Chapter 2627: Hitting the Wall

Kill!

Fight!

From the direction of Huashan, thunderous roars echoed like lightning, with battle cries shaking the heavens. The heavenly soldiers and generals fought with unmatched bravery, while the Huashan troops were equally fierce and resolute.

The Tianting forces were assaulting the city, joined by their allied factions from all sides, turning the area into a vast ocean of people. One side sought conquest and slaughter, the other defended their homeland, battling fiercely. The heavenly troops repeatedly scaled the city walls, only to be driven back by Huashan each time. Even with the undefeated God of War leading them, they could not breach the defenses for the moment. The conflict was brutal, staining the skies with blood.

On the massive cloud platform, Yin Yang stood tall and imposing.

He wore battle armor and carried an immortal sword at his waist, gazing quietly at the bloody war below. His eyes revealed a trace of pity, for he deeply wished to avoid such a scene.

As Ye Chen had said, he harbored no great ambitions, nor any desire to unify the upper and lower realms. In truth, he simply did not want to see widespread suffering among living beings.

In warfare, he was invincible, an undefeated God of War, yet few knew how much he despised conflict.

It was precisely because of this aversion that he could not inherit his father's unfulfilled wishes or claim the position of supreme ruler. Yin Ming, however, could, so Yin Yang remained only a commander, never a king.

In the end, it was because he lacked the necessary ruthlessness.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The dark night seemed filled with thunder tribulations, muffled thunder resounding across the four seas and eight wastelands.

The war intensified, drawing in more factions—some allied with Huashan, others aligned with Tianting. Fighting erupted around Huashan and extended in all directions. Smoke and blood mist filled the air, draping the night sky in a layer of crimson clouds, stark and glaring.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen had emerged from the domain gate.

At a glance, he saw the massive chaos, with countless factions entangled in battle. Groups of people soared into the sky, while others fell in pools of blood. Lives were as expendable as weeds.

He created numerous clones, sending them to various battlefields. They were not there to fight but to prepare for his upcoming plan, relaying messages as needed.

Braving the bloody winds, he entered another domain gate, heading straight for the nearest Taishan. Through the gate's barrier, he could clearly see the outside world, littered with corpses and ablaze with war, blood flowing everywhere.

Yin Ming had underestimated him, and he had underestimated Yin Ming in turn. Perhaps since ascending the throne, Yin Ming had never been idle. If not for witnessing it himself, Ye Chen would not have realized that the scattered immortal realm held so many factions and races, all now under Yin Ming's vassalage.

This war was indeed Tianting besieging Huashan, but the entire scattered immortal realm had descended into chaos, with internal strife consuming their own strength. Regardless of the outcome, it would leave them severely weakened.

He did not know when he exited the domain gate, but after several days, he arrived at the Taishan territory once more.

From afar, he saw that Taishan's city walls had been erected, encircling an area of over a million li, with Taishan itself at the center. Such walls only rose during wartime, formed by a type of prohibition array. In peaceful times, they lay hidden beneath the ground.

Taishan's walls were extraordinarily massive and imposing, their defenses formidable. Standing at their base, a person seemed insignificant, like a tiny ant.

Upon closer inspection, the stones used to build the walls were inscribed with divine patterns that flickered in and out of view, infused with mysterious power that enhanced their defenses. This mysterious power was Taishan's Di Yun, connected through profound arrays, making the fortifications incredibly dominant.

The same applied to the other four sacred mountains, all boasting extremely strong defenses. Combined with the protective heavenly barriers and Di Yun as the array foundations, along with various offensive formations, they were as unassailable as fortresses, easy to defend and hard to attack.

Precisely for this reason, even a force as powerful as Tianting had to rally the scattered immortal realm's factions for assistance. A direct assault would take at least three to five days to succeed.

The Taishan sect leader was no fool; while sending troops to attack Huashan, he had also left a substantial garrison to protect their base. The scattered immortal realm was full of talent, and it was possible that someone might organize an assault on them—like Ye Chen.

Ye Chen donned a black robe and soared from the mountaintop, streaking like divine light directly toward the Taishan city walls, making no effort to conceal himself.

"Who is it?"

A loud shout erupted from the walls, as soldiers armed with bows and crossbows drew their strings taut.

Ye Chen ignored them, increasing his speed instead. He had no intention of launching a direct assault; such defenses could not be breached by his strength alone, even in eight hundred years. He needed a clever approach, like Di Dao Piao Miao, which could render his body ethereal and allow him to pass through barriers.

