Chapter 874: Nine-Tenths Combat Strength

"Qianbei, do you know?"

Ye Chen turned around abruptly, his face full of hope.

"She is very strong," Di Fan said in a hoarse voice, weariness still etched on his face.

"Qianbei, do you know her origins?" Ye Chen asked again.

"I have never seen her before," Di Fan gently shook his head. "I cannot see her true appearance clearly; I only know she wields a Qi Cai Shen Jian."

"Qi Cai Shen Jian?" Ye Chen furrowed his brow, as if he had guessed who it was. Both Hong Chen Xue and Liu Neng had mentioned a mysterious and powerful woman in Bei Chu, who carried a Qi Cai Shen Jian. The woman Di Fan spoke of was likely her.

"Thank you for telling me, qianbei." Ye Chen cupped his hands in salute and turned to leave.

However, after taking just a few steps, he turned back, pulled a painting scroll from his robe, and unrolled it in front of Di Fan. "Qianbei, have you seen her?"

The figure in the painting was a woman dressed in Qi Cai Xian Yi, graceful and enchanting, with skin as fair as jade and eyes as clear as water, like an immortal descended from the nine heavens, pure and flawless.

She was, without a doubt, Chu Xuan'er.

Di Fan had already lifted his head, his expression calm, his old eyes still murky.

Ye Chen watched with full anticipation, hoping this unfathomable descendant of the emperor could give him some surprises.

But after gazing for three or five seconds, Di Fan ultimately shook his head.

Seeing this, Ye Chen felt deeply disappointed. He rolled up the painting and silently turned away, his back appearing somewhat lonely in the night.

"Go to Qing Xian Ancient Town. He might know," Di Fan's voice came from behind.

"Qing Xian Ancient Town?" Ye Chen instinctively turned back, only to see a jade token flying toward him, which he caught with a wave of his hand.

But when he looked again at Di Fan, he saw that the old man had picked up his broom and was tremblingly sweeping the yellow fallen leaves.

Qing Xian Ancient Town!

Ye Chen gripped the jade token tightly and turned, vanishing into the night.

After Ye Chen left, Di Fan paused for a moment, quietly gazing in the direction Ye Chen had gone, a flicker of doubt flashing in his murky old eyes.

"Why not tell him?" In the silent night, a ethereal voice echoed, originating from the stone statue.

"With his current strength, he is far inferior to her," Di Fan replied, resuming his sweeping of the leaves, his aged back looking solitary under the starry sky.

"Qing Xian Ancient Town." Ye Chen flew out of Tian Zang Ancient City, heading in the direction Di Fan had indicated.

He did not know where Qing Xian Ancient Town was, but Yan Zun's memories contained information about it.

It was an ordinary ancient town, yet filled with mystique. Located in the central plains of Bei Chu, even the powerful Shi Xue Dian had not dared to extend their flames of war there, for it housed an extremely terrifying existence.

Ye Chen moved at incredible speed, clutching the jade token that carried his hopes, his heart filled with an inexplicable tension.

Big brother!

At some point, a voice from his Xing Chen Dao Shen echoed in Ye Chen's mind.

What is it?

Ye Chen replied while flashing to land in an ancient city, then heading straight for the teleportation array at its center.

"Lend me your combat power. I've run into a tough opponent," Xing Chen Dao Shen said urgently, his breath unstable.

"A tough opponent?" Ye Chen frowned, his entire body instantly covered in thunder and immortal fire, his surging vital energy flowing through the connection between his true self and his dao shen, continuously transferring his combat power.

Then, he linked his vision to Xing Chen Dao Shen's.

What he saw was a young man in purple-gold robes, with black hair like a waterfall, eyes like stars, and vital energy as vast as the sea. His body radiated divine light, making him unapproachable, like a god king overlooking the world.

Huo Zun!

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, recognizing the man as the holy son of Shi Xue Dian.

He had clashed with him multiple times in the past and knew his power well. The essence of the Tai Yin bloodline, nearly perfect, combined with his vast divine repositories, made his combat strength no less than Ji Ning Shuang's—he was one of Ye Chen's acknowledged rivals.

"The bloodline has fully awakened." Ye Chen's gaze sharpened as he transferred ninety percent of his combat power to his dao shen.

"You damn well think I'm easy to bully?" With Ye Chen's ninety percent combat power, Xing Chen Dao Shen roared like thunder, stepping on a sea of stars, enveloped in golden light, his golden blood energy burning like fire. If Huo Zun was a supreme god king, then he was an invincible war god.

"Shi Xue Dian has indeed attacked Xing Yue Gong." Through his dao shen, Ye Chen saw the scene unfolding there.

It was a blood-red sky, filled with dark masses of figures like an ocean, each radiating divine light in various colors, like stars scattered across the black night.

Though the scene was splendid, it was also tragic. The experts of Xing Yue Gong were charging forward, with people constantly falling from the void and others rushing into the heavens, entire groups being engulfed.

Leading the assault on Xing Yue Gong was Huo Zun.

Since arriving in Bei Chu, Ye Chen had heard nothing of Huo Zun, but now his sudden appearance was shocking. Even from a distance through his dao shen, Ye Chen could feel Huo Zun's immense power, a sense of danger not inferior to Ji Ning Shuang's.

Boom! Bang! Rumble!

The sounds of battle echoed endlessly in Ye Chen's ears, the fight intensely fierce.

He kept watching, his focus on Xing Chen Dao Shen and Huo Zun.

With ninety percent of his combat power, his dao shen's strength soared, engaging Huo Zun in a bloody battle in the void, the scene vast and destructive, affecting both Xing Yue Gong and Shi Xue Dian.

