Chapter 1900: Back Door

Rumble! Tian Zun Yi Ji shook violently, all due to the massive formation of the Hong Huang clan, stirring chaos across the eight wastelands.

Gazing down upon the world, the Hong Huang figures surged like a tide, a dark mass that blanketed the sky and earth. Their war banners whipped fiercely in the wind, their war chariots thundered forward, and waves of killing intent and murderous aura intertwined, shattering even the vast emptiness.

At this moment, the encirclement had shrunk to its extreme. The united forces of over a hundred Hong Huang races created an overwhelmingly grand momentum.

"Life and death are irrelevant." A Hong Huang Zhun Di bellowed in rage, his voice echoing through the universe.

His command was stern and icy, its meaning clear: they intended to slaughter every living being within the encirclement, no matter who had killed the Hong Huang crown prince, using this as an excuse for a bloodbath.

No one in the Hong Huang races disobeyed; each one seethed with killing intent as they advanced. Anyone not of the Hong Huang was marked for death, leading to countless cultivators from the various heavens being buried as a result.

The land spanning ten thousand li was stained crimson with blood. Blood flowers bloomed, blood mist lingered, and cries of agony blended into a chorus, turning a once fertile expanse into a veritable hell.

"This immortal technique of yours is quite impressive." In a remote, desolate mountain corner, Ming Jue curiously eyed the faint golden immortal light enveloping them. It was this light that concealed their origin aura and hid their forms, allowing them to evade wave after wave of Hong Huang searches.

"This technique has a time limit. We need to escape the encirclement quickly." Xiao Chen said, stepping into the void.

"When we get back, you have to teach me." Ming Jue rubbed his hands eagerly and followed, darting out of the mountains.

There was no denying that Xiao Chen's concealment divine ability was profoundly mysterious. In this realm, filled with Hong Huang people above and below, they slipped through undetected, making their path completely unobstructed.

However, the Hong Huang also had masters of great divine abilities, and one spotted the two of them instantly.

It was a Hong Huang Zhun Di with a third eye in his brow—an immortal eye—that scanned the world inch by inch. By sheer coincidence, it locked onto them, rendering their hidden immortal technique useless.

"Trivial tricks—show yourselves to me." The Hong Huang Zhun Di sneered, radiating a layer of crimson halo from his center. Wherever it spread, space collapsed, forcing the fleeing Xiao Chen and Ming Jue into the open.

"You old dog, you've got some moves!" Ming Jue cursed loudly, not engaging in a full battle as he turned and fled.

"Underestimating the Hong Huang was a mistake." Xiao Chen snorted coldly, accelerating rapidly.

"Where do you think you're going?" The Hong Huang Zhun Di roared, lunging forward in a single stride to pursue them.

"If you're so eager for a fight, I'll oblige." Ming Jue suddenly whirled around, slashing with his sword and sending the Hong Huang Zhun Di tumbling through the air. Xiao Chen followed up swiftly, smashing him with a halberd, exploding him on the spot.

"Kill them! Kill for me!" The Hong Huang Zhun Di shrieked, fleeing desperately and not daring to press the attack.

At his call, nearby Hong Huang forces surged in droves. Thousands of purple-gold war chariots crushed through the void, each one carrying a powerful Hong Huang warrior clad in cold armor, wielding dark war spears. They grinned ferociously, licking their blood-red tongues.

"Let's break through in one go." Ming Jue on the left and Xiao Chen on the right charged forward—one brandishing an immortal sword like an immortal king, the other wielding a great halberd like a war god—as they barreled toward the east.

"Life and death are irrelevant." The surrounding Hong Huang army rolled in like crashing waves.

"Fight!" Ming Jue roared, streaking like divine light into the enemy ranks. With one sword, he cleaved a Hong Huang Da Sheng in two, seized his purple-gold war chariot, and rampaged through, sending Hong Huang warriors flying in all directions.

At his side, Xiao Chen was no less formidable. With a single halberd strike, he shattered a war chariot and pressed onward with Ming Jue.

"Seal them!" Dozens of Hong Huang Da Shengs encircled them, forming seals to summon a massive sealing array thousands of zhang wide. Array patterns etched across it, descending from the nine heavens to trap Ming Jue and Xiao Chen.

"Get lost." Xiao Chen snorted coldly, thrusting his halberd skyward and stirring winds and clouds, shattering the array.

"Activate the killing arrays and exterminate them." A Hong Huang Zhun Di shouted in fury, pointing his sword at the two.

At his order, hundreds of killing arrays activated simultaneously, targeting them and unleashing beams of annihilating divine light.

Ming Jue didn't hesitate; he abandoned the war chariot and used a secret technique to swap positions with a Hong Huang Sheng Wang. Xiao Chen did the same, vanishing in an instant. In their places, a Hong Huang Da Sheng appeared, and the two were struck by their own arrays, reduced to ashes in the confusion.

Not only them, but the Hong Huang warriors in that area were also caught in the blast, with at least several hundred Da Shengs perishing and one or two Zhun Dis having their physical bodies destroyed, leaving only their primordial spirits to escape.

"Damned bastards." The various Hong Huang Zhun Dis raged, personally joining the fight and using supreme secret techniques to seal Ming Jue and Xiao Chen's divine abilities, cutting off their spatial swapping escape routes. Otherwise, the Hong Huang killing arrays would be ineffective, only destroying their own forces wave after wave.

