Chapter 1814

In the quiet night, the bamboo forest was illuminated by golden light, making the bamboo leaves sparkle brightly. Waves of golden vital energy surged and churned.

Nanming Yushu remained in the spirit pool, quietly condensing her soul.

Meanwhile, Zhou Tianyi and Long Teng had both retreated to a safe distance, squinting at Ye Chen with strange expressions.

Under the old tree, there was no longer just one Ye Chen; there were now two, identical in appearance, both radiating dazzling golden light.

"From the looks of it, in any future fights with him, we'd better be prepared for a two-on-one situation." Long Teng clicked his tongue in amazement, sighing incessantly. "This is even better than Yi Qi Hua San Qing; it's utterly perfect."

Zhou Tianyi said nothing, just kept shaking his head and chuckling.

If he couldn't handle one, how could he manage two? In the same realm, no one had ever been born who could single-handedly take on two sacred bodies.

"Sheng Zhan Fa Shen." Ye Chen murmured softly under the tree, his eyes still closed, but a faint smile played on his lips.

As the Ming Emperor had said, it was another divine treasury, exclusive to the ancient sacred body—a heaven-defying one at that. Its name: Sheng Zhan Fa Shen.

This so-called Sheng Zhan Fa Shen allowed him to manifest another version of himself within a set time frame, with absolutely equal combat power.

It worked on a similar principle to Yi Qi Hua San Qing.

The difference was that Sheng Zhan Fa Shen was even more flawless, and if the manifested body fell in battle, it wouldn't affect the original self.

"Not bad at all." Ye Chen smiled, then suddenly opened his eyes.

Two beams of golden divine light shot from his pupils, sharper than swords, piercing two massive holes in the space around him.

He rose to his feet, and his manifested body did the same. Their vital energy surged like a vast sea, their sacred forms forged from pure gold, glowing brilliantly.

"I didn't realize I was this handsome." Ye Chen crossed his arms and circled around his manifested body, fully embracing his self-admiration.

The manifested body, however, remained composed. As Ye Chen examined it, it said nothing, standing as straight as a spear, perfectly poised.

"This would make for a lively wedding night." Long Teng walked over, his comment nearly making Zhou Tianyi spit out his wine. You're the one with all the ideas; have you no shame?

"That's quite the imagination." Ye Chen replied meaningfully.

"Something like Yi Qi Hua San Qing, but I wonder how the combat power stacks up." Long Teng also circled the Sheng Zhan Fa Shen, occasionally tapping it with his finger.

"Want to test it out?" Ye Chen shrugged.

"You're on!" Long Teng was straightforward about it. He soared into the sky, leaving Tianlong Ancient City, and donned his battle armor without hesitation, activating his secret techniques to boost his power.

"Go all out, no holding back." Ye Chen patted his manifested body's shoulder, a remark that made Zhou Tianyi's mouth twitch.

The manifested body was equally direct; it said nothing, using several steps of Shrinking Earth into Inch to leave the ancient city. Without any preamble, it launched straight into the fight, employing Ye Chen's signature secret technique, Ba Huang Quan, in its ninefold unified form.

Long Teng met it head-on with full force, but nearly got obliterated by a single punch from the Sheng Zhan Fa Shen.

"Impressive." Ye Chen watched the scene and laughed with delight.

"He's just asking for trouble." Zhou Tianyi felt no sympathy at all. Why pick a fight with Ye Chen's manifested body? It was on the same level as Ye Chen's true self; getting beaten was inevitable.

"I'm done, I'm done!" From the heavens, Long Teng's shouts echoed as he fled in utter disarray, darting everywhere.

All his secret techniques and divine powers were useless against the manifested body, treated like mere decorations from the start. He was completely outmatched in speed and combat power.

He wanted to stop, but the Sheng Zhan Fa Shen had no intention of letting up. Ye Chen had said to go all out and show no mercy.

As a result, the direct heir of the Tai King was beaten to the point of tears, finally activating his ancestral escape technique to vanish without a trace.

"Now it's my turn." Ye Chen tossed aside his wine flask, cracked his neck with a series of pops, and stepped into the sky. As the true self, he wanted to test the manifested body's strength firsthand.

The manifested body's eyes blazed with golden light, its vital energy surging like a torrent, its battle intent soaring. Golden war dragons coiled around it.

"No need to hold back." Ye Chen grinned and struck first, pulling out his signature move—a full set of ninefold Ba Huang Quan.

