Chapter 2117: One Thing Still Missing

"A life-and-death battle?" A single remark from outside the mountain instantly caused a commotion in Heng Yue. This was nothing short of a challenge letter! Everyone was flushed from drinking, their necks thick with anger, their temperaments all rather fiery.

"Daring to come to Heng Yue and cause trouble, you've got some guts."

"Since you're here today, don't even think about leaving."

The talents of Heng Yue grabbed their weapons and charged out of the mountain. They already bore a grudge against Hong Huang, so no one would show any mercy.

However, the Kui Luo phantom was eerily elusive. Although it stood right there, it was an illusory existence, and all the attacks aimed at it simply passed through. Its pair of desolate eyes ignored everyone else, fixated only on Ye Chen.

"Nine days from now, I will arrive," Ye Chen said calmly.

"Nine days from now, I will slay you." The Kui Luo phantom let out a sinister laugh, licking its scarlet tongue, and then, in the breeze, it dissolved into a wisp of flying dust. Though the figure was gone, its words lingered, echoing with a strange demonic power that disturbed the minds of all who heard.

This sudden challenge once again made Ye Chen the focus of attention.

The reactions varied: people like Xie Yun and Xiong Er were unfazed, still making a racket; others like Chu Xuan and Chu Ling couldn't hide their worry; while Chen Yi and Tian Shuo furrowed their brows slightly, knowing from past encounters that the emperor's son who had slain various heavens was terrifyingly formidable.

"No problem." Ye Chen smiled faintly and raised his wine flask. "Let's drink."

With that simple suggestion, the atmosphere heated up in an instant.

"He's no ordinary emperor's son, don't take him lightly." The usually silent Xuanyuan Emperor's Son spoke up in warning, his expression suggesting he had fought Kui Luo before and understood his terror well.

"I'll keep the emperor's son's advice in mind," Ye Chen replied with a laugh.

"The divine-demon body, as the name suggests, is a fusion of god and demon." Chen Yi said leisurely, "Its bloodline traces back to the dawn of chaos. Whether in terms of combat power amplification or battle prowess, it ranks at the peak of its level. In my memory, Kui Luo has never known defeat."

"You're talking as if our Old Seven has lost before," Kui Niu muttered with a pout.

Chen Yi simply drank his wine and said no more. The fact that Kui Luo had never been defeated was statement enough.

Ye Chen just smiled, his expression calm, his eyes as still as an ancient well.

From start to finish, he had never underestimated any emperor's son from Hong Huang. Having truly fought them, he knew their fearsomeness, but no matter how terrifying they were, they couldn't shake his unbreakable dao heart. He had slain emperors before, who would fear an emperor's son? The glory of the holy body was forged through battle.

As the day waned, people gradually dispersed, agreeing to meet nine days later at Wang Xuan Star to watch the fight.

As in past years, some got completely drunk and rowdy, like Xiao Yuan Huang and Kui Niu, shouting that they wanted to spend the night on Jade Maiden Peak and even borrow Ye Chen's wife for the evening.

Given the vigorous energy of these heavenly talents, Ye Chen, as the emperor of Great Chu, showed considerable understanding—he sent them flying as high as the sky itself.

As nightfall approached, Jade Maiden Peak finally fell quiet.

All the women were there, except for Ji Ning Shuang. As evening came, she sealed herself away without Ye Chen needing to intervene. Xi Yan kept trying to undo the seal, but Ji Ning Shuang's was at the emperor's path level, and even she couldn't break it.

"Will you really fight Kui Luo the emperor's son?" Chu Ling asked softly.

"You can dodge the first day of the month, but not the fifteenth." Ye Chen chuckled, gripping his carving knife and working on wooden sculptures of the women. Each stroke carried the essence of the dao, making the figures vividly lifelike.

The women took a deep breath and said no more, well aware of Ye Chen's nature—he would definitely go.

"Holy body, are you here?" Suddenly, a call came from outside the mountain, the voice aged and frail.

Ye Chen looked up and glanced sideways, seeing an elderly man standing at the gate of Heng Yue Mountain. He leaned on a cane, his old eyes murky, his entire body shrouded in deathly energy. He was exceedingly frail, his lifespan nearly at its end.

"Come in, come in." Ye Chen reached through the void and drew him into Jade Maiden Peak.

This was an old acquaintance—the skinny old man who had sat beside him during the auction on You Ming Continent. Back then, they had made a deal: the old man offered Nan Ming Li Huo as payment for Ye Chen to refine an eight-pattern life-extending golden pill. To this day, Ye Chen still didn't know the old man's name.

"I've waited for you so bitterly, old friend!" The skinny old man sat down, his withered hands clutching his cane, his laughter filled with the weariness of age. He had no energy left for jests—he was simply too old. Since arriving in Great Chu all those years ago, he had waited decades, and only upon hearing Ye Chen had returned did he hurry over. He couldn't afford to delay; if he didn't come soon, his life would be over. He didn't want to die.

"It's a long story." Ye Chen smiled awkwardly, genuinely surprised the skinny old man was still alive. However, the old man didn't have many days left—from today, certainly no more than half a month before he would pass on.

Generally, those whose lifespan was ending could only extend it through advancing their cultivation or taking life-extending pills; otherwise, even immortals couldn't help. Clearly, the skinny old man fell into the latter category.

Opposite him, the skinny old man's gaze on Ye Chen was complex, laced with emotion.

Back then, how could he have imagined that the person sitting beside him was the heaven-dominating Holy Lord of the Heavenly Court? A century had passed, and the legends of the holy body endured, while he might soon fall in the river of time.

