Chapter 2860: Gathering Pupil Power

Under the moonlight, Ye Chen escorted Hongchen Liudao back to Tianxuanmen and strengthened the seals, making them several times more numerous than before. In this peaceful era, he hoped the two of them would stay quiet and well-behaved.

“Thank you.”

Hongchenxue and Chulingyu were both present, wiping the fresh blood from the corners of their mouths. It seemed that when Hongchen had broken the seal earlier, he had injured them both.

Ye Chen smiled and turned to leave.

After more than a decade, he once again returned to stand before Lingxiaodian.

Buzz!

Upon seeing his return, Lingxiaodian trembled with a buzz, as if it were stifled or shocked. In just over ten years, this mere Shengt体 had actually healed his spacetime Dao injuries. The healing of the Dao injuries proved he had found the spacetime.

Ye Chen ignored Lingxiaodian and only looked at Chuxuan and Chuling.

The three of them lay there once more, still neatly in a row, quietly suspended in midair. There was a mysterious aura about them, faintly visible, with many unusual phenomena interweaving and transforming, revealing an ancient feeling that seemed even older than time itself.

“Can you still see the Great Accomplishment Gate?”

Renwang descended and slowly approached, handing Ye Chen a flask of wine.

Ye Chen gently shook his head. It had taken him ten years to figure out one thing: that cross-spacetime assassination wasn’t aimed only at him, but also at the Great Accomplishment Gate. That ethereal gate had already collapsed. He didn’t know if charging through realms would still cause the Great Accomplishment Gate to appear, but one thing was certain—the difficulty would be greatly increased.

Ah!

Renwang sighed. Every time he recalled that event, he couldn’t help but want to curse.

A Great Accomplishment Sheng体 had been destroyed just like that. Who knew how difficult it would be to charge toward Great Accomplishment again? Perhaps Ye Chen would remain stuck at the Quasi-Emperor peak for the rest of his life. Worse still, there might be another cross-spacetime assassination. That future powerhouse seemed to have his sights set on Ye Chen.

“I need Tongli. Grant me Tongli.”

Ye Chen spoke, addressing Lingxiaodian. Back in the day, he knew that this hall possessed some divine power that could quickly restore a portion of his Tongli in a short time, much faster than recovering it himself. He had to bring out the Quasi-Emperors from the black hole, especially his wives.

Buzz!

Lingxiaodian trembled with a buzz, releasing an ancient aura that merged into Ye Chen’s eyes. His dim pupils instantly radiated divine light, and his Lunhui Tongli recovered significantly. However, it was clearly unrealistic to use this Tongli to bring out all the Quasi-Emperors from the black hole—he needed much more Tongli.

Unfortunately, Lingxiaodian’s capabilities were limited.

“Thank you.”

Ye Chen left a word and turned to walk away.

Under the moon, he entered the Hundred Thousand Mountains again and landed on the altar, sitting cross-legged in the formation. He performed the secret technique that Dihuang had taught him back then, gathering his Lunhui Tongli to the extreme.

The Hundred Thousand Mountains were now under strict martial law, with an unknown number of Quasi-Emperors hidden in the shadows. It wasn’t a place just anyone could enter.

Even so, groups of people kept coming to wander around.

“This jade stone doesn’t belong to this era.”

“This pattern is unheard of.”

On one side of the altar, Taiyi Zhenren held a magnifying glass and examined it closely, like an archaeology expert, viewing everything with a sense of treasure.

Siming Xingjun and Taibai Jinxing were also there, each carrying a stick. They had circled the altar dozens of times, tapping it now and then for no particular reason.

“What great resolve, truly great resolve.”

Niumo Wang and Jiaolong Wang, those two restless figures, were also sizing things up back and forth. Xiaoyuan Huang and Kuiniu were there too, having rushed over from Xuanhuang. There were plenty of the various emperor’s sons, and they had essentially turned the altar into a treasure trove, putting all their effort into prying out any valuables.

“That guy’s aura is getting even more dazzling.”

After circling outside for a while, Kuiniu tucked his hands in his sleeves and climbed onto the altar, circling around Ye Chen.

No one objected to that statement. Da Chu’s Tenth Emperor was just that impressive. He himself was a young emperor, his wife was a young emperor, and his son and daughter were young emperors too. Not just in this era, but throughout the history of the heavens, you couldn’t find a more monstrous family.

“We’re all sons, so why is the gap so big?”

Xionger looked at Xiong Xiaoer, Xie Yun looked at Xie Nan, and Situnan looked at Situyun. Their own precious sons just looked more and more unpleasing no matter how they saw them—one only grew fatter without growing in cultivation, another only chattered nonsense, and the third got beaten wherever he went. They had lost face for their families, and none of them could even be mentioned in the same breath as Ye Fan.

“We’re all fathers, so why is the gap so big?”

The three sons’ responses were equally synchronized. If their fathers looked down on them, they weren’t shy about looking down on their fathers either, their gazes full of disdain.

Ah!

The three fathers sighed in dismay. Thinking back, it seemed they had missed out on so many opportunities. If they had let their sons go after Ye Chen’s family back in their youth, things wouldn’t be so awkward now.

For nine full days, figures continued to appear endlessly in the Hundred Thousand Mountains.

To address this, Renwang issued a strict order to completely seal off the mountains, designating the already dangerous Hundred Thousand Mountains as a forbidden area where no one was allowed to enter or leave.

In the formation, Ye Chen hadn’t moved for nine days and was still gathering his Tongli. The Six Great Lunhui Eyes were impressive in every way, and the immortal techniques were domineering, but their only drawback was that Tongli was extremely hard to recover, so slow that even he felt restless and impatient.

“That guy won’t forget about us, will he?”

