The intense white light instantly retracted to a single point, revealing Ye Chen’s figure: slender, clad in black, his blade wreathed in a fierce, frosty gleam, his flowing black hair burning like a plume of chilling, murderous flame.

Centered on Ye Chen’s body, a tempestuous surge of blade aura erupted, an energy wave that seemed capable of shaking heaven and earth, sweeping across the entirety of the Ghost Realm. This unique Emperor’s Qi, possessing a domineering sharpness that surveyed all things beneath it, caused every living creature in the realm to tremble uncontrollably.

All ghost beasts below the rank of Divine Emperor prostrated themselves, their bodies shaking violently; some were so terrified their limbs went slack, causing them to convulse and dribble pale yellow fluid from their mouths—their very courage utterly shattered!

Ye Chen’s current cultivation was no longer that of a World Sovereign, but a Celestial God!

Throughout ancient history, many beings had achieved the title of World Sovereign; any great world could nurture such an existence simply by granting them access to a certain degree of World Power.

A massive realm like the Primordial World, if it so desired, could easily forge thousands, even tens of thousands, of World Sovereigns, merely by distributing authority over World Power among them.

However, Celestial God was a true echelon of power, transcending the World Sovereign. It required no reliance on a world; the being itself became the most unique and purest energy between heaven and earth. Simply put, if one were the Dark Celestial God, they would govern all darkness in existence!

To command darkness!

And Ye Chen, as the supreme divine weapon of heaven and earth, governed all divine weapons. Put another way, every living thing with a soul fell under his dominion!

What constituted a Divine Weapon?

A weapon possessing a soul, a Weapon Soul—that was a Divine Weapon!

Divine Weapons were not necessarily forged from metal; the very bones of any monstrous beast could be used to craft one, within which a Weapon Soul could be nurtured.

In Ye Chen’s eyes, every creature, every human, was merely an armament, waiting for his command. With a single thought, every being in the Ghost Realm could be extinguished, utterly collapsed!

Such was the power of a Celestial God!

The very origin of the Primordial World, the avatar of that world known as the Primordial War Venerable, had once relied entirely on Ye Chen to reign supreme, to [Zhèn] suppress the Nine Great Celestial Gods, and to control the Eight Great Families of the Primordial Era. Even the Ancient Gods were reluctant to provoke him rashly, holding him in profound awe!

It was easy to imagine the sheer immensity of Ye Chen’s power, as the ultimate divine weapon and supreme treasure of the Primordial War Venerable.

Ye Chen stood upon the legacy platform of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Gate. His sharp gaze seemed to pierce the murky clouds above, overlooking the vast territories of the Ghost Realm. A cold, mocking smile touched his lips. He clenched his hand, and a massive, crimson-black vortex materialized directly above his head, spinning rapidly and expanding ceaselessly: a thousand kilometers, ten thousand kilometers, a hundred thousand kilometers…

In the space of a breath, the crimson-black vortex ballooned to a diameter of one light-year and showed no sign of stopping, growing rapidly until it enveloped the surrounding Ghost Cities centered on the Six Paths of Reincarnation Gate where Ye Chen stood.

Everyone in those Ghost Cities felt a rolling black cloud surging towards them from the sky. A gateway to an alternate dimension ripped open before them, revealing a continent of immeasurable expanse: colossal, sky-piercing trees, towering mountains and rivers, and a vast, boundless ocean. In the smaller streams, dark shadows writhed, resembling countless prehistoric behemoths.

This was Ye Chen’s [Tǐ] Inner World!

Ever since achieving the rank of Divine Emperor, Ye Chen’s [Tǐ] Inner World had taken form. Most Divine Emperors populated their inner worlds with vast numbers of lives, harnessing their faith to strengthen the structure. The stronger the Inner World, the greater the personal might!

Thanks to the Heavenly Dao Scripture, Ye Chen’s [Tǐ] Inner World was one billion times larger than that of an ordinary Divine Emperor!

With every subsequent promotion, his Inner World grew exponentially, particularly now that he had awakened as the Blade Emperor. His Inner World was now comparable to the entire Ghost Realm itself; enveloping the whole realm within it would pose no issue!

However, despite its immense size, the Inner World contained no lifeforms, only savage, primeval beasts born from its mountains and waters.

As Ye Chen expanded his Inner World, three streaks of sound tore through the air from the distance, flashing across the horizon like meteors. With a flick of a sleeve, one of the figures caused all the countless Ghost Cities and dynasties engulfed by Ye Chen’s one light-year diameter Inner World to vanish instantly, transferred thousands of light-years away.

“Stop this at once!” A furious roar exploded outward, causing the very sky to shudder. Boundless World Power surged forth, actively resisting the expansion of Ye Chen’s Inner World.

Ye Chen looked up. Beneath the gloomy sky, three beams of light streaked down like falling stars. Cold light flashed in his eyes; blade energy coiled around him. He licked his lips. “They’re finally here.” He took a single step, his body instantly appearing in the sky, blocking the path of the three figures.

The three figures halted, revealing their forms: the three great Supremes of the Ghost Realm—the Yama Supreme, the Asura Supreme, and the Malignant Spirit Supreme!

The Yama Supreme was a burly, rugged brute radiating an aura of raw power. His eyebrows flared like angry fire, his pupils black as pinpricks of starlight. He was clad in armor churning with black vapor, exuding a dominance that surveyed all creation.

