Chapter 3004: Returning to the Ancient Path

The void was vast and illusory, desolate and silent. Upon closer inspection, one could see a lone figure, like a falling leaf, drifting with the wind. It was Ye Chen, who had not yet awakened. Suddenly, a gentle breeze brushed over him, scattering the dust from his body, and he slowly opened his eyes. In that instant, eternity seemed to solidify. Since that year when he drifted away, this was the first time he stood firm in the void, stretching lazily.

Having merged with the Yongheng Xianhe, his divine power was truly boundless. The Yongheng power gave him an immense sense of confidence. If he were to fight the peak Tian Di-level Di Sha again, he wasn't sure if he could defeat the opponent, but he knew he wouldn't lose—the Yongheng Xianhe wasn't fused in vain.

With a thought, he manifested his Fashen.

The Fashen stood with hands tucked in his sleeves, eyeing the true self up and down."Fashen, you're getting even more dazzling."

"Keep it low-key."

Ye Chen stepped forward, saying he would stay low-key, but his aura had already reached a refined state. The Fashen pursed his lips and followed along. The two moved one after the other, calling out as they went. True, he had merged with the Xianhe, but he still needed to find the Taigu Lu. Without someone to guide the way, it was like being blind, even at the Tian Di level—he'd have to fumble through.

"Even the strongest person in the void has to play it straight."

The Fashen walked with a swagger, like a complete rascal, chattering nonstop. Ye Chen didn't argue with that. People like him, Di Sha, and the Nu Di all fell into this category. If they got lost in it, their incredible combat power wouldn't help much. Perhaps only the true Tian Ting Nu Di could wander freely.

Boom!

As they walked, a metallic clang rang out—it was the Fashen, who had bumped right into Ye Chen's back."Boss, stopping suddenly like that could kill someone!"

The Fashen clutched his forehead, grimacing in pain. If it were an ordinary emperor, he might have been done for. Ye Chen didn't respond; his eyes were narrowed, fixed on one direction. There, a faint light glimmered—it seemed to be a fragment of a broken Taigu Lu.

"Heaven leaves no one without a path."

Ye Chen smiled and strode through the ethereal void toward it. Spotting the Taigu Lu was pure coincidence."Character really matters!"

The Fashen was full of energy, running even faster than his true self. After endless years in the void, he was nearly driven mad. Stumbling upon a fragment of the Taigu Lu by accident was clearly a massive stroke of luck. Ye Chen withdrew his thoughts with a single intention. The moment he stepped onto the Taigu Lu, an unprecedented sense of stability washed over him, along with a wave of emotion.

This was his second time entering the void—one for a fateful encounter, the other for a great fortune. Collecting his thoughts, he gazed into the distance. This segment of the Taigu Lu was incredibly vast; even with his Tian Di-level vision, he couldn't see the end. He knew there were foreign region supreme beings on this segment, and quite a few of them.

"Anyone except a Zhun Huang Di can come at me."

As Ye Chen spoke, he turned around and stood at the end, looking toward the opposite side. This segment of the Taigu Lu hadn't been connected yet, which meant the Tian Ting Nu Di and the others hadn't arrived, or they were on their way. He wasn't sure how many segments lay between them. Turning his gaze from the opposite side, he walked toward the sky, where he could see demonic aura rolling in the distance. It had to be foreign region supreme beings who had sensed his presence—dozens of emperors were charging at him, including three at the Tian Di level.

"Sacred Body?"

The first to arrive was the Tian Mo Tian Di, who spotted Ye Chen from afar and suddenly halted. A flicker of fear shone in his eyes. He had come to kill, but now he was tempted to flee. The Sacred Body wasn't the problem—the Tian Di-level Sacred Body was terrifying.

"How is that possible?"

The two E Mo Tian Di who followed shared the same expression as the Tian Mo Tian Di. There were no precedents of the Sacred Body achieving dao, yet here was a Tian Di-level one, completely overturning their understanding. Where had it come from? The foreign region Tian Di were like this, let alone the great emperors and emperor-level sacred demons.

