Chapter 2684: He's Here

As he spoke, many people turned their heads and looked in Ye Chen's direction.

Amidst the flying debris, Ye Chen staggered to his feet. A deep gash across his chest gushed with fresh blood, exposing bone and internal organs. Ji Mie Xian Zun’s sword strike was incredibly powerful, nearly splitting him in two.

“Looks like I fought my way out, only to be cut back in.”

“Surviving Ji Mie Xian Zun’s sword like that isn't just tough—it’s extraordinary!”

“Even so, it’s pointless. Today is destined to be his end.”

“Hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers and generals, plus a veteran like Ji Mie Xian Zun—Yin Ming really thinks highly of Ye Chen.”

“Even in death, he can take pride in that.”

The spectators’ eyes were filled with pity. They had hoped Ye Chen could escape, but with a figure like Ji Mie Xian Zun intervening, it was impossible.

“No wonder Yin Ming was so composed—he had a backup plan.”

The great demons and great devils wore grim expressions, glancing toward Yin Ming.

That guy had been calm and composed from the start because everything was under his control. Even if Ye Chen broke through the encirclement of hundreds of thousands of troops, he couldn’t evade the hidden obstacles.

“There must be more Xian Zun hidden in the shadows.”

Jiao Long Wang narrowed his eyes, scanning the surroundings. He could sense several obscure auras; Ji Mie Xian Zun was just one of them.

“Kill.”

Seeing Ye Chen struck back, Dan Shen grew excited again, letting out a roar as he prepared to charge.

Zheng!

Ji Mie Xian Zun raised his sword, blocking Dan Shen’s path, signaling that he didn't need to proceed.

“Dan Lao, I gave you a chance, but you couldn’t seize it. Don’t blame me.”

Yin Ming chuckled softly, finally speaking up.

“You…”

Dan Shen’s face twisted in rage, on the verge of exploding, but he was held back by the experts from Dan Shen Dian. It seemed they had also detected the obscure auras lurking in the darkness—beings on the same level as Ji Mie Xian Zun, just not revealing themselves yet.

Yin Ming wasn’t lying; the opportunity was given, but you failed to grasp it. Now that you’d lost your chance, he wouldn’t allow any more mischief. If you truly opposed Yin Ming, a single order from him could wipe out Dan Shen Dian.

Yin Ming withdrew his gaze and looked elsewhere, smiling at Ye Chen. “How’s the show today? Satisfactory?”

“Satisfactory, of course it is.”

Ye Chen swayed unsteadily, barely able to stand, relying on his iron staff for support. Ji Mie Xian Zun had held back with that sword; otherwise, he would have been cleaved apart.

Even so, Ye Chen wasn’t in much better shape. The killing intent from the strike was hard to dispel, still rampaging inside him. Blood poured from his mouth nonstop, his face deathly pale, his aura weakened to the extreme. Only the Emperor Dao divine pill was keeping him upright.

“Holy Lord.”

Yue Xin’s call was laced with sobs, her beautiful eyes already wet with tears.

“It’s fine.”

Ye Chen gave a reassuring smile.

“You old fool, still alive?”

Si Ming, Tai Yi, and Tai Bai were eyeing Ji Mie Xian Zun. Having heard of his reputation, they knew that if not for his role in slaying the Demon Sovereign back in the day, the Demon Lands wouldn’t have fallen so easily.

Xiu Luo Tian Zun had already summoned his pagoda, placing one hand on Ye Chen’s back to channel vast essence energy, helping to suppress the killing intent. His deep eyes regarded Ji Mie Xian Zun with wariness; even at full strength, he wasn’t confident he could defeat him, let alone in his current weakened state.

“With your seniority, resorting to ambushes? Aren’t you afraid of being scorned by future generations?”

Tian Zun snorted coldly, fixing his stare on Ji Mie Xian Zun.

“The victor writes history; it’s always been that way.”

Ji Mie Xian Zun replied indifferently, his words ethereal and cold, carrying a hypnotic power that made listeners’ minds blur.

Tian Zun wanted to say more, but Ye Chen waved him off, sending him back into the pagoda. In their current situation, a weakened Xiu Luo Tian Zun couldn’t be of much help.

Ye Chen glanced at Ji Mie Xian Zun and, almost imperceptibly, scanned the surroundings. He could clearly detect the obscure auras; none of them were weaker than Ji Mie Xian Zun. He had always known the Heavenly Court’s foundations were deep, so he felt no surprise.

“This gamble seems to be my win.”

Yin Ming laughed, looking down at Ye Chen with even more excitement than looking down on mortals. For he regarded Ye Chen as a true rival, and there was something thrilling about overlooking an opponent.

“That remains to be seen.”

Ye Chen smiled faintly, forming a seal with one hand.

