Chapter 885: Turbulence

Boom! Rumble!

The heavens and earth were in turmoil. Dark clouds blanketed the sky, and lightning flashed with thunder roaring. Though it was daytime, the Bei Chu lands were shrouded in utter darkness.

"Chase! Give me chase!"

In the nine heavens above, furious roars echoed like imperial decrees, cold and majestic, lingering in the skies over Bei Chu.

Shi Xue Dian was furious beyond measure!

The major clans were enraged!

Bei Chu was outraged!

The mighty Shi Xue Er Zun had been nailed to the virtual heavens. The hundreds of thousands of cultivators in Shi Xue Dian had been utterly routed in battle. The vast Bei Chu lands had been thrown into chaos by a single person.

Boom! Rumble! Rumble!

The world shook as if armies of soldiers and horses were charging forth. Across the vast lands, crowds surged everywhere, their killing intent piercing the skies.

"Any who block me shall die!"

In the skies over Bei Chu, roars resounded like thunder across the ages, shaking the nine heavens.

Gazing up at the virtual heavens, one always saw a tall, blood-red silhouette, clad in tattered battle armor and wielding a bloodstained Ba Long Dao. He fought from south to north, from west to east, slaying gods if he encountered them and exterminating Buddhas if they crossed his path.

The Tian Ting Sheng Zhu, whose might shook the world.

He deserved to be celebrated by future generations. Provoking millions of cultivators in Bei Chu to pursue him—this was his tribulation, and also his supreme glory.

Night had fallen.

In the pitch-black night, Ye Chen appeared, staggering along with his sacred body drenched in blood, fleeing into a stretch of endless mountain ranges.

Since bursting out that day, three days and nights had passed. He had fought while fleeing, enduring nearly a thousand bloody battles, finally carving a path of blood and establishing the formidable reputation of the Tian Ting Sheng Zhu.

"I've escaped!"

He smiled wearily, his once upright body finally collapsing weakly beneath a massive rock.

In this battle, his injuries were too severe. Under the Xian Lun Tian Sheng, his hair had already turned white, and even the vigorous blood of his Sheng Ti had dried up. His shattered sacred body was covered entirely in fresh blood.

Fortunately, he was still alive, and his feats rivaled those of Ouyang Wang.

"Big brother?" At some point, a call from the Xing Chen Dao Shen echoed in his mind.

"I won't die!" Ye Chen replied faintly, frantically absorbing the true essence from pills. "Have they withdrawn from Bei Chu at Zhu Jian Cheng?"

"Of course they have!" The words of Chen Rong Yun, the young master of Zhu Jian Cheng, rang out through the Xing Chen Dao Shen's connection. "It's all thanks to you drawing Bei Chu's attention, or we'd have had endless trouble."

"I've sent people to notify you more than once!" Ye Chen said, crushing another pill.

"The old folks were hesitating—who knows what to do about that." Chen Rong Yun shrugged helplessly.

"Head to Nan Chu in peace. One day, I'll lead you back to reclaim it."

"I believe that." Chen Rong Yun grinned.

Ye Chen said no more, focusing on recovering his injuries.

Chen Rong Yun and the others seemed to sense Ye Chen's condition and cut off the connection, not wanting to disturb him.

The night remained unrestful.

Bei Chu was in complete chaos, with killing intent permeating everywhere.

Watching the endless streams of people crossing the skies, many couldn't help but sigh in amazement. "Such a massive upheaval—it's rare in a millennium!"

"The Tian Ting Sheng Zhu is incredibly formidable."

"Let me count: including the major forces of Bei Chu, there are nearly ten million cultivators!"

"We should make a decision too." An elderly cultivator took a deep breath.

As soon as he spoke, many furrowed their brows.

The old cultivator's words carried deeper meaning—he was suggesting they take sides early, and from his tone, it was clear he was leaning toward the Tian Ting faction.

The various hidden clans fell silent. After this battle, Ye Chen's rise was unstoppable. Anyone with sense could see he bore the aura of an emperor, likely to become the tenth sovereign of Da Chu.

Across the land, some hidden clans had already taken action, and not a few of them—some heading to Nan Chu, others to the mortal realm. Their goal was the same: to seek refuge.

