Chapter 1489: South Heaven

Among the multitude of figures in the sky, Ye Chen acted as if he heard nothing. He reached out, took the crucified infant, and placed it in the arms of the purple-haired woman, allowing her to hold the child as they continued on their way.

She was from his homeland, having fought valiantly in bloody battles over two hundred years ago, guarding the common people behind her.

In her previous life, she died in battle at Nantian Gate, but in this life, she was buried in Nantian City. Though both bore the name Nantian, they were in foreign lands. Until her death, she never unlocked the seal on her memories, and until the end, she never knew what her so-called homeland truly was.

He turned around, silently scanning the surroundings, his expression calm and devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

He didn't need to ask; with a single glance, he could tell these people belonged to which races. Their origins burned like the scorching sun—they were from the Jinwu Clan, and among them were also those from the Kunpeng Clan.

“Go where you like, but you had to come to Nantian Ancient City.”

The silver-robed elder said with a faint smile, revealing two rows of sharp fangs.

“Since you're here, you won't be leaving today.”

Ye Chen said nothing. With one step, he vanished instantly, reappearing behind the silver-robed elder.

The silver-robed elder's face changed abruptly. Even with his Saint-level eyesight, he couldn't track Ye Chen's movements, and neither could the others—Ye Chen's speed was too fast, beyond their ability to grasp.

Without hesitation, the silver-robed elder retreated, but it was too late. Ye Chen had already closed in, using no weapon at all. With one hand, he seized the elder's yuan shen and tore it apart on the spot.

“He's no ordinary Saint. Let's join forces and kill him.”

The leading Jinwu Clan elder in golden robes and the Kunpeng Clan elder in purple robes shouted in fury. Both were at the Quasi-Saint King level.

At their command, everyone present attacked. The weakest among them were at the peak of the Emperor realm, with many Quasi-Saints and veteran Saints mixed in. They unleashed divine abilities or secret arts, overwhelming Ye Chen from all sides.

Ye Chen met them head-on with his body alone. the Chixiao Sword appeared in his hand, and with one sweeping strike, its power was utterly devastating. Aside from the two Quasi-Saint Kings, no one could withstand a single blow from him, and blood rained down from the sky.

“Attack together.”

The Jinwu Quasi-Saint King barked coldly, stepping forward from the heavens. A burst of divine light shot from his brow, manifesting a golden treasure seal—a Saint King-level artifact. Its divine might awakened, pressing down from above.

The Chaos God Cauldron burst forth from Ye Chen's divine sea, radiating no immortal light, only ancient simplicity. It collided directly with the golden treasure seal, shattering it in one strike and forcefully devouring the fragments.

With his natal artifact destroyed, the Jinwu Quasi-Saint King suffered a backlash. He staggered backward, vomiting blood, his eyes filled with disbelief. Ye Chen's strength far exceeded his expectations.

“Exterminate him.”

The Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King roared thunderously, his attack arriving. His suspended natal artifact was peculiar—an iron bucket, incredibly ancient, forged from special immortal iron. This artifact was also at the Quasi-Saint King level, far more powerful than the golden ancient seal.

Ye Chen was swallowed into the iron bucket on the spot. The inscribed extermination and sealing prohibitions within it activated, unleashing devastating forces to seal his physical body and obliterate his yuan shen.

“However strong you are, you're still just a Saint.”

The Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King spoke coldly, full of confidence in his natal artifact. Even a Quasi-Saint King swallowed by it would struggle to escape.

“With the Kunpeng elder making a move, it's as easy as turning over his hand.”

The Jinwu Quasi-Saint King and the others all laughed, breathing a sigh of relief. “If not for you, my friend, we would have suffered heavy losses.”

“It's merely a trifling effort.”

The Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King stroked his beard, adopting the demeanor of a senior expert.

However, no sooner had he spoken than his iron bucket began to tremble violently. A massive hole was blasted through it by a golden fist, and a golden dragon-like form leaped out from within—Ye Chen had escaped. Though the iron bucket artifact was powerful, it still fell short in sealing him.

The Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King's expression changed as he suffered a backlash, blood spilling from his mouth's corner. The others' faces also turned pale—the dominance of that iron bucket was well-known to them, yet it hadn't sealed this Saint.

In that instant of shock, Ye Chen expanded his Chaos World, sealing off the four directions. Those present were crushed en masse from the void, unable to withstand the pressure of the Chaos Realm, turning into clouds of blood mist one after another.

Following that, a vortex capable of devouring the heavens appeared. The blood essence, bloodlines, yuan shen, and origins of those slain were all forcefully absorbed by Ye Chen and refined into nourishment for his sacred body.

