Chapter 2998: The Continued Battle

In the vast and ethereal Xu Wu Xu Wang, Ye Chen's consciousness shone brightly. The illusion was eerily silent, with only occasional howls from Di Sha echoing through it.

Those howls eventually faded away.

The absence of howls didn't mean Di Sha was dead; Ye Chen was absolutely certain that Di Sha was still alive.

In the Xu Wang, there was no concept of time, and he had no idea how many years had passed.

During this long period, Ye Chen hadn't been idle. He wandered with the wind and constantly contemplated Yong Heng. By now, his understanding of Yong Heng had undergone transformation and rebirth, far surpassing what it had been before.

Deeper within, he reshaped his consciousness body.

Next, he formed his Yong Heng Di Dao Sheng Ti, creating flesh and blood, and once again condensing his Yuan Shen.

In the vast expanse, he, enveloped in Yong Heng light, was like a brilliant pearl.

Thanks to this sudden enlightenment of Yong Heng, he could now move freely in the Xu Wang, at least without having to flail around anymore.

"I've touched it."

Ye Chen murmured with his eyes closed, a smile playing on his lips. After so many years of contemplation, he had reached the barrier of Tian Di. He just needed to consolidate his Dao, and he could attempt to break through the realm. The Xu Wang truly was a place of both calamity and opportunity; the last time he came here, he comprehended the Yong Heng laws, and this time, he had touched his cultivation bottleneck.

There was more good news than he could count.

At one point, Ye Chen paused slightly, waved his hand, and summoned a Yong Heng Xian Jian.

Indeed, not only could he walk in the Xu Wang, but he could also cast immortal techniques.

This was all thanks to his comprehension of Yong Heng. Though it didn't match the Tian Ting Female Emperor's level, it was still a rebirth for him.

The awkward part was that he couldn't find the way back.

To return, he would need the Female Emperor to guide him. Falling into the Xu Wu and Xu Wang, not even he could navigate it—let alone if the Female Emperor had gone far, she might also get lost in the Xu Wang. That was what frustrated him the most.

Ah!

Suddenly, another roar rang out, making Ye Chen turn his head.

It was Di Sha; he could tell.

Without thinking twice, he grabbed his Yong Heng Jian and headed over. He had to see what that guy was howling about and what form he was in. Even with the bloodline limit, he couldn't hold out this long.

This journey took perhaps three to five years.

When he finally stopped, his eyes narrowed as he gazed into the distance.

"How interesting."

As he expected, Di Sha wasn't in a complete form but a mass of demonic light—a consciousness light.

That's why he sighed in admiration.

It seemed Di Sha's obsessions and inner demons weren't entirely useless. His unyielding obsession was what allowed him to survive in this state; he should have dissipated in the Xu Wang, but because of that obsession, his consciousness endured.

Unfortunately, though he had consciousness, Di Sha couldn't form a consciousness body.

Not everyone could comprehend Yong Heng in the Xu Wang like Ye Chen. Without grasping those laws, one couldn't form a consciousness body, let alone flesh and blood or Yuan Shen. Ye Chen knew this all too well.

However, he had underestimated Di Sha.

That guy was truly exceptional, a master of seizing opportunities. Since he couldn't comprehend Yong Heng, he used his bloodline limit to replace it, managing to form a consciousness body, recreate his Yuan Shen, and was now rebuilding his demonic body.

"This Di Sha is not that Di Sha."

Ye Chen stroked his chin and muttered quietly, hiding in the depths and observing.

What he said made perfect sense.

Di Sha had formed his Yuan Shen, but his cultivation had dropped. He was once at the peak of Tian Di, but now he was only at the initial stage, and his realm was quite unstable. Ye Chen guessed this was a side effect of using the bloodline limit in place of Yong Heng.

Perhaps that was why Di Sha was roaring in anger.

It made sense—if you went from Tian Di peak to initial stage, your state of mind would be a mess.

Falling into the Xu Wang was a calamity for him.

