Chapter 2029: Don't Be So Formal

While Ming Di and Di Huang were speaking, the battle between the Yan Luo of the underworld and Zaohua Shenwang had concluded. However, the outcome was difficult to accept. All ten halls of Yan Luo had fallen like shooting stars, crashing into the vast earth and creating ten perfectly round craters.

Zaohua Shenwang still stood in the void.

Compared to the ten halls of Yan Luo, he was completely unharmed. Though lost in a daze, he appeared as the ruler of the world, overlooking the four seas and eight wildernesses. He was like an unbreakable monument, a symbol that would never fall.

Seeing Yan Luo defeated, Ye Chen waved his hand again.

With Yan Luo beaten, no one could stop Zaohua Shenwang. Ye Chen needed more powerful underworld allies, but he couldn't let Lin Xing escape. If Lin Xing left, it would spell disaster for Jiujian Xian and Xian Mu, likely leading to their destruction.

"No need."

Ren Wang waved his hand and steadied himself.

Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, Zaohua Shenwang in the void plummeted down. His immortal light completely dissipated, and the terrifying pressure vanished, returning him once more to the Saint King realm.

Ye Chen stepped forward and caught Lin Xing, suspending him in mid-air.

Lin Xing was fine, just in a deep sleep.

As for the power of Zaohua Xianwang, it had vanished without a trace—or rather, it had hidden away inside him again. It was quiet for now, but if it awakened, not even one or two Quasi-Emperors could hold it back.

Gazing at him, Ye Chen's heart was far from calm.

He had watched the entire battle from start to finish. Zaohua Shenwang had fought the ten halls of Yan Luo alone and emerged victorious—what incredible strength. The title of Zaohua Shenwang was well-earned; he was a ruthless figure, a supreme powerhouse.

Ren Wang also approached and fused a purple jade slip into Lin Xing's body.

This jade slip was no ordinary item; it could suppress and seal.

There was no other way—Ren Wang had to seal Lin Xing, and he had to keep him sealed. At the very least, it needed to wait until all the Quasi-Emperors had passed their tribulations. It couldn't be Xian Mu or Jiujian Xian who suffered mishaps again.

In the deep craters, the ten halls of Yan Luo crawled out.

At a glance, the ten of them looked utterly wretched, beaten beyond recognition. Song Diwang was especially bad off—his body was crumbling inch by inch, and his primordial spirit was severely damaged. The injuries were no ordinary ones.

Awkward, truly damn awkward.

This was what the ten halls of Yan Luo all wanted to say. This battle was an utter embarrassment. The mighty ten halls of the underworld, facing one opponent, had been thoroughly defeated. They were so ashamed they didn't even want to return to the underworld—how could they face Ming Di?

Zhutian Wanyu truly hides dragons and crouching tigers.

This was another thing the ten of them wanted to say.

Indeed, in terms of supreme levels, Zhutian Wanyu is no match for the underworld. But when it comes to prodigies, Zhutian Wanyu surpasses the underworld by ten thousand miles. Not to mention others, just take Ye Chen or the six paths of the mortal world—which of them isn't extraordinarily talented? In the underworld, they couldn't even find one like that.

Now, another figure like Zaohua Shenwang had emerged.

Though he was in a daze, he was fiercely powerful. The ten of them—ten Quasi-Emperors, the ten halls of Yan Luo—had been beaten one by one. They could take the beating, but it was a blow to Ming Di's face. They were certain that upon returning, Ming Di would give them a thorough thrashing.

Thinking of this, the ten of them glared darkly at Ye Chen.

Their eyes seemed to say: We're not familiar with you, so don't summon us from the underworld again. If there's a next time, we'll kick you to death. We're Yan Luo of the underworld, not your spirit beasts.

Ye Chen pretended not to notice.

He thought to himself: I'm just joking—my ancestor Di Huang passed down the Emperor Dao Tongming to me; I can't waste it. Whenever I have something, I'll call you over to chat about ideals. For the rest of my life, I'm counting on you all.

The ten halls of Yan Luo left, all with darkened faces.

Before departing, the group surrounded the unconscious Lin Xing, their noses and faces twisted in annoyance, and gave him a thorough kicking. They couldn't beat him when he was awake, so while he was asleep, they had to vent their frustration.

Once back, they were summoned by Ming Di.

Then, from Jieming Mountain, screams of agony echoed. One Ming Di beat the ten halls of Yan Luo senseless. No wonder they were Yan Luo—even their cries were so domineering and imposing.

The dead silent ancient star fell back into quietness, with only blood mist drifting.

Ren Wang sealed Lin Xing and sat down cross-legged to heal.

Ye Chen wasn't idle either; he circled around Lin Xing, examining him closely, like he was looking at a treasure.

A treasure, absolutely a treasure—every part of him was a treasure.

As he looked, a small knife appeared in Ye Chen's hand. Yes, the kind used for drawing blood. Zaohua Shen bodies were rare, and a sealed one was even rarer. It was a rare chance to catch one alive, so not drawing some blood would be a disservice to his title as the Great Chu Emperor.

And so, he casually drew about half a jin of blood from him.

Once done, he turned and swallowed the fresh blood.

As the blood entered his body, there was no special feeling. His ancient holy blood didn't reject it, but his vision started to blur. In the end, everything went dark—he'd been blinded by half a jin of blood.

Now he was blind—how awkward.

This made him behave himself. Like Ren Wang, he sat down cross-legged and circulated his Saint Body essence to force out Zaohua Shenwang's blood. It proved that the blood of a Zaohua Shen body couldn't be swallowed recklessly—it could lead to ridiculous things, like turning him into a blind man right now.

What was even more awkward was that the blood he'd absorbed couldn't be forced out.

Your security is top-notch.

