Chapter 1498: Karma

The black hole was as dark as ever, yet far from silent, filled with the roars of Jinwu Prince.

He stared with blood-red eyes into the surrounding darkness, an endless void. He thought this must be what hell was like, and even with his composure, he was breaking down. The lofty Jinwu Prince was afraid of death.

Yet he could still feel his body, trapped in this desolate darkness, unable to tell if he was alive or dead. This unknown uncertainty filled him with terror, making his entire form grow increasingly cold.

"Do you like this place?"

A mocking laugh echoed, laced with an eerie charm. A luminous spirit pearl rose, illuminating a section of the black hole and revealing Ye Chen's vague silhouette.

"Who exactly are you?"

Jinwu Prince's blood-red eyes seemed about to bleed, fixed intently on Ye Chen.

"What do you think?"

Ye Chen's primordial spirit emerged from his Great Saint body. Though it was just his spirit, it showed his true appearance: sharp, angular features mixed with endless weariness and world-weariness.

"You're Ye Chen."

Jinwu Prince's eyes bulged, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints.

"That's right."

Ye Chen smiled, revealing two rows of white teeth. "Surprised?"

"Impossible! This can't be!"

Jinwu Prince went mad, screaming hysterically. He could hardly believe it, and dared not believe it—that the supposedly dead Desolate Ancient Holy Body was still alive, had devastated the Jinwu clan in just two days, and had even dragged him into this trap.

"I was about to leave the Southern Domain and let go of our grudges."

Ye Chen spoke leisurely. "But you forced me to come back and kill. You could've just assumed the Holy Body was dead and left it at that! Instead, you had to stir up trouble with the blood tribulation, killing a thousand just to catch one. Congratulations, you hit the jackpot. Among those people were my kin. This time, I returned to settle the blood debt for them."

"Impossible! This can't be!"

Jinwu Prince continued to roar, or perhaps he simply couldn't accept the reality. He had not only lost to Ye Chen but had dragged the entire Jinwu clan down with him.

"Blood debts must be repaid in blood."

Ye Chen said flatly as he pressed his palm against Jinwu Prince's crown. In his past life, he had searched his soul; now, he was forcefully devouring his bloodline and origin.

Screams rang out as Jinwu Prince's divine body began to disintegrate. Whether it was his Jinwu bloodline or origin, all were aggressively absorbed by Ye Chen, pushing his primordial spirit to the brink of collapse.

In his final moments between life and death, he finally understood regret. He regretted provoking this calamity of a man, Ye Chen.

He had no real grudge against Ye Chen, yet he had foolishly targeted his old friends. Even after the Desolate Ancient Holy Body was destroyed, he continued his killing spree, drawing this god of slaughter back.

Because of his sins, he had brought disaster upon the Jinwu clan. Even in the underworld, he would be cursed by them, his infamy lasting for eternity—a true eternal sinner.

The screams eventually faded away. The mighty Jinwu Prince had completely turned to ash, utterly obliterated, carrying with him resentment, anger, and the regret he deserved.

Ye Chen stood in silence, quietly lingering there. Though it was a black hole, he seemed to see many shadowy figures waving at him—they were the resentful spirits slain by the Jinwu, including the reincarnated woman with purple hair, cradling her infant in swaddling clothes as she slowly turned and walked into the distance.

Ye Chen instinctively raised his hand and waved gently, as a farewell. He had avenged her, but he could never bring her back to life. She had died without knowing her homeland of Da Chu, without finding peace in death.

It was her unrest that had gnawed at his heart, chilling it and twisting his mind, leading him to create massive slaughter. His hands, too, were now stained with blood.

He left, but did not escape the black hole. Instead, he traveled deeper within it, as if using the endless darkness to conceal his sins. The god of slaughter, treading over blood and bones, trembled involuntarily.

It was not until nightfall that he emerged from the black hole, appearing in a range of mountains. This place was already far from Cangmang Mountain—that was exactly what he wanted, exiting through the black hole to evade the Jinwu.

"Not a bad haul."