The Female Emperor was right; Ye Chen was both his opportunity and his tribulation. Driven by his obsessive inner demons, he hadn't found a way to advance; instead, he had trapped himself here. To put it bluntly, losing the opportunity was minor, and dropping in cultivation wasn't a big deal—what mattered was whether he could escape alive.

After all, the bloodline limit had its limits.

The Xu Wang was vast and misty; he might not even find the Tai Gu Lu. If he couldn't, he would die.

"A Great Emperor peak against a Tian Di initial stage—hmm, doable."

Thinking this, Ye Chen strolled out casually, his Yong Heng Xian Jian humming with energy.

Hmm?

Di Sha, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. Through the void, he saw Ye Chen at once.

Instantly, his eyes nearly split with rage.

Ye Chen—that was Ye Chen, the supreme of the Sheng Ti lineage. He had self-destructed earlier, yet here he was, alive and well. It was all because of that little Sheng Ti that he had ended up like this, his Tian Di dignity completely shattered.

"Senior, I hope you've been well."

Ye Chen smiled at Di Sha, walking over step by step, his grin growing wider. The phrase "I hope you've been well" was perfectly timed. Outside, it might have been just a few days, but in the Xu Wang, it could have been a thousand years.

Ye Chen was delighted, but Di Sha's face twisted into something hideous.

As a Tian Di-level Sheng Mo, he had keen insight and could see the changes in Ye Chen. The Yong Heng light around him was purer than before, which allowed him to move freely in the Xu Wu Xu Wang and even cast immortal techniques—the Yong Heng Jian in his hand was proof.

The more he saw, the angrier Di Sha became.

They had both fallen into the Xu Wang; Ye Chen had self-destructed, and he had nearly dissipated, yet here Ye Chen was, thriving. Ye Chen had gained opportunity, while he had suffered calamity. Comparing the two, how could he feel balanced?

"The battle we didn't finish back then—let's continue it today."

Ye Chen cracked his neck forcefully. A Tian Di Sheng Mo was a big catch; he had to devour him.

"The one I didn't destroy back then, I will slaughter today."

Di Sha rose to his feet, his demonic body reconstructing inch by inch. Though he lacked Yong Heng, it flickered with bloodline limit light.

"Come on."

Ye Chen stepped forward and swung his Jian, slashing out a river of Yong Heng Xian.

"Ant."

Di Sha sneered viciously and wiped it away with a palm, demonic energy surging from his body mixed with bloodline power, forming a Mo Dao that he swung through the air at Ye Chen. Since his bloodline wasn't Yong Heng, that strike lost much of its divine might in the hidden forces.

Pfft!

Golden blood light burst forth. Ye Chen dodged the Mo Dao but not its residual force; dark demonic energy rampaged and exploded, carving a gruesome bloody gash across his chest.

That was why he was a Tian Di—even at the initial stage, he was terrifyingly powerful.

Before Ye Chen could steady himself, Di Sha was already upon him, slamming down a palm that covered the sky.

Ye Chen used Yong Heng to form his Di Dao ethereal body, evading in an instant.

Then, Di Sha was flipped by a Jian strike. Outside, the Di Dao ethereal body was useless, but in the Xu Wang, bolstered by Yong Heng, it worked perfectly. This mutual suppression meant Di Sha would be held back by hidden forces.

Otherwise, only a fool would pick a fight with a Tian Di Sheng Mo.

Di Sha's expression grew even more grotesque; from the first strike, he knew his divine might had greatly diminished. Using bloodline to replace Yong Heng came with significant drawbacks, and Ye Chen didn't have that problem.

"Don't get distracted."

The Great Emperor Ye charged in, his Jian executing the Yong Heng Feng Shen Jue with devastating dominance.

Pfft!

Di Sha, who had just steadied himself, was pierced through the chest by a Jian, his Yuan Shen also affected as he spat out blood.

"Get back!"

After taking Ye Chen's Jian, Di Sha retaliated with a palm, shattering Ye Chen's Sheng Ti.

Buzz!

Accompanied by a buzz, Di Sha summoned a weapon in his hand—a Mo Dao formed from his bloodline limit, engraved with demonic patterns. If the Yong Heng Xian Jian was radiant, this bloodline Mo Dao was purely demonic.

