Chapter 1888: The Emperor's Mysterious Dao

Chapter 1888: Dao of Ethereality

Within the ruins of the Celestial Venerable, Ye Chen appeared, standing on a mountain peak and gazing into the distance.

As far as his eyes could see, there was a vast and boundless fertile land. Majestic mountains rose and fell, rivers roared, primeval forests were dense, and the landscape was lush and green. Spiritual energy was extremely thick, enveloped in swirling clouds and mist, creating a hazy atmosphere.

"It's no smaller than Nan Chu," Ye Chen murmured to himself. He then closed his eyes and examined his internal state, discovering that his cultivation had been suppressed by a mysterious force. It wasn't just him; even the Chaos Cauldron was similarly suppressed.

Judging by the extent of the suppression, these Celestial Venerable ruins were clearly a higher tier than the ancient ruins in Xuan Huang.

Although the ancient ruins also suppressed cultivation, they only went as far as the Quasi-Saint level.

With that thought in mind, he descended from the mountain and ventured deeper into the ruins.

Along the way, he saw blood mist floating in the air, along with scattered limbs and severed arms, clear signs of fierce battles.

At the base of a cliff, he stopped, noticing it was stained with fresh blood, ruining the otherwise serene scene.

He didn't linger long before turning and entering a wild forest.

The forest was filled with towering ancient trees and hanging vines, their age impossible to determine. The scent of blood here was even stronger, with pools of flesh and blood everywhere, along with horribly mutilated corpses. All their treasures had been looted. They were mostly cultivators from the various heavens. He didn't see any bodies from the Hong Huang clans.

"Hand over your treasures, junior, and I'll grant you a swift death," a sinister laugh echoed as space distorted and a figure in a purple-gold robe stepped out. His face was hidden, but his eyes gleamed with a cold, venomous light, like that of a snake or scorpion.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and, with a single glance, saw through the man's true form and origin. He was a Great Saint from the human race of the various heavens, though Ye Chen couldn't identify his specific faction.

"You're quite disobedient," the purple-robed man sneered, forming a secret technique in his palm.

"Why not rob someone from the Hong Huang clans if you're so brave?" Ye Chen retorted with a cold laugh.

"I've changed my mind. I'll refine you into a puppet instead," the purple-robed man said without a hint of shame, immediately attacking. He summoned an illusory giant hand, reaching out to grab Ye Chen.

"How amusing," Ye Chen scoffed, not even using any secret techniques. He simply threw a punch.

With one strike, the illusory hand shattered, and the purple-robed man staggered back, his entire arm exploding. He was utterly defeated in a single move.

"How is that possible?" The purple-robed man's face changed dramatically. He had robbed so many people and never encountered anyone this strong.

"You're a Great Saint outside, but in these ruins, you still dare to act so wildly?" Ye Chen said, stepping into the air and pressing down with a golden hand. The purple-robed man, who had just steadied himself, was crushed into a bloody pulp.

"Spare me!" The man's Yuan Shen escaped from the gore, fleeing desperately, his eyes filled with terror.

"You drift through the Jiang Hu, so you can't avoid getting beaten," Ye Chen said, summoning a golden blade and slashing through the air. He truly cut the purple-robed man's Great Saint-level Yuan Shen to pieces in an instant.

"I've always been the one robbing others—how dare you try to rob me?" Ye Chen muttered, waving his hand to take the purple-robed man's storage bag. He was dead broke, so he took everything.

After that, he oriented himself and headed in a certain direction.

From that direction came rumbling sounds, and from afar, he could see mountains collapsing and forests toppling over.

Beyond the forest was a mountain range, where a fierce battle was underway. One of the fighters was someone he recognized—the prince of the Tian Xie clan. Although cloaked in black robes and using secret techniques to hide his identity, Ye Chen could still see through it.

His opponent was a young man with purple hair, shrouded in black robes, his eyes as deep as the starry sky and his blood energy surging. His bloodline origin was incredibly ancient, with a mysterious power lurking within.

The young man was peculiar—he had flesh and blood, but his body was illusory. The Tian Xie prince's attacks were powerful, yet every one passed straight through him, hitting nothing.

"Dao of Ethereality?" Ye Chen murmured softly, staring at the purple-haired young man, as if recognizing the illusory body technique.

Dao of Ethereality was also an ultimate immortal art, essentially a spatial law that defied heaven and created wonders.

In the state of Dao of Ethereality, one could temporarily make their body ethereal. This ethereal form ignored external attacks, and even more terrifyingly, their own attacks remained fully effective.

"I've only heard of it, never seen it before. Truly profound," Ye Chen said, his eyes shining as he secretly analyzed the Dao of Ethereality, hoping to uncover some of its mysteries. To ignore outside attacks while making your own effective—this was god-tier.

"Who the hell are you?" the Tian Xie prince roared in anger, his eyes blood-red. They had fought over a hundred rounds, and not a single hit had landed. He was a seasoned warrior, but this was his first time facing such a bizarre opponent.

"Guess," the purple-haired young man chuckled leisurely, striding through the virtual sky with supreme Dao essence, completely ignoring the Tian Xie prince's assaults. Around him, various ancient visions faintly appeared.

"You're asking for death!" the Tian Xie prince thundered, unleashing his outer Dao form—a vast expanse of dark, barren land—attempting to trap the purple-haired young man.

"This technique won't work on me," the purple-haired young man laughed coldly, ignoring the binding of the visions and merging thousands of Dao laws into a single finger, thrusting straight at the Tian Xie prince's forehead.

The Tian Xie prince's expression changed, and he hastily retreated. His attacks were ineffective, but the other's were not.

