Chapter 1060: Human Calculation Falls Short of Heaven's Will

Boom! Bang! Boom!

In the pitch-black and desolate space black hole, thunderous rumbles echoed endlessly.

Ye Chen faced another terrifying crisis—a blood-red scepter was relentlessly pursuing him.

It was a fearsome weapon, merely a magic tool, yet it still retained a faint trace of its weapon spirit, radiating overwhelming killing intent. It had been chasing Ye Chen for three full days and nights since they first encountered each other.

Fortunately, it was only a Huang Jing level magic tool. Ye Chen was no match for it, but he managed to escape with his life. Had it been a Sheng Bing, he would likely have been obliterated.

"Good pure blood! Good pure blood!" the scepter hummed, flickering with a bloody, eerie glow. Its words sounded like a demonic chant, sinister and dreadful, clinging to Ye Chen.

"You've pushed me too far!" Ye Chen suddenly halted, and a divine light shot from his brow, transforming into a crystal-clear ancient jade—that was the Di Jue.

Buzz!

As the Di Jue appeared, it erupted with world-shaking divine radiance, along with a faint trace of imperial might.

Instantly, the scepter chasing Ye Chen came to an abrupt stop, still humming but now trembling as if in fear.

The Di Jue was a weapon, and so was the scepter, but they differed vastly in rank. The Di Jue was a jade inset on an imperial weapon, having absorbed a trace of imperial aura over countless years.

It was precisely this faint imperial might that intimidated the scepter.

In an instant, the scepter let out a hum and fled like a streak of ghostly light—more accurately, it escaped.

Whew!

Only after the scepter fled did Ye Chen let out a heavy sigh of relief, gazing at the damaged Di Jue floating before him.

If he had known it was this powerful, he would have brought it out earlier. No matter if it was a Sheng Bing or a Huang Jing level magic tool, as long as the imperial might was revealed, it would likely scare them off. That was the majesty of an emperor.

In light of the scepter's attack, Ye Chen wisely kept the Di Jue suspended above his head this time.

After a simple day of recovery, Ye Chen set off again.

It had to be said, with the Di Jue's intimidation, the broken magic tools drifting in the space black hole all steered clear of him. A few bold ones, however, were badly beaten by the Di Jue.

Ye Chen wanted to use the Di Jue's pressure to collect a few weapons, but unfortunately, he failed.

It wasn't that the Di Jue's aura wasn't strong enough; it was just that those weapons were of too high a rank for him to approach. More importantly, he couldn't withstand their terrifying pressure. Several times, he hadn't even gotten close before his sacred body started cracking under the strain.

One had to admit, the space black hole was an extraordinary place.

Along the way, there was nothing he couldn't imagine and nothing he hadn't seen. He had glimpsed a great saint's weapon from afar and beheld a quasi-emperor's corpse on the other side of the black hole. He had even touched the light rain formed by a powerful expert's dao principles.

It was another journey without any sense of time.

This time, he traveled intermittently, spending nine years in the space black hole.

Over those nine years, he was just as before, attempting the Xian Lun Tian Dao every so often, but not once did he succeed.

The backlash from the Xian Lun Tian Dao over nine years had endangered his very foundation. Even his ancient sacred body couldn't endure such prolonged backlash; his life-bound spirit had been injured.

It was truly a solitary journey. Over more than a decade, no one had spoken a word to him.

He didn't know how much farther he had to go; the path ahead was utterly uncertain.

He looked back more than once, as if he could see through the endless darkness to the vast mountains and rivers, or peer through the passage of time to those familiar yet distant figures.

That year, he turned forty-five.

Perhaps, for him, time had lost all meaning. In this world of darkness, everything felt pale and powerless.

With a weary smile, he turned again and stepped into the boundless darkness, his silhouette desolate and lonely. He was like a solitary traveler on a journey with no end, as if it would only conclude when his last drop of blood was spent.

Nine years passed, and he was fifty-four. Strands of silver wove through his once-black hair, starkly noticeable.

In the endless darkness, he pressed on, dragging his battered sacred body. The space black hole held far too many horrors; to them, he was like a mere ant, making every step fraught with caution.

Ahead, he stopped once more, gazing quietly into the distance.

Deep in the space black hole, something blocked his path—it was a coffin.

Yes, indeed a coffin, inscribed with an ancient character for "Dian" and bound by tattered rune chains, as if the one inside had been a great villain in life, so wicked that even in death, they had to be sealed away.

Buzz!

As Ye Chen looked on, the coffin hummed.

Then, a tangible wave of blood-red energy spread out without limit.

Seeing this, Ye Chen retreated hastily, raising his defenses to the maximum, with the Hun Chao Shen Ding blocking his front.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The blood-red waves collided repeatedly with the Hun Chao Shen Ding, making it tremble and hum.

Ye Chen spat blood, suffering severe injuries as his sacred body cracked, golden blood spraying forth. In the darkness, it shone brilliantly, like scattered, dazzling starlight.

Only after retreating ten thousand zhang did he manage to stop, blood still pouring from his mouth.

"Tian Mo!" He narrowed his eyes at the coffin.

