Chapter 2280: He's Finally Gotten Smarter

Chapter 2280: Finally Using Some Brain

As Ye Chen leaped out of the encirclement, the Honghuang powerhouses soared after him. Some had magical artifacts hovering above their heads, others wielded killing swords, and still others took their true forms, causing the starry sky to rumble and shake with their massive force. Their pairs of blood-red eyes were filled with savage killing intent.

"A bunch of vermin." Ye Chen snorted coldly and didn't dare stop, fleeing swiftly through the air.

"You won't escape." Pursuers closed in from behind, while ahead, over a hundred Quasi-Emperors and several hundred Great Saints blocked his path, surging with rolling Honghuang energy. The crowd of figures was dense and overwhelming, especially one Qiongqi clan Quasi-Emperor who charged at the front, swinging a blade that slashed down from the heavens.

Ye Chen didn't respond. He instantly shifted his position, dodging the deadly strike, and countered with a sword thrust that carved out a brilliant immortal river, sending the Qiongqi Quasi-Emperor tumbling through the air.

In that same moment, the surrounding Honghuang powerhouses launched their attacks. Divine light, sword shadows, blade gleams, killing formations, and magical artifacts rained down from all directions, as if intent on obliterating Ye Chen in one blow.

To be fair, the Honghuang forces truly lacked wit; they still didn't fully understand Ye Chen. Every time they attempted such a siege, Young Master Ye used it to his advantage. Without sealing the space or blocking spatial shifts, they thought they could destroy him? They should have been prepared to be destroyed themselves.

Surely enough, amid the barrage of attacks, dazzling blood flowers bloomed.

But it wasn't Ye Chen who was destroyed—it was a Kuiwu Quasi-Emperor. Ye Chen had swapped their positions in an instant of carelessness, leading to the Quasi-Emperor's body and soul being annihilated by their own assault.

"Damn it." The Honghuang powerhouses roared in fury, sharing a tacit understanding as they each summoned their magical artifacts, thrusting them into the sky and linking them with a secret technique to form a binding array. This sealed the space and cut off Ye Chen's ability to shift heaven and earth.

"Finally using some brain." Ye Chen clicked his tongue, feeling somewhat gratified. He couldn't break this kind of spatial seal, especially without his Lingxiao Iron Stick, which made it hard to stir the heavens and earth.

"What other tricks do you have?" It was that Qiongqi clan elder Quasi-Emperor again, lunging forward with a blood-colored divine blade in hand, grinding his teeth in resentment. He had been struck flying by Ye Chen's sword earlier and held a grudge. Not just him—the Honghuang powerhouses blocking ahead and chasing from behind all attacked simultaneously, unleashing a storm of deadly techniques that enveloped Ye Chen.

Ye Chen sneered. In the split second before the attacks hit, he activated Flying Thunder God, escaping from the northern starry sky to the eastern one, where he had left a mark of the Wheel of Reincarnation.

He had planned ahead with deep foresight. When he had moved the emperor artifacts earlier, he had already inscribed the Wheel of Reincarnation mark for exactly this kind of escape.

Pathetically, the Honghuang powerhouses were completely unaware. They had blocked his heaven-and-earth shift, but they couldn't seal his Flying Thunder God technique. Such a heaven-defying escape method couldn't be confined by space.

"Come on, keep going." Ye Chen laughed, throwing them a provocative glance before turning to flee. It wasn't really provocation—it was more like luring them into battle. With the heavens' side falling behind, he needed to draw away as many Honghuang powerhouses as possible to ease the pressure on Youming Continent. That was his duty as the highest commander of the heavens.

"Kill!" The Honghuang powerhouses howled in rage, swarming after him in a massive wave. There were no fewer than a thousand Quasi-Emperors alone, not to mention the countless Great Saints and Saint Kings. Already furious, their anger was fueled further by Ye Chen's taunting look, sending them into a frenzy.

