Chapter 2971: Caught Him!

On the dim Tai Gu Road, roaring sounds echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

Gazing down at the vast sky, one could see many foreign domain supreme beings. Bathed in the light of doomsday, from Tian Di to Dacheng experts, all were swept up in overwhelming demonic aura, turning what should have been light into utter darkness. The omens of destruction had become a dazzling spectacle. The heavenly sounds of the emperor's path, accompanied by funeral bells and dirges, turned into pleasing celestial music, filled with demonic nature, repeatedly disturbing the mind.

"Kill, kill for me, regardless of life or death." The Tian Di's furious roar was like thunderbolts, shaking the immortal vault.

This battle didn't even require his command. The foreign domain supreme beings were like frenzied warriors, each resembling a demon god, their auras more imposing than the last, relentlessly pursuing without respite.

Boom! Rumbling!

The heavens and earth were in turmoil, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring above, and the territories below shaking violently. It had become a realm of chaos, with too many supreme beings whose pressures interconnected, shattering space inch by inch and causing great mountains to collapse wherever they passed.

Ye Chen was still fleeing, sighing all the way. The foreign domain supreme beings on this Tai Gu Road were far more numerous than he had imagined—not just a few, but a massive horde. While sighing, he didn't forget to glance at the Chaos Cauldron and at Hou Yi inside it. He felt like giving him a thumbs-up. No wonder he was a senior—you're truly impressive! So many supreme beings, yet you managed to survive until now. That alone makes that emperor figure stand above all eternity.

Hou Yi understood Ye Chen's look. His survival wasn't just due to luck. Back when he emerged from the ancient Hong Huang, he wasn't yet a great emperor, but he carried a power that could slay emperors, allowing him to conceal himself effortlessly. However, as time passed and he achieved the dao to become an emperor, that power gradually faded. Otherwise, the foreign domain supreme beings would never have found him. The same went for the divine generals who emerged with him, including Zhan Shen Xing Tian and Jiu Tian Shen Wang. They were mostly like this, but not every divine general was as fortunate as them. Too many had died in battle.

"You cannot escape." As he spoke, a sea of demonic aura and blood appeared ahead, surging forward to devour the sky and earth. Leading them was a Di Dao Sheng Mo.

"Catch him?" Hong Yan turned her head slightly and glanced at Ye Chen.

"Catch him!" Ye Chen acted decisively, pulling out a stick engraved with the power of reincarnation, enhanced with spatial and temporal forces, buzzing as it trembled.

The divine generals in the cauldron listened and couldn't help but click their tongues in amazement. A Di Dao Sheng Mo, and he just said "catch him" so casually—utterly dominant.

"Seal the heavens and earth for me." The Di Dao Sheng Mo roared, collapsing the vault of heaven. His eyes, like black holes, displayed omens of destruction, as if he were a demon god activating his Xue Ji Xian Jie, granting him an undying and indestructible state that gave him boundless confidence. He had many followers, dozens of great emperors among them. Upon hearing his command, they each formed seals to lock down the heavens and earth.

Ye Chen sneered and stepped through the void, swinging his stick to smash down.

"Even after proving your dao, you are still but an ant." The Di Dao Sheng Mo looked on with utter contempt, ignoring the heavenly strike and punching through the void. With his undying and indestructible nature, he had the right to be arrogant.

However, before the heavenly strike could land and before his punch could hit Ye Chen, he felt a strange force sweep over him, pulling him away. In that instant, both Ye Chen and he vanished. It was Ye Chen who had used Da Meng Wu Ji, dragging him into a dream realm.

"A mere illusion, daring to trap me?" The Di Dao Sheng Mo broke free in an instant.

"Arrogant fool, let's see you stay arrogant." Ye Chen cursed and finally brought his heavenly strike down.

Pfft!

Blood light burst forth dazzlingly as the Sheng Mo's head was shattered on the spot. Though undying and indestructible, his life essence and origin soul had suffered severe damage.

