Chapter 3005: War Across the Heavens

"Clever me."

In the rift passage, the Sheng Zhan Fa Shen was quite delighted because he had found this rift himself. As I said, character is a good thing—the main body's aura was dazzling, and his luck was defying the heavens.

"If things go smoothly, we can circle through Zhu Tian and reach Tai Gu Lu in just one day."

The Fa Shen juggled his wine gourd, hopping up and down beside the main body, even more energetic than Ye Chen.

Ye Chen didn't respond, eyeing the passage and finding it increasingly unreliable no matter how he looked at it.

He wasn't sure if it was due to his overwhelming pressure or some flaw in the rift, but the passage was extremely unstable, with cracks appearing intermittently and growing more frequent near the exit. An ordinary emperor would likely have been swept away by the cracks by now.

This was his second time entering a rift, and he knew all too well how dangerous these passages could be.

The Fa Shen remained unfazed. After all, his main body was Ye Tian Di, and though the passage was unstable, it couldn't shake his imperial form. With eternity supporting him, it wasn't a big problem—he just needed enough time to reach Zhu Tian.

Ye Chen kept acting, teleporting along the way while patching up the cracks.

"I can faintly smell the aura of Zhu Tian."

The Fa Shen looked utterly content. It had been a long time since his dissipation years ago, and he truly missed home.

Speaking of Zhu Tian, things weren't looking optimistic—or rather, the battles were raging fiercely.

Gazing down from the vast expanse, the three realms—heaven, earth, and humanity—were all engulfed in war. Mountains of corpses piled up, rivers of blood flowed, and crimson mist shrouded the universe, making the trembling world seem on the verge of collapse. Countless demon soldiers and generals swarmed, along with foreign domain supreme beings, many at the Tian Di level.

On top of that, massive demon pillars were descending from the sky without warning—some crashing into ancient cities, others landing in mountain ranges. Each pillar's arrival shattered mountains and rivers, leaving Zhu Tian in utter ruins, scarred by the demon pillars and trampled by foreign domain forces.

"Ancestral supreme beings, show your spirits!"

The hoarse roars were filled with despair. Though the three realms had great emperors presiding, they clearly couldn't hold the line. The beings of the myriad domains were struggling bitterly amid the mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"We hear you."

The ancestral supreme beings in the Tai Gu Hong Huang spoke in raspy voices. They knew the inhabitants of the myriad domains were calling for them, but they were powerless to help. They were barely holding on themselves, their endless years having drained them to the point of exhaustion.

Unfortunately, the female emperor and her companions were trapped on the Tai Gu Lu, unable to act.

The expeditionary forces of Zhu Tian, the main camps of the three realms, and the demon-sealing Tai Gu Hong Huang were all far worse off than imagined. Their hope lay with that sacred body who had become a Tian Di—if he could safely exit the rift passage, there might still be a chance to turn the tide.

A single Tian Di could sway the battlefield in certain eras.

"Destroy the demon pillars."

In the Ming Jie Dao Tai Shang Tian, Ming Di's roar echoed through the underworld.

He was locked in combat with six Tian Mo Tian Di and couldn't spare attention elsewhere, so he pinned his hopes on his underworld generals. They couldn't allow more foreign domain supreme beings to descend. These six Tian Mo Tian Di were already his limit—in terms of numbers, the foreign domain forces this time were fewer than before, but their power was far superior.

Tian Di varied in strength, just like these six Tian Mo Tian Di, who were no ordinary emperors.

"How much longer can you hold out?"

The first Tian Mo Tian Di sneered, gripping a black war spear. He had pierced the bloody hole in Ming Di's chest, where imperial blood gushed and dark light lingered, eroding Ming Di's imperial essence.

"Keep acting tough—I'll make you pay."

Ming Di cursed and charged in an instant, ripping off the first Tian Mo Tian Di's head in a single clash.

But he paid a heavy price for it, nearly being split in half by the second Tian Mo Tian Di. Before he could steady himself, the third and fourth Tian Mo Tian Di attacked, each piercing his skull with a finger. The fifth and sixth followed with devastating strikes that nearly shattered his origin and imperial form.

"Come on."

Ming Di's hair flew wildly as he sacrificed his imperial lifespan and activated numerous forbidden techniques, pushing his combat power to its absolute peak. The six Tian Di could afford to drag this out, but he couldn't—with demon pillars still descending, the underworld's forces might not hold.

After all, the peak quasi-emperors at the strongest level had gone with the female emperor and Ye Chen to the Tai Gu Lu. In the underworld, besides him, peak forces were scarce.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The battle was brutal, with imperial blood raining down and staining the underworld red.

"I'll end you."

Ming Di's power surged, but the six Tian Di were enraged too, coordinating perfectly for collective assaults that shattered the heavens and earth with each strike, growing more domineering. They were determined not to stop until Ming Di was dead—failing to kill even one great emperor would be humiliating.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Dao Zu was also bleeding profusely, his chaotic imperial form having exploded multiple times.

He faced only three E Mo Tian Di, but don't underestimate them—they were all at their peak, innately carrying laws, and not just one kind. He could handle one-on-three, but he had reservations and had to protect Tian Jie, so after a hundred rounds, not only did he fail to take them down, but he was left battered and bloody.

There was no helping it—after the female emperor left, they were the ones maintaining the great formation of the three realms, which suppressed the foreign domains but not as strongly as before. If the female emperor were still in charge, the foreign domains wouldn't dare act so boldly.

