Chapter 865: Yanluo Mountain

Chapter 865: Yanluo Mountain

At some unknown point, Ye Chen finally got up and walked out of the underground palace.

Outside the underground palace, the strong experts of Yanhuang were bustling about, with people coming and going nonstop, all preparing to withdraw back to the Yanhuang headquarters.

“Saint Lord!”

It was that elder from Yanhuang again. Seeing Ye Chen emerge from the underground palace, he hurried over and presented a jade slip. “This was just transmitted by Ren Huang. Zhao Xiong’s son, Zhao Ziyun, is imprisoned in Yanluo Mountain. The jade slip contains a map leading to Yanluo Mountain and details about the forces stationed there.”

“Yanluo Mountain.” Ye Chen said, gently crushing the jade slip. “I heard that’s where the bloodthirsty Yanluo once attained enlightenment.”

“That’s the place.” The Yanhuang elder nodded. “It’s filled with many terrifying prohibitions, and its defenses are extraordinarily strong. The fact that Blood Temple has locked Zhao Ziyun there shows how much they value him!”

“He has a special bloodline.” Ye Chen remarked casually.

“A special bloodline?”

“The situation is far more complicated than we imagined.” Ye Chen’s words were laden with meaning. “Their real target is the special bloodline contained within Zhao Ziyun. If I’m not mistaken, Blood Temple is also collecting special bloodlines.”

“From what the Saint Lord says, others have collected special bloodlines before?”

“The ones I know of include Xing Wang and the blood clan.” Ye Chen replied.

“What are they collecting special bloodlines for?”

“They must be trying to create a more powerful bloodline, though it could also be for some other ulterior motive.” Ye Chen pondered for a moment. “If my guess is correct, the Eight Kings are all secretly gathering special bloodlines.”

“In that case, the Saint Lord needs to be extra cautious.”

“Anyone who tries to capture me will pay a bloody price.”

“Then I’ll gather the Yanhuang experts to accompany the Saint Lord to Yanluo Mountain.”

“No need.” Ye Chen waved his hand lightly. “You all focus on causing your own chaos. I’ll handle Zhao Ziyun.”

“But…”

“I have it under control.” Ye Chen smiled. “Besides, I have a big gift prepared for Blood Temple.”

Boom! Boom! Rumble!

Beneath the heavens, thunderous roars echoed everywhere.

Looking into the distance, it was a vast sea of black-clad figures, like a dark curtain covering the sky. Perhaps because there were so many people and their momentum was overwhelmingly strong, even the void trembled with rumbling sounds.

That army of cultivators was undoubtedly the forces of Blood Temple’s Ninth Branch.

They were truly persistent, chasing from Beizhen Cangyuan to the Huangquan Mountains, then bypassing the Huangquan Mountains to reach the Tianzang Ancient City, crossing the Xingtian Mountains from there, entering the mortal realm, and continuing from the mortal realm.

“Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!” Along the way, Xue Qiong roared furiously, his face twisted in rage.

He was beyond furious, but not at the Haotian family—it was directed at the other branches of Blood Temple. If they had put in a real effort to block the Haotian family, they might have wiped them out by now.

However, due to the other branches’ half-hearted obstruction, he had been chasing them with great difficulty all along.

And what was even more absurd was that despite pursuing them the whole way, they hadn’t caught a single trace of the Haotian family.

“They must be scheming against you, Branch Lord.” The several commanders were also filled with resentment.

“Shut your mouths, all of you.” Xue Qiong gritted his teeth like a demon, his eyes wild with madness. “Anyone who dares to scheme against me behind my back will share the blame even if my mission fails.”

“Branch Lord, we’ve spotted a teleportation array ahead.”

“How could there be a teleportation array in the mortal realm?”

“It must be someone helping them in secret.” Someone snorted coldly. “They went to such lengths to build a teleportation array in the mortal realm.”

“What are you waiting for? Chase them!” The enraged Xue Qiong was about to charge forward.

“Branch Lord, no!” The several commanders quickly held him back.

“Get off me!”

“Branch Lord, have you forgotten the previous lesson?” The commanders held on tightly, some even grabbing his legs.

The commanders had been burned before and were now cautious, while Xue Qiong’s eyes were clouded by anger. They were wide awake, and every time they saw a teleportation array, they instinctively recalled the scene of the passage collapsing—it had been spectacular.

From this day forward, anyone from Blood Temple’s Ninth Branch who saw a teleportation array would likely think of that earth-shattering scene, turning it into a lifelong shadow.

The night was pitch-black, with a biting wind.

After several teleportations, Ye Chen appeared before a range of obscure mountains.

“It forms its own separate realm.” Ye Chen activated his Xianlun Eye, narrowing his gaze at the mountains before him.

Through the Xianlun Eye, Yanluo Mountain was laid bare. Though it appeared as mountains, they were blood-red in their true form, drenched in blood, and faint wails of agony could be heard, dancing with the wind.

