Chapter 2146: I Don't Want To

As soon as these words were spoken, both fell silent, and the awkward atmosphere instantly turned gloomy.

The domain gate spanned across Zhongzhou Beiyue, and when the two appeared, they were already in a vast range of majestic mountains. Ye Chen quietly surveyed the surroundings, glancing at the towering peaks with their mysterious terrain and dominant heavenly forces. They concealed an emperor-level formation, hiding the secrets of heaven and earth, making them extremely difficult to detect.

Clearly, Bei Sheng's clan was hidden within these mountains, and inside must be a vast spatial realm. As he had predicted, when Bei Sheng formed seals with her hands, a gate of light emerged. Bei Sheng stepped inside, and Ye Chen followed immediately. After knowing her for so long, this was his first time visiting her family. The Jiuli Clan had a heritage that traced back to the Honghuang era, incredibly mysterious.

Once they entered the gate, what met Ye Chen's eyes was a paradise-like scene. The place was shrouded in swirling mist, hazy and ethereal, with floating mountains and majestic palaces. Spiritual fruit trees were planted everywhere, and vital energy flourished. Faintly, one could hear the sounds of the Great Dao, intertwining and echoing.

Beyond that, array patterns were hidden in the void, maintaining the barrier. Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh in admiration—the Jiuli Clan was truly bold. This great realm was even more impressive than the Canglan Realm. Even with his Lunhui Eye, he struggled to see through the illusions.

The Jiuli Clan still had quasi-emperors, but only three remained: the strongest at quasi-emperor eighth heaven, and two at quasi-emperor fourth heaven. As for the peak quasi-emperors who had faced tribulations, most had likely perished. In other words, the current lineup of quasi-emperors in the Jiuli Clan wasn't enough to withstand a single peak quasi-emperor from the Honghuang sweeping through them. Even a mysterious clan like the Jiuli was in this state, let alone other forces. By extension, if the Zhutian and Honghuang truly went to war, Zhutian would undoubtedly be defeated.

Of course, if the five forbidden zones joined the battle, it would be another story. Their ultimate emperor weapons alone would serve as a deterrent, and most importantly, their numbers were vast, with an emperor weapon lineup that would utterly crush the Honghuang. But Ye Chen knew the forbidden zones wouldn't participate. To get them involved, it would require a Tianmo invasion, as Renwang had clearly told him a hundred and seventy years ago.

As they spoke, the two walked across an arched bridge and up the mountain peak. Along the way, the Jiuli disciples they encountered all bowed respectfully to Bei Sheng, while showing great curiosity toward the hooded Ye Chen—after all, their princess rarely brought anyone back to the family.

The two proceeded one after the other, ascending to the mountaintop and entering a bamboo grove. Deep within the grove, hidden among the bamboo, was a stone bed. On it lay a bearded old daoist, like an ice sculpture, completely motionless—or rather, in a sealed state.

Ye Chen recognized him at once—it was Yan Laodao.

"Half a month ago, he went mad, killing anyone he saw, like a bloodthirsty demon head," Bei Sheng said softly, briefly explaining Yan Laodao's situation to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen didn't respond. He approached the stone bed and narrowed his eyes, examining Yan Laodao inside and out. There were no visible injuries, and his primordial spirit showed no abnormalities.

"How is it?" Bei Sheng asked quietly.

"Tianmo origin," Ye Chen replied flatly, slowly closing his eyes.

"He has it too?" Bei Sheng frowned.

"Not just has it—more than you or me," Ye Chen said, taking a deep breath. His profound gaze flickered between light and dark. Anything involving Tianmo always carried an air of strangeness.

With that, he gently waved his hand, releasing the seal on Yan Laodao. Yan Laodao's body trembled, and then he opened his eyes. His eyes were black, flickering with demonic light, and a mysterious demonic pattern etched itself on his forehead. A violent, bloodthirsty aura surged like a raging river, and his face twisted into a ferocious expression.

In an instant, he sprang up and struck at the two with a palm in midair. As a Shengwang realm cultivator, this attack's power rivaled that of a Dasheng, likely due to the demonization.

Ye Chen casually raised his hand, flipping Yan Laodao over and suspending him in the air. Struggle was futile against a Dasheng realm sacred body like Ye Chen's.

"When I encountered him, he was already like this," Bei Sheng said.

"It's indeed the Tianmo origin at work," Ye Chen murmured, his Lunhui Eye revealing even more clearly that the demonic power from the Tianmo origin had clouded Yan Laodao's mind. It was like a form of puppet manipulation, allowing Yan Laodao to use divine abilities and secret arts.

Ye Chen stepped forward, placing a finger on Yan Laodao's forehead, and activated his Zhoutian evolution technique. Tracing along the Tianmo origin, he hoped to find its source.

In the depths of his vision, he saw that massive pair of eyes again—crimson and piercing, filled with demonic power, like an endless abyss. Even a single glance made him feel his mind being devoured.

Thud!

As he watched, he spat out blood and staggered back, nearly collapsing. rashly divining the Tianmo origin had touched upon a terrifying existence, bringing severe backlash.

Bei Sheng's expression changed, and she hurriedly stepped forward, but was repelled by the sacred body essence.

Ye Chen had already sat cross-legged, mobilizing his bloodline power to forcefully suppress the backlash.