Ye Chen couldn't help but give a thumbs-up to the Zaohua Shen body. He didn't need to ask to know that in history, plenty of people had studied Zaohua Shen bodies. For example, swallowing some of their blood to gain benefits, only to end up in tragedy—they'd all been tricked.

"How do you feel?"

Ren Wang awoke and brushed the dust off himself.

"Aside from my vision being a bit dark, nothing else."

Ye Chen coughed awkwardly. He'd sneaked some blood and ended up harming himself, and now Ren Wang had noticed. Even with his thick skin, he felt embarrassed. Lin Xing was asleep, but his security was impeccable—drawing and swallowing blood so casually.

"How about some more?"

Ren Wang looked at Ye Chen with a smile.

"I'd like to live a few more days."

"You're quite the type."

Ren Wang couldn't help but laugh. "You actually dared to swallow Zaohua Shen body's blood."

"Any way to force it out?"

Ye Chen coughed again.

"It'll come out eventually."

Ren Wang said, then stood up, sealed Lin Xing into a bronze furnace, and headed straight into the starry sky. "Let's go. I'll teach you another supreme technique."

Hearing about a supreme technique, Ye Chen quickly followed.

Once they were in the starry sky, he realized what this so-called supreme technique was—it was related to divination. That's how Ren Wang got all his steamy collectibles. He knew everything: which family was getting married, which wife was fair-skinned, which wife had a great figure.

Scoundrel, I believed your nonsense.

Ye Chen kept rolling his eyes at Ren Wang along the way. Did this even need teaching? I, Ye, know it inside out.

After this, another three months passed.

The two of them drifted further from Great Chu, wandering deep in the starry sky, listening to legends of the new generation in Zhutian Wanyu. The hottest ones were still the children of heavenly tribulation and the children of the earth, along with his precious daughter Ye Ling, and that little chubby guy Tang San Shao—all of them were famous on various lists.

In these three months, Ye Chen kept fighting, taking down quite a few Great Saints. There always some fools who tried to rob him for treasures—what people call killing and looting—but they all ended up being killed by him instead.

It wasn't until the fourth month that the two finally stopped.

It was another river of starry sands. They sat on opposite sides, holding wine jugs and drinking quietly. Occasionally, they would look up at the vast starry sky, which had witnessed the changes of history.

"Do you feel a kind of change?"

At some point, Ren Wang suddenly spoke.

"What do you mean?"

Ye Chen asked.

"The suppression of the Emperor Dao."

Ren Wang said slowly, "Perhaps talking about this now is a bit premature for you. Wait until you reach my level, and you'll understand deeply. The Emperor Dao suppression of Xianwu Diczun is slowly weakening. It's not just me who feels this—most peak Quasi-Emperors do too."

"Xianwu Diczun has been fallen for nearly ten thousand years. It's normal for the Emperor Dao suppression to weaken with the passage of time."

"But this time is different."

Ren Wang stroked his beard. "From the day I gained sentience, whether wandering the world or self-sealing, I've experienced many eras ruled by great emperors. I've never stopped studying the Emperor Dao suppression. It does gradually weaken over time, but Xianwu Diczun's suppression is weakening faster than any other great emperor's."

"Long Ye once said that the duration and weakening speed of Emperor Dao suppression are directly related to the strength of the great emperor himself. For example, Xuanyuan Di's suppression is stronger than others and weakens more slowly."

Ye Chen said slowly, "So, am I right in thinking that Xianwu Diczun is the weakest among the one hundred and thirty emperors of the Xuanhuang era?"

"It's not about the strength of the great emperor."

Ren Wang shook his head. "Besides, Xianwu Diczun's combat power is in no way inferior to Xuanyuan Di's. Yet, strangely, his Emperor Dao suppression weakens so quickly."

"What are you getting at?"

Ye Chen frowned.

"The speed at which Xianwu Diczun's Emperor Dao suppression is weakening is increasing. It's possible that in a few thousand years, or even a few hundred, it will vanish completely."

Ren Wang's words were full of meaning.

"I get it. You're saying that in this era, someone might become emperor?"

"You can be taught."

"It's truly an era of contending for the Emperor Dao."

Ye Chen murmured softly, understanding what the absence of Emperor Dao suppression meant. It meant that anyone in Zhutian Wanyu could potentially defy the heavens and become emperor. And that person would surely be a supreme prodigy, with opportunity, cultivation, and fortune—all indispensable.

"Work hard to raise your realm. You have a chance."

Ren Wang patted Ye Chen on the shoulder.

"Forget about me. The Saint Body can't become emperor—it's been that way since ancient times."

Ye Chen shook his head with a smile.

"But you're different."

Ren Wang took a swig of wine. "Your path has broken too many taboos—slaughtering emperors, unlocking the five bloodline limits, undergoing a great reincarnation. Your body is full of variables. It's not impossible that this time, you could break the eternal taboo and defy the heavens to become a great emperor."

"If that person really comes, I'll give it a shot."

Ye Chen laughed. Deep down, he didn't believe in fate. If the heavens wouldn't let the Saint Body become emperor, he refused to accept it.

"Come on, let's go."

Just as they were speaking, Ren Wang hurriedly stood up and dragged Ye Chen away.

Ye Chen was a bit confused, but after scanning the starry sky, he saw figures emerging from tribulation—one man and one woman, both familiar Quasi-Emperors: Jiang Taixu and Phoenix.

Ren Wang pulled him away for this reason—to avoid them if possible.

But what surprised Ye Chen was that the tribulated Jiang Taixu and Phoenix were different from the earlier Jiujian Xian and Xian Mu. They weren't a couple; they seemed more like enemies. From the distant starry sky, they fought all the way over, each strike a world-shaking divine ability, as if they wouldn't stop until one was dead.