Immediately, a hum resonated. With him at the center, a hundred-zhang radius turned into solid ground, while beyond that, a thousand-zhang area became a black hole, and outside the black hole was land once more.

“Emperor Dao Black Shore?”

Someone in the shadows exclaimed in surprise—it was one of the hidden veteran Xian Zun.

“You seniors know your stuff.”

Ye Chen chuckled, collapsing onto the ground in exhaustion, blood still overflowing from his mouth.

“You little rock, I underestimated you.”

Murmurs came from all sides. Besides Ji Mie Xian Zun, three other veteran Xian Zun emerged.

“Good heavens! Dao Mie Xian Zun, Xu Mie Xian Zun, Tian Mie Xian Zun.”

The crowd cried out in shock, hearts pounding.

Now, one in each direction—east, west, south, and north—all cloaked in black robes, their faces obscured, only their deep old eyes visible, brimming with the essence of destruction.

“Good one, Emperor Dao Black Shore.”

“Flattery from you seniors.”

Ye Chen coughed up blood, his gaze dim and faded.

Surrounded by hundreds of thousands of troops, his figure seemed like a single grain in a vast warehouse, utterly isolated.

“What… what kind of divine ability is that?”

Many spectators looked stunned, with numerous immortals instinctively retreating. The thousand-zhang black hole exuded a powerful devouring force, pulling in flying sand, broken weapons, fragments of magical artifacts, and even the corpses of heavenly soldiers and generals that came too close, making them vanish without a trace.

“That’s Emperor Dao Darkness, essentially absolute defense.”

An old Xian Jun explained. “To eliminate Ye Chen, you’d have to cross that black hole.”

“So just don’t cross it—can’t we attack from a distance?”

“Are you out of your mind? If people can’t get through, how could divine abilities or secret techniques?”

“Unless you also master black hole immortal arts.”

There were plenty of knowledgeable ones among them. Many old Xian Jun were astonished, and even more licked their lips in envy, marveling that Ye Chen knew such a secret technique and coveting his Emperor Dao Darkness, which truly offered absolute defense.

“You’ve got some skills, kid!”

Si Ming and the other two clicked their tongues in unison.

“This technique is really something.”

Even Xiu Luo Tian Zun couldn’t help stroking his chin, his eyes gleaming.

“Is that a black hole?”

Tian Qing asked curiously.

As for Yue Xin and Fa Lun Wang, they remained calm. Compared to Emperor Dao Darkness, Ye Chen’s past Heavenly Dao was the real game-changer. If Emperor Dao Darkness was absolute defense, then Heavenly Dao was like an escape immortal art.

“Interesting, truly interesting.”

Yin Ming laughed again, unable to resist clapping. This opponent kept surprising him time and again, which thrilled him immensely. The more astonishing Ye Chen was, the more delighted he became.

Because he would be the one to snuff out this genius.

“Intermission—let me catch my breath first.”

Ye Chen waved a hand, shoving pills into his mouth. His condition was truly poor; while Emperor Dao Black Shore was profound, it required spiritual power to maintain. If his power ran out, the black hole would dissipate on its own.

“Rest your sister—get into the black hole quickly!”

Xiu Luo Tian Zun scolded. “Find a safe spot, then use this to escape the black hole, and the deadlock can be broken.”

“It won’t work.”

Ye Chen shook his head, glancing at the ethereal void.

Tian Jie was different from the mortal realm; mysterious forces suppressed it. When he cast Emperor Dao Black Shore earlier, he felt a resistance that nearly caused it to fail.

Entering the black hole was easy, but whether he could exit was another story.

Bringing memories through the calamity had its advantages, but also drawbacks.

The drawbacks meant that divine abilities and secret techniques—like One Thought Eternity or Emperor Dao Ethereal—faced resistance when used in Tian Jie, far from their full power.

Beyond that, it affected his bloodline.

It seemed these Emperor Dao immortal arts recognized specific locations and origins. He had learned them in the various heavens and comprehended them with his sacred body bloodline, but in Tian Jie with its different bloodline source, they were restricted.

Various reasons caused many techniques to lose their effectiveness, such as Reverse World Reincarnation and Flying Thunder God, which worked sporadically.

“Whoa, what the heck is that?”

As they spoke, Tai Bai suddenly blurted out.

Ye Chen’s train of thought was interrupted, and he looked over instinctively. His face changed dramatically as he shakily stood up.

From the southeast, northwest, and other directions, immortal paths extended toward them. This was clearly some kind of divine ability or secret technique, ignoring the black hole of Emperor Dao Black Shore entirely.

The casters were Ji Mie Xian Zun and his companions.

Evidently, they all mastered black hole secret techniques, and these immortal paths acted like bridges.

At that moment, the four veteran Xian Zun had already stepped onto the paths, heading straight for him.