Chapter 1967: They Understand

"Huh?" Ye Chen's seal was broken, which stunned Lin Xing, who was still in the middle of cursing. He had no idea how Ye Chen had broken the restriction, especially since it was a restraint set by a Zhun Di.

"See? Heaven never seals off all exits." Ye Chen laughed, twisting his neck vigorously before flipping up. He then used his magical power to conjure a piece of clothing. Being naked like that was unbecoming, even for someone with thick skin—he still needed to save face.

"Hurry up and untie me." Lin Xing said urgently.

"I really can't untie yours." Ye Chen shook his head.

"Am I going to have to curse at you?" Lin Xing's face darkened.

"Even if you curse, I still can't untie it." Ye Chen shrugged helplessly. This was true—he had broken the Zhun Di seal thanks to the intertwined power of Sheng Xue and Zao Hua Shen Xue, but that mysterious force had vanished in an instant.

Without that power, based solely on his current cultivation as a Sheng Wang, he definitely couldn't undo a Zhun Di seal.

But Lin Xing didn't think that way. He was convinced Ye Chen was just messing with him, trying to embarrass him, which only made his face grow darker.

"Wait, I'll get someone to untie it for you." Ye Chen stood firm and forced out fresh blood from his bloodline—the blood of the Ten Halls of Yanluo.

He was good at hiding things, concealing the blood of the Ten Halls of Yanluo, the blood of Ming Realm experts, and the blood of Di Huang within his own bloodline, so even the Zi Pao Lao Zhe hadn't detected it.

"Better to gang up than fight alone." Ye Chen formed hand seals, and three drops of fresh blood merged into the void, fixing the Tong Ming Seal.

Immediately, the ground trembled with a hum, and three stone coffins rose up, thick with Yin Ming Qi. As the coffin lids fell one by one, Qin Guang Wang, Chu Jiang Wang, and Song Di Wang manifested in the world.

"Di Dao Tong Ming?" Lin Xing was shocked, recognizing this divine ability. It startled him to his core—that was a heaven-defying immortal art. He never expected Ye Chen to know it, and only now did he understand Ye Chen's earlier words: once the seal was broken, they could really make a Zhun Di cry.

As Lin Xing was stunned, the three Yanluo had already stepped out of their coffins. Their expressions were wooden, their eyes empty, like puppets or walking corpses, until they were imbued with intelligence, and then their gazes became clear.

"Zhun Di." Lin Xing murmured, swallowing hard. The ability to summon three Zhun Di through Tong Ming was god-tier!

"Gentlemen, I hope you've been well." Ye Chen said with a smile.

The three Yanluo didn't speak or curse, but their faces turned as black as charcoal. They were summoned every few days, turning the mighty Yanluo of the Ming Fu into something like summoned beasts. They didn't curse because they were used to it and knew Ye Chen's nature all too well.

The three glared at Ye Chen before turning collectively to Lin Xing.

In that moment, the eyebrows of the three Yanluo raised, their expressions strange. A second later, they looked back at Ye Chen, their eyes seeming to say: You two have quite the vibe!

"This isn't what you think." Ye Chen said with a dry laugh.

"Don't say anymore, we get it." The three Yanluo said meaningfully.

"Gentlemen, please untie this seal for me!" Lin Xing said with an awkward laugh. He was still naked and couldn't move, being stared at by four grown men—this felt incredibly embarrassing.

"Young man, you should take better care of yourself." Song Di Wang sighed, gently waving his sleeve to release Lin Xing's Zhun Di seal.

But his words made both Lin Xing and Ye Chen twitch at the corners of their mouths. They had said it was a misunderstanding!

With the seal undone, Lin Xing quickly got up and used his magical power to form clothing. It felt great to be dressed.

"Jiu You Xian Yan." Chu Jiang Wang focused on the rampaging flames in the Dan furnace. With his insight, how could he not recognize it? The origin of this immortal fire was indeed from their Ming Fu. He never thought such flames existed in the human realm.

"From the looks of it, you two were captured to be used as medicinal guides." Qin Guang Wang glanced at the Jiu You Xian Yan, then at Lin Xing and Ye Chen, before finally looking outside the Dan furnace. Through the furnace body, he could clearly see the Zi Pao Lao Zhe.

"Can you three handle this?" Ye Chen asked with a smile.

"If we can't even fight a Lian Dan Shi who is a Zhun Di, when we can take on the Zao Hua Shen Wang, then we Yanluo of the Ming Fu might as well quit." The three said calmly. As they spoke, they couldn't help but glance at Lin Xing, remembering the scene from back then when ten of them ganged up on one.

Lin Xing felt a chill under their stares and instinctively hid behind Ye Chen. He thought the Yanluo's gazes were off, afraid these three might drag him back to the Yin Cao Di Fu when they left.

"Make it quick." Qin Guang Wang was the first to look away, charging toward the furnace opening like a divine light and flipping off the Dan furnace lid with a palm.

"Hmm?" The Zi Pao Lao Zhe outside the Dan furnace suddenly stood up.

As soon as he looked, he saw three figures rushing out, each towering and sturdy as mountains, surging with rolling Yin Ming Qi like a vast sea, all carrying their own phenomena—sinister and terrifying. The Zhun Di pressure made the entire Di Gong rumble and shake, on the verge of collapse.

"This..." The Zi Pao Lao Zhe's eyes bulged in disbelief, his face blank. His own Dan furnace had hidden three Zhun Di? And he was only realizing it now?

