Chapter 2453: Tricky

"How is that possible?"

Ye Chen's eyes gleamed sharply, fixed intently on the mysterious Shen Ti and the immortal sword he gripped. Covered in seven-colored immortal light and etched with ancient divine patterns, it was unmistakably the Zhu Xian Jian. He couldn't be wrong, but in his memory, the Zhu Xian Jian had already departed for the Taigu Honghuang.

Had it secretly returned?

Ye Chen pondered this in his heart; if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it.

Not only him, but the Ming Di of the Underworld and the Dao Zu of the Heavenly Realm also furrowed their brows. They had no idea how that accursed Zhu Xian Jian was still in the Zhutian or how it had come back.

Could it freely enter and exit the Taigu Honghuang?

This was the speculation of the two supreme beings—a genuine surprise today.

Like Ye Chen, Tianxu Dizi's gaze was ice-cold and unyielding, as if he recognized the Zhu Xian Jian and knew of its ancient grudge with the Heavenly Court. In the war from eons past, countless lives and ancient Heavenly Court warriors had fallen to its blade.

Boom! Rumble!

As they watched, the entire world shook. The sky thundered with lightning, and the earth trembled as mountains collapsed one by one, unable to bear the immense pressure.

That pressure emanated from the mysterious Shen Ti.

The arrival of the Zhu Xian Jian had not only saved him and broken his seal but also amplified his combat power. Every wisp of seven-colored immortal light radiating from his body seemed to hold boundless strength. The Zhu Xian Jian was enigmatic, making him enigmatic as well. Divine patterns marked his forehead, and his wounds healed in an instant, as if infused with some profound power, exuding a terrifying aura.

"What a wonderful feeling."

The mysterious Shen Ti closed his eyes, leisurely twisting his neck and savoring the sensation greedily. Behind him, various visions of destruction materialized, interwoven with mysterious laws, accompanied by the resounding echoes of the Great Dao, brimming with an irresistible magical force.

From a distance, he resembled a god king, yet more akin to a demon god. The Zhu Xian Jian had cloaked him in immortal glory while adding an ancient demonic essence.

This sight made Ye Chen frown, for the mysterious Shen Ti's power had surged to its peak, rivaling the bloodline limit state, making him far out of reach as an opponent.

Tianxu Dizi's expression was equally grave.

"Ants."

The mysterious Shen Ti finally opened his eyes, smirking at Ye Chen and Tianxu Dizi, his lips curling with amusement and his gaze full of disdain. The Zhu Xian Jian's arrival had granted him a fearsome power, one that overshadowed them both.

"It's tricky now." Tianxu Dizi's face darkened.

Ye Chen said nothing, still mulling over the Zhu Xian Jian. It had entered the Taigu Honghuang before Di Huang and Hong Yan—how had it returned while they remained unaccounted for? Had they emerged?

In that instant, an ominous premonition washed over him. Seeing the Zhu Xian Jian in the Zhutian again, he sensed that Di Huang and Hong Yan had met some calamity in the Taigu Honghuang.

Bang!

While lost in thought, the mysterious Shen Ti lunged forward, shattering the sky and surging with overwhelming divine might.

Tianxu Dizi snorted coldly, channeling a Dao law with his sword to form a galaxy.

"Overestimating yourself."

The mysterious Shen Ti sneered with contempt, erasing the galaxy with one palm and countering with a sword flip that cleaved the universe, sending Tianxu Dizi flying. The Zhu Xian Jian hummed, piercing their minds with pain.

Zheng!

Ye Chen's assault followed, his sword embodying the wind god—a divine ability of absolute slaughter.

The mysterious Shen Ti dodged in a flash, soaring to the ninth heaven, and struck from mid-air, rending the sky. But he missed Ye Chen, who had used Fei Lei Shen to teleport behind him. From Ye Chen's forehead, the Shen Shang divine light burst forth, aimed at the mysterious Shen Ti's primordial spirit.

The mysterious Shen Ti snorted, a vortex materializing on his forehead to swallow the divine light.

Ba Huang Zhan!

Ye Chen's strike was utterly dominant, the golden blade light more blinding than the sun.

