Chapter 1782: The Eight Emperors of Honghuang

"Why else would they say Yan Tian Laozu has such high vision?" Ye Chen said with a leisurely smile, completely unfazed by this bizarre occurrence.

As his words fell, the heavens and earth shifted dramatically, with thunderous rumbles echoing once more, arriving suddenly and shaking the eternal blue sky to its core.

Centered on him, thunder raged in eight directions: east, southeast, north, northeast, west, southwest, northwest, and south.

Strands and bolts of lightning intertwined and merged, forming domineering, shadowy figures enveloped in thunder.

This extraordinary sight astonished not only the cultivators from all sides but also the eight Hong Huang clans, who narrowed their eyes in surprise.

Everyone's gaze fixed on those domineering figures.

For some reason, their auras made hearts tremble with fear—it was the supreme emperor's might, crushing the heavens and earth.

"Eight of them, truly thinking highly of me," Ye Chen said solemnly, activating his Hegemon Body and frantically popping pills into his mouth.

As the one undergoing the tribulation, he understood better than anyone that the so-called heavenly tribulation was not over yet—what came next was the true divine punishment, even more terrifying than the thunder.

It involved emperor-level principles; he had to battle these young emperors. This kind of ordeal was something he had experienced more than once.

When advancing to the emperor realm, he had fought the young Dong Hua Empress.

When advancing to quasi-saint, it was the Dou Zhan Sheng Huang and Tai Xu Long Di.

When advancing to saint, it was the Jin Wu Dadi, Kun Peng Dadi, Qi Lin Dadi, and Xuan Wu Dadi.

For this quasi-saint king tribulation, it was clearly eight young emperors.

He had figured it out: with each level he advanced, the number of emperor principles he faced doubled—one became two, two became four, and after four, it became eight.

If his guess was correct, when advancing to saint king, he would have to face sixteen young emperors without fail.

This meant that the heavens intended for him to challenge all one hundred and thirty emperors of Xuan Huang one by one until it was done.

"Look, they're revealing their true forms!" Ye Chen muttered to himself in frustration when someone suddenly shouted, drawing all eyes.

Gazing into the distant sky, the shadowy figure in the eastern heavens was the first to take shape—a towering figure radiating emperor light, his divine eyes encompassing the heavens and earth.

He stood like the ruler of the world, overlooking all living beings, with ancient visions interwoven around him: a vast Hong Huang land where a fierce beast stood tall, its emperor principles towering above the great dao.

"Is that Qiong Qi Dadi?" A Qiong Qi clan quasi-emperor staggered back a step, his eyes bulging and pupils contracting in disbelief as he stared at the figure, which matched exactly the emperor statue in their ancestral land.

"Tao Tie Dadi!" Another shocked voice came from the Tao Tie clan, from their quasi-emperor, whose aged body trembled as he stared incredulously at the western figure.

In the west stood the young Tao Tie Dadi, his form like an eight-thousand-zhang mountain peak, a world-conquering sovereign gazing down on all under heaven.

"In the south, that's Tau Wu Dadi!" Someone from the Tau Wu clan exclaimed, their voice trembling as they stared southward.

Indeed, it was their Tau Wu clan's emperor, his emperor legacy shaking the ancients and dazzling the present. Though he stood there, it felt as if he were on the river of time, his ancient and weathered emperor eyes piercing through the chaotic universe.

Behind him, a Hong Huang land appeared, where a Tau Wu beast roared toward the sky, shaking the eternal heavens.

"In the north, that's our clan's Gui Chen Dadi." The Gui Chen clan quasi-emperor said, his aged body quivering with excitement, nearly leading his clan to kneel in that instant.

The emperor's majesty stood like a towering monument in the world, his swirling emperor immortal light piercing the eyes, his supreme authority evoking a soul-deep tremor.

"In the northeast, it's our Teng She lineage's Teng She Dadi!"

"In the northwest, Tian Xie Dadi—after eons, to see our clan's emperor again is our greatest honor."

"In the southeast, Qiu Yu Dadi, the king who rules over all spirits."

"In the southwest, our clan's Jin Ni Dadi—reappearing in the world, is he here to lead the Jin Ni clan to dominate the heavens once more?"

Shouts of astonishment rang out one after another, echoing through the Xi Mo heavens and earth.

From the highest quasi-emperors to the lowest heaven-level members of the eight Hong Huang clans, all were overcome with emotion, tears streaming down their faces. The sight of their supreme sovereign stirred their hearts profoundly.

