Chapter 2705: The Asura Realm

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, his expression growing even stranger. He absolutely wouldn't mistake it; the dignity of that Tianmo evil thought was identical to that of the heavenly court's Yu Di.

"Old man, the Yu Di of the heavenly court, have you seen him?" Ye Chen transmitted his voice. "What is his relationship with this Tianmo evil thought?"

"The former self of Yu Di was that Tianmo Emperor, but it was transformed by Daozu, removing the Tianmo bloodline and Tianmo origin."

"Don't try to fool me. When the ancient heavenly court was defeated, Daozu hadn't even been born yet—the timeline doesn't match up." Ye Chen said irritably, "Besides, without the Qingtian Magic Pillar as a foundation, how could that Tianmo Emperor have lived this long?"

"No time to fool you." The Xuan Di phantom's words were ethereal as he spoke slowly, "Most Tianmo races need the Qingtian Magic Pillar as a foundation to survive, but a few Tianmo races ignore such restrictions. Take that Tianmo Emperor, for example. In the ancient bloody wars, when the ancient heavenly court fell and the first Saint Body and Tianmo were both devastated, that Tianmo Emperor was personally sealed by the Nu Di. It wasn't until the era of Daozu that Hongjun released and transformed him, removing the Tianmo bloodline and memories, thus creating a new life form—the current Yu Di of the heavenly court."

"I see."

Ye Chen murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. He knew exactly whom the Xuan Di phantom meant by Nu Di—it had to be the commander of the ancient heavenly court.

In that instant, his eyes gleamed with brilliant immortal light, barely concealing his delight. He had truly confirmed his suspicion: Yu Di's former self was indeed a Tianmo.

Daozu's methods were impressive—if he encountered someone like Danmo in reincarnation again, he could just ask Hongjun to break the cycle.

"Unfortunately, Hongjun didn't do it thoroughly enough." The Xuan Di phantom continued, "Although the Tianmo memories and bloodline were removed, remnants lingered, and there are signs of resurgence."

"I can see that." Ye Chen took a deep breath and glanced at the Tianmo evil thought opposite him. "You shouldn't have had me fight him. You should have gone for Yu Di."

"Going to him might cause trouble."

The Xuan Di phantom coughed dryly. Yu Di's transformation wasn't complete, and if he encountered the evil thought, they might end up merging.

Ye Chen said no more, simply staring coldly at his opponent.

"Kill... kill... kill."

The Tianmo evil thought gritted his teeth, remolding his divine body and regathering his combat power, surging forward with overwhelming demonic fog.

Ye Chen snorted coldly and charged head-on, swinging his staff with devastating force that could shatter a hundred thousand mountains.

The Tianmo evil thought summoned a sea of demonic blood to absorb the staff's power, then flipped his hand to unleash a palm strike that blotted out the sky.

"I'll stab."

Ye Chen gripped his iron staff and thrust it upward like a pillar holding up the heavens, piercing through the palm print and sending the Tianmo evil thought staggering, nearly tumbling into the void.

"I don't believe it."

The Tianmo evil thought roared, slashing his finger and letting fresh blood rain down. Each drop turned into a rune, intertwined with demonic patterns that stabilized the chaotic universe and exerted a sealing force to suppress Ye Chen.

"I'll stab again."

Ye Chen thrust his staff upward, the iron staff expanding massively as it recklessly disrupted the seal. The newly formed demonic patterns shattered completely under his assault.

"Perish for me."

The Tianmo evil thought went berserk, summoning his innate vision.

It was that same boundless demonic land, like a canopy of clouds pressing down from the sky. Everywhere it passed, space collapsed, the universe was destroyed, and countless fierce ghosts wailed as they were ground to ash.

"I'll still stab."

Ye Chen shouted boisterously, his iron staff humming and growing rapidly. From top to bottom, it pierced a massive hole through the Tianmo evil thought's innate vision.

The boundless demonic land rumbled and fragmented, exploding inch by inch.

Thud!

The Tianmo evil thought spat blood—it was unclear if from injury or rage. A majestic emperor's evil thought had been beaten to the point of vomiting blood by a minor quasi-emperor with just three stabs.

The Xuan Di phantom's gaze was full of profound meaning.

Among those who wielded staffs, Ye Chen was undoubtedly a prime example. The Dinghai Shen Zhen in his hands was fiercely formidable.

"Kill!"

The Tianmo evil thought shrieked, his face twisted in ferocity.

He raised his hands to the sky, weaving evil and malicious thoughts together with imperial laws and demonic fog, forming a black sun. Billions of rays of dark sunlight shot out, cold and desolate, demonic and violent, carrying the power to destroy heavens and earth.

Ye Chen tensed and once again propped up his Chaos Great Realm.

However, the Tianmo evil thought's immortal technique was extraordinarily powerful. The thriving Chaos Great Realm was riddled with holes by the dark sunlight, its mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees losing all vitality and collapsing in vast swathes.

"You're forcing me."

Ye Chen snorted coldly and suddenly plunged his iron staff into the ground.

Then, he fused immortal fire with the Daojing to form a divine bow, and combined his origin with imperial essence to create a divine arrow.

He drew the bow like a full moon and loosed a thunderous divine arrow straight at the black sun.

Whenever he saw something round and smooth, he had this habitual move.

The Wu clan's sky-shooting secret technique was perfect for countering such abilities.

Buzz!

The thunderous divine arrow soared against the heavens, also carrying destructive power, and pierced right through the Tianmo evil thought's sun.

Thud!

