Chapter 1916: Save Us

The night sky was profound, the shattered stars like dust.

Tonight, Tianzun Yiji was exceptionally quiet. Whether it was the Honghuang or Zhutian, all the dizis seemed to have a tacit understanding, with no conflicts or battles, everything utterly silent.

On the Nuo Lao tree, Ye Chen appeared tired, lying on Ji Ningshuang's lap and falling asleep.

Ji Ningshuang smiled softly, gently stroking his weathered face with a wife's tender affection.

After some time, she stood up, holding a small wooden plaque, and quietly carved on it.

It was Ye Chen's name, clear under the moonlight, which she hung on the Nuo Lao tree.

Following that, she carved more small wooden plaques, each with a woman's name: Chu Xuan'er, Chu Ling'er, Xi Yan, Shangguan Yu'er, Lin Shihua, Liu Ruyan, Xuannu, and Luo Xi.

The night passed without incident, and dawn arrived in the blink of an eye.

In the morning, the warm sunlight bathed Tianzun Yiji, enveloping the heavens and earth in a radiant glow.

Ye Chen awoke, his face full of vitality.

Ji Ningshuang had woken even earlier and was dressed in men's clothing, her beauty stunning in female attire, but strikingly handsome in male garb.

Whenever this happened, Ye Chen felt awkward, comparing himself to her and suddenly feeling quite unattractive.

Whenever this happened, Ye Chen felt like grabbing a brush and drawing a circle on her cheek, then crossing it out.

"Boy, are you still alive?"

As Ye Chen was watching, a voice came from the copper furnace—it was Ming Jue's clone, with his true self transmitting the message through it.

"Speak if you have something to say."

"Come save us two. We're trapped."

He coughed dryly.

"Trapped? That's new. Wait there."

Without further ado, Ye Chen ascended into the sky in one step.

The two of them left the valley one after the other, heading southeast as directed by Ming Jue's clone.

A new day in Tianzun Yiji was far from peaceful.

Battles among the dizis erupted frequently, with both sides winning and losing in turn.

Fortunately, the Zhutian dizis were all still present, engaging in guerrilla warfare against the Honghuang dizis, striking quickly and then retreating without direct confrontation.

This frustrated the Honghuang dizis to the point of stomach pains. They had an absolute numerical advantage, yet they couldn't catch anyone.

It was all because Tianzun Yiji was so vast, making it like searching for a needle in the ocean.

By now, Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang had entered a vast desert.

The desert was filled with swirling yellow sand, stretching endlessly. From ancient times, it seemed to have endured a great war, with half-buried skeletons and broken weapons scattered about. In the howling wind, one could even hear the wails of vengeful ghosts.

Deep in the desert stood an isolated ancient city.

Ming Jue and Xiao Chen were trapped there, more precisely in an ancient formation within the city. It was a trapping formation, covered in dense array patterns that made one's eyes spin.

When Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang arrived, Ming Jue and Xiao Chen were frantically charging around inside the formation. Each attempt was blocked by the array patterns, and instead of breaking free, they were injured by them. Xiao Chen's condition was somewhat better, but Ming Jue was covered in countless bloody gashes.

"Open up! Open for me!"

He cursed in anger, swinging his Dijian repeatedly to strike the formation. Xiao Chen did the same, wielding his Zhanwangji with surging vital energy, bombarding it with all his might.

Unfortunately, their cultivation was limited. Though their attacks were fierce, they couldn't tear open even a single gap.

The formation was strange, not only trapping them but also devouring their spiritual power. Their momentum had already weakened significantly.

If not for that, they wouldn't have called on Ye Chen for help. Being trapped was one thing, but if the Honghuang dizis showed up and surrounded them, the consequences would be dire.

Ye Chen stood still, his eyes narrowed as he stared at the formation. The array patterns flickered in and out, interlocking in layers, surrounded by didao laws. The formation they outlined shifted constantly, and even he and Ji Ningshuang would struggle to escape if trapped inside—such didao array patterns were terrifying.

"Don't even mention it."

Seeing Ye Chen arrive, Ming Jue stopped attacking and simply sat down on the ground.

"We thought there was a secret treasure, so we went in to check. Who knew there'd be a trap?"

"Let's get out first and talk."

Ye Chen stroked his chin and looked at Ji Ningshuang beside him.

"Since it's a didao array, brute force won't work. You're better with formations than I am. Is there a way to tear open a gap?"

"I'm looking."

She spoke softly, her beautiful eyes swirling with dao essence as she searched for flaws in the didao array. She indeed understood formations better than Ye Chen, having been personally taught by the Xianmu.

After a while, she pointed to one side.

"There's a flaw in the qiankun array base. Use your Dunjia Tianzi to arrange it and pry open that array pattern. That should let them out."

"Got it!"

He immediately summoned the Dunjia Tianzi, arranging them according to Ji Ningshuang's instructions in that space. It actually forced open a gap in the array pattern.

Seeing this, Ming Jue and Xiao Chen darted out one after the other.

Once they were out, Ye Chen retracted the Dunjia Tianzi.

The didao array patterns vanished into invisibility once more. Standing there, even Ye Chen couldn't detect any trace of it. No wonder Ming Jue and Xiao Chen had been trapped—it was an incredibly mysterious formation.

"Tianzun Yiji is full of pitfalls!"

"If the Honghuang dizis had gotten here first, we would've been done for."

"So, you two are destined to make a big contribution to Zhutian."

