Chapter 2799: Unknown Territory

Zhu Tian.

Amidst the roaring thunder, the booming sounds faded, or perhaps Ruo Xi had stopped moving, whether due to exhaustion or controlling her aura, no one could tell.

"Things are getting more astonishing by the day."

"Who could be in that black hole? So incredibly powerful."

"Could it be Sheng Ti Ye Chen?"

"Even Di Huang wouldn't cause such a huge commotion, and he's only a half-step away."

In the starry sky, figures gathered in clusters. Some stood on the edge of the star rivers, others perched on meteorites, all craning their necks to watch. They spoke in low voices, airing their doubts and speculations.

"The footsteps... have stopped."

In the depths of the dark black hole, the strongest individuals had assembled, each frowning deeply. It wasn't that Ruo Xi had stopped that troubled them; it was losing their direction, not knowing where to search next. The black hole was vast and boundless, finding a person was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

"Form teams of three and spread out."

The God King of Creation left those words and headed off in one direction, accompanied by the Feather Immortal King and Long Cang Jie. As they moved, they each summoned several clones. More people meant more strength—this was about finding Ruo Xi, as well as Ye Chen and Hong Chen Liu Dao.

The other Quasi-Emperors did the same, pairing up with teammates. After all, the black hole was full of dangers, harboring countless celestial demons and calamity demons; they couldn't afford any accidents.

In one corner of the black hole, a blood-soaked figure staggered along step by step—it was Wu Tian Jian Zun. His face was deathly pale, blood constantly dripping from his mouth. He was injured even worse than Ye Chen, almost sent across the Nai He Bridge by that halo of light. To this day, he still didn't know who the mysterious Ruo Xi was; her power was just too absurd.

Besides them, there were Hong Chen Liu Dao.

The two moved stiffly, like puppets, one following the other through the darkness, searching for Ruo Xi. Every now and then, they would pause, awkwardly twisting their rigid necks to scan the surrounding darkness before continuing.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen had entered another section of the black hole.

From afar, he could see the Chaos Fire, Heavenly Thunder, and Xian Wu Emperor Sword suspended in the darkness. As for his Saint War Dharma Body, it had likely already dissipated, as it had a time limit.

"Big boss."

Upon seeing Ye Chen, both the Chaos Fire and Heavenly Thunder flickered with excitement.

Ye Chen didn't respond. He slowly came to a stop, his eyes narrowing as he stared ahead.

There, a vortex loomed, pitch-black and massive, spanning over a hundred thousand zhang in diameter, spinning at incredible speed. Occasionally, lightning tore through it, and its devouring force was extraordinarily strong, concealing some mysterious power.

Because it was in a black hole and the vortex itself was black, it was hard to spot unless you looked closely. Someone not paying attention might step right into it.

"Full of traps everywhere!"

Ye Chen muttered to himself, fixated on the vortex. Even from a distance, he could sense its terrifying suction. If he got any closer, he'd likely be pulled in. Judging by its dark, ominous appearance, it was clearly no ordinary place—enter it, and you might not come out, possibly being crushed to dust on the spot.

The Chaos Fire said, "We were chasing a celestial demon and ended up in this black hole section. Our big cauldron was moving too fast and accidentally got sucked in before we knew it."

Ye Chen remained silent and summoned a clone.

The clone understood his intent and stepped directly into the vortex. In an instant, it was gone, pulverized into a pile of ashes on the spot—not even a scream.

"Will our cauldron make it back?"

The Chaos Fire flickered slightly, asking quietly. Though it often clashed with the cauldron, it was still worried at this critical moment, treating it like family and not wanting it to perish in the vortex.

"It will."

Ye Chen replied calmly. The Chaos Cauldron bore his mark, and as long as the mark wasn't destroyed, the cauldron still existed. He activated his Wheel of Reincarnation Eye, straining to peer into the vortex, but a mysterious force obscured it, making it impossible to see through.

One thing was certain: that dark vortex was far from simple; it likely connected to some unknown domain, and the Chaos Cauldron was probably inside.

With that thought, Ye Chen retrieved the Chaos Fire and Heavenly Thunder, merged with the Xian Wu Emperor Sword, donned his Emperor Essence Armor, and added various layers of protection before stepping into the vortex.

The moment he entered, he felt an immense tearing force. It was fortunate he was who he was; a typical Quasi-Emperor peak without an imperial artifact for protection would have been obliterated.

As he expected, the vortex held its own world within.

Swallowed by the vortex, he felt streaks of black light rush past him, as if traversing a tunnel. Even his Saint Body was twisted and distorted by the force.

When he re-emerged, he found himself in a dim, shadowy world.

Gazing at the sky, it was shrouded in dark mist with no light in sight; looking down at the ground, there was no actual land—just a sea of viscous blood below. It wasn't quite a sea; it was thick, foul-smelling blood that writhed occasionally. From the looks of it, this eerie vortex had devoured many living beings, and this congealed blood was the residue.

"B-b-big boss."

A faint voice suddenly echoed.

It was the Chaos Cauldron, submerged in the viscous blood. Its immortal light had dimmed, and its chaotic energy had weakened considerably; it looked utterly listless and feeble.

The cauldron wasn't unwilling to escape—it simply couldn't. The viscous blood acted like glue, with both devouring and pulling forces that held it fast, rendering it immobile.

Ye Chen extended a massive hand, reaching down from the sky.

