Chapter 2305: The Primordial Submits

Kill!

Fight!

The flames of war blazed across the Nan Chu city walls, fierce and overwhelming, as the battle between Hong Huang and Zhu Tian raged with brutal intensity. The resistance of the common people was stained with fresh blood, leaving no time even for tears.

Looking down from the heavens, more than half of the Nan Chu walls had already been breached by Hong Huang.

Yet, despite this, the Zhu Tian cultivators continued to fight fiercely, their boiling battle spirit burning like fire. They charged forward without regard for their lives, and for every inch of land that Hong Huang claimed, they exacted a heavy toll in return.

Amidst the roars, countless Zhu Tian warriors surged onto the walls.

But within those roars, a graceful figure retreated from the walls, streaking like a divine light toward the borderlands of Nan Chu. Her entire body was enveloped in purple flames, adding a splash of brilliant color to the dim skies of Da Chu. In the heavens, she traced a beautiful arc.

She was Nian Wei, not a deserter, but someone on a mission to find Ye Chen.

Or, more precisely, it was the Tai Chu Shen Huo seeking Ye Chen, intent on merging with the Xian Huo. For Ye Chen had truly earned the qualifications to advance to Zhǔn Dì, and it would serve as the stepping stone for that ascent.

"Thank you." Nian Wei smiled wearily, blood constantly overflowing from her lips. Her once lovely form was now drenched in blood, her body covered in countless wounds, each one tinged with a dim, destructive light that drained her vital energy. Far from healing, the injuries only spread wider.

The Tai Chu Shen Huo remained silent, merely trembling slightly.

That tremble conveyed a certain message, one that only Nian Wei could understand in all the Three Realms.

"I should have realized it earlier." Nian Wei truly understood it.

In that instant, her weary smile took on a touch of melancholy beauty, as if mist had gathered in her eyes, condensing into frost under the faint moonlight. Her silhouette appeared all the more desolate and ancient.

She lowered her gaze, greedily taking in the mountains and rivers of Da Chu, as if etching every flower, blade of grass, tree, and shrub into her soul, wishing to carry them with her for eternity and remember them forever.

As she watched, her delicate form began to transform inch by inch into flames, morphing into purple Xian Huo. Her bloodline, origin, divine repository, memories—everything intertwined with the Tai Chu Shen Huo, passing on certain memories and offering up her entire life as a sacrifice.

Yet, she harbored no regrets, smiling with a bold and tragic grace, her tenderness as a woman shining through the sorrow.

Her feelings were ancient, tracing back to a previous life, sparked by a fragment of the Di Jue, forging a karmic bond with the Heavenly Court Holy Lord. That love had followed her into this lifetime.

"Ye Chen, will you remember me after a thousand years?"

Accompanied by her murmured words of affection, her final smile lingered in the world as she fully dissolved into flames. In the moment before her complete dissipation, she gazed toward Nan Chu, as if piercing through the endless void to see that weathered figure. Her hazy, beautiful eyes were filled with a woman's tender emotions.

Suddenly, an ancient immortal melody seemed to echo, and a stunning beauty faded away like smoke.

"What is love in this world?" the Female Sheng Ti murmured, staring blankly toward the south.

Her eyes were full of confusion, glimmering with a distant light.

The Female Huang Gu Sheng Ti was the only one among the Zhu Tian people to bid Nian Wei farewell, watching her depart and witnessing her transformation into flames inch by inch.

To this day, she still did not understand love, nor what it truly meant.

Also seeing Nian Wei off were the two supreme beings of the Ming Jie.

Compared to Di Huang, Ming Di's expression showed not the slightest fluctuation, and he was not at all surprised by Nian Wei's sacrifice, as if he had known all along that this was inevitable.

Di Huang stood quietly, his brows slightly furrowed.

Only now did he truly comprehend that Ye Chen's path to advancing to Zhǔn Dì required more than just the Tai Chu Shen Huo—it needed blood and tears, emotion and fate, and the sacrifice of a certain woman.

And that woman had to be Nian Wei; only she could unlock those inherited memories, offer herself up, and perfectly merge with the Tai Chu Shen Huo. No one else could take her place.

Ah!

The Da Cheng Sheng Ti let out a sigh, another tale of love left in ruins.

And Ye Chen, as the descendant of the Sheng Ti, was destined to owe Nian Wei another lifetime in this cycle. She had waited for him for sixty years in the previous reincarnation, but this time, it would cost her life.