Hong Yan flashed forward and slapped a sealing palm on him.

"Break for me." The Di Dao Sheng Mo's origin soul howled shrilly, surging with Xue Ji power.

"Dream on." Ye Chen declared firmly and used Yi Nian Yong Heng, freezing time. Though it lasted only a moment, it was enough. Hong Yan arrived again, laying down thousands of seals. Ye Chen wasn't idle either, using spatial forces to form chains that bound the Sheng Mo's hands and feet; temporal forces to create immortal patterns that etched into the Sheng Mo's sacred bones; and spatial forces to form a cage trapping the Sheng Mo's origin. Finally, he applied the laws of reincarnation to suppress the Sheng Mo's divine power.

Once that moment passed, the Di Dao Sheng Mo was left utterly bewildered. He was sealed. Those tens of thousands of seals weren't a joke, and Ye Chen's forbidden bindings were no mere show. His so-called Xue Ji Xian Jie and undying nature seemed like nothing more than decorations, unable to help him break free.

"Come in here!" Ye Chen reached out, grabbed the Di Dao Sheng Mo, and tossed him into the great cauldron.

"Impressive!" Though Hou Yi didn't speak, the look in his eyes perfectly conveyed those two words, directed at Ye Chen and Hong Yan. One was a Di Dao Sheng Mo, the other an emperor path sacred body, and the third a half-saint half-demon—clearly, the latter two were superior, capturing the Di Dao Sheng Mo in less than three rounds.

In the outside world, the scene turned bloody. After capturing the Di Dao Sheng Mo, Ye Chen and Hong Yan paid the price, bombarded by attacks from dozens of emperors the moment the Sheng Mo was caught. Hong Yan nearly dissipated, and Ye Chen almost got split apart, his sacred body blood shining radiantly as it splattered across the void.

"Get lost." Ye Chen snorted coldly and activated Ba Bu Tian Long, charging straight through. Once they steadied themselves, he and Hong Yan fought fiercely. The scene grew even bloodier as dozens of great emperors were sent flying everywhere. The two didn't linger in battle. They vanished in an instant and fled. It wasn't that they feared the dozens of great emperors, but they couldn't afford to delay. More pursuers were on their tail, and supreme beings were closing in from all sides, including fearsome Tian Di figures. If they got trapped here, they would be doomed to die.

"Kill, kill for me." As soon as the two left, over a dozen Tian Di arrived, but they were too late. Locking onto the pair, they continued the pursuit, determined to fight to the death. However, they had underestimated those two sacred bodies. Ye Chen's evasion techniques were heaven-defying; he could use Fei Lei Shen and Meng Hui Qian Gu, making him impossible to track, like a ghost appearing and disappearing at will.

It wasn't long before the rumbling sounds faded. Di Huang and Xing Tian narrowly escaped death, avoiding the encirclement—perhaps due to the chaotic void pulling them in different directions, after which they vanished. As for Ye Chen and Hong Yan, they escaped even more smoothly, one after the other, plunging into a deep mountain and using Hua Yu Wei Chen to enter a dust space. Yet, the Tai Gu Road remained unrestful, with roars rising one after another. This segment of the Tai Gu Road was vast and boundless, especially after its recent connection, making it immensely expansive. Finding someone here was like searching for a needle in the ocean.

In the dust space, Ye Chen had already sat down with a wine flask in hand.

Hong Yan said nothing, only watching the outside world, her delicate brows furrowed slightly, her beautiful eyes flickering uncertainly. After days of fleeing, they still hadn't seen the Heavenly Court Empress appear. With the empress's cultivation, she should have recovered by now, but her absence suggested something was wrong—and not just any issue.

Ye Chen shared her concerns. The Heavenly Court Empress was unparalleled, and among the foreign domain supreme beings on this Tai Gu Road, none could match her. If she could have come, she would have.

