Chapter 1797

“Look, is your finger harder, or is my killing sword harder?” Ye Chen sneered, facing it head-on with his sword, Feng Shen.

The fingertip collided with the sword tip, sparking flames and producing a sharp, clanging sound, like iron striking stone, crisp and resounding.

To Ye Chen’s embarrassment, his sword was indeed not as hard as Gui Ku’s finger. The Dao Ze sword shattered inch by inch.

In contrast, Gui Ku’s finger was like diamond, incredibly tough, with a piercing force that could shatter everything in its path.

In an instant, Ye Chen’s shoulder was pierced, leaving a bloody hole as fresh blood sprayed out. A dim light flickered at the wound, dissipating his essence, while the killing aura invaded his body, rampaging wildly and damaging his Dao roots and original bloodline.

“Well, looks like I’m getting beaten.” Long Jie coughed dryly, stroking his chin as he watched Gui Ku. “These two beasts fused together—are they really this impressive?”

“The Dao Ze divine sword was shattered, so the fused Gui Ku is truly terrifying,” Nan Di pondered. “Its combat power has doubled.”

“In front of Lao Qi, they’re all trash.” Xiao Yuan Huang scratched his monkey fur. “No matter how strong the fused Gui Ku is, can it surpass their clan’s ancestor emperor? Lao Qi took on eight at once.”

“That’s true.” Everyone chuckled awkwardly, feeling another wave of embarrassment. Not to mention fighting a young emperor, they hadn’t even seen imperial Dao laws in their heavenly tribulations. But Ye Chen had summoned eight at once—this gap was no ordinary difference.

“Capture him alive.” Seeing the fused Gui Ku gaining the upper hand, the Gui Ku clan’s quasi-emperor snorted coldly. The creature sat steadily like a mountain, chin held high in arrogance. With so many princes defeated by Ye Chen, only their prince was winning, so they had to act smug.

Encouraged by their ancestor, the fused Gui Ku’s confidence soared. It believed Ye Chen couldn’t match it and became extremely wild, unleashing a vast blood sea that swallowed Ye Chen whole.

“You just poked a little hole in me—what’s there to brag about?” Ye Chen muttered, manifesting a massive hand to tear through the blood sea, leaping out like a flood dragon.

“This finger will make you perish.” The fused Gui Ku charged forward, thrusting another finger with devastating power.

“You’re getting cocky now.” Ye Chen cursed loudly, waving his hand to summon an object. It was quite large and pitch-black, looking like a door panel at first glance—and upon closer inspection, it was exactly that.

The door panel was extremely heavy, and Ye Chen held it in front of him as a shield, taller than he was.

The Gui Ku’s finger struck the door panel squarely.

Again, there was a clanging sound and sparks, but this time mixed with blood light. The fused Gui Ku’s finger failed to pierce the panel and instead shattered inch by inch.

“I knew it! This is a treasure.” Ye Chen laughed. Even he couldn’t break it, let alone the Gui Ku.

“Dizang Yun Tie.” The fused Gui Ku stared fixedly at the door panel in Ye Chen’s hand, as if recognizing what it was and its origins. It had no special abilities—it was just incredibly hard.

“How’s that feel?” Ye Chen flashed a grin, showing two rows of white teeth, then charged forward with the door panel, smashing without another word. The panel was so large that it shattered space on impact, accompanied by a buzzing hum.

The fused Gui Ku retreated hastily, not daring to take it head-on. Getting hit by that thing would be disastrous—its hardness was unnatural.

“Run? Where do you think you’re going?” Ye Chen shadowed it closely, catching up in a few steps. He gripped the door panel with both hands and smashed down from the sky.

The fused Gui Ku couldn’t dodge in time and suddenly halted, summoning a heavy sword with a wave of its hand to block the panel.

With a deafening clang, the fused Gui Ku dropped to one knee, its arms cracking open as fresh blood gushed out.

Witnessing this scene, the younger cultivators from all realms couldn’t help but swallow hard. If it were them, they’d have been reduced to pulp by now.

“What is that thing?” Xiao Yuan Huang scratched his head, his fiery eyes gleaming as he stared at the door panel, clearly taken with it.

“Dizang Yun Tie,” the well-informed Bei Sheng said softly.

“Never heard of it.” Long Jie shook his head, and the same went for the Wu clan godson and others. “We’ve never heard of such a treasure.”

“It’s not found in the Zhutian Wanyu,” Jiu Xiao Zhenren said leisurely.

That single sentence made everyone raise their eyebrows in surprise. If it wasn’t in the Zhutian Wanyu, the implications were profound. Did that mean the door panel came from hell?

And indeed, it did come from hell. Ye Chen had plundered plenty of treasures in the Yin Cao Difu, and this Dizang Yun Tie was one of them. After obtaining it, he had studied it several times—it had no special powers; it was just extremely hard.

“Truly astonishing.” Veterans like Jiang Tai Xu wore meaningful expressions.

“A killer from hell naturally brings some specialties.” Jiu Chen remarked casually from his seat at Yun Xiao Zi’s feet. He had chatted with Ye Chen before and knew his true identity, including how he had survived.

His words made many of the old-timers furrow their brows.

Jiu Chen might not be the most reliable, but his seniority was unmatched. Among those present—or perhaps in all of Zhutian—no one had a higher generation than him.

With such seniority came vast knowledge of secrets. Having lived so long, his experience and insight were unparalleled.

“Poke me, will you? I’ll make you regret it.” While the people below marveled, Ye Chen unleashed his full might in the sky above. He wielded the door panel, chasing the Gui Ku relentlessly. Whenever he caught up, he smashed it repeatedly. The panel was terrifyingly hard, and even the dominant Gui Ku couldn’t withstand it.