The manifested body was even more aggressive, neither dodging nor defending, countering with its own ninefold Ba Huang Quan, its fist shattering the ethereal void.

The two golden fists collided in the vast sky, sending a golden halo rippling outward infinitely, collapsing space along its path.

Ye Chen spat blood and staggered back, his fist bones shattering.

The manifested body fared no better; its golden fist was mangled and bloody, forcing it to retreat as well, its steps shaking the heavens with thunderous booms.

In that single exchange, the true self and the manifested body were evenly matched.

"Again!" Ye Chen laughed wildly, his sacred blood burning like fire, his origin thunder raging, and his Dao principles weaving through the air.

The true self unleashed its peak power, and the Sheng Zhan Fa Shen matched it without flinching, expanding a realm of chaos and treading upon a sea of golden stars.

The great battle erupted, shattering the heavens and splitting the earth. One true self and one manifested body clashed across the firmament, their fury eclipsing the stars with an immortal sea.

Such a massive disturbance was impossible to ignore.

In Tianlong Ancient City, crowds of people poured out in waves. When they saw the combatants, they all froze collectively.

"Is that the Saint Lord?" Many were stunned.

"Why are there two Saint Lords?" Even more scratched their heads, completely baffled by the sight—it was utterly novel.

"It must be a secret technique similar to Yi Qi Hua San Qing."

"Looks like the Saint Lord is sparring with his own manifested body."

"Even in sparring, do they have to go all out like this?" Watching the blood-soaked brilliance fill the sky, the younger generation watched with pounding hearts. "This level of power could take on thousands in the same realm."

More and more people gathered—elders and juniors alike—eager not to miss Ye Chen in battle. Each one carried memory crystals, capturing every moment.

"Stop." At some point, a loud shout rang out from the heavens—it was Ye Chen calling off his manifested body.

The manifested body obeyed his command and ceased its attacks, though a huge grin of satisfaction spread across its face.

"You're not pulling any punches." Ye Chen wobbled unsteadily in the sky, coughing up blood in large gulps, his sacred body battered and broken.

Notably, his face bore two massive palm prints, one on each side, standing out starkly.

He was baffled—his manifested body seemed obsessed with his face, even taking hits just to land a slap, and with incredible force at that.

Ye Chen was in bad shape, and so was the Sheng Zhan Fa Shen—they shared the same injuries, golden blood flowing and bones exposed, a terrifying sight.

"Not bad." Ye Chen cursed under his breath, then grinned again. The manifested body's power was indeed on par with his own.

With such a formidable ally, any one-on-one would turn into two-against-one. Anyone looking for trouble would be in for a world of hurt.

Just as he thought, the Sheng Zhan Fa Shen, like Yi Qi Hua San Qing, had a time limit and eventually dissipated into the world.

"Greetings, Saint Lord." The onlookers quickly bowed, the scene grand and their expressions full of respect.

"Don't mind me." Ye Chen waved them off and returned to the bamboo forest, nearly stumbling as he landed.

Once there, he spat out a massive mouthful of blood, the spray dramatic and forceful. The all-out battle had left him severely wounded.

"Aside from that time with Yin Zhiping, this is the first I've seen you get beaten this badly by someone in the same realm." Zhou Tianyi laughed as he approached, crushing some pills and feeding them into Ye Chen's body.

"The worse the beating, the happier I am." Ye Chen chuckled.

It was the truth—his own manifested body being powerful meant he was powerful too. The stronger it was, the better.

"Yushu has already condensed her three souls; next comes the seven spirits." Zhou Tianyi smiled leisurely, glancing toward the spirit pool.

Ye Chen steadied himself and looked over. Nanming Yushu's soul had stabilized considerably. Once the three souls were done, it would be the seven spirits, and after that, the primordial spirit.

"You should go to Tianxuan Gate first." Nanming Yushu's voice transmitted. "Once I've condensed my primordial spirit, I'll come find you at Hengyue."

Ye Chen didn't respond. In that instant, his gaze had shifted from the spirit pool to the void—or more precisely, to a spatial black hole. With his Wheel of Reincarnation Eye, he could peer through it.

Just moments ago, he had caught a glimpse of a streak of crimson ethereal light flashing through the black hole, moving at incredible speed, even hard for him to track.

Noticing his odd expression, Zhou Tianyi followed his gaze toward the void, but unfortunately, he saw nothing.