Chapter 2182: Divine Flower

In the dark underground world, Ye Chen murmured to himself, his eyes flickering with uncertainty and deep confusion. "How could the Qingtian Magic Pillar be in Lingyu?"

Back then, when he had escaped from the Six Paths of Reincarnation, he had accidentally entered Lingyu and even slain a Tianmo Emperor Corpse. But now, it seemed Lingyu was far more complex than he had imagined. Beyond the Tianmo armies and the Tianmo Emperor Corpses, there was also the shattered Qingtian Magic Pillar. This news caught him completely off guard, exceeding his expectations.

Since he now knew it was in Lingyu, that made things easier.

Ye Chen waved his hand, summoning maps of numerous domains, which floated in the air, including one of Lingyu.

Unfortunately, he had no idea where Lingyu was located within the Luoshao Domain. He had maps of the various domains but not their relative positions. Each domain was like scattered fragments, not on the same plane, much like stars in the cosmos where even a slight misalignment could lead to missing them entirely.

So, he would have to try them one by one.

Compared to this method, seeking out the Domain Son or the Female Holy Body was the most reliable approach—saving time and effort. But five years had passed since he entered the domains, and who knew where Xi Chen was now? As for the Female Holy Body, she had left without a word, and he had no idea where that woman had wandered off to.

Ye Chen rubbed his brow, feeling utterly frustrated. At a critical moment like this, he couldn't find anyone, and this feeling was truly unpleasant.

After some time, he stood up, erasing the underground world with a palm strike, and returned to the cliff.

"Qingtian Magic Pillar is in Lingyu." Ye Chen offered a strand of divine sense, merging it into the heavens of the Luoshao Domain. If Xi Chen or the Female Holy Body came, they would surely see it.

With that done, he invoked the Heavenly Dao once more, vanishing into a black hole. He couldn't afford to idle; he had to keep searching for Lingyu.

After his departure, the Luoshao Domain fell into silence. For the next several days, no one appeared.

It wasn't until the ninth day that a graceful figure manifested in the Luoshao Domain, cloaked in black robes like a ghost. It was indeed the Female Holy Body.

"Qingtian Magic Pillar is in Lingyu." As soon as she appeared, she detected Ye Chen's divine sense.

"Ye Chen, I underestimated you." The Female Holy Body whispered softly, raising her hand slightly, but it hovered in the air for a long while, her expression complex and hard to read.

After three to five breaths, her jade hand finally swept through the void, erasing Ye Chen's divine sense.

This wasn't the first time she had done this.

Every time Ye Chen arrived in a domain, he left his divine sense imprinted in the heavens so Xi Chen could find it, but each time, it was wiped away by the Female Holy Body.

Ye Chen remained unaware of this, completely in the dark from start to finish.

Though he didn't know, Ming Emperor and Di Huang saw it all clearly. The Female Holy Body's actions revealed far too much.

Perhaps she had long known that the Qingtian Magic Pillar was in Lingyu and even how to get there.

Yet, she still deceived Ye Chen. Over five years, she had led him through domain after domain, deliberately avoiding Lingyu. Her intentions were obvious.

At that very moment, both Ming Emperor and Di Huang turned their gazes toward Lingyu, their eyes narrowing as they searched for the Qingtian Magic Pillar's location.

However, after scanning every inch of the realm, they still found no trace, let alone the pillar itself.

Ming Emperor's eyes shifted with light and shadow as he muttered, "This shouldn't be."

"There must be some concealing secret technique," Di Huang pondered. "And a technique of that level must surpass the Emperor Dao."

Ming Emperor said nothing, sharing the same suspicion. Even with the laws restricting the human and nether realms, they shouldn't detect absolutely nothing. Such secrecy was unthinkable without a concealing method, as Di Huang said—just as he described, a concealment divine ability beyond the Emperor Dao.

While they probed Lingyu, the Female Holy Body had already turned and vanished into the Luoshao Domain, silhouetted against the moonlight.

Coincidentally, as soon as she left, two figures arrived in the Luoshao Domain. Upon closer inspection, it was the Domain Son and the Holy Venerable, returning once more. They landed on the same small hill as before, both gazing up at the void.

"After so long, that person has likely already left," Xi Chen said with a deep breath. "Or perhaps he came out while we were away."

The Holy Venerable didn't respond, merely closing his eyes slightly to sense the faint connections in the ether.

After a long while, he opened his eyes and said calmly, "Ye Chen has been here."

"Was it really him?" Xi Chen couldn't help but rub his brow. He had no doubts about the Holy Venerable's perception—if he said Ye Chen had come, then he definitely had. But this news was frustrating. They had searched for Ye Chen for five years and finally had a lead, only to miss it entirely.

"Clearly, his Six Paths of Reincarnation Eye has been unsealed."

"With his wisdom, he wouldn't have left without a divine sense." Xi Chen ascended nine levels in a single step, his divine sense enveloping the heavens and earth, seeking any traces Ye Chen might have left.

The Holy Venerable did the same, his domineering perception sweeping across the Luoshao Domain.

Unfortunately, they were too late. Ye Chen had indeed left his divine sense, but it had all been erased by the Female Holy Body.

On another front, Ye Chen was still navigating through the black hole.

Since leaving the Luoshao Domain, more than ten days had passed. He had invoked the Heavenly Dao multiple times but hadn't found a new domain, wandering aimlessly like a fly without a head.

