Chapter 2190: Seeing the Heavenly Emperor Array Again

Regarding Ye Chen's words, Xi Chen and Sheng Zun remained silent, their eyes fixed on Zaohua Shenwang. It was clear that these two supreme ruthless figures were filled with deep caution, knowing that in a one-on-one fight, no one in this era could stand against Zaohua Shenwang—not even themselves. This was not because Zaohua Shenwang was inherently stronger, but because the version enhanced by Hua Tian Mo was formidable, bolstered by a mysterious force that rivaled the power of the Emperor Dao.

Behind them, Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, realizing that both Xi Chen and Sheng Zun were injured. Could they have encountered the Zhu Xian Jian again?

Opposite them, Zaohua Shenwang let out a sinister laugh, his desolate eyes brimming with murderous intent. His oppressive aura shook the heavens and earth, causing the universe to tremble and all things to lose their luster. He did not attack further, instead gazing mockingly at the void.

Ye Chen's heart trembled, his expression growing more serious. The terror of Zaohua Shenwang far exceeded anyone's imagination. Although Sheng Zun and the realm son were powerful, they were no match for him. To face an existence like Zaohua Shenwang, they would need Hong Chen and the Six Paths.

Those two were anomalies, growing stronger in the face of adversity. As for Nu Shengti, she also had the capability to stand against him.

Quickly summon reinforcements.

As soon as the words were spoken, Sheng Zun's form changed instantly. Originally appearing as a youth, he transformed into a young man with snow-white hair and jade-like elegance. The bloody wounds on his body healed completely, and a terrifying aura of the ultimate Emperor Dao overflowed from within him. He was not an emperor, but this imperial aura came from the Emperor Tribulation he had endured in the past. In this form, he was at his peak as Sheng Zun. However, forcibly restoring this state came at a heavy cost—he had burned his origin and sacrificed his lifespan.

Without needing further instruction, the realm son raised his hand and opened a realm gate channel, ready to communicate with the heavens to call in reinforcements.

Do you take me for a decoration?

Zaohua Shenwang snorted coldly and formed a seal with one hand. Immediately, a massive array expanded infinitely, disrupting the universe and shattering yin and yang. Thick black demonic mist surged forth, shrouding the stars and concealing the spirit realm, plunging the world into total darkness. It felt as if they were in the depths of Jiu You—cold and desolate.

Zhe Xian Tian Di Zhen.

Ye Chen's face changed abruptly. As the emperor of Da Chu, he recognized this array. In the past, when the heavenly demons invaded the gates of the heavens, Da Chu had been isolated from the other realms precisely because of the Heavenly Emperor Array.

Crack!

Due to the manifestation of Zhe Xian Tian Di Zhen, the realm gate channel opened by the realm son exploded before it could connect to the heavens, completely severed.

Xi Chen's expression darkened; he had truly underestimated Zaohua Shenwang, enhanced by Hua Tian Mo, and the hidden dangers of the spirit realm, which concealed such an array. He was not incapable of breaking through this level of formation, but it would require time—and clearly, their opponent would not give them that chance. Zaohua Shenwang had already locked onto him, while Sheng Zun was targeted by another terrifying presence of the same caliber, though it had not yet revealed itself.

We're going to be wiped out.

Sheng Zun's face was equally grim as he looked up at the sky. There, he saw the void tear open, and a massive black demonic pillar descended straight from the heavens, slamming into the ground with a thunderous boom and standing tall between heaven and earth.

It was the Qingtian Mozhu that Ye Chen had been desperately searching for. As he had suspected, it was incomplete and damaged, yet even in this state, it was enormous. In its presence, people seemed as insignificant as ants, and entire mountain ranges looked like mere mounds of earth.

Ye Chen clenched his fists until they bled; he had been deceived by an illusion. From the moment he entered the spirit realm, the heavens and earth had been inverted—sky as ground and ground as sky. Without breaking through this distorted universe, he could not find the Qingtian Mozhu. Unfortunately, he had realized this too late, or rather, the situation was too urgent with the Hua Tian Mo crisis, leaving him no time to investigate.

As the four watched, the Qingtian Mozhu began to hum, releasing rolling demonic energy that summoned hordes of heavenly demons. Their numbers were vast, forming a black carpet that covered the sky and ground. Each one had a ferocious face, their blood-red eyes filled with savagery and killing intent.

But these were not true heavenly demon armies; they were people from the heavens who had been transformed into Hua Tian Mo, including many at the quasi-emperor level.

A cold light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. He had no idea so many from the heavens had been corrupted. Over endless ages, they had been accumulated bit by bit until now, forming a massive army—a force meant to strike at the heavens itself, the legendary self-inflicted carnage.

Sheng Zun trembled, his expression turning sorrowful as he spotted an old friend among the transformed army. Now possessed by the heavenly demons, with no trace of sanity left, they no longer recognized him. After so many cycles of sea changes, they met again in this tragic state.

In Xi Chen's eyes, there was also a hint of grief as he recognized three or five old acquaintances. He had thought they were lost to the world, only to find they had become heavenly demons.

As the realm son, he could not hide his guilt. In patrolling the realms, he had failed to detect the mysteries of the spirit realm—this was his negligence. Had he noticed earlier, today's events might have been avoided.

