Chapter 2590: Breaking Through

Boom! Bang! Boom!

After a brief pause, the booming sounds resumed, with the two fighters growing even more ferocious. They battled from the eastern sky to the southern heavens, then from the southern heavens to the western vastness, and finally from the western vastness to the northern void.

"Stop wasting time, Si Ji is escaping."

Xiu Luo Tian Zun reminded him of this. Ye Chen was already pondering the same thing, scanning the surroundings repeatedly to find the easiest way to break through.

As they spoke, Dan Shen arrived, thrusting a finger straight through Ye Chen's brow.

This strike was extraordinarily terrifying; even with Ye Chen's immense strength, he nearly met his end on the spot. A bloody hole opened at his brow, spraying fresh blood, and a surge of killing intent invaded his divine sea, aiming to erase his primordial spirit.

Ye Chen snorted coldly, summoning his Dao essence to dispel the killing intent. In a flash, he ascended to the heavens, dodging Dan Shen's palm.

Then, he turned and fled.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Dan Shen roared, his blood-red hair flying wildly as he chased with relentless fury, enveloped in rolling demonic energy, all the while launching attacks.

Ye Chen's path of escape was calculated; he headed straight toward wherever the crowds were thickest.

"You bastard."

The heavenly soldiers and generals couldn't help but curse inwardly at the sight, hurriedly retreating.

Both of them were supreme tyrants, and the shockwaves of their battle were overwhelmingly vast— even Xian Jun might not withstand them, let alone these foot soldiers, who could be obliterated by a single ripple.

Yet, Ye Chen was as shameless as ever, stubbornly charging into the throng.

As he advanced, Dan Shen followed suit, uncaring of who stood in his way as he unleashed devastating attacks along the path.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

Blood flowers bloomed as the heavenly soldiers and generals suffered massive casualties, turning into mist in droves. The once orderly formations of cultivators descended into chaos from Ye Chen's maneuvers.

Some elderly Xian Jun snorted coldly, positioning themselves around the area and forming hand seals to erect massive barriers, enclosing that stretch of heaven and earth.

Their intent was clear: stop rampaging everywhere and fight within the barrier.

Ye Chen ignored it, using his Di Dao ethereal technique to pass right through.

Dan Shen did the same, deploying a Di Dao immortal art to cross the barrier.

Oh?

The assembled Xian Jun were not pleased, layering barrier after barrier.

However, they had underestimated these two experts.

To them, such barriers were mere decorations—anything short of Di Dao level was useless.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Ye Chen advanced while fighting, and Dan Shen pursued while attacking, their thunderous roars shaking the nine heavens. Everywhere they passed, blood mist billowed, claiming the lives of countless heavenly soldiers and generals.

The army of several hundred thousand fell into disarray once more, with people and mounts in utter panic, limbs and weapons flying through the air. The weaker heavenly soldiers and generals were instantly reduced to ash, painting a gruesome scene.

"Damn it."

The heavenly soldiers and generals wore dark expressions, backing away the moment they spotted Ye Chen, as if fleeing a plague god.

"What a mess!"

Onlookers from all sides folded their arms and sighed, watching as several hundred thousand heavenly soldiers and generals were thrown into total disarray by just two individuals, the battlefield shrouded in blood.

"Your Majesty."

For a moment, many Xian Jun commanders turned their gazes toward Yin Ming, their faces wretched as they looked at him with a hint of desperation, hoping he would order an assault.

A single command would send the several hundred thousand troops surging forward to exterminate Ye Chen and Dan Shen together.

If this continued, who knew how many more would die in vain?

Yin Ming merely smiled without a word, watching the scene with great interest. In his eyes, the lives of the heavenly soldiers and generals were cheaper than weeds.

He was seeking his own amusement, while Ye Chen was seeking his escape route.

With the heavenly soldiers and generals in chaos, the next step was to slip away amid the confusion.

"Kill!"

Dan Shen's roar carried towering rage as he burned his essence and origin for greater power and speed.

Ye Chen's eyes blazed like torches, using profound evasion techniques to dodge Dan Shen's attacks while fleeing toward one side. Once he broke through the encirclement, he would be free as a bird.

The heavenly soldiers and generals kept retreating, unwilling to attack without Yin Ming's order, only passively yielding ground and dodging quickly to avoid the devastating aftermath.

"Your Majesty."

Zi Yang Xian Jun, standing beside the jade carriage, glanced at Yin Ming, his eyes conveying a clear message: if this went on, Ye Chen might truly escape.

Yin Ming's lips curved slightly, but he said nothing.

"Anyone who blocks me dies."

In another part of the heavens, Ye Chen's thunderous shout echoed without restraint, intent on forcing his way out before Yin Ming could change his mind.

"Where do you think you're going?"

A cold snort rang out as someone blocked his path—not heavenly soldiers and generals, but the elders of Dan Shen Hall. With the troops holding back, they would not; whether it was ganging up or being shameless, they had to stop Ye Chen for Dan Shen.

"Get out!"

Ye Chen's power burned like fire as he swung his staff, sending the great elder of Dan Shen Hall flying, and followed with a palm strike that flipped the second elder.

In return, he suffered heavy wounds, taking a sword from the third elder that nearly severed his arm, while Dan Shen struck even more viciously from behind, piercing Ye Chen's back with a finger formed from thousands of secret arts.

"Seal!"

