A dozen or so flying vessels cut through the air above the sea, the wind howling fiercely.
As they traveled, Ye Chen observed numerous islands, now inhabited again, suggesting that many people who had gathered at Dragon Emperor Island had been sent back to their original homes following the great battle.
Before long, Ye Chen arrived above Moon Gazing Island, his heart filled with emotion as he looked down upon the emerald green hills and dense forests below.
Many figures were scattered across Moon Gazing Island now. Among them, a majestic man stood holding a hunting bow, silently sending blessings toward the small fleet of flying vessels overhead. He couldn't help but recall the time when that youth, upon first arriving at the island, was bound by the inhabitants and brought into their midst...
With proud bearing, he puffed out his chest and waved his arms, sending his goodwill onward.
A short while later, Ye Chen and his entourage reached the spatial connection point aboard their craft. Ye Chen knew the coordinates were just ahead. Looking into the distance, he spotted a captivating, bewitching silhouette standing suspended mid-air. He focused his gaze and recognized her: the seductive woman under the command of the Dark Prince—another creature of darkness!
Ye Chen’s expression immediately darkened. He drew his Divine Sword and instructed the Lord of Ziyun Island, who piloted the vessel: “Slow down. We have an enemy ahead.”
The Lord of Ziyun Island paused slightly before quickly accelerating. Looking ahead, he spotted the alluring young woman and asked curiously, “This is your enemy?”
Ye Chen stated grimly, “She is a Ghost God Realm powerhouse, one of the demons who attacked the islands.”
Hearing this, the assembled elders, island masters, and high-ranking deacons on the vessel stiffened, watching her with intense apprehension and wariness. Ye Chen, clutching the Divine Sword, stepped toward the edge of the vessel. “I will handle her. Wait here.”
The white-robed elder interjected, “You are still heavily injured. Let me go!”
Ye Chen turned and shot him a look. “Can you handle her?”
The white-robed elder fell silent instantly; he would have been instantly obliterated.
Ye Chen spoke no more. He walked straight out of the flying vessel, channeling the energy within him as he rushed toward the enchanting woman. The woman waited patiently in the air, cultivating while anticipating the triumphant return of the Dark Prince. She observed the approaching vessels one by one and felt a flicker of confusion.
Just then, she saw Ye Chen charging toward her. Her face instantly lit up with joy. His Highness is indeed brilliant, she thought. He knew this human would try to sneak away and ordered me specifically to wait here. If I capture him, His Highness will certainly reward me handsomely!
With that thought, she extended a slender hand, her fingernails lengthening rapidly into sharp points. She licked her lips sensuously and looked at Ye Chen with seductive charm. “I never thought you’d walk right into my trap. I’ll kindly accept you.” She entered her Ghost God Mode and lunged forward.
Ye Chen’s expression was ice-cold. His speed suddenly surged, and a single horn sprouted from his head as he entered Lightning Superman Mode. Wielding the Divine Sword, he streaked across the sky like a laser beam!
“Heh, physical attacks on me…” The seductive woman’s smile froze before it could fully form. A flash of light sliced across her neck, and her head slowly tumbled down, the cut perfectly clean.
Before the severed head could fall completely, it rapidly reattached itself. The woman was utterly terrified, her face a mask of horror. “Impossible! When did you break through to the Ghost God Realm? No, you aren’t a Ghost God expert—ah! It’s the sword in your hand!”
As the woman’s color drained away, Ye Chen’s expression remained remote, his eyes blazing with merciless light. Sword energy erupted from his hand, enveloping the woman completely. In an instant, he unleashed thousands of strikes, hacking her into a mass of bloody pulp!
The pulp rapidly began to aggregate toward a single point, a terrified shriek echoing from within the mess of flesh. “No, don’t kill me, ah! I beg you! I will be your slave forever, and my form is yours to enjoy! Please let me go, don’t…”
She was genuinely terrified.
From the very first strike, she felt her Ghost Qi deplete by 10%. After her entire body was shattered, 30% of her Ghost Qi was shredded. Once the Qi dropped to 10%, she would lose consciousness and become a wandering spirit.
Ye Chen remained coldly impassive, completely ignoring the woman’s pleas. He was fully aware of the deceitfulness of Dark Creatures, and currently, he lacked the necessary Contract Talismans for the Ghost God Realm to restrain her—only execution remained!
“Meteor Profundity!”
“The ‘True’ Character Sword Art!”
A brilliant flash of sword light burst from Ye Chen’s hand, slicing the regenerating pulp into finer dust before it could fully coalesce. Then, he raised his hand and gripped the air. Devouring energy surged from within him, engulfing all the flesh and blood, absorbing and refining it.
“Compress!”
“Compress!”
Ye Chen closed his five fingers into a fist. The mass of shredded meat shuddered violently, letting out a shrill, mournful cry like a ghost wail. Immediately afterward, it ceased movement, condensed into a large ball of gore, and was drawn into his Talisman Space.
Ye Chen sheathed his sword and stood still before turning back to the flying vessel. He deactivated the Lightning Superman Mode. The entire ordeal had taken about thirty seconds—incredibly swift. Those inside, like the Lord of Ziyun Island, watched Ye Chen slaughter a Ghost God Realm expert in the blink of an eye, their pupils contracting in shock.
Once the Superman Mode was off, intense fatigue washed over him, exacerbating his old injuries. Tiny beads of blood seeped from the skin on his chest. He breathed shallowly and walked to a nearby seat, leaning back slightly.
“Are you alright?” the white-robed elder asked worriedly.
Ye Chen shook his head.
The powerful figures surrounding him regarded Ye Chen with utter reverence. Slaughtering a Ghost God expert as easily as dispatching a dog had completely subdued them with awe!
