Chapter 1432: Ancient Ruins

Chapter 1432: Yuan Gu Yiji

Amidst the discussions, someone shouted, "It's open, the Yuan Gu Yiji is open!"

As the words echoed, dazzling immortal light burst forth, radiant colors erupted, and a multitude of spectacular visions intertwined, sketching out a magnificent lake surface. Deep within, an ancient land slowly materialized.

With the Yuan Gu Yiji now open, many people rushed forward, stepping onto the Honglian Yehai and heading straight for the depths.

Following them, groups upon groups of figures traversed the sea. The crowd was enormous, all cloaked in black robes, like a dark curtain blotting out the sky as they swept across the Honglian Yehai and surged into the depths of that ancient land.

"Let's go in and take a look. If I can snag some treasures, that'd be best." Yan Laodao finished off his drink and followed the crowd ahead, casting a mysterious secret technique on himself along the way.

Once most people had entered, Ye Chen set out, stepping across the sea surface. He glanced around as he made his way deeper. Though the Honglian Yehai was dazzling, he could distinctly feel an inexplicable sense of sorrow.

Deeper in stood a massive, bizarre gateway of light. From a distance, he stepped through in a single stride.

Upon entering, he saw a vast expanse of land dotted with towering mountains and majestic peaks, along with roaring rivers. Ancient trees soared into the sky, forming dense forests that added vitality to the scene.

The spiritual energy here was incredibly abundant and pure. Most importantly, it contained a mysterious power different from the outside world's spiritual energy, infused with a natural Dao essence.

Ye Chen walked slowly, looking left and right. He spotted numerous collapsed palaces, ruined altars, and ancient bronze pillars etched with scripts from a bygone era.

Perhaps due to the immense passage of time, an aura of ancient desolation surged forth, as if even the years themselves were dusted with gray.

As he walked, he suddenly heard thunderous booms from deeper within, followed by a beam of light shooting skyward. It was a broken ancient sword, and the people in the depths were fighting fiercely over it.

Soon, the scent of blood spread through the Yuan Gu Yiji. Just as those people had said earlier, treasures and dangers coexisted. To seek fortune in peril, one had to be prepared for annihilation.

Ye Chen ignored the treasure battle in the depths and instead headed into a half-collapsed palace.

Quite a few people had entered the palace, darting around with their heavenly eyes activated, scanning every inch in hopes of finding treasures. But most left empty-handed.

Ye Chen stopped in front of a wall, where a mural depicted a primordial beast. It was enormous, like a mountain, with a ferocious face that was terrifying to behold, let alone encounter in person.

Interestingly, Ye Chen recognized this primordial beast—it was the legendary Taotie. In the primordial era, countless races were wiped out because of this gluttonous monster, earning it a notorious and ruthless reputation.

Precisely because of this, many powerful races banded together, waging a war that lasted a hundred thousand years. The Taotie clan was defeated and fled to the remote edges of the universe, ending the dark age.

This was an ancient secret passed down from the Taixu Gulong of old. Ye Chen's Swallowing Heaven Devil Art had ties to the Taotie; the technique was created based on the Taotie's insatiable greed.

After one last glance, he turned and left, wandering through the palace but finding nothing of value.

Leaving the palace, he headed elsewhere, encountering many people along the way. Without exception, their cultivations were at the Zhun Sheng level, including Zhun Di, all suppressed by the mysterious power of the Yuan Gu Yiji.

At some point, he stopped by a pool of dark water, reaching in to extract a fingernail-sized fragment. It was a piece of immortal iron, though pitifully small.

"How is this like playing around?" Ye Chen held the tiny piece of immortal iron between his fingers, examining it closely with a hint of awkwardness. It was lucky he had sharp eyes, or he might have missed it.

"Hand over the treasure, and I'll spare your life." A sinister laugh rang out as a black-robed figure appeared behind him, his face concealed by a secret technique, revealing only a pair of eyes gleaming with malice.

Ye Chen turned, sizing up the black-robed man. The man's current cultivation was at the Zhun Sheng level, but in reality, he was a Sheng Wang; otherwise, he wouldn't dare openly rob him.

This fellow reeked of killing intent, his robes stained with blood. Clearly, since entering, he had been preying on others. While everyone else came seeking treasures and opportunities, this one was here to plunder.

"What a lively pursuit, senior." Ye Chen chuckled leisurely, eyeing the black-robed man with interest.

"No time to waste on you." The black-robed man bared his teeth and lunged to grab him.

"As if I wouldn't rob you first." Ye Chen sneered, stepping forward and landing a punch that shattered the man's hand bones. He staggered back, his concealment technique breaking to reveal his true face—a hunched old man with a vertical eye on his forehead.

Defeated in one move, the black-robed man was stunned, his expression filled with horror. After all, he was a Sheng Wang, even if suppressed to Zhun Sheng level, which should have made him far superior to other Zhun Sheng cultivators—yet he had lost.