The mysterious Shen Ti tried to evade, but a restraining force suddenly immobilized him.

The restraint came from Tianxu Dizi, who had positioned Ye Chen as the main force while he, the foremost young emperor of the forbidden zone, served as support, coordinating unconditionally.

Buzz!

In that moment of restraint, the blade light struck, truly formidable. Even the mysterious Shen Ti was split in two by Ye Chen's blade, golden blood erupting.

Yet, his severed sacred body healed instantly, the wound enveloped in seven-colored immortal light with the power to revive the dead and mend flesh, restoring his form.

Di Dao Fen Li!

Ye Chen shouted coldly, invoking the immortal law passed down by Hong Yan to separate the Zhu Xian Jian from the mysterious Shen Ti. The Zhu Xian Jian was powerful but required a host body. With Tianxu Dizi restraining it, that was settled; the mysterious Shen Ti was Ye Chen's target. Defeating them individually was the true path to victory.

Regrettably, ideals clashed with reality. Di Dao Fen Li proved ineffective against the mysterious Shen Ti—or more precisely, against the Zhu Xian Jian. Some unknown divine ability had neutralized it.

"Ants, tremble!"

The mysterious Shen Ti's voice was icy and desolate, laced with majesty and magic.

He summoned the sea of evil thoughts, where resentful spirits writhed and wailed, disrupting the mind. The sea surged wildly, engulfing Ye Chen and attempting to drag him into the nine abysses.

Ye Chen refused to yield, transforming the power of karmic ties into an immortal sea to block it.

One was karmic ties, the other evil thoughts; one churned violently, the other raged fiercely. They clashed in the virtual sky, devouring each other, yet neither gained the upper hand.

"Don't be hasty—there's more."

The mysterious Shen Ti ascended to the ethereal realm, his sword pointed downward, summoning billions of immortal swords that buzzed like a Ten Thousand Swords Homing, but far more aggressive. Each sword carried a force of annihilation; once it entered a body, it would take root and grow, nearly impossible to eradicate.

Tianxu Dizi stood firm, forming a seal with one hand to conjure a shield above them, inscribed with Dao principles and array patterns—a defensive imperial Dao immortal law.

Pound! Pound! Pound!

Countless immortal swords struck the shield, sparking brilliant fires. Though the shield withstood the assault, the mysterious Shen Ti's swords were equally devastating, fracturing the shield bit by bit.

Ni Shi Lun Hui!

Ye Chen snorted coldly, unleashing the reincarnation immortal law. Vortices of reincarnation formed around him, spinning rapidly and annihilating any sword that touched them.

Seeing his divine ability thwarted, the mysterious Shen Ti's face twisted in fury. He raised his hand and slammed down a palm, a massive five-finger seal like a sky cover, as heavy as a mountain, crushing the heavens in its path.

Both charged forward—one soaring to the ninth heaven, the other rising against the sky. Tianxu Dizi blocked the sky-covering palm, while Ye Chen broke into the ethereal, striking to shatter the universe.

The mysterious Shen Ti gritted his teeth, dodging instantly and reappearing like a phantom, thrusting a finger. Ye Chen tried to use Fei Lei Shen, but the reincarnation mark had been erased, leaving him unable to evade. His forehead was pierced, a bloody hole leaking golden blood.

He was wounded, but the mysterious Shen Ti was evolving further, drawing some unknown power that amplified his aura and combat prowess. The humming Zhu Xian Jian flashed with unprecedented seven-colored immortal light.

Now, confirmation was unnecessary; its master was clearly an ancient Shen Ti of the first kind, perfectly fused with the mysterious Shen Ti.

Boom!

Half the sky collapsed under the mysterious Shen Ti's pressure. Another divine pattern appeared on his forehead, golden divine light intertwining with seven-colored immortal light, birthing a mysterious force that made even Ye Chen's heart race.

Roar!

With a dragon's roar, the mysterious Shen Ti transformed into a divine dragon, pitch-black and gleaming with seven-colored light—an external manifestation of the Dao. It rampaged through the ethereal realm, disrupting the laws.

