Eternal Holy Emperor
Chapter 216 - 196: The World Stirs, Confronting Ye Chen!

Chapter 216: Chapter 196: The World Stirs, Confronting Ye Chen!

The barrier of the Dao shimmered with dazzling brilliance, rune symbols flashing on its surface, resonating with the talisman held by the Supreme Elder of Tiandu Academy. They would soon open a passageway that would allow a few to enter the Trial Road.

Everyone tensed up, anticipating impending disaster for Ye Chen.

Soon after, a passageway appeared, spanning between two worlds.

"Enter!"

The five Heavenly Divine Elders moved forward. Before they had actually passed through the gateway, the overwhelming Heavenly Divine Power specific to the Heavenly Divine Realm descended, changing the color of the sky and scattering the clouds. Thousands of miles of red sand shifted tumultuously, all pressing down on Ye Chen.

"Kid, let’s see where you can escape to this time!"

The Heavenly God spoke coldly, his voice carrying boundless authority. Yang Shaoqi and others watched Ye Chen cruelly, almost relishing the sight of him being suppressed, a thrill spilling from their hearts.

Hai Qingxue and others felt conflicted. Some were terrified, but others wished to intervene yet were powerless to act.

Facing all this, Ye Chen’s expression turned cold. Concealed in the palm of his hand, the Heavenly Slaying Alliance Leader Order flickered with a dim light, ready to be deployed.

Boom—

Just then, the bright passageway suddenly closed, the barrier of the Dao smoothing over as before. The five Heavenly Divine Elders were once again isolated in another world, unable to cross over, as if the passageway had never existed.

This all occurred so abruptly, catching everyone off guard.

"What’s going on?"

"Fellow Daoist Qimin, why did you suddenly close the passageway?"

The four powerful Heavenly Gods urgently inquired. The closure was so unexpected that if a Heavenly Divine Power were trapped within the passage, such an abrupt closure could potentially annihilate even a Heavenly God instantly, leaving no trace of blood or flesh.

This was because the barrier contained the supreme Divine Rules.

The elder Qimin of Tiandu Academy shook his head with a hint of confusion, looking at the talisman: "It wasn’t my doing; the barrier closed on its own."

"It closed on its own?" The Elder of Jiuhua Empire shook his head, "Impossible, aren’t you holding the talisman, able to enter the Trial Road at any time? It can’t just close on its own without reason."

"No, it’s possible!" Elder Qimin asserted confidently, then looked up at the high, unclear Heavenly Dome, slowly saying, "Because the Mansion Master has intervened."

"The Mansion Master!?"

Upon hearing this, the great Heavenly Gods looked toward the Nine-layered Sky above, as if they could see the lofty, seated figure of the Divine Lord, filled with both awe and confusion.

Was it truly the Supreme Old Mansion Master who had intervened?

Why would he block everything?

"I understand now," Elder Qimin said. "It must be a warning from the Mansion Master, reminding us that we must not cross over to confront the younger generation. As long as they are still on the Trial Road, the older generation of cultivators must not act against them. It’s a rule that should not be violated, otherwise, severe punishment from the Old Mansion Master might ensue."

"Is that really the case?" Even the mighty Heavenly Gods were shaken. If so, could they only watch everything unfold without intervening?

Ye Chen sat cross-legged in the void, looking up at the highest reaches of the Heavenly Dome. He guessed that the Old Mansion Master might be aware of the Heavenly Slaying Alliance Leader Order he held, thus letting the barrier close to prevent the Heavenly Divine Powers from crossing, a small act of assistance.

Beyond that, he didn’t believe the Old Mansion Master would help him without reason.

Even though the four Heavenly Gods could not cross, that didn’t mean he was safe. On the contrary, he knew all too well that once he crossed, they would immediately slay him.

Although he had the Heavenly Slaying Alliance Leader Order and was not afraid, it was, after all, an external item; in critical moments, only he could truly rely on himself.

Though the four Heavenly Gods were furious, they were helpless; however, they did not plan to leave. Whether for other reasons or merely for the Dao Blood in Ye Chen’s body—a priceless treasure that could tempt any Divine Being—they could not leave. What they needed to do was to wait patiently.

They couldn’t believe that Ye Chen would never leave. When the time came, the Trial Road would close, forcing Ye Chen to exit, whether he wanted to or not.

Moreover, they wouldn’t let Ye Chen live his life simply. Dealing with one person, as a super force with ancient inheritance, they could drive someone to collapse in countless ways.

Next, they had the great forces’ powerful individuals return and secretly spread the news that Ye Chen had transformed into the Young Great Demon King, bloodily slaughtering hundreds of Trial Participants and staining the mountains and rivers with blood, sparing no one.

Once the news was out, the entire Tiandu Continent was in complete upheaval. A single stone stirred up a thousand layers of waves, generating unprecedented turmoil and had wide-ranging implications, startling more than ninety percent of the people on the entire Tiandu Continent.

