Chapter 2970: Ancient Karma

In the eastern sky, thunderous roars echoed everywhere.

Gazing upward, the waves of battle were overwhelmingly vast, manifesting numerous destructive visions. Mountains in all directions collapsed one after another.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The besieged Zhutian Ren was repeatedly spattered with blood, his emperor bones exploding across the void, leaving him unsteady on his feet. It wasn't that he lacked strength; the enemy forces were simply too massive, with over a dozen Tianmo Di, half of them at the peak realm.

On top of that, foreign domain supreme beings were rushing in from all sides.

"Capture him alive."

Two Tianmo Di sneered viciously, attacking from left and right, joining forces to unleash an emperor technique that summoned a sea of demonic blood and malice, engulfing Zhutian Ren.

Zhutian Ren snorted coldly and leaped forward, swinging his spear to knock down the two emperors.

In doing so, he paid a heavy price, struck by the third Tianmo Di, losing one arm. Before he could steady himself, the fourth Tianmo Di was already upon him, condensing thousands of emperor techniques into a single finger that pierced his chest. The fifth Tianmo Di was even more ferocious, slashing down with a blade that nearly split him in two.

"Seal him for me."

The sixth and seventh Tianmo Di snorted coldly, casting an emperor path seal.

Following them, the eighth and ninth Tianmo Di activated forbidden laws, and the four emperors together formed a massive cage, one capable of trapping even an emperor.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Zhutian Ren gripped his war spear and charged wildly, trying to break free from the seal.

But it was futile; his efforts were in vain.

He was too gravely injured, and the enemy forces were too overwhelming. Chains of order slithered like serpents within the cage, suppressing his origin, binding his limbs. The chains' sealing power was terrifying, with a devouring force to boot. In merely three instants, most of his emperor path divine power had been devoured.

"Why aren't you running anymore?"

The tenth Tianmo Di sneered, his blood-red eyes filled with savage light.

Zhutian Ren said nothing, his gaze dim and his body utterly exhausted.

That earlier remark about her being a rare talent was spot on. With her great emperor cultivation, Hong Yan had survived on the Taigu Road this long, a feat that commanded respect across the world.

"This origin belongs to me."

The third Tianmo Di chuckled eerily, reaching into the cage. He seemed to be an emperor who could devour Zhutian Ren's origin, licking his lips with greedy eyes. That wasn't just any ordinary emperor—his origin was extraordinarily pure.

Zhutian Ren gave a weary smile, his divine power depleted, unable to resist.

But at that moment, a brilliant golden light descended straight from the heavens.

It was Ye Chen, finally arriving. His momentum repelled the third Tianmo Di, and with a raised palm, he shattered the cage, rescuing Zhutian Ren.

"Sacred Body."

Zhutian Ren stared in astonishment, incredulous as he looked at Ye Chen and Hong Yan. Even with the mindset of a supreme being, he was stunned, having never seen a female Sacred Body or a proven Sacred Body before—and certainly not two of them.

"I thought you looked familiar."

Ye Chen smiled, finally recognizing who it was.

He was Hou Yi, the great shaman of the Wu Clan.

Back in Da Chu, when he obtained the Hou Yi divine arrow, he had seen Hou Yi's majestic form in the arrow's intent, shooting down nine suns with a single arrow.

In a way, that was a thread of karma.

His Shooting Heaven secret technique had come from the Hou Yi divine arrow.

He never expected Hou Yi to still be alive, and on the Taigu Road no less. He must have entered the primeval wilderness as a divine general in ancient times, with a mission similar to Xing Tian's—to go back and summon reinforcements.

"Senior, rest for now."

Before Hou Yi could fully process it, Ye Chen sent him into the Chaos Cauldron.

"Old ancestor."

Inside the cauldron, Wu Clan members were present, and upon seeing Hou Yi, they burst into tears.

"This..."

