Chapter 1689: That's All

Chapter 1689: Ba Le

The heavenly tribulation and divine punishment grew increasingly fierce, with thunderous roars shaking the nine heavens. In the eastern and western seas of lightning, Bai Zhi and Ming Jue both struggled desperately. The Ming Di and Di Jun from that era were unimaginably terrifying.

The two of them bled profusely time and again, nearly perishing as they fought with all their might. Their divine bodies shattered repeatedly, splattering blood across the vast sky.

“This is the Quasi-Saint King level master and Ming Di?”

Bai Zhi gritted her teeth tightly, her pride shattered once more.

Ming Jue felt the same way, utterly powerless to turn the tide. No matter how powerful their immortal techniques were, they proved futile before these two supreme beings.

Their hearts were filled with shock. A Ming Di and Di Jun of the same level were overwhelmingly strong, leaving one with no will to resist.

The onlookers retreated again and again, not daring to approach.

Such a level of divine punishment was only heard of in legends; this was the first time anyone had witnessed it. Not to mention enduring it, just watching it made their hearts tremble.

Perhaps only prodigies like Ming Jue and Bai Zhi could summon an emperor-level heavenly tribulation. Today, it was truly an eye-opener.

Suddenly, many turned their gaze toward Zhao Yun.

His and Ye Chen's talents far surpassed those of Bai Zhi and Ming Jue. Many wondered what kind of heavenly tribulation they could summon.

Zhao Yun pulled out his flask, ignoring everyone around him and focusing on drinking.

Could he say that Ming Jue and Bai Zhi's tribulations were mere child's play? That they were a whole level below his own legendary divine punishment?

Obviously, he couldn't say that, or it would cause quite a stir.

While the commotion here was massive, the distant lands remained eerily quiet.

Ye Chen walked across the vast expanse, moving farther from the bustling areas. His figure looked desolate, tinged with a hint of solitude.

He had no destination, simply walking in silence. He crossed long rivers, treaded vast seas, and passed through mountain after mountain of ghosts.

This journey took an unknown amount of time.

All he knew was that the roaring sounds of the divine punishment behind him gradually faded.

Ming Jue and Bai Zhi survived by a hair's breadth, enduring the divine punishment and undergoing a rebirth through nirvana, fully advancing to the next level.

The spectators lingered, still not fully satisfied.

This divine punishment had lasted a full three days. Ming Jue and Bai Zhi had battled for three days, and so the crowd had watched for three days, a sight that left them deeply shaken.

In the silent night, with chilling winds howling, Ye Chen came to a stop.

His face was weathered by the elements, and his mouth was covered in stubble.

Though he was in the prime of his youth, he lacked the vitality and sharpness typical of young people. Instead, he exuded a sense of world-weary maturity forged by time.

Before him lay an ocean, a purple one.

The sea waves surged wildly, churning violently and shrouded in dark mist.

Faintly, one could hear the wails of vengeful ghosts, with lone spirits and wild ghosts struggling in the waters, their faces twisted and terrifying.

This was the Xiu Luo Hai, renowned in the underworld alongside the Nie Hai.

In the past, the nine great Ming Jiang of the first hall had trained here, earning a fearsome reputation. Few dared to venture near.

Ye Chen stood quietly, gazing in silence.

He had been here before, but not alone—he had come with Chu Ling.

Though the Xiu Luo Hai was eerie and forbidding, it had its own unique beauty. The swirling purple mists resembled blooming flowers.

As he looked at the Xiu Luo Hai, his eyes gradually grew misty.

In his vision, ancient and distant scenes began to emerge.

It was in the demon beast forest, where he first met Chu Ling. She had been gravely injured by enemies from another sect and afflicted with Hehuan San.

That night of passion marked the beginning of their fateful connection.

Later, at Hengyue Sect, he mistakenly took Chu Xuan for Chu Ling. He never imagined that his master had a twin sister.

Reflecting on it now, he saw it as a twist of fate, full of coincidences and mishaps that led to many absurd situations, yet also forged an enduring bond.

His thoughts raced on to the heavenly demon invasion, when she stood before him and met her end. That scene still pierced his heart.

In the blink of an eye, three hundred years had passed, completing a full cycle of reincarnation.

Their past romance had been a fleeting splendor, now faded into obscurity.

Tears shimmered in his eyes, on the verge of falling.

In those tears, he saw Chu Ling's figure, calling his name and smiling back at him.

All their shared affections, karmic ties, past memories, and lingering attachments were contained in those two drops of tears.

Once they fell, it would mean letting go. She would vanish from his eyes, leaving not even a trace of attachment.

“Ba Le.” Ye Chen gently closed his eyes, and the tears he had long refused to shed finally spilled from the corners, tracing down his weathered face.

He had let go. Chu Ling was no longer in his eyes. Their three hundred years of karma dissolved with those tears, becoming the past.

That graceful figure and those memories had turned into mere illusions.

Perhaps, in some future year or month, he might casually recall that once there was a woman named Chu Ling.

Beyond the Xiu Luo Hai, he stood like a carved statue, motionless.

Strands of chilling wind carried a deep cold, stirring his white hair and brushing against his slightly frail form.

He didn't know how much time passed before he finally lifted his head, gazing toward the hazy void.

As he looked, he instinctively stood taller, his brows furrowing.

He saw the sky enveloped in swirling dark mists, murky and chaotic like a surging ocean, as if it could swallow the entire underworld.

“Heavenly Demon.” Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, recognizing the scene.

His rage toward the heavenly demons was etched deep into his soul.

Without them, the heavens wouldn't be so ravaged. Without them, his life wouldn't be so shattered.

