Chapter 3029: Continuing the Mission

"What happened?"

At the end of Tài Gǔ Lù, the assembled emperors and divine generals stood solemnly, straining their eyes to peer into the void. They had clearly heard a mournful roar earlier, unmistakably Yè Chén's voice, filled with grief and pain that still echoed in their ears, making their hearts tremble and stirring an urge to weep.

"Big boss."

The Cháos Cauldron hummed and called out involuntarily.

But there was no response.

The void was eerily calm, with no traces of battle left, indicating that the supreme confrontation had ended.

The emperors remained silent, their faces pale. The anguished tone of Yè Chén's roar suggested that Nǚ Dì was likely in grave danger.

"What happened?"

In the Heavenly Realm, Dào Zǔ; in the Underworld, Míng Dì; and in the Human Realm, Yáo Chí—all rose to their feet at the same moment, climbing to the mountain peaks and furrowing their brows as they gazed into the vast expanse.

"There is turmoil on Tài Gǔ Lù."

The three emperors murmured to themselves.

In the previous instant, the layer of mist that had concealed the heavens slowly dissipated. That mist had been set by Nǚ Dì before she left, using eternal power as a veil to deceive the outer realms and shield the heavens. For all these years, the outer realms had failed to locate the heavens, thanks not only to the grand formations of the three realms but also to that eternal mist.

After Nǚ Dì departed, the mist had once been damaged, later revealed to be due to her separation. But now, its sudden dissipation was more than just a simple separation—Nǚ Dì had likely been utterly destroyed, turning the eternal mist into nothingness.

"Did she fall on Tài Gǔ Lù?"

Míng Dì muttered to himself, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

"Mother."

Yè Líng choked back sobs and cried out, while Dōng Huáng Nǚ Dì's immortal body trembled, her eyes brimming with tears.

Dào Zǔ said nothing, his eyes full of sorrow.

The answer was clear: if Nǚ Dì had not perished, the eternal veil over the heavens would not have vanished.

That night, gloom and grief enveloped everything.

It was not just the three emperors; even the common people of the three realms sensed the shift in atmosphere, with many unknowingly finding their eyes wet with tears.

Boom! Rumble!

The ancient wilderness shook violently, the dim sky flashing with lightning and thunder as the universe fell into chaos.

"Nǚ Dì is dead? How is that possible?"

The successive supreme beings spoke weakly, their already waning auras nearly extinguishing on the spot. Their dim eyes turned turbid in an instant, and for those newly ascended supremes with weaker foundations, their primordial spirits wavered like flickering flames.

"Dead, dead."

From the depths came unrestrained laughter, surging demonic energy rolling forth and blotting out the sun and moon, as if a world-shaking great demon was about to break through its ancient seal.

"Suppress it."

Tiān Xū Tiān Dì roared furiously, offering his lifespan in sacrifice once again. The successive supreme beings, though exhausted, held on desperately, forcing the surging demonic energy back down.

"I'd like to see how long you can hold out."

The sinister laughter from the depths was laced with evil power.

No one responded.

The eyes of the successive supreme beings, though dim, burned with unyielding resolve—a kind of indomitable faith.

One day on Tài Gǔ Lù was a hundred years in the void.

Yè Chén's primordial spirit true form remained in the state of a primordial spirit flame, swaying with the ethereal winds.

He was gravely injured, his consciousness sunk into oblivion, and he had not awakened for a hundred years. The fact that he was still alive was a miracle amid misfortune. Without Nǚ Dì, he would likely have been swept into the void's vortex and turned to dust in history.

There was a moment when his primordial spirit flame was tinged with eternal light, shifting from dimness to brilliance.

He regained consciousness, his primordial spirit flame transforming back into a primordial spirit, which then reshaped his imperial body.

This process was not long on Tài Gǔ Lù, but in the void, it spanned several years.

"I should be the one who died."

His voice was hoarse, his tears turbid. After a hundred years in the void, he finally took a step forward, heading deeper into the void to search for that damned vortex.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

Explosions suddenly erupted from the west of Tài Gǔ Lù.

"Heavenly Demon."

The divine generals, still calling out, turned in unison, spotting rolling demonic energy—it was an outer realm supreme who had slipped through a crack into Tài Gǔ Lù.

The emperors collectively turned and charged toward it.

The rumbling of battle soon echoed through the heavens and earth.

The war came quickly and ended just as fast.

The outer realm supreme who had infiltrated Tài Gǔ Lù was decisively slaughtered by the emperors. From the Tiān Dì down to the demon generals and soldiers, all became corpses and bones on that road.

When the emperors returned, the void remained still, the entire vast emptiness terrifyingly silent.

Most sat down, heads bowed, looking dejected, occasionally glancing toward the void.

At some point, a faint human figure appeared in their sight, slowly emerging from the void.

It was Yè Chén, covered in fresh blood.

He had not found the vortex; after a hundred years in the void, it had likely turned to dust, taking the Quǎsi-Huáng Heavenly Demon and Heavenly Court Nǚ Dì with it.

"He's back."

The divine generals all rose, and at the sight of Yè Chén, their hearts trembled. The supreme of the sacred body lineage now had white hair, a full beard, dim eyes, and an air of utter exhaustion.

Only he returned—what about Nǚ Dì?

Though they knew the answer and that Nǚ Dì was gone, the emperors and divine generals still wondered in their hearts.

Under everyone's gaze, Yè Chén reached the end of Tài Gǔ Lù. His silence weighed heavily on them all. He said nothing, only a tear trace at the corner of his eye.