Ahead, Ye Chen glanced back as he fled, couldn't help but smirk. He really was a hot commodity! Being pursued by so many powerhouses—he wasn't just a few individuals anymore; he was like an entire army. An army made up of Saint Kings, Great Saints, and Quasi-Emperors.

It proved one thing: personal charisma mattered. Being able to draw so many powerhouses to chase him made him quite the talent. Who in the entire heavens could pull that off?

Of course, having so many chasing him also indirectly confirmed another fact: As the Honored Sovereign, he had thoroughly enraged the Honghuang forces.

And so, with one side fleeing and the other pursuing, they left that stretch of starry sky behind.

Though they had gone, the war on Youming Continent raged on without pause. In fact, it grew even more intense.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The thunderous roars that shook the immortal vault echoed through the vast star domain. The great battle between the heavens and Honghuang was extraordinarily brutal.

At a glance, it was a sea of people clashing like endless oceans of shadows, with entire swaths perishing. Silencing immortal lights streaked across the heavens, and surging blood mist had dyed the universe red. It was truly a war of gods and demons, not ending until the sky collapsed and the earth shattered.

It was clear that the heavens were at a complete disadvantage, from Quasi-Emperors down to Qi Condensation realm cultivators, all suppressed. It wasn't that they weren't strong enough; it was just that the Honghuang forces had an overwhelming numbers advantage. Even after losing over four hundred clan emperors, having six supreme emperor artifacts moved away, and seeing many powerhouses lured off by Ye Chen, their forces still crushed the heavens.

What a fine stretch of mountains and rivers Youming Continent was, but now it was shrouded in the chaos of war, losing all its worldly splendor. Majestic peaks crumbled to dust under the silencing immortal lights; roaring rivers turned into bloody torrents in the rain of blood; and vast ancient cities collapsed amid the flames, their bricks and tiles scattering.

The entire world was dim. On the ground, figures surged like tides, each bathed in fresh blood, fighting like madmen. In the skies, gods and demons clashed, with one after another covered in blood, falling and exploding in midair, buried in pools of blood.

Human lives were as worthless as grass; the scenes of war were gruesomely bloody to the extreme.

"You Honghuang vermin, come fight me!" Shen Jiang Tianjiu roared, his voice shaking the vault of heaven as he split a Quasi-Emperor in two with a single sword. He then stepped through the sky, bursting out of Youming Continent. As the strongest attacker under the Emperor's command, he was like a war god, invincible and dominating all directions.

"Where do you think you're going?" Shouts erupted as hundreds of Honghuang Quasi-Emperors chased after him.

"All you Honghuang are idiots." Following Shen Jiang, it was Shengzun's turn. Though in his youthful form, his voice boomed loudly. This shout shook dozens of Great Saints to pieces. Like Shen Jiang, he shot out of Youming Continent as a streak of divine light.

With that one word "idiots," the Honghuang forces exploded in anger, sending over five hundred Quasi-Emperors charging out, all transforming into their true forms—towering like mountains—and thundering across the immortal vault as they galloped.

"If you're not afraid of death, come fight!" Kuiqi Huang and Sheng Yuan Huang bellowed, one after the other, leaving Youming Continent. They were true brothers in arms, always together no matter where—one a monkey, the other a bull. One carried a battle axe, the other an iron stick, both exuding fierce auras, masters of offense with their fur standing on end like steel needles, gleaming with radiant divine light.

Well, there were plenty who weren't afraid of death—and plenty of them. Over a thousand Honghuang Quasi-Emperors followed, surging out of Youming Continent, clearly not planning to return until they finished off the pair.

Next came Donghuang Tai Xin, sword in hand, carving a bloody path through the enemy.

The Honghuang Quasi-Emperors chasing her numbered no fewer than eight hundred, each with ferocious expressions, licking their blood-red tongues, their eyes full of lewd and violent intent. As the goddess of Kunlun and guardian deity of Great Chu, she was a peerless beauty, a rare treasure of the mortal world—how could they let her go?