Hundreds of Trial Participants, each one a true elite from their respective forces, every one of them an Innate Realm powerhouse likely to achieve the Martial God Realm. Some of the top 100 Trial Participants who were entrusted with high expectations might even grow to reach the Heavenly Divine Realm, taking on the heavy responsibility of an entire great force.

But now, they were all gone, bloodily slaughtered by the Young Great Demon King, staining the Divine Little World with blood, and even the princes and princesses of the Three Great Empires couldn’t escape.

The rumor was initially unbelievable. Even if Ye Chen was arrogant, he wouldn’t dare to single-handedly make enemies of the major forces across the world—it was essentially suicide.

They deeply believed that no one would dare to do such a thing, not even the strongest young talent.

However, rulers from the Three Great Empires and the mysterious Martial God Temple’s powerhouses came forth to verify it, and all the great forces immediately checked soul lamps they hadn’t looked at for a long time. They found that the soul lamps of all the Trial Participants gathered in the Divine Little World were extinguished, and there were hundreds of extinguished lamps across dozens to hundreds of forces, finally forcing them to believe the rumor.

And with the princes and princesses of the Four Great Super Forces slaughtered, and the Four Great Talents severely chased down by Ye Chen from thousands of miles away, embarrassed and their Cultivation greatly reduced, everything pointed to Ye Chen.

The world was shocked!

Ye Chen was too bold, daring to transform into the Young Great Demon King alone and slay so many Trial Participants. It was truly an audacious act, as if he truly feared nothing and wanted to make enemies of the whole world.

"What a Ye Chen—does he really think he’s invincible in the world?"

"I heard a Supreme Divine is backing Ye Chen. Could his boldness stem from this Divine?"

"Hmph, even a Supreme Divine cannot do this; other Divine Lords won’t let this slide."

"It’s just a rumor, after all. It’s still unsure whether there’s a Supreme Divine behind Young Ye Chen, since it has only ever been a rumor and never confirmed."

"Such arrogant actions must be severely punished, or we will not be satisfied!"

All the major forces wouldn’t let this go easily; those were their real seed-level descendants, and they couldn’t calmly allow them to be killed without repercussions. One or two might be forgivable, but so many pushed them into action, leading more than half of the world’s forces to join the campaign.

Even the highest Supreme Divine couldn’t act like this.

In just one night, over a hundred forces were clamoring to punish Ye Chen for his misdeeds and wouldn’t rest until justice was served.

Moreover, the number of joining forces was growing, each one a first-rate force. Many were adding fuel to the fire, or the Four Great Super Forces discretely manipulated the situation, making Ye Chen the target of the masses.

All at once, the campaign to punish Ye Chen swept across the whole Tiandu Continent; many feared for their forces’ young prodigies falling into Ye Chen’s ruthless hands, joined the crusade, and collectively petitioned, pressing the Tiandu Academy, a Cultivation Holy Land, to dispatch real powerhouses to hunt down Ye Chen, vowing to gain justice for all the unjustly slain young elites.

Moreover, far in the western part of the continent, Xiafeng Country also became the target of the masses, especially from surrounding forces long coveting Xiafeng’s vast territories. At this moment, they were even keener on deploying troops against this kingdom, seizing its frontiers.

Therefore, the upper echelons of Xiafeng Country were extremely anxious and immediately stationed millions of soldiers on the borders, ready to battle at any moment. Although neighboring three major kingdoms each summoned more than seven hundred thousand soldiers, collectively putting together over two million soldiers eyeing Xiafeng Country.

Further, some powerful individuals from major forces were preparing to enter Xiafeng Country, heading for Luofeng City, because according to various data, Ye Chen’s parents were located there. Powerhouses from Three Great Empires and Martial God Temple were going because they knew Ye Chen possessed the extremely precious Dao Blood; capturing his family members would threaten Ye Chen to surrender the Dao Blood.

The Heavenly Divine Ancestor of Xiafeng Country and the Heavenly God Mansion Master of Xiafeng Academy were both shaken by all of this, their expressions greatly changed. But in the end, they could only feel an inner conflict of having more mind than might because the Three Great Empires and the Martial God Temple were too powerful, possessing the Tongtian ability to annihilate a great kingdom overnight.

During these troubled times, they were unable to offer help, only able to sigh helplessly; they all felt they had let down Ye Chen.

Just as those powerhouses were getting close to Luofeng City, suddenly, everyone’s expression changed because there was a large figure appearing in the skies above Luofeng City. It wasn’t a human, but an ape, covered in gleaming silver fur, sitting cross-legged in the void, facing those Super Forces’ powerhouses.

"What do you mean by this, Silver Ape King?"

The Silver Ape King, expressionless, said, "I am here to protect Luofeng City by the order of my lord."

Hearing this, everyone changed color. Had Hongtian Great Saint personally intervened in this matter?

But unwilling to leave just like that, they said, "Silver Ape King, are you protecting Ye Chen? Knowing he has slaughtered so many Trial Participants on the Trial Road, infuriating the masses, we are here to capture his family, to set an example."

The Silver Ape King’s voice was calm, yet it carried a threatening tone. "You people, do you dare to harm the young man favored by our lord?"