Chapter 1899: The Big Chunk

In the vast underground realm, Ye Chen stood tall like a spear.

Before his eyes was a true immortal realm. Majestic mountains rose amid swirling clouds and mist. Ancient forests were lush and verdant, enveloped in fairy clouds, and the spiritual energy here was extraordinarily pure, nearly touching the source itself.

This immortal realm was profoundly mysterious, filled with frequent visions and the resounding echoes of the Great Dao. Every mountain, river, tree, and blade of grass contained the essence of the Dao, a profound and elusive force that could be glimpsed but not grasped.

Ye Chen walked slowly, scanning his surroundings with his Lun Hui Yan. Layer upon layer of array patterns came into clear view, interlocking to form a solid barrier that enveloped the entire space realm.

He now understood why no entrance could be found from outside—the array patterns were all within the space realm itself, with no opening on the exterior. To enter, one would have to force their way in, but such a dominating barrier could hardly be breached by attacks at the Sheng Wang level, even with the aid of Ji Dao Di Bing.

Thinking of this, Ye Chen glanced at the Hun Dun Ding. It had broken through the barrier so effortlessly, which greatly puzzled him. What baffled him even more was that both Ming Jue and Xiao Chen had entered, yet they had been thrown back out.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

The Hun Dun Ding hummed loudly as it circled around him, seemingly excited, before darting away.

Ye Chen immediately followed, the two moving one after the other over the mountain peaks.

After some time, the Hun Dun Ding came to a stop deep in the mountain range.

Ye Chen arrived shortly after, and as soon as he landed, his eyes burst with brilliant divine light, fixed on what lay ahead.

There stood an ancient altar.

Before the altar was a stone statue.

Suspended above the altar was an irregularly shaped piece of divine iron, pitch-black and as large as a wine jar, etched with ancient curse patterns. It was incredibly heavy, distorting the surrounding void.

Suddenly, Ye Chen swallowed hard, his breath quickening.

He reacted this way because the divine iron on the altar was far too precious—it was Da Luo Shen Tie.

Da Luo Shen Tie was exceedingly rare in the world, a priceless treasure that could only be encountered by fate, not sought.

In the past, Ye Chen had obtained a piece through sheer luck, which he used to forge the Hun Dun Ding. But that piece was minuscule compared to this one—he had never seen such a massive chunk before.

"I'm rich."

Ye Chen's heart pounded as he eagerly stepped forward.

But as soon as he approached, the stone statue before the altar trembled slightly.

A cracking sound followed, as a fissure split across the statue's head, spreading like a spiderweb across its entire body. Chunks of stone peeled away, revealing a figure beneath.

The figure's face was indistinct, but he wore a purple dao robe and had a tall, slender build. His aura was naturally infused with the Dao, exuding an air of immortality. Strands of dao principles wound around him, accompanied by the recitation of heavenly sounds.

Ye Chen halted abruptly, narrowing his eyes at the figure. He could tell at a glance that this Zi Pao Ren was not a true person—his limbs, organs, meridians, divine sea, and dantian were all formed from the Dao. This was remarkably similar to his own dao sword.

"This junior did not intend to disturb; please forgive me, senior."

Ye Chen showed proper respect, cupping his hands and bowing.

Yet, the Zi Pao Ren was far from hospitable. He stepped forward and thrust a finger toward Ye Chen's brow—a deadly strike, not a mere gesture.

Ye Chen was prepared, dodging back and countering with a finger of his own, his mind on high alert. That finger carried the evolution of supreme dao principles. Though it didn't hit him, his yuan shen felt as if it might shatter.

The Zi Pao Ren moved like the wind, shadowing him closely, and struck again with another finger.

Ye Chen frowned slightly and continued to retreat.

With his sharp insight, he realized the Zi Pao Ren was guarding the Da Luo Shen Tie. To take it, he would have to defeat the guardian—this might be a trial, and whether he could claim the treasure depended on his own fortune.

Understanding this, Ye Chen stopped and summoned his dao sword in an instant, slashing out a river of sword dao.

The Zi Pao Ren neither dodged nor evaded, simply sweeping his palm to erase the sword river, then thrusting another finger—plain in appearance, yet devastatingly destructive. It pierced Ye Chen's chest, leaving a bloody hole.

Ye Chen soared into the sky to escape, glancing down at the wound on his chest. It was surrounded by a dim, extinguishing aura that dissolved his vital energy, causing the injury to spread rather than heal.

Beyond that, a surge of killing intent had invaded his body, rampaging and destroying everything in its path.

