Chapter 1296: The Eleventh Prince

Chapter 1296: Shi Yi Huang

After crossing a million li of chasms, they entered a new star domain.

No sooner had they arrived than Ye Chen felt a chilling wind brush against him. Even with his cultivation level, he couldn't help but shudder. The wind pierced straight to his primordial spirit, unnaturally cold and eerie.

Instinctively, Ye Chen scanned his surroundings.

This star domain was indeed strange. Everywhere he looked was a hazy gray, with wisps of yin energy drifting about.

If he listened carefully, he could hear the wails of malevolent ghosts, shrill and heart-wrenching, enough to disturb the mind. It felt less like a starry sky and more like a netherworld hell, utterly desolate and devoid of any life.

Frowning slightly, Ye Chen unfolded the star chart and quickly located this frigid star domain. It was called Yin Ming Xing Yu, a name that fit perfectly, with its yin and netherworld chill that made one shiver.

"This star domain holds a fearsome inheritance. Don't be too ostentatious."

"Understood." Ye Chen nodded, though he was deeply shocked inside. For Jian Shen Dao Shen to call it a fearsome inheritance, it must be terrifyingly powerful, and this time, things wouldn't go as smoothly as before.

"Should anyone ask about your connection to Liu Dao, say that Liu Dao is your ancestor." Jian Shen Dao Shen instructed Ye Chen before stepping forward first, like a divine rainbow streaking across the stars.

"Ancestor?" Ye Chen paused, his expression turning odd. He muttered to himself, "Liu Dao comes from a future time and space, so technically, I came first, then him."

With that thought, Ye Chen followed Jian Shen Dao Shen's steps.

The two moved like beams of immortal light, their speed incredible as they traced two brilliant arcs through the vast starry sky.

For a full nine hours, neither of them stopped.

Ye Chen kept glancing around as they went.

Yin Ming Xing Yu was truly bizarre. There were plenty of stars, but most were lifeless. Along their path, they saw no ancient stars with living beings, not even a shadow in the space around them.

Ye Chen glanced at Jian Shen Dao Shen, who remained silent, occasionally gazing quietly into the depths of the stars, as if he could see a figure standing on a mountaintop from afar.

Seeing Jian Shen Dao Shen's silence, Ye Chen wisely stayed quiet, simply staying by his side.

In the night over Da Chu, all should have been peaceful, but instead, thunderous booms shook the heavens.

Looking into the distance, it was a realm enveloped in lightning, with bolts like silver serpents pouring down.

It was a tian jie, a world-shaking divine punishment, its oppressive aura covering the land and making all of Da Chu tremble. Anyone who witnessed it turned pale, their souls quivering in fear.

The one undergoing the tribulation was a woman in white robes, her white hair dancing in the wind, radiating unparalleled elegance. Bathed in the lightning, every wave of her crystalline jade hand extinguished the heavenly thunder.

This epic tian jie drew crowds from all of Da Chu, gathering like tides and seas, filling the surrounding heavens.

"After a hundred years, Da Chu finally has another huang zhe."

"The emperors of Da Chu's past would surely be pleased to see this."

"Once a mortal in a previous life, now so astonishingly talented. Her gifts alone rival Ye Chen's."

"If Ye Chen were here, she'd be overjoyed."

"In this life, to witness two huang zhe ascend, it's all worthwhile, past and present." Many people gazed up at the stars, hoping to find the brightest one, wondering if Ye Chen still existed in this mortal world.

"Another generation of huang zhe." Dong Huang Tai Xin smiled with a touch of melancholy as she watched the scene. As the guardian deity of Da Chu through endless ages, she had witnessed generation after generation of huang zhe, from the Chu Emperor to now. Each was a prodigy, and each would be etched in her memory forever.

"What a pity that Da Chu's connection to the myriad domains of the heavens has been severed. Even as a huang zhe, she can't leave this land." Fu Ya sighed lightly. "Over a hundred years, and we still don't know if Ye Chen has found the myriad domains."

"He's never disappointed us before." Dong Huang Tai Xin smiled sadly, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"Divine Maiden!" Fu Ya rushed forward in alarm, pointing a finger to Dong Huang Tai Xin's forehead and casting a divine ability to seal her once more. Afterward, he continued to sprinkle dazzling immortal light around her.

In the starry sky, Jian Shen Dao Shen and Ye Chen had come to a halt.

In the distance was an enormous star, even larger than Zi Wei Xing, known as Yin Ming Xing.

True to the name of Yin Ming Xing Yu, this Yin Ming Xing was the same, shrouded in gray yin energy that wove together in layers, making the star appear faintly visible.

Ye Chen frowned again. The aura emanating from Yin Ming Xing exerted immense pressure on him. Even his immortal eyes couldn't penetrate the thick yin energy; he only knew that something terrifyingly powerful lurked within.

Jian Shen Dao Shen remained as calm as ever. Without immortal eyes, he could still see through the yin fog of Yin Ming.

Suddenly, wails echoed from Yin Ming Xing, amplified by the surrounding yin fog, making it even more sinister.

In the next instant, rolling yin fog surged out from Yin Ming Xing, carrying forces of annihilation that spread like a tidal wave. Every wisp was bone-chillingly cold and as heavy as a mountain, causing the starry sky to tremble.

