Chapter 2634: Visiting Everyone

After leaving Songshan, Ye Chen headed straight for Hengshan.

Songshan's great elder was still very reliable in handling matters. As soon as he became the sect leader, his first command was to recall the troops stationed outside.

In this battle, Songshan suffered heavy losses, with countless experts wiped out. Fortunately, Songshan's foundations remained intact, so they couldn't continue fighting. In the years to come, they would focus on recuperation and rebuilding.

Beyond that, they needed to improve relations with Huashan. Huashan itself wasn't the threat; what was truly frightening was Ye Chen. This young man was too extraordinary, completely ignoring Songshan's barriers and city walls, coming and going as he pleased.

People like him were the most terrifying. It was fine to provoke Huashan, but absolutely not Ye Chen. Offending this grim reaper meant you wouldn't dare close your eyes to sleep at night.

With Songshan's troops withdrawing, the pursuit by the Man Niu Clan also came to an end. the Man Niu King waved his hand and rushed toward the West Sea to block the Heavenly Court's naval forces.

By now, Ye Chen had already arrived at the base of Hengshan's city walls.

From afar, the Hengshan sect leader, standing on the city walls, spotted Ye Chen. Having heard of his notorious reputation, anyone who saw him felt a chill in their heart.

Even so, the attack had to proceed.

At his order, arrows and formation lights filled the sky, raining down like a storm and scarring the heavens. The assault was extremely domineering.

However, in Ye Chen's eyes, all of this was mere decoration. He propped up an imperial black shore, rendering all attacks useless. Before they could even hit, they were swallowed by spatial black holes and vanished.

The Hengshan sect leader was shocked. By the time he regained his senses, Ye Chen had already crossed the barrier, one hand holding an iron staff and the other a wine flask, strolling leisurely as if he were out for a casual walk—not at all like someone here to kidnap.

His blatant recklessness naturally infuriated the Hengshan soldiers. Figures swarmed forward in droves, charging fiercely, but Ye Chen alone sent them flying in all directions, bodies soaring through the air.

Once inside Hengshan, there was no need to watch the scene—just listen to the sounds. Bangs, pounds, and clashes echoed endlessly, with peaks collapsing under the weight of flying figures and palaces exploding, scattering bricks and tiles everywhere.

When Ye Chen emerged from the mountains, he had an extra figure in his hand—the Hengshan sect leader, as docile as a little lamb, carried along.

This trip, he arrived quickly and left just as fast.

His movement techniques were as guiyi as ever, enhanced by various imperial immortal arts, making him elusive. Despite the Hengshan experts giving their all, they lost track of him.

"Hengshan Sect, bring your family's Tian Shi, Dan Yao, Fa Qi, young women, and brides to Diyang Mountain to ransom your sect leader. No extensions."

Before long, this message echoed across the four seas and eight wastelands. It was Ye Chen speaking, but his clones were the ones howling it out, each on various battlefields, their voices infused with primordial spirit power, roaring with excitement.

This shocking chaos led to a halt in the great melee. Too many people looked up at the sky, especially Huashan's allies, who grinned the widest. Huashan's future sect leader was just too audacious.

With the sect leader captured, Hengshan fell into internal turmoil. Factional struggles erupted again, with some wanting to ransom him and others to kill him, each with their own schemes.

As for Hengshan's armies, they had no heart for battle anymore and collectively withdrew, millions of troops swarming toward Diyang Mountain.

Not content, the Man Xiang Clan pursued relentlessly, killing as they chased. The blood-soaked path was littered with corpses, a scene of utter devastation.

With the Hengshan sect leader captured, the last peak was also doomed.

Ye Chen was straightforward. Without any preamble, he charged in with his iron staff. From outside the city walls, one could see and hear the thunderous booms and shouts of battle, mixed with pitiful wails. Millions of troops couldn't stop Ye Chen alone.

"I told you! None of the other four peaks can escape."

Some idle cultivators, standing not far from the city walls, sighed endlessly.

Right before their eyes, Ye Chen entered and then exited, striding along a brilliant star river, one hand gripping the iron staff and the other holding the Hengshan sect leader. Behind him, countless figures followed, all disheveled, but their legs couldn't keep up with his smooth movements. By the time they rushed out, Ye Chen had already entered a domain gate.

"Another one."

The spectators who came to watch exchanged grins.

"Hengshan Sect, bring your family's Tian Shi, Dan Yao, Fa Qi, young women, and brides to Yinlong Mountain to ransom your sect leader. No extensions."

This message soon rang out. Ye Chen's true self was putting in extra effort, and his clones were equally dedicated, howling until they coughed up blood.

These words were quite effective.

Looking down from the heavens, the battles in the Scatter Immortal Realm—whether around Huashan, the East Sea, West Sea, or the eight directions of land—saw over eighty percent of the battlefields grind to a halt, with everyone tilting their heads upward.

Of the Scatter Immortal Five Peaks, one was Huashan Sect, fighting in the Heavenly Court, while the other four had their sect leaders captured. More precisely, three sect leaders were captured, and one was destroyed. What Ye Chen had done was truly earth-shattering.