The old divine generals stepped forward and tentatively called out.

Yè Chén remained silent, waving his hand to dismiss the divine generals.

He stood at the end of Tài Gǔ Lù, forming seals with one hand as array patterns etched beneath his feet—it was a continuation formation.

What Nǚ Dì had passed to him was not just the route of Tài Gǔ and the entrance to the ancient wilderness but also the methods of continuation and creation. She must have foreseen this day.

In that instant, Yè Chén slightly turned his head, glancing at his side. The Nǚ Dì who should have been there was no longer.

He would walk the path she had not finished. No matter how many trials lay ahead, he would lead the heavenly expeditionary army all the way to the ancient wilderness.

When he looked away, the tears in his eyes burned to ash. A sense of duty forced him to suppress his inner pain, with no time to mourn that peerless woman—she was the emperor of the Heavenly Court and his wife.

Dì Huáng and Hóng Yán had already stepped into the formation, gazing at Yè Chén's aged back, wanting to speak but holding back.

A hum arose as Tài Gǔ Lù extended inch by inch.

Only by truly standing in Nǚ Dì's position did Yè Chén realize the immense pressure. The nine-tenths burden bent his back, and the terrifying strain made fresh blood trickle from his mouth.

Yet, it was this mission that Nǚ Dì had borne across two eras—the emperor of the ancient Heavenly Court and the commander of all living beings—worthy of heaven and earth, and of all creatures.

Suddenly, dazzling eternal light bloomed from him.

Whether the emperors or the divine generals, they all seemed to see a dreamlike phantom on him—it was Nǚ Dì's illusion, ancient and weathered.

"Eternal blessing."

Hóng Yán murmured softly, as if recognizing what it was.

Yè Chén, struggling under the weight ahead, felt a mysterious power bolstering him, replenishing his depleted divine force and transforming the dim eternal light into something immortal.

This power made his heart ache intensely, knowing its source all too well.

Another blessing—first from Hú Xiān, now from Nǚ Dì. Each one tore at his soul.

A gentle breeze brushed by, and his cultivation advanced on the spot.

This was due to the eternal blessing, as well as the opportunities from his earlier fierce battle with the Quǎsi-Huáng Emperor. Though brutal, it had brought enlightenment and transformation, and the hundred years in the void had allowed his dao essence to settle.

His advancement was no accident, perfectly illustrating what it meant to rise after breaking. Each brush with death brought heavenly defying evolution and rebirth.

The emperors and divine generals took a deep breath, feeling both joy and sorrow. The price of this advancement was devastating.

Throughout, Yè Chén said nothing.

Everyone understood his state of mind. In that world-shattering war, he had lost not only Nǚ Dì but also Chǔ Xuán and Chǔ Líng.

"There's a thunder sea."

Xiǎo Líng Wā shouted hoarsely, pulling the emperors and divine generals back to their senses. Looking into the distant void, booms resounded endlessly as a pitch-black thunder sea raged wildly.

Yè Chén shifted his arms, steering far around it.

Soon after, he manifested a dharma body, for a meteorite the size of a wine jar was hurtling toward Tài Gǔ Lù. It wasn't that he wouldn't dodge—it was unavoidable, with a void vortex on the left and a void fire sea on the right; touching either would mean destruction.

Zheng!

The dharma body gripped the Eternal Sword and stepped forward.

From behind, no one saw him return; he shattered the meteorite but was buried in the void.

Blood overflowed from Yè Chén's mouth. He didn't know how many more meteorites lay ahead, but due to time constraints, he couldn't manifest a dharma body every time.

This journey was extremely long and fraught with peril.

The closer they got to Tài Gǔ Lù, the more unstable the void became. He was both continuing and forging the path, ràoing around countless vortices and evading numerous thunder seas. There were a few times he nearly collided with the void's destruction.

"Quickly restore your divine force."

From behind, Xíng Tiān and Hòu Yì had already stepped forward, taking the places of Dì Huáng and Hóng Yán. The two were completely drained, and without Nǚ Dì to share the burden, Yè Chén's load was heavy—they shared it too.

As they withdrew, both glanced at Yè Chén.

In terms of exhaustion and depletion, no one compared to him; he alone shouldered ninety percent of the pressure.

Indeed, Yè Chén could barely bear it, his face deathly pale, his once spotted white hair now fully white. His divine force was ebbing, and so was his lifespan—he was sustaining Tài Gǔ Lù with his life. After all, Nǚ Dì was not at his side; after all, he was only a mid-tier Tiān Dì. Even with the Eternal Immortal River and Eternal Blessing, he couldn't match Nǚ Dì. If even she couldn't endure, how could he?

Fortunately, the distance between the two segments of Tài Gǔ Lù was not as vast as imagined. Ahead, the faint form of Tài Gǔ Lù was visible.

Looking closely, figures crowded its end, a dense black mass including outer realm Tiān Dì, great emperors, great accomplished sacred demons, and countless demon soldiers and generals. They must have heard the commotion and gathered to investigate.

"Another tough battle."

Zǐ Miàn Zhī Zǐ took a deep breath and, no longer in the formation, drew his humming emperor sword and donned ancient emperor dao armor. Jiàn Shén and Jiàn Zūn did the same.

Yè Chén's divine force was utterly exhausted; after continuing Tài Gǔ Lù, he still needed to mend the gaps, so he couldn't join the fight in the short term. They had to buy precious time.