But that required Di Dao Piao Miao to work.

"Fire at will and kill him!"

The third hall master of Taishan roared, drawing his sword and pointing it at Ye Chen from afar.

At his command, a barrage of arrows rained down from the walls, each gleaming with a cold, eerie light. The sheer number was enough to make one's scalp tingle, even terrifying an immortalzun.

Ye Chen's expression remained indifferent, his form elusive and ghostly as he wielded his dao sword, dodging volley after volley and blocking the arrows that came his way, until he reached the base of the walls.

Then came a tremendous boom.

In a remarkably absurd move, the tenth emperor of Great Chu charged headfirst into the wall.

The wall was incredibly tough, and his head was no less so. Their collision produced a deafening roar.

The Taishan experts witnessing this—whether hall masters or common soldiers—all twitched their mouths in disbelief. What kind of tactic was this? Traveling thousands of li, braving a storm of arrows, just to crash into their wall? Was he that desperate for death? If so, why not find a closer spot?

Ugh!

At the base of the wall, Ye Chen clutched his head, blood streaming down, his divine sea buzzing and throbbing. He swayed unsteadily, barely able to stand. That solid impact was no ordinary pain.

But he had not come just to collide with the wall. In the instant of contact, he had attempted Di Dao Piao Miao.

Unfortunately, the immortal technique failed, glitching at the critical moment and failing to etherealize his body, so he ended up smashing into it.

"Hey, does it hurt?"

The Taishan soldiers were surprisingly considerate, peering over the walls with their heads craned, watching Ye Chen's collision. Just seeing it made them wince in sympathy.

"It hurts."

Ye Chen gritted his teeth and grimaced. Whenever such mishaps occurred, he felt like dragging out the Dao Ancestor for a thorough scolding. Why create so many complicated techniques if they wouldn't work when needed? This crash had nearly split his head open.

With that single word, he collapsed at the wall's base. To outsiders, it looked like he had been knocked unconscious, but in reality, he was feigning it.

Di Dao immortal techniques might not work, but another method could—deception.

Sure enough, the third hall master of Taishan issued the order.

"Take him alive."

He wanted to see just what kind of person would be so desperate as to ram their wall.

The city gate opened, and the barrier parted slightly as two soldiers gripping war spears emerged. They grabbed Ye Chen by the legs, one on each side, and dragged him inside.

Once through the barrier and into the gate, the feigning Ye Chen opened his eyes, flipped up, and shot into the sky like a wild horse freed from its reins. The collision with the wall had done nothing to slow him; he was still full of energy.

"Damn it, seize him!"

Realizing they had been tricked, the third hall master of Taishan erupted in fury, sending waves of figures flying from the walls in pursuit of Ye Chen.

Ahead, Ye Chen's movements were incredibly agile, darting like wind and thunder, brushing off these minor foes. Compared to them, the Taishan sect leader was the real prize.

"Stop him!"

Shouts echoed behind him, filling the heavens and earth.

Taishan's territory was dotted with mountains, each serving as a sentry post with its own watchtower and offensive arrays. Even if the outer walls fell, they could fall back and fight from these peaks.

Hearing the cries, experts on the mountains leaped out in droves. Though they had no idea where Ye Chen had come from, his brazen intrusion clearly meant trouble.

"Get out of my way."

Ye Chen snorted coldly and struck with his sword.

Thud!

Blood and bones sprayed everywhere as countless people were cleaved into mist. Their physical forms disintegrated, their primordial spirits vanished, including several Zhun Di level experts.

"So strong."

The Taishan experts paled at the sight. Ye Chen's single strike had extinguished at least a dozen Zhun Di, and even though their cultivations were suppressed to the saint realm, they should not have been so easily overwhelmed.

"Activate the arrays and blast him apart!"

Angry shouts rang out as killing arrays awakened on each mountain peak, their lights blazing forth, accompanied by volleys of arrows that blanketed the sky.

Ye Chen paid them no mind, locking onto one person and using Ni Tian Huan Di to evade the fatal attacks, dooming that Taishan expert to the underworld in his place.

He had figured it out: The higher-level Di Dao immortal techniques, like Di Dao Piao Miao, Di Dao Darkness, or Yi Nian Yong Heng, were unreliable, flickering in and out of effectiveness. But Ni Tian Huan Di, being slightly less advanced, proved reliable in crucial moments.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Because of him, groups of Taishan experts were caught in their own assaults, obliterated without knowing what hit them, never even touching Ye Chen.

