Chapter 2006: Sworn Brothers

In the eyes of this old man, across all the myriad domains and heavens, there is only one person bold enough to openly oppose Honghuang. Youming Laoren stroked his beard, a warm, kind smile on his face. "If my guess is correct, young friend, you must be the Tenth Emperor of Da Chu, the Ancient Sacred Body, Ye Chen."

"You have sharp eyes, senior." Ye Chen smiled and dispelled his Zhou Tian concealment.

"Since you're the Sacred Body, that explains everything." Upon seeing Ye Chen's true appearance, Youming Laoren couldn't help but laugh, finally understanding why Ye Chen was so vehemently against Honghuang and possessed such immense audacity. Now it made sense—his talent for scheming perfectly matched the fame of his Sacred Body.

"Now, senior, would you be willing to answer my questions?" Ye Chen said with a smile.

"I will tell you everything I know."

"This Youming Continent—what exactly are the secrets it hides that require ten Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons to guard it?" Ye Chen asked directly, getting straight to the point as he gazed at Youming Laoren, hoping for a precise answer.

"Do you know about Youming Great Emperor?"

"The emperor from the Ancient era, whose glory shook the ages—how could I not know?" Ye Chen replied.

"Youming Continent is the inheritance of Youming Great Emperor."

"As I suspected," Ye Chen murmured, showing no surprise.

"In ancient times, when the predecessor Youming was undergoing his emperor tribulation, it attracted the Tianmo. All living beings fought desperately to protect him, ultimately helping him defy the heavens to become an emperor and repel the Tianmo, thus safeguarding the myriad domains and all creatures." Youming Laoren spoke slowly, his turbid old eyes filled with ancient sorrow and nostalgia. He looked up at the void, his voice hoarse as he recounted the events of the past. "Back then, the Tianmo invaded the heavens from this very stretch of starry sky, causing countless lives to perish."

"They invaded from here?" Ye Chen furrowed his brow slightly, looking at Youming Laoren in confusion. "Donghuang Tai Xin once said that for the Tianmo to enter the heavens, they must pass through Da Chu. How could they come from here?"

"This stretch of starry sky was left with a rift due to the collapse of the heavens and the separation of the three realms back then." Youming Laoren took a deep breath and revealed this ancient secret. "The Tianmo slipped into the heavens through that rift without going through the gates of the heavens, catching the myriad domains completely off guard."

"So that's what happened," Ye Chen murmured.

"After Youming Great Emperor achieved emperorship, he still couldn't fully seal that rift." Youming Laoren continued. "In desperation, the predecessor shattered a massive ancient star, transforming it into what is now Youming Continent, and reinforced it with an emperor-level formation. The ten Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons serve as the array's foundations, used to conceal the rift. In other words, our Youming Continent is like a patch, its purpose being to seal that rift and mask the exposed aura of the heavens. That is the secret of Youming."

"No wonder, no wonder even Honghuang doesn't dare to provoke Youming lightly."

"Now you should understand why Youming Continent lacks source stones." Youming Laoren sighed and shook his head. "There's no way around it—the emperor-level formation requires an enormous amount of source stones. Since ancient times, Youming Pavilion has used this method to gather them."

"I understand that, but I still don't get it." Ye Chen frowned. "The great emperors of the heavens must have known the importance of Youming Continent. Why didn't they help gather enough source stones in advance? With a great emperor's prestige and means, finding hundreds of millions or even billions wouldn't be a problem. That way, you wouldn't have to resort to selling treasures to acquire them."

"You're mistaken about the great emperors of history." Youming Laoren smiled warmly. "Ever since Youming Great Emperor fell, every subsequent great emperor has taken special care of Youming. Source stones were certainly provided, but the emperor-level formation consumes them too quickly. You can't rely on great emperors forever. As the saying goes, 'Rely on yourself to have enough food and clothing.' Being prepared is the solid principle."

"It seems Da Chu is probably in a similar situation," Ye Chen pondered.

"The Zhutian Wheel of Reincarnation Array in Da Chu can even suppress great emperors—its power far surpasses Youming's emperor-level formation." Youming Laoren smiled slightly. "In terms of source stone consumption, Youming can't compare to Da Chu. The gateway to the myriad domains and heavens is of utmost importance and cannot be lost. It's a pity the Zhutian Wheel of Reincarnation Array is damaged—formations of that level can only be repaired by a great emperor."

"So, in the end, it all boils down to being short on money!" Ye Chen rubbed his brow, unable to hold back a curse. "If I were an emperor, I'd first raid Honghuang. They didn't help against the Tianmo invasion and just hoarded all that wealth—such a waste."

Youming Laoren smiled but said nothing.

Ye Chen tucked his hands behind his back and lowered his head, lost in thought—clearly plotting something, and it wasn't anything good.

The back garden fell into silence due to their conversation.

Youming Laoren looked on with full kindness and satisfaction, feeling that this junior, Ye Chen, was extraordinarily exceptional. As the most dazzling emperor of Da Chu and the most astonishing Sacred Body in history, he had created countless myths. He was a living legend, already surpassing even the great emperors of his era.

Boom!

Sometime later, the tranquility of the small garden was broken by a thunderous boom.

Ye Chen was startled and turned his gaze toward the east.

There, he saw a brilliant immortal light shooting into the sky from the eastern heavens, piercing a massive hole in the void, followed by numerous ancient visions that blanketed the sky.

Involuntarily, Ye Chen stood up, his expression full of surprise.

Clearly, this was a sign of someone breaking their seal. Just from the visions, he could tell that person's bloodline was incredibly dominant.