Tian Zhi remained silent, her thoughts sharp and precise. She was certain that the damaged Qingtian Mozhu could not connect to the heavenly demon realm and thus could not summon more demons. For the current heavens, this was undoubtedly good news. They were not without the power to fight back; if they could destroy the Qingtian Mozhu, the crisis would be resolved.

How do you like this grand spectacle?

The prolonged silence was broken by a sinister laugh from within the Qingtian Mozhu. From it emerged a heavenly demon that resembled a monster, with three heads and six arms, massive blood-red eyes, and a terrifying appearance.

Upon closer inspection, it was none other than Can E Mojun.

Tian Zhi narrowed her beautiful eyes, sensing Can E Mojun's aura. It was he who had spied on her and Ye Chen earlier.

As for Ye Chen, the moment he saw Can E Mojun, he staggered back a step, barely able to stand, his lips trembling and his face paling further. In the past, Can E Mojun had emerged from a demonic egg and nearly been destroyed by him. Later, when he pursued Can Mie Mojun, he had left Can E Mojun for Nu Shengti to handle. Now, seeing the living Can E Mojun again, how could he believe it?

This meant that Nu Shengti had not killed Can E Mojun that day; instead, she had let him go. She was on the side of the heavenly demons.

In an instant, Ye Chen understood many things. No wonder Nu Shengti had guided him through realm after realm but avoided the spirit realm entirely; no wonder she had left without a word and taken Di Huang's blood; no wonder the realm son had not seen the divine senses he left behind—they must have been erased by Nu Shengti.

The so-called Nu Shengti was the invisible hand manipulating this conspiracy, her goal to prevent him from coming to the spirit realm. Pathetically, he had always regarded her as a senior, even as part of his family, going so far as to sacrifice half his origin to heal her. Only now, with Can E Mojun's appearance, did he realize his persistence had been a tragic joke, played by Nu Shengti all along.

Pfft!

Ye Chen vomited blood and staggered, unable to steady himself. Deceived for eight years, the truth hitting him all at once was unbearable, throwing his state of mind into unprecedented chaos. He pieced together the conspiracy but could not fathom the reason. The sacred body lineage, meant to save the world and guard all living beings, was actually aligned with the heavenly demons.

Suddenly, he turned his gaze to a section of the void. There, space twisted, and a graceful figure materialized—it was Nu Shengti. She had been in the spirit realm even before Zhe Xian Tian Di Zhen activated, arriving around the same time as Sheng Zun and the realm son, but hidden in the void.

Seeing Ye Chen again, her expression grew even more complex. In contrast, Ye Chen was eerily calm. His eyes showed no joy, no sorrow, no anger, no hatred—just utter indifference. Yet, this very indifference made Nu Shengti feel a sudden panic. She had expected him to roar in fury or hurl accusations, but there was nothing—just those emotionless eyes, calmly suffocating.

Nothing is more sorrowful than a dead heart, and it perfectly described Ye Chen's gaze. Sheng Zun and the realm son also fell silent, seemingly aware of Nu Shengti's allegiance. Ye Chen's confusion was theirs as well: how could the ancient sacred body aid the heavenly demons? Without her interference, the spirit realm would not be in its current state.

The most bewildered was Tian Zhi, unaware that a Nu Shengti even existed, let alone that she was on the side of the heavenly demons.

You have disgraced the sacred body name.

Ye Chen finally spoke, his words brief and emotionless, without any questioning. His eyes remained utterly calm from start to finish. As he spoke, he reached into his robe. In the next moment, he pulled out a strand of hair and casually flung it into the void.

It was Nu Shengti's hair, a red dust thread tied by affection. Nu Shengti's body trembled; Ye Chen's act of discarding it wounded her more deeply than any Emperor Dao immortal technique.

Clang!

Ye Chen gripped his broken emperor sword and charged straight toward the Qingtian Mozhu. Nu Shengti had cast aside the sacred body's honor, and as the tenth emperor of Da Chu, he would fight to reclaim it, even at the cost of his life.

Don't go.

Nu Shengti cried out hoarsely, as if knowing what terrifying entity Ye Chen would face by rushing in. But he ignored her call completely, already donning the Huntian battle armor, with the Chaos Cauldron hovering above his head and the Golden Sea under his feet. He surged forward, enveloped in overwhelming murderous energy.

Nu Shengti moved to intercept, but a flash appeared before her—it was Sheng Zun, who had already closed in.

Great World Heaven: Eternal Emperor Dao!

With a shout from Sheng Zun, in the moment Nu Shengti was distracted, he unleashed a heaven-defying immortal technique, enveloping her and vanishing into the void. They entered a separate space forged from the Emperor Dao, their battlefield. Knowing he was outmatched and that a direct fight would mean death, this was his mission: to buy precious time for Ye Chen to destroy the Qingtian Mozhu.

On another front, the realm son had already attacked Zaohua Shenwang, deploying an Emperor Dao immortal technique that summoned an ultimate immortal sword from the power of the realms, slashing through heaven and earth.

Zaohua Shenwang laughed sinisterly, wielding a sword formed from his Zaohua power, infused with destructive might. Their clash obliterated the universe, collapsing tens of thousands of mountains.

Clang!

Tian Zhi's emperor sword also radiated imperial aura as she crossed the void in a single step, charging toward Can E Mojun.

A mere great saint dares to attack me?

Can E Mojun sneered, his form expanding to ten zhang in an instant. With six arms each holding a divine weapon, he strode through a sea of demonic blood, his presence overwhelming.