Chapter 2607: Abandoning the Godhood

Chapter 2608: Fishing Without Words

Boom! Rumbling sounds echoed endlessly in the void of the Tian Court.

Gazing into the distance, waves of heavenly soldiers and generals passed by, a vast and dense formation numbering in the hundreds of thousands. Their momentum connected as one, crushing the heavens and earth, surging back and forth across the four corners of the realm, as if searching for something.

What were they searching for? Naturally, it was Xiu Luo Tian Zun.

Without the divine position to track him, no one knew where the Tian Zun had gone.

“Smart as I am.”

Among the heavenly soldiers and generals, one soldier stood with his hands tucked in his sleeves, chuckling merrily, swaggering as he walked with a self-satisfied bounce.

This fellow was none other than Xiu Luo Tian Zun himself. He hadn't fled; instead, he had blended into the ranks of the heavenly soldiers and generals, playing his role to perfection.

The only discordant detail was his helmet, which was a bit too small. It sat crookedly on his head, making him look less like a marching warrior and more like a mischievous rogue.

Inside the copper furnace, Yue Xin covered her mouth to stifle a laugh.

Si Ming and the others wore expressions of meaningful amusement.

As the saying goes, the most dangerous place is often the safest.

This Tian Zun was clever indeed, slipping right in among them. Amid so many generals and immortal lords, not a single one recognized him.

Of course, this was all thanks to his mastery of disguise and concealment techniques. He was always skilled at stirring up trouble in murky waters.

“Straighten that helmet, you slacker.”

As they marched, someone from behind gave Xiu Luo Tian Zun a nudge—or more precisely, a poke with a finger.

Taking a closer look, it was Ju Ling Shen. His frame was enormous, his finger thicker than a person's arm, nearly sending Xiu Luo Tian Zun flying.

Xiu Luo Tian Zun chuckled and forcibly jammed the helmet onto his head.

It was all about the performance, after all—he had to play it right.

Ju Ling Shen smiled in satisfaction and continued on his way, axe in hand. His massive build made the void tremble with each step.

“Find a stick and poke him from behind— that might feel pretty good.”

Xiu Luo Tian Zun stroked his chin, eyeing Ju Ling Shen's barrel-like waist and millstone-sized backside, suddenly struck by a wicked idea.

Meanwhile, at Bu Zhou Shan.

Ye Chen paused again, his eyes gleaming as he gazed into the distance at a towering mountain peak. A two-zhang-wide crevice ran through it, flickering with specks of light.

The so-called Wuzi Tian Shu was inside, and those flickering lights emanated from it. Now closer, the sounds of the Great Dao were even clearer.

“Ah!”

That same scream accompanied the Great Dao sounds, emerging from the crevice.

Ye Chen frowned, confirming his suspicion—they were indeed together.

After glancing into the crevice, he scanned the surroundings.

Like the previous valley, this place was littered with corpses. They must have been treasure seekers who discovered the Tian Shu, only to lose their lives over it.

Ye Chen stroked his chin. People of the Tian realm shouldn't be unfamiliar with the Wuzi Tian Shu—many must have seen it before. Yet, no one had taken it.

So, there was only one possibility: it wasn't that they didn't want to take it, but that they couldn't, or perhaps the place was too perilous for anyone to reach.

With that thought, he summoned another clone.

The clone gave an OK gesture, then abruptly turned, tossing his hair with a flourish in a pose of heroic resolve.

But before he could finish, Ye Chen kicked him straight in.

What was the point of showing off like that in front of the original?

The clone coughed and stepped forward cautiously, glancing left and right as he went. He reached the crevice without any strange occurrences, the path completely unobstructed. Not a trace of any evil spirits in sight.

Ye Chen watched in astonishment. This wasn't right.

On the other side, the clone had entered the crevice, tasked with retrieving the Wuzi Tian Shu for the original.

He went in, and then—nothing. He vanished inexplicably, and even Ye Chen couldn't tell how it happened.

Ye Chen took a deep breath and summoned several more clones, but they all met the same fate.

After that, Ye Chen gripped his iron staff and entered himself.

There were no abnormalities at first, but as he approached the crevice, he proceeded with caution, narrowing his eyes to peer inside.

The crevice was dark and lightless, with the sound of dripping water echoing within.

Ye Chen ventured in, following the crevice toward the glow of the Wuzi Tian Shu.

Still no strangeness, but the more ordinary it seemed, the more unsettling it was. It was easy to dodge an open attack, but hidden threats were harder to defend against. Something terrifying might lunge out from the darkness at any moment.

Sure enough, as he took another step, the space twisted, and a black vortex appeared, its devouring force overwhelmingly strong and targeted directly at the Yuan Shen.

Ye Chen flashed away like a rainbow, retreating a step to evade the black vortex.

As he pulled back, the vortex mysteriously dissipated.

Ye Chen glanced at the sides and lowered his head, spotting fragmented array patterns at his feet.

He had triggered those array patterns, summoning the black vortex.

