Yang Jian, enraged by Ye Ling, disregarded his battle with the Three Yuan Star Lord statue. He immediately shrunk to normal height, gripping his three-pointed, double-edged blade, and lunged at Ye Ling!
Seeing Yang Jian suddenly attack in a fury, Ye Ling smiled slightly, having no intention of confronting Yang Jian head-on. He enveloped the Three Yuan Star Lord's body with demonic energy and evaded Yang Jian's strike.
Yang Jian, seeing Ye Ling abscond with the Three Yuan Star Lord's body, panicked and attacked Ye Ling again, demanding, "Give me the Sacred Body!"
Ye Ling easily dodged Yang Jian's assault and inquired, "The Sacred Body? You truly know of the Three Yuan Star Lord. How closely are you related to the sacrificial ritual of the Sages in the hidden space?"
"That is not your concern."
Yang Jian coldly retorted and attacked again, each move filled with killing intent!
Meanwhile, without Yang Jian's obstruction, the Three Yuan Star Lord statue resumed its advance, closing in on the battlefield between Nezha and the Calamity Mother.
Rumble!
As the Three Yuan Star Lord statue approached, the Calamity Mother began to riot. Nezha was consequently disrupted and, caught off guard, was sent flying by a tentacle from the Calamity Mother!
"What in the world is going on?"
Seeing the Three Yuan Star Lord statue drawing nearer, Nezha immediately questioned Yang Jian, only to find Yang Jian locked in combat with Ye Ling, making him almost lose his mind!
"Yang Jian, why are you fighting Ye Ling? No one is holding back that statue!"
Nezha shouted at Yang Jian, but at this moment, Yang Jian's eyes seemed fixed solely on Ye Ling, relentlessly charging at him, completely ignoring Nezha's words.
"Has that guy gone mad?"
Nezha watched Yang Jian pursue Ye Ling, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. However, the Calamity Mother attacked again, and coupled with the threat of the Three Yuan Star Lord statue, Nezha couldn't afford to be distracted, soon being dragged back into the fight.
"What is happening here?"
Li Jing was also under immense pressure, forced to divert a portion of his already limited forces. He dispatched the Giant Spirit God and the Four Heavenly Kings to lead the charge, delaying the Three Yuan Star Lord statue's advance.
While evading Yang Jian's attacks, Ye Ling observed the battlefield on Li Jing's side. Seeing the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals on the verge of collapse, he instructed Jiu Ling, "Jiu Ling, go assist Nezha. Suppress the Calamity Mother, and let Nezha deal with the Three Yuan Star Lord statue."
"Yes!"
Upon receiving Ye Ling's command, Jiu Ling, who had been restless, immediately transformed into a white nine-tailed demon fox. Powerful demonic energy, accompanied by the aura of spiritual laws, swept across the heavens and earth!
All the gods trembled, gazing at Jiu Ling in shock!
Was this still a demon fox?
"Nezha, I will handle the Calamity Mother. You go deal with the statue!"
Jiu Ling lunged at the Calamity Mother, directly suppressing it within the Tongtian Tower, her ferocious power entwining with the Calamity Mother.
"Tch! Who needs help from a mere fox demon?"
Nezha muttered unhappily, though he had to admit that with Jiu Ling's assistance in suppressing the Calamity Mother, his pressure had significantly reduced, allowing him to finally catch his breath.
After a brief respite, Nezha also employed the Dharma Manifestation, growing to a thousand meters tall. He rallied the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals and launched an assault on the Three Yuan Star Lord statue.
Rumble…
With Jiu Ling's intervention, the tide of the battle stabilized once more.
Seeing that the situation for the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals had stabilized, Ye Ling turned to Yang Jian and smiled, "Erlang Zhenjun, the situation for Heavenly King Li has now stabilized. I have ample time to play with you. Are you sure you still want to waste time here?"
Yang Jian: "..."
Yang Jian remained silent. His cultivation was at the peak of True Martial, just a step away from the Saint realm.
Therefore, after a brief exchange with Ye Ling, he clearly understood the gap between them.
Ye Ling's cultivation was definitely above that of a Saint!
Furthermore, to awaken the Three Yuan Star Lord statue required the sacrifice of five Saints' power. Before Ye Ling entered the hidden space, there were likely only four Saints sacrificed in the altar…
Yet, after Ye Ling entered, the Three Yuan Star Lord statue revived… Regardless of how Ye Ling achieved this, it indicated that Ye Ling could at least provide the power of one Saint without any issues himself!
On this point alone, Yang Jian realized that his offensive against Ye Ling would yield no results and would only lead to his own humiliation.
Soon, Yang Jian's attack frequency decreased, and his moves were no longer as sharp as before.
Noticing the shift in Yang Jian's mindset, Ye Ling pressed his advantage, continuing his inquiry, "I can refrain from asking how you knew of the Three Yuan Star Lord's existence, and I won't press you on your connection to the Saint sacrificial ritual. You only need to tell me, what is the purpose of you taking the Three Yuan Star Lord's body?"
"Who are you? What is your relationship with the Three Yuan Star Lord?"
Seeing Ye Ling guarding the Three Yuan Star Lord's body so closely, leaving him no opportunity to seize it, Yang Jian became exceptionally enraged and questioned Ye Ling.
To Yang Jian, Ye Ling's identity seemed to have appeared out of thin air.
He had never heard Ye Ling's name before yesterday, and today Ye Ling's fame had spread throughout the entire immortal realm, as if Ye Ling had been a renowned Saint for a long time!
However, typically, powerful figures emerging from the mortal realm were either Sages who had lived in seclusion since the Primordial Era or those who had forged their reputations through countless battles.
The former had mostly vanished without a trace, while the latter were best represented by the monkey who had once wreaked havoc in the heavens.
But a monster like Ye Ling, who appeared out of nowhere and possessed Saint-level power upon his debut, defied all logic!
Where had Ye Ling been during his formative years?
"Who am I?"
Ye Ling stood in the void, looking at Yang Jian and smiling, "Just an ordinary person. I have no background. If your Heavenly Court or Underworld investigates, they should be able to find out my origins."
"You!!!"
Upon hearing Ye Ling's words, Yang Jian nearly spat out a mouthful of blood!
Possessing the strength of a Saint, a power that surpassed most gods and immortals in the immortal realm, yet claiming to be just an ordinary person with no background?
Who would believe such a lie!
Yang Jian's expression darkened, "You know I won't believe your nonsense. Are you toying with me?"
Ye Ling shook his head and chuckled, "Alright, I admit… I am indeed not an ordinary person. However, I truly had no background on Earth. If you really want to classify me…"
"Should I be considered an expatriate returning from another world?"
Yang Jian: "..."
Yang Jian's face grew even more somber, his hand gripping his weapon trembling slightly, veins bulging on his forehead.
It was clear he still believed Ye Ling was toying with him!
"A scholar can be killed but not insulted. You have repeatedly insulted my intelligence. Even if your strength far surpasses mine, I will make you pay the price!"
"Heavenly Eye, activate!"
Yang Jian roared, the third eye on his forehead opening, his aura beginning to surge!
The power of the Heavenly Dao descended, pouring into Yang Jian's third eye.
Heaven and earth trembled!
A fierce wind whipped around them. Yang Jian held his three-pointed, double-edged blade with both hands and, channeling all his might, slashed fiercely at Ye Ling!
"Heaven-Splitting Slash!"