ISWI Chapter 941-942 (Patreon)

Chapter 941: Peak of the Great Saint!

Boom… boom… boom…

Inside the Holy Son's residence.

Deep within Ye Chen's body, his cave heaven trembled violently. It was like a long-dormant volcano suddenly erupting. Countless beams of golden light burst forth from the core of the cave heaven. They tore through the original barriers at its edges and surged wildly in every direction. As the barriers expanded, the once-empty void transformed into towering mountains, vast rivers, rolling hills, and deep valleys.

At the same time, the laws of space, time, and countless other laws began to materialize.

Mysterious runes flickered in the air, weaving into a vast and intricate network of rules. This network constantly reshaped the world around it. In the Origin Sea above the firmament, suns, moons, and stars were being nurtured and rising.

Alongside them, a peculiar aura surged forth—an endless stream of newborn qi. It nourished the countless spiritual herbs and plants, causing them to grow, multiply, and spread at astonishing speed.

Ye Chen's twelve immortal roots had previously weakened after he extracted their essence. Yet now, during the cave heaven's advancement into a full world, they received boundless benefits. Not only did they recover in the blink of an eye, but their condition was also even better than before.

Moreover, the Seven-colored Nirvana Jade that had long rested in the star pool began to glow with brilliant light… Endless newborn qi poured in through the cracks in the Seven-colored Nirvana Jade. As the qi surged inside, the cracks gradually began to heal.

The Holy Spirit still inside it widened its eyes in disbelief.

What was happening? What kind of power was this?

The Holy Spirit possessed knowledge and records of how members of its lineage advanced to the Great Saint realm, yet the scene before it was completely different. Especially this strange aura—it was actually repairing its cracks and resolving the only flaw that might have prevented it from reaching perfection. Such a thing had never been heard of. Just what was Ye Chen's world?

The Holy Spirit could clearly feel that the benefits this world brought it were at least dozens or even hundreds of times greater than before. Most importantly, the aura that had just flowed in through the cracks seemed to have raised its upper limit. If it could bathe in this aura a little longer, its potential might advance even further. It might not stop at the peak of the Quasi-Immortal realm. It could go straight to becoming an immortal…

Although it did not understand what was happening, the Seven-colored Nirvana Jade now refused to leave no matter what. Even if Ye Chen bullied it and made it suffer, it was determined to stay here…

…

Luo Bingling watched Ye Chen's ever-changing cave heaven and was equally stunned. She stood on the central main peak, protected by Ye Chen, yet her eyes were filled with shock. As the princess of the War God Clan, she had once entered the worlds of several Great Saints.

But none of those Great Saints' worlds had been as vast as Ye Chen's cave heaven—even before this transformation. Let alone now.

Luo Bingling felt that Ye Chen's cave heaven was evolving toward becoming a universe of its own… What was even more unbelievable was the suns and moons currently forming and being born inside it.

Some Great Saints did possess suns and moons in their cave heavens, but those were artificially refined using solar essence, lunar essence, and various divine materials to enhance their foundations.

They were all man-made. A naturally generated sun and moon—this was truly unprecedented. And that peculiar aura grew denser by the moment, bringing ever-greater benefits to cultivation. Even the immortal roots had not only recovered their original vitality but seemed to have had their limits raised as well.

Luo Bingling had only read about such a phenomenon in an ancient text: when a great world was first born, the newborn qi it produced could nourish all things and elevate everything… But Ye Chen's world was merely one deduced by a cultivator. How could it possibly compare to a real world?

This was simply outrageous.

Luo Bingling could not understand it, yet that did not stop the proud smile from spreading across her face. Her husband was truly incredible… Cultivating inside here, her future breakthroughs would surely come even faster.

This was simply wonderful.

The evolution lasted a full three months. When the world finally took shape, an invisible pressure exploded from Ye Chen's body and swept outward in all directions.

The entire Heavenly Evolution Holy Land shook violently. Protective grand arrays on every peak and at the mountain gate rose up at once, shielding the sect and its disciples.

Everyone instinctively turned toward the Holy Son Peak. Their eyes were filled with utter shock.

Was this the commotion of someone breaking through to the Great Saint realm? Was this the aura a Great Saint should possess?

It was simply outrageous. Just how vast was the world that the Heavenly Emperor's heir had advanced into? And what kind of foundation did it hold?