The suction was indeed powerful; his first pull didn't budge it. Only after surging his blood energy and infusing it with imperial might did he finally yank the cauldron free.

"This place is seriously creepy."

Once back by its master's side, the Chaos Cauldron spoke with lingering fear. It had felt it most acutely—the viscous blood seemed like a living thing, clinging to and devouring everything about it.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, quietly observing.

As the cauldron had sensed, the viscous blood possessed a spirit. Anything that touched it would be pulled in, and if you couldn't escape immediately, you'd be trapped and drained dry, reduced to a husk—even artifacts weren't exempt.

Ye Chen reached out again, scooping up a drop of the viscous blood and holding it in his palm. Examining it up close, he could see it had a life force; even a single drop writhed.

No doubt, it was alive.

But he had no idea what it was.

As he watched, that drop of viscous blood suddenly burrowed into his body, like a dehydrated fish plunging into the ocean, full of vigor.

This "vigor" meant it was devouring his essence and Saint Blood, with an insatiable appetite—it consumed everything, like a mutated parasite gnawing at his Saint Body, even reaching his bones.

"How disgusting is this!"

The Chaos Fire flickered again, shuddering at the sight. If even it felt this way, imagine a beautiful fairy witnessing it—she'd probably vomit.

And that was just one drop; the ground below was covered in the stuff, reeking and constantly writhing. If you tossed a person in, it would strip them to the bone.

"Interesting."

Ye Chen extended his hand once more, extracting the viscous blood and holding it in his palm again. He still couldn't figure out what this thing was—it devoured anything in sight.

"This isn't blood."

After observing for a while, Ye Chen murmured softly.

Using his Wheel of Reincarnation Eye, he saw that it was actually a swarm of tiny insects, each no bigger than dust particles, with a reddish hue. Clumped together, they resembled a drop of viscous blood.

Upon closer inspection, it made his scalp tingle and his skin crawl. It was not only disgusting but also spine-chilling. If a woman saw this, she wouldn't just vomit.

"Big boss, figured out what it is?"

The Chaos Cauldron asked, still looking wilted.

"Don't know."

Ye Chen replied, then summoned a wisp of immortal power in his palm, enveloping the viscous blood to try refining it and see how these tiny insects would react.

To his shock, he couldn't refine it—or at least, it was extremely difficult. Those minuscule insects had incredibly tenacious vitality.

"Come on, let me try."

The Chaos Fire stepped forward, wrapping around the viscous blood.

To its embarrassment, even the mighty Chaos Fire couldn't burn it away and ended up having a bit of its flame consumed instead.

"Too weird."

The Chaos Fire clicked its tongue and spat it out.

Ye Chen said nothing, pulling out a small jade bottle and sealing the drop of viscous blood inside. Who knew how many tiny insects were in that single drop?

Then, he manifested his Saint War Dharma Body.

No sooner had it appeared than he kicked it down.

"What the heck is this?"

The Dharma Body shouted in alarm as it landed in the viscous blood, stuck like in glue, unable to lift its feet, let alone escape. It could see pools of the blood creeping up from its soles, climbing along its legs and covering its entire body, feasting on its flesh. More of it burrowed inside, gnawing at its blood and meat.

"That's enough."

Ye Chen said calmly, issuing a command to the Dharma Body.

"Get off me, all of you!"

The Saint War Dharma Body erupted in fury, its divine power surging and shaking off the viscous blood on its surface. It then expelled the blood that had entered its body.

"Disgusting, truly disgusting."

"Big boss, don't assign me jobs like this ever again."

The Dharma Body finally broke free, shivering all over. Just imagining countless tiny insects crawling inside, devouring flesh and blood, was enough to send chills down anyone's spine.

Ye Chen took a deep breath, scanning his surroundings with a hint of lingering fear. It was a good thing he hadn't encountered this vortex when his cultivation was weaker; as a half-step great accomplishment, he could escape, but if he were only at the Great Saint realm, it would be uncertain.

"I suggest throwing the Tai Chu Divine Thunder in there."

"Sounds solid."

"Anyway, it hasn't submitted, so what's the point of keeping it?"

"Come on, come on, I'll do it."

The Chaos Cauldron and Chaos Fire teamed up again, chattering excitedly about tossing the Tai Chu Divine Thunder into the viscous blood as feed for the insects.

Crack! Crack!

The Tai Chu Divine Thunder crackled with electricity, restless—whether from fear or anger, who could say? That cauldron and flame were nothing but trouble.

"Let's go."

Ye Chen turned and ascended step by step, breaking through a massive opening and bursting out of this unknown domain. He then forced his way out of the dark vortex.

He didn't leave immediately. Instead, he inscribed layers of runes into this section of the black hole, forming a seal based on an imperial immortal law. He forcibly halted the spinning vortex, turning it static. This wasn't a good place at all; he didn't mind if celestial demons or calamity demons got swallowed, but if it were cultivators from Zhu Tian, that would be a mess—like Wu Tian Jian Zun, who might not survive even if he didn't die.

This trip had truly broadened his horizons. The world was vast, and strange things abounded. Those nameless tiny insects were just too spine-chilling.

Buzz!

As he pondered, the Ling Xiao Treasure Hall trembled suddenly, likely sensing Ruo Xi and transmitting a message to Ye Chen: Hurry over.

Ye Chen immediately focused and dashed off in that direction.