Chapter 2478: Borrowing the Heavenly Realm's Technique

Under the moonlight, the Donghai was peaceful.

In the underwater Longgong, Ye Chen was quite relaxed, with the palace gates tightly shut. He held a wooden sword, moving slowly through a set of forms, each one deliberate and infused with profound Dao essence.

After a trial of tribulation, he had lost his Saint Body bloodline, gaining instead a touch of ordinariness. The Chaos Dao was one path, and returning to simplicity was another; what he sought was the most fundamental insight.

In a few fleeting moments, he gained occasional enlightenment, along with a vague notion—that one day, he might abandon the Saint Body and transform into an ordinary physique. A domineering bloodline was formidable, but at a certain level, it could become a shackle.

His insights were unknown to Hong Jun; if Hong Jun knew, he would surely be shocked.

For the supreme Dao Ancestor was contemplating the same thing at that very moment.

Endless changes of sea and mulberry fields had been shaped by the Chaos bloodline, yet it was also the Chaos bloodline that bound him. He wished to discard it and, with the most ordinary form, comprehend the Great Dao.

Ye Chen's sword techniques shifted between fast and slow, brimming with Dao essence and leaving trails of afterimages.

It was as if he were no longer a person, but a Dao itself.

Hong Jun watched him quietly, his deep and boundless emperor eyes flickering with profound light—part surprise, part nostalgia. It was as though, through Ye Chen, he saw the shadow of Di Zun.

He was Hong Jun, the ruler of the Heavenly Realm, who in ancient times had witnessed Di Zun's entire life—from stepping onto the immortal path to achieving the emperor's Dao. He was one of those who understood Di Zun best.

The supreme Di Zun, the tenth emperor of Da Chu—the two were so alike, in temperament and intellect alike. From that unreliable silhouette, one could see a belief, an unyielding resolve against heaven and fate. It was an unbreakable legend.

In the Longgong, Ye Chen had sheathed his sword and pulled out a wine flask.

Now, he seemed slightly different, his every gesture carrying a mysterious aura, subtle and elusive, much like his shameless demeanor—quite restless.

This night was not entirely peaceful; there were visitors again.

Through the palace gates, one could see a fierce and malevolent figure—it was not a human cultivator, but a Xiezi Jing, extremely brutal. In its hand, it held a mortal's corpse, which it was devouring, blood dripping from its mouth. The sight alone was nauseating.

Accompanying it was a woman in black, strikingly seductive in appearance and demeanor, a Zhuzhu Jing who had cultivated a human form. She was wiping blood from her lips, apparently having just feasted on someone. Her enchanting eyes gleamed with a murderous intent.

"This place has turned into a Longgong?" the Zhuzhu Jing exclaimed in surprise, glancing at the plaque and surveying the surroundings. She confirmed they hadn't taken a wrong turn.

"Lao Liu has always been eccentric; it's not strange for him to change the palace name," the Xiezi Jing said, opening its massive maw and swallowing the bloody corpse in one gulp.

"Looks like they're here to visit relatives too."

Ye Chen stroked his chin, needing no questions to know that these two spirits were from the same group as the earlier Wugong Jing. They might even share the same sect, though the Wugong Jing had escaped faster, while these two were slower.

"Shidi, aren't you going to open the gates?" the Zhuzhu Jing said with a coquettish smile, incredibly alluring. Most people couldn't resist it; her Dao was one of seduction.

Well, Ye Chen actually opened the door.

The two spirits smiled and entered together. Once inside, their smiles faded. They didn't see their sixth shidi, but instead, a Shitou Jing lounging with legs crossed, grinning at them. His smile was bright, but it felt chilling no matter how they looked at it.

"Who are you?" the Xiezi Jing frowned.

"Like you two, here to visit relatives," Ye Chen shrugged.

"You little Shitou Jing, how dare you be so disobedient," the Zhuzhu Jing laughed with a demonic edge, closing her beautiful eyes for a moment before suddenly opening them wide, her gaze filled with eerie light.

Ye Chen laughed and glanced back casually.

In that brief eye contact, the Zhuzhu Jing spat blood and staggered back, her eyes filled with horror. This shocked the Xiezi Jing as well—a minor Lingxu Realm junior had made a Kongming Realm expert retreat with just a look. How terrifying was this little Shitou Jing?

"Heaven has a path you won't take, and hell has no gate yet you charge in."

As the two were stunned, Ye Chen's ethereal voice rang out. Before the words faded, two beams of divine light shot forth, piercing their brows from left and right simultaneously.

Amid the spray of blood, the two spirits were instantly slain, their eyes wide with fear and frustration. What kind of twist was this? How had they been wiped out so quickly?

Ye Chen summoned his Yuan Shen fire, incinerating their bodies. These tormentors of the living were clearly not good spirits, so eliminating them was just right, fulfilling the legendary act of upholding heavenly justice.

After dealing with them, he stepped out of the gates.

Once more, he inscribed array patterns, setting up a secretive formation that inverted the four directions of the universe. Otherwise, with visitors dropping by every few days, he wouldn't have the leisure to entertain them.

In Da Chu, at the Tianxuan Men.

In the underground palace, all the Zhun Di were gathered, gazing at rows of orderly water screens. These displayed scenes from various realms, clearly showing the Honghuang clans.

"The atmosphere isn't right," Tian Lao frowned, stroking his beard.

"Ye Chen's tribulation entry into the world likely means the Emperor Dao seal will dissipate for a period," Di Lao pondered. "It's normal for the Honghuang to stir again."

"Once the tribulation is complete, the seal will reappear, and its deterrence will remain," Fu Ya touched his chin. "I don't think the Honghuang would risk clan extermination to start another war."