His clones had likely vanished the same way. If he hadn't dodged quickly, he would have suffered the same fate.

As for what happened inside the vortex—well, it was obvious: once in, there was no way out.

The vortex targeted the Yuan Shen, swallowing only the soul while the physical body would be expelled. That was probably why there were so many corpses outside.

Ye Chen extended his iron staff, using the power of array formation to clear the patterns, and stepped over them.

From then on, he moved with extreme care, paying close attention to the ground and the overhead.

Bu Zhou Shan was full of pitfalls, and this dark mountain crevice was pitfalls within pitfalls. The hidden array patterns were numerous, and a single misstep could lead to a death without knowing how.

Proceeding with utmost caution, he finally caught sight of the Wuzi Tian Shu. It hovered in mid-air, surrounded by profound Dao essence, its pages fluttering without wind. It bore no words, exuding an aura of ancient desolation.

However, what caught Ye Chen's eye wasn't just the Wuzi Tian Shu, but something on its side—a person.

It was an old man, also suspended in the air, wearing a hood and a rain cape, holding a fishing rod in one hand.

Before the old man, there was no lake, but to him, the Wuzi Tian Shu appeared as one. It was as if he were trying to fish something out of it.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes into slits, staring intently at the old man.

The old man wasn't a real entity; he was a illusory figure, faint and flickering, like a lingering shadow from ancient times.

More importantly, Ye Chen detected an imperial pressure from him.

Even as a shadow, it carried such aura—if the real old man were here, he must have been an emperor.

This baffled Ye Chen. He had never encountered this emperor before; he wasn't among the 130 emperors of Xuan Huang.

“Little one, you're quite something!”

As Ye Chen observed, the old man suddenly spoke.

He even turned his head slightly, giving Ye Chen a kindly smile.

“Junior Ye Chen, I didn't mean to intrude.”

“Ah!”

Before Ye Chen could finish, the old man let out a sudden, piercing wail, completely out of nowhere.

It startled even the tenth emperor of Da Chu, nearly making him lose his composure.

“Little one, you're quite something!”

The old man repeated the same line, as if nothing had happened, still smiling amiably at Ye Chen.

“Um.”

Ye Chen responded with a soft hum, afraid to say more lest the old man wail again.

What the hell was wrong with this guy? He was talking normally one moment and screaming the next. Was this some kind of tactic to scare him, or just a bizarre habit?

At that moment, Ye Chen was fairly certain that this illusory old man was the source of those intermittent wails over the past few days. He wasn't just ill; he was bored out of his mind.

The old man fell silent, continuing his fishing, apparently trying to hook something from the Wuzi Tian Shu. He sat there motionless, like a statue.

Ye Chen remained quiet too, sizing up the old man. This was too strange—a mere shadow with a trace of intelligence.

“Senior, are you an emperor?”

After a long while, Ye Chen ventured cautiously.

“Xuan Di.”

The old man replied offhandedly.

“As expected, not one of the 130 emperors of Xuan Huang.” Ye Chen murmured to himself. “Probably an emperor from the ancient Tian Court.”

With that thought, he scanned the area around them.

That made sense. The evil spirits of Bu Zhou Shan were incredibly powerful—who else but emperors would have battled here? With great emperors involved, it was beyond ordinary comprehension.

The evil thoughts and malice of an emperor were no joke.

No wonder the heavens and earth had changed; when invisible forces reached a certain level, they could overturn not just the realm, but even the laws.

“This Tian realm is truly full of surprises.”

“Ah!”

Ye Chen's words were cut off again as the old man, who had been as still as a statue, suddenly wailed once more, nearly making Ye Chen stumble.

Damn it, he really doesn't play by the rules!

Based on the pattern, it should have been hours before the next scream, but here it was early. It left Ye Chen with no mental preparation at all.

With that wail, outsiders might think someone had been stabbed.

It was a good thing the Dao Zu wasn't here.

Otherwise, he would surely have shared some profound wisdom and seriously discussed with Ye Chen the concept of the Emperor Dao F4.

F4, as the name implied, meant four people.

Emperor Dao F4, naturally, meant four emperors.

In this remote crevice of the mountain, there were already two: one the reincarnation of the Di Zun, and one the shadow of Xuan Di.

The other two had to be Gui Di and Ming Di.

Together, they made up the four.

The Dao Zu wouldn't just mention it; he'd say it with pride. Among these four eccentric emperors, the heavens claimed three, while the ancient Tian Court had only one.

By that count, hey, our side has more talent.

“Senior, what are you fishing for?”

Ye Chen chuckled and inched closer, mentally bracing himself for another possible wail.

“Fishing, of course!”

“Is there fish in the Wuzi Tian Shu?”

“No.”

“I—”

Ye Chen choked, nearly wailing himself.

In that instant, good thing he didn't have a brick in hand, or he'd show this old man why the flowers are red.

“There's an aura of emperor-level killing intent on you. Have you slain an emperor?”

The old man, with his back to Ye Chen, spoke leisurely.

“How to put it? Just a trivial matter.”