As the gloom in his eyes faded, he pulled out numerous storage bags.

It was indeed a rich harvest—from raiding the Jinwu branches, the ransom he had collected, and Jinwu Prince's storage bag—all together forming a massive fortune, even greater than before.

"After dealing with the Jinwu, next up is the Kunpeng."

After stowing the treasures, he turned and stepped into the darkness.

The night sky was profound, with shattered stars like dust. He made his way to an ancient city, which remained bustling even at night.

Everywhere, discussions buzzed, mostly in teahouses and taverns where cultivators gathered. There were always a few restless ones chiming in: "The Jinwu clan took a huge loss this time—quite the blow."

"The Ye family ancestor pulled off a brilliant move." Many sighed. "Though he's dead now, the Jinwu have it rough too—not to mention that Jinwu Prince."

"This bloody example shows us: stop showing off, stop doing evil, start accumulating virtue and doing good."

"It's just a shame about all that ransom—uncountable amounts." Some looked pained. "So much wealth, gone with the Ye family ancestor and Jinwu Prince."

The discussions were lively as Ye Chen quietly passed by, turning a few corners before arriving at the Tianwang branch.

It was still the same skinny old man, but unlike the first time, he wasn't lounging in his chair humming tunes. Instead, he was squatting on it, hands tucked in, muttering to himself about something.

He had sold Ye Chen the intelligence on the Jinwu before, and now that the Jinwu had been wiped out, he sometimes wondered if he had committed a sin by pitting them so badly.

"Why not do business anymore?"

Ye Chen stood there, his voice aged and tone gloomy.

"Yes, yes, of course."

The skinny old man snapped to attention and stood up hastily. But when he saw Ye Chen's attire, it felt familiar, though he wasn't entirely sure if it was the same person from before.

"I want intelligence on all the Kunpeng clan's dispatched disciples and elders, excluding the branches."

Ye Chen said calmly, handing over a storage bag containing ten million yuan stones.

"The Kunpeng clan?"

The skinny old man was stunned, his expression turning odd. He had been somewhat suspicious before, but now he was mostly certain—this was definitely the same person who had bought the Jinwu intelligence earlier. Now he was after the Kunpeng clan's info, and the intent was clear.

"Quickly."

Seeing the old man hesitate, Ye Chen spoke sternly, his words carrying pressure.

"Forgive me, fellow daoist, but we don't have intelligence on the Kunpeng clan's dispatched disciples and elders."

The skinny old man gave a dry laugh. "Or rather, they've all been recalled to the clan. The Kunpeng clan's various branches have also been withdrawn and returned to the family."

"What's going on here?"

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, caught off guard by this development.

"The Jinwu clan suffered heavy losses, so they're scared!"

The skinny old man tucked his hands in, adding with a glance at Ye Chen, "You're so fierce—who would dare wander outside anymore?"

"This is a bit of a headache."

Ye Chen tucked his hands in too—it really was a headache. He had the money now and wanted to go all out against the Kunpeng clan, but they had all retreated to their lair.

"It's not entirely because of the Jinwu clan."

The skinny old man continued. "The Kunpeng clan's self-sealing grand array was activated a month ago, so recalling their dispatched disciples and branches is only natural."

"Self-sealing?"

Ye Chen frowned. This was getting complicated—who knew how long the Kunpeng clan would seal themselves off? If he had to wait until who-knows-when for revenge, he might end up dying of old age first.

"So, outside their main lair, there are no Kunpeng clan members left?"

After a few seconds, Ye Chen looked back at the skinny old man. "Even if there are only a few, as long as there are some, that's fine."

"Of course there are some."

The skinny old man chuckled. "The Kunpeng clan's several yuan stone mines still have people, and quite a few at that. They're probably packing up right now to return to the family."

"Yuan stone mines?"

Ye Chen's eyes lit up—those were prime spots, full of wealth.

"Three hundred thousand yuan stones."

The skinny old man was straightforward, pulling out the intelligence on the Kunpeng clan's yuan stone mines and handing it over without asking if Ye Chen wanted it.