Chapter 1897

"Come in if you dare."

"Come out if you dare."

In the dim night, within the depths of Shen Yuan, the taunts continued.

Ye Chen and Fashen refused to enter, while the Honghuang Taizi stayed put, both sides hurling insults with full force.

Time ticked by slowly.

At some point, space twisted, and two figures—wait, actually two people—emerged together.

Ye Chen's eyes lit up instantly; one of them was unmistakably Mingjue.

As for the other, it was also a familiar face: Xiao Chen, the son of Zhan Wang.

"What a nest of big fish!" Mingjue remarked as he arrived, glancing into Shen Yuan with fiery eyes. Over a hundred Honghuang Taizi—if they were all wiped out, the Honghuang Clan would be furious enough to spit blood.

"Tsk tsk, the Zhan Shen inheritance is truly dominating." On this side, Ye Chen looked at Xiao Chen with a mix of admiration and surprise.

The son of Zhan Wang stood tall and imposing as before, clad in purple-gold battle armor, his eyes like stars, his black hair cascading like a waterfall. His surging vital energy flowed like vast rivers and seas, accompanied by deep dragon roars. His Dao principles were fiercely dominant, with the single word "war" perfectly capturing Xiao Chen's essence.

Ye Chen had never seen the real Xing Tian, but he could glimpse traces of the Zhan Shen in Xiao Chen. Xiao Chen's path was incredibly fierce, having inherited the Zhan Shen's mantle, making him a genuine Di Zi Ji now.

"It's all thanks to Brother Ye's opportunity." Xiao Chen smiled, and his words were sincere. Without Ye Chen's tip, who would have known about the Zhan Shen's skull on Wang Xuan Star, or when he might have reached such heights?

"Remember, you owe me a favor." Ye Chen circled around Xiao Chen, curious about the Zhan Shen's inheritance, especially when he glimpsed the divine repositories hidden within Xiao Chen's body, which left him even more amazed. Each of those visions could destroy heaven and earth; if all the divine repositories were fully unleashed, they could overwhelm anyone.

"I'll never forget it." Xiao Chen smiled again, though he was equally wary of Ye Chen. Even with the Zhan Shen's inheritance boosting his combat power, he had no confidence in defeating Ye Chen. Zhan Shen Xing Tian was a legend, and the Sheng Ti lineage was an immortal myth.

"You must be dying to fight me, right?" Ye Chen laughed.

"Absolutely." Xiao Chen was straightforward, his deep eyes sparkling with brilliant starlight, his battle intent overwhelmingly strong.

"Hey, how did you two end up together?" While they talked, Fashen nudged Mingjue.

"We just bumped into each other along the way." Mingjue replied casually, still eyeing Shen Yuan. Each of those Honghuang Taizi was like a fortune; taking them all out would let him live lavishly for years and bring glory to his master.

"Come in if you dare." The roars from Shen Yuan erupted again, with the crowd of Honghuang Taizi still cursing.

"Fine, we'll go in." Fashen bellowed and charged in first.

"Make it quick." Ye Chen followed without hesitation, with Mingjue and Xiao Chen both surging with overwhelming killing intent.

The four shot into Shen Yuan like divine beams.

The Honghuang Taizi panicked at the sight. We just trash-talked a bit—did they really come down here?

With four Di Zi Ji, the lineup was massive, leaving the crowd pale with fear. They knew all too well how powerful Di Zi Ji were; four working together would easily overpower over a hundred Honghuang Taizi.

"Retreat, fast!" One Honghuang Taizi roared and fled into the sky, with the others following suit, not lingering for a second. The enemy's reinforcements had arrived first—what was the point of fighting if they couldn't win?

"Run? Think you can escape?" Fashen snorted coldly, gripping his killing sword and slashing down one Honghuang Taizi. Before the Taizi could steady himself, a storm of swords followed, obliterating his primordial spirit.

"Wan Fa Gui Yi." Ye Chen was even more direct, fusing thousands of secret arts into a single finger that pierced a Honghuang Taizi's skull, creating a gruesome blood hole straight to the primordial spirit and shattering his true form.