More and more foreign region supreme beings arrived, but none dared to cross the line; they only stared intently at Ye Chen. The weaker great emperors felt their hearts tremble—the pressure from the Sacred Body was overwhelming.

"Not enough people here!"

Ye Chen kept walking, quietly calculating whether to trigger his Tian Di tribulation and drag these foes into it for some excitement. But there were only about a hundred emperors—too few. If the Zhutian divine generals were here, they would be shocked. After advancing to Tian Di in the endless void, he hadn't undergone the tribulation and had suppressed it for so long.

This was all thanks to the Yongheng power. Ordinary divine power couldn't hold back the heavenly tribulation for this long, but Yongheng was different. Naturally, the void wasn't like the outside world, and the hidden forces weren't to be underestimated.

Ye Chen stroked his chin and decided against the tribulation—it wouldn't be worth wasting. Boom! Bang! Boom! As he watched, dark demonic pillars erupted from the ground, piercing the heavens. Each one was etched with demonic patterns, and chains of order slithered like serpents, connecting the pillars to form a trapping cage for emperors.

The casters were the foreign region supreme beings, intent on imprisoning Ye Chen. Instantly, lightning flashed and thunder roared inside the cage. This trap, forged by a hundred emperors working together, was incredibly powerful—if it were an ordinary Tian Di, they might be destroyed. But unfortunately, they faced Ye Chen.

"Where does this confidence come from?"

Ye Chen's steps didn't falter; his words were cold and desolate, like a heavenly decree shaking the skies. The cage couldn't hold him—he walked out effortlessly. As he emerged, the foreign region supreme beings collectively retreated a step, underestimating the Tian Di-level Sacred Body.

"Devour them for me."

The Tian Mo Tian Di snorted coldly, forming a seal with one hand. A vast sea of demonic aura gathered, filled with laws and billions of struggling vengeful spirits—it was both an emperor-level vision and a divine ability, crushing the heavens and earth."Devour them!"

The two E Mo Tian Di shouted resoundingly, forming the same seals. The remaining great emperors and emperor-level sacred demons didn't idle; they channeled their demonic power and aura into the sea, surging toward Ye Chen."Not a bad secret technique, but your cultivation falls short."

From within the demonic sea, Ye Chen's faint words echoed, still cold and majestic. Then, a brilliant Xianhe surged forth. It was the Yongheng Xianhe, forming an eternal immortal sea that, in an instant, swallowed the demonic blood sea. Puff! Puff! Puff! In that moment, from the foreign region Tian Di down to the great sacred demons, all spat out blood.

The Yongheng Xianhai didn't dissipate; it swept in to devour everything. Ye Chen stood within it like an ancient deity, his eternal immortal light dazzling."Break it for me!"

The Tian Mo Tian Di roared hoarsely, wielding a demonic blade and slashing out a million-zhang blade beam, trying to split the Yongheng Xianhai. Ye Chen gave that strike full marks—it was outstanding. But alas, this wasn't an ordinary Xianhai. The Tian Mo Tian Di's blade struck like it hit the void; not only did it fail to break the Xianhai, but he was engulfed by a massive wave. His dark demonic aura was completely eradicated, and his Tian Di body crumbled inch by inch.

By the time he escaped, his emperor body was gone, leaving only a faint Yuan Shen. The foreign region supreme beings all trembled— that Xianhai was too powerful; even a Tian Di couldn't make a ripple."Can you escape?"

Ye Chen sneered, firing a Yuan Shen sword from his brow, infused with Yongheng light, its power dominating the universe. Puff! Before the Tian Mo Tian Di could cry out, he was obliterated by that eternal sword."Retreat!"

The E Mo Tian Di howled and fled; the Tian Di-level Sacred Body was too terrifying."Escape?"