The crowd stared at the Holy Son Peak in disbelief. They could clearly feel Ye Chen's aura climbing higher and higher. It rose from the early stage of the Great Saint realm, straight through the middle stage and late stage…

Then, in an extremely short time, it reached the peak. This caused an even greater uproar among everyone present. Just how deep had Ye Chen's cave heaven foundation been before he achieved the Great Saint realm? And what grade was the Heavenly Heart Imprint he had condensed? Otherwise, how could he have directly reached the peak the moment he broke through?

This was utterly unprecedented and unheard of. Even Feng Baiyu's eyes were filled with shock. Despite all his experience and knowledge, he was truly stunned this time. Only those who had already become Immortal Kings in the Immortal Realm had ever managed to cross the entire Great Saint realm in one go, from early stage to peak. Ye Chen's aptitude was becoming more and more heaven-defying.

While everyone was still reeling from the shock, endless thunderclouds gathered in the once-clear sky, vast and mighty, as if they intended to cover the entire world.

Everyone's expressions changed again. Their Holy Son's Great Saint tribulation had arrived… And since he had broken straight through to the peak of the Great Saint realm, just how terrifying would the lightning tribulation be?

Amid the overwhelming aura of destruction, a tall figure in a black robe rose into the air. His long black hair danced wildly in the turbulent currents. The heavens and earth had fallen into darkness. Only the occasional flashes of lightning from the tribulation illuminated the world, casting the man in a divine, god-like light.

It filled everyone with involuntary awe and reverence. Even the Heavenly Emperor's own Great Saint tribulation back then probably had not possessed such overwhelming might.

Countless powerhouses of Heavenly Evolution Holy Land sighed in amazement. When Ye Chen had first arrived at Heavenly Evolution Holy Land as the fourth Holy Son, most of the elders had not paid him much attention. Even though his talent was decent, they believed the future of the Holy Land would rest on Hua Yunfei. Who could have imagined that, ever since entering the sect, the fourth Holy Son would advance at a meteoric pace?

In the entire cultivation world, he was not only unrivaled among his generation. Even most of the old antiques trembled inwardly when they looked at him. The appearance of such a monstrous genius in Heavenly Evolution Holy Land was truly a blessing for the sect.

Under countless watchful eyes, Ye Chen ignored the lightning tribulation still gathering above him, as if it intended to deliver a fatal blow. At his current strength, a Great Saint tribulation could no longer trouble him in the slightest. His attention remained mostly on the changes after his breakthrough.

His cave heaven had officially advanced into a complete world on this day—a legendary Primordial Ancestral World. It possessed countless treasures and astonishing features that ordinary worlds could never have.

Suns, moons, and stars filled his world, all of them real. Although they could not compare to the true sun and moon of the outside world, they were not the least bit inferior. The various laws within it had been strengthened countless times over.

Take the law of time, for example. The flow of time in his world could be accelerated directly by ten thousand times. Although such extreme acceleration would consume a great deal of energy, the benefits were beyond imagination.

In addition, gravity, the speed at which he could draw origin energy from the outside world, and many other aspects far exceeded anything anyone could imagine. But if one had to name the greatest difference between his world and those of other Great Saints, it would be at the core of his world.

There lay a world core—the transformed Heavenly Heart Imprint. It could continuously generate endless origin power to sustain the entire world. If news of this ever spread, it would cause a sensation not only in the cultivation world but even in the Immortal Realm.

After all, the worlds of cultivators were essentially rootless sources that relied on a greater world for their existence.

If the greater world withered, their internal worlds would gradually decay and die out as well, causing all life within them to perish. No matter how perfectly a cultivator simulated a world, it was never a true world.

Ye Chen's was completely different. Even if the greater world were destroyed, his world could still continue to exist.

As Ye Chen observed everything inwardly, he understood that this was the Ancestral World born from the advancement of his Primordial Cave Heaven. In the future, it truly had the potential to grow into a vast universe on the scale of the Immortal Realm itself—one capable of supporting countless cultivators, allowing them to thrive and multiply within it.

However, Ye Chen had no intention of letting anyone other than his women and descendants enter his world. Otherwise, if others cultivated inside and frantically absorbed his origin energy to nourish their own worlds, he would not be pleased at all.

Sometimes Ye Chen found himself wondering. Cultivators already devoured origin energy themselves, yet their cave heavens and worlds also devoured it. Even after becoming immortals and advancing their worlds into universes, they would continue to devour. Could the Immortal Realm truly withstand so many immortals doing the same?

