Chapter 1835: Across Time and Space

Giggling echoed through the vast and boundless sky. No thunder was in sight, only the clear and tender laughter of a child, like a delightful melody.

A petite figure drew everyone's gaze, as adorable as a little sprite and as radiant as the blazing sun, outshining even the glory of her forebears.

Wu Ya Dao Ren scratched his head, still not satisfied.

"Is that it?"

The heavenly tribulation had passed in such an unprecedented and unruly manner.

Gu San Tong coughed dryly and shook his head, finally coming to his senses after being thoroughly startled.

"So powerful," Chu Ling muttered to herself, her thoughts wandering. "I wonder if she'll ever get married when she grows up."

"Married? Nonsense," Ye Chen said involuntarily. "She won't."

His words resonated most deeply with Bai Zhi and Ming Jue.

This father of hers was quite fierce and overprotective. In the human realm, they had seen it all clearly and understood it well. Any potential son-in-law brought home by his daughter ended up getting beaten.

It made finding a partner a challenge—people would first ask about her father. If he turned out to be Ye Chen, they'd turn and run.

Though that was just an illusion, it had some connection to reality.

The two were certain that in the real world, things would be even more chaotic. Anyone wanting to marry his daughter would have to prove they could take a beating.

Above, Chu Ling had already taken the little girl in her arms, holding her tightly. That heavenly tribulation had truly frightened her as a mother.

The little girl, however, was full of joy, mainly because she had been having so much fun earlier. She didn't know what a heavenly tribulation was; she just thought it was a great game.

"Come on, let Daddy hold her," Ye Chen said, rubbing his hands as he stepped forward.

"Get lost." Chu Ling kicked him away with considerable force, sending him flying thousands of feet.

"That's my child too!" Ye Chen shouted.

But as he struggled to his feet and took a step, he suddenly spat out fresh blood, his body staggering as if he might collapse.

Chu Ling was stunned. Had her kick been that strong?

The onlookers were also shocked. Wasn't the sacred body supposed to be incredibly tough?

As everyone stared in astonishment, Ye Chen spat out another mouthful of blood.

In an instant, half of his sacred body exploded, with brilliant bones and sacred blood scattering everywhere.

His appearance was terrifying, completely drenched in blood.

Only then did everyone realize it wasn't Chu Ling's kick—it was something else that had injured him.

"Ye Chen!" Chu Xuan and the other women rushed forward in a single step.

But before they could get close, a mysterious force repelled them, and even Chu Xuan was pushed back.

"How could this be?" The emperors and divine generals also stepped forward.

The result was the same. That mysterious force was overwhelmingly powerful, preventing even peak quasi-emperors from approaching.

Uh!

Ye Chen clutched his head, letting out a pained roar. His forehead veins bulged, and his eyes turned blood-red.

His black hair was turning snow-white before their eyes, his lifespan draining away. The wounds on his sacred body, which had begun to heal, started cracking open inch by inch.

His sea of consciousness rumbled like thunder, his head feeling as if it might split apart. His primordial spirit trembled violently, on the verge of collapsing.

"What's happening?" The people of Great Chu paled, baffled as to why Ye Chen was like this—it had come out of nowhere.

"Ye Chen!" Chu Ling and the others tried to rush to him again, their calls laced with tears.

"Stop!" Dong Huang Tai Xin raised a hand, holding the women back.

"Emperor's weapon!" Chu Huang shouted sharply, summoning the Xuan Yuan Jian, protected by the ultimate emperor's aura, and attempted to approach Ye Chen a second time.

But this time, the mysterious force was even stronger. A quasi-emperor wasn't enough, and even the emperor's weapon was no match—it was sent flying.

With Ye Chen's roar, a terrifying power erupted from him as its center, making the heavens tremble. It spread out like a halo in all directions.

Wherever the halo passed, the wind stopped, leaves hung suspended, air ceased to flow, and even people froze in place.

It was as if everything in the world had been paused in that instant.

The only one who could still move was Ye Chen, clutching his head and kneeling on the ground, roaring in agony.

In the void, he seemed to see a figure with blood-red hair, clad in black armor and wielding a seven-colored divine sword, standing high in the nine heavens. The figure's presence was enough to destroy worlds.

Though Ye Chen strained to see, he couldn't make out the blood-haired figure's true face—only a pair of chaotic eyes.

Facing the blood-haired figure was someone in golden armor, with golden hair and a build as massive as a mountain, standing on a sea of stars with a chaotic great cauldron hovering above his head.

Ye Chen couldn't see the golden-haired person's features clearly, but that great cauldron looked familiar, similar to the Chaos Cauldron.

The two were locked in battle, evenly matched, their clashes shattering the skies. Every ripple of their fight could crush eternal heavens.

"Die!" the blood-haired figure roared, unleashing a devastating divine beam. But that strike wasn't aimed at the golden-haired figure—it pierced through the void, an act that defied the heavens, ignoring all worldly laws.

"Crossing time and space for a killing blow, trying to sever his roots—do you take me for nothing?" A cold snort rang out as a third figure appeared, dressed in white with white hair, his words carrying supreme authority. With a single palm, he erased the blood-haired figure's strike into nothingness.