In reality, they couldn't hold the line. With three great emperors—two at peak and one at mid-level—they were no match for a single Tian Ting Female Emperor. Since her departure, Zhu Tian had endured countless wars, and there were times when the three realms nearly collapsed.

"What a stunning female emperor—it would be a shame to destroy her."

The rumbling in Ren Jie was no weaker than in Tian Ming Jie, accompanied by a sinister laugh laced with demonic power.

The speaker was an emperor-level Sheng Mo, eyeing the Dong Huang Female Emperor with lewd intent.

Beside him, another emperor-level Sheng Mo wore the same lecherous gaze.

Though few in number, these two Sheng Mo were no ordinary demons—strong enough to inspire despair.

Looking across the starry sky, the Dong Huang Female Emperor appeared somewhat frail. Not just her imperial form, but even her fiery cloak was soaked in blood. She feared no Sheng Mo in a one-on-one fight, but two-against-one was another story.

After all, she wasn't Ye Chen—just a mid-level emperor. Facing two emperor-level Sheng Mo alone and surviving this long was enough to stand proud through the ages.

"Jiu Niang."

Ye Ling glanced back for a moment, her call choked with emotion.

"Destroy the demon pillars."

Yao Chi had no time for distractions, leaving only those words before charging at the two emperor-level Sheng Mo. Her eyes held fierce resolve—even if it meant dying, she would trap these two Sheng Mo in Zhu Tian forever.

Ye Ling turned away, gripping her immortal sword tightly as she carved a bloody path through the dense foreign domain army. She wasn't alone—though there were no ultra-strong peaks, countless cultivators fought to the death behind her.

The new generation of Zhu Tian had taken up the war banners from their predecessors.

"The destiny of Zhu Tian shall endure forever."

At Ye Ling's side was Li Xiao Yao, the most fiercely battling among the charging cultivators. He had only one arm left, half his skull blown away, his form no longer human.

From him, the new generation of prodigies seemed to see a familiar silhouette.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

On Yu Nu Peak, over a dozen immortal stones trembled incessantly, each sealing a woman inside—Nan Ming Yu Shu and her companions. In Zhu Tian's crisis, they all yearned to break free.

But their seals bore the Dong Huang Female Emperor's restrictions, making escape impossible.

It wasn't that they weren't being released—it's just that they had little lifespan left. With their unyielding natures, once freed, they would likely sacrifice their remaining years to fight the foreign domain army.

"Master, let us out."

Xi Yan's plea was choked with sobs as she struggled against the imperial seal, but it held firm.

Yao Chi could hear her, yet she didn't respond.

She still remembered the promise from back then. What she guarded wasn't just Zhu Tian, but also Ye Chen's wives. Sealing them was to protect them, so his loved ones would still be there when he returned.

Thud!

A splendid blood flower bloomed in the vast sky as the Dong Huang Female Emperor was sent flying across eighty thousand li of starry space.

"How boring."

The first emperor-level Sheng Mo smirked playfully, appearing like a ghost the moment Yao Chi steadied herself.

In a flash, Yao Chi entered her dream state.

"Where do you think you're going?"

The second emperor-level Sheng Mo sneered, an outstanding Sheng Mo who could keep up with her Dream Return to Ancient Times.

Sadly, he had underestimated the Dong Huang Female Emperor. He caught up, but was caught off guard by her counterattack, his massive head severed by a single sword, his origin nearly extinguished.

"Good, very good."

The second Sheng Mo roared in fury, reforming his head in his bloodline limit state, surging with overwhelming demonic energy as he engulfed the Dong Huang Female Emperor in a forbidden technique that could annihilate great emperors.

Yao Chi said nothing, slashing out an immortal river that cleaved through the demonic blood sea.

"Suppress her."

The first emperor-level Sheng Mo had already ascended to the ninth heaven, sacrificing a demonic tower that loomed over Yao Chi.

Boom!

In an instant, Yao Chi burst out of the tower and struck down the first Sheng Mo with a sword.

"Extinguish."

The second Sheng Mo grinned maliciously, hurling a war spear from afar that pinned Yao Chi to the sky.

In that moment, time seemed to freeze.

Yao Chi pulled out the spear, but the wound wouldn't heal, leaving her staggering. These Sheng Mo weren't ordinary, and neither was this spear—it ignored Dream Return to Ancient Times, striking true on impact.

"She can withstand that? Interesting."

The first Sheng Mo's lips curled slightly, regarding Yao Chi with newfound respect.

"I wonder if she can handle this one."

The second Sheng Mo laughed darkly, manifesting a second war spear wreathed in black demonic energy and bloodline laws. Its power surpassed the first, capable of destroying great emperors.

Yao Chi's expression was cold. She could withstand it, but while she blocked the second Sheng Mo's spear, she couldn't evade the first Sheng Mo's killing blow. Their coordination was flawless.

In fact, that was exactly their plan—one with the spear, the other with the kill.

"Little female emperor, it's over."

The second Sheng Mo's laugh carried an irresistible demonic force, sinister and savage.

Buzz!

With a hum, his spear shot out, carrying destructive might that could crush all in its path.

Yao Chi steadied herself and gripped her immortal sword.

But before she could strike, a brilliant golden light descended straight from the heavens, taking human form and blocking her path. It casually raised a hand, precisely catching the black spear.

"Ye Chen."

Yao Chi's heart trembled as she stared dazedly at that familiar back, her eyes misting over.

"Sorry, I'm late."