With the secret technique broken, the Tianmo evil thought staggered back a step and spat another mouthful of blood, his face turning deathly pale from the immense consumption.

"It's over."

Ye Chen's ethereal words echoed as the second divine arrow flew, even more powerful than the first.

The Tianmo evil thought suddenly froze in place, clasping his hands together to summon a black great bell that enveloped his body, hoping to block the arrow.

Clang! Crack!

The sounds rang out in succession.

The divine arrow collided with the great bell, producing a crisp metallic clash and sparking bright flames.

Immediately after, the great bell shattered, pierced by the divine arrow.

Pierced along with it was the Tianmo evil thought himself, the arrow going straight through his chest and out his back, spraying dark blood in a gruesome display.

"Ah...!"

The Tianmo evil thought bellowed in rage, though utterly unwilling, he was defeated. Like a falling meteor, he plummeted from the void, his demonic light rapidly fading.

For the second time, he smashed a deep crater into the ground.

Ye Chen descended from the sky and stood in the void, like a worldly sovereign overlooking the Tianmo evil thought.

For a long time, the Tianmo evil thought didn't rise again. Though he yearned to fight on, he lacked the strength, lying feebly in the pit with blood gushing from his mouth, his scarlet eyes filled with grotesque malice.

Millennia ago, he had been utterly defeated.

Millennia later, he was defeated again, even more disastrously.

At least back then, he had lost to an emperor.

Now, he had fallen to a mere quasi-emperor.

Ye Chen frowned. The Tianmo evil thought's aura had dissipated, and even if dragged out, it wouldn't warrant disturbing Daozu.

So, whether the Tianmo evil thought produced the Tianshu or not was irrelevant.

With that thought, Ye Chen thrust his staff straight down from the heavens, infused with Xuan Di's imperial might and essence.

Boom!

The staff struck, piercing a deep abyss into the earth and making the entire Tianshu world tremble.

As for the Tianmo evil thought in the pit, his soul scattered completely.

After scheming for endless ages, it all ended in failure, leaving only unwilling roars echoing through the heavens and earth.

With his death and the evil thought's extermination, the dim Tianshu world was bathed in light. Wherever the light touched, demonic forces were purged and demonic fog obliterated.

"Nicely done."

The Xuan Di phantom chuckled and hooked Ye Chen out with a small fishing hook.

Thud!

No sooner had he landed than Ye Chen spat a mouthful of fresh blood, unsteady on his feet and nearly collapsing.

He had slain the Tianmo evil thought, but at a heavy cost.

This heaven-defying feat came with equally severe exhaustion.

Glancing at the Tianshu, its pages rustled and flipped, surrounded by immortal light and overflowing with Dao essence like radiant hues, accompanied by the sounds of the Great Dao. The book was wordless, yet it exuded a heavenly aura.

"The Tianshu essence has returned." The Xuan Di phantom laughed.

"Give me the Tianshu. I have great use for it." Ye Chen stowed his iron staff and popped a handful of pills into his mouth.

The Xuan Di phantom glanced sideways, sizing up Ye Chen. This wordless Tianshu would be useful to anyone.

Ye Chen ignored him and casually took the Tianshu, tucking it into his small world. After this fierce battle, he finally had his reward.

Bringing the Tianshu back would surely delight Yao Chi.

Who knows, it might even let him share her bed for a night.

Thinking of that, he felt quite pleased.

Meanwhile, the Xuan Di phantom put away his fishing rod and clasped his hands, still wearing his hood and cloak, his form ethereal and flickering in and out of view.

"How long will Daozu's self-seal last?" Ye Chen wiped the blood from his mouth.

"Without surprises, at least a hundred years."

"Is there a special way to wake him?"

"If there were, would I still be here fishing for Tianmo?" The Xuan Di phantom snapped.

Ye Chen fell silent, fuming once again.

It seemed he'd have to stir up some major chaos for Daozu to wake that guy up.

"You... exactly who are you?"

The Xuan Di phantom asked leisurely, his words laden with meaning.

"I am..."

"Ah...!"

"Go ahead, scream."

Ye Chen finally couldn't hold back and slapped him across the face. He casually retrieved the iron staff from his small world.

This time, the Xuan Di phantom's screams were genuine.

Ye Chen's iron staff packed quite a sting.

The scene was quite satisfying to watch.

Who would have thought that in this remote Buzhou Mountain, the reincarnation of the emperor would beat up the phantom of Xuan Di?

Ye Chen couldn't be blamed—it was Xuan Di who was out of line, occasionally letting out those startling yells. As the tenth emperor of Great Chu, he naturally couldn't tolerate it.

"Keep howling like that, and every time I see you, I'll beat you again."

Ye Chen grumbled as he stalked off with his iron staff, the word "satisfied" written all over his face.

Behind him, the Xuan Di phantom looked utterly disheveled.

He truly couldn't move, just sitting in mid-air and shaking his head vigorously, his mind buzzing. Even the faint trace of his intelligence was nearly extinguished by Ye Chen.

"Fine, just you wait."

After a long while, the Xuan Di phantom regained his senses, his face darkened with fury.

Then, his form turned completely ethereal—or rather, merged into the rock wall.

As he merged, the fragmented array patterns in the mountain crevice became vibrant once more, no longer broken. They connected with one another and etched themselves into the heavens and earth, vanishing from sight.

This was the reason he couldn't move—he was the anchor of an array. If he shifted, the patterns would chaos, affecting Buzhou Mountain's order and potentially bringing calamity to the heavenly realm. The three realms of heaven, earth, and humans would all be implicated.

As the saying goes, pulling one hair moves the whole body.