"Yin Cao Zang Mie." Mingjue's voice was icy and authoritative as he struck with a palm heavy as a mountain, shattering the heavens and earth. A fleeing Honghuang Taizi didn't even get to scream before being crushed into dust.

Xiao Chen said nothing, but his actions spoke volumes. Wielding the Zhan Wang halberd, he split a Honghuang Taizi in half; the Taizi's physical body and primordial spirit were both obliterated, truly scattering his soul.

In an instant, four Honghuang Taizi were slain. The rest lost all will to fight and fled desperately toward the edge of Shen Yuan, their bodies ice-cold, expressions terrified, even their sword-holding hands trembling.

"Not so fast." Ye Chen shouted coldly, moving with ghostly speed to block the Shen Yuan exit. He activated the Chaos Great Realm and summoned the Chaos Great Cauldron. The realm evolved all things, while the cauldron grew massive as a mountain, standing firm between heaven and earth, their powers amplifying each other in a dominating display.

Due to his visions and the great cauldron, the Honghuang Taizi rushing to the entrance were forced back. Those with deeper foundations fared better, but the weaker ones were pulverized into pulp, leaving only their primordial spirits to escape.

"Wan Jian Chao Zong." Ye Chen stood high in the sky, swinging his arm and pointing downward. Thousands of swords rang out, their brilliance cold and piercing, cutting through the air with destructive force.

At the same time, Fashen below also swung his killing sword, unleashing a group attack technique of his own. Golden sword shadows filled the air, so numerous they made one's scalp tingle.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Blood flowers bloomed once more, dazzling and vivid. The Honghuang Taizi's bodies were riddled with bloody holes, though not yet destroyed. Ye Chen and Fashen weren't aiming to finish them off with this—they were just supporting Mingjue and Xiao Chen.

They weren't idle, and neither were Mingjue and Xiao Chen. The two moved like phantoms in the night, appearing and disappearing unpredictably, each strike felling a Honghuang Taizi, heads rolling through the void.

The four worked in perfect sync: Ye Chen blocked the exit, forcing the Honghuang Taizi back; Fashen disrupted their formation from below; and Mingjue and Xiao Chen delivered the fatal blows, slaying the Taizi before they could even steady themselves.

It was a one-sided massacre, the scene bloody and brutal. The mighty Honghuang Taizi were like helpless lambs before them, cut down one after another.

"My clan won't let you get away with this." One Honghuang Taizi howled, his hair disheveled, eyes blood-red and mad, his body swelling rapidly—he was clearly about to self-destruct.

"My master is a great emperor—your threats won't work." Mingjue snorted coldly, crossing the distance in a step and piercing the Taizi's primordial spirit with a finger. The Taizi never got the chance to explode.

He might not have, but Fashen pulled off something big: he charged into the crowd and detonated himself.

That's right, Fashen self-destructed, as his time limit had run out. In his final moments, he took over a dozen Honghuang Taizi with him.

"Are you out of your mind?" Ye Chen cursed with a dark expression. Fashen's explosion even affected his true self, making him spit out a mouthful of blood—he hadn't expected Fashen to do that.

The backlash hit him hard, destabilizing the Chaos Great Realm he was maintaining, and the Chaos Great Cauldron began to wobble.

Seizing this opening, three or five Honghuang Taizi slipped through, bolting out of Shen Yuan in a frantic scramble, not daring to look back, their dignity as Taizi long forgotten.

"Let you escape? I'm done for if that happens." Ye Chen declared firmly, drawing his bow and nocking arrows. In a flash, several arrows of silent divine light pierced the void.

In the distance, several blood flowers burst forth, strikingly beautiful. The fleeing Honghuang Taizi didn't even have time to catch their breath before being shot down, their bloodied bodies turning to ash as they fell.