"You're all too optimistic," Ren Wang said, hands clasped behind his back as he walked in.

The Zhun Di all turned to look, their eyes slanted, as if silently saying: Keep being mysterious, and you'll get beaten.

"Even before Ye Chen's tribulation, the Emperor Dao seal had already dissipated," Ren Wang said slowly, finally revealing the secret. "The one who undid it was the Zhu Xian Jian."

Upon hearing this, the Zhun Di's expressions changed drastically.

Now, with no supreme beings in the heavens, everyone knew what the vanishing of the Emperor Dao seal meant—it removed all deterrence against the Honghuang. With the Honghuang's nature and the Zhu Xian Jian's instigation, war could erupt at any moment.

Though they had been brutally suppressed by Di Huang before, the Honghuang clans' overall combat strength still surpassed that of the heavens. If war broke out again, it would be a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with devastating losses for the heavens.

"Truly, all schemes and all precautions, yet one slip," Yan Huang took a deep breath.

"Even the two great Saint Bodies probably didn't anticipate this," Shen Jiang said.

"That sword's methods are heavens-shaking; it could even undo the Emperor Dao seal."

"If it can undo Di Huang's seal, there's nothing it can't do."

"Now we're in trouble—not only do we have to guard against the Tianmo, but also the Honghuang and that damned Zhu Xian Jian," many frowned. "After the supremes left, it's a time of endless troubles!"

"Where has Ye Chen's tribulation taken him?" Donghuang Tai Xin glanced at Ren Wang.

"The Heavenly Realm," Ren Wang didn't hide it.

At these words, the Zhun Di's expressions grew strange.

Da Chu's tenth emperor was quite the character! He had died and gone to the Diyu, and now for his tribulation, he ended up in the Heavenly Realm. His life story was legendary—darting between the three realms. Who knows, if he died again, he might end up in the Tianmo domain.

Meanwhile, Ren Wang had formed a seal with one hand, muttering incantations. If you didn't know he was a cultivator, you'd think he was some old charlatan.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, a Bagua array formed on the ground.

Then, a beam of immortal light descended straight from the sky, landing in the array. Amid the ethereal glow, a human form gradually took shape.

If Yan Lao Dao were here, he would recognize this person; if Ye Chen were here, he would too. Wasn't this Si Ming Xing Jun? In the Heavenly Realm's celestial court, he held a high position.

Back in the day, to save the reincarnated Da Chu empress Yan, Yan Lao Dao had borrowed the law from the Heavenly Realm, summoning Si Ming Xing Jun, who possessed Ning Caichen's body. The three of them together defeated the Heishan Laoyao.

As Yan Lao Dao's fellow from the old lineage, Ren Wang could also borrow the law, and in a more profound way—no need for a human vessel, just a Bagua array to summon Si Ming.

"This guy is Si Ming Xing Jun," Ren Wang introduced casually.

"From the Heavenly Realm?"

"Probably, his aura and origin are slightly different from ours."

"Still at the Zhun Di level."

The Zhun Di were quite curious, circling around Si Ming Xing Jun, scrutinizing him from head to toe. It made Si Ming feel uncomfortable, as if this group wasn't quite normal—especially those sly eyes. The likes of Sheng Zun even reached out to pinch him, making his bones crackle.

"People from Da Chu are like this; you'll get used to it," Ren Wang said, hands clasped again.

"Who said we're close? You always drag me into this," Si Ming Xing Jun spoke up, his face full of black lines. He had been sound asleep with his wife when he suddenly flipped into the human realm.

"We're looking for you to ask something—have you seen Ye Chen?"

"Ye Chen?" Si Ming Xing Jun raised an eyebrow. "The Huanggu Saint Body?"

"He's undergoing tribulation in your Heavenly Realm," Ren Wang said.

"That's new," Si Ming Xing Jun sighed, marveling at how those from the Zhoutian lineage always ended up in his Heavenly Realm. First, Zhoutian progenitor Fu Xi, and now Zhoutian successor Ye Chen, both entering tribulation. Was the entire heavens not big enough for these two great figures?

From his expression, there was no need to ask further—he clearly hadn't met Ye Chen yet.

"If you encounter him in the Heavenly Realm someday, give this to him," Ren Wang waved his hand, handing over a jade slip sealed with Zhoutian restrictions, which only the Zhoutian successor could open.

"Aren't you afraid of disturbing his tribulation?" Si Ming Xing Jun laughed but still accepted it.

"He's tough," Ren Wang said, then kicked out fiercely.

This kick was brutal, sending Si Ming Xing Jun straight back to the Heavenly Realm. It was rare for the barrier between the heavenly and human realms to open, and rare to summon him, so of course, a kick was in order. Who knew when the barrier would open again?

"Fu Xi, you bastard, what's wrong with you!"

If you listened carefully, you could hear cursing from the ethereal void—it was Si Ming Xing Jun, kicked into a daze. What a rare visit— was that appropriate?

Appropriate—that would be Ren Wang's answer.

The other mischievous Zhun Di looked regretful, having been a step too slow to kick him themselves. It was a rare chance to see someone from the Heavenly Realm; how could they not join in?

"Now that Ye Chen is in the Heavenly Realm, can you borrow the law to bring him back to the heavens?" the son of the realm asked, prompting the Zhun Di to turn their attention.

"Of course," Ren Wang laughed. "But he needs an official position in the Tian Gong. Borrowing the law is different from the Emperor Dao's passage to the underworld—it doesn't require a bloodline contract, just recognizes rank and divine status."

As he spoke, this fellow walked away with hands clasped, adding, "And the barrier between the heavenly and human realms has to be open, which depends on Hong Jun's mood."