Chapter 2635: Celestial Emperor's Weapon

"Fei Jian Zong, come to Xue Shan to redeem your sect leader."

"Chi Lang Zu, prepare the money."

"Cang Miao Cheng, hurry and come to collect your people. No waiting after the deadline."

These loud proclamations echoed from nightfall until dawn, and then from dawn until dusk, specifically naming targets for three full days without pause.

It was no wonder, as the realm of scattered immortals was vast, with countless forces, and innumerable ones aligned with Tian Ting. Even as Ye Chen rushed from place to place, it was extremely taxing for him, since he was just one person.

However, his actions truly shocked the four seas and eight wildernesses. He never stopped, systematically kidnapping people one by one, all of whom were major powers.

Over those three days, the leaders of countless forces were dragged to a small hill, stuffed into sacks, and left waiting for their families to pay the ransom.

This situation left even the ancient elders, who had lived for thousands of years, raising their thumbs in admiration. Kidnappings were common, but one on this scale was unprecedented, and all the targets were at the sect leader level.

At some point, a new trend began spreading through Tian Jie: the practice of kidnapping for ransom, sparked by Ye Chen himself.

These three days were destined to be recorded in the history of Tian Jie. There was a man named Ye Chen who, instead of fighting grand battles on the battlefield, focused solely on abductions.

Yet, no one underestimated this endeavor.

Because of Ye Chen alone, the dynamics of the great war were gradually being reversed, turning Hua Shan's initial defeat into an advantage, no longer fearing Tian Ting.

This proved that when an individual's power is infinitely amplified, it can indeed influence the outcome of a war. Ye Chen exemplified this truth perfectly.

In those three days, more and more forces involved in the battle withdrew from the battlefield, all intimidated by Ye Chen's tactics and left with a lingering fear. To save themselves, they chose to go home quietly and stay out of the conflict.

This was exactly what Ye Chen wanted. He didn't expect them to form alliances; as long as they didn't cause trouble, that was fine. If they did stir things up, he wasn't afraid—he could always pay them a visit.

"Waste, a bunch of waste."

Watching the battles below and the continuous withdrawal of various forces, Yin Ming in the palace thundered with rage once again. After planning for so long, their siege on Hua Shan had devolved into this mess—it was impossible not to be furious.

"It's Ye Chen who's too strong."

The group of immortal venerables took a deep breath, finally realizing what kind of existence Tian Ting had provoked. They couldn't even handle him in the upper immortal realm or on Tian Ting's own turf, let alone in the lower realm.

"Send more troops, send more troops for me."

Yin Ming's face twisted ferociously, like a mad dog gone berserk, roaring hysterically. If not for his fear of Ye Chen, he would have led the charge himself. His anger had clouded his judgment; even without those allied forces, he believed Tian Ting's army could still flatten the realm of scattered immortals.

In this state, Yin Ming stood on the cloud platform, while Yin Yang, who was also there, remained as indifferent as ever. From beginning to end, he said little, merely watching the war quietly. He didn't care who won or lost, as if he were an outsider.

Ahead, the heavenly soldiers and generals attacking the city were repelled once again. Their once-high morale had been worn down repeatedly, leaving them dispirited. Hua Shan was incredibly resilient—nothing seemed to break it.

"Your Highness, with the various forces withdrawing, our Tian Ting army may face attacks from both front and rear." An armored immortal monarch bowed and spoke. Their allied forces were pulling out, but Hua Shan's allies showed no signs of retreating and were closing in from all sides.

Yin Yang said nothing. This was all within his expectations. After all, this was the realm of scattered immortals—though fragmented, they would unite against an invasion by Tian Ting.

This was also why he never advocated for unifying Tian Jie. He understood the reasoning, and so did his father, the Jade Emperor. Unifying Tian Jie was no easy feat.

Unfortunately, it was the Jade Emperor's lifelong wish and Tian Ting's obsession, honed over endless ages, now an unyielding fixation. The Jade Emperor's obsession had passed to Yin Ming, leading to mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.

Seeing Yin Yang's silence, the immortal monarch didn't press further, instinctively assuming that this undefeated war god had his own strategies and could turn the tide.

In reality, as Yin Yang gazed at the bloody battlefield, he experienced moments of distraction. Vaguely, he seemed to see Ye Chen's figure. They would meet on the battlefield, and in that fight, he would lose.

Under the cover of night, Ye Chen, covered in blood, emerged from a stretch of immortal mountains, dragging another blood-soaked person who had already fainted.

As he walked, he suddenly vanished, so even the experts chasing from the mountains couldn't spot him, let alone pursue him. The wiser elders had already retreated back to their immortal mountains to prepare the ransom.

When Ye Chen reappeared, it was in a dense forest. He created a clone, casually tossing the person he was carrying to it. He handled the kidnappings, while his clones managed the ransoms—they worked together seamlessly.

"Boss, watch this!" The clone chuckled, then turned and stepped into a teleportation array.

Behind him, Ye Chen stripped off his bloodstained clothes and popped a handful of pills into his mouth. After three nonstop days of using emperor-level immortal techniques, even his vitality was depleted, leaving his aura weakened.

Still, his efforts hadn't been in vain.

Each kidnapping not only disrupted the realm of scattered immortals but also deterred many forces. His fearsome reputation was now deeply etched in people's minds—who would dare provoke him unless they were out of their senses?

