Chapter 2866: Catch Me

"Where is this place?"

"Where is this place?"

In the vast unknown, countless people asked this question.

However, no one answered.

"Where is this place?"

Ye Chen also asked, his eyes slightly narrowed as he scanned the surroundings. Everywhere he looked was a bizarre and surreal sight: illusory divine lights darted back and forth, forbidden powers flickered in and out of view, the very fabric of the universe was overturned, and the laws of nature were utterly distorted. It resembled a space-time tunnel, but it was different, for here everything was in complete chaos, devoid of any concept of time or spatial order.

Ever since he was pulled into the vortex, he had ended up in this place.

In this realm, one's cultivation, bloodline, and divine abilities were all meaningless. Even someone as powerful as he was, a half-step to Dacheng who could unleash Dacheng-level combat strength in an instant, could barely stand. He was like an ordinary mortal, battered by terrifying currents and repeatedly swept away by the waves.

"Ye Chen, grab hold of me."

As he was observing, a sudden call rang out.

Ye Chen quickly turned his head and looked in that direction, spotting Long Yi. Long Yi was unsteady on his feet too, caught in the same currents, being tossed over from afar by the waves. His legs flailed wildly, but he couldn't stay upright.

As he spoke, Long Yi was already upon him.

Ye Chen reached out, straining to grab hold.

But the unseen forces raged around them, and he missed. The two brushed past each other in mere moments, and Long Yi vanished from sight, while Ye Chen was carried off to who knows where.

This wasn't the first time something like this had happened. Earlier, he had seen Zaohua Shen Wang, Chu Jiang Wang, and Dong Huang Tai Xin, and tried to grab them, but failed. Everything was in disarray, making it impossible even to stick together for safety.

"Damn it, what the hell is this place?"

"Old Daoist, grab hold of me."

"You little brat, that's the third time you've bumped into me."

In this strange and chaotic world, voices of confusion and curses echoed incessantly. They all belonged to the Zhutian Quasi-Emperors who had been pulled in, none of whom could keep their footing. They were like fragile leaves adrift in raging waves, the peak Quasi-Emperors reduced to something weaker than ants.

"Dammit."

Ye Chen gritted his teeth, desperately trying to steady himself, but it was no use. He could hear the other Quasi-Emperors' words, yet he couldn't see them. When he occasionally caught a glimpse, they were all in utter disarray, vanishing in an instant, impossible to catch.

This was undoubtedly a catastrophe.

He remembered it clearly: every Quasi-Emperor in the Shishan had been dragged in without exception. That represented over ninety percent of Zhutian's peak forces! Now, Zhutian was left virtually undefended. If the Honghuang stirred up trouble or foreign invaders struck, it would be a devastating disaster.

The problem was, they had no idea where this place was or how to escape. If they couldn't get out, they would all perish here, dealing a destructive blow to Zhutian.

He regretted it deeply, cursing his decision to activate that formation and sacrifice the black-robed emperor. They hadn't been spared either.

Perhaps even the black-robed emperor hadn't anticipated such an outcome, as he had never tried it before.

"Ye Chen."

Another call came, this time a woman's voice.

Ye Chen looked up sharply and saw Ji Ning Shuang.

She had been pulled in too. Normally exuding unmatched elegance, here she was in a state of complete disarray.

"Grab hold of me."

Ye Chen clenched his jaw, trying to reverse his powers.

But it was futile. Just as with Long Yi, he brushed past Ji Ning Shuang, their fingers barely touching before they were swept in opposite directions.

In that instant, he clearly saw a mist of tears in Ji Ning Shuang's eyes, as if this passing might mean a permanent farewell. It felt just like a life-or-death separation.

"Don't be afraid."

Ye Chen smiled warmly, offering comfort to his wife. They had endured so many hardships before; they had braved countless storms and emerged safely. This time, they would turn danger into opportunity and return alive to Zhutian.

In an instant, Ji Ning Shuang disappeared.

In an instant, Ye Chen was carried away too.

"You wretch, that's the fourth time!"

From somewhere, the furious shout of Di Lao echoed.

Among all the Quasi-Emperors, he was the most miserable, covered in blood—not from injuries, but from collisions.

Not everyone just brushed past; a few exceptional ones collided head-on. Di Lao, for instance, had been rammed four times by Honghuang Qilin Jiuchen.

A Honghuang-level Qilin had an incredibly domineering physical body. The fact that Di Lao hadn't been smashed to pieces was a miracle.

Of course, these collisions were unavoidable.

No one was deliberately crashing into others.

"Ah!"

"You bastard, that's way too precise."

"Do you think I want to?"

Curses erupted from all sides, likely because so many had been pulled in, leading to frequent encounters and collisions.

Such miserable scenes happened often—it all came down to whose body was tougher. Ye Chen had witnessed it himself: Yao Chi Xian Mu was knocked over by Wu Tian Jian Zun, and Song Di Wang was left covered in blood and bones after being hit by Di Ji.

Naturally, among all the Quasi-Emperors, the one no one wanted to collide with was Ye Chen.

