Chapter 1408: Clearing Obstacles

The heavens and earth fell silent once again, with only the pounding of heartbeats audible. Everyone gazed at Ye Chen in terror. "This is the true definition of a peerless ruthless figure!"

An elder cultivator sighed, "He's slain six Sheng Ren and two Zhun Sheng Wang in a row. Among Quasi-Saint level cultivators, it's hard to find anyone with such feats." He added, "Thankfully, I didn't rush out earlier."

Someone pondered aloud, "He's most likely the divine child of that sacred land. Otherwise, why would his combat power be so overwhelming? Even now, I still can't discern his bloodline or true appearance."

"From now on, we shouldn't lightly provoke the Zhou family," many remarked meaningfully.

No one objected to this. With the Zhou family having such a formidable ally, anyone without Sheng Wang level cultivation should avoid stirring up trouble. This guy was a monster, the kind you absolutely shouldn't mess with.

Amid the discussions, Ye Chen had already collected Kaiyuan Zhenren's storage bag and was heading toward the Zhou family.

Originally, his combat power wasn't this strong; it was only because he had recently touched the bottleneck of the Sheng Ren realm that he had reached the peak of Zhun Sheng. Otherwise, he wouldn't have slain those two Zhun Sheng Wang so easily.

As Ye Chen returned, the Zhou family members hurriedly stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Daoist friend, for your life-saving grace."

"It was just a small effort." Ye Chen smiled and flicked out three rays of immortal light, which entered the brows of three Zhou family members. These were reincarnated souls: two men and one woman, all from the Muyun family.

The three individuals trembled violently, clutching their heads and groaning in agony, their expressions twisted in pain.

Seeing this, the Zhou family ancestor moved to step forward but was stopped by Xu Nuoyan, who knew Ye Chen was unlocking their past-life seals for them. She had gone through the same process earlier—the pain was only temporary.

"Time is short; I must be on my way." Ye Chen handed the storage bag to Xu Nuoyan, which was filled with immortal stones and jade slips sealed with memory imprints, as well as various secret techniques and ancient scrolls.

"Until we meet again." Xu Nuoyan accepted the storage bag and flashed a stunning smile.

"I'll clear the obstacles for the Zhou family." Ye Chen chuckled, then turned and stepped into the misty void. Before leaving, he remembered to release the reincarnated soul he had found in the teahouse.

Xu Nuoyan watched him depart. As for the so-called obstacles, it went without saying they were the Yang family.

Although Ye Chen had suppressed one Yang family Zhun Sheng Wang this time, the Zhou family's crisis was far from over. If word reached the Yang family, their other two Zhun Sheng Wang would surely lead forces to settle the score.

"Yue'er, is that person an old friend of yours?" The Zhou family members turned to Xu Nuoyan and asked.

"He's my kin." Xu Nuoyan replied with a smile laced with sorrow. As she said the word "kin," she felt like crying. He was a peerless war god, and even in the vast realms of the heavens, his extraordinary brilliance couldn't be hidden.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen had arrived at the city center and stepped into the teleportation array leading to the ancient city where the Yang family resided.

He hadn't wanted to waste more time on this matter, but the Zhou family was the clan of the reincarnated Xu Nuoyan. As the tenth emperor of Great Chu, he needed to ensure the safety of those reincarnated souls.

Inside the Chaos God Cauldron, the suppressed Yang family Zhun Sheng Wang was still roaring in fury.

In the cauldron, he had seen his family's divine child and quickly pieced everything together: Ye Chen was the one who had stolen the Nine Yang Immortal Iron and abducted the divine child and the bride the night before.

But what good did realizing it do? Even he had been suppressed, and all the experts who had gone to cause trouble at the Zhou family had been wiped out, including the Kaiyuan Zhenren who had shown up midway to help.

Now, like Kaiyuan Zhenren, he was filled with regret. He should have stayed quietly in his residence instead of recklessly stirring up chaos at the Zhou family, bringing catastrophic disaster upon himself and his clan. It was just as that ancient saying went: one misstep leads to eternal regret.

Ye Chen's expression was cold as he activated the Chaos God Cauldron, erasing the Yang family Zhun Sheng Wang's primordial spirit. He only kept the spirit's power to refine the cauldron further. Along with him, the Yang family divine child was also destroyed.

Once done, Ye Chen shot out like a ray of immortal light, heading straight for the teleportation exit and continuing on his way.

An hour later, he appeared once more in the ancient city where the Yang family was located.

Without delay, he gripped his bloodstained Chixiao sword and charged toward the Yang family. The rolling killing intent surging from his body made the bustling crowds on the streets change color, instinctively clearing a path for him.

"This person looks like he's just emerged from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!" Watching Ye Chen's murderous back, many couldn't help but shudder. "With such killing aura, how many people has he slain?"

"He's heading straight for the Yang family. Surely, he's not here for revenge?" someone exclaimed in shock.

