Chapter 1750: Greedy Eater

As the two conversed, the starry sky rumbled and buzzed with violent tremors.

This was all due to Zhundi Taotie, who formed a massive black vortex centered on himself, spinning rapidly and growing larger by the second.

Not far away, a star was pulled into it and exploded with a deafening boom, its scant stellar essence completely devoured.

Even passing cultivators fleeing for their lives were dragged in by the vortex, vanishing without a scream as their bodies and souls were utterly consumed.

Zhundi Taotie was truly unrestrained, devouring living beings without hesitation.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. Taotie was indeed gluttonous, capable of swallowing the heavens and the earth—this was the innate divine ability of the Taotie clan.

Because of their greed, countless races had been wiped out by them.

In ancient times, the Tun Tian Mo Zun had used the Taotie's gluttonous powers to create the Tun Tian Mo Gong, which has been passed down through the ages.

Seeing the vortex spreading toward him, Ye Chen immediately fled at top speed.

Hmm? Zhundi Taotie glanced over and spotted Ye Chen, his aged eyes narrowing as he detected the pure essence in him.

With that, his Zhundi aura spread out like rippling waves, aiming to bind Ye Chen and devour him.

The Zhundi aura was terrifyingly powerful, shattering the starry sky in its path; even a Da Sheng-level expert would be forced to their knees under such pressure.

Ye Chen spun around abruptly, gripping his heavy iron sword to block the assault.

The aura collided with the sword, sparking flames and clanging like metal on stone, sending him stumbling backward.

Zhundi Taotie was surprised to see this—an aura that could overwhelm even a Da Sheng had failed to destroy a mere Sheng.

In that moment, he developed a keen interest in Ye Chen.

With the sharp insight of a Zhundi, he could tell that Ye Chen had a secret artifact, likely a Zhundi-level weapon, protecting him from the pressure.

"Interesting." Zhundi Taotie chuckled mockingly and reached out to grab him.

He was quite fond of Ye Chen's secret artifact and bloodline essence—such delicacies couldn't be passed up once encountered.

But his grab missed entirely, as Ye Chen turned and bolted away, evading the strike from a Zhundi-level palm.

Zhundi Taotie was stunned. He'd never seen a Sheng escape so quickly; the speed of that evasion was astonishing.

First, Ye Chen had dodged his devouring vortex, then withstood his Zhundi aura, and now evaded his palm—it all proved how extraordinary Ye Chen was.

The more impressive Ye Chen appeared, the more intrigued Zhundi Taotie became, and he set off in pursuit.

Each step of a Zhundi crossed vast distances, as if treading on the river of time, inverting the heavens and earth, disrupting laws, and achieving godlike speed.

"You old fart, what's your problem? I didn't provoke you!"

Ye Chen didn't even stay quiet while fleeing; he kept glancing back and yelling at the top of his lungs, completely shameless about it.

His shouts enraged Zhundi Taotie. As a Zhundi and a member of the Taotie imperial clan, when had he ever been insulted like this?

Yet Ye Chen was boldly cursing him to his face.

I've slain three great emperors before, so why would I fear you? You're just a Zhundi Taotie—what of it? I'm cursing you, so what?

"seeking death." Zhundi Taotie snorted coldly and thrust a finger at him.

Ye Chen dodged it by a hair's breadth and kept fleeing.

Dodged again, Zhundi Taotie exploded with fury. He stopped using secret techniques and simply charged across the starry sky, refusing to let up.

As a Zhundi of the Taotie clan, his pride was immense. To be repeatedly foiled by a mere Sheng was an unbearable humiliation.

"Guess we really ticked him off." Kui Niu coughed dryly.

"That's the idea." Ye Chen smirked coldly, his vital energy surging like burning flames as he fled with all his might.

Behind him, Zhundi Taotie's eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted in a demonic grimace, determined to capture Ye Chen alive.

The starry sky grew lively due to their chase, buzzing and trembling wherever they passed, with the Zhundi aura sweeping out and shattering one dead star after another.

"Get out of the way!" Ye Chen shouted hoarsely, yelling warnings along the way.

There were many cultivators fleeing through the starry sky, and in the chaos, collisions were inevitable—he didn't want them caught in the fallout.

But trouble still happened; hordes of cultivators were knocked flying before they could steady themselves, and when Zhundi Taotie arrived, his terrifying aura sent swarms of them crashing down, with the weaker ones being crushed to death, staining the starry sky with blood.

"Did I see that right? A Zhundi-level Taotie chasing a Sheng?" The cultivators who dodged out of the way were stunned.

"That little Sheng's speed is insane!"

"He's wearing a mask—we can't see his true face. Could it be Chen Ye?" someone speculated, stroking their chin.

At those words, the surrounding cultivators exchanged glances, their eyes lighting up. It wasn't impossible; maybe it really was him.

Zhundi Taotie overheard and seemed to connect the dots.

Lately, the one causing chaos in the Hong Huang was a masked figure named Chen Ye. This one he was chasing might just be the same person.

Realizing this, his speed surged to a new level. If it was indeed Chen Ye, capturing him would be a major achievement.

Ahead, Ye Chen focused solely on escape, cursing nonstop as he fled.

The cultivators around trembled at his words. Daring to curse a Taotie Zhundi like that—it had to be Chen Ye, the one who feared nothing.