The Chaos God Cauldron was not idle either. With its mouth facing downward, a vortex formed, swallowing all the artifacts scattered around—whether Saint weapons or Quasi-Saint weapons—they all became fuel for the cauldron's body.

In merely three breaths, aside from the two Quasi-Saint Kings, everyone else had been exterminated without exception.

Ye Chen's killing intent surged as he fixed his gaze on the Jinwu Quasi-Saint King and the Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King, his expression still calm, without a trace of emotional fluctuation. The more he appeared this way, the more terrifying he became.

“Sacred Body, he is the Sacred Body.”

Both Quasi-Saint Kings at that level stepped back abruptly, their eyes bulging and pupils contracting, as if they had recognized his identity from the Chaos World.

They could hardly believe it, nor did they dare to. The ancient Sacred Body, which had been exterminated in the Honghuang Forest just three days ago, was still alive in the world. He had survived, deceiving everyone once again.

“Run!”

The two joined forces to activate a teleportation platform, stepping onto it without delay and frantically powering it to escape, abandoning any thought of battle.

They had already witnessed the might of the Sacred Body. Though only at the Saint level, it could contend with Saint Kings.

Ye Chen did not pursue. Instead, he used the Shifting Heavens and Exchanging Earth secret art to swap positions with the Jinwu Quasi-Saint King. In other words, on that teleportation platform now stood Ye Chen and the Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King.

Ye Chen's sudden appearance on the platform startled the Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King. He had forgotten that Ye Chen knew that secret art capable of swapping positions, and in a moment of carelessness, he had been outmaneuvered.

The platform shattered under Ye Chen's foot, and the Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King was sent flying by a palm strike.

With their escape route cut off, the two Quasi-Saint Kings converged and turned to flee.

Ye Chen took a step that shrank the distance to inches, killing his way forward. His golden hand struck like a divine blade, delivering a devastating blow that left the Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King covered in blood and bones, half his sacred body reduced to mangled flesh—a gruesome sight.

The Jinwu Quasi-Saint King dared not rescue him, fleeing desperately and burning his essence to boost his speed.

Ye Chen did not chase him. Instead, he obliterated the Kunpeng Quasi-Saint King's physical body with a palm, forcing his yuan shen to emerge. With his yuan shen exposed, a Quasi-Saint King lost his advantage and could not escape being destroyed.

After slaying that Quasi-Saint King, Ye Chen gripped his blood-stained killing sword and pursued the Jinwu Quasi-Saint King through the skies.

Seeing Ye Chen approaching, the Jinwu Quasi-Saint King did not dare stop. After burning his essence, he ignited his yuan shen power, pushing his escape speed to the peak he had ever achieved, like a streak of divine light.

But Ye Chen was even faster. In just three or five steps of shrinking the distance, he raised the Chixiao Sword and struck downward.

The injured Jinwu Quasi-Saint King was cleaved open along his back, a deep gash exposing his gleaming spine. It was only due to his profound foundation that he wasn't split in two on the spot.

“I'll fight you to the death.”

The Jinwu Quasi-Saint King roared madly, blood-sacrificing his yuan shen to push his combat power toward the Saint King level. Immortal light burst from his body, each ray carrying a weapon—over a hundred in total—all activated at once and slashing toward Ye Chen.

The Chaos God Cauldron charged forward, growing massive as a mountain, standing firm between heaven and earth. It trembled violently, surging with Chaos energy and surrounded by Chaos dao principles, grinding those hundred weapons to dust.

The Jinwu Quasi-Saint King suffered a backlash, his body fracturing and half his skull exploding into blood.

Ye Chen arrived, standing in the void with his killing sword still dripping blood, looking down at him from on high.

“Spare me. This was all the prince's order. He was searching everywhere for your old friends, preferring to kill a thousand rather than miss one.”

The Jinwu Quasi-Saint King was terrified, his face full of fear. A mighty Quasi-Saint King actually prostrated on the ground like a dog, begging for his life.

To kill a thousand rather than miss one—fortunately, the Jinwu prince's approach had hit the mark this time. There were indeed old friends of Ye Chen in Nantian City—or rather, family, his closest kin from his homeland.

Ye Chen remained silent, merely raising his hand and pressing it down on the Jinwu Quasi-Saint King's head, invoking the soul-searching secret art. He forcefully extracted his memories, ignoring the prohibitions in his divine sea.

The Jinwu Quasi-Saint King let out agonized howls, his divine sea rumbling as his skull exploded and his body turned to blood mist.

His screams eventually faded, marking the fall of another Quasi-Saint King, his yuan shen power devoured.

Ye Chen departed, heading not toward the Western Desert but deep into the Southern Domain, where the world froze over with ice. “Xuan'er, Ling'er, wait for me a little longer. I will seek justice for them.”