The two worlds soon drew near.
Elder Demon Chu sat above the Realm of Life and Death, gently patting its top to alert it.
"Whoosh."
His figure instantly vanished, landing in the broken world.
Barren, desolate.
This broken world was already devoid of all life.
"Ruthless."
After a brief scan, Elder Demon Chu sighed.
This world seemed to have died recently; a faint aura of oblivion could still be sensed.
Whoosh.
Elder Demon Chu entered the broken world.
An extreme solitude still enveloped the entire world, which was filled with corpses.
Further observation revealed that these people had died in their living postures, their eyes showing no trace of fear or panic, indicating they had perished silently.
This world was vast, even larger than the Realm of Life and Death.
Someone had annihilated an entire world.
Elder Demon Chu remained unfazed, traversing the desolate realm.
"Chih."
A surge of life and death energy appeared, a familiar presence.
"City Lord."
Elder Demon Chu saw the newcomer.
Chen Fan raised an eyebrow. "Good heavens, to annihilate a world silently, truly ruthless."
They exchanged a glance and continued forward.
Within the broken world, life was extinguished.
"Eh?"
Suddenly, a sweep of the long river of life and death discovered a faint trace of vitality.
Though Elder Demon Chu had missed it, he saw the flicker of surprise on the City Lord's face.
"Let's go."
The two figures quickly vanished from their spot.
They reappeared moments later, hovering above the desolate world.
"Attack."
The City Lord spoke, and Elder Demon Chu did not hesitate.
Boom.
He threw a punch.
Above them, the now hollowed-out Dao King was instantly shattered by the blow.
The two plunged into the powerless Dao net, pushing further inward.
An incredibly dim star appeared at the deepest point of the Dao net.
Within the star, a figure slumbered.
The moment Chen Fan saw the person in the star, his scalp tingled.
"Whoosh."
Elder Demon Chu fared even worse, cold sweat immediately streaming down his face.
Terror.
Yes, upon seeing that person, an overwhelming sense of dread washed over them.
It was akin to a Half-Emperor encountering a Heavenly Emperor.
"Let's go."
The river of life and death emerged, extending beyond the Dao net.
Chen Fan directly dragged Elder Demon Chu away.
Something was very wrong.
"This might be the one who annihilated the entire world," Chen Fan thought grimly.
Even the sixth-order Emperor Yu had never exuded such terrifying pressure on Chen Fan.
Could it be...
He dared not imagine.
Chaos had no rules.
If it did, it would be strength. Strength was the rule.
If that being was who he suspected, and decided to attack the Realm of Life and Death, it would be an act of world-ending destruction.
The two moved with extreme speed, bursting out of the Water Realm Dao net.
And then...
The moment they escaped, they felt as if they were being eyed by the God of Death.
"Life and Death?"
Suddenly, a voice echoed in Chen Fan's ear.
Merely the sound seemed to possess the power to ground them.
Their bodies trembled instinctively.
Elder Demon Chu fared worse, his body stiffening on the spot.
Chen Fan, suppressing the urge to flee, slowly turned.
He was already at the edge of the Dao net. As he turned, he saw a pair of eyes as desolate as death itself.
The being within the Great Dao Star, having woken up at some unknown moment.
In an instant, star rivers flowed.
Every great star, including every star river, was in a state of utter stillness.
"Come here."
The figure spoke.
It was not a command, yet it carried an irresistible will.
Both their bodies trembled.
"Senior."
Chen Fan could only steel himself and bow, "Junior stumbled into this place and disturbed Senior's cultivation. I beg Senior's forgiveness."
"A place of cultivation?"
The voice held a hint of amused mockery. "No, no, no. This is not my place of cultivation, but a place of oblivion. Where I am, all becomes oblivion."
"..." Chen Fan.
He did not understand the being's meaning.
Yet, a terrible premonition washed over him.
"Hand over your realm, and I shall spare you." The man spoke.
He stepped out of the great star, and in one stride, appeared before them.
Elder Demon Chu didn't even have the courage to look up.
Chen Fan's expression was grave. "Senior, junior merely stumbled upon this place and disturbed Senior. Junior is willing to compensate..."
"Noisy."
Before he could finish speaking.
A wave of obliterating energy swept down.
Chen Fan and Elder Demon Chu's faces contorted in shock.
"War Demon."
"Life and Death."
Neither chose to passively await their doom.
But as the energy of oblivion pressed down, life and death, and demonic flames alike, were instantly extinguished.
As if they had never existed.
The energy of oblivion seeped into their bodies, and their auras were instantly annihilated.
Silence without sound.
Chen Fan and Elder Demon Chu stood silently in place, their auras completely extinguished.
Not dead, but annihilated.
...
Oblivion could be restored, unlike death.
The man's face was calm. For a fourth-order Heavenly Emperor, annihilation was effortless.
"The Dao of Life and Death, interesting," the man murmured.
He was primarily drawn to their Dao of Life and Death.
Saying so, he raised his hand and grasped.
"Buzz."
Great Dao energy surged.
The two bodies, having been annihilated, slowly drifted closer.
Boom.
The instant the two bodies were about to meet,
the fleshly bodies imbued with the Dao of Life and Death suddenly exploded.
The twin Daos of Life and Death shattered.
This scene was so sudden that even the man was caught off guard.
A storm of destruction engulfed the man.
Chen Fan, grabbing Elder Demon Chu, fled, burning his life essence.
The Dao of Life and Death was broken.
"Whoosh."
Teleportation activated.
In the blink of an eye, their figures vanished.
"Insolent!"
From within the storm of destruction, the man emerged calmly.
With a casual grasp, two fourth-order Great Daos were absorbed into his hand.
His icy pupils were filled with rage.
Who was he?
He was a Great Emperor, a seventh-order Great Emperor.
As one of the most supreme beings in the entire Chaos, he had been tricked by a mere fourth-order.
Boom.
Above the man's head, a colossal star suddenly materialized.
The star, condensed from the energy of oblivion, radiated boundless Great Dao, spreading in all directions.
The power of an Emperor knew no bounds.
Far away...
Chen Fan and the two fleeing figures suddenly felt a sense of impending doom.
"Found you."
The man's voice once again reached their ears.
Chen Fan and Elder Demon Chu's faces were terrifyingly grim.
Ahead, the Realm of Life and Death was already in sight.
"Go back."
Chen Fan directly threw Elder Demon Chu out, driving the world, and fleeing at full speed.
"City Lord, what about you?"
"I will draw the power of the entire world and set off a firework." Chen Fan's expression was solemn for the first time.
He had never felt this way even when facing the sixth-order Emperor Yu.
Elder Demon Chu vaguely guessed the man's cultivation level.
To seek life from death.
This was their last resort.
"Remember."
Chen Fan instructed again, "Flee as far as you can. As long as the world does not collapse, I will not die."
"Understood."
Now was not the time for sentimentality.