Chapter 2461: Variables in the Destiny

Fight!

Accompanied by the sovereign's roar, the emperor artifacts hummed to life, and over a thousand quasi-emperors moved in unison.

Ye Chen laughed mockingly, his eyes blazing with even greater ferocity.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The battle erupted, turning that stretch of starry sky into utter chaos.

Gazing from afar, it was like a demon god clashing against a thousand immortal kings, each one streaking through the stars like a divine ray, their forms blurring for those with lesser vision.

The void grew dim, with ethereal lightning and thunder crashing, extreme dao emperor light crisscrossing and outlining scenes of destruction. Every collision caused stars to collapse, every impact left people drenched in blood, and the surrounding celestial bodies exploded one after another, bathed in apocalyptic glow.

It was clear that the various heavens' quasi-emperors were at a disadvantage. In one-on-one combat, none could match Ye Chen, and no one could withstand even a single strike from him. Too many were left bleeding into the starry expanse, a sight that shocked the eyes.

The demonized and fused Ye Chen was truly overpowering, taking on a thousand opponents and dyeing the heavens red with blood. His rolling demonic aura only grew stronger, instantly devouring and turning any ordinary quasi-emperor who fell into it into ash.

The clanging sounds echoed endlessly, from the collisions of the Zhu Xian Sword and the emperor artifacts.

Looking closely, every emperor artifact that clashed with it was left with a sword scar. No one knew what material it was forged from—immensely tough, even resisting damage from emperor artifacts.

Boom! Rumble!

The rumbling shook the entire star domain, the battle raging from the eastern void to the northern ethereal realms. Wherever they passed, space shattered, yin and yang reversed, and all laws became illusory. Even the mere shockwaves could crush a quasi-emperor, and those below that level dared not approach.

The fight was brutal, truly to the death until one side fell.

The world's expressions turned pale, with people only daring to watch from a distance, not getting too close. Even a slight proximity could catch them in the aftermath—whether quasi-emperor or great saint, they would instantly turn to dust.

"Too strong."

Xiao Yuan Huang swallowed hard in secret, his heart trembling uncontrollably. In his eyes, his sworn brother Lao Qi was no longer Ye Chen, but a true demon god.

Kui Niu remained silent, his brows furrowed deeply, his expression grave. The hand holding his battle axe was shaking—the demon god's pressure was too immense, piercing his primordial spirit and making him unsteady on his feet.

The expressions of the various heavens' emperor-level figures were much the same, as if that were no longer a quasi-emperor, but a great emperor, capable of collapsing the eternal immortal vault with a casual gesture.

"What kind of era is this?"

Lian Yu Di Zi murmured in a daze, still struggling to believe it. With the emperor dao suppression in place, he wasn't a great emperor, yet he possessed the power to slaughter one. Over a thousand peak quasi-emperors couldn't even touch him.

Wang Chuan Di Nu, Huang Quan Di Zi, and Ming Tu Di Zi fell silent, unsure whether to call Ye Chen astonishing or terrifying. If placed in ancient times, even emperors would feel awkward.

Tian Xu Di Zi had lowered his eyes, likely understanding why the heavenly kings had unsealed them in this era. This age was extraordinary, with anomalies in the emperor dao and opportunities for emperor dao fortune.

"Yaochi." On the other side, Bei Sheng supported Ji Ning Shuang, calling out repeatedly.

Looking at Ji Ning Shuang, her expression was blank, her eyes hollow, like a puppet.

Struck by the backlash of the dream dao, she was now in a daze, her beautiful eyes devoid of any clarity. She stared quietly at the epic battle, not even recognizing that the supreme demon god was her Ye Chen.

"She's touched a taboo; we need the Jiu You Xian Qu to awaken her spirit," Zhu Que Gong Zhu frowned and said.

"It must be played by someone who loves her," Gu Zu Shen Nu pondered.

"I can barely take on this task." Long Jie adjusted his collar, as if about to smooth his hair. He loved Yaochi, whether married or not—it had always been that way. The name Yaochi was his lifelong conviction.