Still, while they were curious, no one dared to follow.

They were already fleeing from the Hong Huang great clans—who would be foolish enough to watch the show? A Taotie Zhundi was from a greedy clan; one slip-up, and you'd be swallowed whole, dying horribly.

The rumbling gradually faded, but the starry sky continued to shake violently.

Ye Chen streaked through it like a divine ray, heading away from populated areas, clearly intending to lure Zhundi Taotie elsewhere.

He didn't want to fight a Zhundi—it would be troublesome—but that didn't mean he feared one. He had plenty of trump cards.

In the distance, a small, desolate star came into view.

It was a lifeless celestial body with no signs of life. Ye Chen used Shrinking Earth into Inches and dove straight in, burrowing into the mountains.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zhundi Taotie roared and arrived shortly after, manifesting his true form in the starry sky instead of entering the star.

It wasn't an exaggeration—his size was immense; that small star looked like a mere peach in his eyes.

"Holy crap." Inside the bronze furnace, Kui Niu craned his neck to stare at the colossal beast, swallowing hard. In all his lives, he'd never seen such a massive creature; compared to it, he was less than an ant.

"Quite the sight." Ye Chen couldn't help but smirk.

He'd slain plenty of Da Sheng-level Taotie before, but their size was nothing compared to this one.

The difference of a realm meant a vast disparity in scale. Killing and eating a beast this big would provide meat for years.

As they marveled, Zhundi Taotie opened his massive maw, a vortex forming in his throat—it was the devouring divine ability again.

A dreadful scene unfolded as he swallowed the entire small star in one gulp, without even a hitch.

Onlookers passing by nearly collapsed in shock.

That was a whole star! Even if it wasn't huge, it was vast beyond measure, yet the Taotie had gulped it down whole.

And Ye Chen was still on that star—which was now inside the Taotie's belly, surrounded by utter darkness.

The Taotie's stomach formed its own vast realm, filled with churning foul odors and writhing flesh walls that made one want to vomit.

On top of that, a mysterious and terrifying force worked to refine anything swallowed, dissolving it completely.

In an instant, Ye Chen felt his magical power draining away rapidly, his vital energy waning at an alarming rate.

The small star itself was crumbling inch by inch, turning to dust.

Ye Chen looked puzzled. Was Zhundi Taotie really eating dirt? Would he get indigestion from a whole star?

Taotie were indeed gluttonous, devouring anything in sight.

He was witnessing it firsthand—swallowing people was child's play; eating entire stars was on another level, enough to fill them up completely.

"Think we went a bit overboard?" Kui Niu peered out from the bronze furnace.

"Go big or go home." Ye Chen chuckled, flicking three drops of blood into the air and quickly forming hand seals.

"Di Dao Tong Ming?" Kui Niu exclaimed in surprise. His cultivation might not be high, but his knowledge was; he recognized the Emperor's Path to the Underworld seal.

"You got it." Ye Chen grinned. "Wonder if summoning the three Yama Lords here will liven things up."

At that, Kui Niu's eyes sparkled with excitement.

He hadn't expected Ye Chen to not only know Di Dao Tong Ming but also have the blood of the Yama Lords—this was like having a built-in cheat.

Only then did he understand why Ye Chen had led Zhundi Taotie here. If they could take him down...

Imagine a Zhundi suddenly finding three more Zhundi in his belly—that would be quite the spectacle, enough to give him a real headache.

That was Ye Chen for you—always playing on a higher level. Even in the cycle of reincarnation, his schemes were top-notch, full of surprises.

The ground trembled as three stone coffins burst from the earth.

The lids flew off, revealing three figures with wooden expressions and vacant eyes, like lifeless puppets devoid of emotion.

Take a closer look—it was Qin Guang Wang, Chu Jiang Wang, and Song Di Wang, the three strongest among the Ten Yama Lords.

Ye Chen flicked a ray of immortal light, granting them consciousness.

As their awareness returned, dark lines appeared on the foreheads of the three Yama Lords, their faces turning as black as charcoal.

They had been meditating in their halls when, in a flash, they were summoned here. No need to ask—they knew it was Ye Chen's doing.

"You little brat, getting addicted to this?" The three stepped forward and each kicked him. As Yama Lords, they felt like they were being treated like summoned beasts, always called for fights.

"Got bullied, so I had to call in reinforcements to hold the fort, right? Think of it as a trip to the Zhutian." Ye Chen coughed awkwardly.

"Zhutian?" The three Yama Lords raised their eyebrows and scanned their surroundings. Ye Chen's words made it clear he had returned from the Ling Yu to the Zhutian.

But what they saw was pitch-black darkness.

This wasn't the Zhutian they imagined—muddy and foul-smelling, with disgusting flesh walls all around.

After taking it all in, the three turned to Ye Chen with strange looks, as if to say: Is this the Zhutian?

"In a Taotie's belly." Ye Chen scratched his ear.

Hearing that, the three Yama Lords' mouths twitched repeatedly, their bright eyes staring at Ye Chen as if he were a monster.

You're something else, kid! Pulling off Di Dao Tong Ming from inside someone's stomach?

Truly, the new generation outshines the old—the Emperor's Path immortal technique was being used by him like no one else, summoning from anywhere and everywhere.