"Don't let me see your Fashen again—I'll kick him to death." Mingjue, still in the midst of battle, had a face as black as thunder. Fashen's self-destruction hadn't just hit Ye Chen; it had blasted him too, sending him tumbling. He strongly suspected Fashen had done it on purpose.

"The Honghuang Di Zi are on their way—finish this fast." Xiao Chen sent a message, gripping his halberd like a club now, smashing instead of slashing. No Honghuang Taizi could withstand a single strike, each one exploding on impact.

Without Xiao Chen's reminder, Ye Chen and Mingjue were already ferocious, venting their frustration from Fashen's stunt on the Honghuang Taizi. They didn't hesitate to use forbidden techniques to end the battle swiftly.

Wails, roars, and howls echoed through Shen Yuan, eerie and piercing. This wasn't hell, but it was worse—one Honghuang Taizi after another fell, turning the dark abyss into a sea of blood.

"Damned bastards." The approaching Honghuang Di Zi and the clan's elders were livid, their fury intensifying as they watched the Taizi's primordial spirit jade tablets shatter one by one.

This expedition to the Tian Zun ruins had been a massive operation for the Honghuang Clan, deploying countless experts. Their goal was not only to wipe out the various heavens' Di Zi but also to slaughter all the cultivators in the ruins.

But the reality? While the Honghuang Clan had eliminated many from the various heavens, they had suffered heavy losses too, with their princes, Taizi, and Honghuang Quasi-Emperors falling frequently.

On top of that, two Di Zi had been slain.

Such casualties were a huge blow to the Honghuang Clan.

"Kill them all, leave no one." An elderly Honghuang Quasi-Emperor roared, transforming into his true form as he charged forward.

From the heavens above, the Honghuang Clan's figures streamed in endlessly—some flying on swords, some riding clouds, some in war chariots—like rivers converging on Shen Yuan. From all directions, they formed a vast encirclement around the abyss, a massive ring spanning ten thousand li.

The commotion was enormous, the Honghuang Clan's momentum overwhelming. Wherever they passed, mountains collapsed, and the various heavens' cultivators trapped in the encirclement suffered greatly. Whether Quasi-Emperors, Great Saints, or Saint Kings, they were all trampled into dust under the Honghuang Clan's iron hoof.

"What's going on with this huge setup?" Chi Yang Zi emerged from hiding, staring in astonishment at the scene. "Did they track down one of our various heavens' Di Zi and plan to surround them?"

"You wouldn't believe it if you didn't see it—the Honghuang forces hidden in the ruins are this vast." Diao Yu Lao Sou clicked his tongue. "Are they here for opportunities? No, this is a full-scale war! An army of cultivators!"

"Who could have stirred up such a commotion?" On a mountain peak, two figures stood side by side, each holding a wine gourd, marveling at the Honghuang Clan's grand display.

Taking a closer look, it was Ri Yue Shen Zi Zhi Yan and Dong Zhou Wu Wang Song Yu. For some reason, the two had teamed up, like a duo radiating thick killing intent, having slain countless foes.

"Which Di Zi are they after?" On another mountain peak, Xuan Gu Di Zi Tian Shuo gripped his blood-stained immortal sword, his brows furrowed as he watched. The Honghuang Clan's formation left his expression grim.

"Could it be Mingjue?" At Tian Shuo's side stood a woman—Bai Zhi, Di Huang's disciple. True to her resolve, she had come to aid Tian Shuo in battle, clashing with Honghuang Di Zi more than once.

In other areas, Xiao Lu, Mu Yang, Li Feng Qiu, Jiu Liu, Feng Yu, Zi Yu, and Wu Qing—the group of Di Zi—appeared one after another, not all in the same place. They had been scattered in a previous Di Zi brawl and each bore injuries.

It wasn't that the various heavens' Di Zi were inferior; it was just a numbers game, with each facing two or three opponents. Surviving without losses was already fortunate, upholding their ancestors' glory.

The Di Zi felt frustrated. Ever since entering the ruins, they hadn't seen the Honghuang Clan make such a move—now they were even deploying their cultivator army.