Over a dozen Quasi-Emperor from Dan Shen Hall arrived, deploying sealing techniques, with countless magical tools raining down, openly intending to gang up on him. Yin Ming had said to give Dan Shen a chance, but nothing against swarming; capturing Ye Chen would complete their merit.

"Seal this!"

Ye Chen sneered, performing a Swap Heaven and Earth, exchanging positions with the ninth elder of Dan Shen Hall.

Though he escaped, the ninth elder was not so lucky, blasted to pieces on the spot, his soul scattered.

"Bind the space."

Hundreds of Quasi-Emperor from Dan Shen Hall formed seals together, locking down the four directions and sealing Ye Chen's divine abilities.

"Bind this!"

Ye Chen went berserk, releasing a beam of immortal light from his body—a Quasi-Emperor weapon that shot into the sky, forcibly shattering the seal. Another Swap Heaven and Earth sent yet another Dan Shen Hall elder to the Yellow Springs.

"Damn it."

The experts of Dan Shen Hall howled in anger. With the seal broken, they cast another, unable to counter Ye Chen's Swap Heaven and Earth and thus unable to capture him—worse, they kept losing people to his tricks.

They were dedicated, and Ye Chen was no slouch.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The roars continued endlessly. Each time Dan Shen Hall sealed the realm, he blew it open with a Quasi-Emperor weapon, fighting and exploding his way through, swapping positions as he carved a bloody path.

"This guy is ridiculously wealthy!"

"At least several dozen— are Quasi-Emperor weapons just cabbages to him?"

"It's worth it for survival."

The spectators watched in shock, their hearts skipping a beat with every exploding Quasi-Emperor weapon, feeling a pang of pain.

"Almost, almost."

The great demons and devils held their breath, like Niu Mo Wang, whose eyes were threaded with blood vessels, all hoping Ye Chen would break through.

Puff!

As they watched, Ye Chen spat blood, struck again by Dan Shen's finger.

The experts of Dan Shen Hall clung like sticky plaster, with pursuers ahead and blockers behind, giving him no chance to breathe—they'd wear him down here if it killed them. The pills of Dan Shen Hall weren't so easily swallowed.

"Anyone who blocks me dies."

Ye Chen roared, his hair disheveled, his eyes turning a deeper red. Ignoring his wounds, he charged desperately, out of Quasi-Emperor weapons to break seals and resorting to pure slaughter.

"Die!"

The great elder of Dan Shen Hall arrived, his sword devastating everything in its path.

Ye Chen neither dodged nor evaded, taking the sword head-on and smashing the elder away with his staff.

Buzz!

The heavens hummed as the experts of Dan Shen Hall unleashed their arts—magical tools, divine abilities, secret techniques—all raining down like a storm.

Ye Chen snarled inwardly, invoking Eternal Thought, and the Other Shore Flower appeared once more.

In that frozen instant, he used Shrink the Land into Inches, swapping positions with many others, finally bursting through the encirclement in steps of tens of thousands of zhang.

"Oh? He really broke through."

But no sooner had the words fallen than, before Ye Chen could summon his Di Dao domain gate, a sword light slashed toward him.

That sword was overwhelmingly dominant, carrying destructive might, manifesting suddenly without warning, leaving even him caught off guard.

Puff!

Blood sprayed as he took the full force of the sword, sent flying back, crashing through countless Dan Shen Hall experts and obliterating numerous heavenly soldiers and generals.

Boom!

He slammed into a towering mountain, which collapsed with a roar.

"I told you, there must be someone guarding the perimeter."

"Look at that sword's power—it's from a master, infused with Extinction divine might."

"It could be an Xian Zun."

The onlookers murmured, all turning toward that direction to see who had sent Ye Chen flying back.

As they watched, the great demons, devils, and heavenly soldiers and generals did the same.

Especially the great demons and devils, their faces turning ghastly pale. After a narrow escape, he'd just broken out, only to be slashed back in—an escape now seemed even harder, and without surprises, he'd be finished.

Under everyone's gaze, space twisted, and a blurred figure emerged, shrouded in a black robe that concealed his features. His body shifted between illusion and solidity, his form drifting like a ghost, treading the Extinction Immortal River as he approached from the horizon, ancient and desolate, with destructive essence outlining apocalyptic visions.

His eyes delved into abyssal depths; a single prolonged glance made one feel their mind being swallowed.

"Is that... Ji Mie Xian Zun?"

Someone exclaimed in shock, their expression full of disbelief.

"It's him, no doubt."

Many elderly Xian Jun drew in sharp breaths, their hearts trembling involuntarily, as if witnessing something terrifying, with pale faces suggesting they knew his origins and feared his power.

"Ji Mie Xian Zun?"

"What's his background? Never heard of him!"

The lesser Xian Jun and Xing Jun scratched their heads, brimming with curiosity.

"In the past, the Upper Immortal Realm was divided: one side under the Jade Emperor's Heavenly Court, the other under the Demon Lord's demonic territory. They opposed each other for over a thousand years. It was Ji Mie Xian Zun who infiltrated alone and assassinated the Demon Lord, aiding the Jade Emperor and the Heavenly Court army in conquering the demonic territory and unifying the Upper Immortal Realm, leading to the Heavenly Court we know today."

"Even the Demon Lord fell to him— no wonder he's so formidable."

The world was stunned, their gazes toward Ji Mie Xian Zun now laced with awe.

He was the real deal, a veteran from the Jade Emperor's conquests—who among them was ordinary?