Clang! Bang! Clang!

Crisp sounds of metal clashing rang out—one a Great Emperor peak Sheng Ti, the other a Tian Di initial stage Sheng Mo; one showcasing Jian techniques, the other knife skills. Every collision sent waves of destructive light rippling out. It was a good thing no one else was around; even an Emperor might not withstand it.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Blood light exploded repeatedly—from Ye Chen and from Di Sha. Their fight was raw and bloody; you slash me once, and I'll hack back regardless. It was all about who could endure more.

Sheng Ti and Sheng Mo were truly a perfect match.

Outside, these two titans couldn't clash; if they did, it had to be in the Xu Wang, fighting to the death. He had his bloodline limit; he had endless Yong Heng. The Sheng Mo wanted to slaughter the Sheng Ti to vent his hatred; the Sheng Ti wanted to devour the Sheng Mo for his essence. Both dreamed of a great prize.

This battle had no spectators.

Yet, it was more brutal than imagined. Ye Chen nearly dismantled Di Sha's demonic body, while Di Sha almost tore apart Ye Chen's Sheng Ti. Both bathed in each other's blood, fighting like madmen, refusing to stop until one was dead.

Equally fierce was the scene on the Tai Gu Lu.

Looking at the ruined city walls, over sixty percent had collapsed; glancing at the various heaven gods and generals, over forty percent had fallen in battle. The survivors fought desperately, slaughtering the Tian Mo until blood flowed like rivers and corpses piled into mountains. It was no longer a battlefield but a slaughterhouse of Asura, where lives were cheaper than grass.

Boom!

With a thunderous crash, the Hun Dun Ding shattered, a gap blown open as the first Tian Mo Di burst out.

The Hun Dun Ding's divine light faded as it plummeted from the sky, its body covered in more cracks.

As a divine artifact, it could hold a Tian Mo Di for so long and still stand proud among all heavens.

"Break."

Then came the second Tian Mo Di, tearing through the sea of thunder and fire like a demonic dragon leaping free.

The Hun Dun Huo and Hun Dun Lei also lost their power, falling from the void.

They, too, could be proud; they hadn't shamed their master and had at least trapped a Great Emperor.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

Dazzling blood light filled the sky as the quasi-emperors besieging the third Tian Mo Di fell one after another, like stars plummeting from the western haze all the way to the eastern void.

With that, the great battle paused once more.

The Tian Mo army halted their assault and arrayed their forces outside the city. The three Tian Mo Di stood menacingly in the sky, their blood-red eyes sinister and savage, fixed on the ruined city walls.

"We're done for."

The son of the plane murmured, gripping his blood-dripping Xian Jian, swaying unsteadily and barely able to stand.

He was in better shape than most.

Looking at the imperial descendants and Di Dao inheritors, they had all collapsed to the ground. The demonic army was too vast; they had fought until they were exhausted, their divine power depleted. Lasting this long was already a miracle.

"Who can help me up? I can still fight."

Kui Niu lay weakly at the base of the city wall, gravely wounded. He had lost both legs, and of his original arms, only one remained. His eyes were dim, his consciousness fading; he had truly reached his limit.

At least he still had a physical body.

Glancing at the city walls, over eighty percent of the gods and generals who could still breathe had lost their bodies. The remaining less than twenty percent weren't much better off; whether they had bodies or not made little difference. Few could truly stand.

"Why stop killing?"

The first Tian Mo Di laughed hideously, relishing the sight on the city walls.

"I'm tired; let's rest."

The Zaohua Shen Wang's voice was hoarse as he staggered a few times before finally collapsing.

"All beings are mere ants."

The second Tian Mo Di chuckled darkly and, with no obstacles left, stepped over the city walls. Slaughtering the emperors was the priority.

"Stop him!"

Long Ye roared, trying to rise into the sky.

But before he could take a step, he saw the second Tian Mo Di fly out from the other side of the city wall. The first and third Tian Mo Di fared no better, crashing headfirst into a crystalline jade hand.