Standing quietly beside him was the Asura Supreme. She was a woman of graceful figure, wearing a close-fitting black top that seemed woven of mist and silk, and a flowing black gauze skirt that billowed in the wind, revealing a pair of long, fair legs—a vision overflowing with seductive allure.

Her face was sharp, cold, and dangerously enchanting; one glance was enough to set the blood boiling and the mind reeling.

Beside her stood the Malignant Spirit Supreme, a man perhaps too handsome, with perfect features and gentle eyes, the very picture of the idealized prince in every young woman’s dreams.

“It’s you!” The Yama Supreme recognized Ye Chen immediately, his expression shifting subtly, his eyes narrowing. “I didn’t expect you to dare show your face in the Ghost Realm. We were just about to come look for you. You came uninvited.” The Asura Supreme slightly furrowed her delicate brows, staring deeply at Ye Chen, her expression turning somewhat… [The fastest text update for book fans at Shumi Lou]

The Yama Supreme’s heavy brows knitted together as he fixed his gaze on Ye Chen, immediately perceiving the fierce blade aura swirling around him. This singular blade intent transcended the Heavenly Dao, surpassed all material things—it was an irresistible force, utterly divorced from law!

His pupils contracted deeply, his face a mask of shock, and he blurted out, “It is you!”

This time, his shock was genuine.

He never imagined that the Blade Emperor, the foremost divine weapon of all time, who had vanished for countless ages, would appear right before him. That sharp blade energy was like a scar etched into his memory, one that no amount of time could ever heal!

This scar left behind not just pain, but terror.

The great war from countless ages past flashed vividly before his eyes. He remembered how the Nine Celestial Gods, spurred on by the Primordial War Venerable, had jointly attacked the Ancient God’s mount, the [Dàdào]—the Great Dao. In the end, the Nine Celestial Gods were gravely wounded, the Eight Great Families were annihilated, and the heavily injured [Dàdào] was destroyed and its body partitioned. All that remained were three thousand pieces of divine bone scattered across the world, impossible to trace.

But in that cataclysm where Celestial Gods fell and the Great Dao fractured, what truly remained unforgettable was the final confrontation—a battle that tasted of the end of the world itself—

The Ancient God fighting the Primordial War Venerable!

Their clash churned heaven and earth, shattering the vast Primordial World into countless fragments. Stones were violently ejected into the boundless void, grinding against each other to form new planets, establishing other realms. The remaining lands were pulverized, giving rise to the eleven great worlds that followed.

During that titanic struggle, the scene that chilled them most deeply was that single, brilliant streak of blade light!

That flash of cold steel was like the smile of a demon, slicing across the sky, causing every witness’s heart to seize.

He never dreamed that the foremost Divine Weapon of the Primordial Era, rumored to have been utterly destroyed in that ancient war, would reappear now, and as the very being they had planned to encircle—those who pioneered a new path. “You,” Ye Chen observed them coldly, “Submit as slaves, and you will be spared. Resist, and you shall never know rebirth!”

His words were like an immutable decree!

The Yama Supreme’s heart trembled. Gritting his teeth, he looked at Ye Chen. “I don’t believe it. You vanished in the Primordial Era; you absolutely could not have been reborn. Even if the Primordial War Venerable forged you anew, your strength could never match your former might!”

He stared hard at Ye Chen. “Furthermore, we are within the Ghost Realm now, backed by limitless World Power. You cannot kill us, unless… unless you can destroy the entire Ghost Realm!”

“Is that so?” Ye Chen slanted a look at him. “Are you certain?”

The Yama Supreme’s heart hammered, but feeling the abundance of world power surging within him, his confidence surged. If he were back in the Primordial World, upon seeing Ye Chen, he would flee in terror. But this was the Ghost Realm; the entire, immense domain supported him!

He refused to believe Ye Chen could cleave the entire Ghost Realm in one strike!

Swish!

The Yama Supreme flipped his palm, and a vast, black ocean materialized like a screen of water in his hand, expanding slowly until it hung above his head, forming a dark, boundless sea.

“Draw your blade, I too wish to see the might of the Ghost Realm’s natural treasure, the [Kǔ Hǎi]—the Sea of Suffering. For all these years, I have never encountered anything that could surpass the [Kǔ Hǎi],” the Yama Supreme declared, his body suffused with rolling World Power that enveloped the Sea of Suffering. Standing within his creation, he appeared like a supreme ruler looking down upon all sentient life, commanding all life and death!

“Merely you…” Ye Chen looked up at him, his gaze icy. “I do not need to draw my blade.” He slowly raised his hand, pressing two fingers together, pointing high toward the sky, and then slowly swept them downwards toward the Yama Supreme!

Boom!

The entire sky convulsed. A sharp wave of blade light, like a churning gale, whistled piercingly as it rushed toward the Yama Supreme, sealing off heaven and earth.

Seeing this world-shattering blade aura, the Yama Supreme felt only despair well up inside him—this was the kind of blade force that offered only hopelessness to its target.

In his despair, the power within him intensified, his hair stood on end, and roaring, he swung his fist savagely. The vast Sea of Suffering condensed onto his fist, blasting forth to meet the incoming blade aura.