In contrast, the cultivators from the four directions wore expressions of awe, staring in a daze, their eyes filled with reverence.

"Qiong Qi Dadi, Tau Wu Dadi, Tao Tie Dadi, Teng She Dadi, Qiu Yu Dadi, as well as Jin Ni Dadi, Gui Chen Dadi, and Tian Xie Dadi—Chen Ye's tribulation has actually summoned eight emperor principles. That's utterly defying heaven," Jiu Xiao Zhenren said, his heart trembling uncontrollably.

"This lineup surpasses even Ye Chen's saint tribulation in the southern domain back then!" The old quasi-emperor exclaimed, shocked beyond words.

"And they're all from the Hong Huang clans—the eight clans present are all involved. Is this just a coincidence?"

"That Chen Ye kid is even more terrifying than Ye Chen!" Xiao Yuan Huang swallowed hard. "Does it have to be this outrageous?"

"Even if he dies at the hands of the eight emperors, he can still hold his head high," Nan Di said, taking a deep breath, shocked to his core. As a prodigy himself, he had never summoned even a single emperor principle.

"A talent this high must be eliminated—he absolutely cannot be allowed to live," Yan Tian Laozu roared, his face twisted into a hideous expression.

His words jolted the eight Hong Huang clans from their excitement, their eyes turning blood-red.

Their expressions were even more twisted than Yan Tian Laozu's.

This was ironic: their clan's emperors were all here, yet they had been summoned by Chen Ye's tribulation. As heirs to these emperor legacies, they had never received such an honor.

It was a humiliation. Their pride was utterly trampled in this moment. Ye Chen no longer saw them as opponents—his rivals were their ancestral emperors.

It was a form of condescension, like an emperor overlooking mortal beings. Now, he stood on par with their emperors.

"He must die," the eight Hong Huang clans gritted their teeth, their terrifying killing intent surging uncontrollably.

A monster like Ye Chen, if given enough time to grow, would become an eternal titan—a catastrophe for the great Hong Huang clans. He absolutely could not be spared.

"It's time to go all out," Ye Chen said, not taking any chances, instantly pushing his combat power to its peak and activating all his forbidden techniques.

Victory would mean ascending to the immortal palace; defeat, descending to the yellow springs of the underworld. He was fully aware—these opponents were all young emperors, invincible at the same level, so he had to fight to the death.

Facing eight young emperors of his own level alone—this battle might end with him falling from the heavens.

But he was unafraid, believing himself invincible. In the struggle for the emperor's path, even as a holy body, he would carve out his own destiny. He hadn't returned to his homeland yet—how could he die here? This was his conviction.

"Eight of them—surprising, yet within expectations," said the Tian Wang, standing in the Wang Chuan River with a faint smile.

"Seeing those eight little ones from back then in this scene is truly nostalgic," the Meng Po Po said with a sigh of age.

"This era is indeed extraordinary," voices echoed from Dong Huang's Refining Hell, Nan Yu's Underworld, Bei Yue's Yellow Springs, and Zhong Zhou's Tian Xu, as if they had all realized Ye Chen's identity.

"A one-against-eight battle—quite the spectacle," the Ming Di said from atop Ming Mountain in the underworld, his emperor heart filled with emotion. "Your holy body lineage grows stronger with each generation!"

"He truly lives up to being the strongest and most brilliant, bar none," Di Huang said with a slight smile beside him, full of pride.

The Xi Mo heavens and earth trembled, collapsing inch by inch under the eight emperors' pressure. Annihilation spread rampant, plunging everything into chaos.

The dancing emperor principles rendered all worldly things illusory. Each of the eight emperors had been the ruler of their era, none weaker than the others—their emperor myths still echoed through the ages, now reappearing in this form, shaking the eons.

"This junior honors the eight predecessors," Ye Chen said calmly, his expression serene. "This battle has nothing to do with future grudges. Heaven wants me dead, but I want to live—it's as simple as that."

As his words fell, a brilliant divine light shot from his crown toward the sky, piercing a massive hole in the heavens, followed by thunderous rumbles once more.

His form changed: his white hair turned golden, bathed in golden glory; his holy body shone with divine light, as if forged from gold; his dazzling golden eyes encompassed all heavens.

This time, no quasi-emperor weapons aided him—it was pure, authentic power based on his own cultivation.

A young Archaic Holy Body was about to take on eight young emperors of the same level in this pure land of Xi Mo.