"If it can wake her, it's worth trying," Ling Zu Shen Nu glanced at Long Jie, her beautiful eyes filled with resentment and a hint of feminine jealousy that she couldn't hide.

"I'm just saving her," Long Jie coughed dryly.

"The dream dao backlash is different from others—you won't do. It has to be him playing it," Di Jiu Xian said seriously, uncharacteristically not playful. As she spoke, she glanced at Ye Chen, who was slaughtering all around. The immortal melody alone wasn't enough; it needed emotion, the kind of mutual affection. In this world, only Ye Chen could achieve that.

"Yaochi, I'll save him," Bei Sheng murmured softly, also gazing at that supreme demon god. Even though he was demonized, her hazy eyes were still filled with infatuation.

She was waiting, waiting for the quasi-emperors to suppress Ye Chen. It wouldn't take long—just a moment would do. She had her own way to erase his demonic nature. If one surge of purifying immortal power wasn't enough, she'd add her life to it. Even in burial, it would be purifying—the purest force in the world.

"What about the emperor lords? What about the female sacred body?"

"If this keeps up, the various heavens will suffer massive casualties. Such a commotion can't be unknown."

"Good or bad, he's a descendant of the sacred body lineage. How can they just sit back and watch?"

As Bei Sheng murmured, voices rose from all sides, full of doubt.

Clearly, the quasi-emperors were powerless to suppress Ye Chen—or rather, they couldn't catch him. With his Fei Lei Shen Jue, Da Lun Hui, Yong Heng Si Xu, Di Dao Hei An, and Xue Ji Xian Jie, he could fly, escape, hide, and evade. He had all the advantages, so more people wouldn't help. It would take the two supreme beings to act.

Unfortunately, after waiting a long time, the two great perfected sacred bodies still didn't appear.

The bystanders didn't know, but the great sects' ancestors did, feeling utterly helpless. With no supreme beings overseeing the various heavens, this mess had unfolded. Demonization was one thing, but he'd also activated all his god-level cheats.

In a patch of starry sky, Ren Wang stood with his hands behind his back.

Among so many, his expression was the most indifferent, as if he'd foreseen this scene.

Indeed, the all-knowing one had already deduced it.

But what of it?

Back then, even if he'd told Di Huang and Hong Yan, it would have been useless. Seal Ye Chen?

Don't be ridiculous—it couldn't be done. If they could seal Ye Chen, could they seal the Heavenly Emperor's curse?

With the two supreme beings present, the Mo Tian Huang's curse wouldn't manifest. Even if it did, Di Huang and Hong Yan couldn't eliminate it. Unless it was a great emperor, no one could erase a Heavenly Emperor-level curse.

They were stronger than great emperors, but they weren't emperors themselves.

What emperors could do, they couldn't.

This was a tribulation, one exclusive to Ye Chen. As the remnant soul of the human emperor, though he seemed unreliable on the surface, he'd secretly tried more than once to alter Ye Chen's fate to avoid this tribulation.

Alas, no matter what he did, he couldn't evade it.

This was a kind of inevitability in the shadows. Even with his heaven-piercing abilities, he couldn't change it—including the cursing of the Hong Chen Liu Dao and Ye Chen's demonization—all part of the fixed order.

So, he only dealt with outsiders. It was the fixed order, with its own variables.

At that thought, he turned his gaze sideways, looking toward one direction. His eyes scanned the vast crowd and settled on Bei Sheng. That young woman was the variable in the fixed order.

With no great emperors in the various heavens, she was the only one who could save Ye Chen.

But he didn't know if that woman was willing to scatter her soul for him.

He hadn't deduced that point. Whichever outcome, it was destined to leave scars across the world.

Suddenly, fresh blood overflowed from his mouth, and his face paled a bit. He'd tried multiple times to reverse the heavens and change Ye Chen's fate, touching too many heavenly secrets and suffering terrible backlash.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The starry sky shook as more joined the battle—five figures arriving from the distant stars.