"No more sighing. Prepare early," Ming Di said leisurely.

Di Huang said nothing, fully understanding the situation. Ye Chen was about to advance to Zhǔn Dì, truly gaining the qualifications to connect with him. They had waited endless ages for this very day.

"About to leave, and I must say, it's a bit hard to let go," Ming Di sighed as well.

Di Huang glanced sideways at him, his eyes conveying everything: Is it appropriate for a great emperor like you to be so sentimental? If not for the restrictions of the laws, do you think I want to stay here?

His look irritated Ming Di greatly.

When a great emperor was displeased, he was bound to do something earth-shattering, like dragging the Ten Kings of Yan Luo over for a thorough beating; or, in the dead of night, sneaking a peek at a certain female emperor's exclusive collection—the one-of-a-kind version from the Three Realms that, if leaked, would throw the world into chaos.

Di Huang withdrew his gaze and looked toward Da Chu.

Nian Wei had completed her sacrifice, and the Tai Chu Shen Huo, carrying its mission, sped toward the borderlands of Nan Chu. Its flames flickered as if in grief, for from the moment it saw Nian Wei, it had sealed its fate. This sacrifice was truly a betrayal of its previous master.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

In the borderlands of Nan Chu, thunderous booms echoed without end, the fluctuations of battle vast and chaotic.

Gazing into the distance, one could see mountain peaks collapsing one after another, disrupting the heavens and earth, reversing the four symbols and yin-yang. Streaks of destructive immortal light crisscrossed, painting a scene of apocalypse.

This was the ongoing battle between Yu Hua Xian Wang and Jiu Tian Xuan Nu.

It was worth noting that Jiu Tian Xuan Nu was gradually falling to a disadvantage, solely because the mysterious power enhanced by the Zhu Xian Jian was slowly waning—one use meant one less portion.

While they fought, on another front, Ye Chen was battling the Zhu Xian Jian. The clashing of metal rang out incessantly, the shockwaves immense, leveling the surrounding mountains.

Ye Chen now appeared somewhat different from before.

His eyes were even deeper, evolving endless Dao insights that he disdained to toast away. His Hun Dun Dao was adorned with Bi An flowers, gaining a breath of life and a certain power—the defying law of time. It was precisely this law that cloaked him in a layer of mystery.

Having comprehended "one thought of eternity," he no longer needed to seek enlightenment; he only awaited the arrival of the Tai Chu Shen Huo for the fusion. He knew it was on its way and understood the painstaking effort behind it.

Buzz! Buzz!

The Zhu Xian Jian buzzed angrily, filled with rage and fear, for the transformed Ye Chen had become too strange. He kept turning fleeting moments into eternal constants, not just for events, but targeted at it, rendering its killing strikes useless.

Bang!

Ye Chen shattered the firmament with a single step, delivering a heavenly sword strike that carved out a river of destruction.

The Zhu Xian Jian could not withstand it and was flipped back by the sword, its multicolored immortal light dimming further. Before it could steady itself, Ye Chen was upon it again, strike after strike, each more domineering than the last, sending it tumbling through the air. It had no power to counter.

Seal!

Dong Fang Cang Qing, and Yu Hua Xian Wang held the upper hand as well, slamming Jiu Tian Xuan Nu into the void with one palm. At the same time, he deployed the Feng Tian Xian Array to seal her, then with a wave of his hand, confined her within his life-bound artifact. Afterward, he charged straight toward the Zhu Xian Jian, his killing intent icy cold.

Zheng!

The Zhu Xian Jian let out a sharp ring, shattering the void, and vanished in an instant.

Ye Chen did not pursue, and neither did the Xian Wang. There was no need to chase further.

However, the departure of the Zhu Xian Jian made Ming Di and Di Huang want to laugh.

That damned Zhu Xian Jian was truly a love-hate figure! It had come to cause trouble, failed to kill Ye Chen, and instead delivered another opportunity to him. This opportunity would help Ye Chen attain Zhǔn Dì, assist him in connecting with Di Huang, and then aid Zhu Tian in repelling Hong Huang.

"It's here." Ye Chen murmured softly, his gaze piercing into the distance.

In the northern void, the Tai Chu Shen Huo appeared as a streak of purple immortal light, cutting across the vast sky. Carrying Nian Wei's affections and the mission of the common people, it entered Ye Chen's Dantian.