At this point, he was certain that the Tianmo origin in Yan Laodao, Bei Sheng, and even figures like Zaohua Shenwang and Xiong Er, all came from the same source. In other words, tracing back from the Tianmo origin in their bodies would lead to the same endpoint—those massive eyes.

The small bamboo grove fell into silence, a dead stillness. The backlash seemed intense; even Ye Chen furrowed his brows slightly. Blood kept overflowing from his mouth, his usually ruddy face turned deathly pale, and his breath became unstable.

Bei Sheng didn't dare disturb him and simply waved her hand to reseal Yan Laodao. During this time, the Jiuli Clan's quasi-emperors also came to observe, though they didn't show themselves and remained hidden in the void. They could tell it was the ancient sacred body, Ye Chen.

After three hours, Ye Chen finally opened his eyes, having forcefully suppressed the backlash.

"How is it?" Bei Sheng asked immediately.

"I can't find the source," Ye Chen shook his head and said slowly. "If I'm not wrong, there are many more people in Zhutian carrying the Tianmo origin. Their fates will likely be like Yan Laodao's—losing their minds and turning into bloodthirsty madmen, or even transforming into Tianmo. That includes you and me; we'll all become puppets slaughtering living beings."

"Tianmo control, making Zhutian turn on itself?" Bei Sheng ventured.

"That's one way to put it. I—"

Before Ye Chen could finish, Bei Sheng lunged at him, hugging him tightly. Her strength was immense; even his ancient sacred body creaked with the force, and a mouthful of long-stored blood surged up.

What was this? A beauty throwing herself into his arms out of nowhere?

"I don't want to turn into a Tianmo," Bei Sheng said, her eyes filled with tears.

"I don't want to either, but what's the direct connection between that and what you're doing right now?" Ye Chen coughed up blood, his waist nearly breaking. His body felt like it was falling apart.

At his words, Bei Sheng quickly let go, her cheeks flushing red as she felt a bit flustered. She couldn't deny it was a bit neurotic; she didn't even know why she had hugged him.

"If you ever get married, don't do this on the bed—it could kill someone," Ye Chen said, clutching his waist and sitting down on a rock. He spat out another mouthful of blood. Even his sacred body had nearly been shattered; an ordinary person couldn't handle Bei Sheng's strength.

"You're getting the better deal and still complaining," Bei Sheng shot him a glance.

Ye Chen didn't mind, but he had no time for banter and fell into deep thought alone. Bei Sheng's face remained red, but she didn't interrupt and turned to leave.

Soon after, drumbeats sounded—it was the signal to gather the clan members for Ye Chen to examine them one by one.

In the bamboo grove, Ye Chen once again looked inward at the Tianmo origin in his body. By now, he understood that it wasn't because he had spied on the thin old man that he had contracted the Tianmo origin; he already had it within him. He hadn't noticed it earlier because it hadn't manifested. Only when he rashly spied on the thin old man and divined the Tianmo origin did he suffer the backlash, prompting it to manifest.

This varied from person to person. For Xiong Er and the others, or Bei Sheng, it must have reached a certain threshold for the Tianmo origin to manifest on its own. For Yan Laodao, it had reached another threshold, allowing the Tianmo origin to take control.

So, if he hadn't spied on the thin old man or divined his Tianmo origin that night, the one in his own body probably wouldn't have manifested. Thinking about it this way, even he couldn't help but feel a chill. Who knew how many people had latent, unmanifested Tianmo origin inside them? If it hadn't manifested, even with his Lunhui Eye and mastery of Zhoutian evolution, he couldn't detect it.

The problem was serious. As time passed, more people would manifest the Tianmo origin, and more would end up like Yan Laodao. That wouldn't just be mutual slaughter—it would turn the entire Wanyu into Tianmo!

By then, there would be no need for Tianmo to attack; the people of Zhutian would open the passages themselves and welcome the Tianmo in. They would all be one big family, so what was there to fight?

"This move is ruthless!" Ye Chen drew in a cold breath, unable to imagine which Tianmo was so formidable as to plant the Tianmo origin in the people of Zhutian, aiming to topple it from the root.

At that moment, Bei Sheng's call came from outside the grove. Ye Chen temporarily set aside his thoughts and stepped out.

The Jiuli Clan's members had all assembled, even the elders in seclusion had been awakened, gathering in front of the great hall. At a glance, it was a vast crowd, impossible to count.

Ye Chen arrived, still hooded, walking through and scrutinizing them one by one. Those he scanned felt as if their bodies were transparent, with no secrets hidden—not even the treasures in their storage pouches.

"What's this about?" a Jiuli Clan quasi-emperor asked Bei Sheng.

"It's hard to explain; we'll discuss it later. For now, just wait for his verdict," Bei Sheng replied via voice transmission.

It took three full hours before Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and shook his head. "None."

Bei Sheng breathed a sigh of relief and gently waved her hand, signaling the clan members to disperse.

The Jiuli Clan members scratched their heads in confusion, unsure what was going on. Before leaving, they couldn't help but glance at Ye Chen. Who was this hooded figure?

As the crowd thinned, only Ye Chen and Bei Sheng remained.

Ye Chen stroked his chin, pacing back and forth. That "none" had lacked conviction; he was sure some had it, but it hadn't manifested yet. Unmanifested Tianmo origin was undetectable to him. Only once it manifested could he see it—and besides him, only peak quasi-emperors could.

He had to admire that Tianmo's skill; the way it hid the Tianmo origin was like seizing heaven's creation, so secretive that no one could find it.