Chapter 1621: Single Challenge

The Tianmo Emperor stood still, raising his eyes to gaze into the distance at Liudao and Hongchen.

As he looked, his imperial eyes narrowed slightly, instantly seeing through them: they were not from this era, but from the future.

How interesting. The Tianmo Emperor smiled, his laughter laced with mockery and amusement.

Liudao and Hongchen remained silent, standing one on each side of Ye Chen, their eyes empty, with only a flicker of confusion passing through.

They had both broken free from their seals on their own, drawn by the aura of hatred and the imperial laws of the Tianmo Emperor.

In the depths of fate, some strange force was driving them to eradicate that hateful aura from the world.

Ye Chen steadied his form with sheer will, blood continuously overflowing from his mouth.

For the first time, he stood shoulder to shoulder with Hongchen and Liudao, like three unyielding monuments towering between heaven and earth, impervious to any force.

A gentle breeze blew, stirring their long hair, and their bodies trembled in unison.

In the next instant, an extremely bizarre scene unfolded.

Hongchen and Liudao slowly merged into Ye Chen’s body, not just a part of them, but their entire beings.

Then, a brilliant light shot out from the top of Ye Chen’s head, piercing straight into the sky and tearing a massive hole in the darkened heavens.

Ye Chen’s form transformed. His blood-stained black hair turned strand by strand into gold, and an ancient sacred mark gradually appeared on his forehead.

His aura and cultivation surged from the Tianjing realm straight to the Huangjing realm in an instant.

In mere moments, his Huangjing cultivation advanced further, defying the five declines of heaven and humans, breaking directly into the Shengren level.

Beyond that, he ascended level by level, reaching the Shengwang level.

From the peak of Shengwang, he advanced to Dasheng, and in just a few seconds, evolved from the peak of Dasheng into Zhundi.

His cultivation did not stop there; it continued to climb, step by step toward the heavens, from the first level of Zhundi all the way to its peak.

In that moment, the heavens lost their color, and billions of thunderbolts roared. An aura that made the world tremble spread endlessly across the realms.

“Emperor Tribulation?” The nine Jiuhuang, locked in battle with the emperor, all turned their heads, gazing remotely at this void with expressions of utter disbelief.

“Emperor Lord.” The nine great Shenjiang murmured softly, their expressions dazed, as if they were looking at the former Xianwu Emperor through Ye Chen.

“Master.” Jian Shen and Jiu Jian Xian’s eyes grew misty for a moment, that figure resembling their master so closely.

“Great Emperor.” Numerous ancient Zhundi lifted their faces collectively, their expressions stunned, as if he were a Great Emperor himself.

“What on earth happened? Wasn’t Ye Chen in the Tianjing realm? Where did this emperor’s aura come from? Is he trying to break through to the Great Emperor level?”

Shock echoed throughout the heavens, as the allied forces of the realms were stunned.

“Truly unexpected that Liudao and Hongchen merging with Ye Chen could produce such immense power.” The five great Tianwang of the forbidden zones sighed in admiration.

They saw it most clearly: it was not Ye Chen’s cultivation advancing, but the cultivation of Hongchen and Liudao integrating into his body.

And it was not Ye Chen triggering the Emperor Tribulation, but Hongchen and Liudao doing so. The two of them had already approached the Great Emperor level infinitely closely.

If they could see it clearly, how could the Tianmo Emperor not?

Even he did not know that the three merging would provoke an Emperor Tribulation. This event had overturned the laws, shocking even an emperor.

The great battle inexplicably paused. Whether it was the Tianmo soldiers and generals or the allied forces of the realms, all looked up at the ethereal void.

Emperor Tribulation thunder was gathering, a force capable of destroying heaven and earth awakening, rendering all worldly laws meaningless.

However, the imagined supreme Emperor Tribulation did not descend as expected.

The emperor thunder dissipated amid the rumbling, appearing only briefly like a fleeting illusion, with the so-called tribulation remaining nothing more than a vain hope.

Even so, Ye Chen’s aura still made the heavens tremble.

His golden hair fluttered, each strand dazzling. His pair of golden eyes encompassed the heavens and earth, with supreme Dao principles evolving within.

His sacred body was covered in golden light, as if forged from pure gold, shining like a radiant sun amid the dim world.

His vital energy was overwhelming, every strand incredibly heavy, collapsing the firmament and cracking the earth.