Looking up, it was the five great heavenly kings of the forbidden zones, each wielding ancient war spears and treading the vast immortal rivers, carrying an aura of antiquity. If not for the Tian Zhu Di Mie transmission, they wouldn't have known such upheaval was occurring outside the Burial God Ancient Land. Ye Chen's demonization wasn't the scary part; what was terrifying was his fusion, along with that damned Zhu Xian Sword. Ye Chen's combat power was enough to slaughter great emperors.

The forbidden zones are joining the battle?

The world was astonished, yet even more puzzled. If even the forbidden zones had come, why hadn't the two great perfected sacred bodies appeared? Did they plan to let Ye Chen slaughter all the various heavens' cultivators before acting?

Under the watchful eyes of the masses, the five heavenly kings entered the fight.

However, adding five ancient peak quasi-emperors still wasn't enough. It wasn't that the various heavens' quasi-emperors were weak; Ye Chen was just too dominant. Though they had many emperor dao immortal techniques, they struggled to land a hit. Even when they did occasionally connect, it barely scratched him—Ye Chen's Xue Ji Xian Jie wasn't for show.

After fighting for so long, Ye Chen showed no wounds, while the quasi-emperors were injured worse than ever. Even powerhouses like Sheng Zun and Di Ji were far from sufficient.

In short, the various heavens' quasi-emperors could slaughter the Tian Mo Yu's great emperors, but they couldn't suppress the demonized Ye Chen. To handle someone with all god-level cheats, it would take a supreme being.

Speaking of supreme beings, the three realms had them—not just one, but two.

In the Nether Realm, Ming Di sat on a mountain peak, propping up his chin with one hand, his face expressionless.

This emperor simply watched quietly, making no move. What else could he do? Charge to the various heavens to help? He could suppress Ye Chen, but he'd face the entire Tian Mo Yu.

If the three realms were exposed, that would be the true apocalypse. Not even he, or all one hundred and thirty emperors of Xuan Huang, could withstand the Heavenly Demons' slaughter.

In the Heavenly Realm, Dao Zu's expression was similar. Emperors had their missions. Even if the human realm collapsed and all living beings perished, they had to guard the heavenly and nether realms to the death.

That was the responsibility he and Ming Di would protect until their last breath.

In that instant, Ming Jue lifted his eyes, gazing into the distance.

In that instant, Bai Zhi also raised her eyes, looking into the void.

One was Ming Di's disciple, the other Di Huang's disciple. It was as if they could see Ming Di at the peak of Jie Ming Shan through the endless cosmos, their eyes both filled with resolve.

That resolve was something only supreme beings could understand.

"Wait," Ming Di said faintly.

Boom!

No sooner had he spoken than a star domain collapsed, countless stars exploded, and several hundred peak quasi-emperors plummeted from the ethereal realms, each one covered in bloody bones, many with their physical forms destroyed.

Damn it!

Sheng Yuan Huang cursed loudly, transforming into a towering giant ape and swinging a heaven-piercing staff at Ye Chen.

Boom!

The starry sky collapsed again. Sheng Yuan Huang's staff strike was ferocious, but it didn't hit Ye Chen.

Because the demonized Ye Chen had used the Fei Lei Shen Jue to dodge easily. In this bloody war, his Fei Lei Shen Jue was invaluable—few could land a hit on him.

Boring!

Ye Chen chuckled darkly, casually stretching his neck and stepping through the vast cosmos, heading straight for one direction. His demonic aura surged like a tidal wave, yet he moved as if strolling through a courtyard, his steps profound. His body shifted between solid and illusory forms, covering a star domain with each step—his speed even faster than an emperor dao domain gate.

That's right, he wasn't fighting anymore—not out of conscience, but because something else had caught his interest.

"He's going to Da Chu," Tian Lao roared.

"Like hell it's Da Chu—it's Xuan Huang," Tian Zhu scolded.

The five heavenly kings had already paled, realizing the Zhu Xian Sword's intent. It would definitely go to the various heavens' gates, but this time, it was heading for the forbidden zones.

The secrets hidden in the forbidden zones were unknown to the world, but they knew, and the Zhu Xian Sword knew too.

If something went wrong in the forbidden zones, the consequences would be endless.