"You're impressive." Unable to swap positions to escape, Ming Jue cursed loudly.

"Don't linger in battle." Xiao Chen's words were firm as he struck decisively, taking down an opponent with each halberd swing.

Without him needing to say more, Ming Jue burned his vital energy and activated a secret art to boost his combat power, for Hong Huang emperor offspring were closing in—not just one, but at least a dozen. If they got entangled, the consequences would be dire.

The Hong Huang forces attacked relentlessly, while Xiao Chen and Ming Jue fought like madmen. Terrifying weapons exploded one after another, blasting open a path lined with blood and bones.

"So it's really Ming Jue." Outside the encirclement, on a mountain peak, Bai Zhi gazed into the distance, seeing everything clearly.

"The other one must be the son of the War King." Tian Shuo pondered, surprised. He had seen Xiao Chen before, who was merely at the emperor offspring level, yet in just a few days, he had grown to the emperor level. Judging by his dominant combat prowess, even Tian Shuo might not be his match.

"Such a massive operation just to catch those two?" The various heavens' emperor offspring emerged one by one, witnessing the scene and twitching their mouths in disbelief. They couldn't tell if Ming Jue and Xiao Chen were extraordinarily powerful or if the Hong Huang were overreacting, deploying an entire army to hunt just two people.

Amid the intense commotion here, the deep abyss space realm was also filled with rumbling thunder.

Beneath a collapsed mountain, Ye Chen staggered up from the rubble.

His condition was beyond miserable—his body covered in deep gashes, brilliant bones exposed, his sacred body no longer sacred and on the verge of collapse. Even the sacred path's healing couldn't keep up with the injuries, and his golden blood aura had withered to its limit. His primordial spirit was equally battered and scarred.

In contrast, the purple-robed figure remained utterly composed and ethereal, stepping forward without a single wound. His One Qi Transforms Three Purities manifestations still accompanied him, perfectly in sync with his steps.

"You're too strong; I give up. I don't want the Da Luo Shen Tie anymore." Ye Chen turned and bolted, unable to handle one against three. Fighting on would cost him his life.

The purple-robed figure didn't pursue; his body suddenly dissipated, returning to the altar and reverting to a stone statue.

Ye Chen fled several thousand zhang before realizing the purple-robed figure wasn't chasing. He collapsed to the ground with a thud, gasping for breath and coughing up blood, with fragments of internal organs mixed in the pools around him.

Along his path, he had fought everyone from great emperors to qi condensation realm cultivators, but he'd never encountered anyone as monstrous as the purple-robed figure. The man knew every divine ability, and after over a hundred exchanges, Ye Chen was utterly suppressed. Every move was an emperor-level immortal technique, driving him to the brink of madness.

Beside him, the Chaos Divine Cauldron circled listlessly, mirroring its master's dejection.

"I say, why don't you go chat with him? It's just a test—don't take it so seriously." Ye Chen patted the cauldron. As its owner, he had a hunch about its origins. Since the cauldron could break the barrier, it must have a connection to this space realm. Maybe it could find a back door.

The Chaos Divine Cauldron, though simple-minded, obeyed and flew off toward the altar.

Ye Chen shakily stood up, watching intently. If the cauldron could negotiate, everything would be resolved.

Soon, under his gaze, the cauldron returned—or more accurately, was sent flying back through the void in a graceful arc, smashing another mountain to pieces.

Oh no! Ye Chen limped over and dug the cauldron out from the rubble.

It seemed aggrieved, trembling as if crying, with a clear palm print on its body—undoubtedly from the purple-robed figure.

"Maybe your approach to communication was wrong."

"Be humble—do you even understand humility?"

"Go again; it'll work this time. I have faith in you."

Ye Chen squatted in front of the cauldron, chattering away in persuasion mode, desperately trying to get it to talk things out with the purple-robed figure. Since they couldn't beat him, the back door was their only option.

But no matter how he coaxed or embellished his words, the Chaos Divine Cauldron remained still. It looked like it had been scared straight—its owner couldn't defeat the purple-robed figure, so how could it?

"I've never seen you so cowardly." Ye Chen tucked his hands away, staring longingly at the altar. That was a treasure, a Da Luo Shen Tie that one might not encounter in eight lifetimes.

The problem was, they knew it was there but couldn't reach it.

It was awkwardly frustrating—like entering a place, spotting the treasure, but being powerless against the guardian, an unyielding gatekeeper like the purple-robed figure.

"There has to be a weakness." Ye Chen muttered to himself. He couldn't just let go of such a rare treasure as the Da Luo Shen Tie. No matter what, he'd cling on stubbornly to get it.

As he pondered, inspiration struck, and he glanced at the ethereal space. Then he stood up. "I almost forgot about this."

With that, he summoned a drop of fresh blood—Chu Jiang Wang's blood—and tried to summon Chu Jiang Wang through the underworld.

He was certain that the Underworld Emperor and the Emperor Sovereign were watching this place; those two supreme beings must have a way to crack it.

But reality was disappointingly far from ideal. He knew the emperor-level underworld summoning technique and had Chu Jiang Wang's blood, yet he couldn't summon anyone. The Tian Zun Yi Ji was veiled by a mysterious force that blocked the emperor-level underworld summoning completely.

Ugh!

Ye Chen clutched his chest, not just heartbroken but in pain everywhere—stomach, liver, kidneys—all of it. He coughed up mouthful after mouthful of old blood. In all his journeys, he'd never felt so utterly defeated.