Chapter 694: Zixuan's Origins

"Di Huang?" Although Zi Xuan's voice was soft, Ye Chen still heard it, stirring up significant emotions in his heart.

Di Huang, the strongest Archaic Sacred Body in history, had once fought alone against five emperors and battled until his last drop of sacred blood.

Ye Chen recalled the legendary story about Di Huang that the Tai Xu Ancient Dragon had mentioned. Hearing the name from Zi Xuan's mouth now, how could he not be shocked?

From Zi Xuan's expression, he was certain that she had known Di Huang from the ancient era, and their relationship was far from ordinary.

At that moment, Zi Xuan's jade-like hand ultimately did not touch his face, freezing in mid-air.

In an instant, the divine radiance enveloping her entire body completely dissipated, and her demeanor turned dull at the same time. Her eyes became vacant and lifeless, as she stood there motionless, like a lifeless corpse.

"Zi Xuan?" Ye Chen called out tentatively, but received no response.

"Has she turned back into a puppet again?" Ye Chen muttered quietly, then tried giving her a command.

Immediately, Zi Xuan, having received the order, began to move, truly reverting to a puppet once more.

Suddenly, Ye Chen activated his Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eyes and stared at Zi Xuan, hoping to find some clues on her.

Soon, he discovered a drop of fresh blood deep within her forehead, faintly glowing with dim seven-colored divine radiance. It gave off a heart-shaking tremor that made one afraid to look directly at it.

At once, Ye Chen withdrew his gaze, and his Immortal Wheel Eyes still felt a slight sting, perhaps because his probing had touched some forbidden taboo.

"Zi Xuan, what exactly is your origin?" Ye Chen frowned as he looked at the Zi Xuan before him. Although she had fallen into a state of dormancy, her mystery and power were more terrifying than anyone he had ever encountered.

"Dragon Lord, do you know anything about her origin?" Ye Chen called out to the Tai Xu Ancient Dragon.

"That drop of blood contains a trace of imperial might; it must be connected to a great emperor, just like me."

"Seriously?" Ye Chen exclaimed in surprise.

"If I'm not mistaken, she should be the Dong Hua Empress, the only one among the Yue Shang and Xuan Huang's one hundred and thirty emperors who achieved emperorship before the age of five thousand."

"Really? You can tell all that?" Ye Chen looked at the Tai Xu Ancient Dragon with disbelief.

"Whenever it involves great emperors, when have I ever joked?" The Tai Xu Ancient Dragon stroked his dragon whiskers. "She mentioned Di Huang and looked at you with such a strange expression. She's most likely a remnant soul or a drop of remnant blood from Empress Yue Shang, which, after endless ages of sedimentation, has given birth to its own intelligence."

"So, from what you're saying, the Dong Hua Empress from ancient times has a significant connection to Di Huang from my Sacred Body lineage?" Ye Chen asked tentatively.

"Of course, there is! This is in Da Chu, but if we were in the myriad realms of the heavens, any random cultivator could tell you their legend. Empress Yue Shang was the supreme beloved of Sacred Body Emperor Di Huang. Without Di Huang, she couldn't have become an emperor, and without them, we wouldn't have what we have today."

"We wouldn't have what we have today?" Ye Chen said in astonishment. "What do you mean?"

"Ascending to emperorship requires passing the emperor tribulation." The Tai Xu Ancient Dragon explained. "Back then, when the Dong Hua Empress was undergoing her emperor tribulation, it alerted the emperor-level experts from the foreign domains. It wasn't just one, but five in total! To protect the Dong Hua Empress's ascension to emperorship, Di Huang sacrificed his Sacred Body origin with his blood, gaining peak combat power and single-handedly blocking those five great emperors. That battle was incredibly fierce—Di Huang fell in combat, and the myriad realms of the heavens were left with mountains of blood and bones. Fortunately, their efforts weren't in vain. Yue Shang became an emperor, repelled the foreign domain invaders, and safeguarded the myriad realms for a full ninety thousand years."

"Did the Dong Hua Empress ever revive Di Huang?" Ye Chen's question was a bit gossipy, but in his heart, he still hoped that the former Yue Shang and Di Huang could have had a destined romance.

"Great emperors aren't all-powerful." The Tai Xu Ancient Dragon sighed softly.

"What a pity." Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh.

"So, if it weren't for the ancient Di Huang and Dong Hua Empress, the myriad realms of the heavens would have ceased to exist long ago, and neither would we in the present."

"Did they have any children?"

"Are you planning to keep chatting with me forever?" The Tai Xu Ancient Dragon glanced at Ye Chen. "If you've got time for this, you might as well hurry up and recover from your injuries. If you want to hear more, I'll tell you for eight hundred years once you get back."

"Damn, I almost forgot about that." Ye Chen snapped back to reality and quickly sat down cross-legged on the ground.

This speck of dust space would unseal in a day, so he had to recover his injuries as quickly as possible within that time. Otherwise, if he encountered those strong opponents again, he'd still end up being overwhelmed and killed.

Crack! Crack!

Soon, sounds of bones colliding and lightning tearing echoed in the dust space.

Ye Chen was refining his body and soul simultaneously, and with the formidable recovery ability of the Archaic Sacred Body, his entire body began to emit green smoke. His wounds healed at a visible speed, and his severed arm regrew just as quickly.

At the same time, his nine clones in the underground world of the Zheng Yang Sect continuously transmitted vast amounts of earth essence, while his nine clones in the desert transmitted rolling stellar power.

Crack! Crack!

In addition, various types of pills kept flying out of Ye Chen's storage bag—the lowest grade being three-patterned—with an enormous quantity, all healing spirit medicines. The overflowing essence merged into Ye Chen's body.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

Outside, those who had been chasing Ye Chen turned back one by one, their faces as dark as eggplants.

They were quite fierce, charging out over eighty thousand li, only to find nothing.

This was all thanks to Zi Xuan—in the moment she led Ye Chen into the dust space, she had released two beams of divine light, and those people had chased after them. In the end, the lights simply vanished.

Damn it!

The sky was filled with people cursing as they returned to the Chaotic Ancient Plains.

Now, the Chaotic Ancient Plains were devastated from the great battle, with the entire world in ruins. But when they returned, the various strong experts weren't fighting; instead, they were confronting each other in the sky.

Just as Ye Chen had said, with him gone, their battle had lost its meaning.

Their existence was to mutually restrain one another. You want to chase and kill Ye Chen? Sorry, we won't let you. You want to save Ye Chen? Sorry, we won't let you go either.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, what a grand spectacle!" When the army of Zheng Yang Sect's Third Branch returned with gloomy faces, the old man Zhuge clicked his tongue and looked toward Zheng Yang Ancestor and the others. "Damn, to catch one person at the first level of Empty Nether Realm, you actually mobilized an entire branch's forces. You guys are really something."

As for Zheng Yang Ancestor and his group, they directly ignored the old man Zhuge's words and stared intently at Pang Tong, the master of the Zheng Yang Third Branch.

"Where is he?"

"He's escaped," Pang Tong lowered his head.

"What the hell were you all doing?" Zheng Yang Ancestor erupted in fury. To kill Ye Chen, they had deployed an entire branch's forces, and yet such a massive operation let him slip away. Do you even have any shame? Why don't you just go eat shit?