Chapter 2450: Speak Aside

Chapter 2450: Borrow a Step to Speak

At night, in Zangshen Gudi.

This was a mountain range, illuminated by bonfires, the air thick with the aroma of wine.

Those gathered were all of distinguished lineage, including the Forbidden Zone Young Emperors and the Various Heavens Emperor Sons. This marked their first true assembly. They had set up a large iron pot, stewing fragrant meat.

It was worth noting that Dongzhou Wuwang's handsome face looked rather disheveled tonight, as if he had taken a fall—right into the hands of Wangchuan Dinv, no less.

That was the consequence of teasing an emperor's daughter. They hadn't caught him that night, but they made up for it tonight. Not only him, but his teammate, Riyue Shenzi, also got a beating.

The other Emperor Sons glanced around, unsure why the two had been thrashed.

"Brat, I'll remember this debt." Zhiyan glanced at Songyu.

Dongzhou Wuwang just focused on rubbing his face, his head still buzzing. If he had known they would end up together like this, only a fool would have provoked a young empress. This beating was well-deserved.

While some were joking around, others were more serious.

For instance, Chenyi and Xizun occasionally looked at the Forbidden Zone Young Emperors. Only by sitting among them did they truly grasp their formidable nature—overflowing with vital energy and carrying profound Dao essences. The five Young Emperors were a testament to the Forbidden Zone's immense power, far beyond what the Emperor Sons could compare to.

Meanwhile, Tianxu Dizi and the others were subtly observing Ye Chen.

That guy was the true anomaly.

Tianxu Dizi felt it most acutely. The innate bloodline limit of the Shengti was already overbearing, but the demonized Ye Chen was even more terrifying, dominating the fight from beginning to end.

"In his normal state, could you defeat him?" Huangquan Dizi asked Tianxu Dizi.

This question made the ears of the Various Heavens Emperor Sons perk up.

"You'd have to fight to find out."

Tianxu Dizi replied calmly. He admitted he couldn't handle the demonized Ye Chen, but in their normal states, it was hard to say—who was stronger remained uncertain.

"I have faith in you." Lianyu Dizi tucked his hands away, feeling a bit melancholy. He didn't know if Tianxu Dizi could beat Ye Chen, but he himself definitely couldn't.

Huangquan Dizi, Mingtu Dizi, and Wangchuan Dinv all shook their heads with a smile.

"From what I see, those two will clash eventually." Kuiniu said meaningfully.

"He won't beat our seventh brother." Xiao Yuanhuang scratched his monkey fur.

Speaking of their seventh brother, he was still unconscious, lying on Beisheng's lap and sleeping soundly. Beisheng was quite considerate, barely moving for fear of waking Ye Chen—or perhaps she was just savoring the moment.

Under the moonlight, her cheeks were flushed with a hint of shyness, like a young bride. Tonight, this was the closest she had ever been to Ye Chen.

"So many beautiful women, and he gets them all." Xiao Yuanhuang grumbled to himself, tempted to kick Ye Chen where it would hurt. How could someone sleep on a beauty's lap and have such luck?

"This wine is so strong." Kuiniu rubbed his head, whether from dizziness or drunkenness, he wobbled as if he wanted to lie on Beisheng's lap too.

Beisheng reached out and pushed his head away, glaring at him fiercely. If not for fear of waking Ye Chen, she would have gotten up and kicked him with all her might.

"The Various Heavens are full of talents!"

Mingtu Dizi savored his wine, seriously looking around. The people before him were all prodigies of this era—some human, some beast, some Buddhist, some immortal. There were short ones, silent ones, serious ones, and unserious ones.

In short, they all had distinct personalities.

The most outrageous one was still the guy lying on someone's lap. He could sleep with the aura of a king, fight fiercely, and his skills with women were probably at their peak.

"Sharing an era with him must be awkward." Lianyu Dizi said earnestly, glancing at Ye Chen again. You're faking sleep, aren't you?

Wangchuan Dinv shook her head with a smile. It wasn't just the Various Heavens Emperor Sons who felt awkward—the Forbidden Zone Young Emperors did too. Even Tianxu Dizi had been beaten; what chance did the rest have?

And there was still one Young Empress who hadn't arrived, Ye Chen's wife, that legendary extraordinary woman. She must be exceptionally elegant, a perfect match for Ye Chen.

"Our Various Heavens folk are tough. In the future, watch your step and your back."

Baihu Taizi was drunk, draping an arm around Lianyu Dizi's neck and chuckling.

This remark made the five Young Emperors raise their eyebrows.

