Chapter 2089: Demon Saint Physique, Afflicted by Karma

"How could this be?" The three women's faces suddenly turned pale, while Yang Xuan and the others were utterly terrified.

Ye Chen remained silent. He staggered to his feet, took a step forward, smashed a massive hole through the tavern roof, and shot straight into the void.

Because of him, the tavern descended into chaos. Curses erupted from all directions. People who had been enjoying their drinks were now covered in dust, and anyone in that position would have cursed. The tavern owner was the loudest, yelling, "Why not use the door? You're crazy to crash through the roof!"

The commotion was significant, attracting the attention of Hong Chen and Liu Dao, who had been chatting happily. They both folded their arms, clearly settling in to watch the spectacle unfold.

Ji Ningshuang's figure flickered like an illusion as she chased after him.

Chu Lingyu gave a quick instruction before ascending into the sky in a single step.

By now, Ye Chen had crossed the void and entered the starry expanse. He seemed to be fleeing as if being pursued, darting away unsteadily, seemingly without knowing why. At times, he veered off course, smashing into meteorites and obliterating them. His low roars echoed through the surrounding stars.

Cultivators passing through the starry sky suffered because of him. Being knocked about chaotically was the least of it; those with weaker cultivation had their bodies exploded on impact. Curses and screams blended into a cacophony.

Ye Chen appeared completely unaware, charging around like a headless fly.

"What's going on?" Yang Xuan and the others in the cauldron were utterly baffled, while Xiao Yang Lan in the pagoda was already sobbing in fear, held tightly in Ji Ningshuang's avatar's arms.

Soon, booming sounds rang out as Ye Chen crashed into a desolate ancient star, rampaging like a maddened demon through the mountains. Peak after peak collapsed under his assaults, with rubble flying everywhere. He clutched his head, roaring in agony, while the dark aura enveloping his body grew even thicker, as if it were about to consume him entirely.

"What's wrong with him?" Qin Mengyao, in the Jie Ming Mountain, was also frightened. She had been waiting for Ye Chen to communicate with the underworld, but instead, she witnessed this scene.

Di Huang and Ming Di remained silent, but they saw it clearly.

Ye Chen's condition was due to Hong Chen and Liu Dao. Hong Chen was the future Ye Chen, and Liu Dao was the future Hong Chen. Both originated from Ye Chen. When the two overturned time and space and reincarnation, they had already violated supreme taboos. Now, as half-fated tribulation beings, they embodied even greater prohibitions. Their accidental encounter wove a mysterious force that triggered the ye zhang in time and space and reincarnation, all converging to backfire on the root source—Ye Chen.

"Ye Zhang entangles him, likely leading him into the mo dao, from which escape will be difficult," Ming Di said slowly.

"Mo Dao Sheng Ti?" Qin Mengyao frowned.

"What worries me is his Great Saint realm heavenly tribulation," Di Huang said, his expression unusually grim.

At these words, Ming Di's demeanor also turned serious. If Ye Chen unlocked the Great Saint heavenly tribulation's seal while lost in the mo dao, he would almost certainly die. The thirty-two emperor dao laws were no joke. Even in a clear state of mind, he might not withstand them, let alone with his thoughts in disarray. A single moment of distraction could mean his end.

On the desolate ancient star, the rumbling continued without pause, but it couldn't drown out Ye Chen's roars.

His form had changed dramatically. His white hair turned blood-red, and the golden sacred mark on his forehead became pitch-black. Most terrifying were his eyes, devoid of pupils, like two black voids. The violent and savage aura merged with the dark energy, forming a vast, pitch-black ocean. Demonic forces raged, causing the sky to collapse.

Buzz!

With a buzzing sound, the Hun Dun Ding flew out on its own, instantly growing to the size of a mountain. The sounds of the great dao intertwined, and the escapist heavenly characters arranged themselves automatically.

What was astonishing was that as Ye Chen's life weapon, the Hun Dun Shen Ding actually descended from the sky, aiming to suppress its own master. It wasn't trying to kill him but to stop his terrifying transformation.

"Get lost!"

Ye Chen roared, shaking the heavens, and with a flip of his hand, he struck the Hun Dun Ding away.

