At this moment, Emperor Longquan was entirely immersed in a profound, mystical state. The Longquan Sword in his hand whistled as it swept across the air, shattering the entire expanse of the sky into countless fragments that roared down upon him!
Emperor Ku Mu’s pupils contracted sharply. His figure retreated backward with incredible speed, his fierce palm suddenly clenching, crushing the void before him. From within the fractured space, he lightning-fast drew out a shimmering, jade-green divine bow. This longbow was intricately wrapped with numerous secret markings, the most conspicuous of which were nine markings glowing with distinct, varied colors.
These nine markings possessed a captivating beauty. Around the nearly transparent bowstring, nine-colored halos swirled, stunningly attractive. Emperor Ku Mu held this divine bow, his gaze sharp as a blade, sweeping over Emperor Longquan. In a flash of lightning and fire, he positioned his hand upon the string, his movements as gentle and swift as a maiden caressing the strings of a zither, leaving afterimages in their wake. Nine streams of jade-green crystal light shot forth in a seamless flow.
Swish, swish...
Each jet of jade-green crystal light was an arrow of the same color, whistling through the air and scoring nine dark trails across the azure sky as they relentlessly pursued Emperor Longquan.
Emperor Longquan’s eyes were icy cold. The Longquan Divine Sword in his hand blazed with incandescent light, erupting with boundless radiance, and he swung it horizontally to cleave through the nine jade-green arrows.
Bang! Bang! Bang...
Each jade-green arrow exploded, unleashing countless jade-green vines that sought to ensnare Emperor Longquan. However, upon contact with the Longquan Divine Sword, these vines were swiftly severed and rained down like shattered drops.
Inside the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship, Ye Chen observed the fierce battle outside, pondered for a moment, and then looked at Xiao Zhongsheng. “Has the energy accumulation finished charging?”
“Ready for activation at any moment!” Xiao Zhongsheng replied coldly.
Ye Chen immediately commanded, “Activate!”
“Yes!” Xiao Zhongsheng nodded.
Whirr~
The entire Heavenly Dao Divine Ship trembled slightly. Ye Chen and Bai Yijun, standing within, both felt a slight tremor run through their bodies, as if goosebumps had risen all over them—a truly marvelous sensation.
“Master,” Xiao Zhongsheng stated indifferently, “Do you choose ‘Intelligent Control Mode’ or the ‘Divine Ship Mecha Mode’?”
Ye Chen deliberated for a moment, then decided, “Mecha Mode!”
“Please proceed to the Central Main Control Cabin, Master,” Xiao Zhongsheng inclined his head.
Ye Chen nodded. He knew the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship had two operational modes: one where the intelligent system, Xiao Zhongsheng, autonomously controlled the vessel, engaging in mechanized combat using the ship's standard configuration. The second mode allowed the ship to transform into an enormous cosmic mecha, with the core control cabin linking directly to the Master, making the entire vessel feel like the Master’s own body, ready for unrestricted attack.
Click!
The Central Main Control Cabin not far away slowly opened, revealing an oval-shaped chamber within, where a diamond-shaped crystal coffin floated centrally, emanating a chilling aura.
Ye Chen turned slightly toward the beautiful figure beside him and smiled. “Wait here for me; I’ll have this sorted out quickly.”
Bai Yijun’s expression was laced with worry. “Don’t push yourself too hard. If it proves too difficult, I can help. I’m much stronger than before, strong enough to hold off one Great Emperor. They wouldn’t dare harm me, or else... my father—he would unleash his true power!”
Ye Chen was momentarily startled and frowned. “Your father is still hiding his strength?”
Bai Yijun slowly nodded, glancing at him, and whispered, “No one has ever truly known his actual power. I only stumbled upon his real strength by accident after my own breakthrough. He once ventured into the Ancient Realm Peak. I suspect he obtained some treasure from there that caused such a massive leap in ability. If he unleashed his true might, I believe even the Hall Master of Light and others would be inferior to him!”
Ye Chen felt a jolt and instinctively glanced outside the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship. There, Bai Tian stood suspended in the air, motionless, calmly observing the clash between the various Hall Masters and Great Emperors, his demeanor appearing remarkably composed. Ye Chen’s heart grew heavy; he pondered for a moment before turning back to the lovely woman before him, speaking gently, “No matter what, you are absolutely forbidden from taking risks!”
Bai Yijun was touched. She said softly, “Don't worry; I won't do anything foolish. Don't fret over me; don't let your focus be divided.”
Ye Chen nodded, gazing at her intently for a moment, then turned and walked toward the Central Main Control Cabin.
As soon as he stepped inside, he felt a strange gravity envelop his body, making it feel as if all his weight had vanished, pulled by an invisible force toward the diamond-shaped crystal coffin in the center of the cabin.
The coffin slowly opened, enveloping his body, and then the lid locked shut. Numerous circular apertures opened in the surrounding metal walls of the control chamber, from which many telescopic, shaft-like conduits extended, connecting to the crystal coffin.
Ye Chen experienced a miraculous sensation; his consciousness seemed to have suddenly broken open, revealing an entirely new world where he floated among the clouds. Following this, he felt his entire body filled with power, and then, his brain’s information banks were rapidly supplemented with a vast amount of knowledge.
The feeling was akin to suddenly inhabiting a new body, having one’s brain transplanted into a different vessel.
Ye Chen immersed himself in the sensation, exploring every function, every structural integrity, every component's role, and every gear's operation of this new body...
