Chapter 1303: Demons

The vast starry sky was far from peaceful, with tremors and rumbling sounds echoing endlessly, stirring up a shocking turmoil.

Ye Chen’s speed was extremely fast; he was still madly using the technique Suo Di Cheng Cun to shrink the ground beneath him.

He had lured the jiang shi to that desolate star, where the jiang shi’s tomb was located on that very dead star.

For this, he had paid a heavy price—his sacred body was covered in fresh blood, cracking open more than once. Without the innate domineering recovery power of the Xian Lun, he would likely have been crushed to oblivion in the starry sky.

Behind him, the ancient tomb jiang shi pursued, its steps stiff, yet each one covering tens of thousands of zhang.

Its power left Ye Chen in awe; its combat strength could rival that of an ordinary Saint King, especially the surging yin and nether death qi surrounding it, which was icy and extinguishing, heavy as mountains. Any living being that touched it would have their life force devoured, and weaker cultivators would have their souls scattered in an instant.

As he spoke, Ye Chen landed on a mountain peak and flipped out that bronze mirror, tossing it toward the ancient tomb jiang shi.

It was precisely because of this ancient bronze mirror that the deceased had fully transformed into a corpse. He only hoped that returning the mirror would resolve this karma.

The bronze mirror seemed to possess a spirit, flickering with immortal light and overflowing with divine radiance as it merged into the ancient tomb jiang shi's body.

However, after the ancient tomb jiang shi stiffly twisted its neck a few times, it did not return to its tomb. Instead, it reached out to grab Ye Chen, its palm strike shaking the heavens and splitting the void.

Ye Chen’s expression changed, and he hastily fled. The moment he left, the mountain peak where he had stood collapsed.

Ye Chen's face turned ugly; things were not as simple as he had thought. Returning the bronze mirror did not resolve everything. The deceased had already transformed and would no longer obediently return to its tomb.

Moreover, Ye Chen was certain that anyone who had entered that ancient tomb, whether they had touched its treasures or not, would become the jiang shi's target—just like him, and like Dao Zhi, who had stolen the treasures.

Nonsense!

As Ye Chen fled, he cursed inwardly again, feeling an urge to kick Dao Zhi to death.

The ancient tomb jiang shi charged forth once more, its expression still wooden, its eyes empty yet flickering with sinister nether light.

Ye Chen suddenly halted, his aura surging to its peak. With matters at this point, he had no choice but to fight. Since it had transformed, he had to deal with the ancient tomb jiang shi; otherwise, it would lead to a catastrophic bloodbath.

Om, Ma, Ni, Ba, Mi, Hum!

Ye Chen formed a hand seal with one hand and chanted a Buddhist scripture, manifesting a colossal thousand-zhang Buddha behind him. This was the Da Ri Ru Lai Jing Shi Mantra, a heaven-defying divine ability specifically targeted at evil spirits and nether forces.

The ancient tomb jiang shi’s body paused briefly, but the Buddhist text of the Da Ri Ru Lai Jing Shi Mantra could not overcome its pervasive yin and nether death qi. It was not that the mantra was insufficiently powerful, but rather that Ye Chen’s cultivation was not advanced enough. If a Saint had performed it, the effect would have been entirely different.

After a momentary pause, the ancient tomb jiang shi moved again, its withered hand reaching out to grasp at Ye Chen from the sky.

Yin-Yang Wuji, Supreme Dao Manifesting Heaven!

All Heavens and Realms, Return to Taixu!

Taixu Wuji, Heaven Burial Divine Punishment!

Ye Chen's vital energy burned like fire as he charged upward against the heavens, forming great seals with his hands and unleashing his secret techniques and divine abilities without limit.

However, his divine abilities and secret techniques were like mere decorations before the ancient tomb jiang shi. The jiang shi was like an immovable mountain, and no matter how hard Ye Chen tried, he could not shake it.

Boom!