He sometimes suspected that the reason the Other Domain invaded the Immortal Realm was that they had been drained dry and were coming to plunder resources. Of course, all of this was still far too distant for Ye Chen, who had only just reached the peak of the Great Saint realm. So he simply let the thoughts drift through his mind.

At that moment, the first bolt of the Great Saint tribulation finally descended. The lightning was terrifying, carrying the power to destroy everything.

Yet Ye Chen merely glanced upward, and the tribulation instantly disintegrated and vanished.

Countless people cried out in shock. The heavenly tribulation seemed enraged.

In an instant, boundless thunder light crashed down as if determined to obliterate him…

However, Ye Chen simply stood there calmly. He bathed in the thunder, allowing it to wash over and purify his body.

This invincible bearing left everyone dumbfounded. They had never seen anyone overcome a tribulation so effortlessly. Just how far beyond the Great Saint realm did the true combat strength of the Heavenly Emperor's heir reach?

The subsequent bolts of tribulation grew more terrifying with each one. Yet none of them could affect Ye Chen in the slightest.

In this manner, the tribulation lasted a full half month before it finally began to slowly dissipate…

The tribulation battlefield emerged. A figure slowly descended…

Ye Chen stood within it, and when he saw that familiar figure, his eyes lit up at once! He had finally encountered the Heavenly Emperor again. The long-awaited achievement he had been looking forward to was finally about to be claimed!

Chapter 942: If I Can't Fight the Heavenly Emperor, I'll Fight the Exiled Immortal!

At the center of the tribulation arena.

Ye Chen looked at the man before him and could not help raising an eyebrow. The man had a resolute face with sharp, well-defined features, as if carved by a blade. He carried an innate heroic spirit and domineering aura. It was clearly the Heavenly Emperor.

The Heavenly Emperor gazed at Ye Chen, the corners of his mouth curving upward. Yet inside, he felt a slight twitch. He had just broken through and was already facing his tribulation, yet his cultivation had reached the peak of the Great Saint realm? Wasn't this a bit too outrageous? Had this young man grown a little too strong?

In the environment of the cultivation world, he had still managed to reach this level. If he were in the Immortal Realm, he would probably be able to suppress an entire generation.

The Heavenly Emperor, who had previously felt quite confident in his own Great Saint combat strength, suddenly felt rather dull. The thought of fighting him vanished completely. If he fought Ye Chen with his current Great Saint power, he would probably be killed with a single punch.

Being beaten to death by this kid using the Heavenly Emperor Fist that he himself had created would be too humiliating. But secretly altering the data to suppress him would also be embarrassing once the kid found out later. So, it was better to avoid the fight altogether! If he didn't fight, he couldn't lose!

Back when he had become an immortal, his combat strength had risen another level, and he had been unrivaled under the heavens. He had even beaten back invaders from beyond. He would wait until then and fight this youngster at the same realm…

Therefore, under Ye Chen's burning battle intent and expectant gaze, the Heavenly Emperor smiled and spoke: "Young man, you are quite impressive… But you still need more training… Once you seize that wisp of Immortal Qi and face your immortal tribulation, come fight me then…"

Ye Chen's eyes widened. He had waited so long for the Heavenly Emperor, only to be told to wait until he became an immortal? It felt no different from finally managing to invite the Divine Maiden out for dinner after much effort, booking the hotel room, only for her to say she wanted to go home and sleep.

Ye Chen immediately opened his mouth to speak. But the Heavenly Emperor's imprint merely looked at the junior with a doting smile and slowly faded away…

As the imprint disappeared, Ye Chen's Great Saint tribulation officially came to an end. Watching the tribulation clouds in the sky gradually thin out and begin to disperse, feeling the destructive aura slowly return to nothingness, Ye Chen felt a wave of emptiness.

This time, he was certain. The Heavenly Emperor had definitely realized he could not beat him at the same realm and had run away to avoid losing face. Although that could also be considered a win, Ye Chen still wanted to fight the Heavenly Emperor with real blades and spears and suppress him. Not to mention, this time the Heavenly Emperor had not even left him an imprint…

What a huge loss.

Most importantly, Ye Chen suspected the Heavenly Emperor would run away again during the next immortal tribulation. Was he really going to spend his entire life unable to complete this achievement?