Moreover, he was extraordinarily powerful; even Zhun Di charging at him could not withstand a single sword strike. Some were sent flying, others turned to ash on the spot.

As a result, even with hundreds of thousands of troops, they could not halt him alone.

A bloody path stretched from east to west, carved out by Ye Chen himself. He moved like an unstoppable God of War, conquering all in his way.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The commotion was massive, with Ye Chen's advance accompanied by continuous roars. Mountains collapsed one after another, and figures burst into sprays of crimson blood, a scene of utter carnage.

Ahead, Taishan came into view, shrouded in dim starlight with bursts of exotic radiance. Due to the Di Yun, one could hear the sounds of the great dao and see profound visions.

"How dare you!"

Before he even arrived, a cold snort echoed from within Taishan, from the sect leader himself, standing at the mountain's highest peak. He had already received word of the intruder heading his way. Unable to discern the intruder's identity, he only knew of their terrifying strength and audacity to charge in alone.

After all, the area spanning a million li around Taishan was fortified with walls. Entering meant facing not just experts but the full army. No matter how strong one person was, could they withstand endless attacks? It was a path to certain death.

Yet, this person had still plunged in.

-capture him alive!"

With pursuers at his back, more shouts came from Taishan as streaks of divine light shot out, each a figure racing forth. They wanted to see just who this divine intruder was.

Ye Chen's eyes were full of contempt as he used Ni Tian Huan Di again, swapping positions with several others, then charged headfirst toward the Taishan barrier. In that instant, he activated Di Dao Piao Miao.

Clang!

Another massive crash left him dizzy. Di Dao Piao Miao was incredibly domineering, which meant it faced even stronger suppression, often failing. Especially lately, its success rate had dropped repeatedly.

Like these two times, it had failed—first with the wall, now with the barrier. Even his sturdy head was left spinning.

Ye Chen refused to give up, enduring the backlash and trying again, ready to curse the Dao Ancestor's name if it failed once more.

This time, it succeeded. His body turned ethereal, and he burst into Taishan.

"Stop him!"

The Taishan elders shouted, with figures swarming from every mountain peak.

"Any who block me die."

Ye Chen's roar shook the heavens, sending many elders tumbling from the sky before they could reach him. His voice carried primordial spirit power, which even elders could not endure, let alone the disciples, who fell in droves.

"Damn it, slay him!"

The Taishan sect leader bellowed in rage, no longer curious about Ye Chen's identity. If they did not eliminate him now, their sect would suffer heavy losses. This black-robed figure had broken through the outer walls and fought his way to Taishan, proving his might. Their only option was to kill him outright.

His shout only spurred Ye Chen to charge straight at him.

The sect leader was the big fish; capturing him would open many opportunities, from demanding ransom to sowing chaos in Taishan.

As fellow five sacred mountains sects, Huashan had its share of internal factions and hidden struggles over endless years, and Taishan was likely the same. Kidnapping the sect leader would plunge Taishan into turmoil, potentially leading to a leadership change.

If the new sect leader had any sense, they would likely withdraw all forces attacking Huashan and return home. If things went well, the two sects might even form an alliance against Tianting.

This plan was quite feasible, far more practical than charging into battle. Killing enemies one by one was futile; to truly disrupt, one had to strike at the root. Capturing the leader was the most direct and effective strategy—this was basic military tactics, and he knew it well.

"Seal him!"

The great elder of Taishan shouted, slamming down a palm from the sky that crushed the heavens. His palm bore sealing immortal techniques and destructive power, immensely overbearing.

Yet, no matter how overbearing the technique, it was useless against Ye Chen. The great elder had barely advanced when Ye Chen swatted him away with a palm, flipped his sword to split the second elder in two, and fired a divine curse that pierced the third elder's forehead.

The most tragic was the fourth elder, who had just arrived and not even unleashed his secret art before Ye Chen stomped him into a bloody pulp, leaving only his primordial spirit to flee in shock.

Not just him—all the elders and disciples present were stunned. Was he invincible among peers?

"Stop him! Stop him now!"

The Taishan sect leader roared, retreating while he shouted, his eyes fixed on Ye Chen as if staring down death itself. A chill ran through his entire body.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The scene that followed was chaotic. Elder after elder, each a genuine Zhun Di, fell before Ye Chen like flies. With a wave of his hand, groups were sent flying; with another wave, more plummeted from the sky. He was utterly lawless.