"Sacred body bloodline!"

Huo Zun's eyes burned with intensity, like two divine lamps, fixed on Xing Chen Dao Shen. "How is this possible? Ye Chen is dead, so how is there still a sacred body bloodline? Could there be two sacred bodies in Da Chu?"

"Still getting distracted? I'll smash you with one punch." Xing Chen Dao Shen instantly closed in, merging his Nine Dao Ba Huang Fist into one, punching through the heavens, his battle intent unmatched, as if it could shatter everything in the world.

"With you?" Huo Zun snorted coldly, forming seals with one hand as the Tai Yin Shen Hai swept across the heavens and earth. His dao shen's punch seemed to sink into a quagmire, its force completely dissipated.

"Break for me." His dao shen was extremely dominant, slashing through the Tai Yin Shen Hai with a blade, then flipping his hand to unleash a Zhentian Great Seal toward Huo Zun. The seal was as heavy as a mountain, causing the void to collapse on the spot.

Huo Zun's eyes flashed with light, shattering the Ba Huang Slash with a palm and punching through the descending Zhentian Great Seal.

"What is your connection to Ye Chen?" Huo Zun seemed to see through his dao shen's fighting patterns, his roar like thunder.

"Guess?" Xing Chen Dao Shen sneered.

"Then I'll beat it out of you." Huo Zun stepped forward, shattering the void, his feet treading on the Tai Yin Shen Hai, from which a blood-red full moon slowly rose. The moon was enormous, every wisp of its aura as heavy as a great mountain.

The void trembled violently as the full moon ascended above the Tai Yin Shen Hai. Though the two were separate, they seemed as one, their dao principles merging, their pressure piercing the heavens and earth.

Immediately, Xing Chen Dao Shen was forced to stagger back, nearly falling from the void.

This not only affected Xing Yue Gong but also caused experts from Shi Xue Dian to fall in droves, with many weaker cultivators being crushed into ash on the spot, leaving the vast void suddenly empty.

"Tai Yue Shen Hai." Ye Chen frowned, recognizing it as an outer path dharma of the Tai Yin body, fused with Huo Zun's Tai Yin dao principles. The full moon borrowed the power of the heavens, the divine sea drew the might of the earth—this was an outer path dharma in harmony with heaven and earth, its power overwhelmingly dominant.

"I can transfer combat power, but not dao principles." Ye Chen murmured to himself, trying to pass his own outer path dharma to Xing Chen Dao Shen, but failing. That was his exclusive dao; even his dao shen could not bear it.

"This is troublesome." Ye Chen frowned again. Huo Zun's outer path dharma was too strong; without an equivalent dao principle to counter it, his dao shen would suffer greatly.

"Do you think I don't have one?" As Ye Chen worried, Xing Chen Dao Shen endured the immense pressure.

Then, a thick divine light shot from his Tian Ling Gai, transforming into a vast starry sky. Stars like fragments of dust stretched endlessly, each one glittering with brilliant golden light, illuminating the dark world.

Gazing at that vast starry sky, Ye Chen was stunned, his expression puzzled. As the true self, he had not known his dao shen had awakened an outer path dharma.

Boom!

While Ye Chen was in shock, the two outer path dharmas collided, exploding with a deafening roar.

Though Tai Yue Shen Hai was dominant, it was forcibly held back by his dao shen's vast starry sky.

Hurry and leave!

Xing Chen Dao Shen gritted his teeth, blocking Huo Zun while transmitting orders to the experts of Xing Yue Gong.

No one understood Huo Zun's terror better than he did. His vast starry sky was also a heavenly dao principle, but it could not match Tai Yue Shen Hai. Moreover, he was borrowing his true self's combat power, and such immense strength was beyond his control, preventing him from unleashing its full potential.

Thus, while he seemed to rival Huo Zun, defeat was only a matter of time.

Go!

Xing Chen Dao Shen roared to the heavens, his vast starry sky suspended above as he charged at Huo Zun.

Retreat!

The Xing Yue Gong holy master and various elders combined their forces to perform a great teleportation divine ability, sweeping the people of Xing Yue Gong out of that realm.

Xing Chen!

The Xing Yue Sheng Nu tried to rush forward but was forcibly taken away by the Xing Yue Gong holy master. "We are only a burden here."

"Stay behind." Huo Zun crossed the void in a step, his vast Tai Yue Shen Hai pressing down on that realm.

"Your opponent is me." Xing Chen Dao Shen shifted in a step, his vast starry sky blocking Huo Zun and trapping him in a section of the void.

But he could only hold Huo Zun; he had no way to stop the other experts of Shi Xue Dian.

Kill!

The heavens shook as Xing Chen Dao Shen battled Huo Zun, while the Shi Xue Dian experts swept across the realm like a black ocean, chasing in the direction where Xing Yue Gong had fled.

Ye Chen witnessed the entire scene but was powerless to intervene.

He was too far from the battlefield; even using a teleportation array would take five or six hours. He could only hope that the forces of Tian Ting in Bei Chu would provide aid, or Xing Yue Gong would suffer heavy casualties.

Bang! Boom! Rumble!

The battle between Xing Chen Dao Shen and Huo Zun continued, shaking the heavens and splitting the earth.

Ye Chen's brow remained furrowed. He could see that Xing Chen Dao Shen was no match for Huo Zun and had considered transferring all one hundred percent of his combat power.

However, as the true self, he knew better than anyone the limits of his dao shen's cultivation. Bearing ninety percent was already the maximum; transferring one hundred percent could send his dao shen into a rampaging state at any moment.