Chapter 2278: Are You Reckless?

Tianlao stroked his beard, his expression full of meaning, as he said, "I calculated with my fingers, and that fellow is going to move people into the black hole again."

Not only did he think this way; everyone in the heavens agreed. The Tenth Emperor of Da Chu was incredibly diligent, and if he struck again, he would drag all the remaining Honghuang clan emperors into the black hole.

Under the watchful eyes of the multitude, Ye Chen moved. He slightly raised his hand, extending his five fingers toward a mountain peak. On that mountain peak was one of the array foundations of the Emperor Immortal Array, along with an emperor sword blessed upon it—the Emperor Sword of Xianwu Emperor.

Due to his action, the Xianwu Emperor Sword hummed loudly, abandoning the array foundation and shooting toward Ye Chen like a divine light, landing precisely in his hand. It rang out with a clear sound, radiating brilliant emperor light. The only flaw was its sword body, which had several small nicks—these were scars from its past battle with the Zhuxian Sword, and they had yet to heal.

The people of the heavens raised their eyebrows, puzzled and unsure of what Ye Chen intended to do.

Among them, Shenjiang Tianjiu's expression was the most poignant, filled with deep nostalgia. The fact that the Xianwu Emperor Sword responded to Ye Chen's call held profound significance—perhaps it had recognized him.

As he spoke, the emperor sword merged into Ye Chen's body. With its integration, a surge of emperor aura emerged from Ye Chen's sacred body, originating from the emperor sword. Faint emperor dao principles wound around him, and the emperor dao's immortal sounds intertwined with Ye Chen's chaotic dao sounds, echoing throughout.

"Prepare for a desperate battle."

Ye Chen left those words behind and stepped out of Youming Continent, charging not toward the Honghuang army, but toward the Honghuang emperor artifacts suspended in the void.

"Is his target the emperor artifacts?" Dilaow stammered in astonishment.

"Nonsense!" Xichen scolded sharply, immediately sending a mental message to Ye Chen, urging him to return.

"Come back at once." Donghuang Tai Xin snorted coldly, her face dark with anger. What Ye Chen planned to do was far too reckless. Extreme dao emperor artifacts were not like Honghuang clan emperors; they were the natal weapons of great emperors. Trying to drag them into a spatial black hole was tantamount to gambling with his life. If the emperor artifacts resisted the heavenly dao, the best outcome would be the destruction of the Lunhui Eye, and the worst would be the scattering of his soul.

"Come back!" The Holy Ape Emperor roared, his golden eyes blazing with fury.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Even the unreliable Kuiniu Emperor couldn't help but bellow. He knew all too well what Ye Chen's actions implied—it could lead to his complete destruction.

Ye Chen ignored the shouts of the various quasi-emperors; he knew exactly what he was doing. The Honghuang forces were overwhelmingly vast, not just in numbers but also in the quantity of emperor artifacts. The greatest threat to the heavens came from the extreme dao emperor artifacts. To face off against Honghuang, the first step was to even out the number of emperor artifacts on both sides; otherwise, the heavens stood no chance in this battle.

And this task was one only he was qualified to undertake. In a certain sense, a great Lunhui Heavenly Dao could rival millions of soldiers.

To that end, he had fused with an emperor artifact to enhance the power of the great Lunhui Heavenly Dao. He would forcibly send the Honghuang clan's emperor artifacts into the spatial black hole, though how many he could manage was unknown.

"Come back!"

Amid the heavens' desperate shouts, he shot into the void like a beam of immortal light.

The Honghuang forces saw this but paid it no mind, instinctively assuming Ye Chen was up to his usual mischief. His goal was clear: to use this disruption to resolve the crisis on Youming Continent. If you want to protect Youming, we will destroy it anyway.

"Wait, his target is the Honghuang clan emperor artifacts!" a Honghuang quasi-emperor shouted.