Hou Yi paused, his laughter mixed with tears, filled with a profound sense of weariness.

"Now we have two emperors in one clan."

Situ Nan crossed his arms, sighing in amazement. Counting the Wu Clan great emperor, that made two, and who knows, there might be more.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Outside, the battle had erupted—or rather, it was a one-sided slaughter by Ye Chen and Hong Yan. Here, there were only great emperors, not a single Heavenly Emperor among them.

The Tianmo Di howled in agony, fleeing desperately, even the peak ones. A proven Sacred Body was a match even Heavenly Emperors might not handle, let alone them.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Ye Chen had put away the Reincarnation Immortal Sword and transformed it into a divine bow and arrow. His archery was impeccable, each shot blooming a flower of blood, picking them off one by one.

"Young ones... truly formidable!"

Hou Yi murmured to himself. Ye Chen and Hong Yan's strength far exceeded his expectations, especially Ye Chen, who fought like a war god. The archery technique he used was precisely the Shooting Heaven secret method Hou Yi had created, but in Ye Chen's hands, it was even more dominant, extinguishing great emperors with a single arrow.

"Come, senior, let me show you something interesting."

Xie Yun was quite perceptive, handing Hou Yi a jade slip. It wasn't an ordinary one; it contained numerous scenes of Ye Chen's battles along the way. Slaying great emperors was child's play; there was even more impressive footage inside.

Hou Yi read it, and his mouth twitched violently, unable to hide his shock and horror. Not knowing was one thing, but seeing it was another— that young Sacred Body was stronger than he imagined. Great emperors were nothing; he had already slain quite a few Heavenly Emperors.

Looking at the divine generals in the cauldron, each one was calm and composed.

What could they say? They were used to Ye Chen's divine exploits by now, having witnessed countless storms. This was all small potatoes to them.

The battle outside had largely concluded. Except for one peak emperor who escaped, the rest had been wiped out, with dark blood mist filling the sky.

Boom! Rumbling!

The battle might have ended, but the rumbling grew even more intense, with foreign domain supreme beings closing in from all directions, including those at the Heavenly Emperor level.

Ye Chen and Hong Yan didn't linger, turning and vanishing in an instant.

Heavenly Emperors weren't the issue; the problem was if they ganged up. Looking at the enemy formations from all sides, it was clear they were grouping up. They could handle one-on-one fights, but getting mobbed required caution. After all, they weren't the Ancient Heavenly Court Empress—if the enemies fought dirty, they could be turned to ash.

"Where do you think you're going?"

A shout rang out as an E Mo Heavenly Emperor charged in first, hurling a pitch-black war spear through the misty void, aimed at Hong Yan.

Buzz!

The spear pierced straight through the heavens, like a demonic light carrying world-ending power. Hou Yi paled at the sight; if it were him, he'd be doomed.

Ye Chen sneered, catching the spear just as it was about to hit Hong Yan. With a dominant spin, he hurled it back. What was once a demonic light now became a divine light.

Thud!

The E Mo Heavenly Emperor, who had just arrived and hadn't even had time to show off, was impaled midair by his own spear.

Hou Yi coughed awkwardly, feeling secondhand embarrassment for the Heavenly Emperor. He had come in all bluster, only to be nailed by his own weapon—how humiliating.

"Damn it!"

The E Mo Heavenly Emperor roared in fury, yanking out the spear and chasing relentlessly.

Ye Chen and Hong Yan ignored him, focusing only on escaping.

As before, they weren't afraid of single combat, just of being overwhelmed.

"You're not getting away after coming here?"

From the opposite void, dark demonic malice churned, devouring the heavens and earth. Though no figure appeared yet, a furious shout echoed first, as a Tianmo Heavenly Emperor emerged, surrounded by laws that seemed innate, his emperor path heavenly sound deeply demonic.

Behind him, he had quite a few underlings, all Tianmo great emperors.

"In a situation like this, it's better to charge straight through."