He wanted to escape, but it was too late. The purple-haired young man's finger pierced through space and struck the Tian Xie prince's forehead. A spray of blood erupted, and his body crashed to the ground, killed in a single strike. Even in death, his eyes were wide with shock.

The Tian Xie prince, so noble and powerful, with few rivals aside from the emperor's sons, had been instantly slain by his opponent—and until the end, he didn't even know who it was.

"The various heavens are full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers," Ye Chen sighed. The fact that the purple-haired young man could kill the Tian Xie prince with one finger meant his combat power was on par with an emperor's son. Yet, Ye Chen had never heard of him before.

"They say the Sacred Body dominates the eight wastelands, and seeing it today, the rumors are true," Ye Chen was sighing when the purple-haired young man approached, carrying the Tian Xie prince's corpse. It looked like he planned to take it out and make a stew—the prince of the Hong Huang clan was a treasure from head to toe.

"You can see through Zhou Tian's concealment—your insight must be inherited from your ancestors!" Ye Chen said with a smile.

"I like hearing that," the purple-haired young man laughed, stowing the Tian Xie prince's body and pulling out a wine flask, even handing one to Ye Chen. "The one who slaughtered an emperor is always surrounded by a halo, no matter where he goes."

"So, you're not going to introduce yourself?" Ye Chen took the flask and teased. "I'll have to go back and warn the talents of Da Chu to stay far away from you in the future."

"Dong Zhou Wu Wang, Song Yu."

"The imperial clan of Da Zhou?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. He hadn't heard of Song Yu, but he knew of the Da Zhou imperial clan—an ancient dynasty from the mid-Desolate Era, incredibly old. It was one of the four great dynasties of the Desolate Era, alongside the Da Chu, Da Xia, and Da Han imperial clans.

Among them, the descendants of the Da Chu imperial clan were the Chu Huang lineage, which Ye Chen had heard about from Da Chu Huang Yan. The Da Xia imperial clan's descendants were the current Da Xia Dragon Dynasty, which had produced a great emperor. As for the Da Han imperial clan, it was said to have been wiped out in the wars at the end of the Desolate Era.

"Another colossal force," Ye Chen clicked his tongue. "You and my Chu Huang would have a lot to talk about."

"We can chat about it when we get back," Song Yu said, tossing his wine flask and flying off in a certain direction. From behind, a voice cursing echoed back: "You little loach, where do you think you're going?"

Ye Chen looked up at the sky and saw Song Yu chasing someone—the "little loach" wasn't a real one, but from the Hong Huang Blood Loach clan, whose form resembled a loach.

Judging by the Blood Loach's aura, he was at least a prince, if not higher, with a powerful bloodline. Yet, Song Yu was chasing him all over the sky, suggesting this wasn't their first fight.

Why call him a Blood Loach? Because he looked like one and was incredibly slippery, running faster than anyone. His movement technique was unmatched among peers, so he just kept fleeing without engaging Song Yu.

"Seeing you hunt down Hong Huang clan members puts my mind at ease," Ye Chen said meaningfully, then turned and stepped into the sky, continuing deeper into the ruins. As it was a ruins site, opportunities and fortunes were likely in the depths—that was the battlefield of the emperor's sons. He had come here to assist the emperor's sons of the various heavens.

The Celestial Venerable ruins were bustling with activity, filled with constant rumbles of battle, killings for treasures, and seizures of opportunities. There were always those who thought themselves powerful enough to act shamelessly.

Because of all the slaughter, what should have been a treasure-filled ruins had turned into a battlefield. Fresh blood and bones were everywhere, even blood mist floating in the air, obscuring the sky.

Ahead was a vast sea, and Ye Chen walked across it, spreading his divine sense to search for opportunities.

Sure enough, at the bottom of the sea, there was a treasure—a fragment of a magical artifact, about the size of a baby's palm. From its shape, it was a piece of a broken copper furnace, and that furnace had undoubtedly been a Quasi-Emperor weapon.

"Might as well take it," Ye Chen said, waving his hand to retrieve it and tossing it into the Chaos Cauldron to be absorbed.

"Are you out of your mind?" As soon as he left the sea, Ye Chen heard a loud curse. It caught his attention—the voice was familiar, clearly from an acquaintance.

Before he could turn, two disheveled figures came rushing toward him, scrambling desperately.

Upon closer inspection, it was Kui Niu and Xiao Yuan Huang, both in a sorry state, as if they were being hunted.

Glancing at their pursuer, he was clad in golden robes, exuding an overwhelming aura that made the sea waves surge wildly. His blood-red eyes flickered with an eerie light, and his lips curved in a mocking, playful smile.

"Just the Hong Huang clan member I was looking for," Ye Chen said, cracking his neck. He could tell the golden-robed man was from the Hong Huang clans—not a prince, heir, or emperor's son, but an elder. His original cultivation was Quasi-Emperor, but in the Celestial Venerable ruins, he was suppressed to Saint King level.

By then, Kui Niu and Xiao Yuan Huang had arrived, both severely injured and coughing up blood violently. Kui Niu's spine had been partially torn out, with Hong Huang energy lingering at the wound, draining his essence. Xiao Yuan Huang wasn't much better, with a gruesome hole in his chest from a finger strike.

"If your skills aren't up to par, don't come in stirring up trouble," Ye Chen said, handing each of them a handful of pills.

Kui Niu and Xiao Yuan Huang were stunned, staring at Ye Chen. After a second of hesitation, they ventured, "Old Seven?"

"Excited?" Ye Chen flashed a grin, showing his white teeth.

"Excited! So excited!" Kui Niu and Xiao Yuan Huang jumped up, standing tall with an air of confidence. With Ye Chen there, what did they have to fear? The ruins were full of Saint Kings, and the unmatched Desolate Ancient Sacred Body could beat them all to tears.