"Are the materials for refining the pill all gathered?" Ye Chen asked the skinny old man with a smile.

"Still lacking one type—it's extinct in the world. I beg the holy body to show mercy and grant me a life-extending pill," the skinny old man's words were nearly pleading. For the sake of survival, he had no choice but to humble himself.

"Are you truly foolish or just pretending?" Ye Chen shook his head with a laugh. "Your Nan Ming Li Huo is enough to exchange for a life-extending golden pill. Why wait for me and resign yourself to death?"

"You need a place to make the exchange first." The skinny old man smiled bitterly. "An eight-pattern life-extending golden pill is the most precious thing—who would trade for it? I went to Dan City, but they had no eight-pattern life-extending pills. I even went to Xuan Huang, but Dan Zun Dian had already sealed itself. There was truly no way."

"That makes sense." Ye Chen smiled and waved his hand, producing a pill that hovered in his palm. It glowed with golden light, brimming with vibrant spiritual energy, and its eight distinct pill patterns were strikingly vivid, making the skinny old man's murky eyes flicker with a sharp glint as his breathing grew ragged.

"The pill is yours, and Nan Ming Li Huo returns to me." Ye Chen laughed, merging the golden pill into the skinny old man's body.

Once done, he drew out the skinny old man's Nan Ming Li Huo. He couldn't do a good deed for free—he needed some compensation. His pills didn't just appear out of thin air.

"Thank you, holy body." The skinny old man was overcome with emotion, tears streaming down his face as his aged body trembled.

An eight-pattern life-extending golden pill could extend his life by several centuries, and those centuries represented hope. If he had enough opportunities, he might break through his realm and live even longer. As an ordinary mortal, he hadn't transcended life and death—he preferred to keep living.

Ye Chen said nothing, just placed his hand lightly on the skinny old man's shoulder, helping refine the pill's energy.

As the energy integrated, the old man's shriveled skin gained a smoother tone, and the thick deathly aura faded. Vibrant life force filled his frail body, even straightening his hunched back and restoring his former vitality.

"The holy body's great kindness will never be forgotten." The skinny old man kept wiping away his tears.

Ye Chen remained silent, his eyes narrowing as he stared intently at the skinny old man, his gaze growing deeper. For he had discovered something strange in the old man's origin.

More precisely, it was a wisp of black mist, faintly glowing with demonic light.

Even with his insight, he might not have noticed it without close scrutiny.

"Heavenly demon." Ye Chen murmured to himself, realizing the skinny old man also carried a heavenly demon origin, just like the God King of Creation. That wisp of heavenly demon origin had fully merged with the old man.

The difference was that the heavenly demon origin in the God King of Creation was far more abundant.

Ye Chen frowned, puzzled. How did heavenly talents of the various heavens end up with heavenly demon origins? If it was just the God King of Creation, that could be explained, but a second case made it eerie.

"Holy body?" Seeing Ye Chen staring at him, the skinny old man waved a hand.

"Rest for a while." Ye Chen said indifferently, gently waving his hand to send the old man into a deep sleep.

"Is there a problem?" The women asked tentatively.

"A big problem." Ye Chen replied, pointing a finger to the skinny old man's forehead.

Then, he performed the Zhou Tian Evolution, tracing back along that wisp of heavenly demon origin to its source.

In the haze, he seemed to glimpse a vast expanse of dark demonic mist, surging and roiling, obscuring his vision and making it impossible to see through.

Or perhaps, a mysterious force was concealing that demonic mist, blocking any scrutiny.

Ye Chen let out a cold shout, channeling more divine power into the Zhou Tian Evolution, striving to break through that mysterious force and uncover more secrets.

However, he had underestimated its strength—it was incredibly sturdy and hard to shatter.

The Tenth Emperor of Great Chu refused to back down, channeling even more divine power, using the Zhou Tian Evolution to form an invisible divine sword with aggressive force for a direct assault.

A soft "pop" echoed in the void.

The mysterious force was breached, and the dark demonic mist surged, slowly revealing a pair of enormous eyes—scarlet and menacing, gleaming with demonic light. Blood dripped from the corners, and upon closer inspection, destructive visions unfolded within: stars crumbled, the blazing sun extinguished, and the entire world collapsed into annihilation in the cycle of reincarnation.

With a "thud," Ye Chen spat blood and collapsed, fainting on the spot.

"Ye Chen!" The women rushed forward in panic, holding him up, only to see cracks forming across his holy body, fresh blood gushing out. In an instant, he was drenched in blood.

"He's suffered backlash." Chu Xuan didn't hesitate, summoning the imperial weapon Jade Ruyi to forcefully suppress him. Then, a strand of imperial light entered Ye Chen's body, seeking out the backlash force to erase it.

With the imperial weapon's suppression, Ye Chen's condition stabilized instantly, though his face remained pale. The backlash was too domineering, nearly consuming him—if not for the imperial weapon here, the consequences would have been dire.

"You wretched old man." Xi Yan snorted coldly, gathering divine light in her palm, ready to strike him down. If not for him, Ye Chen wouldn't be in this state.

"Xi Yan." Chu Ling quickly stopped her, having seen clearly that the skinny old man was unaware—it was Ye Chen who had insisted on the divination. They couldn't kill the innocent just because of Ye Chen's backlash.

Xi Yan complied, moving closer to Ye Chen.

The women gathered around, their faces all grim. To backlash a great saint-level holy body this severely showed just how terrifying that force was.

Given the strangeness of the situation, Chu Xuan activated the imperial weapon again, sealing the skinny old man as well.