Anyone from the Various Heavens would understand: watch your step to avoid stepping on landmines, and watch your back to avoid sneak attacks.

The people of this era sure know how to talk.

That was Huangquan Dizi's assessment of the Emperor Sons. Not to boast, but in their era, anyone who talked like that probably wouldn't make it out the door without getting beaten.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The mountains were full of joy, but elsewhere in Zangshen Gudi, the booms echoed everywhere. Treasure seekers had watched a spectacle and were now fighting again. Wherever there was opportunity, there was bloodshed.

After three rounds of drinks, Ye Chen woke up, rubbing his brow hard. He felt like he had had a dream, his mind foggy. Seeing everyone, he still felt disoriented. How did I end up here?

No one spoke, giving Ye Chen time to gather his thoughts.

Soon, he regained clarity and recalled the events in the otherworldly space. But his memories only went up to before the demonization; everything after was a blank.

Beisheng was thoughtful, sending him a divine sense message. It contained a record of the otherworldly space events, replaying the scenes more effectively than any explanation.

Ye Chen reviewed it, his brows furrowing. "How did I demonize again?"

"It's a curse." Tianxu Dizi said flatly, his tone not particularly friendly. Though silent by nature, he wasn't one to forget grudges—Ye Chen had beaten him badly in that space.

A curse?

Ye Chen frowned at the words, seeing from Tianxu Dizi's expression that he wasn't lying.

If it wasn't a lie, then they needed to discuss it.

All along, he had thought his demonization came from karmic obstacles, but it turned out to be a curse—and he had been completely unaware, not even knowing who cursed him.

Not just him; everyone present, including Tianxu Dizi, was in the dark.

They had seen curses cause demonization before, but Ye Chen's was on another level—truly demonic and terrifying. Even the innate bloodline limit Shengti had been hammered down. Who could compare in demonization?

"Borrow a step to speak."

While Ye Chen was pondering, Tianxu Dizi stood up and stepped onto a mountain peak.

The gesture was clear: what he was about to say involved secrets, and among the Various Heavens crowd, only Ye Chen was qualified to hear it.

Ye Chen said nothing and soared up, landing on the peak.

The Various Heavens Emperor Sons grumbled, feeling annoyed. As the saying goes, you should share with those around you, but here he was, hiding things and playing coy. Was that appropriate?

Not to exaggerate, but if these five were just Emperor Sons, they would have been beaten already—men and women alike. Wait, no, not the women; you would have to chat about ideals with them.

On the mountaintop, Tianxu Dizi waved his hand to set up a barrier, isolating the surroundings.

"What is the true origin of Zangshen Gudi?" Ye Chen began.

"An ancient battlefield." Tianxu Dizi didn't evade, answering straightforwardly.

"One side was your Ancient Heavenly Court; what about the other?" Ye Chen's question trailed off as he looked at Tianxu Dizi. That was exactly his doubt—who was the force that had defeated the Ancient Heavenly Court so devastatingly, despite it housing multiple emperors?

"I won't answer that for now. Let's talk about our mission here." Tianxu Dizi continued leisurely, "The Heavenly King said before that Zangshen Gudi contains forces opposed to the Ancient Heavenly Court. To be precise, it's not a force—it's a person. Our mission is to find that person, no matter the cost, and exterminate them."

"That person is the mysterious Shengti?" Ye Chen probed.

"At first, I didn't know who we were seeking, and the Heavenly King didn't specify. It was only upon seeing them that I realized, and it shocked me—it was an ancient Shengti."

"So, the one who destroyed the Ancient Heavenly Court was from the Huanggu Shengti lineage?"

"If the Heavenly King didn't lie, then yes, from your Huanggu Shengti lineage." Tianxu Dizi took a deep breath.

Ye Chen fell silent, his brows tightly knit.

The secrets Tianxu Dizi revealed were hard to believe. The Ancient Heavenly Court's downfall was due to the Huanggu Shengti lineage—or more accurately, the first kind of Shengti.

"Can you tell me the secrets of your Shengti?" Tianxu Dizi looked at Ye Chen.

"Ask your Heavenly King instead." Ye Chen shook his head with a smile.

He wanted to explain, but the problem was, he didn't know himself.

Not just him—even if Di Huang were brought back, he might not know. Well, he probably knew now, since his partner must have revealed the secrets. But Ye Chen wasn't qualified to hear them. The ancient era held too many secrets; even Di Huang hadn't been eligible back then, let alone a minor Shengti like him.

