Chapter 2791: Ruoxi's Abnormality

Chapter 2791: Ruoxi's Eeriness

Nine days later, Ye Chen exited the mountains and returned to Tianxuan Men.

All the peak masters were already there, having prepared equipment and provisions for Young Master Ye. The so-called equipment consisted of ultimate emperor weapons, while the provisions were spirit pills and divine herbs, a considerable amount at that.

"Go ahead and look for the Heavenly Demons and Calamity Demons, no need to rush back. We'll take care of your wife for you."

Di Lao said this, patting Ye Chen on the shoulder.

Immediately, he was sent flying by a slap from the Shengti, leaving him half-crippled.

When they looked at Xuan Huang, his palm was already raised, as if he wanted to strike Di Lao—who could blame him? His own daughter, Nanming Yushu, was also Ye Chen's wife.

Unfortunately, he was a step too late.

"Beating people is a skill; I'll handle it just fine."

Ye Chen spoke with a meaningful expression.

It was better that he didn't speak; as soon as he did, Xuan Huang's face darkened again. Every time he thought of his precious daughter being "拱ed by a pig," he inexplicably felt angry.

Ye Chen gave a dry laugh and lowered his head to check his equipment.

The storage bags from the peak masters contained many pills, all of them eight-patterned. The equipment was the Xianwu Emperor Sword, which hummed with imperial power.

"Even if they are just small fry, you still need to be careful."

Compared to Di Lao, Tian Lao was much more reliable—or at least, he seemed reliable on the surface. He had wanted to joke around too, but seeing Di Lao's fate, he changed his tone.

"Understood."

Ye Chen waved his hand and headed straight into the depths.

He reappeared in the bamboo forest where Xiao Ruoxi was sealed.

That's right, he intended to take Ruoxi with him. Leaving her at Tianxuan Men wasn't as safe as keeping her by his side—the Zhuxian Sword was too elusive, and he couldn't afford to let it find an opportunity.

Another purpose was the Lingxiao Bao Dian.

The first hall of the ancient heavenly court—was it still in the Hei Dong? He needed to retrieve it. Going alone wouldn't work, but with Ruoxi, who knows, it might actually succeed.

Tiandao, activate!

With a light shout, he entered the Hei Dong with Ruoxi.

Boom! Rumble!

The moment he disappeared, a tremendous rumble erupted, and the entire Da Chu changed. The vast and ethereal sky was covered by dark clouds, with lightning and thunder like the prelude to a heavenly tribulation. Even more ancient omens appeared, leaving the peak masters all looking astonished.

It was fortunate the restricted areas didn't know; if they did, they would surely assemble and rush over in a panic upon learning that Ye Chen had taken Ruoxi out of Da Chu—that girl couldn't just casually leave the Zhutian Men.

In the Hei Dong.

Ye Chen steadied himself, donned a black robe, and cast the Zhoutian to conceal his origin and aura. Ever since the imperial path changed, this profound Zhoutian evolution had become more than just a concealment technique—it was practically omnipresent.

He fixed his gaze on a certain direction and slowly walked forward.

Along the way, he released his divine sense, expanding it from himself toward the surrounding darkness, with the Zhoutian enhancing it to avoid alerting the enemy.

It wasn't until some time later that he stopped.

In the distance was a sea of qi, shrouded in mist.

Within it hid Heavenly Demons.

Ye Chen's eyes flickered as he slipped in like a ghost.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Black blood flowers bloomed frequently, staining the sea of qi with fresh blood. The Heavenly Demon soldiers and generals hidden inside had no chance to escape; they were all slain by Ye Chen.

When Ye Chen emerged, the sea of qi had completely dissipated.

He continued on his way, heading toward the Lingxiao Bao Dian. He searched as he went, and any Heavenly Demons or Calamity Demons he found couldn't evade his scrutiny—nothing below the emperor level could hide.

This journey lasted three months.

Over these three months, he moved and stopped intermittently, like a god of slaughter, wiping out countless Heavenly Demons and Calamity Demons along the way. Their miserable wails echoed throughout the Hei Dong.

In the fourth month, he stopped to rest.

Through the Hei Dong, he could see the starry sky.

After several battles, the shattered stars were filled with people—some patrolling, some searching for the Honghuang, some rebuilding their homes—everything proceeding in an orderly manner.

"Boss, that girl is crying."

As Ye Chen was looking, he suddenly heard the Chaos Cauldron speak.

Ye Chen turned his gaze to his inner world.

Indeed, the sleeping Xiao Ruoxi was crying, tears sliding from the corners of her eyes—he didn't know if it was from a nightmare or if she had recalled some sad memory.

Ye Chen smiled and flicked a strand of immortal light, which turned into an illusory handkerchief to gently wipe away her tears.

After that, he set off again.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Soon, deep in the darkness, rumbles erupted.

Ye Chen had caught a big school of fish—over a million Calamity Demons, huddled together. They thought they were well hidden, but they couldn't escape Ye Chen's eyes.

This was all because of the Calamity Demons' pitiful intelligence.

They figured sticking together would provide mutual support, but little did they know that the larger the group, the bigger the target—Ye Chen wiped them out in one go.

In the following days, such situations occurred frequently.

Groups of Calamity Demons were found one after another, some with tens of thousands, some with hundreds of thousands or more.

Ye Chen almost laughed. Your great emperor has already been destroyed—what's the point of grouping up for support? They probably had no idea how domineering the Huanggu Shengti was. Not even millions could stand against it.

In the darkness, Ye Chen emerged again, sword in hand, covered in blood—all from the Calamity Demons. He was like a blood-soaked Asura, continuing his merciless slaughter.