“Damn you, you deserve to die.” The fused Gui Ku didn’t dare fight back and focused on fleeing, trying divine abilities, but nothing budged the door panel. In its presence, nothing seemed to work—perhaps only an emperor weapon could break it.

“You dare curse me?” Ye Chen’s anger flared instantly, and his movements became even quicker. He caught up and smashed away, yelling all the while, “I’ll teach you to curse, I’ll teach you!”

The cultivators below couldn’t help but want to laugh. The Gui Ku was already being hammered beyond recognition—didn’t it have the right to curse? If it were them, they’d curse too.

The battle scene was almost too painful to watch.

A clan’s fused prince was forced to cower under a mere door panel, its immense power rendered useless.

The Gui Ku quasi-emperor’s smug expression vanished, his face covered in frost and his eyes blood-red. The other Honghuang clans almost wanted to laugh, their gazes seeming to say: Still feeling superior? Look, you’re getting beaten too—and it’s two princes at once.

The Gui Ku quasi-emperor gritted his teeth, his face twisted like a ferocious ghost. Though he desperately wanted to charge in and strike Ye Chen down with a palm, he didn’t move—because three emperor weapons were already locked on him from the shadows. Any reckless action, and he’d be obliterated in the next instant.

The Zhutian quasi-emperors were reliable; whoever’s prince was fighting, they watched that clan’s quasi-emperor. If any dared interfere, they’d unleash a thunderous strike without hesitation.

“Ancestor, save me!” The fused Gui Ku roared in fury, dragging its blood-soaked body toward the Gui Ku clan.

Unable to defeat Ye Chen, it had no choice but to call for help; otherwise, it might be destroyed, just like the previous princes.

“Down you go!” Ye Chen pursued it, swinging the door panel. The fleeing Gui Ku plummeted like a blood light streaking across the vast sky.

The sturdy battle platform cracked open another massive pit from the impact. Ye Chen dove down, plunging into the pit as well.

Soon after, thumping sounds echoed, mixed with the Gui Ku’s screams and Ye Chen’s curses, creating a symphony of chaos.

The surrounding cultivators grimaced. They didn’t need to look to know what was happening in the pit—it was nothing but brutality, and even more so.

At some point, the screams, thumps, and curses all faded away. The pit fell silent.

Under everyone’s watchful eyes, Ye Chen emerged from the pit, one hand carrying the door panel and the other dragging the Gui Ku by a leg.

The Gui Ku was a mangled mess of blood and bones, barely recognizable—a clan’s prince, reduced to ruin by a door panel.

“The nemesis of Honghuang, eh? And their bloodlines don’t even suppress him?” The onlookers from all sides clicked their tongues in amazement, growing even more baffled by Ye Chen.

“With his strength, unless a Honghuang crown prince shows up, no mere prince can handle him. He’s overwhelmingly powerful.”

“It seems he’s never fought normally—always throwing, smashing, or tricking people. He rarely uses divine abilities.”

“The younger generation can count on him to hold the line; he’s absolutely reliable.”

“Lao Qi’s aura just leveled up again.” In the copper furnace, Kui Niu hugged an iron basin, sipping soup made from Qiong Qi meat.

“Stick with the boss, and you’ll have meat to eat.” Li Changsheng chuckled, holding his own iron basin and slurping away without a care.

“How about another one?” Ye Chen glanced toward the Honghuang clans, his gaze lingering a second longer on the Tian Xie and Qian Yu clans.

Of the eight Honghuang clans that had ambushed him, he had already crippled six princes. Only these two remained—to make it a full set.

Tian Xie Jiu Huang Zi’s eyes flashed with cold light, ready to charge onto the battle platform. But when he saw the door panel in Ye Chen’s hand, he thought better of it. If the Gui Ku couldn’t win, neither could he.

Though he held back, Qian Yu Jiu Huang Zi stepped forward, treading on profound Dao aura as he ascended the platform. His purple robes fluttered, and despite being a burly man, he had a strangely feminine appearance, like a woman, complete with a pair of phoenix eyes.

Someone like him was clearly skilled in underhanded tactics. Still, his bloodline was powerful, deeply hidden, with an extraordinary original Dao bone.

“Doesn’t my door panel look good?” Ye Chen blew on it and wiped it with his sleeve. “I’ll use it to smash you later and make you cry.”

“Maybe it’s you who’ll die.” Qian Yu Jiu Huang Zi smirked, not the least bit angry, his lips curling in a mocking smile.

“I love dealing with your type.” Ye Chen cracked his neck, eyeing Qian Yu Jiu Huang Zi with interest.

But this glance was no ordinary one. Locking eyes with Qian Yu Jiu Huang Zi, Ye Chen’s mind blurred for a moment, pulling him into a strange realm—or more precisely, an illusion. All around was a hazy white, with no path in sight.

“Oh, wow, One Thought Blossom.” Ye Chen clicked his tongue. He hadn’t expected the Qian Yu clan to master this ancient divine ability, which could drag someone into an illusion unnoticed.

He was no stranger to this ability. Back in the day, fighting Ji Ning Shuang, he had fallen for One Thought Blossom—it was indeed formidable.

Unfortunately, he had carried a Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eye then, which broke it. Now, he was even stronger, with a full pair of Reincarnation Eyes, surpassing the Immortal Wheel Eye.

“No wonder you’re so confident. You plan to beat me with this secret technique.” Ye Chen laughed heartily, full of delight.