“What a marvelous illusion array.” Ye Chen marveled inwardly. Without his Xianlun Eye, he probably wouldn’t have noticed the hidden details.

What amazed him even more was that the entire blood-red mountain range was enveloped by an invisible barrier, so strong that only an army of cultivators could break it.

Beyond the barrier and the illusion array, what impressed Ye Chen was the terrain itself—a Nine Dragons Worshipping the Heavens formation. With this natural layout boosting it, Yanluo Mountain’s defenses and attacks would be exponentially stronger.

“This level of defense far exceeds what I can break through.” Ye Chen furrowed his brow, realizing he had underestimated the prohibitions of Yanluo Mountain.

“Forcing me to take a risk!” Ye Chen took a deep breath.

Heavenly Dao, open!

With a soft command in his heart, a Heavenly Dao vortex appeared, swallowing him into a spatial black hole.

“This time, luck is on my side.” Glancing around the dark world and seeing no danger, Ye Chen let out a heavy sigh of relief.

What came next was straightforward.

Before entering, he had already planned the distance and position. As long as he aligned himself in the spatial black hole and followed the distance, he could slip into Yanluo Mountain successfully.

Soon, a black vortex appeared in a corner of Yanluo Mountain, and Ye Chen stealthily emerged.

Immediately, he concealed himself in the void space, his eyes sharp as he scanned every direction of Yanluo Mountain.

Only then did he truly see the interior of Yanluo Mountain.

Everywhere he looked, blood-red mist floated, a thick bloody aura permeated the air, and the wails of fierce ghosts echoed.

This seemed to be a blood-red world, where everything was crimson—the ancient trees, palaces, flowers, and springs. The scene made Ye Chen feel as if he had fallen into an endless hell.

“So many prohibitions.” After a quick survey, Ye Chen frowned again.

He saw numerous hidden formations, mostly attack arrays, their patterns interconnected like a massive net. The sheer number made his scalp tingle, and even with his strength, he felt a chill, for those deadly prohibitions were terrifying.

However, it wasn’t all dreadful; there were also many treasures that made Ye Chen’s eyes light up.

Yanluo Mountain wasn’t small, and it was covered with spiritual herbs, some of which even Ye Chen, with his vast experience, had never seen.

The abundance of spiritual herbs made the spiritual energy in Yanluo Mountain exceptionally dense, creating a hazy mist everywhere. Every strand of spiritual energy was entwined with a bloody aura, which was quite eerie.

“Did you hear? They captured the young master of the Zhao family up top.”

“The Zhao family is a subsidiary of Blood Temple. Is it really okay to capture their young master like this?”

“What do you know? It’s called strategy. Do you understand strategy?” Someone replied dismissively. “If they didn’t imprison their young master, how would the Zhao family willingly serve Blood Temple?”

“But I heard that Branch Lord Xue Qiong has been chasing the Haotian family all the way without catching them. Instead, they’ve suffered one defeat after another.”

As they spoke, Ye Chen looked over.

There were nine of them, each clad in cold armor and gripping a black spear.

People like these nine were patrolling Yanluo Mountain constantly, though they were just youths, the weakest among them was at the Kongming Realm first level. The fact that such experts were assigned to night patrols shocked Ye Chen with the sheer number of strong individuals in Yanluo Mountain.

In reality, he had already sensed the hidden experts within Yanluo Mountain. Though their numbers didn’t match an army, their terror far surpassed it, as he had detected more than one Quasi-Tianjing cultivator.

“I can’t force my way through!” Ye Chen took a deep breath and stayed hidden in the void space.

He wanted to charge in, but the prohibitions in Yanluo Mountain were too numerous. Any outsider who triggered them would likely be obliterated by the attack arrays on the spot.

Thinking this, he proceeded cautiously through the void space. Thanks to the Xianlun Eye, he easily avoided the killing arrays.

Three minutes later, he stepped into an underground palace.

Damn!

No sooner had he stopped than even his composure made him curse out loud.

It wasn’t for nothing—the scene in the underground palace was too horrifying.

Looking around, the vast palace was filled with altars of various sizes, each with a person seated on it. Every one of them wore a pained expression—elders, children, and middle-aged people alike. They were all sealed and bound with rune chains.

“Blood Temple has captured so many people with special bloodlines.” Ye Chen scanned each altar continuously. Though their bloodlines varied, terrifying power lay dormant within them.

“Is this how they forcefully plunder the essence of special bloodlines?” Ye Chen muttered, his gaze roaming over the altars. He could clearly see the rune chains devouring the bloodline power.

What furrowed his brow was that as their bloodline power was relentlessly drained, those with special bloodlines withered like plants, becoming emaciated and frail.

“People with special bloodlines are all talents!” Ye Chen cursed inwardly.

Special bloodlines were incredibly rare, and anyone possessing one was a prized asset to major forces.

Yet, Blood Temple had captured so many and was draining their bloodline power—it was sheer waste.