Confrontation.
One side sought to reclaim the vitality that rightfully belonged to them, while the other shirked and refused to relinquish it.
"Hum."
Within the river of rules, the water surged.
Rules, one after another, churned in the river like enraged dragons.
"Qi Mu, I've given you face, this city lord."
The great dragon roared, seemingly impatient to break free: "Vitality, are you giving it or not?"
Qi Mu stood on high alert.
"Hum."
Behind him, rules also emerged.
That was the nascent form of his Imperial Palace, incredibly weak, with over a hundred people crammed inside.
The moment the Imperial Palace opened, over a hundred people appeared.
These were the strong individuals from Heavenly Fall Mountain whom Qi Mu had spirited away when he fled.
They were Qi Mu's confidantes.
Moreover, their paths were remarkably similar to Qi Mu's, even originating from the same source.
Their cultivation greatly benefited Qi Mu's own advancement.
This was the root of Qi Mu's strength, and naturally, he would not give it up.
At this moment, these individuals stepped out.
Confronting their former brothers.
"Hum."
A murderous aura permeated the space between the two sides.
With two Half-Emperors poised for battle, they had no choice but to fight, whether they wished to or not.
Their opinions held no sway with Half-Emperors.
They were merely survivors by affiliation.
"Chen Fan."
Qi Mu's expression was graver than ever: "You are from the Immortal Realm. For you, as long as you return, you will have access to boundless vitality. Why compete with me?"
"I indeed do not need it."
Chen Fan readily agreed: "But the people behind me do."
"Them?"
Qi Mu scoffed: "Mere ants. Would you really go to war with me for these ants?"
He did not believe it.
Let alone him, anyone would find it unbelievable.
To wage war against a Half-Emperor for a group of ants?
It was an outrageous joke.
"Heh heh."
Chen Fan did not bother to explain: "Whether you believe it or not is up to you. This is your final chance, hand over the vitality."
"Chen Fan, do you truly intend to do this? If you and I clash, if we fight to the death, we will both perish."
The clash of Half-Emperors held the risk of demise with a single misstep.
"You overestimate yourself."
Chen Fan remained unmoved: "And you underestimate me."
He harbored no apprehension towards Qi Mu.
In his eyes, someone like Qi Mu, who dared not even venture to the Central Continent, was no different from an ant.
What did it matter that he was a Half-Emperor?
He was merely the weakest of Half-Emperors.
Qi Mu's face contorted: "You are too arrogant."
"So what?"
Chen Fan raised an eyebrow: "My arrogance is built on the foundation of strength. If you disagree, then fight... Kill..."
Enough pleasantries had been exchanged.
"Boom."
With a sweep of his hand, the Great Dao of Death descended with a roar.
The heavens and earth collapsed, directly crushing Qi Mu.
Qi Mu's expression changed, and he quickly mobilized his rules to protect himself.
"Rumble."
The opponent's Great Dao was a blade of death, incomparably black.
Sharing the same element of death, the opponent had taken a different path, forging the Dao of the Death Blade.
"Open."
The great blade cleaved the sky.
The Great Dao of Death was directly torn asunder.
Staggering steps.
Although the black blade split the death, he himself retreated three steps.
His face turned slightly pale, and his gripping hand trembled slightly.
...
"Kill."
Qi Mu and Xiao Wu, leading over two thousand people, charged forward.
Facing them, Qi Mu's subordinates could only grit their teeth and meet the onslaught.
Having chosen their respective masters, both sides were destined to become enemies.
At this point, words were useless.
Only killing remained.
"Rumble."
Hundreds of people, though powerful.
But there were too many on this side, over two thousand people, who directly engulfed the hundreds.
The great battle commenced.
Those Qi Mu could take with him were not weak.
However, Chen Fan's side not only had more people, but after absorbing the soul power left by the burial grounds, they had also integrated into the river of rules.
Each individual's cultivation had seen significant progress.
There were even many Emperor-level powerhouses.
"Ah."
Upon first contact, screams erupted.
On Qi Mu's side, four individuals were slain in the first exchange.
Their physical bodies were severed, and their souls dispersed.
The fierce battle unfolded with a one-sided oppressive momentum.
...
In the sky.
The battle between Chen Fan and Qi Mu was equally intense.
Clanging sword cries echoed through the heavens and earth.
Each Great Dao of rules was a divine sword.
A hundred Daos converged...
Yes, the river of rules now had over a hundred Great Daos of rules refined and formed.
"Hundred Dao Sword, Slash."
One sword, cleaving the sky.
The already precarious Imperial Palace was immediately torn asunder.
If anyone were outside the stone sphere of the Imperial Palace at that moment, they would see a massive crack appearing on the surface of the sphere.
Boundless sword intent surged out from the crack.
The view returned to the Crazy Realm.
Under the Hundred Dao Sword, all things were annihilated.
Qi Mu's black blade, with a 'bang', was sliced as easily as tofu.
"Pfft,"
A spray of blood bloomed from Qi Mu's brow.
The bloodline spread downwards.
"Ah!"
Qi Mu screamed, his physical body splitting apart.
His soul and body were both torn in half.
Over a hundred forces of rules entangled the severed halves of his body, destroying Qi Mu's vitality.
"How is this possible?"
Qi Mu was utterly aghast.
How could he be so strong?
Unbelievable.
At this moment, fear welled up from the depths of his heart.
He remembered the words spoken earlier: "You overestimated yourself, and underestimated me."
Yes, Qi Mu finally understood the meaning of those words.
He had overestimated his own strength and underestimated Chen Fan's.
This sword strike was undoubtedly the power of a peak Half-Emperor.
"Hum."
Under the invasion of death, the nascent Imperial Palace behind Qi Mu immediately spewed forth boundless vitality.
That was the vitality he had taken from Heavenly Fall Mountain.
"You are not worthy to use it."
Chen Fan coldly unleashed another sword strike, the Hundred Dao Sword, slashing again.
"Boom."
This strike landed directly on the nascent Imperial Palace.
The nascent Imperial Palace, which Qi Mu had spent countless years forging, exploded with a 'bang'.
"No."
Qi Mu's eyes turned red.
This was the Crazy Realm, where vitality was scarce.
Without vitality, his physical body could not recover.
Seeing the boundless vitality about to dissipate, how could he not go mad?
"Transform into a blade."
Qi Mu's eyes reddened.
Half of his severed body transformed into the complete Qi Mu, while the other half instantly turned to smoke.
The smoke gathered and fell onto the severed black blade.
With half his body and his soul, he reformed the black blade, strengthening its rules.
"Slash."
One blade, cleaving the void.
With a 'boom', it struck Chen Fan.
This blow was unavoidable, too fast.
However...
"Clang."
Golden radiance appeared on Chen Fan's body.
The Golden Silk Cicada Robe blocked the strike.
The immense force sent Chen Fan staggering backward.
After all, it was a strike condensed from a Half-Emperor's half-body and soul, and it was powerful.
"Swish."
He retreated, but Qi Mu did not pursue.
Instead, he quickly turned, gathered the dissipating vitality, and fled with it.
If he did not escape, he would die.