Compared to Calamity Demons, Heavenly Demons were much smarter.

Over several months, Ye Chen had found quite a few Calamity Demons, but sightings of the Black Lotus Heavenly Demons were rare. Over ninety-nine percent of what he killed were from the Calamity Demon race.

In the blink of an eye, three more days passed.

Ye Chen held a wine flask in one hand and the emperor sword in the other, his divine sense expanding endlessly. Whenever he detected the aura of Heavenly Demons or Calamity Demons, he struck immediately.

"Boss, she's crying again."

Once more, the Chaos Cauldron called out to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen looked back at his inner world.

This time, Xiao Ruoxi was crying even more painfully, her face full of tears, though she wasn't sobbing—just letting them flow. If her mother saw this, she'd be heartbroken.

Ye Chen summoned immortal light again to wipe her tears.

"The fortunes of the Zhutian, eternally vast."

Suddenly, Ruoxi spoke.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow at this—it was sleep talk. Yes, sleep talk. After uttering that line, more crystal tears flowed.

For this, Ye Chen specifically stopped to study it.

However, after watching for three days, he couldn't figure it out. After that single phrase, Ruoxi didn't speak again; she only shed tears from time to time.

Ye Chen shook his head helplessly and continued on his way.

"The fortunes of the Zhutian, eternally vast."

In the days that followed, phrases like this echoed occasionally, all from Xiao Ruoxi, and the intervals grew shorter—from once every few months to once every ten days or so, and finally almost once every three days.

In the past, Ye Chen would have been astonished.

But after learning about Xiao Ruoxi's origins, it didn't shock him as much. Saying such things was only natural—she was part of the Zhutian too.

"The fortunes of the Zhutian, eternally vast."

Listening to these words, Ye Chen traversed patches of darkness, exterminating Heavenly Demons and Calamity Demons. His state of mind grew colder with each kill, and his killing intent more surging.

Perhaps aware that a god of slaughter had entered the Hei Dong, both Heavenly Demons and Calamity Demons became like startled birds. For many days afterward, he didn't see a single one of them.

Ye Chen had anticipated this.

He was killing so fiercely that it was hard not to alert them. Any disturbance would make the Heavenly Demons and Calamity Demons panic and flee deeper.

"When the Heavenly Demons charge the Seven Sha, it will be the time for the immortals to war against the heavens."

From some point on, Ruoxi's lines changed to this sentence.

Ye Chen was quite interested in this. The tearless one's words had been vague before, and he hadn't fully understood, but he didn't expect Xiao Ruoxi to mention it too.

From then on, Ruoxi became increasingly unusual—she would cry at times, speak in her sleep at others. The expressions on her little face changed like magic—sometimes icy, sometimes compassionate; filled with pain or smiles, performing each emotion with vivid intensity.

"This girl must be having nightmares."

"I think it's a really long dream."

"I have a sense of unease."

"Me too."

The Chaos Cauldron and Chaos Fire, one on each side, hovered near Ruoxi, chattering away, their remarks full of emotion.

Ye Chen said nothing, just watched quietly.

Ever since leaving the Zhutian Men, this girl had become stranger and stranger. When she was sealed at Tianxuan Men, there was none of this—she was like a stone-carved statue, unresponsive all day.

Buzz!

Suddenly, a buzz rang through his inner world.

Then, a halo of light spread from Xiao Ruoxi's body.

"Whoa."

The Chaos Cauldron and Chaos Fire both flipped over in shock.

They reacted that way, let alone the inner world—wherever the halo passed, the mountains standing within collapsed one by one; the lush forests were severed at the waist, one after another.

Pfft!

Ye Chen spat out blood on the spot, unsteady on his feet and falling over. Even his Huanggu Shengti cracked, with dazzling golden blood seeping from the fissures.

Once he steadied himself, he staggered another step and coughed up more blood.

Looking at his inner world, it was a complete mess. Even the Changsheng Fruit Tree had been chopped down, fruits scattering everywhere, and countless mountains had collapsed.

Without thinking, Ye Chen hurriedly brought Xiao Ruoxi out of his inner world. Just one halo had nearly destroyed it—if there were more, he might end up at death's door.

"Too strong, way too strong."

The Chaos Cauldron also emerged, its thick body covered in cracks. It was lucky it was tough enough; otherwise, it might have shattered.

It fared that way, and the Chaos Fire wasn't much better—its blazing flames had their golden glow dimmed considerably, looking wilted and lusterless.

"You're not playing fair with this."

Ye Chen sat down heavily, his face pale.

His inner world had almost been ruined, affecting his very foundation—this was a serious injury. He had fought Heavenly Demons and Calamity Demons all the way without getting hurt, yet Xiao Ruoxi had wounded him.

Ruoxi showed no reaction at all.

Ye Chen felt awkward. This sudden turn of events made him afraid to put Ruoxi back in his inner world. A few more times like this, and he'd be done for.

At that moment, he finally believed the fact that even mid-tier great emperors had been flipped—such a halo was this domineering; if she really attacked, how incredible would that be?

Protector!

Ye Chen sat cross-legged, summoning his Dharma body and the emperor sword to guard Xiao Ruoxi, while he closed his eyes slightly—his inner world needed repair, and so did his injuries.

"You're really something!"

The Dharma body sighed in admiration, giving Ruoxi a thumbs-up. A half-step great achievement Shengti wounded this badly by a single halo—what terrifying power!

"Best to keep your distance from her."

"Smart move."

The Chaos Cauldron and Chaos Fire both spoke, the cauldron hiding behind the Xianwu Emperor Sword, and the fire behind the holy war Dharma body. If Xiao Ruoxi suddenly released another halo, they'd get hurt again.