Chapter 872: Celestial Burial

The night sky was profound, with shattered stars like dust.

A figure carrying a sack darted into a stretch of endless mountains, sneaking around like a thief.

This person was, needless to say, that scoundrel Ye Chen.

After escaping from Yanluo Mountain, he had sprinted over eight hundred li before finally stopping in this remote, desolate mountain range, where he burrowed underground more than three hundred zhang deep.

"The clever me has pulled off another big heist."

With that, he set down the sack he was carrying and grinned slyly as he dumped out its contents—all piled up like a mountain: spiritual herbs, spiritual tools, spiritual pills, everything imaginable, each radiating divine light that illuminated the dark underground in a dazzling display.

Next, a series of clinking and clanging sounds echoed from underground.

He darted back and forth among the mountain of treasures, collecting all the spiritual herbs and spiritual pills, leaving only heaps of spiritual tools.

In the next moment, he summoned the Chaos God Cauldron, suspending it above the spiritual tools.

"Break!"

With Ye Chen's light command, the Chaos God Cauldron trembled suddenly, releasing strands of chaotic qi. The Escaping Armor Heavenly Characters etched on it began to operate, faintly accompanied by the sounds of the Great Dao intertwining.

As the cauldron vibrated, the spiritual tools below shattered simultaneously.

From the fragments, threads of light flew out in various colors, intertwining and winding around each other, drawn by the Chaos God Cauldron and continuously imprinted into it.

These light threads were the essence of the spiritual tools' cores, which Ye Chen used to refine the Chaos God Cauldron.

Before long, the essence from all the spiritual tools was fully absorbed by the cauldron.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Underground, the Chaos God Cauldron hummed incessantly.

At that moment, it appeared extraordinarily extraordinary—massive and weighty, ancient and unadorned, without flashy colors or dazzling divine light. Truly, great skill seems like clumsiness, perfectly describing its form. It was like a master who had returned to simplicity, appearing ordinary yet terrifyingly dominant.

Once done, Ye Chen sat cross-legged directly beneath the Chaos God Cauldron.

The cauldron trembled lightly, releasing the sealed bloodline powers within, strand after strand, in a riot of colors, like a multicolored waterfall.

The bloodline powers from special bloodlines contained vast essence, a gift from the heavens. They were no ordinary blood, infused with Dao principles and fragments of the world's origin power, making them supreme treasures.

Sitting under the Chaos God Cauldron, Ye Chen's upper garment had torn apart, revealing his ancient bronze-colored skin. Every pore on his body seemed to breathe, absorbing the essence of the bloodlines and expelling their impurities.

He sat like a meditating monk, motionless, allowing the various bloodline essences to refine his body and integrate their Dao principles into his chaotic Dao.

It was a magnificent scene: the dark underground burst with vibrant colors, clouds of mist rising like steaming vapors, white fog swirling around, and strands of bloodline power drifting as if returning to the heavens, only to be drawn into Ye Chen's body.

The bloodline power entered him like a vast river, surging through his body and merging with his sacred body bloodline, nourishing his limbs and bones, and refining his meridians.

At some point, his wind-blown white hair, under the refinement of the bloodline power, gradually returned to its original black, flowing like a waterfall, each strand shimmering with brilliant golden light.

Suddenly, the ground trembled, displaying mysterious visions that added a touch of splendor to the desolate mountains and made the dark night less monotonous.

Everything proceeded smoothly and methodically.

At Yanluo Mountain, before the ruins, a crowd of dark figures stood silently, all bowing their heads, not daring to make a sound, with some even trembling.

In the ruins, Xue Zun stood like an unyielding stele, his eyes—vast as the starry sky—converging into a single point of icy, terrifying coldness under the black night.

"Who was it?"

In the end, Xue Zun spoke, his words alone causing the ground to freeze over visibly and the floating air to turn into ice shards.

In the mountains underground, as Ye Chen exhaled a long breath of turbid air, he slowly opened his eyes.

Immediately, two beams of tangible divine light shot from his pupils, piercing holes in the underground rock walls—manifestations of the Dao, appearing as divine light.

Soon, the divine glow around his body retracted into him, and his vast, deep eyes returned to their normal, still state.

What great fortune!

Ye Chen twisted his neck vigorously, feeling as if he were basking in a spring breeze from the integration of the bloodline powers into his sacred body origin, giving him an unprecedented sense of closeness to the heavens and earth.

"Let's go!"

In high spirits, Ye Chen leaped up and shot out of the ground like a beam of divine light, heading in one direction.

It was only after some time that he stopped before a massive ancient city.

From afar, the ancient city loomed like a giant mountain, grand and imposing, standing as a symbol on this land.

