pupils and feel his breath hitting her forehead.

"Let go."

Lu Chen looked down at her, his arm not loosening.

"Do you yield?"

Ye Lanxi gritted her teeth.

"No."

The corners of Lu Chen's mouth curled slightly, and the arm around her waist tightened by another fraction.

Just then, from deep within the mountain belly of the seventh main Peak of the Cangmang Divine Mountain, two ancient voices rang out.

One male, one female.

The male voice was as old as the soughing of pines, and the female voice was as cold as a wintry spring.

The two voices sounded simultaneously, penetrating all the Formation barriers between the seven Peaks and pouring directly into the ears of Lu Chen and Ye Lanxi.

"Enough, Lanxi."

"Fellow Daoist Lu, please let go for a moment."

"This old one is Third Ancestor Ye Wuji, and My wife is Fifth Ancestor Su Yaoxian; we are the Grand Elders of the Ye family."

"The two of us have been in slumber for three thousand years and only awoke today... We failed to stop Lanxi's provocation, and hope that Fellow Daoist can give this old one some Face."

Lu Chen's brow twitched.

Grand Elders, two of them.

A man and a woman speaking at the same time, the aura contained within their voices causing the Void Realm to tremble slightly.

The level of that aura would not be easy for him to deal with either.

But he also knew that the claim of having just woken up was nothing more than a convenient excuse.

They had wanted Ye Lanxi to fight him; they wanted to see if a Major Achievement Holy Body could gain any advantage in front of a Great Emperor!

That way, even if the Ye family couldn't produce a new Great Emperor in the future, they could rely on this Major Achievement Holy Body at the Peak of the Nine-Turn Quasi-Emperor to remain stable for a long time!

As for why they didn't test themselves against him, it was because if these old fogies got injured in a fight, they would likely perish!

They were already heavily laden with Death Qi and had little Lifespan left; even mobilizing too much Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi would shorten their lives! How could they dare to fight?