Ye Chen steadied himself and, with Tianxu Dizi at his side—one to the left, one to the right—like immortal light and divine light, they entered the void. Ye Chen became a Qilin, and Tianxu Dizi a White Tiger.

One divine dragon, one Qilin, one White Tiger—they battled once more, the scene eerily familiar. In another space, they had fought like this before, and that time, Ye Chen and his ally had been defeated.

This time, the outcome was the same. Both the Qilin and White Tiger were riddled with wounds, blood raining down. The divine dragon's recovery was overwhelmingly powerful, its body unmarked as it suppressed them relentlessly, even extinguishing Tianxu Dizi's vital blood due to his slightly weaker foundation.

Boom! Rumble!

The entire ancient land shook; the Zhutian cultivators battled the evil spirits, while Ye Chen and Tianxu Dizi fought the mysterious Shen Ti. Wherever they passed, mountains crumbled and rivers dried up, tearing the world asunder.

"You all cannot defeat me."

These words, thundering with might, echoed across the heavens, spoken by the mysterious Shen Ti like a divine decree. Though in dragon form, its dragon head was hideously fearsome.

As he declared, Ye Chen and Tianxu Dizi were outmatched, both falling from the void—one crashing into a peak, the other smashing through a great mountain—both drenched in blood and broken bones.

Buzz! Buzz!

Before they could regain their footing, two pillars of light descended from the sky, enveloping them precisely. These were no ordinary pillars; they were seals wreathed in seven-colored immortal light, their binding force immense. Even Ye Chen and Tianxu Dizi's strength couldn't break free.

The mysterious Shen Ti reverted to human form, standing in the ninth heaven and surveying the world below, his pressure still mounting. The Zhu Xian Jian's enhancement had elevated his power beyond the bloodline limit.

"Tian Wang, this turn of events must have been beyond your expectations." Tianxu Dizi drew a deep breath; his bloodline essence was sealed, his Dao principles bound, leaving him immobile. He didn't know the nature of the seal, only that it was extraordinarily strong.

Indeed, this development was unforeseen by Tian Wang. Even the Ming Di and Dao Zu were unaware the Zhu Xian Jian had returned to the Zhutian, let alone anyone else. In the Burial God Ancient Land, with the Zhu Xian Jian's aid, no one could rival the mysterious Shen Ti.

Ye Chen fared no better, sealed tightly and unable to invoke Fei Lei Shen Jue. His eternal thought and reincarnation immortal law were utterly suppressed. He even considered using the Great Reincarnation Heavenly Dao to escape.

Unfortunately, in this ancient land, the Great Reincarnation Heavenly Dao was also restrained.

The mysterious Shen Ti's strength stemmed from the Zhu Xian Jian; it was the true transcendent force, capable of emerging from the Taigu Honghuang and evading Di Huang and Hong Yan's pursuit, demonstrating its terror.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Ye Chen remarked casually, referring to Tianxu Dizi. Though immobilized, Ye Chen used his divine sense to observe him, noting the odd expression.

"It's nothing." Tianxu Dizi coughed lightly and withdrew his divine sense.

This young emperor was intriguing; his gaze toward Ye Chen suggested otherwise. He likely hoped for Ye Chen to demonize again; otherwise, they were both doomed.

"I said I would kill you."

The mysterious Shen Ti eyed Ye Chen with a savage, violent grin. It was this lesser Shen Ti that had thwarted him repeatedly, fueling his rage to madness.

Without delay, he struck, pointing a finger from afar and locking onto Ye Chen's primordial spirit. The finger light was devastating, capable of scattering his soul.

Yet, at that moment, a dreamlike figure suddenly appeared, her jade hand crystalline as she erased the finger light with a palm. From within her, two immortal swords flew out, shattering the light pillars and releasing the seals on Ye Chen and Tianxu Dizi.

She was, naturally, Dong Shen Yao Chi.

"I'm not too late for the future!" Ji Ning Shuang smiled lightly.

"If you were any later, you'd be a widow." Ye Chen laughed, standing beside his wife.

"Dong Shen Yao Chi truly lives up to her reputation." Tianxu Dizi stepped forward, joining them, beholding this legendary extraordinary woman for the first time and feeling genuine astonishment.