As a half-step to Dacheng Saint Body, his physique was virtually indestructible. Crashing into him could cost half your life or more. Kui Niu Huang was a prime example: while flying along, he slammed into Ye Chen, his powerful bovine body exploding on impact like it had hit a steel plate, half of it obliterated.

"Ye Chen, grab hold of us."

A urgent call came from afar.

No need for the call—Ye Chen had already spotted them.

When he saw the scene, even with his composure, he couldn't help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.

It was Ren Wang, but not alone; he was with Yue Huang.

That wasn't the issue—the problem was their position. Ren Wang's remnant soul was clinging tightly to Yue Huang's leg, and from a distance, Ye Chen could see the dark lines of irritation on Yue Huang's face. It was all because Ren Wang's hands were wandering where they shouldn't. If they weren't in this bizarre world and unable to stand, she would have kicked him to death.

Ren Wang, shameless as ever, had finally caught someone and wasn't letting go. He was doing things he wouldn't dare outside, and enjoying every bit of it. To his credit, the feel was quite nice.

Amusing as it was, Ye Chen still extended his hand.

Clang!

Then came that sound. Perhaps misjudging the position, Ren Wang's forehead slammed straight into Ye Chen's chest—harder than steel.

The impact separated Ren Wang and Yue Huang.

In less than a breath, Yue Huang was swept away and vanished.

As for Ren Wang, he was in a sorry state. Right then, Sheng Zun flew in and smashed into him, making him spit blood. Before he could catch his breath, Sheng Yuan Huang came barreling from nowhere, leaving him battered and bloody. And that wasn't the end—after flying just a few hundred zhang, he collided head-on with Zhan Wang.

What a mess.

The already weakened Ren Wang nearly got obliterated.

Ye Chen watched and coughed dryly. That guy was really down on his luck—karma for his shameless acts came swift and hard.

It was a good thing Yue Huang wasn't around, or she might have burst out laughing. Why didn't they smash you to death?

"It's on purpose, all of you are doing it on purpose."

Ren Wang cursed, his face dark as ink. Out of everyone, why did they all have to hit him, and so accurately?

With that shout, he disappeared too.

Ye Chen didn't watch any longer and focused on one direction.

In the haze, he seemed to see fragmented images, as if glimpsing his own past.

That year, he was expelled from Zhengyang Sect.

That year, he met a tragic end at Guantian Cliff.

That year, he accidentally killed Chu Xuan.

These were all events he had experienced, like memories forming pictures unfolding before him.

He wasn't the only one seeing them—many others caught glimpses in passing.

Like Shen Jiang, who saw his glorious days fighting alongside the Emperor.

Like Di Ji, who saw her past with the awakened Six Paths.

Like Yan Luo, who saw the moments before entering the Underworld.

"How... how can this be?"

"Is this strange place stealing our memories?"

"Xue'er, it's been thousands of years."

Voices rose from all sides, as many had seen fragments of their own pasts. It felt like a lifetime ago—precious memories, indelible marks, now replaying and evoking endless years gone by.

"How can this be?"

Ye Chen murmured softly, assuming it was their memories being extracted and projected.

From that moment, the voices of confusion, sobs, and curses ceased. Almost everyone stared dazedly at the scenes from their pasts, letting the currents carry them away repeatedly.

Ye Chen was no exception.

Over a thousand years had passed, and seeing those days again made his mind wander. The events of the past were too painful.

"Don't look at those images."

A sharp shout suddenly pierced the air—it was Long Ye, his voice resounding clearly.

His warning jolted many back to their senses.

"Space-time turbulence—this is space-time turbulence."

"Space-time turbulence?"

"It must be the ancient Honghuang forces transmitted back through the formation, via that black demonic light pillar."

Long Ye shouted, his voice booming.

"The demonic light pillar carries forbidden power, disrupting time, space, and space-time, triggering the space-time turbulence. We are now in the midst of it."

"Those fragmented images aren't stolen memories—they're glimpses of past space-time."

"Don't get lost in them, or your memories will become disordered."

Long Ye's voice echoed erratically from all directions, as if he had figured out the truth.

"So this is space-time turbulence?"

"I knew it felt this strange."

"Nonsense, that's the fifth time."

"How do we get out?"

From one side, Yan Huang's words rang out.

"Comprehend the space-time principles."

Long Ye replied, though his confidence wavered slightly. This was his first time in space-time turbulence, and he didn't know the exact way out. He only knew that comprehending space-time might work. Since it was space-time turbulence, space-time was the key. In this place, all other emperor-level immortal arts were useless—this was the only path forward.

No one objected to his words; the logic was straightforward. To escape, they had to comprehend space-time.

Ye Chen furrowed his brow slightly.

He had heard of space-time turbulence—it was extremely dangerous. Fall into it carelessly, and you might be lost forever. Not even an emperor could guarantee escape.

Pushing those thoughts aside, he slowly closed his eyes.

There was no other choice; he had to comprehend the space-time principles. In this space-time turbulence, they were surrounded by forces of time, space, half-space-time, and full space-time. It was a place of peril, but also immense opportunity. Meditating here would yield twice the results with half the effort.

Ye Chen knew it, and so did the other Quasi-Emperors. They focused on comprehension, hoping for a transcendent breakthrough.