"Canglan, you're surprisingly tenacious." In another part of the sky, dozens of Quasi-Emperors surrounded the demonic figure, all sneering with their white teeth bared, faces twisted with lewdness.

They were the so-called Eight Desolations Gods from ancient times, all from the Honghuang era. The demonic figure was their old archenemy, with hatred as vast as the sky.

The demonic figure said nothing, his gaze arrogant. A divine pattern etched on his brow boosted his combat power to another level. Clad in ancient battle intent, he stood on a splendid immortal sea, wielding a silencing immortal sword. With one strike, he slain a Tianxie Quasi-Emperor, then instantly fled, his evil, charming eyes filled with icy coldness.

"You won't get away." Dozens of Honghuang Quasi-Emperors snorted coldly and charged out of Youming Continent as streaks of blood-colored immortal light, pursuing relentlessly. Their ancient enmity, spanning eons, demanded a final resolution. The debt from when the Red Lotus Female Emperor incinerated the Eight Desolations Gods would be settled on the demonic figure.

After the demonic figure came Yue Huang, the empress of Great Chu, who rivaled any woman of this era. She was a peerless queen, a peak Quasi-Emperor whom no one could block. Treading over the blood and bones of Honghuang, she had forged her magnificent reputation as the Great Chu sovereign.

Those chasing her were also a formidable force, without exception, all Honghuang Quasi-Emperors.

Like Shen Jiang, Shengzun, the demonic figure, and Yue Huang, many more heavens' Quasi-Emperors and cultivators fled Youming Continent, each drawing away varying numbers of Honghuang powerhouses.

The most domineering was the Son of the Realm, whose domain immortal techniques had slain countless Honghuang beings. Despite the sky-filling Honghuang powerhouses trying to surround him, no one could stop him—nor was it possible.

Back in his half-dead state, he had broken through the Zhaxian Heavenly Emperor Array; now, it was even less of an issue. In short, if the Son of the Realm wanted to leave, no one could stop him. Too many Honghuang Quasi-Emperors were pulled into other domains, where the battles would be theirs alone.

Unfortunately, not all heavens' Quasi-Emperors were as powerful as them. The weaker and ordinary ones fell one after another.

If even Quasi-Emperors struggled to survive, those below them fared even worse—not falling one by one, but in massive waves, their blood and bones buried on Youming Continent.

"The heavens' destiny shall endure forever."

No one knew when, but a roar echoed across Youming Continent.

It was an old Youming Quasi-Emperor who self-destructed his body, his origin, divine soul, divine treasury, bloodline, and magical artifacts—all vanishing in the explosion, taking many Honghuang beings with him to the Yellow Springs.

"The heavens' destiny shall endure forever."

From the first self-destruction, such cries rang out continuously from all directions, triggering a chain reaction. From Qi Condensation realm to Quasi-Emperor level, too many fought in the bloodbath and chose to self-destruct.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Amid the dense Honghuang army, blood flowers bloomed one after another—strikingly brilliant and painfully vivid. The legendary Youming Continent had become a blood-red world.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

With the heavens' powerhouses dispersing in all directions, the starry roars no longer confined to Youming Continent. Standing in the void, one could hear thunder from the four seas and eight desolations—in dead star domains or on ancient stars with life. Wherever people were, battles raged.

On another front, Young Master Ye's dog-leading operation proceeded smoothly.

Since leaving the starry sky around Youming Continent, he had fled countless millions of miles, passing through who knows how many star domains, heading deeper into the stars—the farther, the better.

Behind him, hundreds of thousands of Honghuang powerhouses pursued without respite, like streaks of divine light. From afar, they looked like a meteor shower, carrying rolling Honghuang energy and rumbling through the starry sky. Ye Chen was dedicated to his task, and they were even more relentless, like dog-skin plasters that couldn't be shaken off.

"Fuse, fuse for me." As Ye Chen fled, he called out to the Taichu Divine Fire, hoping this heaven-defying flame would merge with the immortal fire during the heavens' crisis, helping him break through to Quasi-Emperor.