He smiled mysteriously.

"What do you mean?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"If we lure the Honghuang dizis to this city, we can catch a lot of big fish."

He laughed even more cheerfully.

At these words, the three of them brightened up.

As fellow dizis, Ming Jue and Xiao Chen couldn't escape, so the Honghuang dizis would be just as helpless. Once trapped, it would be easy—they'd never get out.

"You three set up here. I'll go lure them in."

He chuckled and vanished in an instant.

"Don't just stand around."

After Ye Chen left, Ming Jue rolled up his sleeves and focused on one area, engraving attack array patterns. These were passed down from the Mingdi, even more ferocious than the Xutian Juesha array. If aimed right, they could kill dizis.

Xiao Chen and Ji Ningshuang weren't idle either, both engraving array patterns.

As the three busied themselves, Ye Chen had already left the desert and was flying toward a certain direction.

However, after traveling several hundred li, he didn't spot a single Honghuang dizi.

Hmm?

Just as Ye Chen felt awkward, three figures caught his eye. They were all cloaked in black robes, completely covered, but in Ye Chen's view, they were exposed. They weren't Honghuang dizis, but three Honghuang quasi-emperors.

"You're the ones."

He charged out from the deep mountains, targeting the Honghuang quasi-emperor on the edge.

"Who is it?"

His expression changed as he retreated immediately, but he was too slow. Ye Chen struck him with a palm, sending him flying. The man's foundation was strong; if it had been an ordinary quasi-emperor, his body would have turned to bloody pulp.

"Seeking death."

They snorted coldly and attacked Ye Chen together.

Ye Chen ignored them, summoning the Hundun Ding and slamming it down on one, making him spit blood and his body disintegrate. Only his Yuanshen escaped, but Ye Chen obliterated it with a palm, turning it to ash.

"Hundun Ding?"

His face changed drastically. He had barely arrived when he turned and fled, and the one who had been struck followed suit, running without looking back.

"Where do you think you're going?"

He caught up in one step, Daojian in hand, and severed one quasi-emperor's head with a sword. He extracted the Yuanshen and tossed it into the Hundun Ding for refining.

The remaining Honghuang quasi-emperor fled while shouting:

"Dizi, save me!"

His eyes were full of terror as he burned his origin essence to boost his speed. The Huanggu Shengti was too frightening—it had killed two quasi-emperors in two moves. Without dizis, who could stand against it?

Ye Chen followed at a leisurely pace, Daojian in hand, strolling as if in a garden, neither hurrying nor slowing. Whenever he felt like it, he'd swing a signature strike, but he didn't kill the Honghuang quasi-emperor.

With his power, exterminating this quasi-emperor would be effortless, but he couldn't let him die yet—he needed him to lure the Honghuang dizis. That utility couldn't be wasted.

"Dizi, save me!"

His mournful cries echoed through the heavens, spreading across the eight directions.

Sure enough, his calls were answered. Nearby Honghuang dizis appeared—one, two, three, up to five: Taotie, Qiuniu, Xuemang, Zhizhu, and Wugong dizis.

"Perfect."

He laughed and nocked an arrow, shooting the fleeing Honghuang quasi-emperor dead with one shot. With his use fulfilled, he had to die to avoid leaving trouble for Zhutian.

"Damn you!"

They roared in fury. Even from a distance, they could see it was Ye Chen, and they charged over, their eyes blood-red, faces twisted and sinister, grinding their teeth in rage.

Ye Chen sneered and turned to flee, heading straight for the desert.

The five Honghuang dizis were like five divine lights, chasing relentlessly. Wherever they passed, the sky rumbled, mountains collapsed, and vast forests were obliterated.

"If you've got the guts, fight me one-on-one!"

He shouted while fleeing, his words fueling the already furious Honghuang dizis even more. They could chase, but he didn't want them to give up midway.

The trap in the desert was set—they were just waiting to catch them in the net.

The five Honghuang dizis were five big fish. If they played it right, they could wipe them out in one go.

Behind him, the Honghuang dizis were relentless, their killing intent ice-cold and murderous aura overwhelming. No need for more provocation—they wouldn't stop until Ye Chen was dead.

This was exactly what Ye Chen wanted. His speed varied, fast then slow, his acting as the shadow emperor flawless.

Ahead, they reached the desert, and Ye Chen stepped in.

The five Honghuang dizis followed right in.

Their pursuit turned the desert's yellow sand into rolling waves, like a vast ocean.

"You idiots, the whole Honghuang is full of idiots!"

He cursed as his final taunt and darted into the ancient city.

"We'll cut you down!"

They thundered and charged in after him.

Immediately, a cold shout rang out:

"Trap!"

Taotie and Qiuniu dizis retreated swiftly.

As for Xuemang, Zhizhu, and Wugong dizis, their luck ran out. Perhaps they were chasing too fiercely or moving too fast, they couldn't stop in time and plunged straight into the formation.

"Damn it!"

They bellowed in rage, summoning their magical tools to bombard the formation, desperate to break free. Unfortunately, their cultivation wasn't enough, and once trapped, escape was nearly impossible.

Outside, Taotie dizi and Qiuniu dizi snorted coldly, intending to break the formation and rescue the three.

But before they could act, a mysterious force swapped the space, teleporting them out of the ancient city. It was the Yitian Huandi secret technique, performed jointly by Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang.

Their goal was simple: while the three dizis were trapped, take down Taotie and Qiuniu.

Then, deal with the trapped three afterward.