Standing alone in the void, Ye Chen pondered whether he should violently farm some even more top-tier hidden techniques. That way, during the next immortal tribulation, he could hide his aura.

Perhaps then the Heavenly Emperor would have the confidence to fight him? But what realm was the Heavenly Emperor in now? It was hard to say whether he could fool him.

Ye Chen had a faint premonition that unless he encountered the Heavenly Emperor's true body, he might never get the chance to complete this achievement in his lifetime.

While his mind wandered with messy thoughts, the people of Heavenly Evolution Holy Land arrived one after another once the tribulation dispersed to congratulate him. Ye Chen pulled his thoughts back and exchanged greetings with the Holy Master and the elders.

Holy Master Feng Baiyu exclaimed in astonishment, "You two only exchanged a single sentence and it was over? That was way too fast!"

Ye Chen: "???"

Ye Chen could sense that his Holy Master was no ordinary person either. His cultivation seemed all over the place—one day he was a Half-Saint, the next a Saint, and now he had reached the Great Saint realm just like him. Clearly, something was going on.

But since the man was one of his own, Ye Chen did not mind the secrets. Moreover, after so many years of friendship, Feng Baiyu had long earned his complete trust.

So Ye Chen spoke up and shared his guess that the Heavenly Emperor had avoided the fight. He had encountered the Heavenly Emperor so many times, yet they had never actually fought. The one time he had raised his fist, the Heavenly Emperor had claimed he had something urgent to do—blocking someone's gate.

Feng Baiyu raised an eyebrow at the words. An existence like the Heavenly Emperor would leave behind traces full of spirit even after death. But claiming he had gone to block a gate? He probably would not lie about that.

Could it be that the Heavenly Emperor had not died? Then why had he never returned after leaving? And whose gate was he blocking? The Other Domain? Impossible. If he were blocking the Other Domain, everyone would know about it. So, where exactly had the Heavenly Emperor gone to block a gate? Could it be that, aside from the Other Domain, the Immortal Realm still had enemies?

The more Feng Baiyu thought about it, the uglier his expression became. Still, he offered Ye Chen a brief explanation: "The Heavenly Emperor has a dark heart. Although he acts with great boldness, he sometimes does things without restraint. I suspect it's exactly as you guessed—he realized he couldn't beat you at the same realm, so he refused to fight…

"But the Heavenly Emperor was not always a top existence who shone brilliantly from the start. He fought his way up, constantly surpassing his own limits. The further he went, the more terrifying he became. When he first entered the Immortal Realm, he was suppressed by the realm's proud geniuses, only to crush them all later. He is the kind of absurd existence who can lose countless times, but the moment you lose once, you can never beat him again.

"So you still need to work hard. If you ever fall behind him in any realm, the Heavenly Emperor will definitely give you a good lecture and say that all those times he avoided fighting were to protect your Dao heart, yet you still failed to improve… In short, he owes so many grudges that many heavenly prodigies of his generation gnashed their teeth at him and were still cursing him on their deathbeds."

"…"

Listening to his Holy Master, Ye Chen's mouth twitched… This Heavenly Emperor really had a rather nasty personality.

However…Ye Chen was very confident. No matter how absurd the Heavenly Emperor was, he could never surpass him in any future realm. Therefore, he would never lose even once.

The Heavenly Emperor would have to keep avoiding fights in the future. At least until the day their true bodies finally met…

…

Feng Baiyu seemed to be in low spirits. He did not linger on the topic of the Heavenly Emperor and simply asked Ye Chen whether he planned to head out again. The elders were extremely enthusiastic. They all said they were bored from closed-door cultivation and wanted to go outside for a walk.

After thinking for a moment, Ye Chen nodded. He had been full of battle intent, only for the Heavenly Emperor to leave the moment he appeared. It left him feeling restless and unsatisfied.

Now that he had reached the peak of the Great Saint realm, it was time to head to the Immortal Path and kill the Exiled Immortal. If he could not fight the Heavenly Emperor, he would fight the Exiled Immortal instead. The man had targeted him time and time again. He should have slapped him to death long ago.

Since the Exiled Immortal was the reincarnation of a true immortal from the Other Domain, the density of his origin would definitely not disappoint. He could deliver another batch of origin energy to his fiancée.

Besides that, Ye Chen was also somewhat curious about the Other Domain. After all, once he reached the Immortal Realm, he would definitely be affected by them. It was better to understand them early and prepare in advance.

