394: Chapter 394 Fate is Illusory - My Fate is in My Own Hands

"You have certainly had good luck to make it this far," Jiang Chen said with a cold gaze.

"But the world never remembers how much sweat you've shed; it only cares about how high you stand.

Now, there are only two paths before you: bow down and submit, or—turn to ash and dust."

He stood with his hands behind his back, his aura as deep as an abyss, completely disregarding the dragon kin before him.

"Jiang Chen... you are the first person to dare to be this arrogant in front of me."

The Venerable Divine Dragon curled the corners of his mouth, a playful smile surfacing—this mere Profound Immortal Jiang Chen actually dared to threaten a Taiyi Golden Immortal; he was truly like a moth flying into a flame, stupidly vivid, and absurdly amusing.

"Who do you think you are?"

His voice was not loud, but it cracked like a thunderclap, every word wrapped in icy blades: "A loach-like creature, and you dare to bare your fangs at me? Kneel! Immediately!"

Before the words had even faded, a monstrous dragon might suddenly erupted from his body, like the collapse of an ancient glacier or the downpour of heavenly thunder, sweeping across the eight wildernesses and shaking the land for a thousand miles.

Wherever that pressure reached, even the onlookers felt their spines chill and their knees tremble, as if they had been targeted by an ancient behemoth, their very breathing stagnating—it was a trembling carved into their bloodlines, the most primal instinct of submission when a living being faces its natural predator.

"Jiang Chen, will you not bow your head and admit defeat yet?" the Emperor spoke in a deep voice, his tone filled with unquestionable certainty.

"How could you possibly face the might of the Venerable Divine Dragon at your current cultivation level?"

Jiang Chen cast a sideways glance, letting out a cold laugh that sounded like a knife scraping against bluestone: "Do you think that just because strength and weakness have been revealed, one should shrink their neck and shake their knees?"

His gaze was like frost as it slowly swept over the Emperor's face, carrying undisguised disappointment: "Emperor, I overestimated you before.

In your bones, you are nothing more than a guard dog tamed by power."

"You only know how to look up to the powerful, content to be a puppet, not even realizing that your own spine has long since been hollowed out—it is lamentable, and even more ridiculous."

"You are the one who is ridiculous!" The veins on the Emperor's forehead bulged.

"A Taiyi Golden Immortal is right before you, and you are still holding on? Do you really think you have an iron-clad life and aren't afraid of being reduced to ash?"

Jiang Chen lifted his eyelids, his gaze like lightning: "Get lost. This is no place for you to bark."

As his words fell, an invisible pressure rumbled across the entire scene, tearing the dragon might released by the Venerable Divine Dragon to pieces, like thin ice meeting the scorching sun, melting instantly.

"Interesting."

The Venerable Divine Dragon stood with his hands behind his back, arrogance surging between his brows: "But no matter how interesting it is, it cannot change the outcome—you cannot even take a single strike from me in my peak state."

Jiang Chen's eyes darkened slightly, but a cold sneer welled up in his heart.

He naturally understood what the other party's confidence was based on—it was nothing more than the assumption that a Profound Immortal against a Taiyi Golden Immortal was like a lamb hitting an iron wall, easily crushed without any effort.

Ridiculous.

He was the Ancestor of All Zombies, an existence that had crushed stars and walked the chaos alone during the Primordial Era.

The Profound Immortal cultivation displayed by this current shell was merely a facade he had intentionally restrained; these people actually believed it and were even smugly using a ruler to measure his depth.

It was time to let them taste what true despair was.

Chaotic divine light suddenly exploded, like the first ray of light at the dawn of the world, completely swallowing him.

When he appeared again, his aura was completely different—his posture was like a sword unsheathed, his momentum like a tsunami pressing down, and with a single glance, mountains and rivers lost their color, and heaven and earth bowed their heads.

The Venerable Divine Dragon's pupils constricted.

A moment ago, he was an ant crawling in the dust, but in an instant, he had turned into a fierce god capable of devouring the heavens and the sun!

"So that's how it is... You are not a Profound Immortal at all, but a Taiyi peer!" His voice was taut, yet he still forced himself to remain calm.

"But don't forget, I possess the True Dragon bloodline and ten thousand years of bitter cultivation; my foundation is as deep as an abyss—a newcomer like you is lacking by more than just a little!"

In his eyes, Jiang Chen was at most a cultivator of the same realm who was hiding his strength, winning through trickery, but unable to shake his foundation.

Jiang Chen let out a scoff, his disdain bone-deep: "You? You don't even have the qualifications to sharpen my blade."

When he roamed the Primordial Era, the dragon race was still rolling in the mud.

A junior relying on his bloodline to get by, daring to put on airs in front of him? What a ridiculous joke.