Numerous ancient visions suddenly manifested: within chaos, all things evolved; true dragons coiled through the nine heavens; phoenixes cried out in fiery rebirth; white tigers roared toward the sky; and black tortoises cleared the immortal paths.

The sound of the Great Dao echoed, intertwining with chaotic principles and dancing with the sacred body’s origin, faintly visible around Ye Chen’s body.

He was not an emperor, yet he possessed the supreme emperor’s might—the power of a fully realized sacred body, suppressing eternity and reversing the cosmos.

“Can it really be like this?” The old man of the earth couldn’t help but mutter.

“Hongchen is the future Ye Chen, and Liudao is the future Hongchen.” The old man of heaven pondered. “All three have defied the laws before. Now that they’ve merged, anything is possible.”

“This is getting a bit scary.” Chiyangzi grimaced.

“A fully realized sacred body can stand shoulder to shoulder with a Great Emperor. In this battle, the outcome is uncertain.” Yanhuang laughed, his voice laced with excitement.

“He slaughtered emperors three hundred years ago, and he can do the same three hundred years later.”

“Is that you, Great Emperor?” The nine great Shenjiang murmured to themselves, their eyes filled with ancient sorrow, as if recalling glorious years.

“Fight.” The cultivators of Da Chu roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens and earth.

“Fight.” Everyone raised the war banners of Da Chu, roaring from the depths of their souls, determined to make the Tianmo pay in blood for their debts.

Ye Chen stood in the firmament, silent, his gaze fixed on the Tianmo Emperor.

In turn, the Tianmo Emperor gnashed his teeth, his rage violent and bloodthirsty.

Ye Chen’s current form was etched into his bones.

In the past, it was the fully realized Ye Chen who had slain him in Da Chu, shattering his emperor’s dignity and leaving an indelible shame.

The emperor’s killing intent rampaged, fused with supreme emperor’s might, collapsing the vast universe, crushing the realms, and destroying all in its path.

“Dantiao.” Ye Chen said lightly, his divine eyes calm. His soft words echoed like thunder, making the firmament rumble.

With that, he turned and stepped out of Da Chu.

A fully realized sacred body clashing with an emperor would cause world-shattering destruction. Fighting in Da Chu would lead to too many innocent deaths.

The affairs of the realms were too interconnected, involving all living beings. Da Chu’s heavens and earth were already under threat and could not withstand such catastrophic blows.

Ye Chen’s intent was clear: he wanted to lure the Tianmo Emperor away from Da Chu, to a desolate star domain, for a fight to the death.

“Kill.” The Tianmo Emperor erupted in fury and followed with a single step.

“Go.” After Ye Chen and the Tianmo Emperor, the nine Jiuhuang and the nine great Shenjiang left Da Chu one after another.

“Go.” Jian Shen, Donghuang Tai Xin, and Jiang Taixu followed suit, exiting Da Chu and entering the vast star fields.

The four Tianmo Dao bodies pursued them, their supreme aura even stronger, as their true forms’ origins revived and boosted their power.

One fully realized sacred body, one Great Emperor, four Dao body emperors, and thirty-six Zhundi at their peak shook the entire vast realms.

“The other side actually has a Great Emperor.” The cultivators of the realms were shocked.

“Still five of them. Where on earth did they come from?”

“What’s there to fear? Fight them to the death. They have a Great Emperor, but we have a fully realized sacred body. Are they underestimating the realms as having no one worthy?”

“Kill.” In Da Chu, the battle cries shook the heavens. With the Tianmo Great Emperor’s suppression lifted, the allied forces fought with ferocious intensity.

Some even wielded emperor weapons, specifically targeting the Tianmo generals.

The war drums of the realms never ceased, with more allied forces arriving. The gathered powers were terrifyingly formidable.

“Kill.” The cultivators of Da Chu, though not in battle, stood in rows along the city walls, waving great banners and shouting with thunderous voices.

“Kill.” As Da Chu fought, so did the vast realms. Warfires blazed across the stars, with figures everywhere in sight.

The hidden old masters could no longer stay idle, and the powerful cultivators were roused to action. With the enemy at their doorstep, they charged into battle.

For instance, on Yinming Star, the general minister had been lying peacefully in his coffin when Tianmo soldiers caused chaos, seeking trouble.

The coffin exploded, and the general minister emerged, gripping an ancient battle halberd. With a single thrust, no Tianmo could withstand him.

The vast realms were full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, with powerful experts emerging one after another.

Fierce figures like the general minister were countless across the domains, along with living fossils and ancient powerhouses appearing in succession.