As soon as the words were out, the entire Honghuang side was stunned, collectively looking up in awe at Ye Chen's audacity. Daring to touch the emperor artifacts meant he could be reduced to ashes at any moment—the backlash from emperor artifacts was no joke.

Yet, Ye Chen did it anyway, stepping into the sky and ascending into the void.

There, an emperor artifact floated—a precious seal engraved with emperor dao divine patterns, resounding with emperor dao immortal sounds. Emperor aura flowed from it, with emperor dao principles crisscrossing, standing high in the vast expanse like a sun, its light illuminating the world, or like an eight-thousand-zhang mountain, suppressing the immortal dome.

Ye Chen did not slow his pace, charging forward as the Xianwu Emperor Sword within him trembled, shielding him from the seal's oppressive force.

From a distance, he looked like a moth hurtling toward a sea of raging flames as he rushed toward the Honghuang emperor artifact.

"Overestimating yourself." Lütian Clan Emperor sneered, and the many Honghuang quasi-emperors wore savage expressions as they channeled their powers to the utmost, urging the emperor seal to unleash a devastating immortal beam.

Ye Chen's eyes shone brightly; he did not dodge or evade. He summoned the Chaos Great Realm and activated numerous defensive secret arts, bolstering the emperor sword's divine power. At a glance, it was clear he intended to withstand the emperor dao assault head-on.

Boom!

The booming sound erupted instantly; his Chaos Realm vision exploded, and the various defensive secret arts shattered like paper. Fortunately, the emperor sword protected him, or he would have been obliterated on the spot.

In that brief moment, he reached the pinnacle of the void, enduring the extreme dao emperor aura as he charged straight at it and fiercely embraced the Honghuang emperor seal.

In the same instant, the great Lunhui Heavenly Dao was unleashed.

Buzz!

The Honghuang emperor seal did not submit quietly; it trembled with a massive hum, spreading devastating emperor aura that shook Ye Chen's sacred body to the point of cracking. Fresh blood sprayed from every fissure, dazzlingly bright against the vast starry sky—even with the Xianwu Emperor Sword's protection.

"Get in here!" Ye Chen gritted his teeth, his eyes blood-red as he bathed in golden sacred blood, becoming a blood-soaked figure, his face wild with madness. The heavenly dao vortex spun at full speed, but due to the emperor seal's resistance, it stalled for several moments.

"Get in here!" Ye Chen roared from his soul, forcibly withstanding the emperor seal's divine aura and dragging it into the spatial black hole.

One man and one seal vanished, leaving only a spray of golden sacred blood scattered in the void.

"This actually worked?" Canglong Emperor gaped, staring blankly at the vast expanse.

"Your emperor has defied the heavens." Baihu Emperor swallowed hard. A mere great saint managing to drag a resisting emperor artifact into the black hole was nothing short of miraculous. Such a feat might only be possible for the Da Chu Emperor.

"This is too reckless." The quasi-emperors of the heavens were filled with worry. Ye Chen had succeeded in taking the Honghuang emperor artifact, but he must have suffered terrible backlash. Whether his Six Paths Lunhui Eye could endure was uncertain, and even if it did, it would have consumed an enormous amount of pupil power.

Glancing at the Honghuang side, everyone was still in shock, not fully processing what had happened. A single great Lunhui Heavenly Dao had abducted an emperor artifact into the black hole—what a feat!

"No need to bother with him—bombard them!" Lütian Clan Emperor roared. He understood the Lunhui Eye well enough; dragging away one emperor artifact was impressive, but Ye Chen must be paying a heavy price. Taking one didn't mean he could take another.

This was precisely why he ignored Ye Chen. His focus was on leading the Honghuang forces to break through Youming Continent's barriers and slaughter the ants of the heavens. The sight of Ye Chen's helplessness would be satisfying. Wasn't he trying to protect Youming? Then let him watch the heavens' people perish.

Buzz!