Ye Chen's expression changed drastically; the oppressive force of the yin fog sea could crush him to dust in an instant.

From Jian Shen Dao Shen's body, immortal light burst forth, forming a sea of immortal light interwoven with dao principles.

The oncoming sea of yin fog was blocked by the sea of immortal light. The two forces devoured each other relentlessly until they both dissipated into the void, their clash of dao evenly matched.

"Jiang Chen, I trust you've been well."

"After a hundred reincarnations, the myth lives up to its name."

"After a thousand years, is this how you greet me, by barring the way?"

"If you wish to see me, let the true one come."

"I wonder if this scene will suffice." Jian Shen Dao Shen waved his hand, conjuring a towering water screen that displayed the bloody battlefield of Da Chu resisting the invasion of the Tian Mo.

"Tian Mo." A faint voice echoed from Yin Ming Xing.

"So, a great emperor was slain." Only after a long while did the voice from Yin Ming Xing speak again. Ye Chen felt a pair of cold, lifeless eyes scrutinizing him, originating from deep within Yin Ming Xing.

"The unparalleled Jiang Chen, you owe him a life."

"You both have the qualification to see me." The yin fog of Yin Ming Xing slowly receded, opening a path.

Jian Shen Dao Shen stepped forward, leading Ye Chen into Yin Ming Xing.

Inside Yin Ming Xing, yin fog lingered everywhere, turning the land into a barren wasteland of the netherworld, pitch-black and lifeless, with not a blade of grass in sight. It was like a realm for the dead, utterly cold and desolate.

Ye Chen stayed close to Jian Shen Dao Shen, his eyes narrowed as he surveyed the surroundings.

On this dark wasteland, there were no people in sight—only coffins, their numbers enough to make one's scalp tingle. Just seeing so many was deeply unsettling.

Unconsciously, Ye Chen began to manipulate his sleeves, activating the Zhou Tian evolution technique.

To his delight, Yin Ming Xing held reincarnated souls, and there were quite a few of them.

However, he didn't rush to seek them out, as this was Jiang Chen's domain. From the earlier conversation between Jiang Chen and Jian Shen Dao Shen, Ye Chen could easily guess that Jiang Chen was on the same level as Jian Shen's true self.

To stand shoulder to shoulder with Jian Shen's true self was no joke. After all, the one beside him was merely Jian Shen's dao body, and if a fight broke out, they likely wouldn't stand a chance.

Only then did Ye Chen truly understand what Jian Shen Dao Shen meant earlier about Yin Ming Xing Yu having a fearsome inheritance and not being too showy. The myriad domains of the heavens were vast, with many beings on par with Zhutian Jian Shen, and even more that even Zhutian Jian Shen wouldn't lightly provoke, such as the forbidden zones.

The two ascended an eight-thousand-zhang mountain peak.

At the summit stood a figure with his back to them, clad in ancient armor and enveloped in yin and netherworld death energy. No trace of vitality could be found on him.

He was Jiang Chen, the ruler of Yin Ming Xing, who had stood there for who knew how many ages. His shoulders were dusted with gray, like a corpse—and not just any corpse, but an ancient one.

Yet, this figure, who seemed like a dead body, exerted pressure on Ye Chen that was no less than Jian Shen's.

A yin wind blew, and Jiang Chen turned around.

As Ye Chen had thought, Jiang Chen's eyes were dull and vacant, almost like a puppet or a walking corpse. This state was strikingly similar to the You Ming Yan Luo Wang of Da Chu.

As Jiang Chen turned, his eyes fixed on Ye Chen. Though vacant, they made Ye Chen feel ice-cold all over, as if half his body had fallen into Jiu You, doomed to never be reborn.

Regaining his composure, Ye Chen hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

"Junior Ye Chen, greetings to the senior."

"In the myriad domains of the heavens, a sacred body has finally emerged, even more dazzling than Di Huang."

"You're too kind, senior." Ye Chen smiled.

"What is Liu Dao to you?" Jiang Chen stiffly turned his neck slightly, his dull eyes glancing at the Xuan Cang jade ring on Ye Chen's finger, his voice still faint and originless.

"He is my ancestor." Ye Chen smiled faintly.

"Is he still alive?"

"Well..." Ye Chen coughed awkwardly, as Jian Shen Dao Shen hadn't instructed him on how to answer this.

"Liu Dao is as elusive as a dragon, appearing and disappearing at will. Even his descendants don't know if he's still in the world." Jian Shen Dao Shen spoke flatly. "If he is, he will come to find you one day."

"Why did you bring him to seek me?"

"Since you know, why ask?"

"I am powerless to help." Jiang Chen turned away stiffly. "He has provoked too many taboos."

"Junior only wishes to awaken the memories of Da Chu's reincarnated souls. In the future, I will take them back to Da Chu's homeland. I hope you can grant this favor." Ye Chen stepped forward eagerly, his tone full of hope.

Little did Ye Chen know, the matter Jian Shen Dao Shen discussed with Jiang Chen was entirely different from what he was discussing, and Jian Shen Dao Shen had kept it hidden from him.