Chapter 2969: Collision

"Collision, it's going to collide."

Before the two sections of the Tai Gu Lu could fully connect, the talents in the cauldron were shouting in excitement. They had held on for so long and finally caught sight of the other side.

If they didn't hurry, the five emperors wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.

In reality, the two sections of the Tai Gu Lu were still quite far apart. The void and illusions in between had no sense of distance; they could only see it from a distance.

As the gap closed, the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di's eternal concealment became less effective. The supreme beings from the outer domains collectively narrowed their eyes, exchanged glances, and then stared at the other side.

"It's her."

Many outer domain supreme beings murmured to themselves, recognizing the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di. Precisely because they recognized her, a deep fear arose from their souls.

She was no ordinary emperor; she had once single-handedly routed the armies of three domains.

She was a being on par with the gods.

"So what? She's far from her complete form."

"Clearly, she's trying to connect the Tai Gu Lu."

"Three Dao-proven Sheng Ti—such audacity."

At the end of the Tai Gu Lu, voices murmured incessantly. The eyes of the numerous supreme emperors flickered with sharp light, as they discerned many secrets. They could also clearly see the lineup on the other side: Ye Chen, Di Huang, Hong Yan, and Zhan Shen were largely ignored. The one they truly feared was the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di.

"Destroy it quickly."

A Sheng Mo emperor standing in the void gathered his emperor's power into a divine blade and slashed it across the void and illusions. He could not allow the other side to succeed in connecting the Tai Gu Lu.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The other supreme beings were not idle either, launching attacks in unison. Sword shadows, blade lights, and palm prints rained down like a storm, with devastating power.

Hong Yan's expression changed, as did Di Huang's and Xing Tian's.

Such attacks could send them straight to the gates of the underworld.

In contrast, Ye Chen and the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di remained composed.

The attacks were powerful, but they had to hit their mark first.

After all, the void and illusions separated the two sections of the Tai Gu Lu. Their strikes could not reach; some mysterious force in the ether would neutralize them. Once outside the Tai Gu Lu, any blade lights, sword shadows, or palm prints were meaningless.

"Do not engage in direct combat."

The Gu Tian Ting Nu Di spoke lightly, her back to the four.

"Understood."

The four emperors all coughed dryly. In their weakened state, fighting was out of the question. Hiding was the smart move—they weren't strangers to escaping.

As soon as the words fell, a thunderous boom echoed.

The Tai Gu Lu collided with the other side, causing an immense shockwave. Even the outer domain supreme beings on that end, from the highest Tian Di to the lowest Da Cheng Sheng Mo, could not keep their footing and fell in droves.

"Damn it."

The outer domain Tian Di snorted coldly and steadied himself. A massive dark swarm charged forward, each face twisted in rage, unleashing torrents of demonic energy. The Tian Di-level pressure was world-shattering, making the heavens tremble. From above, it looked like a layer of black fog engulfing all light.

"Begone!"

The Gu Tian Ting Nu Di said casually, her light words carrying a certain elegance. No wonder she was an empress; even a single word from her sounded graceful.

She did not attack; she simply barreled through.

The scene that followed was quite a sight:

The swarm of outer domain supreme beings, each one fierce and crackling with lightning, was sent flying chaotically by the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di alone. She carved a path through them. The Tian Di-level and Sheng Mo emperors fared better, but the Da Cheng Sheng Mo and Da Di were in worse shape—many had their bodies shattered, and the weaker ones were destroyed body and soul on the spot.

Gulp!

The divine generals in the cauldron all swallowed hard.

They knew Ye Da Di's temperament, but this woman was even more domineering than Ye Chen.

Ye Chen's mouth twitched, and he sighed in amazement.

What could he say? A force like hers would take someone extraordinary to handle. And this wasn't even her full form. At her peak, these Tian Di probably wouldn't stand a chance against her alone.

Di Huang was shocked, realizing his own Dao-proven Sheng Ti seemed like child's play compared to the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di.

Xing Tian said nothing, taking a deep breath. Only now did he understand why the great emperor had sent them back for reinforcements. This empress was terrifying; in her presence, all supreme beings across the realms paled in comparison.

Only Hong Yan remained relatively calm. She had known the strength of the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di since ancient times. On par with the gods, no one in the myriad domains could match her brilliance.

While these thoughts raced through their minds, only an instant passed in the outside world.

Boom!

The Gu Tian Ting Nu Di shattered the sky with a single step and vanished from that realm.

Indeed, she was fleeing.

It wasn't that she feared the outer domain supreme beings; it was just that in her current extremely weakened state, the pressure she had borne to connect the Tai Gu Lu far exceeded that of the other four emperors. Ye Chen and Di Huang could take turns, but she had endured it all alone.

After all, she was not in her complete form.

Following her, Ye Chen carried Hong Yan across the void; Di Huang carried Zhan Shen through the vast expanse, vanishing without a fight.

"Damn it."

The outer domain Tian Di steadied themselves once more, their figures disheveled and hair in disarray, roaring in fury. It was utterly embarrassing.

"Search, find them for me."

A red-haired Tian Mo Tian Di issued the order, his voice like thunder, grinding his teeth. His emperor's aura caused the heavens to collapse.

He seemed to be the leader among the outer domain supreme beings, and he had the qualifications for it. Among the peak Tian Di here, his pressure was the strongest, naturally carrying forbidden laws—and more than one.