In an instant, Qin Guang Wang had closed in, his palm as heavy as a massive mountain.

The Zi Pao Lao Zhe's expression changed, and he retreated instantly, but he was still too slow. Qin Guang Wang's palm sent him flying with blood and bones scattering. Before he could stop his retreat, Chu Jiang Wang arrived, fusing thousands of secret arts into a single finger with destructive power, piercing through his brow.

Song Di Wang was equally domineering, grasping the universe in his hand and inscribing seal scripts with his fingers—also a fusion of multiple secret arts. His punch tore through space, blasting apart half of the already injured Zi Pao Lao Zhe's body, exposing his ghastly white bones.

Everything happened in a flash. In just a blink, the Zi Pao Lao Zhe was nearly killed by the three Yanluo.

"Impressive!" Ye Chen and Lin Xing had already exited the Lian Dan furnace. Ye Chen was calm about the scene, but Lin Xing couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement—an exchange that almost wiped out a Zhun Di.

"You... who are you?" The Zi Pao Lao Zhe roared ferociously, his hair disheveled and face twisted like a demon, blood streaming from his body, a horrific sight.

"You don't need to know." The three Yanluo attacked again.

Seeing this, the Zi Pao Lao Zhe turned and fled. As a Lian Dan Shi who was a Zhun Di, he wasn't skilled in combat, and now with repeated heavy injuries, his strength had plummeted. If it were just one Zhun Di, he might hold his own, but these were three, each at Zhun Di peak level—how could he fight?

With a boom, the Zi Pao Lao Zhe smashed a huge hole in the Di Gong and burst out of the ground, escaping into the starry sky.

"Where do you think you're going?" The three Yanluo said coldly, their voices icy and authoritative, rushing out through the hole like three streaks of eternal immortal light.

Ye Chen and Lin Xing followed—they couldn't lose their possessions and treasures, which were still with the Zi Pao Lao Zhe.

When they emerged, dark flames had already blanketed the sky. That was the Zi Pao Lao Zhe's doing; he had tried to escape but was blocked by the three Yanluo, forcing him to unleash the Jiu You Xian Yan, turning the once clear heavens dark and lightless.

The Jiu You Xian Yan was indeed terrifying, especially when urged by a Zhun Di, its power overwhelmingly dominant, cracking the void inch by inch and reducing mountains to ashes.

However, fearsome as it was, in front of the three Yanluo of the Ming Fu, it was like nothing. The three moved freely through the sea of fire, unaffected, ganging up three against one.

The battle of four Zhun Di was massive, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring.

Blood rained down, staining the heavens red—all from the Zi Pao Lao Zhe, who was surrounded and had no chance to fight back.

"Ah!" The Zi Pao Lao Zhe howled, his roar filled with grief and rage. Unable to withstand the three Yanluo's assault, his blood and bones scattered across the sky, reducing the once mighty Zhun Di to a unrecognizable form.

The three Yanluo ignored his roars, their attacks growing even fiercer, unleashing killing techniques and extinction divine arts one after another.

"Truly dominant." Below, Lin Xing watched with wide-eyed amazement.

Ye Chen was watching too, fixated on the Jiu You Xian Yan, licking his lips repeatedly. If he could get that immortal flame, it would be a heaven-defying boon.

"Can you teach me that Di Dao Tong Ming?" Lin Xing nudged Ye Chen, his eyes shining brightly as he grinned.

"Without the blood of Ming Fu people, even if I taught you, you couldn't perform Tong Ming."

"That's true." Lin Xing coughed dryly and dropped the idea.

Speaking of blood, Ye Chen pulled his gaze from the sky and stroked his chin, sizing up Lin Xing. He was thinking of drawing more blood from him—the power woven from Sheng Xue and Zao Hua Shen Xue was incredibly potent; getting more to study would be hugely useful.

Lin Xing had no idea what Ye Chen was thinking. He was focused on the battle above, watching intently and occasionally shouting cheers for the three Yanluo, his voice booming.

Soon, a blood-soaked figure plummeted from the sky.

No need to guess—it was the Zi Pao Lao Zhe, beaten so badly his protective immortal light was gone. Even with the Jiu You Xian Yan aiding him, he was utterly defeated, all because the three Yanluo were too ferocious.

He wasn't dead, though—just crippled by Qin Guang Wang's finger.

Chu Jiang Wang and Song Di Wang were efficient, breaking open the Zi Pao Lao Zhe's inner world and taking out all the treasures.

"I am unwilling! I am so unwilling!" The Zi Pao Lao Zhe roared from his soul, lying helplessly on the ground, his eyes blood-red and terrifying. This was meant to be a heaven-defying opportunity, but it had turned into disaster. The Dan hadn't been refined, his cultivation was wasted, and five thousand years of effort were ruined. Now, even his life was forfeit.

"I did give you a chance, but you didn't cherish it." Ye Chen stepped forward, his words calm, his expression indifferent.

"Ah!" The Zi Pao Lao Zhe howled at the sky, his roar shaking the heavens and earth, his blood-drenched body turning to ashes inch by inch.

In his final moments, a wave of regret overwhelmed his soul. Indeed, Ye Chen had given him a chance—it was his own greed that led to this. He was certain he could refine an immortal Dan and become an emperor, but it was all wishful thinking. One misstep had become eternal regret. The Dan wasn't refined, and now his life was lost—all self-inflicted, the cycle of cause and effect.