The several dozen Honghuang emperor artifacts trembled in unison, continuing their assault. Losing one emperor artifact changed nothing; their formation still crushed the heavens, especially since the heavens had also lost one. Breaking through Youming's protective barrier was only a matter of time.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The thunderous roars shaking the starry sky grew even more intense.

Youming Continent's protective barrier was indeed reaching its limit. With Ye Chen taking the Xianwu Emperor Sword, its defenses had weakened greatly, and more cracks appeared. The extreme dao emperor aura from the Honghuang artifacts seeped through these fissures, transforming into streaks of lightning that connected the heavens and earth.

Pfft! Pfft!

The people of the heavens suffered greatly, exploding into blood mist in droves. Majestic mountain peaks collapsed one after another, and pavilions and towers were reduced to rubble, their flying bricks and tiles turning to dust before they even fell.

"Hold on!" Shengzun shouted resolutely, activating forbidden techniques to shore up the array foundation.

"Hold on!" The roars of the heavens' people echoed through the nine heavens, as batches fell and others pressed forward, all to maintain the protective barrier.

Bang! Boom! Bang!

The attack and defense caused the starry sky to tremble and Youming Continent to begin fracturing. The protective barrier was on the verge of collapse, scarred and battered. The once-beautiful mountains and rivers descended into chaos, with lightning flashing above and lava flowing below, upending the natural order and disrupting yin and yang. Every ray of light reflecting the world carried an apocalyptic hue.

"Bombard it—bombard for me!" Lütian Clan Emperor cackled wildly, his laughter unrestrained.

The Honghuang people were equally savage, baring their fangs in glee. The protective barrier wouldn't hold much longer; once it broke, they could unleash carnage. The fresh blood of living beings would be exquisitely delightful.

Perhaps because the Honghuang forces were so fixated on Youming Continent, they failed to notice a blood-drenched figure reappearing in the void, hidden by the Zhoutian evolution, concealed in the ethereal space.

Indeed, it was Ye Chen, emerging from the black hole once more.

His Six Paths Lunhui Eye remained, though its glow had dimmed considerably. As the Da Chu quasi-emperors had predicted, while he had dragged away an emperor artifact, he had also endured severe backlash, depleting a vast amount of pupil power.

The Xianwu Emperor Sword was not idle; it hummed within him, manifesting emperor aura to help crush the emperor dao killing intent.

"Again." Ye Chen wiped the fresh blood from his mouth, his expression even more frenzied, as he charged toward another Honghuang emperor sword—his next target.

That Honghuang emperor sword was truly extraordinary, forged from Chimi Xianjin, its entire body a fiery red. Every emperor pattern etched upon it was a vivid crimson, flashing with terrifying immortal light. As a great emperor's natal weapon, it carried the emperor's majesty, a single sword suppressing eternity.

Ye Chen instantly closed in, lunging forward and gripping the Honghuang emperor sword with both hands.

Buzz!

Like the previous emperor seal, this Honghuang emperor sword resisted fiercely, its red immortal sword fused with destructive power, carving deep, gruesome wounds into Ye Chen's sacred body. Through the injuries, his glittering bones were visible, and each wound emitted a eerie glow that eroded his vital energy, causing the gashes to expand rather than heal.

"Get in here!" Ye Chen's eyes were veined with blood, his forehead veins bulging and teeth grinding to pieces. The great Lunhui Heavenly Dao was activated, but it struggled to drag the sword away. Though it was an emperor artifact, it possessed high intelligence and resisted vehemently, like a sword weighing more than an eight-thousand-zhang mountain.

Zheng!

The Xianwu Emperor Sword rang out, bolstering the heavenly dao with its emperor aura. The Lingxiao Iron Staff and White Jade Dragon Chair also joined the fight, channeling their powers into the heavenly dao.

In!

Ye Chen bellowed, and with a whoosh, he vanished, the Honghuang emperor sword disappearing with him.