Ye Chen vanished in an instant, reappearing behind the E Mo Tian Di. It was only at the initial level, so he struck it down with a palm. Puff! In less than a second, the second E Mo Tian Di fell, its Yuan Shen and true body destroyed by a finger. Its emperor body showed no wounds as it fell, crumbling inch by inch until it vanished into smoke.

With the three Tian Di dead, the rest were just minions. Ye Chen moved like a ghost, appearing and disappearing, capturing great sacred demons and seizing emperor-level sacred demons. As for the others, they were all engulfed by the Yongheng Xianhai. The foreign region supreme beings' screams and wails were especially piercing. In the great emperor domain, no one could escape; they struggled as they sank to the sea floor, their bodies and Yuan Shen turning to ash without a trace.

In less than half an hour, over a hundred supreme beings were slain—a remarkable feat. This was the might of Ye Tian Di; without a Tian Di-level sacred demon, who could challenge him? Ye Chen retracted the Xianhai and continued onward. His divine sense enveloped the universe, scanning every inch to find any stragglers. There were indeed many, hidden quite cleverly, but they couldn't escape him. He dragged them out one by one.

During this, the captured sacred demons were all devoured amid their screams. With more sacred demons destroyed, the hidden divine power bolstered Ye Chen, and even Di Huang and Hong Yan benefited. Ye Chen reappeared at the end of the Taigu Lu. Straining his vision, he still couldn't see the opposite side, nor did he know when the Nu Di and the others would arrive.

"Boss, since you've comprehended Yongheng, maybe try connecting it."

The Fashen was released again, standing at the end and gazing into the endless void—it was quite a sight. Ye Chen just smiled without speaking. Connecting the Taigu Lu was a technical feat; not only did he not know how, but even if he did, he couldn't do it alone. Even the Nu Di needed the help of many emperors to share the burden, let alone him.

"Compared to waiting, another approach might be more straightforward."

The Fashen stroked his chin. Ye Chen understood what he meant—the alternative was to detour to the Zhutian, then enter the Taigu Lu from there, allowing them to quickly find the Nu Di and the others. This method was indeed direct and better than waiting. The issue was that rift passages were rare, and those leading to the Zhutian were even scarcer.

"I'll go check elsewhere."

The Fashen vanished in a flash, knowing Ye Chen's thoughts—if there was a rift, it would save trouble. With him gone, Ye Chen remained on the Taigu Lu, waiting silently. Just like that, three to five days passed quietly, with no movement from the opposite void. Clearly, the Nu Di and the others weren't on that segment.

Speaking of the Nu Di, their situation was awkward. Including her, everyone had recovered to their peak, but the distance between the two Taigu Lu segments was too great. They had tried two or three times and still couldn't connect them. Bathed in dim light, the emperors were exhausted and collapsed on the ground. The only one still standing was the Nu Di, her face pale and blood trickling from her lips. She had Yongheng to support her, but the others didn't. Time and again, their divine power depleted, and they couldn't reach the opposite Taigu Lu.

Now, there were no other options—either wait for someone to achieve dao or sacrifice the divine generals. She was prepared for it, and so were the Zhutian divine generals—even the low-ranking soldiers had their purpose."Ye Chen, if it were you, what would you do?"

The Nu Di stood quietly at the end, murmuring to herself. But after asking, she realized it was a pointless question. If it were Ye Chen, he would never sacrifice the divine generals. For the first time, she was weary enough to sit down, her expression sorrowful. Strands of snow-white hair fluttered in the wind, brushing her cheeks again and again—it was another difficult choice, and no matter what, she would be branded a sinner.

She understood better than anyone that the Taigu Honghuang couldn't wait any longer. If it fell, the myriad realms would face far more than just one generation of sacred demons."Wait for me."

She wasn't sure if it was a hallucination or an illusion, but those two words seemed to echo in her ear. They were from Ye Chen. Character really did matter—they had truly found a rift passage to the Zhutian.