Putting those thoughts aside, Ye Chen released the Di Dao Sheng Mo. The Sheng Mo ignored Ye Chen and stared at Hong Yan, his eyes filled with grotesque malice. Hong Yan remained indifferent, showing no human emotions.

"Try swallowing him; it might bring you some fortune." Ye Chen whispered to Hong Yan while circling the Di Dao Sheng Mo.

"Swallowing a Sheng Mo might not be good for me." Hong Yan replied softly. It wasn't that she wouldn't, but her body had flaws, and she couldn't risk it recklessly. She didn't know if it would bring fortune, but it would likely bring calamity.

Ye Chen said no more. He drew upon the power of creation, placed one hand on the Sheng Mo's celestial spirit cover, and used Tun Tian Mo Gong, aggressively devouring.

Ugh!

The Di Dao Sheng Mo groaned, then wailed. His already grotesque face twisted in agony as his indestructible emperor body withered rapidly.

Ye Chen showed no mercy, his eyes gleaming. Having devoured so many Sheng Mo, this one was an exception, for it was still in its Xue Ji state. Thus, the Xue Ji power was also within his devouring range. That force, once swallowed, turned formless and merged into his sacred body, invisible yet distinctly perceptible.

Soon, the Sheng Mo disintegrated, and the wails ceased. Ye Chen's origin surged, dispelling the demonic aura as golden light radiated brilliantly.

"You're half a Sheng Mo yourself—can't you freely control the Xue Ji?" Ye Chen exhaled and asked Hong Yan.

Hong Yan shook her head lightly. In a certain sense, she belonged to the Sheng Mo lineage, but she lacked some of their privileges.

Ye Chen stroked his chin and began circling Hong Yan, examining her from all angles—up, down, left, right—and even reached out to pinch her arms and legs, wondering if he could fully transform her into a sacred body.

Hong Yan kicked him away and glared fiercely.

"Dissolving your Sheng Mo bloodline might work." Ye Chen tucked his hands away, undeterred, thinking his idea was solid.

"Impossible." As the words fell, Hou Yi stepped out of the great cauldron.

"Why?"

"Being half-demon half-saint means the sacred body and Sheng Mo are one. Dissolving the Sheng Mo bloodline would also dissolve the sacred body bloodline—it's not as simple as you think."

"You know quite a bit, young friend!" Hong Yan murmured and turned to sit cross-legged, healing her sacred body wounds.

That address of "young friend" left Hou Yi feeling awkward. But thinking about it, she was right—Hong Yan's seniority was even higher than the Ancient Heavenly Court Empress, so calling him that was actually an honor.

Ye Chen stood tall and straight. I'll woo her, I have to woo her. The emperor's thoughts were refreshingly straightforward. If they became a couple, his seniority would soar— even Ming Di would have to call him second grandfather. People needed ambition and grand ideals, and for that title, he'd be shamelessly persistent.

"Whether she becomes a saint or a demon is just a thought away for her." Hou Yi added, speaking through divine sense.

Ye Chen understood his meaning. To fully become an Huang Gu Sacred Body, it depended on Hong Yan herself, using her sacred body bloodline to assimilate the Sheng Mo bloodline. It would likely take a long, arduous period. In fact, Hong Yan had been doing this for many years. As a sacred body himself, Ye Chen inspired her to become one too. That's why she avoided swallowing Sheng Mo—she needed that long time to fully transform from half-demon half-saint into an Huang Gu Sacred Body. No one else could help.

"What kind of bloodline would result from two sacred bodies uniting?" Hou Yi glanced at Ye Chen, then at Hong Yan, muttering to himself, curious if such a heaven-defying bloodline could emerge.

Pfft!

As he muttered, Ye Chen suddenly spat out blood, nearly losing his balance and falling. His once ruddy face turned pale in an instant, a dark curse mark at his brow persisting without fading.

"Zu Zhou?"