Because of that blood debt, he was acutely sensitive to their aura. Even a faint trace, he could detect clearly.

“What's happening?” Surprised voices echoed throughout the underworld, with countless people looking up at the hazy void in confusion.

The underworld was already dim, but now it was further obscured by the dark mists.

Beyond that, an aura that inspired dread filled the air. Many lesser spirits trembled, involuntarily kneeling.

“Where did this black mist come from?” The ten Yan Luo burst out of their halls, standing like nine massive peaks across the underworld's nine regions, fierce and intimidating.

“This aura is repulsive.” The Tian Ming Jiang, Di Ming Jiang, and Xuan Ming Jiang from each hall emerged, all staring coldly at the sky.

“For some reason, I feel like something terrible is about to happen.” The lesser spirits shivered, their faces pale.

“We have two supreme beings on our side. What's there to fear?” The veteran Ming Jiang scolded, using those words to dispel their own fears.

“What's going on?” In the crowd, Qin Mengyao murmured softly, her beautiful eyes narrowing as she fixed on the vast sky.

“Foreign realm.” Zhao Yun frowned, his gaze flickering with deeper meaning.

“Heavenly Demon.” In the Luo Chuan Mountains, Chu Ling's face turned deathly pale in an instant. Ye Chen could recognize it, and so could she.

“The heavenly demons finding their way to the underworld is quite unexpected. What do you think?” In the void above, Ming Di spoke leisurely.

“It must be the six paths of reincarnation showing a crack.” Di Huang replied calmly, his supreme aura blending with emperor principles, surging dramatically.

“Interesting.” Ming Di stretched his neck comfortably, his emperor momentum instantly peaking, crushing the heavens.

No sooner had he spoken than the void split open. A massive pillar of light descended vertically, piercing through the heavens and earth, incredibly thick.

The entire underworld trembled. A dark halo spread infinitely, carrying demonic energy and sweeping forth with tremendous force.

It was a heavenly demon pillar, even larger than the one that once stood in Bei Zhen Cang Yuan—towering at ten thousand zhang, gleaming with demonic light.

Both Ming Di and Di Huang moved, stepping forward and disrupting the laws, transcending the river of time to land at the Xiu Luo Hai.

Indeed, the heavenly demon pillar was located in the Xiu Luo Hai.

Ming Di and Di Huang stood still, glancing briefly at the pillar before turning to Ye Chen. They could see that he had let go.

Ye Chen, however, fixed his bloodshot eyes solely on the heavenly demon pillar.

Over three hundred years ago, to destroy the pillar in Bei Zhen Cang Yuan, nine million cultivators from Da Chu had fought nearly to extinction.

Because he was a holy body that could rival a great emperor, countless predecessors and successors had paved the way for him, sacrificing themselves.

He hadn't disappointed Da Chu. He had slain the emperor and, with his broken holy body, rammed into the pillar, avenging their blood debt.

His eyes were filled with bloody tears, blurring his vision.

Behind him, the ten Yan Luo and numerous Quasi-Emperor level Tian Ming Jiang arrived one after another, each exuding a sky-dominating presence.

“Leave quickly.” Qin Guang Wang spotted Ye Chen below.

“No need.” Ming Di chuckled lightly, sending a strand of immortal light from his body that transformed into a battle spear, hovering before Ye Chen.

The spear was entirely black, etched with emperor underworld patterns. Its origins were unknown, only that it was ancient and weathered.

Beyond that, emperor principles intertwined around it.

This was an ultimate emperor weapon, Ming Di's life-bound artifact—the Ming Di battle spear—containing the power to destroy heavens and earth.

Ming Di's intention was clear: he was lending this life-bound emperor weapon to Ye Chen. Fusing with it would allow him to battle Quasi-Emperors.

When it came to fighting heavenly demons, Ye Chen had the most experience here.

In one lifetime, he had slain two emperors—his feats even surpassed Di Huang's. Across eternity, he was the only holy body to have done so.

Ye Chen didn't refuse Ming Di's goodwill and allowed the emperor weapon to merge with him.

As it fused, his momentum soared, approaching the great emperor level. His domineering holy body seemed forged from gold.

The ten Yan Luo were all shocked. Ye Chen's current power had surpassed theirs. In a one-on-one fight, none could match him.

Under everyone's gaze, Ye Chen ascended, standing behind Di Jun and Ming Di, his back firm and majestic like a mountain.

The surrounding skies buzzed and trembled as massive formations were deployed. Without exception, they were emperor killing arrays, spreading across the heavens.

More powerhouses rushed in like tides, numbering nine million, forming ranks of cultivator formations.

Ming Di and Di Huang didn't immediately destroy the heavenly demon pillar.

After eons of dormancy, these two supreme beings had forgotten the thrill of boiling blood. With the heavenly demons invading, it was the perfect time for a warm-up.

Ye Chen was also full of confidence, his eyes flashing with golden divine light.

In the various heavens and domains, the two heavenly demon invasions had been brutally fierce, largely because no great emperors were present.

However, this was not the heavens—it was the underworld, with one great emperor and one fully realized holy body, equivalent to two supreme levels.

With such a lineup, their combat strength was absolutely dominant.

Likely, before any heavenly demon emperors could arrive, the demon armies would be wiped out. Numbers meant nothing here—they were useless.

Moreover, even a single heavenly demon emperor wouldn't be enough to satisfy them.

Ye Chen's fighting spirit burned the brightest. The previous two invasions had been devastating.

For the third, with superior forces, he was determined to leave a million corpses and repay the blood debts of three hundred years with fresh blood.

PS: There's another chapter later, but it'll be late. (Resting tomorrow and the day after, so I'll update more then.)