The Venerable Divine Dragon felt his lungs nearly burst with rage, his heart burning with fury.

Without another word, he raised his hand and unleashed a killing blow!

Boom!

A dragon roar tore through the air, black energy churned like an ink sea, and a pitch-black divine sword burst forth from his body.

The blade was wrapped in void-tearing dragon malevolence, its sword intent and pressure fused into one, descending like divine punishment, locking directly onto Jiang Chen's vital point.

Jiang Chen's heart jolted, the killing intent prickling his back like needles.

He immediately focused his energy, dark currents surging around his body, waiting quietly for the thunderous collision.

"What's wrong?" the Venerable Divine Dragon sneered coldly.

"Where is that arrogant look from before? Now that you've seen the real deal, are your legs starting to shake?"

"Those arrogant words earlier were just a front. This bluffing of yours is meaningless—in the face of my overwhelming strength, the only outcome for you is destruction..."

"Hmph, what fate? Just an ethereal, formless phantom.

If there really is a heavenly fate guiding things from the shadows, then it should be you who I personally cut down into the dust!"

Jiang Chen curled his lips, full of mockery.

"Heh, I possess an ancient divination technique that allows me to catch a glimpse of the River of Fate.

I have long since calculated—you will definitely lose this battle, your destiny is sealed, and it cannot be changed!"

The Venerable Divine Dragon laughed up at the sky, his voice shaking the surroundings.

"Utterly foolish. You are willing to kneel at the feet of fate; that is your choice.

Do not think I will join you, bound by those ethereal chains of destiny.

My fate is my own, not determined by heaven.

I fear you will never understand these words, even at the moment you draw your last breath."

Jiang Chen's lips curled slightly, a cold smile like a blade.

"The fate I have divined has never been wrong.

Jiang Chen, stop struggling in vain.

So-called 'man can conquer heaven'? It has long since become a joke.

In this era where the Heavenly Dao is oppressive, immortals are silent, and even Sages have long since vanished, where is there any room to defy heaven and change fate?"

The Venerable Divine Dragon's voice was low, every word like an ice pick piercing the bone.

"However—rest assured, I will peel apart the secrets you hide and the orthodoxy you inherited, inch by inch, extract them strand by strand, and then refine you to death while you are still alive.

Once your soul is scattered, I will refine you into a puppet war slave, to wield your sword and die for me for all eternity!"

Jiang Chen's gaze turned icy cold, killing intent surging like thunder, yet his voice was as cold as ten-thousand-year black ice: "You have talked for too long.

In this battle, exactly how many chasms separate you and me will soon be clear.

The difference between heaven and earth is naturally as vast as clouds and mud.

It's just that—I am the heaven above the clouds, and you are merely an ant crawling in the mud!"

The Venerable Divine Dragon laughed heartily, his divine sword suddenly slashing out.

A pitch-black sword energy spanning thousands of meters broke through the air, carrying the roaring dragon energy churning around his body, condensing into a grim sword domain that slashed down towards Jiang Chen!

Jiang Chen's expression did not change, gold light surging around his body like the rising sun.

The void behind him shattered with a boom, and a world of thunder slowly emerged—

Billions of divine thunders surged and churned, lightning snakes dancing wildly, instantly transforming into an ocean of thunderstorms capable of devouring the heavens and the earth!

Boom!

The thunder sea and the sword domain collided with a roar, causing heaven and earth to lose their color.

The two forces locked together, neither yielding, clashing over a hundred times in the blink of an eye.

The shockwaves tore through the air, and the earth cracked inch by inch.

"Jiang Chen, I have said it before: before the purest and most noble True Dragon bloodline, a nobody of unknown origin like you cannot hope to shake the grand trend in the slightest!

On the path of immortal cultivation, both talent and bloodline are indispensable.

Some people exhaust their whole lives, yet cannot catch up to a single step of a genius.

You are the same—destined to become the stepping stone for me to reach the peak!"

The Venerable Divine Dragon's brows lifted, his arrogance soaring to the heavens.

Roar!!

The void behind him trembled, and a vast True Dragon Domain suddenly unfolded.

Countless phantom images of dragons circled and roared, dragon chants rolling, piercing directly through the nine heavens!

Streams of pitch-black dragon energy and blazing divine light poured into the sword domain, instantly causing its power to surge hundreds of times over, forcibly pushing the ocean of thunder into retreat!

At this moment, the Venerable Divine Dragon seemed to stand at the peak of victory, shouting wildly: "Jiang Chen, your defeat is sealed!

In this world, the strong are supreme, and it is only natural for the weak to sacrifice everything!

Do not hold any resentment—being able to contribute to my glory is already your good fortune!"