Seeing that the fight had reopened his wounds, many stepped forward to offer their solicitous care.
At that moment, the flying vessel reached the spatial connection point and passed through. Everyone felt a momentary blurring of vision; their minds and bodies seemed disconnected, their entire forms stiffened as if paralyzed by electricity. After a brief moment, they returned to normal, but the world before them had completely changed… They had arrived on Earth!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A dozen or so flying vessels materialized out of thin air above the land.
The Lord of Ziyun Island and the others peered out. Below them lay a desolate, arid landscape; the surrounding vegetation was withered, and dry branches littered the ground. From the dense jungle below, they heard the ferocious, savage roars of beasts, sending chills down their spines.
On the distant horizon, rows of dilapidated skyscrapers stood broken and ruined, monuments to destruction everywhere. The atmosphere was oppressive.
Above, the sky was a flawless azure, illuminated by bright sunlight.
The white-robed elder and the others stared in dumbfounded silence at the scene. They heard one high-ranking Deacon, a King Grade Eighth Stage expert, whisper in awe, “This… this is the Sun that the Progenitor spoke of? The Sky?”
They had never seen such a brilliant blue sky, nor such a dazzling, beautiful sun.
Hearing the man’s words, Ye Chen couldn’t help but recall the perpetual greyish-white void layer of the Xuanyuan World. He sighed with feeling: “To live beneath this blue sky, such a simple desire, has now become the ultimate aspiration for these people!”
Behind them, the other flying vessels erupted into chaos. These people lacked the composure and refinement of the elders and island masters. They pointed excitedly at the sun and the sky, shouting in wonder.
“Look! Wow, the sky is so blue! The sky here is actually blue!”
“What do you know? That’s the ocean hanging upside down in the sky!”
“Wow! And look at that fireball! It’s enormous!”
While everyone was overcome with surging excitement, Ye Chen took out a map, handed it to the Lord of Ziyun Island, traced a line across the route, and instructed him to head first to the Huaxia Base City in Beijing.
The Lord of Ziyun Island navigated while marveling at the surroundings, clicking his tongue in amazement.
Not long afterward…
“Caw, caw, caw…”
Sharp bird cries echoed from the distance, rushing toward them. Ye Chen turned to look and saw a flock of Iron Crow Birds. He frowned slightly. “We need to steer clear of these monsters.”
The white-robed elder asked, “Are these monsters enemies or friends?”
Ye Chen shot him a look devoid of patience. “They are enemies, obviously.”
The white-robed elder chuckled sheepishly. He recalled from his ancestral records that people from beyond the borders often kept animals and had asked out of curiosity, only to be rebuffed.
“Since they are enemies, why not just kill them all?” the elder suggested eagerly.
Ye Chen waved his hand. “Don’t waste unnecessary manpower. I don’t want to waste time.”
“Oh.” The white-robed elder shrugged.
Immediately, the Lord of Ziyun Island steered the vessel to bypass the flock of Iron Crow Birds. At their speed, evasion was effortless. They subsequently bypassed several more waves of monsters, all avian—groups of Blood Swallows and Black Geese.
Several hours later.
Ye Chen and his group traversed several major provinces and arrived at the capital city, Beijing. Along the route, Ye Chen observed that city streets were infested with monsters. On major mountains, creatures like Flood Dragons and Blood-Toothed Tigers held sway; monsters were everywhere.
When crossing the Yangtze River, they saw the water was swollen, and the river was densely packed with creatures. Despite flying for a long time, they hadn't seen a single Hunter, which struck Ye Chen as strangely ominous.
Moreover, with his keen perception, Ye Chen noticed that monsters were distributed by species in many regions. For instance, Hangzhou in Zhejiang was entirely occupied by a massive swarm of Rat Clan monsters, with few others seen. Meanwhile, Ningbo City was dominated by a large group of Dog Clan monsters. It seemed as if these various monsters had carved up the entire territory of China among themselves.
Ye Chen’s frown deepened. This pattern of monster distribution subtly resembled the early stages of the Monster Empire formation in his past life. Back then, many monsters, led by a creature with six heads, had breached human defensive lines in city after city, rapidly conquering the continent and forcing the human armies into continuous retreat.
Later, an unparalleled genius arose among the Human Race, emerging in the mid-apocalypse. This prodigy, named Qin Tian, led the armies to firmly hold the human strongholds. He possessed divine tactical skills and immense personal power, coupled with the inheritance of a prehistoric Heavenly Civilization, allowing him to transform into a Battle Angel. He once shone as brightly as Yun Shaojing, but ultimately, he perished prematurely in the sea!
Ye Chen was deep in thought when, just as the capital city came into view, he noticed that the closer they got to Beijing, the denser the monster concentrations in the cities below became. He frowned, a vague sense of foreboding growing in his heart.
Just then—
Whoosh!
From the monster horde below, a massive boulder shot through the air, hurtling toward them.
The Lord of Ziyun Island frowned, pressed a button, and a cannon barrel extended from the bottom of the vessel, firing a laser beam that shattered the boulder and pierced through it into the ground below.
The laser beam acted like a stone dropped into a still lake, sending up a thousand ripples.
Roar! Roar!
Innumerable monsters roared, their overwhelming might causing a change of countenance.
The white-robed elder muttered inwardly, Not good, we've alerted them. He turned to look at Ye Chen. Ye Chen’s expression remained calm. “It’s fine. Proceed directly.”
Seeing that Ye Chen did not assign blame, the Lord of Ziyun Island breathed a sigh of relief and swiftly piloted the vessel toward the coordinates of the Huaxia Base City.
…
: Third update complete. Calling for R.O.