His consciousness was now intrinsically linked to the intelligent system of the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship; he was the ship, and the ship was his body!
“Is this the power of the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship…”
Ye Chen muttered inwardly. Without experiencing it firsthand, he could never have truly grasped the awesome might described in the data files before. This was no mere divine ship; it was a killing machine!
“Mecha Transformation!” Ye Chen thought silently.
Across the vast, boundless sky, the Hall Master of Light clashed with Emperor Ku Mu and others. The Hall Master of Earth was busy fending off Hei Xue, while on the other flank, Emperor Jin Shan was employing his Golden Domain, enveloping the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship, intending to crush it into dust!
Just as the battle raged, the majestic Heavenly Dao Divine Ship began to slowly move.
Kaka-kaka...
Every joint, sail, disc, and base of the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship was rearranging itself. The base became the chest, the sails transformed into the rear propulsion unit, and the entire vessel rapidly shifted from a divine ship into a mechanical warrior!
A super mechanical warrior!
The size of this machine could extend to a light-year in scale!
What was the concept of a light-year? One stomp from that size would instantly pulverize a continent like the White Lotus Divine Province into dust!
The sudden metamorphosis of the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship stunned everyone observing the battle—the Divine Emperors, the Big Dipper Six Stars, Emperor Jin Shan, Emperor Ku Mu, the Hall Master of Light, and Emperor Longquan. They all halted their assaults, turning back to stare at the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship that had morphed into a giant mecha!
“The Heavenly Dao Mecha!”
“How is this possible? How could he switch to the Heavenly Dao Mecha mode?”
“Switching to this Heavenly Dao Mecha mode requires the willpower equivalent to the Origin Heart Realm. Could he, a mere Pseudo-God Realm cultivator, possess such terrifying willpower!?”
Everyone found it unbelievable. Manuals could amplify the physical body, but those that enhanced the Heart Realm, like the Scripture of Morality or the Twenty-Four Treatises of Rites and Laws from the Spiritual Civilization school, were exceedingly rare treasures, and cultivating them was agonizingly slow.
External cultivation might be difficult, but heart cultivation was far harder!
Emperor Jin Shan felt his Golden Domain being strained to its limit, causing his expression to change drastically. He hurriedly poured all the energy within his body into the golden Origin Bead in his hand. The bead flared with brilliant light, emitting rays that stretched for miles, and the oppressive power instantly surged, as if attempting to forcibly implode the Heavenly Dao Mecha.
“Hmph!” A cold snort emanated from the Heavenly Dao Mecha, echoing across the sky and causing the clouds to tremble slightly. Two beams of red, cold light flashed from the Mecha’s eyes. Immediately, the Mecha clenched its hand and drew a battle saber from its back!
The saber was crimson, like fresh blood. It was originally a reinforcement layer at the base of the ship's inner cabin, once the close-combat weapon of the Heavenly Dao itself. It was a weapon transcending the peak Dao Artifact level, though still far from a Void Heaven Artifact.
Ye Chen was now perfectly integrated with the Heavenly Dao Mecha, moving with complete freedom and fluency; a mere thought was as natural as controlling his own limbs.
Swish!
The Heavenly Dao Mecha gripped the blood-red saber. As if sensing its Master’s mood, a surging killing intent swept off the blade. Its razor edge made the Divine Emperor experts near the level of the Big Dipper Six Stars feel a chill crawl up their necks, as if the blade could cleave the very sight before them in two!
Fierce energy coiled around the blade, forming a storm of saber qi. The Heavenly Dao Mecha, wielding the crimson saber, its crystalline, blood-red eyes flashing with icy coldness, swept its gaze toward Emperor Jin Shan!
“Target locked!”
“Analyze weak points!”
“Data interpretation initiated…”
Functions were activated rapidly under Ye Chen’s mental command; everything proceeded with natural ease, like raising a hand to pick up chopsticks. He understood every function of the Heavenly Dao Mecha as intimately as knowing his own body.
“Die!” A surge of murderous intent rose in Ye Chen’s mind. He whirled the blood-red saber wildly. The entire mecha flashed slightly as it gripped the weapon, its feet stepping upon the void. The rear plasma thrusters accelerated to full power, and in just a slight flicker, it appeared before Emperor Jin Shan, the saber slashing down heavily!
“Meteorite Profundity!”
“Blind Heaven!”
Ye Chen’s eyes were chillingly focused. While amplification skills that boosted the self, like the Heavenly Dao Scripture or Blood God Mode, were ineffective in this mecha form, bodily movement techniques like Blind Heaven and Meteorite Profundity could still be utilized perfectly. Furthermore, assisted by the Heavenly Dao Divine Ship’s various systems, they could unleash their full potential!
The Blind Heaven combat technique, previously mastered only partially, had been subtly nearing a breakthrough due to Ye Chen’s elevated state of mind. Now, with the mecha’s system support, it instantly manifested at its peak state!
It was like a normal person who could only see ahead, whereas the machine could see 360 degrees simultaneously.
Yesterday, a rather significant event occurred that prevented me from updating, and I didn't even have time to post an apology. Old Gu feels truly sorry to everyone for making you wait idly. Today was also a full day of being busy; it wasn't until past 10 PM that I finally had time to write. I deeply apologize to all of you.
I owe you for yesterday’s missed update, and Old Gu will make it up this month, striving for three updates tomorrow and four the day after to compensate. However, I can’t guarantee whether unexpected emergencies might pop up in between. But I promise I will make up for it—sigh, I am truly sorry to all my brothers.