The Dragon King loved explosions.
Whether it was himself or his attacks, he would detonate at the slightest provocation.
This time, he even detonated his Great Dao Dragon Spirit.
RUMBLE.
As the Dragon Spirit self-destructed, chaotic currents surged away like rolling waves.
Space itself rippled at that moment.
Such was the might of that move.
"Huuu huu."
With a single move, the Dragon King was already panting heavily.
Chen Fan and the other two remained impassive, their gazes fixed on the dissipating storm of destruction.
Only the Thousand Silks Dao Master stood serenely in the distance.
"Be careful."
Chen Fan saw the confidence in the Thousand Silks Dao Master's expression.
The opponent was a dual entity, and no one knew the Evil Lord better than Thousand Silks.
His composure stemmed from confidence.
"Tsk tsk."
Amidst the raging storm, the Evil Lord's voice echoed.
Brutal, capricious, and ruthless...
Even his voice sent shivers down one's spine.
"Hoo."
Chen Fan heard a breath.
A very large breath.
Like a fan, but instead of blowing outwards, it was drawing inwards.
The moment he thought this, his expression changed.
Simultaneously, the faces of the three beside him turned ashen.
The raging storm of destruction was being devoured by a black hole-like vortex, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
The Evil Lord's form was even more tattered.
The Dragon King's attack had caused considerable damage to the Evil Lord's body, yet his aura remained as before... brutal and wicked.
"How is this possible?" The Evil Lord's appearance shocked the Dragon King.
His eyes were filled with disbelief.
Completely unharmed?
The Dragon King was utterly stunned... that last move was his ultimate trump card.
His strongest attack had resulted in the opponent being unscathed?
If there was any injury, it was merely superficial damage to his physical body.
But for a powerful being, was physical injury important?
No.
As long as the Great Dao remained intact, it was not considered an injury.
And that was precisely the Evil Lord's state. Though his physical body was wounded, his Great Dao was unharmed, making it as good as being unscathed.
"Not bad."
The Evil Lord even licked his lips.
It was this action that finally snapped Chen Fan and the others back to reality.
He... had swallowed the storm of destruction.
His eyes, filled with malevolent intent, stared at the Dragon King, and he laughed rebelliously, "Anything else?"
He seemed to be still wanting more.
The Dragon King: "..."
Faced with the Evil Lord's challenge, he could only remain silent.
"A pity."
The Evil Lord seemed displeased. "If so, you may die..."
*Ching.*
Evil light flickered, and his figure... vanished.
The faces of the four changed dramatically.
"Sever."
Chen Fan and the other two struck without hesitation, attacking the Dragon King simultaneously.
Their target was not the Dragon King, of course.
*Clang.*
The Heaven-Piercing Cloud Sword vibrated.
This strike felt like it had hit primordial divine gold.
The Heaven-Piercing Cloud Sword, incapable of being un-broken, once again encountered something it could not sever.
The powerful recoil instantly sent Chen Fan flying back.
The Yin Yang Dao Master and Sword Master were also sent flying back.
All three of them retreated.
"Puff."
A spray of blood flew.
The Dragon King's body froze in place. He lowered his head in disbelief, looking at his empty chest.
His heart was gone.
At the edge of the wound, traces of ghastly green venom remained, corroding his flesh.
The Dragon King's expression was calm as he looked at the emptiness before him.
Then, he slowly turned around.
A hundred meters behind him, a figure stood silently.
In his palm, he held a beating heart.
"So strong."
The Dragon King sighed. "Is this the ninth stage?"
At this moment, the Dragon King felt an irrepressible yearning for the ninth stage.
*Bang.*
As soon as he spoke, the Dragon King's physical body instantly collapsed.
The venom was rule, was Dao.
The Dragon King's body began to dissolve, and his Great Dao started to crumble.
"Dragon King."
The Sword Master's expression was grim.
"Three of you."
A hint of a smile appeared on the Dragon King's face. "I apologize, but from now on, you can only rely on yourselves."
The enemy's strength was so overwhelming that the Dragon King couldn't even muster the thought of anger.
He was simply too powerful.
"I still have the strength for one last attack."
The Dragon King was unwilling to die just like this.
He knew Chen Fan could revive him, but all of that depended on victory.
If they lost, everything would be for naught.
He continued, "I will use my final strength to try and hold him for a moment, giving you a chance..."
*Bang.*
The instant the words fell, the Dragon King's essence dissolved.
Before his Great Dao could collapse, he willingly abandoned his physical form.
"Roar."
The five-clawed golden dragon instantly unleashed its strongest form.
Its colossal body stretched for a hundred miles.
Boundless Great Dao converged, and chaotic dragon spirits merged into its flesh.
"Still."
The Dragon King roared.
With a 'boom,' the entire chaos instantly solidified.
As a top-tier, supreme eighth-stage being, the Dragon King possessed his own pride.
He refused to lose, so he gambled everything.
*Boom.*
Heaven and earth instantly froze.
All the power was directed at the Evil Lord. Before the eyes of the others, the Dragon King's Dao spirit body instantly collapsed.
At this moment, the Evil Lord was looking up, preparing to swallow the Dragon Heart.
Not the Dragon King's true heart, but the heart from the Dragon King's human form.
It was small, but it was still beating.
His movement halted, frozen just before he could devour the Dragon Heart.
...
The Dragon King had gambled his all, freezing the Evil Lord.
Concurrently, the very instant the Dragon King perished.
All the chaotic beasts scattered across the Ninth Realm seemed to sense it.
The Chaos Demon Butterfly, the Overlord of the North.
She was not old, but possessed extraordinary talent. At a young age, she led the Chaos race in the North of the Tenth Realm, resisting the oppression of humanity.
She didn't want to be an overlord; she just wanted to be a happy chaotic beast, roaming freely through chaos.
But she had no choice. The Chaos race faced too many difficulties, and she had to bear the mantle.
The war in the North had raged for tens of thousands of years.
Back then, the Chaos Demon Butterfly was in despair, seeing no future.
Until the Dragon King's arrival.
That day, the North was in turmoil. She was cornered in a perilous spot by four eighth-stage beings, with no escape.
Just as she was about to be killed, a golden dragon descended from the heavens.
Without a word, it engaged in battle.
The Dragon King, single-handedly, slew two of the enemy forces.
From then on, the Chaos Demon Butterfly's burden lightened, for she had found a stronger being who was more suited to lead the Chaos race to survival.
Afterward, her life became much easier. She stopped overthinking, leaving all decisions to the Dragon King.
The Dragon King was stern, never smiling.
Yet, the Chaos Demon Butterfly and all her kin knew that the Dragon King had a heart of gold beneath his harsh exterior. He spoke cruelly, but treated his kin with great kindness, always leading the charge in every battle.
Though he seemed indifferent when a clansman fell, he would always become silent behind closed doors.
The Dragon King was the heaven of the Chaos race.
And on this day, the sky had fallen.
The Chaos Demon Butterfly sensed it. She turned her head with difficulty, looking towards the North... a faint, unseen connection told her that the dragon race's heaven had collapsed.
It wasn't just the Chaos Demon Butterfly. The moment the Dragon King fell, all the chaotic beings of the Ninth Realm simultaneously ceased their actions, turning their gazes towards the North.
The light in their eyes slowly faded.