Chapter 2967: Perfect Timing

Taigu Road was dim and gloomy.

The Five Emperors stood tall, with the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di still waving her sleeve, pouring out eternal immortal light to slow the road's retraction as much as possible. Ye Chen, Di Huang, and Hong Yan were enveloped in radiant divine glow, desperately restoring their emperor-level divine power. They had barely managed to reconnect the path, and if it retracted again, all their efforts would be in vain.

Di Huang and Hong Yan noticed nothing unusual, but Ye Chen's eyes flickered with uncertainty. Earlier, the way the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di had looked at his Hun Dun Ding was filled with deep meaning.

Accustomed to reading expressions, he seemed to have guessed the implication. He could never bring himself to sacrifice the million divine generals from Zhu Tian; he had led them here to fight for survival, not to send them to their deaths. If he paved this road with their blood and bones, how could he face his loved ones when he returned?

Compared to that, finding someone else to achieve emperor status was more reliable.

In this way, several emperors could take turns. Those whose divine power was depleted could step back, while those with ample power could step in. As for the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di before them, there was no need to worry about her exhaustion—with eternal power supporting her, her emperor-level divine power seemed inexhaustible.

"Di Huang, withdraw."

The Gu Tian Ting Nu Di parted her lips slightly.

Before her words even faded, she formed a seal with one hand, summoning a grand formation that differed slightly from the previous one. The formation's core now consisted of three positions: she occupied one, while Ye Chen and Hong Yan each took another.

Di Huang had already stepped back.

Everyone seemed to understand the Nu Di's intent.

Plans often fail in the face of unexpected changes, so they needed to adjust their formation. Hong Yan and Ye Chen would go first, and once their divine power was exhausted, Di Huang and Xing Tian would take over. It was the only option they had.

In that instant, an immortal pattern emerged on the Nu Di's forehead as she raised her hands again, spreading her five fingers toward the void and illusion.

Buzz!

Taigu Road hummed, reversing its retraction and extending deeper, gradually accelerating.

With one emperor fewer, the pressure on Ye Chen and Hong Yan surged. Their emperor-level divine power was sucked away madly. Their once brilliant golden emperor bodies dimmed bit by bit, and their flushed faces turned pale. Soon, they were breathing heavily.

The Gu Tian Ting Nu Di fared even worse than the two of them. Strands of her three thousand strands of black hair turned snowy white—not only was her eternal power draining, but her lifespan was also being consumed, likely due to some forbidden technique.

Ye Chen frowned at the sight, knowing without asking the price she was paying. With one emperor gone, the burden had fallen not just on him and Hong Yan, but mostly on the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di. It seemed she was accustomed to bearing such loads.

A hint of madness flashed in Ye Chen's eyes as he burned his emperor blood to gain more power, and Hong Yan did the same. Unless absolutely necessary, they would not stop—they were focused solely on reconnecting the Taigu Road.

This road was terrifying beyond measure.

Though Di Huang and Xing Tian said nothing, their expressions spoke volumes. Two proven sacred bodies and an incomplete Tian Di were expending so much just to continue this broken road—one forced to sacrifice lifespan, the other to burn emperor blood.

If even the supreme beings were like this, what about the million divine generals in the cauldron? They were stunned, their hearts pounding. Even battling a Tian Di hadn't drained power this terrifyingly. At this rate, even if three emperors were drained dry, they might not succeed in reconnecting Taigu Road.

Time slipped away quietly.

The Gu Tian Ting Nu Di's hair was now mostly white, while Ye Chen and Hong Yan's faces had lost all color, blood trickling from their mouths. They had burned too much emperor blood, damaging their foundations. Ye Chen held on, but Hong Yan was already unsteady, even with the strength of a Tu Tian Di.

Xing Tian stepped forward, taking Hong Yan's place.

Only upon entering the formation did he realize how terrifyingly fast the divine power was being drained. Even a proven sacred body couldn't endure it, let alone him. His face paled visibly, his vast blood energy and domineering aura plummeting. This wasn't an emperor-level battle—it was worse than one. He wouldn't last long.

Ye Chen showed remarkable resilience, his mid-tier emperor foundation far from ordinary. Even as Xing Tian neared his limit, Ye Chen stubbornly held on. But with so much emperor blood sacrificed, strands of silver appeared in his flowing hair. Though he stood firm, his legs were weakening, on the verge of collapsing.

Di Huang stepped up, replacing him.

Ye Chen exited the formation, his step faltering as he collapsed to the ground. Sweat poured from his forehead as if he were oxygen-deprived, gasping for breath. He was completely drained, his body devoid of strength.