Just like that, a month slipped by quietly.

For the first time, he halted his movement, his face pale and drained. Afraid of missing any domain, he tried invoking the Heavenly Dao every so often. Just as when he searched for the Zhutian in the past, each attempt failed repeatedly. Even with the vast vitality of the Ancient Holy Body, he couldn't sustain the toll.

"There are so many domains—why can't I find one?" Ye Chen grumbled, plopping down on the ground in exhaustion, feeling completely out of luck. He had raced through the black hole for over a month without spotting a single domain.

Without a domain, his Heavenly Dao had no anchor point, and he couldn't escape.

As he pondered this, his storage bag suddenly trembled. The Immortal Fire shot out like smoke, followed by the Heavenly Thunder. The two darted off in one direction with great enthusiasm.

Ye Chen didn't even have time to speak before chasing after them. As their master, he seemed to sense their intentions—this urgency meant there had to be a treasure deep in the black hole.

And so, the clever Young Master Ye set aside his search for domains and focused entirely on hunting for treasure.

Ahead, the Immortal Fire and Heavenly Thunder streaked like golden light and divine radiance, speeding through the black hole.

Ye Chen followed at a relaxed pace, using the Shrinking Earth technique, not rushing or dallying. Along the way, he scanned his surroundings, all pitch black.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, a day or two went by.

The Immortal Fire and Heavenly Thunder kept racing onward, but Ye Chen raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Over a day or two, he had no idea how far they had traveled, yet the Immortal Fire and Heavenly Thunder could still sense the treasure. What persistence.

Before long, the Immortal Fire and Heavenly Thunder finally stopped, zipping around restlessly.

Ye Chen arrived shortly after, looking up to see a continent suspended in the black hole.

Yes, a continent, though not very large—only about ten thousand zhang in radius. Around it floated numerous skeletons and weathered remnants of weapons, which turned to ash at the slightest touch, worn down by endless years.

Besides that, there were tattered war banners, also aged by time, their poles rusted and decayed.

Ye Chen furrowed his brow slightly, gripping his broken Emperor Sword as he advanced, observing everything around him. He could easily guess that in some ancient era, a fierce battle had taken place here. This continent, just ten thousand zhang across, had been a battlefield, with half-buried bones and soil stained red with blood.

Before a slanted war banner, Ye Chen paused in silence. The characters on the banner were faded, but he could vaguely make out the word.

It was a "Shen" character, marked with the Shen Race's totem. No doubt, it was a banner of the Shen Race.

Ye Chen turned his head to another banner nearby, which bore a "Xian" character and the totem of the Xian Race.

Seeing these two banners, Ye Chen instantly understood. He needed no further explanation—this bloody battle had involved the Xian Race and the Shen Race.

He wasn't surprised by this. He had heard from Long Ye that the Xian Race and Shen Race were eternal enemies, and it wasn't impossible for the Xian Race's Xian Wheel Eye to drag Shen Race members into the black hole.

Such stories were ones he had heard countless times in Zhutian.

As for the Xian Race, they had sealed themselves away long ago and still hadn't returned, not even emerging during the Tianmo invasion. This made him quite curious about the location of their ancestral land—a secret that perhaps only Jiang Taixu knew. It was fortunate the Xian Race hadn't come back then, or the furious Great Chu Emperor might have wiped them out too. The Shen Race, Yao Race, Mo Race, Phoenix Race, and the Western Desert Spirit Mountains were grim examples of that.

Shifting his gaze from the two banners, Ye Chen stepped to the center of the continent.

There, a purple flower grew, emitting a faint divine glow. Most of its leaves had withered, and its petals were on the verge of losing all vitality, like an elderly person nearing the end. Meanwhile, the Immortal Fire and Heavenly Thunder were quite lively, circling the purple flower excitedly.

"Shenming Hua?" Ye Chen's eyes lit up as he crouched down for a closer look, his gaze growing more brilliant with each examination.

He wasn't mistaken—it was indeed the Shenming Hua.

Legend had it that the Shenming Hua existed only among the Shen Race and could only be nurtured by them, drawing from the Shen Race's origin. But with the Shen Race's extinction, it had vanished from the world. This divine object could aid in merging with the Dao and returning to the source, or serve as a material for alchemy, such as the legendary Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill.

The Immortal Fire and Heavenly Thunder grew even more agitated, now circling Ye Chen instead.

He understood their intent well—the Shenming Hua's vitality was nearly extinguished. Without the Shen Race's origin to nourish it, it was withering away.

Ye Chen immediately raised his hand, using a great divine ability to seal the last remnants of its dissipating life force. This was a heaven-defying treasure—he couldn't let it fade.

Carefully, he transplanted the Shenming Hua into his divine sea. From his primordial spirit, he separated a strand of energy, which belonged to a Shen Race saint he had once devoured in battle. Now, he extracted it, drawing out a trace of the Shen Race's origin and infusing it into the Shenming Hua.

A single trace of the Shen Race's origin wasn't enough to revive its vitality—it needed more to sustain it.

"The Shen Race is extinct—where can I find their origin?" Ye Chen stroked his chin.

Soon, he realized he was overthinking it. When it came to origins, the evil demons were the experts, and with the Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill involved, that woman would surely be interested too.

Though the Shen Race was gone, the Honghuang Pangolin Race still existed. After all, the Shen Race was a branch of the Pangolin Race, so their origin might even be more useful.