Taishan withdrew its troops, Songshan had already withdrawn, and now Hengshan and Hengshan were also pulling back. The four peaks besieging Huashan slunk away in defeat.

With the four peaks retreating, the pressure on Huashan eased considerably. Viewing the entire chaotic battlefield, subtle changes emerged, with some forces and races suddenly withdrawing.

These weren't retreating because they were outmatched; they were following orders. With the four peaks' sect leaders captured, what chance did smaller sects have? If they kept fighting, Ye Chen would surely come visiting them next.

While some withdrew, others fought on—those loyal to the Heavenly Court were still battling fiercely, seizing the rare opportunity to prove their devotion.

Loyalty was a good thing, and Ye Chen appreciated it. You all fight your battles; I'll continue my visits. No interference.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

At a vast immortal mountain, Ye Chen appeared again, easily crossing the barrier, and then things got lively inside—who knew where he had popped up from.

This was Haotian Sect, which had once sided with the Jiaolong King Clan and hadn't withdrawn yet. Since they hadn't, Ye Chen would pay a visit.

When he left, half of Haotian Sect's immortal mountain had collapsed, and their sect leader was in his hand, like a little chick.

After finishing there, Ye Chen entered another domain gate.

Reappearing at a massive ancient city, roughly half the size of Nanchu, it was another major power in the Scatter Immortal Realm. Influenced by the Heavenly Court, their armies were still attacking Huashan's city walls.

Ye Chen wouldn't go easy on forces like this. The four peaks had withdrawn, so where did you get the confidence to keep fighting? If you want to fight that badly, he'd make sure you enjoyed it and learned a lesson.

Boom!

With a tremendous explosion, half the ancient city collapsed, debris flying amid blood mist. Ye Chen emerged, carrying a blood-soaked male lion—the city lord, not a human cultivator but a lion spirit who had achieved quasi-emperor peak.

Pity, no matter how strong a quasi-emperor peak was, in the Scatter Immortal Realm and before Ye Chen, it wasn't enough. One strike from his staff did it, whether you were human or lion.

"Behave yourself. Make another noise, and I'll stew you."

Ye Chen scolded, then opened another domain gate, heading east to continue his visits.

Visiting one place meant trouble for another.

As night fell, in a desolate forest, blood light flashed amid cries of agony. A wild Jiaolong was cut in two by Ye Chen, its primordial spirit captured, and countless experts of its clan wiped out. Blood rivers flowed, and bloody mist shrouded the area.

That night, Ye Chen was quite busy, stopping at one place after another, visiting house by house. He ignored the small fry and only captured their leaders.

"Haotian Sect, come get your sect leader."

"Xiong Shi Clan, prepare your Tian Shi and come to Fengtian Mountain."

"Wild Jiaolong Clan, bring the ransom."

Messages like these howled through the night. Every time a leader was captured, such words followed. Ye Chen's true self visited one by one, while his clones collected the ransoms at various small peaks, waiting for the forces to deliver the goods. It wasn't about the money; it was just to wrap things up quickly and avoid bad blood.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

Tsking could be heard on every battlefield. Ye Chen's kidnappings led to many forces withdrawing, halting mid-battle and fleeing faster than the last.

Over time, more forces pulled out of their battles. Even for sects whose leaders hadn't been captured, orders to withdraw were given.

By now, anyone could see what Ye Chen was up to. Huashan had its battlefield, and Ye Chen had his—fighting openly on one side, kidnapping in the shadows. Capture the king first; the future Huashan sect leader was doing an outstanding job.

"One person is worth a million troops!"

The Niu Mo King grinned and tsked, wielding his battle axe as he led his armies rampaging everywhere. All he saw were retreating forces, scrambling in disarray with no will to fight, making it hard for him to strike. Don't pursue a beaten enemy, after all.

"This sun is shining nicely."

The Jiaolong King, still intercepting the Heavenly Court's naval forces in the East Sea, wore a meaningful expression. He hadn't fully understood earlier, but now he did. It was utterly dominant.

"Kidnap them all, damn it."

Huashan's allied sects were all fired up, howling loudly. Once the internal war was resolved, they'd band together and drive the Heavenly Court's armies back to the upper realms.

"With such a restless figure, who dares help the Heavenly Court?"

Countless peaks were crowded with onlookers, all spectators now ignoring the main battles and watching the kidnappings. Ye Chen had abducted so many that no one knew which peak to watch.

It was worth noting that Ye Chen had high standards; he ignored small sects and targeted only the big ones.

"Join the fight?"

At Kunlun Sect, the Kunlun True Immortal and Kunlun Old Daoist turned to the Kunlun Sect Leader, excited by the stream of kidnapping news. Ye Chen's feats were tremendous.

"Let's wait and see."

The Kunlun Sect Leader coughed dryly, not yet decided. At this rate, with the fighting and kidnappings continuing, Huashan would likely be fine without their involvement.

"How many years has it been? This feels incredibly satisfying."

At the peak of Huashan, the Diyuan True Man laughed heartily. They knew the war would be tough, but Ye Chen's actions had made it much more winnable.

The Huashan True Man just smiled silently, his once aged appearance looking much younger, with a glimmer of light piercing the darkness ahead thanks to Ye Chen.