Is initial fire strong?
Yes.
Not only strong, but astonishingly so.
As powerful as he is, he clearly understands the character of initial fire.
"Hmph."
Demonic flames flowed like lava.
The two fists collided, and initial fire's figure was blasted out.
"You fellow..."
Initial fire gave a wry smile, "I really want this seat to be a commander of an army of one."
"I just want to bring two ninth-tier experts with me, is that so difficult?"
Zhan's gaze was icy, "I told you, you can only leave alone."
Clang!
Zhan attacked fiercely.
Since you don't want to leave alone, then stay together.
The demonic blade slashed out, tearing through the sky.
He revealed his killing intent.
"Heh heh."
Initial fire gave a bitter smile, "I'm leaving."
This time, his figure completely dissipated.
He really left.
As for those subordinates, they were all abandoned by him.
Those who came here were all here to share in this grand feast.
To eat their fill, they had to exchange their lives.
Success meant joy for all.
Failure meant being prepared to be abandoned.
"Dao Lord."
The strong expert being suppressed by Chen Fan roared with unwillingness.
He thought of the consequences.
He was dead for sure.
Even the Dao Lord had fled, was there any hope of survival?
They despaired.
"Kill."
Yin and yang energy appeared, fixing the opponent's figure.
The millstone of life and death descended, crushing the opponent's great Dao.
The five elements transformed into Dao, eroding the opponent's vital organs and destroying all their Dao sources.
Bang!
A roar resounded.
The ninth-tier expert's figure was directly shattered.
In front of City Lord Chen, this ninth-tier expert appeared so weak.
The great Dao covered him, and the enemy emerged from the long river.
"I am willing to surrender."
Ji Zhu's face was pale, his eyes filled with despair.
He was afraid, he didn't want to die.
"Surrender?"
Chen Fan sneered, "What guarantee do you have that you won't betray me?"
"I am willing to pay my Dao origin."
He didn't want to die, "I am willing to help you counterattack the nine heavens."
"Alright."
Chen Fan smiled, his sword still sharp, continuously attacking, "Hand over your Dao origin."
"..."
Ji Zhu despaired.
He felt Chen Fan's killing intent, and the other party was not holding back at all.
Ji Zhu was somewhat conflicted.
He didn't know if the other party would truly accept his surrender.
He said he would, but his actions didn't stop.
"Okay."
Ji Zhu decided to take a gamble.
It was death either way, so why not gamble on a one in ten thousand chance?
Hum.
He directly extracted his Dao origin, and a large portion of it.
Like the Heaven Rending King and the Rain King from before, even when they handed over their Dao origin, it was only a tiny wisp, causing little damage to themselves. Even if Chen Fan crushed that wisp, Heaven Rending and the others would only suffer heavy injuries.
But Ji Zhu was different. The Dao origin he handed over was half of his total.
This meant that if Chen Fan crushed this Dao origin, Ji Zhu would have no other path but death.
Even Chen Fan was stunned.
Swoosh.
Sword light swept out, severing one of the opponent's arms.
Ji Zhu's expression did not change, he stared at Chen Fan intently.
Chen Fan: '...'
This!
He was momentarily at a loss for what to do.
Looking at the Dao origin that fell into his hand, he fell silent.
Little did he know, Ji Zhu on the opposite side's heart was beating so fast it felt like it would jump out.
At this moment, his life was held in the other party's hand.
He was truly nervous.
Until the sword pointing at him was sheathed, and that sharp killing intent suddenly vanished without a trace.
"Phew."
Ji Zhu felt as if his entire body had collapsed.
The killing intent was gone.
"Ruthless enough."
Chen Fan opposite him smiled, and pocketed nearly half of the Dao origin.
His gaze fell on Ji Zhu, and he shook his head with a laugh, "I intended to kill you."
"I know."
Ji Zhu completely relaxed, even though his face was deathly pale.
Compared to life and death, handing over half of his Dao origin was worth it.
Chen Fan smacked his lips twice, clicking his tongue, "However, seeing as you handed over half of your Dao origin, I'll spare your life."
"Thank you, City Lord."
Ji Zhu bowed his body.
His life was saved.
It was good to be alive, the gamble had paid off.
"Go."
Chen Fan spoke again, "This battle should end now."
"Yes."
Ji Zhu understood Chen Fan's meaning.
He needed a token of allegiance, and this token could not be just any Dao origin.
He still needed to act.
Before leaving, Ji Zhu asked, "What if others are also willing to surrender?"
Chen Fan shook his head, "Too many have died in the Ninth Land, and someone needs to bear this wrath."
"...Understood, subordinate." Ji Zhu turned and left.
...
The Ninth Land was almost wiped out.
The fall of hundreds of billions of lives was a monstrous bloody crime.
The entire Ninth Land was permeated with the stench of blood.
Many experts from the Sword Realm had fallen, as well as the subordinates of the Phantom Sect and the Light Lord's contingency plans.
He could save Ji Zhu alone, but any more would be excessive.
Didn't he see that the Death Sword Emperor and others were already bloodthirsty?
"Ji Zhu, you actually became a traitor?" Huang's opponent's face was grim.
Huang was no match for his opponent; his only option was to tie him down.
Ji Zhu turned, looking calmly at the person speaking, and said, "The Dao Lord betrayed us first."
"..."
The person who had intended to reprimand him was immediately speechless.
Then, a look of despair appeared on his face.
Yes, it was Dao Lord initial fire who had betrayed them first, abandoning them.
They were comrades, companions, brothers in arms.
But at the critical moment of life and death, the Dao Lord had abandoned them all without hesitation.
"Heh heh."
Ji Zhu's laughter turned cold, "I haven't lived enough yet, and I don't want to die, so... I made the most correct choice."
If Dao Lord initial fire hadn't betrayed them first, even if Ji Zhu was afraid of death, his Dao heart wouldn't have allowed him to betray.
That was his Dao.
Since the Dao Lord had betrayed first, his betrayal was only natural.
"Ji Zhu..."
The man hesitated for a moment, and just as he was about to speak, Ji Zhu raised his hand to stop him.
Although there was a hint of reluctance in his eyes, he said sternly, "We have killed too many people in the Ninth Land, and this wrath needs to be vented. I'm sorry, I can't help you."
With that, Ji Zhu turned and left.
"Alas."
A sigh from behind made Ji Zhu unable to bear to look back.
Boom!
The battle behind them intensified.
Ji Zhu did not participate in any major battles, but instead came to the border wall of the Tenth Land.
Looking at the Dragon King, who was forcefully breaking through the great formation but making slow progress, Ji Zhu said, "This formation was set up by me. Let me do it."
The Dragon King glanced at him, killing intent filling his eyes.
In the end, he withdrew the killing intent from his eyes and made way.
Ji Zhu clasped his fists, and with a point of his finger, a formation base flew out.
The Dragon King stood by, not leaving.
Although he had received a message from City Lord Chen, he still did not trust this person.
Even with the origin in hand, it was not enough.
Ji Zhu said nothing, nor did he express any dissatisfaction.
Since he had chosen to surrender, he would not betray them again.
A pointless betrayal was akin to seeking death.
Under the watchful eyes of the Dragon King, he pulled out formation base pillars one by one.
When all the formation bases were pulled out.
Boom!
The great formation covering the Ninth Land instantly shattered.