The cultivation world's descriptions of the Other Domain were always vague. They only said it was a greater world even more terrifying than the Immortal Realm, without providing any further details.

Ever since the Jianmu Tree had been severed, there had been no more sources of information. Before killing this Exiled Immortal from the Other Domain, he could question him properly.

Ye Chen directly informed Feng Baiyu of his plan. He would rest and stabilize his cultivation in Heavenly Evolution Holy Land for half a month first. After that, he would set off for the Immortal Path. But on the way, he would stop by Heavenly Intention Holy Land for a few days to rest and reorganize.

Feng Baiyu rolled his eyes when he heard that. Heavenly Evolution Holy Land's route to the Central Continent did not pass by Heavenly Intention Holy Land at all. He could not be bothered to ask why Ye Chen wanted to go there.

As for killing a peak Great Emperor realm Exiled Immortal? Feng Baiyu had originally wanted to dissuade him. After all, the Other Domain were truly terrifying and far more than just a single world. The reincarnated prodigies from there were definitely not simple. But when he remembered that even the Heavenly Emperor had refused to fight Ye Chen at the same realm, Feng Baiyu felt there was no point in trying to persuade him.

Let him go…

Without further delay, Feng Baiyu went to make arrangements for the journey and select suitable elders from the enthusiastic crowd.

However, as Ye Chen grew stronger and stronger, many elders no longer even qualified to act as his Dao protectors. After all, Ye Chen was fiercer than even the Great Emperor realm elders. Who would be protecting whom? This was also a rather headache-inducing problem.

Ye Chen drifted down gently from the sky. After chatting with Senior An for a while, he sat down beside her to regulate his breathing and stabilize his cultivation.

During this time, An Yuyi also came over. She was still as youthful and energetic as ever. Her cultivation had already reached the second layer of the Mahayana.

Thanks to Senior An, Ye Chen had always shown her special favor and poured a great deal of resources into her. Even after all these years, An Yuyi still retained her childlike face.

Seven days later, Ye Chen finally rose and bid farewell to Senior An and the reluctant An Yuyi, leaving behind a large pile of treasures suitable for Mahayana stage cultivation. With these, she could basically advance straight to the Saint King realm.

Once everything was settled, Ye Chen headed to Elder Lin's cave mansion. Elder Lin had mentioned earlier that she had a surprise for him.

Now that his sage time had passed, Ye Chen was quite looking forward to it. He guessed that Elder Lin might have developed a new application for the demonic patterns…

However, when he arrived at Elder Lin's cave mansion and saw the "surprise" she had prepared, he was momentarily stunned.

It was Li Feihuang.

The once arrogant and proud Li Feihuang had changed a great deal over the years.

At the same time, the system chimed. It informed him that Li Feihuang's multiplier had reached three thousand times.

Li Feihuang's heart pounded violently. She looked at Ye Chen with obvious nervousness. "Holy Son, I…"

Ye Chen knew exactly what she was struggling with. But with his current vision, he no longer cared about such things. Besides, his attitude toward Li Feihuang had always been purely for the sake of gifting; he had never mixed any emotions into it. There was even less reason to make things difficult for her now.

So Ye Chen reached out on his own initiative and pulled her into his arms. "Let the past stay in the past. It doesn't matter anymore…"

Li Feihuang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. Her eyes reddened, and tears slid down her cheeks. Deep in her heart, however, she still felt bitter. Because she knew that giving herself to Ye Chen now was completely different from giving herself to him back then, although both were free offerings, they were not the same at all. But what was missed was missed forever.

Li Feihuang no longer hesitated. Together with her master, Lin Qingtan, she took Ye Chen's arms from both sides and walked with him toward the depths of the cave mansion.

At first, Li Feihuang felt somewhat uneasy. But Ye Chen was very gentle, and her master guided her attentively. Soon, she gradually entered the right state.

One possessed an ice-like physique, the other a fire-like physique. Their clash brought Ye Chen completely different sensations. It felt as if his mind had been lifted straight to the ninth heaven.

Yet the surprise Elder Lin brought him was not limited to that. She had once again developed a new use for the demonic patterns, and its practicality was extremely high.

However, when Ye Chen looked at Li Feihuang suspended in mid-air by the demonic patterns, his expression turned a little strange… This scene somehow felt eerily similar to certain anime he had watched in his previous life.