"Divine indeed!" The evil demon glanced at the void, even her composure shaken. Dragging away two emperor artifacts in succession—what immense power.

"At this rate, he might meet his end at any moment." The Grand Elder of Yaochi frowned deeply. Daring to clash directly with emperor artifacts was pure life-or-death gambling.

"I underestimated him," a Qongqi quasi-emperor sneered. "I want to see how many of our Honghuang emperor artifacts a mere great saint can abduct."

"You can't protect Youming." Lütian Clan Emperor laughed viciously. Another emperor artifact abducted, yet he felt no anger. Go ahead and take them all—if you try to abduct every Honghuang emperor artifact, we'll see if we break Youming's barrier first.

Boom! Bang!

In the black hole, the roaring continued as Ye Chen faced a onslaught from over four hundred clan emperors and two emperor artifacts, narrowly escaping destruction several times.

The Honghuang forces outside were shocked, and the over four hundred clan emperors inside the black hole were equally stunned. Ye Chen had dragged in one emperor artifact earlier, leaving them momentarily dazed, and now another—total bewilderment. Was this guy cheating?

"Don't rush—there's more." Ye Chen staggered, invoking the heavenly dao to escape the black hole and evade the absolute kills from the four hundred-plus clan emperors and two emperor artifacts.

Back in the starry sky, he hid himself thoroughly, locking onto another emperor artifact in the western void—a bronze cauldron, golden and radiant, emitting ten thousand rays of immortal light. It manifested emperor dao visions, humming with world-ending power, causing that patch of space to collapse incessantly.

Buzz!

From afar, the Honghuang emperor artifact bronze cauldron detected Ye Chen—or more precisely, the Xianwu Emperor Sword within him, due to the connection between emperor artifacts.

Because of this, it attacked on its own before he could get close, unleashing domineering emperor dao pressure and sweeping out devastating divine beams like a rain of light.

But Ye Chen pressed on, using the Xianwu Emperor Sword for protection, charging through the divine beams. By the time he reached the bronze cauldron, his sacred body, which had just begun to heal, was once again shattered into blood and bone.

Sadly, even this emperor artifact bronze cauldron couldn't escape Ye Chen's grasp. Unwilling to enter the black hole, it was still dragged in by his sheer persistence, nearly causing his sacred body to explode from the backlash.

"Three emperor artifacts now." Wuhuang looked up, his mouth twitching. He felt like emperor artifacts had become as common as cabbages. For one to be hauled into the black hole by a great saint was an embarrassment to the great emperors—if any were still alive to see this, they'd be furious enough to curse.

"This little fighter is a general in key moments!" Xuanwu Emperor smacked his lips in amazement.

"But he's no mere soldier." Qilin Emperor chuckled.

"With three emperor artifacts abducted, even if the barrier breaks, the heavens will still have a fighting chance." Baihu Emperor took a deep breath, about to say more, but was struck by a lightning bolt, sending him tumbling from the mountaintop as his tiger body splintered into blood and bone.

Ye Chen fared even worse. As soon as he entered the black hole, he was surrounded. The over four hundred clan emperors had keener senses than ever; they didn't wait for him to steady himself before unleashing their killing techniques, and the three Honghuang emperor artifacts were equally enraged, manifesting their extreme dao divine power.

"Destroy me?" Ye Chen snorted coldly and vanished from the black hole in an instant. Abducting three emperor artifacts had taken a tremendous toll—the wounds were minor, but the key issue was that his Lunhui Eye's pupil power couldn't sustain the massive drain. The backlash from the extreme dao emperor artifacts made the pupil power even more unstable, rapidly depleting without warning.

"That's enough—don't try anymore." Donghuang Tai Xin admonished lightly, sending her message across the void.

"After this battle, you owe me a good reward." Ye Chen flashed a brilliant smile, coughing up fresh blood as he staggered toward the fourth Honghuang emperor artifact.