"Looks like we'll have to ask the mysterious Shengti." Tianxu Dizi sighed.

"Do you know where he is?"

"I don't, but he's definitely still in the ancient ground." Tianxu Dizi said slowly, "The Heavenly King said the person we're seeking can't leave this place, or they'll face calamity. Besides, he has a weakness—within a certain time frame, he'll be in a weakened state. Only after that can he recover and freely activate his bloodline limit."

Ye Chen fell silent again, only believing about half of what Tianxu Dizi said.

Including this Zangshen Gudi, described as an ancient battlefield, there must be more hidden secrets—why the yearly suppression, why the cultivation restrictions.

And why couldn't the mysterious Shengti leave?

"We need to find him as quickly as possible, in the shortest time." Tianxu Dizi added, "Once he recovers from his weakened state, no one will be able to stop him."

Ah!

Before Ye Chen could respond, screams echoed—from all directions.

"Evil spirits! There are evil spirits!"

The howls rose one after another, filled with terror and agony. It seemed the evil spirits were numerous and extremely powerful, with many people being slaughtered.

"He's made his move." Tianxu Dizi said.

"His goal is obvious: to buy time." Ye Chen replied calmly. Even through the vast distance, he could see hordes of monsters rampaging and killing living beings. Their numbers were enormous, a dark mass covering the earth and sky.

Below, the Forbidden Zone Young Emperors and Various Heavens Emperor Sons had all stood up, stepping into the air with shining eyes, gazing into the distance—all with narrowed gazes, seeing the terrifying scene.

Tianxu Dizi waved his hand and summoned a divine pearl, suspending it in the air. The pearl was a fine treasure, but it emitted no light, dull as a stone.

Ye Chen recognized it as a tool for locating people, with no offensive power. Clearly, Tianxu Dizi had used it to find the mysterious Shengti, though he hadn't known it was a Shengti at the time.

"No trace." Tianxu Dizi shook his head.

Ye Chen didn't speak, raising his hand to drip a drop of his Sheng blood into the pearl. Since it could locate the mysterious Shengti, adding his own blood might help.

His guess was correct—the pearl immediately glowed.

Then, an image appeared within it: a dark palace, where a figure in black robes sat healing. It was the mysterious Shengti.

Ah!

Screams filled Zangshen Gudi, accompanied by the wails of fierce ghosts, making hearts tremble.

From above, the scene was horrific. Under the night sky, hordes of bizarrely shaped demons blanketed the land and sky like a black carpet.

These were evil spirits, formed from resentment, malice, and evil thoughts. They were pitch-black, their bodies twisted—some with three heads and six arms, others without eyes but with wings—grotesque and terrifying, incredibly powerful, shrouded in yinsha qi as they rampaged across the world, slaughtering living beings.

Even more evil spirits were emerging from the ground, like ghosts from hell, clawing and lunging at any living soul, intent on dragging them into the nine underworlds.

Run!

The treasure-seeking cultivators fled in panic, many being swallowed mid-escape by ghostly faces that materialized out of nowhere, devoured whole without a trace.

The sight was bloody, with countless people being eaten or torn to pieces. The dim heavens were stained red, and the screams surged like ocean waves.

"Withdraw from Zangshen Gudi."

A majestic and desolate voice echoed through the sky—it was Ye Chen, already charging in, with Tianxu Dizi at his side, along with the four other Forbidden Zone Young Emperors and the Various Heavens Emperor Sons. Like streaks of divine light, they sped toward the ancient ground's depths, following the pearl's guidance.

"These aren't ordinary evil spirits." Nandi crossed a mountain peak, offering that assessment.

No one needed him to say it; everyone present knew.

The evil spirits in Zangshen Gudi were different from those outside. Whether resentment, malice, or evil thoughts, their power was stronger than any seen before, infused with a strange force that made these spirits even more fearsome.

This had to be the mysterious Shengti's doing—he could summon evil spirits and empower them with some kind of magic, making them far stronger than regular ones. Ordinary cultivators stood no chance.

"He's absorbing the souls of the living." Wuji Dizi narrowed his eyes.

"Clearly, he wants to restore his strength this way." Tianque Dizi snorted coldly.

"Charge straight through."

Ye Chen gripped his blood-stained imperial sword, stepping across the void and splitting an evil spirit in two with one strike. Suddenly, a massive ghostly face appeared behind him, twisted and hideous with enormous dark eyes gleaming menacingly, full of savage ferocity as it opened its maw to devour him.

But it had picked the wrong target. Before it could swallow him, Ye Chen smacked it into oblivion.