"The emperor's son has awakened," Youming Laoren said joyfully, also rising to his feet.

"Emperor's son? Youming Emperor's son?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

"You could say that." Youming Laoren laughed. "In the past, before Youming Great Emperor achieved emperorship, he entered the world to fulfill a tribulation and married a mortal woman, leaving behind a male infant. After becoming an emperor, Youming Great Emperor sealed the child. Calculating the time, it's been several million years now."

"The child from that tribulation—does he have an emperor-level bloodline?"

"Only half."

"Half is already this terrifying—truly formidable," Ye Chen murmured to himself.

As he spoke, the emperor's son from the Youming lineage arrived, stepping through the skies.

He was a young man with eyes like stars, black hair cascading like a waterfall, dressed in simple plain robes. He had restrained his many visions, appearing as ordinary as a mortal, ancient and natural in demeanor, with eyes as still as an ancient well, devoid of any ripples.

"I greet the emperor's son." Youming Laoren hurriedly stepped forward, bowing respectfully.

"Uncle Ming, we're family—there's no need for such formalities." The Youming Emperor's son smiled.

"So strong." On the side, Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly. With his Zhou Tian ability, he couldn't see through the Youming Emperor's son at all. His bloodline was extremely mysterious, and his Dao was even more elusive.

Indeed, those who seemed ordinary were often the most formidable.

"Ancient Sacred Body." The Youming Emperor's son looked at Ye Chen, his brows furrowing slightly.

"My name is Ye Chen." Ye Chen smiled.

"Yang Feng." The Youming Emperor's son introduced himself, but his brow furrowed even deeper, for he detected a terrifying aura from Ye Chen—one belonging to emperor-level killing intent. In other words, the person before him had slain a great emperor, as only those who had killed an emperor would carry such an aura.

Confusion filled Yang Feng—he was utterly baffled.

After all, the young man in front of him was only at the Saint King realm. How could he have slain a great emperor?

On the side, Youming Laoren was quite perceptive and sent a divine sense transmission to the emperor's son.

This transmission contained details of Ye Chen's deeds—one extraordinary feat after another, all at a heaven-defying level.

As Yang Feng read it, waves of shock rippled through his previously calm eyes.

Even as the son of Youming Great Emperor, he never imagined that the heavens' later generations could produce such a monster. Ye Chen's achievements were unprecedented and likely unmatched in the future—utterly heaven-defying.

"New talents emerge in every generation!"

This line suddenly came to Yang Feng's mind, filling him with deep emotion.

"Yang Feng, right? How about we become sworn brothers?" Ye Chen, ever the familiar type, had already slung an arm over Yang Feng's shoulder, winking and grinning in a rather sleazy manner, making onlookers itch to smack him.

This single sentence left Yang Feng completely stunned.

"Don't blame the emperor's son—he's just like that." Youming Laoren stepped forward and tactfully separated Ye Chen from Yang Feng. Yang Feng had been in seclusion and didn't know Ye Chen, but as the master of Youming Pavilion, he knew all too well. This guy was a total smooth talker, shameless to the core. Over the years, he'd heard so many stories about him that his ears were callused. Ye Chen was undoubtedly a character—his antics as unique as his feats.

"We're like old friends at first sight, senior—don't interrupt." Ye Chen said, shamelessly moving closer again.

"We can drink together, but sworn brothers might be a bit much." Youming Laoren chuckled and blocked Ye Chen once more. He was joking—if he let this guy get his way, what then? He knew exactly what Ye Chen was up to. Talking about sworn brothers? It was just an excuse to get some of the emperor's son's blood. Ye Chen did this kind of thing all the time. The emperor's son had been sealed for millions of years and had just broken free—he couldn't let this sly one lead him astray.

"Old man, why are you guarding me like I'm a thief?" Ye Chen's face darkened.

"Better safe than sorry." Youming Laoren blocked Yang Feng behind him, speaking meaningfully.

Now, Ye Chen's face turned completely black.

For a moment, he felt an urge to curse. I'm the Ancient Sacred Body, damn it! I've slain great emperors and saved all living beings—I'm a great hero through and through! How did I become a villain in your eyes? Am I really that shameless? That unreliable?

Youming Laoren ignored him completely, acting as if he hadn't seen a thing.

However, his expression said it all: Unreliable? Don't you know that yourself?

The atmosphere grew awkward.

Yang Feng was a bit bewildered, not understanding why Youming Laoren was acting this way.

But after Youming Laoren sent another divine sense transmission, Yang Feng truly gained a new perspective on Ye Chen. Not knowing was one thing, but knowing was shocking—this Sacred Body came with a natural aura of shamelessness.

"Pit God, is Pit God around?"

The tranquility of the back garden was broken again.

Someone outside was shouting, their voice booming.

Listening carefully, it was a skinny old man. Looking closely, it was indeed him, yelling loudly outside. He wanted to come in, but the gatekeepers wouldn't let him, so he had no choice but to shout.

"Someone's calling for you," Youming Laoren stroked his beard.

"I heard it." Ye Chen's face darkened even more. He glanced at Yang Feng and turned to leave, thinking to himself that he'd definitely come back for the next Youming auction and swindle Youming Pavilion until they doubted their own existence.

Only after Ye Chen left did Youming Laoren breathe a sigh of relief.

As for Yang Feng, he shook his head with a smile. "Uncle Ming, now I understand why my father wanted me to unseal in this era. In the struggle for the emperor's path, he will be an excellent whetstone."