"Sounds solid."

Ye Chen spoke one line, Hong Yan another, and they quickly decided.

In the same instant, Ye Chen activated his Hegemon Body, and Hong Yan her external manifestation. Gazing ahead, they were like two giants—one radiantly elegant, the other dominating the heavens—both radiating golden light that illuminated the world.

The two proven Archaic Sacred Bodies charged forward side by side, incredibly forceful. The Tianmo great emperor coming head-on was flipped in a single clash, his emperor body cracking open.

If he suffered that fate, his underlings fared even worse.

The scene was extremely bloody. Ye Chen and Hong Yan not only activated their Hegemon Bodies but also their Sacred Body divine treasuries—one surrounded by divine dragons, the other by circling phoenixes. The more enemies there were, the more effective it became, sending figures flying everywhere in the sky.

Ah...!

The E Mo Heavenly Emperor halted, not even thinking twice before giving chase. He had been flipped by the Heavenly Court Empress before, losing face, and now flipped again by these two Sacred Bodies—truly shameless. He didn't care about his life, but he had to save his dignity.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

On the other side, Ye Chen and Hong Yan continued charging, not caring who was who—just barreling through. Their Hegemon Body external manifestations were their greatest asset.

"This must be the legendary harmony between husband and wife."

Xiao Lingwa stroked his chin, his words laden with meaning.

From behind, watching the two Sacred Bodies, they truly seemed a match made in heaven.

"I bet on their kids."

"Born, they'd be golden and shiny, like gold ingots."

"Yeah, could sell for a fortune."

The group started chatting nonsense again, peering out from the cauldron opening, chattering endlessly.

Hou Yi took a deep breath, glancing at this one and that one, like the war god of old, his expression odd. Had the ways of the heavens changed? How had everyone become so thick-skinned?

Boom! Bang! Boom!

As he watched, rumbling came from the northern void.

The heavenly divine generals turned to look.

Through the endless void, they could almost see demonic malice churning, with a battle underway and quite the commotion, dark blood mist spreading across the universe.

It was Zhan Shen and Xing Tian, unclear if they had ventured out on their own or been found, but they were being pursued. Compared to Ye Chen and Hong Yan, their situation was far more dire, with over a dozen Heavenly Emperors chasing the two, not even counting the great emperors. If you added those, it would be even more awkward.

"There's another Sacred Body."

Hou Yi was also watching, his murmur laced with surprise. He knew reinforcements from the heavens had arrived, but he hadn't realized there were three proven Archaic Sacred Bodies. Few in number, but their combat power was immense—they could likely slay Heavenly Emperors.

Spotting Di Huang, he naturally spotted Xing Tian as well.

In that instant, his expression grew even more weary. Back in the primeval wilderness, he had seen Xing Tian, who had emerged earlier than him. Unbelievably, he was still alive, had proven his dao to become an emperor, and was fighting alongside Ye Chen and the others.

"Where's the Empress? Why isn't she here?"

Xie Yun muttered, peering from the cauldron edge, craning his neck like a bobblehead. Seeing Di Huang and Xing Tian but not the Heavenly Court Empress, with her power, she could hold the line if she joined—even three or five foreign domain Heavenly Emperors wouldn't be her match.

Alas, after watching for a while, she didn't appear.

She was there, in the eternal foreign space, but in poor condition. Dark energy enveloped her repeatedly, even extinguishing the eternal immortal light on her body. Her stunning face was deathly pale.

Someone was attacking her covertly, with an invisible and formless force that involved eternal laws, having struck her multiple times already.

Looking at her forehead, there was a dark demonic mark flickering with eternal demonic light. No matter what laws she used, she couldn't erase it.

That seemed to be an ancient curse mark. The Empress wasn't just under covert attack; she was also cursed, and with an eternal curse at that—extremely terrifying.

PS: Two chapters today.

(March 21, 2020)

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement!!!