The ancient tomb jiang shi struck with a palm, collapsing another mountain peak and leaving a five-finger imprint on the ground.

Ten Thousand Swords Wind God!

Ye Chen stepped forward with Suo Di Cheng Cun and arrived in an instant, Chi Xiao Sword in hand, wrapped in immortal fire and heavenly thunder, fused with chaotic dao principles and various secret techniques. With unmatched power, he thrust the sword straight at the ancient tomb jiang shi's brow.

Clang!

A metallic collision rang out. Though Ye Chen’s sword was domineering, it was as if it had struck iron or stone.

Ye Chen was horrified and immediately retreated, but it was too late. The ancient tomb jiang shi smacked him flying with a palm, causing his sacred body to crack open again. The divine radiance throughout his body was extinguished, and he nearly perished.

Amaterasu!

In mid-air, Ye Chen activated his Liu Dao Xian Lun eyes, targeting the ancient tomb jiang shi. He sacrificed his lifespan to perform the Xian Lun forbidden technique—the only method he could think of to destroy the jiang shi.

On the spot, the ancient tomb jiang shi’s head ignited with black flames. The mysterious power interwoven from time and space was extraordinarily domineering, dissolving its head within time and space.

Puff!

Ye Chen spat blood, his figure staggering, his face deathly pale.

Strangely, an ancient divine pattern appeared on his brow, constantly devouring his life force and damaging his dao roots. His newly healed sacred body instantly became drenched in fresh blood.

A curse!

Ye Chen clutched his head, as if realizing what had happened. The ancient tomb jiang shi must have been from a powerful race in life and had cursed the Liu Dao Xian Lun eyes. This curse would not dissipate with its death and would trigger upon anyone using Amaterasu on it.

A miscalculation, a serious miscalculation.

Ye Chen plummeted from the void, his sea of consciousness buzzing. He had already suffered terrifying backlash from using Amaterasu and his heavenly dao multiple times, and now, with the addition of this ancient curse, he was overwhelmed.

As for the ancient tomb jiang shi, its head had been completely dissolved, and the Amaterasu flames had been extinguished due to the curse.

But the matter was not over. Though the ancient tomb jiang shi had lost its head, it still stood there. After a brief pause, it took heavy steps and reached out with its withered hand to grab at Ye Chen below.

Ye Chen struggled to his feet, covered in blood. The curse and backlash had made his consciousness blurry. Even at his peak, he was no match for the ancient tomb jiang shi, let alone in his current half-dead state.

Heavenly Dao!

In a moment of crisis, he shouted inwardly and tried to force the use of Heavenly Dao, but he failed. His Xian Lun eye’s pupil power was exhausted, and due to the curse, the eye had sealed itself once more.

A dead end!

Gazing at the descending hand, he lowered his proud head. Without a doubt, he was doomed to die.

However, at that moment, a beam of immortal light flew out from his body, transforming into a illusory figure. It was dressed in white robes with white hair, standing before him yet feeling more distant than a dream, utterly unreal.

Jian Shen?

Ye Chen was stunned for a moment, recognizing the illusory figure.

It was not the real Jian Shen, but merely a strand of Jian Shen’s divine sense, likely left in his body years ago to appear and save him in times of danger—though Ye Chen had never noticed it before.

While Ye Chen was in a daze, the Jian Shen divine sense acted, slashing out a sword that formed a river of stars. It cleaved through the jiang shi’s handprint and sent the ancient tomb jiang shi flying backward, leaving a gully on its chest. Yet, no blood flowed out, and the wound healed instantly.

The Jian Shen divine sense was not the Jian Shen’s true self, so its power was far inferior. The jiang shi was too ancient and too strong; even this sword strike could not erase it.

The ancient tomb jiang shi charged again, still devoid of divine sense but retaining some intelligence, its target remaining the half-dead Ye Chen.

The Jian Shen divine sense transformed into immortal light and shot into the void, instantly merging into the ancient tomb jiang shi's body.

