Jiang Chen saw that the Demon Emperor had recognized him, but he wasn't particularly surprised.
His tone was indifferent: "You shouldn't have awakened. You survived that ancient catastrophe—you should have stayed put inside your seal. Why come out looking for death? Remember, this is no longer the ancient era. You are not the all-powerful Demon Emperor of antiquity who could roam freely across the world!"
The Blood Sun Demon Emperor was so furious he laughed. "Human brat—still green behind the ears, yet you dare spout such arrogance before this Emperor? Your cultivation is nothing more than half-step Emperor realm. In the past, Emperor-realm human experts who fell to this Emperor's hand were too numerous to count. And now an ignorant youth dares bare his fangs at this Emperor?"
Jiang Chen sneered. "Half-step Emperor realm is still enough to send you to your grave! Your demon race crossed countless planes, left your homeland behind—and in the end, you'll die in a foreign land. What was the point of all that?"
The Blood Sun Demon Emperor was momentarily taken aback. "You actually know about planes? Since when did the people of the Divine Abyss Continent become so well-informed?"
"Hmph. The Divine Abyss Continent has depths of heritage you could never comprehend—since when could an outsider bandit like you understand it?" Jiang Chen taunted.
The Blood Sun Demon Emperor suddenly flashed a sinister smile and nodded slightly. "Kid, don't think this Emperor can't see you're stalling for time. But I'll tell you straight—your little trick is useless. For this Emperor to kill you takes but a single breath. The time you're wasting means nothing to me. You've ruined my grand plan and destroyed all my blood sacrifices. I suppose I'll just have to start with you. Why do I have the feeling that devouring your flesh and blood will be more delicious than those stinking cattle and sheep?"
Jiang Chen snorted coldly. "Devour me? With that little bit of power you've recovered?"
The Blood Sun Demon Emperor burst into laughter. "You're merely at half-step Emperor realm—this Emperor with just a tenth of his power could crush you ten times over. How much power do you think I need to devour you?"
"Brainless boasting." Seeing that his stalling tactic had been seen through, Jiang Chen dropped all pretense of delay.
At worst, it would be a bloody battle.
With no outsiders around, this was the perfect opportunity to fight with everything he had!
Since he first stepped into the world, Jiang Chen had fought countless powerful opponents—but combined, all those battles probably didn't compare to the terror of today's foe.
The only good news was that his opponent's strength was far from its peak. It looked like the Blood Sun Demon Emperor had recovered at most twenty or thirty percent of his full power.
If the Demon Emperor had recovered to his peak, Jiang Chen would probably have had no choice but to flee. And if he'd been even a fraction slower, he might not even have had that chance.
Without a second word, Jiang Chen summoned the Five-Colored Divine Light Sword—his strongest weapon at present. Facing the Demon Emperor without a weapon would have left him with no confidence at all.
The Blood Sun Demon Emperor let out a strange laugh as a massive cloud of blood mist swept toward Jiang Chen, blotting out the sky.
The same Blood Fiend Demon Cloud, but when wielded by the Blood Sun Demon Emperor, was incomparably more terrifying. Countless streams of blood fiend energy coalesced into a massive vortex that seemed capable of swallowing the entire void.
Jiang Chen was alarmed. He knew this must be the domain power unique to Demon Emperor-level powerhouses.
The domain formed by the Blood Fiend Demon Cloud generated a terrifying suction force.
Startled, Jiang Chen was nearly pulled into the vortex of blood energy. In that moment, he was filled with astonishment—he had never imagined that the Blood Sun Demon Emperor could be this powerful right from the first move.
Fortunately, Jiang Chen had been on guard from the very beginning. The Sky Kun Swiftflow Escape transformed him into a bolt of lightning that carved a bloody path straight through the thick blood cloud.
"Hm?" The Blood Sun Demon Emperor was also slightly surprised. His Blood Fiend Demon Cloud was still far from its peak, and the gap remained considerable.
But this strike had still condensed his Demon Emperor's aura and domain. The visible surface power was actually less than a tenth of its true might.
To think that such a clever and dominating strike still couldn't trap this young cultivator—the Blood Sun Demon Emperor was genuinely surprised.
Jiang Chen was also inwardly shaken. He grabbed an Emperor's True Force Talisman, hesitating over whether to activate it.
The Emperor's True Force Talisman was equivalent to the baseline offensive power of an ordinary Great Emperor.
If he truly wanted to fight the Demon Emperor—and possibly kill the Blood Sun Demon Emperor—then activating the Emperor's True Force Talisman was his best option.
However, activating both the Emperor's Armored Talisman and the Emperor's True Force Talisman simultaneously would undoubtedly put enormous strain on his body.
Either talisman alone was a heaven-defying artifact. Each use placed an enormous burden on the user's physique.
For cultivators whose physical bodies hadn't been tempered sufficiently, channeling such powerful talismans could very well cause their flesh to explode on the spot. It was extremely dangerous.
Even one talisman was hard enough to bear—carrying two at once gave even Jiang Chen no certainty of survival.
But as things stood, Jiang Chen knew full well there was no retreat. If he wanted to deal any damage to the Demon Emperor in today's battle, he had no choice but to activate the Emperor's True Force Talisman.
With that thought, Jiang Chen stopped hesitating and directly activated the Emperor's True Force Talisman.
In an instant, an even more ferocious and dominating light flooded Jiang Chen's entire body. The next moment, he felt his flesh and blood nearly boil.
It felt as though his entire being had entered a state of frenzy—a state beyond all control.
Jiang Chen knew this was the True Force Talisman entering his body, establishing a connection and generating an energy link with his meridians.
The Blood Sun Demon Emperor narrowed his eyes. "That's an enhancement talisman?"
After all, the Blood Sun Demon Emperor had been trapped inside the seal for countless years and had no familiarity with the Emperor's True Force Talisman. But he understood that once activated, such a talisman would undoubtedly amplify one's power.
"Hmph! A mere half-step Emperor realm cultivator, bolstered by a single power talisman, thinks he can challenge my Demon Emperor might?" The Blood Sun Demon Emperor snorted coldly.
With a single grab, a blood-red war blade materialized in his hand.
The blade curved like a crescent moon, yet radiated a strange and terrifying crimson aura. Its presence was like that of a savage beast that had devoured countless lives—violent and bloodthirsty.