Chapter 2714: Doomed

As the Hun Dun dissipated in an instant, only the Zhu Xian Jian remained in the vast sky above. Its trembling had grown extremely faint, weakened by the Emperor Dao seal, which had greatly diminished its power. The entire sword body was now dotted with faint multicolored light, on the verge of annihilation at any moment.

Seeing this, Ye Chen and the Hun Dun Ti were instantly invigorated, charging forward together.

"Extinguish me?"

The Zhu Xian Jian laughed in furious rage. Though sealed, it remained arrogant, forcibly enduring the Emperor Dao seal to unleash a forbidden technique beyond the Emperor Dao level. Once again, it shattered the void and escaped into the nothingness.

Zheng!

Ye Chen moved like a divine rainbow, infusing his sword with Hun Dun essence and slashing through the hazy expanse.

Bang! Crack!

Crisp sounds rang out one after another.

Ye Chen failed to stop the Zhu Xian Jian, but he managed to cleave off a fingernail-sized fragment from it. The fragment fell from the heavens, its light extinguishing before it even hit the ground.

"I'll handle this."

The Hun Dun Ding flew up eagerly, its mouth forming a vortex that swallowed the fragment.

This thing wasn't foolish; it knew the Zhu Xian Jian was extraordinary, both powerful and resilient. The material used to forge it was undoubtedly supreme. Absorbing it into its own body would surely bring a great transformation.

Ye Chen didn't interfere, his pair of Hun Dun eyes scanning the universe in search of the Zhu Xian Jian's trace. The Hun Dun Ti was doing the same, but the Zhu Xian Jian was elusive. Not even the two Emperors, Tian Ming and others, could find it. Its ability to hide was as impressive as its skill in escape.

Ah!

Both sighed in disappointment. What a prime opportunity, yet it had slipped away again.

Fortunately, it was bound by the Dao Zu seal, unlikely to cause chaos anytime soon.

"Boss, this fragment is really tough."

The Hun Dun Ding hurried back, its teeth aching from the effort. It had swallowed the small piece of the Zhu Xian Jian but couldn't bite through it or refine it. In terms of hardness, it even surpassed the ding itself.

Ye Chen waved his hand, adding over a hundred seals to the fragment.

He had expected the Hun Dun Ding to struggle with it. The Zhu Xian Jian wasn't just any ordinary sword; even now, he didn't know what material it was made from. Its durability defied his understanding.

He only sealed the fragment for now, with no time to study it further—the battles in Zhu Tian were still raging.

The Hun Dun Ti descended from the sky, his face paler than Ye Chen's. Although Ye Chen had returned the Hun Dun essence, a significant amount had been lost, requiring considerable time to fully regenerate.

Ye Chen flicked a pill into his body.

The Hun Dun Ti closed his eyes, and when he reopened them, a gate of light appeared in the void above, resembling a domain gate. Ye Chen watched with curiosity—this seemed to be a innate divine ability of the Hun Dun Eye. If not for the ongoing war, he would have pulled the Hun Dun Ti aside to chat about it, perhaps discussing the Hun Dun Eye in depth.

The two entered the gate together, heading straight for Zhu Tian.

"Your God-Smiting Whip is pretty good; lend it to me for a bit!"

"My master once said that the Tenth Emperor of Great Chu never returns borrowed treasures."

"That's nonsense."

In the domain gate passage, such voices echoed faintly, growing fainter as they moved away.

"Hong Huang is in for trouble."

Xuan Di spoke gravely, stroking his illusory beard, his eyes sharp and bright.

"Hong Huang is in for trouble."

Ming Di's words were equally meaningful, as if awaiting a grand spectacle.

"Hong Huang is in for trouble."

Tai Shang Laojun and the others also uttered this truth, each taking out memory crystals.

Even those as subtle as Dao Zu Hong Jun and the Qian Mian Di Ying simply smiled.