He was all too familiar with the aura of a Tian Mo. He never expected that buried inside was one—and an extraordinarily powerful one, at least at the saint level.

Moreover, he discovered another troubling issue: the Tian Mo in the coffin was evolving in a terrifying direction. Its corpse was eternally undecaying, and the resentment from its life had birthed intelligence.

In other words, the Tian Mo was turning into a Yin Shi—and an extremely formidable one at that.

Without further thought, Ye Chen immediately fled, not daring to linger.

This wasn't Da Chu, where he could slay great emperors. In the space black hole, without Da Chu's suppressive forces, even an emperor-level expert could destroy him, let alone a saint-level Yin Shi.

However, as soon as he circled around the coffin, it exploded with a boom.

Out stepped a figure clad in black armor, gripping an ancient battle spear.

Just as Ye Chen had anticipated, the Tian Mo had transformed into a Yin Shi. Parts of its body were rotten, exposing bloodstained bones, especially its head—one side still bloody and fleshy, the other a bare skull, utterly terrifying.

After emerging, the Tian Mo Yin Shi stiffly turned its neck, its hollow eyes fixing on Ye Chen with a sinister gleam.

Ye Chen felt his origin soul shudder. Though it wasn't a complete saint, it was still a saint-level Yin Shi. With his current cultivation and strength, it could kill him a hundred times over in an instant.

Buzz!

While Ye Chen trembled, the Tian Mo Yin Shi swung its battle spear, unleashing a blood-red galaxy from over ten thousand zhang away.

"Xian Tian Gang Qi, activate!"

"Tai Xu Long Jin, activate!"

"Mo Dao, activate!"

"Outer Dao Dharma Form, activate!"

In that moment, Ye Chen unleashed multiple divine abilities, summoning thousands of spiritual tools arranged around him, centered on the Hun Chao Shen Ding, Xue Ling Shen Dao, and Jiuzhou Shen Tu to protect himself.

After carrying the hopes of all Da Chu for so long, even facing a saint-level Yin Shi, he wouldn't wait passively for death.

Boom!

The Tian Mo Yin Shi's spear strike was overwhelmingly powerful. The Jiuzhou Shen Tu shattered, the Xue Ling Shen Dao exploded, the Hun Chao Shen Ding's divine light dimmed, and the thousands of spiritual tools turned to ash in an instant.

As for Ye Chen, his Xian Tian Gang Qi armor, Tai Xu Long Jin, and Outer Dao Dharma Form were all destroyed at once. Half of his sacred body crumbled, nearly turning him into a mist of blood from that single strike.

It was only because of the distance, his extraordinary sacred body, the protection of the Hun Chao Shen Ding, and the fact that the Tian Mo Yin Shi wasn't a full saint that Ye Chen survived.

Seeing Ye Chen still alive, the Tian Mo Yin Shi's deathly face showed a hint of surprise.

Then, it swung its spear again.

Ye Chen's eyes turned blood-red; he wouldn't give the Tian Mo Yin Shi a second chance. His left eye's immortal eye suddenly activated, unleashing Amaterasu.

Instantly, black flames ignited on the Tian Mo Yin Shi.

In that moment, the raised spear halted in mid-air as the Yin Shi stiffly turned its neck, staring at the black flames on its body. Its hollow eyes reflected a mix of confusion and fear.

By then, Ye Chen had already fled, dragging his blood-drenched sacred body.

He didn't know if Amaterasu could destroy the Tian Mo Yin Shi, but he couldn't stay any longer. If it failed, he would likely be doomed. A saint-level Yin Shi was far beyond his limits.

"Ah!"

After flying a great distance, Ye Chen heard a piercing roar from behind, the sound waves spreading endlessly.

Puff!

Still fleeing, Ye Chen was hit by the roar, his life-bound origin soul wounded. His already mangled sacred body cracked further, and everything below his shoulders turned to ash in an instant.

The Tian Mo Yin Shi was dead, burned to nothing by the Amaterasu flames.

As for Ye Chen, the shock rendered him unconscious, his body drifting like a streak of light into the boundless darkness, carried to an unknown place.

The space black hole fell into dead silence once more after the Tian Mo Yin Shi's destruction and Ye Chen's disappearance.

Time flowed on, years slipping away.

The clocks lost in the space black hole ticked steadily, silently marking the passage in the endless darkness.

Another three years passed!

The slumbering Ye Chen awoke.

In that battle three years ago, he had nearly perished, but thankfully, his life-bound origin soul remained. It took three years of drifting to revive him.

That year, he was fifty-seven, looking even more aged.

What was most alarming wasn't this, but that he had lost his way in the space black hole. His Seven Star Compass had shattered during the fight with the Tian Mo Yin Shi, leaving him unable to discern directions.

"Man's plans are no match for heaven's will!" Ye Chen chuckled self-mockingly. In the space black hole, he had encountered setbacks, ones that bordered on total destruction.

Still, he didn't give up hope.

He was alive, and that was hope. No matter how slim, in the face of despair, anything was possible.

Suddenly, he moved his feet again.