Without hesitation, he summoned his bloodline power to forcefully eradicate the killing intent, activated Sheng Dao Hui Tian to mend the wound, and then unleashed his Ba Ti state, pushing his combat strength to its peak. He dared not underestimate the foe.

In that moment, the Zi Pao Ren was upon him again, his hand like a divine blade, slashing down from the air.

Ye Chen stood his ground and met the palm strike head-on, while countering with a punch aimed at the Zi Pao Ren's head.

To his shock, the Zi Pao Ren turned ethereal in that instant, and Ye Chen's punch passed right through without effect. Not only that, he took another palm strike from the Zi Pao Ren, the two hits nearly splitting him apart, leaving his Huang Gu Sheng Ti drenched in blood and bone.

"Di Dao Miao."

Ye Chen spat blood as he retreated, recognizing the godlike technique the Zi Pao Ren had used—a type of emperor dao immortal law. He had seen Dong Zhou Wu Wang employ it before, merging with space to render the body intangible, ignoring external attacks while ensuring their own strikes landed true.

"What is your origin? And what connection do you have to the Da Zhou imperial clan?"

Ye Chen's thoughts raced. He hadn't expected the Zi Pao Ren to know this secret art, instinctively linking it to Song Yu. The technique caught him off guard, and he was lucky his deep foundation saved him from instant defeat.

In the next instant, the Zi Pao Ren ascended to the ninth heaven, forming a seal with one hand.

Vague emptiness materialized into a blazing sun and a full moon. Their lights burst forth and merged in an instant, illuminating the world. Anything touched by the glow—flowers, grass, trees—withered away.

"Ri Yue Chong Guang."

Ye Chen's expression changed as he identified the secret law—an emperor dao immortal art of the Ri Yue Shen Zi. He had witnessed its dominance before; under the radiance, he faced absolute suppression, his combat strength plummeting.

Indeed, the light forced him out of his Ba Ti state, dissipating his surging vital energy and weakening his power in a flash.

Even more terrifying was what followed—the sun and moon converged, and the Zi Pao Ren unleashed Ri Yue An Mie.

A world-ending force targeted Ye Chen, who had barely steadied himself before being engulfed.

"Break for me!"

Ye Chen roared, infusing himself with Hun Dun dao principles and transforming into a golden divine dragon to burst free. His domineering Huang Gu Sheng Ti was left with barely any flesh, only radiant bones.

But it wasn't over. The Zi Pao Ren invoked another secret law, freezing the heavens and earth in place. Ye Chen, within that space, was immobilized, as if time itself had halted.

"Absolute Stillness?"

Ye Chen's heart was shaken. Though his body was fixed, his thoughts remained. He recalled Ming Jue's emperor dao immortal law vividly—this godlike technique was overwhelmingly powerful.

A gentle breeze blew by, and the Zi Pao Ren's finger was already upon him.

"Open! Break for me!"

Ye Chen roared inwardly, his eyes bloodshot and crimson. He had to shatter this absolute stillness before the finger struck.

Splash!

Blood splattered vividly as Ye Chen's skull was pierced.

Fortunately, he escaped death. Just before the fatal blow, he broke free, his yuan shen fleeing his body. His physical form plummeted from the void, leaving only his yuan shen darting through the air.

Yet, he had underestimated the Zi Pao Ren. No sooner had he fled a thousand zhang than the guardian appeared without warning, splitting his yuan shen in half with a palm.

"Flying Thunder God."

Ye Chen gritted his teeth and narrowly escaped death again, frantically operating Sheng Dao Hui Tian to restore his yuan shen. He returned to his physical body, not daring to linger, pushing his evasion techniques to the limit.

These successive emperor dao immortal laws had nearly ended him.

Without Sheng Dao Hui Tian, he would likely have been obliterated.

The Zi Pao Ren remained silent, striding through the void with steps that trod upon the Great Dao. Though only a thousand zhang away, to Ye Chen, the distance felt more distant than a dream.

"Who exactly are you?"

Ye Chen coughed up blood, glaring at the Zi Pao Ren. Mastering so many emperor dao immortal laws, each a deadly art, meant his identity was no simple matter.

The Zi Pao Ren offered no response. With each step, a wisp of green smoke emerged from his body. After two steps, another wisp appeared, and both wisps transformed into figures identical to him—indistinguishable in dao principles and aura.

Ye Chen nearly choked, spitting more blood. It was clearly Yi Qi Hua San Qing.

One Zi Pao Ren was already terrifying; three were unimaginable. Ye Chen couldn't fathom how many more emperor dao immortal laws the guardian might know. Even as the Huang Gu Sheng Ti, he felt utterly powerless.