Their smiles conveyed contentment, directed at the Hun Dun Ti and the Huang Gu Sheng Ti, especially Ye Chen, who had truly surprised them. Even under the control of the Zhu Xian Jian, he had broken free. Without his desperate counterattack, the two young Emperors would likely have fallen to the sword.

After withdrawing his gaze, Dao Zu turned and ascended step by step into the hazy heights.

Reaching the peak of the heavens, he paused briefly, gently flicking his sleeve to reinforce the Heavenly Realm barrier. Then, a purple light pillar descended from the void, piercing through heaven and earth.

Instantly, a layer of purple halo spread infinitely from the pillar, covering the upper and lower realms.

This halo was quite mysterious. Cultivators below Quasi-Emperor level felt nothing, but those at Quasi-Emperor level trembled upon contact, their expressions stunned and filled with pain.

"Zhu Tian."

Murmurs arose frequently, all from Quasi-Emperor level experts. Many had tears in their eyes.

Indeed, Dao Zu had lifted their memory seals. They all recalled their origins—the Three Realms of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity were once one, and their homeland was Zhu Tian. Their memories had been sealed for so long, and they had no idea how many years had passed since leaving home. Wails of sorrow echoed everywhere.

"You all are quite interesting."

It was the Xiu Luo Tian Zun again, standing with hands behind his back on a mountain peak, glancing around. Hua Shan Zhen Ren was crying, Hua Shan Xian Zi was tearful, and nearly all Quasi-Emperor level experts wore expressions of weariness.

"What's going on here?"

"What happened? We were drinking just fine, and now you're crying? Don't scare me."

"Why is my husband crying?"

Where there were cries, there were puzzled voices. Those below Quasi-Emperor level were completely baffled. In places like teahouses, taverns, restaurants, and even wedding chambers, strange scenes unfolded. What should have been joyous occasions turned into scenes of mourning, with everyone in tears.

Lord Long was confused, and the First Divine General was too, both looking up at the sky.

The great emperors of the Heavenly Realm must have some profound intention in lifting the memory seals. It could lead to major actions, perhaps transporting troops to the Human Realm through borrowing methods, allowing them to remain permanently in Zhu Tian.

Their guess was correct. Just as the Underworld had reinforced the Human Realm in the past, the Heavenly Realm wouldn't lag behind.

There were many ways for Heavenly Realm cultivators to stay in Zhu Tian, but the key was that the borrowing required the Hun Dun Ti to perform the ritual. This was why he had been brought to the Heavenly Realm back then—not just for teaching, but to prepare for troop deployment.

The only drawback was that the upper and lower realms had suffered heavy losses in the previous wars, especially the Heavenly Court, where peak-level forces had been nearly wiped out by Ye Chen and were still in reincarnation. If those old immortals hadn't been destroyed, deploying them to the Human Realm would have made for formidable strength.

"Return to Zhu Tian."

In that moment, all the unsealed Quasi-Emperors looked up at the void, their eyes filled with longing. The Heavenly Realm had reincarnation, and many of them had been reborn there multiple times, but the memory of their true homeland was indelible. They all yearned to go home.

Dao Zu said nothing. They would return, but the timing wasn't right yet. Deploying troops wasn't a minor matter; it would greatly disrupt the Heavenly Realm's reincarnation and required a specific moment in fate.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The battles in the Human Realm were fierce and bloody. Even without the Zhu Xian Jian boosting their power, the Hong Huang forces attacked relentlessly, unleashing ultimate Emperor artifacts and the full depths of their clans.

The Zhu Tian cultivators were full of fighting spirit, growing more frenzied by the moment.

This war was massive in scale, engulfing the entire starry sky and marking the prelude to the final battle.

"Aren't they back? Where are they?"

On the peak of the Tian Xu Forbidden Zone, Di Mie stood with hands clasped, watching the various illusory water screens, his eyes gleaming as he scanned one after another, as if searching for someone.

