Chapter 1902: 道祖？

The Dharma body self-destructed, causing the vast space realm to rumble loudly, but it was forcefully suppressed by Ye Chen's furious shouting. It was fortunate that the Dharma body had exploded; if it hadn't, even if it wasn't destroyed by the Zi Pao Ren, Ye Chen would have killed it himself for acting on its own and being so disobedient.

As for the three Zi Pao Ren figures, once the Dharma body was obliterated, they merged back into one. The figure slowly turned around, never uttering a single word from start to finish. Such an air of mystery was impossible for ordinary people to imitate.

"Don't go, there's still me."Ye Chen stepped forward, standing tall in the sky and cracking his neck fiercely.

Although the Zi Pao Ren remained silent, it understood human speech. It hadn't gone far before turning back.

"Let's see whose Dao is stronger—yours or mine." As Ye Chen spoke, strands of Hun Dun Dao principles manifested, intertwining and outlining to form a golden divine dragon.

This dragon wasn't a real one; it was Ye Chen transforming his Dao into the shape of a dragon.

Seeing this, a glimmer of light flashed in the Zi Pao Ren's eyes for the first time. Its form changed as well, shifting from human shape to that of a purple divine dragon.

With a dragon's roar, Ye Chen lunged forward. Every scale on his massive dragon body embodied the Dao.

The Zi Pao Ren moved too, surging with supreme Dao essence as it charged at Ye Chen.

The two clashed high in the nine heavens, one gold and one purple, locked in fierce combat.

The vast space realm, which had only just quieted down, erupted in thunderous booms once more.

From below, the void was filled with streaks of lightning tearing through it, gathering into a sea of thunder. Each bolt carried an aura of annihilation, ripping apart the sky like a world-ending divine punishment. Ye Chen and the Zi Pao Ren battled within this thunder sea, pitting their Daos against each other without any supreme divine abilities or emperor-level immortal techniques.

Amid the fight, Ye Chen was stunned to realize, "He cultivates the Hun Dun Dao as well." He saw through the Zi Pao Ren's Dao—it encompassed the heavens and earth, evolving all things from chaos and returning them to chaos.

"How interesting." Ye Chen's fighting spirit burned even brighter.

In all his lifetimes, past and present, since embarking on cultivation, this was the first time he had encountered someone else who practiced the Hun Dun Dao.

The Zi Pao Ren's Hun Dun Dao was extraordinarily terrifying.

But the more fearsome it was, the more excited Ye Chen became.

It was rare to meet someone who shared his Dao, and from the Zi Pao Ren's path, Ye Chen gained deeper insights. His state of mind was elevating, and his Dao was transforming—this was a process of nirvana, a heaven-defying fortune.

With a boom, Ye Chen plummeted from the void, his massive dragon body nearly exploding.

Again!This guy was incredibly fired up. He mended his dragon body and charged back into the sky.

The waves of their battle were immense, with manifestations of the Dao appearing—both as all things and as chaos.

Ye Chen kept falling, time and again, only to rise each time. As he had said, as long as his Dao endured, so would he.

He lasted longer with each attempt—from initially falling every three minutes, to every quarter of an hour, then half a shichen, one shichen, and two shichen. The gap between him and the Zi Pao Ren narrowed endlessly, and his Hun Dun Dao's transformation grew more complete.

The Zi Pao Ren was like the Tian Mo Di of old, serving as a whetstone that forged Ye Chen, once a rusty blade, into a peerless divine sword. His understanding of the great Dao advanced to another level.

This time, their fight dragged on for ages, through countless rounds, until the sun and moon had cycled through a full revolution.

Under the night sky, the two still battled on. Each collision of their Daos sent out waves of light that spread infinitely in all directions, shattering space and toppling mountains wherever they went.

The Zi Pao Ren halted, retracting its massive dragon form and using the Dao of all things to transform into a patch of chaos. Strands of chaotic energy, each infused with Dao principles, echoed with heavenly sounds that resonated through the world.

Ye Chen stood firm as well, shedding his dragon form and turning into his own patch of chaos. But his chaos was evolving—giving birth to heaven and earth, creating the four symbols, arranging the eight trigrams. Strands of Hun Dun Dao principles outlined all things: vast rivers and mountains, flowers, plants, trees, wild plains, and deep valleys, all vividly real.

Both wielded the Hun Dun Dao, yet they followed different paths.

The Zi Pao Ren turned all things into chaos, while Ye Chen turned chaos into all things.

This clash of Daos, unseen by anyone, still shattered the heavens and destroyed the earth.

In this space realm, everything except the ancient altar—mountains, trees, grass, rivers—turned to ash in an instant, returning from heaven and earth back to heaven and earth. The great Dao cycled on.