"Zhao Yun?" This time, Ye Chen saw clearly. It was Zhao Yun, aiding the golden-haired figure against the blood-haired one.

Ye Chen's mind descended into chaos, and he plummeted from the void to the ground.

As he fell, the world resumed its motion.

The nine divine generals and the Great Chu emperors were the quickest, rushing to Ye Chen's side without hesitation and carrying him back to Heng Yue.

The others regained their movement, their faces pale as they hurried after him into Heng Yue.

It was all so strange—the momentary stillness, as if time itself had frozen, yet everything seemed unchanged.

Ye Chen's condition was dire. His body was covered in blood as he lay on the ice jade bed, unconscious. His primordial spirit had been severely damaged and was on the brink of collapse, though fortunately, his Dao roots were unaffected.

The divine generals and emperors spared no effort—one group repaired his primordial spirit, another mended his sacred body, and the rest poured in vast essence to sustain him. He was wounded too gravely.

At the peak of Ming Mountain in the underworld, Ming Di and Di Huang were observing. Their expressions were grim, their gazes icy cold.

"Why is this happening? What's the cause?" Di Huang asked. In terms of combat power, a fully realized sacred body could rival an emperor, but when it came to peering into the unknown, he fell far short.

Ming Di said nothing, peering once more. His emperor's eyes glowed with immortal light, piercing through the realms of the living and the dead, locking onto Ye Chen.

After a long while, he withdrew his gaze, blood trickling from the corners of his eyes.

Di Huang frowned. What kind of force could injure a great emperor-level being? It must surpass the imperial realm.

"Di Huang, if we were to fight, what are your chances of winning?" Ming Di wiped away the blood, his emperor's aura waning.

Di Huang was taken aback, unsure of Ming Di's intent, but he answered, "Roughly fifty-fifty."

"And if I severed your roots?" Ming Di said casually.

"What do you mean?" Di Huang grew more puzzled. Today's Ming Di seemed different from before.

"You are a fully realized sacred body, on par with an emperor in power, but you are not truly an emperor. There is a heaven-defying divine ability that only emperors can barely grasp, and not all emperors can comprehend it." Ming Di spoke slowly. "I was fortunate enough to gain a fraction of its essence."

At this, Ming Di looked at Di Huang with a smile. "So, in a fight between us, you wouldn't have even half a chance."

"Are you that confident?" Di Huang replied flatly.

"It's because you don't know how terrifying that ability is." Ming Di chuckled. "With it, my single palm can cross time and space, striking back eight thousand years. It ignores the laws of time entirely."

"Ignores the laws of time?" Di Huang's expression shifted. Such an ability was a level above imperial immortal laws.

"Back then, eight thousand years ago, you weren't yet a fully realized sacred body. My palm across time could instantly reduce you to ash." Ming Di's words were measured. "If the you from eight thousand years ago dies, there would be no you today. Thus, in our fight, you have no chance."

"What are you getting at?" Di Huang frowned. "How does this relate to Ye Chen's injuries?"

"You'll understand once you grasp this—then you'll know why Ye Chen was hurt."

"Are you saying someone from a future timeline attacked Ye Chen?" Di Huang's eyes instantly blazed with light.

"Based on my guess, in the future timeline, a powerful supreme being is battling the future Ye Chen. But unfortunately, he can't defeat the future Ye Chen, so he's resorting to a strike across time to target this timeline's Ye Chen, aiming to sever the future Ye Chen's roots. His goal is clear: to weaken the future Ye Chen by this method. Imagine if Ye Chen dies—there would be no future version of him."

"I see." Di Huang nodded in realization, understanding why Ming Di had explained it this way—it wasn't boasting, but making the concept clear.

"The one who attacked across time is extraordinarily terrifying," Ming Di mused. "But thankfully, he failed."

"How strong must the future Ye Chen be to force a supreme being to disrupt time and space just to sever his roots?" Di Huang found it hard to believe—this was shocking.

"From the moment that supreme being attacked across time, history's path has already deviated," Ming Di reflected. "It's like what happened with Hong Chen and the Six Paths—their arrival in this timeline disrupted history's course. Simply put, the future is no longer set in stone."

Di Huang glanced toward Ye Chen. "He's just a saint king who hasn't undergone his tribulation. How could he withstand a supreme being's strike?"

"You're underestimating the future Ye Chen. The fact that it took such an attack to target him shows how powerful the future Ye Chen must be. He likely used a divine ability to counter it, or perhaps someone blocked it for him."

"So, the power emanating from Ye Chen's body was just a residual wave?"

"And due to the time factor, that residual wave was infinitely weakened," Ming Di added. "Though it's terrifying, it's not enough to kill him."

"Causing you to suffer backlash means that future supreme being has surpassed the emperor level, right?" Di Huang stared at Ming Di intently.

"Anyone who masters crossing time abilities is at least at the emperor level. For me to be affected, it's probably a heavenly emperor, or possibly a desolate emperor." Ming Di took a deep breath.

"Incredible." Di Huang's heart was stirred by turbulent waves—matters of the future timeline were truly alarming.

"I'm more curious about Ye Chen's identity." Ming Di looked up, gazing through the void at the unconscious Ye Chen.