In an instant, Ye Chen closed in and pierced the man's forehead with a finger. That mighty Zhun Sheng was instantly slain, his divine sea destroyed, and his primordial spirit and true form reduced to ashes.

Even in death, the black-robed man couldn't comprehend it. He must have been the most absurdly killed Sheng Wang—attempting a robbery only to be wiped out by a Zhun Sheng. What a humiliating end.

"Your treasures are mine now." Ye Chen collected the black-robed man's storage pouch and even took his corpse, planning to refine it into a Yinming Death General back at his base—quite the domineering idea.

With that done, he vanished, stepping into a forest to continue his search for opportunities.

The forest was bloody, with mist of blood drifting about. No sooner had he entered than he stumbled upon a treasure battle involving over thirty participants, all Great Saints without exception.

Ye Chen stayed back, watching the treasure—a bronze mirror forged from special divine materials. No wonder it had drawn these veteran Great Saints into a frenzy.

The forest turned chaotic because of their fight, with swathes of ancient trees snapped in half. The battle was brutal; many had already perished in the struggle for the mirror.

Ye Chen sighed, wisely retreating. Though he coveted the bronze mirror, facing over thirty ruthless Great Saints, he had no choice but to avoid them for now, or risk being killed.

He reappeared in front of a cliff, where a massive skeleton lay at its base. It was impossible to tell the race, but it had clearly been dead for ages, its bones weathered by time.

"If you don't want it, I'll take it." Yan Laodao suddenly appeared, stepping forward to claim the skeleton. "This is good stuff—perfect for warding off evil."

"Who beat you up like this?" Ye Chen tilted his head, giving Yan Laodao a strange look. The man was covered in over a dozen sword wounds, each flickering with a cold, eerie light that drained his vital energy. The wounds weren't healing; instead, they were spreading.

"The Shen Clan's divine child." Yan Laodao popped a pill into his mouth. "One Qi Transforming into Three Purities is truly overpowered. If not for my deep foundation, I'd be on the road to the underworld by now."

"Why provoke him of all people?"

"I didn't go looking for trouble." Yan Laodao plopped down on the ground. "It was over a treasure. I snatched it first, and he came to rob me, acting all high and mighty. I gave him a beating, but he's not much better off—got targeted by over a dozen Great Saints. That's instant karma."

"Dangers lurk everywhere. If it's too much, we should leave."

"I need to get out; it's terrifying in here." Yan Laodao grimaced. "You didn't see it—a Great Saint walking along, and suddenly his head was gone, no idea who struck."

"Instant decapitation." Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. "Most likely the Jimi Shen Ti."

"I have to go. You're on your own." With that, Yan Laodao slapped his backside and vanished.

After Yan Laodao left, Ye Chen lingered for a long time, his brows furrowed deeply. Clearly, the Jimi Shen Ti had unlocked the Fei Lei Shen Jue's divine repository; otherwise, it couldn't have instantly killed a Great Saint.

This was bad news. With such a killing god around, being targeted meant constant risk of instant death. The Jimi Shen Ti was extraordinarily terrifying, fully capable of it.

Only after a while did Ye Chen move on, unlike Yan Laodao, heading straight for the depths.

Along the way, his luck held up; he found several treasures, all in the form of intents left by predecessors. Though ancient, they counted as opportunities, granting him valuable insights.

The deeper he went, the more strange events occurred. Dozens of cultivators had been separated from their bodies—mostly Great Saints and Sheng Wang—all slain by a single sword, their deaths gruesome.

Blood permeated the entire Yuan Gu Yiji, with a killing god on the loose, instilling panic everywhere.

Many treasure seekers had already fled, even Great Saints unable to guarantee their safety, let alone others. To hunt for opportunities in the Yuan Gu Yiji, one needed the life to enjoy them.

Yet, some bold ones remained, their strength lacking but their nerve unshakable.

In a valley, Ye Chen slew another person—a Great Saint who had tried to rob him, only to be killed in return, losing both treasure and life.

To his delight, this Great Saint's storage pouch contained two Dun Jia Tian Zi, both imprinted on his life weapon. Ye Chen pried them out and fused them into his Chaos Shen Ding.

Finished, he turned his attention to the five small demon cauldrons in the storage pouch.

Ever since entering the Yuan Gu Yiji, these five had been restless, desperate to escape and explore. Only Ye Chen's powerful seals kept them contained.

"They must be something special." Ye Chen murmured to himself, sensing the five small cauldrons had deep ties to the Yuan Gu Yiji. Their behavior was abnormally out of the ordinary, beyond his expectations.

"Come." Suddenly, a ethereal voice echoed, its source unknown, ancient and profound, as if drifting from a distant era.

"Who is it?" Ye Chen shouted coldly, scanning all directions and activating his immortal eyes to peer into the hidden mysteries.

However, he found nothing. The ethereal voice continued to ring in his ears, vivid and laced with endless demonic allure, nearly causing him to lose his mental guard.