Sadly, the Taichu Divine Fire ignored him completely.

This left Young Master Ye so frustrated he nearly choked, coughing up several mouthfuls of old blood. If not for the war, he would have found a secluded spot to give this flame a thorough thrashing.

"The mighty Eucharist, only knowing how to run—what a joke." From behind came the Qiongqi Quasi-Emperor's furious shout, trying to use reverse psychology since he couldn't catch up.

"Over ten thousand of you chasing one Great Saint, and you have the nerve to say that?"

"A bunch of vermin."

"If you're so tough, where were you when the heavenly demons invaded? Hiding like turtles."

"All you Honghuang are brainless."

The Qiongqi Quasi-Emperor's words only fueled Ye Chen's fire. It was like injecting him with stimulants or gunpowder; his scolding flowed freely and satisfyingly.

The hundred thousand Honghuang powerhouses collectively erupted in anger, all activating forbidden techniques to boost their speed.

Ye Chen paid them no mind, his legs moving even faster as he used Shrinking Earth into Inches, not even glancing back.

This chase and escape went on for who knows how long until Ye Chen darted into a massive dead ancient star, manifesting his Saint War Dharma Body while he himself used Turning Universe into Dust to enter the dust space.

"Where do you think you're going?" The Honghuang powerhouses followed, covering the sky like a dark curtain.

"Idiots, a bunch of idiots." The Saint War Dharma Body cursed loudly and bolted into a mountain range.

The Honghuang forces couldn't stand being insulted and swarmed in after him.

Then, one by one, the mountains and peaks collapsed.

Amid the flying debris, the Saint War Dharma Body scrambled out, soaring into the sky as a golden immortal light and fleeing back into the starry expanse, drawing these "turtles" farther and farther away. The farther they went, the safer his true self would be.

Pathetically, those Honghuang talents, all so arrogant, failed to realize it was just a dharma body. Not only did they not notice, they chased even harder, attacking all the way, devastating the starry skies they passed through. The immense pressure caused them to collapse, and many stars exploded in the void.

To say the dharma body had spunk was an understatement—its escape skills were no less than the original's, and its fleeing posture was every bit as dominant. It was basically a perfect copy.

"Clever me." In the dust space, Ye Chen chuckled to himself as he watched the dharma body and Honghuang powerhouses depart. He was too injured and needed time to recover.

Closing his eyes in the void, he sat cross-legged, crushed a handful of pills, and absorbed them into his saint body—all healing elixirs that mended his broken bones and nourished his weary form.

Fortunately, the emperor path backlash within him had been completely erased by the Emperor Sword, Iron Stick, and Dragon Chair, eliminating that threat. The remaining wounds were minor.

As for the Six Paths Reincarnation Eye, it had gone blind from exhausting its pupil power, rendering all its immortal techniques useless. Restoring that power would take a long time.

Accompanied by rumbling sounds, he entered a meditative state.

In the tranquility, the swallowed Indestructible Immortal Body played a major role, its recovery incredibly domineering. His wounds healed rapidly, thoroughly dispelling the emperor path killing intent.

Not long after, fresh blood overflowed from his mouth.

This injury came from the Saint War Dharma Body, which had reached its time limit and, just before dissipating, charged into the Honghuang army for a spectacular self-destruction.

A dharma body's injury didn't affect the original, but its self-destruction did cause harm to the true self.

Still, these were all minor wounds.

Compared to him, the Honghuang powerhouses chasing the dharma body were truly in disarray. Who knew how many Great Saints and Saint Kings were blasted apart, with Quasi-Emperors sent flying everywhere. Once they stabilized, they spat out pent-up mouthfuls of old blood, spraying it several yards away—not from injury, but from rage. After chasing all that way, they had been after Ye Chen's dharma body the whole time, played for fools.

"Damn it!"

The Honghuang roars shook the starry sky, audible even from afar.