This ancient city was Tianzang Ancient City.

In the distant past, it was an obscure ancient town and not yet called Tianzang Ancient City.

Legend has it that before Tianzang Emperor ascended to the throne, he enlightened the people here, attracting experts from all sides. Over the ages, the town grew and evolved into this ancient city, hence its name.

As for why Ye Chen came here, it was naturally to investigate the matter of his Dao Shen's death.

His last conversation with his Dao Shen before its death took place in Tianzang Ancient City. Afterward, it died, and Ye Chen still couldn't manifest his Dao Shen.

Previously, he had been tied up with affairs involving the Haotian Family, but today he finally had the time to come and uncover the truth, vowing to dispel the fog and resolve his doubts.

With that in mind, he stepped into Tianzang Ancient City.

At first glance, he saw a colossal humanoid statue, over a hundred zhang tall, with a majestic figure and a back like a mountain. Though made of stone, it was carved so lifelike that it seemed real, exuding an aura of dominating the mountains and rivers, overlooking the world.

"Tianzang Emperor!"

Ye Chen murmured, feeling deep reverence even though it was just a statue.

He was once an emperor who unified this land, suppressing the ghost clan with heavenly techniques. His legends were nothing short of myths.

As he gazed, Ye Chen's eyes grew somewhat distant, and an inexplicable sadness welled up in his heart. The once-great emperor, who shook the ancients and dazzled the moderns, had ultimately turned to dust.

As Taixu Ancient Dragon had said, this was a ridiculous and tragic path to the heavens, where no one was the true winner.

"Did you hear? To give an account to the major families of Beichu, the Shixue Hall executed over a dozen pavilion masters."

Eventually, Ye Chen's thoughts were interrupted by voices from a tavern.

He slowly withdrew his gaze from the statue and walked away.

As for the chaos in Beichu, that was exactly the effect he wanted. There was no other way—he needed to use schemes and tricks to buy time for Nanchu to build their city walls.

The results proved his methods were successful, at least creating a rift between Shixue Hall and the major families of Beichu, making it nearly impossible for them to unite quickly.

Next, Ye Chen roamed every corner of Tianzang Ancient City, searching for any traces his Dao Shen might have left.

However, to his disappointment, he found no clues whatsoever. The only thing he could confirm was that his Dao Shen had been here; beyond that, he had no leads.

Night gradually deepened.

The bustling Tianzang Ancient City fell into silence, with the quiet streets occupied only by a few drunken stragglers staggering along, occasionally shouting to vent their pent-up frustrations.

By now, Ye Chen had given up hope. Clutching a wine jug, he wandered aimlessly down the silent street.

It was only after a while that he came to a stop.

In the distance, beneath the Tianzang Emperor statue, he saw an elderly man holding a broom, sweeping the fallen leaves that had drifted under the statue. His movements were slow but patient.

"Difan?"

Ye Chen murmured, though he hadn't seen the old man's face, he recognized him through his bloodline.

Difan might look frail and aged, but he harbored vast power within— the bloodline of an emperor's descendant, impossible to hide. Ordinary cultivators might not recognize it, but Ye Chen saw through it at a glance.

Though surprised, Ye Chen wasn't overly shocked.

Difan was the direct heir of Tianzang Emperor and had been sealed away tens of thousands of years ago. Even with the changes of time, he was still Tianzang Emperor's child, and tending to his father's statue was only natural.

Ye Chen understood Difan's state of mind. Being sealed was like a long dream; upon waking, tens of thousands of years had passed, bringing a sense of isolation and disorientation, as if everything and everyone had changed.

Instinctively, Ye Chen stepped forward and stopped three zhang away from Difan, bowing respectfully.

"Greetings, senior."

Hearing this, Difan paused and turned slightly, his old eyes cloudy with the weight of years. His smile was gentle, like that of an ordinary grandfather, without any trace of killing intent.

In the end, Difan said nothing, slowly turning back and continuing to sweep the fallen leaves with his broom.

Seeing this, Ye Chen started to leave, but as soon as he lifted his foot, his heart trembled violently.

Suddenly, he whipped his head to one side.

There, in the darkness, heavy footsteps echoed. To outsiders, they might sound ordinary, but to a peak expert, they boomed like thunder.

Unconsciously, Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, staring intently in that direction.

He couldn't see clearly into the darkness, but he knew the approaching figure was extraordinarily powerful. Each step trod upon the essence of the heavens and earth, with an aura so oppressive that it made breathing difficult.

Finally, he saw the newcomer— a tall figure with black hair cascading over his shoulders, eyes vast as the starry sky, endless at a glance.

Ghost King!