With the order given, the Tian Di-level supreme beings moved out, in groups of three or five, each leading Da Cheng Sheng Mo and Da Di, scattering in all directions.

Boom! Boom!

The Tian Di stirred the air with thunder and lightning. They knew the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di was weakened; this was a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. If she recovered, capturing her would be nearly impossible. She was no ordinary emperor.

As the outer domain supreme beings departed, the realm instantly felt empty.

Soon, a graceful figure materialized, dreamlike and illusory.

Upon closer inspection, it was the Gu Tian Ting Nu Di. She had returned. Though the Tai Gu Lu was connected, it did not mean they were fully merged; she still needed to cast her spells and use her eternal power to align them.

Ridiculously, no one noticed.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen carried Hong Yan across another stretch of void.

This section of the Tai Gu Lu was more vast than he had imagined.

Moreover, it differed from the previous one.

Here, there were mountains, rivers, and forests; majestic peaks rose high, and rivers flowed wide. Looking down, he saw ruins of many ancient cities, though most had collapsed from what seemed to be emperor-level battles.

"Interesting."

Ye Chen murmured, his expression a bit odd. It was clearly an ancient road, yet it felt like an entire vast realm—truly extraordinary.

"Can you put me down?"

Hong Yan spoke up, her tone far from friendly. Her stunning face was lined with frustration, and flames of anger burned in her eyes.

It wasn't her fault; she was being carried by Ye Da Di like a sack.

A dignified emperor-level Sheng Ti, she looked like a helpless chick being lugged around by Ye Chen.

"Don't fuss, stay still."

Ye Chen replied as he crossed another void, showing no intention of letting her go. Perhaps on purpose, he seemed to enjoy it.

The tenth emperor of Da Chu held a grudge.

Hong Yan's face darkened completely. She tried to struggle free, but Ye Chen's palm held a seal that immobilized her.

"There, get him!"

Shouts erupted as three E Mo Tian Di and over a dozen Tian Mo Da Di chased from one side. From afar, all they could see was a surging demonic energy, like a black cloud devouring the light.

Ye Chen's lips curved slightly as he used the Fei Lei Shen Jue to vanish instantly. Along the way, he had left more than one wheel of reincarnation mark. He had revealed his aura to mislead them, buying time to recover.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

As soon as he left, the outer domain supreme beings arrived, shattering the void under their feet.

The three E Mo Tian Di scanned the area inch by inch with their single eyes.

Unfortunately, they found nothing; Ye Chen was no longer in that void.

"Search, search every inch for me."

The three Tian Di snorted coldly, each casting seals to lock down the realm tightly, like closing doors to catch a dog. They were certain Ye Chen was still there.

Ye Chen had already entered a mountain range, merging into the universe as dust.

Only then did he set Hong Yan down. Without pause, he gripped her chin and roughly shoved a pill into her mouth.

Throughout, he acted as if nothing had happened, merely glancing outward. From the dust space, he could clearly see the outside world, with figures streaking across the sky—all supreme beings searching everywhere.

When he looked back, Hong Yan was glaring at him with murderous eyes.

He paid it no mind and sat down cross-legged. For now, he needed to recover as quickly as possible. The dust space was mysterious but not unbreakable; some outer domain supreme beings were exceptionally skilled. If surrounded, the outcome would be dire.

The dust space fell silent.

For three full days, both remained still as rocks, restoring their emperor's power to the utmost. They had underestimated the outer domain supreme beings; in three days, none had found this place. Of course, the Tai Gu Lu was incredibly vast, boundless.

On the fourth day, Ye Chen awoke first, his face radiant.

His first action was to check the outside world. Scattered figures still flew by, and a few hovered in the sky, scanning below. But after watching for a while, they left without spotting anything.

As he watched, he suddenly felt a kick from behind.

Hong Yan had awakened, and the moment she opened her eyes and stood, her first act was to kick Ye Chen—a solid one at that.

"If the situation weren't so inconvenient, I'd really want to have my way with you."

Ye Chen glanced sideways, his emperor's eyes full of mischief.

"You've got the desire but not the guts."

Hong Yan shot back a sideways glance. She was the one most qualified to say that. Back when Ye Chen had sent her away, she had been bathing as a great beauty, and he hadn't dared to approach.

Ye Chen rubbed his brow. Back then, he truly couldn't beat her. What was the point of being naked? It would have been playing with his life—who would dare?

As they spoke, a sudden boom sounded—it was the fluctuation of a great battle.

The two stopped bantering and left the dust space together, heading toward the source of the noise, straight east. They could see surging demonic energy rolling in.

Ye Chen's eyes shone brightly as he strained his vision, vaguely making out the battle scene: Over a dozen Tian Mo Da Di were surrounding one person.

That person was from the realms, but not Di Huang or Xing Tian. He was bare-chested, wielding a war spear and carrying a bow and arrows. His divine body was massive, his aura fierce, with ultimate emperor's power flowing. His black hair was stained with blood, and he fought desperately, in a dire state.

"What a remarkable fighter."

Hong Yan couldn't help but sigh. It seemed she could see it too. On this Tai Gu Lu, no one knew how many outer domain supreme beings lurked, including Tian Di-level and Sheng Mo emperors. For a mere Da Di to survive this long was impressive.

"That guy looks so familiar."

Ye Chen muttered lightly, already summoning the Lun Hui Xian Jian in his hand.