The cauldron trembled with a buzz and spat out Qin Xiong and Yang Xuan's group, fearing they might be caught in the aftermath. It then lunged at Ye Chen again, growing even larger and evolving its divine abilities. Strands of chaotic energy fell like a heavy mountain, forcing Ye Chen's legs to bend.

However, it was ultimately just a weapon, constrained by its master's cultivation. In a battle against Ye Chen, it was far outmatched. It failed to suppress him and was flipped away by another palm strike.

This time, it did not return, seemingly gravely damaged and teetering unsteadily.

With the cauldron defeated, the Xian Huo and Tian Lei flew out unbidden—one transforming into a sea of thunder, the other into a sea of fire. Thunder and fire merged into a thunderous inferno that engulfed Ye Chen. Both had their own intelligence, like the cauldron, and sought to halt their master's transformation.

"You dare defy me?" Ye Chen bellowed ferociously, his face twisted. With both hands raised to the sky, he effortlessly tore apart the thunderous inferno. Even the combined efforts of the Xian Huo and Tian Lei couldn't hold him down.

In that instant, the heavens changed color. The sky fractured, the earth crumbled, lightning flashed, and ancient visions manifested one after another, evolving the chaos of all things: stars crumbled, suns extinguished. Yet, the chaos realm he manifested now carried a demonic essence.

Vaguely, one could see mountains of corpses and seas of blood. It was more like a hell than a chaos realm.

And Ye Chen stood within it, like an unparalleled demon god.

"I want to go home." Yang Xuan watched Ye Chen from afar, nearly in tears, his face ashen. Qin Xiong and the others looked equally grim, immobilized by Ye Chen's overwhelming pressure. Perhaps in the next moment, they would be crushed to dust.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The world trembled with a slow, rhythmic beat. It was the sound of footsteps, each one so heavy that it made the heavens boom.

That was Ye Chen, striding through the air toward Qin Xiong and the others.

"Well, this time we're heading back to the ancestral home." Shangguan Jiu coughed dryly, blood pouring from his mouth endlessly. By "ancestral home," he meant the underworld—they would all be on their way together.

"Holy Lord, wake up!" Qin Xiong shouted upward, realizing Ye Chen's mind was clouded and he likely didn't recognize them. If a single palm strike came down, none of them would survive.

Ye Chen ignored the call, each step pulsing with the rhythm of the dao. He was truly out of his senses, driven only by killing and bloodlust, which excited him. The scent of blood would drive him into a frenzy.

Finally, he stopped, looming over them and extending his palm. Before it even landed, the sky collapsed, and mountain after mountain exploded instantly.

The group sighed collectively, closing their eyes. Without a doubt, they were doomed.

In that moment, Ji Ningshuang's avatar flew out from the pagoda and ascended to the nine heavens. With a wave of her hands, she formed a sealing array that pressed down on Ye Chen, attempting to bind him.

Ye Chen didn't even glance at it, allowing the array to fall. But the array couldn't touch him at all—it was shattered by a powerful, mysterious force. Even Ji Ningshuang's avatar couldn't escape, dissipating into nothingness on the spot. She was merely an avatar; even her true self might not have been a match for Ye Chen, let alone this form.

"You wretch, I knew I shouldn't have followed you," Yang Xuan grumbled helplessly, shaking his head in resignation. To him, the current Ye Chen was like a god.

Yet, his fate held firm—he wasn't meant to die. Though Ji Ningshuang's avatar was destroyed, Chu Lingyu and Ji Ningshuang arrived just in time, each landing a palm to repel Ye Chen.

"Mo Dao?" Chu Lingyu saved the group and quickly retreated, furrowing her brows at Ye Chen's state. He resembled someone from the mo dao, but it wasn't quite the same—it had a hint of bloodline limit's essence, or perhaps a fusion of mo dao and bloodline limit. In any case, it was strangely powerful. She admitted she couldn't defeat him.

"Ye Zhang," Ji Ningshuang murmured softly, seeing through it more clearly. Standing in the void, she gazed at Ye Chen across the sky. Recognizing the ye zhang, she could also guess why he had become like this.

"Yao Chi, I've been waiting for you for so long." Ye Chen chuckled darkly, casually stretching his neck as if savoring the state. He ignored Chu Lingyu entirely, focusing only on Ji Ningshuang. His laughter carried an irresistible demonic power, echoing endlessly through the heavens and earth.