Who? Naturally, it was the Tenth Emperor of Great Chu—he should be making an appearance soon.

"Come, look at this one."

Tian Zhu pointed to a water screen.

It displayed scenes of battle, with graceful figures weaving through the starry sky, creating a stunning sight. Upon closer inspection, they were Ye Chen's wives.

"Impressive."

Di Mie shifted closer. People had their biases, after all. Ye Chen wasn't a perfect saint; if he were saving anyone, he'd start with his family. Wherever Chu Xuan and the others were, that's where Ye Chen would go.

The Tian Xu Heavenly Kings stood gracefully, also watching that water screen, as did the other four Heavenly Kings.

For some reason, with so many talents in Zhu Tian, they were all fixated on Ye Chen. They really missed him.

Not just them—the five Forbidden Zone young Emperors felt the same, and some even wanted to spar with him.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

As they watched, blood flowers bloomed continuously in the star domain where Chu Xuan and the others were.

Ye Chen's wives were no less formidable than men, slaughtering Hong Huang forces until corpses piled like mountains and rivers ran with blood. Though their defended star space had fallen several times, they fought back fiercely each time.

"Kill! Kill for me!"

The Hong Huang clan emperors roared, sending even more forces their way. Simply because they were Ye Chen's wives, they had become prime targets, drawing far more attackers than other battlefields.

In response to Hong Huang's courtesy, Zhu Tian sent reinforcements wave after wave.

The battle paused briefly at one point, as if by mutual agreement, for a momentary truce.

It was a dazzling star river, now stained red with blood. In the eastern starry sky, the Hong Huang army stretched like an endless sea, a dark mass of figures with savage, terrifying expressions, ready to charge at any moment. In the western starry expanse, Zhu Tian cultivators formed ranks, gripping their bloodied weapons, prepared for bloodshed. The two sides faced off across the star river, evenly matched.

"Old Seven is back; aren't you happy?"

The Little Ape Emperor popped a pill into his mouth, grinning at Chu Xuan and the others.

"How could we not be? We're still waiting for him to have kids!"

Kui Niu laughed broadly.

"It's all thanks to the Huang Gu Sheng Ti's vigorous vitality. Anyone else couldn't handle it."

"With over a dozen wives, he'd need a huge bed for that."

The two bantered back and forth, one shouldering an iron staff and the other wielding a battle-axe, chatting away like they were performing a comedy routine. They were thoroughly enjoying themselves, their words laced with envy. As sworn brothers, comparing themselves to Ye Chen was quite the blow—without comparison, there'd be no harm.

Chu Ling glanced at them sideways, and Chu Xuan, Nan Ming Yu Su, and the others wore similar looks. On the entire battlefield, these two—a monkey and a bull—stood out, chattering away as if nothing was wrong, while all other Zhu Tian fighters had resolute gazes, facing death without fear.

"Kill! Kill for me!"

The brief calm was shattered by a fierce shout as Hong Huang ordered the attack.

At the same time, all Zhu Tian cultivators tightened their grips on their weapons, their powers surging to their peaks.

Bang!

Accompanied by a thunderous boom, a Taotie Quasi-Emperor crossed the star river, unleashing torrents of killing intent. As a supreme peak expert, his Heaven-Swallowing Secret Art dominated all, and he had claimed countless Zhu Tian lives on this battlefield, even making emperors wary.

"I'll take him on."

Tai Wang snorted coldly, sword in hand, ready to charge into battle alone.

But before he could move, a divine light shot from the rear starry sky. Upon closer inspection, it was a godly arrow—a thunder arrow carrying world-shattering might.

Pfft!

Blood sprayed as the Taotie Quasi-Emperor's skull was pierced, his origin and true form obliterated on the spot, leaving only a mangled corpse to plummet from the stars. His blood-red eyes bulged in disbelief; a supreme peak expert like him had been slain in a single shot.