424: Playing with fire

Xiao Xiao agreed, and with a wave of her small hand, a portal opened before Tian Ming. Tian Ming embraced Xiao Xiao and stepped through, their figures instantly vanishing from the spot.

When they reappeared, they were already on the outskirts of the base. Tian Ming looked out and saw a golden figure slowly approaching from within the distant horde of zombies. The powerful aura seemed to strike fear into the surrounding zombies, causing them to scatter and make way.

A hint of solemnity flashed in Tian Ming’s eyes, for the approaching figure was none other than the Corpse Emperor, Jiang Chen. Jiang Chen seemed to have transformed; he was no longer in his previous golden-eyed form. He was clad in golden armor, radiating a terrifying aura.

The Corpse Emperor, Jiang Chen, approached step by step, and the surrounding corpse race instinctively recoiled. These corpse race had no intelligence, but facing the Emperor of the corpse race, they instinctively felt fear.

Jiang Chen gradually drew closer and directly threw a large head over. Tian Ming's eyes narrowed. It was Iron Dude's head. He also had golden eyes, but the difference in power was too great, which was why he died at Jiang Chen's hands.

"You can detect my presence from a thousand kilometers away. It seems your strength is also constantly evolving," Jiang Chen said slowly.

Tian Ming frowned and said, "Blue Star has been ruined by your corpse race's endless reproduction. You wouldn't be thinking...?"

A cold smile appeared on Jiang Chen's lips. He said, "My corpse race has reached a dead end. All the Corpse Kings have become nutrients for my evolution in these three months. Now, only I am left in the entire corpse race."

A hint of desolation flashed in Jiang Chen's eyes. The corpse race's replication had spiraled out of control. Although zombies were spread across the globe, not a single zombie could be controlled by Jiang Chen. The Emperor of the corpse race had become a lone commander.

This sense of loneliness made Jiang Chen hate Lu Tianming immensely. Since he was the only intelligent one left in the entire corpse race, he would make Lu Tianming just like him.

Upon hearing this, Tian Ming's heart sank. He hadn't expected Jiang Chen to be so insane, using all the Corpse Kings as nourishment for his own evolution. Such behavior was beyond Tian Ming's imagination.

"By doing this, are you worthy of the corpse race who once followed you?" Tian Ming asked coldly.

Jiang Chen sneered, "Follow me? They were merely my tools. Now, I have reached a new height and no longer need them. Lu Tianming, I originally intended for the corpse race to develop in an orderly fashion, achieving a civilization no less than that created by humans. All of this was ruined by you. The corpse race fell into chaos, and I will make you taste what it's like to be the only one left."

A cold glint flashed in Tian Ming's eyes. He knew that Jiang Chen had completely lost his mind.

"Xiao Xiao, go back to your mother. This bad guy is very powerful," Tian Ming said softly to his daughter.

Xiao Xiao heard this, looked at Tian Ming reluctantly, and then nodded: "Daddy, be careful!"

After Xiao Xiao finished speaking, she waved her small hand, and her figure instantly disappeared from the spot.

"Your daughter must have taken away a lot of your power, right?" Jiang Chen watched Xiao Xiao disappear without stopping her. Although his strength had greatly increased now, he didn't know what level Tian Ming's strength had reached.

Tian Ming smiled calmly and said, "She is my daughter, what's mine is hers. The more she takes, the safer she is. What's left is enough to deal with you."

Jiang Chen's tone turned cold, saying, "Oh, is that so? Then let's try!"

As Jiang Chen finished speaking, the golden armor on his body instantly shone brightly, and a terrifying aura erupted from him. He fiercely punched towards Tian Ming, the golden fist-light carrying an aura of destruction, as if to utterly destroy Tian Ming.

Tian Ming's eyes narrowed. He slightly raised his palm, clenched his fist, and met the blow without hesitation.

Boom!

Their fists collided fiercely, unleashing powerful energy fluctuations. The strong air blast formed a shockwave, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

Tian Ming's body remained unmoving, but Jiang Chen was shaken back several steps.

"You, you've actually become so strong?" A hint of shock appeared in Jiang Chen's eyes.

"My body has been slightly modified. You're not bad either. If your current strength were a year ago, I'm afraid I really wouldn't be your match. However, times have changed. Come, take this."

As soon as Tian Ming finished speaking, the surrounding matter vibrated rapidly and began to boil. A powerful energy was instantly released, and the temperature in this area soared like a rocket.

Jiang Chen felt the drastic increase in the surrounding temperature, and his heart was startled. He looked up and saw Tian Ming surrounded by scorching energy, as if he had transformed into a blazing sun, emitting an aura of world destruction.

"This... what kind of power is this?" Jiang Chen asked in horror.

Tian Ming smiled slightly: "Didn't study, did you? Nuclear fusion technology, dumbfounded, aren't you?"

The pressure in the surrounding area instantly increased. A large amount of matter was split from its elemental base and converted into the most basic hydrogen element. Creating an artificial sun by hand was unimaginable before him. Now the time was ripe; possessing a divine body, he feared nothing, even inside the sun.

Jiang Chen dared not be careless. He mobilized all his strength, preparing to escape this area. But he found that the density of the surrounding gas was compressed to an extremely terrifying degree, making his every move incredibly difficult.

There was no fancy combat technique, only constantly rising pressure, temperature, and an invisible barrier. And the continuous injection of hydrogen elements into it.

"How can this be? I'm immune to powers, I'm immune to powers." A trace of panic appeared on Jiang Chen's face.

Tian Ming smiled coldly, "Do you think that by devouring all the Corpse Kings, you can contend with me? I haven't been idle these past few days either. When the power gap widens to a certain extent, immunity will disappear. Everything has its limits. Within the limits is the rule; beyond the limits is the end..."

The gas sphere, hundreds of meters in diameter, was compressed to a mere few meters. Tian Ming continued to inject hydrogen elements into its core. The extremely high temperature made the entire sphere glow brighter and brighter. The moment the critical point for fusion was reached, space itself seemed to melt.

Jiang Chen watched the scene before him in terror. He felt as if he were trapped inside a star about to explode. The surrounding gas density had been compressed to its limit, and the temperature was constantly rising. He felt as if he were trapped in an inescapable furnace.

"No, this is impossible!" Jiang Chen screamed in despair, trying to break free from this terrifying furnace, but the invisible barrier around him held him firmly in place.

"Jiang Chen, I know you are immortal, but I also want to see what difference there is between your immortality and mine?" Tian Ming said slowly.

"You, what are you saying?"

"Nothing, you'll understand in a moment!"