In the black hole, Di Lao propped his chin in his hands, looking listless. This pitch-black hole was truly boring. He had originally thought about flirting, but he hadn’t dared to make a move.

“Forget anyone, he can’t forget his wives.”

Tian Lao said leisurely, glancing at Ji Ningshuang and the others as he spoke.

“In this era, who will become an emperor?”

Zaohua Shenwang stroked his beard, scanning around repeatedly. Every time he saw Shengyuan Huang and Kuiniu Huang, those two would straighten their collars or smooth their hair, as if saying: It has to be me, it absolutely has to be me.

Because of this, when Zaohua Shenwang looked again, he directly ignored the two of them. If those two could prove the Dao, he’d walk backward.

Still, his question sparked a lot of contemplation.

When it came to emperors, most people subconsciously glanced at Wutian Jianzun. If not for that cross-spacetime assassination, the one to prove the Dao and become emperor would have been him.

Unfortunately, history had changed, and who would prove the Dao and become emperor was now uncertain. Maybe it would still be him, or perhaps Shenjiang Huangzhe or the others.

In the midst of casual chat, three more days passed in the blink of an eye.

Over these three days, whether in the heavens or the black hole, everything was extraordinarily quiet.

On the fourth day, Ye Chen, who was sitting cross-legged, furrowed his brow slightly, for he had caught a whiff of a familiar aura. However, in just an instant, he returned to normal.

“Care for a drink?”

Renwang came again, carrying two flasks of fine wine.

Seeing that Ye Chen didn’t respond, he sat down in front of the formation, crossing one leg over the other and drinking leisurely, as if he hadn’t noticed anything unusual.

Accompanied by a trace of starlight falling, Ye Chen suddenly opened his eyes and stepped out, instantly entering the black hole.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Immediately, booming sounds echoed, making even Renwang stand up, while the Quasi-Emperors guarding the altar drew their weapons.

Clearly, someone was spying. It was most likely Heipao Di, trying to move the altar, but he hadn’t escaped Ye Chen’s detection.

And that was exactly what had happened—it was indeed Heipao Di.

In the darkness on both sides, Ye Chen stood quietly.

Opposite him, Heipao Di was covered in bloody bones and had a ferocious expression, grinding his teeth in resentment. He had thought he was well hidden, but Ye Chen had still caught him, landing a punch that caught him off guard and hit with tremendous force.

In their battle years ago, both had been severely injured. More than a decade had passed, and Ye Chen had already healed his Dao injuries and returned to his peak, but Heipao Di remained weak. His fallen emperor position hadn’t been regained, his life source and Dao roots hadn’t been remolded, and his lost emperor Dao divine power was extremely dim. In this state, how could he be a match for Ye Chen?

“Senior, it’s rare for you to come. Why not go out and have a drink?”

Ye Chen said with a smile.

“One day, I will kill you.”

Heipao Di snorted coldly and turned to flee into the darkness.

Ye Chen didn’t pursue him or leave the black hole; instead, he headed straight in one direction.

In that patch of darkness, when the crowd of Quasi-Emperors saw him, their eyes lit up.

Ye Chen activated his Lunhui Eye and sent out the Four Great Sword Cultivators, Shengzun, Diji, Zaohua Shenwang, and Tun Tian Mo Zun from the black hole. His intention was clear: to have them guard the altar, as it would only be safe with peak powerhouses in charge.

“Don’t leave this place.”

Ye Chen left a word and stepped into the darkness. His Tongli needed to recover, but there was another urgent matter: capturing Heipao Di. He would strike while he was weak and eliminate the threat to avoid future trouble.

Daring to hunt an emperor—he might be the first to do so.

However, with his half-step Great Accomplishment power, he certainly had the capability. Most importantly, in the moment he heavily injured Heipao Di earlier, he had left a mark on him.

Thus, tracking him wouldn’t be difficult.

“Dammit, dammit.”

In the deepest part of the darkness, there was a ruined palace, cold and majestic. Heipao Di stumbled inside, coughing up blood nonstop. Fleeing all the way had stirred his power again, consuming more of his recovered emperor Dao divine power. Combined with his previous unhealed wounds, he was now even weaker.

In the hall, he wasn’t alone—there were many heavenly demons and calamity demons, all peak demon lords, and all imprisoned. When they saw him enter, their faces turned pale instantly, sensing an ominous premonition.

Soon, that premonition came true.

Heipao Di went berserk, performing devouring techniques. One demon lord after another was swallowed, refining their essence to replenish his own divine power, though it was minimal.

Buzz!

A clanging sound rang out as Zhuxianjian emerged from his body. The sword was badly damaged, full of cracks, and emitting a dim light. Over the past decade, Heipao Di hadn’t recovered, and neither had it. In a sense, it was even more severely injured than Heipao Di, lying there lifeless.

Seeing it again only made Heipao Di’s face twist into a more grotesque expression.

If not for saving Zhuxianjian, if not for Zhuxianjian tricking him, would he have ended up like this? Defeated time and again, each time more miserably than the last. If possible, he still wanted to devour Zhuxianjian.

But he lacked the ability, and Zhuxianjian wouldn’t let itself be devoured obediently.

“Senior, you’ve made me search so hard!”

Suddenly, an ethereal voice echoed, coming from the darkness outside the hall and entering inside.

Heipao Di’s expression changed drastically, as if he already knew who it was—who else but Ye Chen? Looking at himself now, he found a mark on his body, not knowing when it had been placed. It was precisely because of this mark that Ye Chen could track him so precisely.

Buzz! Buzz!

Zhuxianjian also buzzed violently, intensely, whether in anger or fear. Heipao Di was at low health, and so was it. Together, they weren’t enough to take on Ye Chen alone—that wasn’t just any ordinary Shengt体.