"If you could unlock the blood succession limit, you wouldn't be in such a sorry state."

Hong Yan murmured softly, sitting cross-legged to restore her divine power as much as possible.

Ye Chen just shook his head helplessly. The blood succession limit wasn't something he could activate at will. Back in the day, he could, but when he achieved emperor status, he had sacrificed all his blood succession power.

Judging by the Nu Di's actions and demeanor, using divine power from outer domain supreme beings wouldn't work—they needed emperors from Zhu Tian.

Boom! Rumble!

As they recovered, sudden booms echoed, prompting Ye Chen and Hong Yan to turn and rise to their feet.

Taigu Road was unrestful, with cracks exploding open in multiple places. Even from afar, demonic energy surged wildly, signaling the arrival of outer domain supreme beings.

"Really knows how to pick the time."

Ye Chen snorted coldly, vanishing in an instant with Hong Yan.

Hundreds of thousands of li away, he headed south while she went north, to deal with the cracks threatening Taigu Road—they couldn't afford any interruptions.

The Gu Tian Ting Nu Di showed no sign of stopping, casting brilliant eternal immortal light to seal off the end of Taigu Road and prevent the descending outer domain supreme beings from detecting anything.

In the southern vastness, Ye Chen found the crack—it was over ten thousand zhang wide, like a gaping maw, filled with forbidden power and billowing demonic energy.

Zing!

He summoned the Lun Hui Jian, extending it infinitely and thrusting it into the crack, stirring violently. The massive fissure collapsed under his force.

"Damn it."

From the edge of the crack, roars of resentment and fury echoed from within. Peering in, he could make out grotesque faces—celestial demons, calamity demons, great emperors, and even Tian Di, forming a massive force.

Ye Chen ignored them, destroying the crack and rushing to the next one. A million li further south lay the second fissure, three thousand zhang wide and flickering in and out of view, with lightning and thunder at its entrance. The passage was unstable, on the brink of collapse.

Ye Chen arrived without a word, thrusting his sword into it and shattering it effortlessly. It wasn't that he feared them—it was just that the situation was too critical to deal with them now.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

In contrast, the northern skies were filled with explosions. Hong Yan had been a step too late; outer domain supreme beings had already emerged. Two celestial demon emperors and one calamity demon Tian Di were surrounding her. From afar, the heavens crumbled, and destructive visions unfolded, with lightning flashing in apocalyptic colors.

"You've actually achieved emperor status."

The calamity demon Tian Di sneered, recognizing Hong Yan, which made his expression even more twisted. They had once been allies, but now they were enemies.

Hong Yan said nothing, raising her crystalline jade hand to strike down from the sky.

"Achieving the Dao doesn't change the fact that you're still an ant."

The calamity demon emperor huffed coldly, unleashing an emperor technique with one hand, forming a blood-red immortal river that split the heavens and shattered her palm strike. Even Hong Yan was forced back. Before she could steady herself, the two celestial demon emperors attacked from front and back, one wielding an emperor sword and the other a war spear, launching fierce assaults.

Hong Yan didn't even glance their way, smashing the first celestial demon emperor's body with a palm and piercing the second's skull with a finger, nearly obliterating him. Though they were all emperors, she was a proven sacred body, far beyond ordinary great emperors.

"Seal!"

The calamity demon Tian Di ascended to the ninth heaven, pressing down with a palm that summoned a vast realm of delusion and demons, infused with reincarnation power. It was both an emperor technique and his unique vision—piles of dark bones, rivers of blood, and rolling demonic energy engulfing the world.

Hong Yan staggered, the pressure making her unsteady—not because she couldn't match the calamity demon Tian Di, but because she was weakened from the earlier drain on Taigu Road.

"Forbid!"

The calamity demon Tian Di uttered a desolate word, collapsing the immortal dome and trapping Hong Yan in the realm of delusion and demons. Dark order chains slithered like snakes, binding her hands and feet, sealing her emperor origin and primordial spirit, reinforced with reincarnation as a taboo.

"Break!"

Hong Yan shouted coldly. Even in her weakened state, she wasn't so easily subdued, shattering the chains with a surge of power.

Boom!

The massive, demonic realm shattered under her foot, sending the calamity demon Tian Di stumbling back, shock evident in his eyes. He was a mid-tier emperor, outranking her by a full realm, yet he couldn't defeat a minor great emperor—a half-sacred, half-demonic one at that. How terrifying!

Boom!

Another rumble followed as more outer domain supreme beings emerged from the crack: two great perfected sacred demons, one calamity demon emperor, three celestial demon emperors, and worst of all, a celestial demon Tian Di bringing up the rear.