When the smoke cleared and the lightning faded, both the chaos and the manifestations of all things dissolved into nothingness.

In the void, both the Zi Pao Ren and Ye Chen reverted to human form.

Ye Chen staggered, coughing up blood nonstop. Their Dao confrontation ended in a draw, with no clear victor.

Across from him, the Zi Pao Ren stood gracefully. Its face, always blurred, gradually revealed itself—ordinary and plain, smiling at Ye Chen with a mix of contentment and approval.

Upon seeing its true face, Ye Chen's eyes narrowed sharply. "Dao Zu?"

Ye Chen had never met Dao Zu in person, but he had seen statues of him, and this face was identical.

Dao Zu, also known as Hong Jun, was one of the one hundred and thirty Xuan Huang Emperors—a profoundly mysterious great emperor. His Dao had been passed down through the ages, with countless inheritances, making him the progenitor of human cultivation.

Ye Chen had reason to believe that the Zi Pao Ren before him shared a deep connection with Dao Zu Hong Jun.

This Tian Zun Relic was likely formed from Dao Zu's own body. Otherwise, how could it suppress even Di Bing? Such power could only come from an emperor's corpse—Di Bing paled in comparison.

Ye Chen's heart raced as he felt he had uncovered an eternal secret. The Tian Zun that people spoke of might be Dao Zu himself, or perhaps the legendary Da Luo Jin Xian. Though the emperor had perished, he left his body as this relic, infusing it with his lifelong Dao to bless all living beings.

While Ye Chen was in shock, the Zi Pao Ren across from him began to dissipate slowly, turning into strands of Dao principles from its feet upward, merging back into the heavens and earth. Its smile toward Ye Chen grew even more kindly and gentle.

"I respectfully see you off, senior." Ye Chen bowed deeply with clasped hands. Regardless of the relationship between the Zi Pao Ren and Dao Zu, it deserved his respect, for it was through this figure's Dao that his own had transformed once more.

The Zi Pao Ren said nothing, vanishing completely without leaving a single word.

Ye Chen stood there in a daze for a long time, feeling as though everything was unreal, convinced that the Zi Pao Ren was Dao Zu.

Once he snapped out of it, he hurried toward the altar. Having passed the trial, the Da Luo Shen Tie was now his.

This time, no one blocked his way. He reached the altar unimpeded, grabbed the Da Luo Shen Tie, and hugged it close, touching and caressing it with joy greater than if he had seen his own father. This was an incredible divine treasure.

"For you, I nearly got myself killed." Ye Chen chuckled to himself, his efforts finally paying off.

The Hun Dun Ding was even more excited, buzzing eagerly, desperate to swallow the Da Luo Shen Tie.

"Don't mess around." Ye Chen pushed the Hun Dun Ding away. "This divine iron is meant to be shared back home."

The Hun Dun Ding wasn't having it. Seizing a moment when Ye Chen wasn't paying attention, it gulped down the Da Luo Shen Tie and bolted.

Hey!Ye Chen rolled up his sleeves and gave chase. The Dharma body was disobedient, and now you are too—what's with this rebellion?

And so, one man and one ding raced through the space realm—one fleeing ahead, the other pursuing from behind.

He hadn't realized it before, but now he was shocked to find out just how fast his own Hun Dun Ding could run. After chasing in circles, he still couldn't catch it.

By the time he did, the wine-jar-sized Da Luo Shen Tie had been completely devoured by the Hun Dun Ding.

"You old hag, I hope you choke on it!" Ye Chen cursed, grabbing the Hun Dun Ding by one of its legs and slamming it repeatedly against the ground. I risked my life for this, and you just wolfed it all down!

Though the Hun Dun Ding couldn't speak, it seemed utterly pleased, as if to say, "Go ahead, smash away—it's already mine."

It had to be said, after devouring the Da Luo Shen Tie, the ding had become even more impressive—more ancient and robust, its presence heavier and more profound. It spontaneously manifested visions of chaos giving birth to all things, and the Dun Jia Tian Zi characters etched on its body became vividly alive, gleaming with golden light.

"Originally, I thought the one to obtain the divine iron would be the Hun Dun body, but it ended up benefiting that kid instead." Watching from afar on Ming Di Mountain, the Ming Di shook his head with a smile. "What incredible luck."

"This isn't just luck." Di Huang laughed.

"I don't know why, but I feel like laughing." Ming Di glanced toward the hazy void. "Hong Jun, you probably never expected that the one to pass the trial would be the Sheng Ti, not the Hun Dun body you designated."

"Fate's decree, fate's twist." An echo came from the ethereal void, originating from the distant Tian Jie.