This time, the ancient tomb jiang shi was immobilized, a seal appearing on its chest, formed by the Jian Shen divine sense. Though its strength was lacking to kill the jiang shi, it could at least seal it.

In that moment, the heavens and earth fell silent.

The headless ancient tomb jiang shi was sealed and could no longer move, falling from the void with the wind.

Ye Chen immediately summoned the Chaos Cauldron and drew the ancient tomb jiang shi inside.

He only sealed the ancient tomb jiang shi but did not return it to its tomb. A transformed corpse was the most terrifying thing; keeping such a jiang shi in the world was a disaster. He had already decided on a place of eternal rest for it—a spatial black hole. All that remained was to wait for his Liu Dao Xian Lun eyes to unseal.

Without sending the ancient tomb jiang shi back to its tomb, Ye Chen also refrained from touching any more treasures in the tomb, not wanting to forge any further karma with it.

A breeze blew by, and Ye Chen collapsed to the ground. Though the ancient tomb jiang shi was sealed, his condition was still dire. The curse's divine pattern continued to wreak havoc, eroding his life force and cultivation roots.

Suppress it for me!

Ye Chen roared lowly, mobilizing the Chaos Dao principles to forcefully suppress the curse, though he could not eradicate it.

From the void, a figure streaked through the sky. Upon closer inspection, it was Long Wu, who had likely asked Dao Zhi about the ancient tomb's location and guessed that Ye Chen would lure the jiang shi here, so he had come.

Seeing Ye Chen lying on the ground, Long Wu rushed over in a panic and channeled his dragon soul power into Ye Chen’s body. But when he saw the curse’s divine pattern on Ye Chen’s brow, his eyes narrowed sharply.

“Do you know which race’s curse this is?”

Ye Chen wiped the fresh blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at Long Wu.

“Chi Mei Zu.”

Long Wu replied immediately.

“This is the first time I’ve heard of this race.”

“The Chi Mei Zu is extremely ancient, dating back to the Hong Huang era. In ancient times, it produced a great emperor known as Chi Tian Great Emperor across the myriad realms of the heavens. He is the only one among the Xuan Huang One Hundred and Thirty Emperors to possess two natal emperor weapons. His combat prowess is rated no less than that of the Dragon Emperor.”

“Another immortal lineage.”

Ye Chen sighed.

“It seems you used Amaterasu on it, triggering the ancient curse.”

Long Wu said slowly, “This race has a long-standing grudge with the Xian Zu and was the first to curse the Liu Dao Xian Lun eyes.”

“Is there a way to erase this curse?”

Ye Chen asked, his main concern.

“It’s quite troublesome.”

Long Wu pondered for a moment. “The curse is no trivial matter; its existence is even more significant than a seal. One wrong move could invite a blood calamity, and instant death and dao dissipation are not impossible.”

“Could heavenly tribulation eliminate the curse?”

Ye Chen tentatively looked at Long Wu.

“No.”

Long Wu shook his head. “Heavenly tribulation can heal dao wounds and aid in nirvana, but it is not the natural enemy of curses.”

“Perhaps, there’s a method we can try.”

Ye Chen stroked his chin.

“Let’s hear it.”

“The Tai Xu Gu Long Zu has also cursed the Liu Dao Xian Lun eyes. If I use Amaterasu on you, it would certainly trigger the Tai Xu Gu Long Zu’s curse. I wonder if the Tai Xu Gu Long curse could counteract the Chi Mei Zu’s curse. In simple terms, it’s curse against curse.”

“This idea is a bit crazy!”

Long Wu furrowed his brow. “Curses are not to be trifled with. If it fails, you’ll not only suffer from the Chi Mei Zu’s torment but also be suppressed by the Tai Xu Gu Long curse. Bearing two curses would be a tremendous disaster for you.”

“No choice, we’ll treat a dead horse as if it were alive.”

“Let’s discuss it back at base.”