Now, Shi Xue Dian and the major forces of Bei Chu were blinded by rage. They might use the hunt for Ye Chen as an excuse to purge Bei Chu entirely. Any neutral forces would become their targets.

Indeed, the guesses of those old veterans proved correct.

On the fourth day of the pursuit, some hidden clans in Bei Chu were wiped out to the last member, followed by repeated attacks on neutral forces.

Bei Chu was a scene of carnage, with corpses littering the fields and rivers of blood flowing. Even the vast starry skies were veiled in a layer of crimson. Every night, eerie wails echoed through the heavens, sending chills down the spine.

"Find him! Search every inch of the ground for me!"

In the grand hall of Shi Xue Dian, Shi Xue Yan Luo roared in fury, making the entire hall tremble and buzz.

He was covered in blood, his killing intent surging, his eyes filled with ferocity, like a true Yan Luo from hell. The blood on him belonged to those from the neutral clans—he participated in the slaughter himself.

On the ninth night, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes.

His face was still pale, his injuries mostly healed, but hidden wounds lingered. It would take more time to return to his peak.

"Hurry, go check over there." Before Ye Chen could rise, he heard shouts from outside the mountains. A team from Shi Xue Dian was searching their way.

"Like persistent ghosts." Ye Chen snorted coldly and stood up, but instead of fighting, he fled. His current state wasn't suited for battle—if he drew the full Shi Xue Dian army, it would be disastrous.

However, just as he turned, he caught a glimpse of someone from the corner of his eye.

The figure was clad in blood-red armor, with a robust build, radiating blood-colored energy and flickering lightning.

Xue Liao!

A sharp light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes. The person outside was none other than Xue Liao, the hall master of Shi Xue Dian's eighth branch.

Ye Chen stopped and turned back.

If it were any other hall master, he might let it go, but Xue Liao was different. That man possessed a Tian Yan, and a powerful one at that, containing pure Tian Yan essence—which was exactly the nourishment Ye Chen needed for his Xian Lun Yan.

"Since you've come, there's no need to leave." Ye Chen smirked coldly and slipped into the virtual space, stealthily making his way toward the mountains.

Outside the mountains, Xue Liao had stopped, his eyes glowing with a purple haze as he scanned the surroundings, but found nothing.

"Hall master, do you think Ye Chen might have already returned to Nan Chu?" A commander asked, looking at Xue Liao.

"Impossible." Xue Liao rejected the idea outright. "Over eighty percent of the teleportation arrays to Nan Chu have been destroyed, and the rest are heavily guarded. Is he going to fly back? He must still be in Bei Chu."

"You're right. Bei Chu is so vast—even with our numbers, finding one person is like searching for a needle in the ocean."

"Then keep looking. I—" Xue Liao's words cut off abruptly, his body trembling as a sense of dread washed over him.

"Get out of the way!"

In the next instant, he roared and shifted away in a single step.

Thud!

As soon as he moved, a commander's head was severed.

Everyone's face changed in shock. Before they could react, a chill swept across their backs.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

In an instant, over a dozen Kong Ming realm experts were slain, vanishing without even a scream.

"Who is it?"

The remaining hundred or so experts shouted in rage, retreating to Xue Liao's side, their faces filled with terror as they stared into the darkness. They could already guess who could slaughter so many Kong Ming realm experts so effortlessly.

"Quick, send the signal." Xue Liao remained composed and issued the order immediately.

At once, a purple-robed elder formed seals with one hand, and a beam of divine light shot from his crown toward the skies.

Clang!

A sword rang out, and the divine light, which had just soared into the clouds, was extinguished by Ye Chen's sword before it could go far.

"Send another!"

Xue Liao bellowed.

But as soon as he spoke, the virtual heavens shook. Nine pillars of light descended from above, each entwined with dragon energy and connected by runes, forming a massive cage that trapped Xue Liao and his group inside.

This cage was, of course, the Tai Xu Long Jin.

Thud!

Blocked by the Tai Xu Long Jin, the purple-robed elder's second signal was halted.

Xue Liao's expression turned grim; he recognized this divine ability and knew its terror.

"Better late than never." A faint voice echoed, and from the darkness, Ye Chen emerged step by step, gripping Chi Xiao sword. Golden war dragons circled around him. Like a ghost of the night, he bared his white teeth in a brilliant smile.