Nine Star Hegemon Body Art - Chapter 5823

Long Chen had seen and experienced countless vicious means. However, he had never seen someone do something like this.

Using the essence blood of eight warhorses to detonate the carriage they were pulling? It was akin to setting off a massive bomb. The impact of the explosion was enough to shatter heaven and earth.

Let alone a group of Heaven Saints, even a group of mid-stage Divine Emperors would probably be blown apart if caught off-guard.

This was happening too fast, and too suddenly. Even Long Chen hadn’t anticipated such a suicidal tactic. When he first saw the golden carriage drawn by those blazing warhorses, he had wondered what kind of powerhouse sat within it.

But before they could even speculate, the carriage erupted in a blinding explosion. This was undoubtedly an assassination attempt.

Long Chen discarded any thoughts of concealing his power. Just as he was about to summon the Earth Cauldron to shield everyone, Huai Yushan reacted even faster—she shot straight toward the exploding chariots.

As she formed intricate hand seals, her hair billowed wildly as thirteen heaven veins appeared behind her, creating a mysterious diagram. The space in front of her twisted violently.

In that instant, Long Chen clearly sensed the fabric of space being torn apart. The explosion, which should have consumed everything in an instant, suddenly slowed down as though caught in a frame-by-frame sequence.

“Temporal laws?!”

Even Long Chen had yet to grasp such an advanced level of power.

The distorted space formed a massive shield. Originally, there had been no time to defend against this sudden attack, but Huai Yushan had twisted both space and time, stalling its explosion and buying time for everyone. Everyone hastily pulled back.

BOOM!

The explosion finally erupted with full force. The shockwave sent everyone tumbling through the air, and the massive leaf they had been standing on wrapped itself around them protectively.

But the impact was too great.

The leaf was torn apart, leaving the disciples of the Undying Dragon Tree race dazed. Fortunately, none of them were seriously injured.

“Yushan!”

Their alarmed cries rang out as they spotted Huai Yushan—her hands were gone.

She had borne the brunt of the explosion to protect them, and the price was severe. Blood dripped from her lips, her face was as pale as paper, and her aura had dimmed. Even her thirteen heaven veins flickered unsteadily.

“Run!” she shouted.

Despite her injuries, her gaze remained sharp. A bad feeling crept over her. This attack wasn’t a coincidence—it had been meticulously planned. Their enemies had to be nearby, waiting for the right moment to strike.

A cold snort rang out.

“Don’t even think about leaving.”

After that, the space around them exploded, and countless figures surrounded them. Dark devil qi surged from their bodies, casting the entire world into shadow.

Huai Yushan’s expression changed. She hadn’t expected the devil race to be behind this ambush.

There was no escape. Unless they could pierce through the heavens or burrow into the earth, they were completely trapped.

“Shameless devils, do you wish to be enemies with the Undying race?” asked Huai Yushan coldly.

The group of devils was enormous. There were dozens of late-stage Devil Emperors among them, each radiating immense power. Yet, Huai Yushan showed no fear.

“Little brats, you don’t know how high the heavens are. Today, you can only count yourself unlucky,” a devil race elder sneered, revealing a set of yellowed teeth.

Just then, all the devil experts opened a path. A procession of sixteen flaming warhorses appeared, pulling a massive golden carriage. Behind it followed dozens of smaller carriages, identical to the one that had just exploded.

The golden carriage’s door slowly opened, and a man dressed in violet robes and wearing a golden crown stepped out.

The crowned man said, “We have no personal grudge against the Undying race. However, I require your lives to break into the Human Emperor realm. I had no other choice.”

The moment he appeared, every devil expert—including the late-stage Devil Emperors—bowed deeply. His status had to be high.

A young devil race expert stepped forward hesitantly and said, “Master Ye Fenghan, I was the one who discovered them. But they were fast, and their leader was strong. I feared they might escape, so I detonated the carriage. I hope…”

“You did very well. The loss of a carriage stings, but it’s worth it to get so many top-grade Dragon Tree tree-hearts. That’s just what I need right now. I’ll definitely reward you when we get back,” replied Ye Fenghan.

“Many thanks!”

The young devil expert was overjoyed and even kowtowed several times.

Long Chen stealthily studied Ye Fenghan. The man’s features were sharp—long and narrow eyes, pointed ears, and snow-white skin. Two small horns protruded from his forehead.

His appearance was elegant, but when he spoke, his yellow teeth were visible. His aura brimmed with earth energy.

Then, realization struck Long Chen. Every single one of these devil experts was an earth element cultivator.

It all made sense now.

They only dared to offend the Undying race because of this. For an earth element cultivator, gaining control over wood energy was akin to giving wings to a tiger—it would elevate their power to unimaginable heights.

Moreover, their ambush had been carefully orchestrated. One of their scouts had first discovered Long Chen and the others, then gathered reinforcements in secret before detonating the carriage to ensure they couldn’t escape.

A vicious and calculated plan.

Even though they were his enemies, Long Chen couldn’t help but acknowledge their intelligence.

That scout had recognized Huai Yushan’s strength and, rather than risk a direct confrontation, had been willing to sacrifice one carriage to stall them. The strategy had been ruthless—but undeniably effective. This crowned man’s subordinate really did have some courage.

“This is troublesome. We’ve walked straight into a trap.” Huai Yushan’s voice rang in their minds, transmitting her concerns.

Even with her strength, in her current state—injured and surrounded—her chances of breaking through the encirclement were slim.

Ye Fenghan sneered, his gaze sweeping over them like a predator toying with its prey.

With a calm yet arrogant voice, he declared, “You have nowhere to run, so just accept your fates. The Undying Dragon Tree race’s escape techniques are useless against my Night Devil race. Surrender your tree-hearts, and I may spare your lives.”

Huai Yushan scoffed. “Do you think anyone would believe that? If the Undying race learns of this, do you really think your Night Devil race can withstand our wrath?”

With his lies exposed, Ye Fenghan’s expression darkened. He shouted, “Then just die!”

Raising his hand, he gave the order to attack.

But before his hand could fully rise—

BANG!

A brick came hurtling through the air, smashing directly into the back of his head.