No sooner had the words fallen than a thunderous boom echoed from the direction of the Yang family, shaking the entire ancient city. Those who heard it exchanged glances. "Is he really here for revenge?"

"Whether he is or not, let's go take a look." The busy streets grew even more lively as idle cultivators gathered in groups and swarmed toward the scene.

When they arrived at the Yang family estate, they saw the grand gates reduced to rubble, and the many Yang family guards at the entrance had been slain with a single sword strike.

"A Quasi-Saint with such audacity!" The onlookers were all stunned.

Before anyone could say more, a bloodied body flew out from the estate—it was a Yang family Sheng Ren. He turned to ash before even hitting the ground, his primordial spirit utterly destroyed.

What followed was a series of earth-shattering booms, making the ancient city tremble and the heavens shake.

Inside the vast Yang family estate, blood mist filled the air. Of the three towering peaks, two had collapsed, and swathes of pavilions and palaces had been leveled into ruins.

"What grudge do you hold against my Yang family to attack us?" The two Yang family Zhun Sheng Wang roared in fury, flanking Ye Chen in the void. Compared to the Yang family Sheng Ren from earlier, these two had much weaker vitality, as they had been severely injured by powerful cultivators the night before.

"Zhou family." Ye Chen offered no further explanation, simply uttering those two words. On this land, everyone knew the enmity between the Yang and Zhou families.

"You... you're from the Zhou family?" The two Yang family Zhun Sheng Wang's expressions changed drastically. They had no idea the Zhou family had such a formidable Quasi-Saint, who had already slain nine Sheng Ren since charging in.

"Acting recklessly comes with a price." Ye Chen said flatly, then vanished in an instant.

He reappeared directly in front of the Yang family's purple-haired Zhun Sheng Wang, unleashing a domineering Bahuang Fist. The punch fused his Dao and secret techniques, shattering everything in its path.

The purple-haired Zhun Sheng Wang's face paled as he retreated hastily, but he was still hit head-on. Ye Chen's fist obliterated half of his physical body. Before he could steady himself, a golden divine light shot toward him, piercing his divine sea and severely damaging his primordial spirit.

"Suppress!" The Yang family's black-robed Zhun Sheng Wang attacked from behind Ye Chen, activating his life-bound artifact—a terrifying Sheng Wang weapon—that unleashed a wave of icy, destructive divine light.

The Chaos God Cauldron flew out on its own, its body trembling as it released surging Chaos Qi to crush the destructive light. It then collided forcefully, sending the Sheng Wang weapon shaking violently.

The black-robed Zhun Sheng Wang spat blood on the spot, his life-bound artifact damaged and triggering backlash against him.

More crucially, both he and the purple-haired Zhun Sheng Wang were injured and not at their peak; they could only muster about sixty percent of their strength. Even together, they were no match for Ye Chen.

"Kill!"

Yang family experts surged like a tide, unleashing secret techniques, life-bound artifacts, and various killing formations that blanketed the sky toward Ye Chen. Half the firmament collapsed into chaos.

Ye Chen activated his Chaos phenomenon, enduring the onslaught head-on. Swathes of Yang family experts were crushed; aside from a few powerful ones, the rest plummeted from the void, even Sheng Ren among them being suppressed.

At the sight, the purple-haired Zhun Sheng Wang's heart quaked with fear. He dared not fight and immediately fled.

Ye Chen crossed the void in pursuit, catching up and slashing his sword to destroy the man's physical body. He then unleashed the domineering Shenyang secret technique—nine rays merged as one—striking the enemy's primordial spirit and suppressing it on the spot.

On the other side, the black-robed Yang family Zhun Sheng Wang had already escaped several thousand zhang. Ye Chen's power was overwhelming; even at full strength, he couldn't compete, let alone now with only sixty percent of his capabilities.

Faced with such a killing god, he had no desire to fight and only wanted to flee the ancient city. As he escaped, he roared for help, "Lingzhi Daoist friend, save me! Save me!"

However, the Lingzhi Daoist friend he called out to gave no response. Clearly, this opponent was no ordinary Quasi-Saint but a monstrous killer—only a fool would rush out to court death.

With no rescue coming, the black-robed Zhun Sheng Wang couldn't withstand Ye Chen and was struck down from the void with a single sword.

He scrambled up in a panic, burning his lifespan and sacrificing his origin in a mad frenzy, summoning over a hundred terrifying sacred artifacts all at once to strike at Ye Chen in the sky.

Ye Chen raised his hand abruptly, bringing down a palm as heavy as a mountain. The hundred-plus artifacts were crushed one by one; even powerful sacred weapons were fragile before it.

The black-robed Zhun Sheng Wang fell to his knees, his body exploding as his fleeing primordial spirit was severed by a sword.

In his final moments, he finally understood regret. He regretted his arrogance and bullying of the Zhou family, which had brought destruction upon his clan. He would go down as a great sinner of the Yang family.