Hong Yan frowned slightly. One-on-one, she wasn't afraid of the calamity demon Tian Di, but another Tian Di made it tricky. Facing a group would be disastrous.

"You've actually become an emperor."

The newly arrived celestial demon Tian Di narrowed his eyes, and the other calamity demon emperor, celestial demon emperors, and great perfected sacred demons all furrowed their brows, staring intently at Hong Yan. From their expressions, they recognized her as an enemy.

Yet, neither the calamity demon Tian Di nor the celestial demon Tian Di sensed the anomaly at the end of Taigu Road. The Gu Tian Ting Nu Di's eternal concealment revealed no clues, even to Tian Di level beings. They foolishly lingered here, oblivious—Taigu Road was too vast for even Tian Di to detect.

"You should know the consequences of betrayal."

The celestial demon Tian Di spoke indifferently, his aura superior, not giving Hong Yan a chance to respond as he summoned a sea of demonic energy. Filled with vengeful ghosts and wails, it carried chaotic magic that could disrupt the mind, engulfing the heavens and swallowing Hong Yan.

Zing!

Hong Yan transformed into an immortal sword at her core, slashing through the demonic sea. But as she emerged, she collided with the calamity demon Tian Di's finger. Only by dodging quickly did she avoid severe damage to her primordial spirit. These two were no ordinary Tian Di, both innately wielding forbidden laws, incredibly difficult to handle.

"Suppress!"

The calamity demon emperor, celestial demon emperors, and great perfected sacred demons weren't idle, each forming seals to create emperor cages that descended from the sky, enclosing Hong Yan and seeking to erase her emperor Dao.

Hong Yan broke through with a powerful palm.

"Die!"

The calamity demon Tian Di struck again, disrupting laws to instantly close in, condensing thousands of emperor techniques into one finger aimed at her primordial spirit. It carried world-ending might, a Tian Di-level kill move.

"You talk big—watch you don't strain yourself."

A faint, authoritative voice suddenly rang out as Ye Chen arrived, manifesting beside Hong Yan and delivering a dominating palm strike that sent the calamity demon Tian Di flying.

This scene stunned the onlookers.

The outer domain supreme beings were not only frustrated but shocked. A sacred body achieving emperor status was taboo, yet here was another proven ancient sacred body, also a mid-tier emperor, who slapped a Tian Di away. If they hadn't seen it, they wouldn't believe it.

They had no idea what they'd think if they knew another proven ancient sacred body waited at the end of Taigu Road, or that the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di was there too—would they flee in terror? It was just their bad luck to target this particular Taigu Road.

"Quick battle, quick decision."

Ye Chen left those words and charged at the calamity demon Tian Di.

Hong Yan followed suit, lunging at the celestial demon Tian Di.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Taigu Road, silent not long ago, erupted again. Proven sacred bodies clashed with outer domain Tian Di and supreme beings, shattering the heavens and earth. The calamity demon emperors, celestial demon emperors, and great perfected sacred demons couldn't even intervene—the fighters were all peerless powerhouses.

"Perish!"

The calamity demon Tian Di roared, gripping a thunder god blade and slashing down from the sky. The blade hadn't even landed, and the heavens were already splitting.

Ye Chen sneered, meeting it bare-handed, his fist shattering the blade and sending the calamity demon Tian Di staggering back with a grunt. Even the hand holding the blade exploded, his eyes filled with horror. This sacred body was even more formidable than imagined.

In an instant, Ye Chen closed in again, passing a stretch of void and sealing off another crack along the way.

"Emperor Dao: Demon Devouring Heaven."

The calamity demon Tian Di howled, unleashing a Tian Di-level forbidden technique. The void above his head transformed into a grotesque face—twisted and terrifying, like a dark cloud veil blocking the light, its maw wide open to devour everything. Even nearby sacred demons nearly got sucked in.

"I'll show you real demons."

Ye Chen shouted, shaking the immortal dome, his Lun Hui Jian enhanced with time and space laws, etched with spatiotemporal marks. It was a dominating strike, piercing the void and stirring fiercely.

Boom! Rumble!

The grotesque face shattered—impressive in size but nothing more, pulverized by Ye Chen. The calamity demon Tian Di suffered backlash, his indestructible Tian Di body cracking, emperor bones stained with blood scattering across the dim sky.

Before he could catch his breath, blossoms of the other shore flower bloomed overhead, one after another, filling the void—it was Ye Chen's Nian Yong Heng, which he had comprehended deeply.

In that moment, the heavens and earth froze.

Simultaneously, Ye Chen's Lun Hui Jian slashed down.