After downing a jug of strong wine, he waved his hand to summon a domain gate. Kidnapping was a major undertaking that needed to continue; he aimed to visit every subordinate force of Tian Ting in the lower realm, saving the final showdown for later.

Zheng!

Suddenly, a sword's sharp hum rang out. Before he could enter the domain gate, a slender black sword thrust from the void, aiming straight for his primordial spirit.

At the same time, multiple seals were imposed on him to aid in the assassination. The attackers were undoubtedly Tian Ting's assassins.

Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged as he instantly activated his Eternal Thought technique. The other shore bloomed magnificently, freezing that moment and halting the deadly sword.

In an instant, he shattered the seals and delivered a sky-covering palm strike that collapsed the heavens, forcing the hidden assassins out. Most of them spat blood.

"Retreat."

The leader, a black-robed figure, gave the order. The assassination had failed again—they had underestimated Ye Chen's divine abilities, which were profoundly masterful and heaven-defying.

They wanted to flee, but Ye Chen wasn't having it. He took a swift step forward, swinging his staff to obliterate one assassin, then flipped his hand for a finger strike that killed a second.

Pu! Pu! Pu!

More invisible executions followed, without grand displays, yet each brought a spray of blood. With every burst, an assassin fell from the void, body and soul destroyed.

The assassins sent by Yin Ming suffered a devastating blow this time—over a hundred wiped out, just like before. Even these veteran experts were no match for Ye Chen.

In the forest, Ye Chen finally stopped. The new robe he had just put on was now soaked in fresh blood, with a cold, murderous aura raging around him.

His eyes blazed as he scanned the eight directions, searching for any remaining assassins—they had all escaped too quickly.

Hm?

As he searched, Ye Chen furrowed his brow and instinctively looked downward, sensing a familiar aura.

Without hesitation, he descended through the sky and plunged into the earth, diving a full ten thousand zhang before coming to a halt.

Beneath the ground lay a hidden space, and before him stood a massive stone gate, over a hundred zhang tall, engraved with ancient divine patterns. In the center of the two doors was a large seal character, exuding an aura of ancient desolation.

"Jiang Taigong?"

Ye Chen extended his iron staff and prodded the stone gate. He could sense who was inside—it was indeed Jiang Taigong, the one he had met that night. Who would have thought he was hiding here, not even emerging amid the massive upheavals of the upper and lower realms.

After a long while, there was no response.

Ye Chen took a deep breath and stepped back slowly, his vital energy surging like flames. He hated it when people ignored a knock—he preferred kicking the door open over waiting.

Buzz!

With a buzzing rumble, he braced himself, merging his staff with emperor essence, ultimate immortal laws, dao principles, and his origin, smashing it fiercely into the stone gate.

Bang!

The sound of metal clashing was quite resonant.

However, Ye Chen's appearance was far from graceful. It was like striking iron; the impact shattered his hand bones, and he tasted blood, spitting it out forcefully. He stumbled, nearly falling, with his primordial spirit trembling violently.

"Ultimate Dao Emperor Weapon."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, focusing on the stone gate. Ancient array patterns flowed across it, belonging to emperor-level arrays with a constant influx of power—it carried the aura of an emperor weapon. Without that support, the old stone gate would likely have been smashed through.

A glint flashed in Ye Chen's eyes—this was the first time he'd seen an emperor weapon from Tian Jie since arriving. It might even be from a Dao Ancestor, and it was in Jiang Taigong's possession.

"You're something else." Ye Chen studied it for a moment, withdrew his staff, and stepped forward, attempting to use his Emperor Ethereal technique to pass through the gate.

Clang!

Another loud noise echoed, and he hit his head painfully, his divine sea buzzing with dizziness. It wasn't that the technique failed; the stone gate had an innate prohibition that blocked Emperor Ethereal.

Ye Chen clutched his forehead and sat down heavily. One failed attempt wasn't bad, but blood flowed from all seven orifices. It was lucky he hadn't hit too hard, or his head might have exploded.

Even so, no words came from behind the stone gate, and Jiang Taigong remained silent. Who knew if the old man was asleep or just ignoring him?

Sometime later, Ye Chen looked up, the dizziness gone and the blood from his orifices wiped clean.

In that moment, he activated his Zhoutian Eye, using Zhoutian power to peer into the stone gate and assess the situation inside. Besides Jiang Taigong, were there others? Was the Dao Ancestor there?

As Zhoutian power flowed, it parted layers of mist, revealing a blurred scene.

On the other side was an underground palace cavern, with four copper pillars standing tall and dim candles flickering, barely illuminating the gloom.

Ye Chen saw Jiang Taigong, lying quietly on a stone bed like a carved statue, truly in deep slumber, unmoving.

Above the stone bed hung three objects, making Ye Chen narrow his eyes: an iron whip, a command flag, and a divine list.

Each was extraordinary, with mysterious laws cascading down, faintly visible and radiating emperor might.

"Three ultimate Dao emperor weapons."

Ye Chen was startled. He recognized the shape of the iron whip—it was identical to his own God-Smiting Whip, which had originated from Jiang Taigong. This was likely the original emperor weapon version, vastly superior in rank and power.

"That command flag must be the Wuxing Command Flag."

"And that divine list—could it be the legendary Fengshen List?"

Ye Chen murmured softly. He had glimpsed fragments about them in Hua Shan's scripture pavilion. It was hard to believe Jiang Taigong possessed three ultimate Dao emperor weapons. No wonder he couldn't breach the gate, and even Emperor Ethereal was ineffective.