The Divine Battlefield spanned a vast expanse of a million li. Both the earth and the mountain peaks were stained with the divine blood of the fallen overlord Great Power from ages past, rendering the battlefield barren and desolate, a dark crimson landscape that looked little different from the Eighty-First Pass of the starry sky.
Scattered across the dark red earth were numerous ghastly white skeletons, their bones stark and terrifying.
Just like the Hundred Battles Mountain Range, the Divine Battlefield was demonic and sinister. Hazy blood shadows appeared, the source of the countless living beings who had fallen here throughout the ages.
Woo—
A chilling wind swept through, making the vast Divine Battlefield feel eerie and haunted. Ghostly shadows flickered, and a bloody mist permeated the air. The heavy, leaden black clouds in the sky never dispersed, adding to the terrifying atmosphere.
Roar—
Powerful blood shadows emerged, like phantoms, charging at Ye Chen and his three companions with terrifying force. Even the weakest among them were at the Saint level.
However, with the Human Sovereign Pagoda hovering above his head, primordial Chaos Qi cascading down, Ye Chen blocked everything. Even powerful blood shadows at the Samsara level could not breach the defense.
Moreover, Ye Chen intentionally released the supreme blood energy of his Saint Body. Instantly, it was like a blazing divine furnace, radiating incomparably vast golden blood energy that incinerated everything.
All blood shadows that drew near were instantly burned to nothingness.
He possessed the Battle Sacred Body; his blood energy was of the utmost yang and purity, capable of suppressing all things yin and evil.
"Let's go!"
Under Ye Chen's lead, their journey was perilous yet safe. Having reached his level, if a Heavenly King were to raise an army to wage war, he would dare to fight, even suppress them. What couldn't he do?
Nevertheless, he remained cautious. After all, this was the place where an ancient Great Power had fallen; it was inevitable that more terrifying demonic entities might appear.
As they ventured deeper into the Divine Battlefield, they encountered many skeletons and numerous blood shadows swirling about. Some skeletons had even developed spiritual awareness, filled with an eerie, sinister aura. It was a land of malevolence that made one frown.
Because Ye Chen's body was like a furnace, his golden blood energy continuously radiated, supremely yang and potent, dispersing all blood-killing energy. This also caused the blood shadows and demonic creatures within the Divine Battlefield to dare not approach.
"According to the intelligence, someone accidentally discovered Yiyi and the little golden dragon's direction, but the exact location is truly unknown," the Goddess said, her beautiful brows slightly furrowed. There was simply no precise bearing.
The Divine Battlefield was ultimately too vast, stretching a million li in length and width. Even divine sense could not cover too large an area, and there was concern about disturbing some fearsome existences.
Yet, without using divine sense, it was unknown how long it would take to find them.
"Chen'er." The Goddess and Yi Wu both looked at Chen'er, calling for her to act.
Ye Chen also looked at Chen'er. She had always been mysterious; even her true origins were unknown to him. Not even the Heavenly Gate, which had raised her, knew. She had been brought back from the outside world by an Ancestor of the Heavenly Gate.
At that time, Chen'er was still an infant, said to have been wrapped in a green lotus, blessed with the spiritual wisdom of heaven and earth, accompanied by seven-colored radiance, able to communicate with the World Origin. Her constitution was very special.
"Understood!"
Chen'er responded with a giggle, her delicate eyebrows curved like crescent moons, her eyes like a clear, rippling spring.
Although she had also stepped into the Samsara level, her innocent nature had never changed. She always appeared naive and pure, like a young maiden untouched by the world, with a heart of a child.
Chen'er let out a soft exclamation, lightly shifting her lotus steps. Her delicate body seemed to give birth to lotuses with each step in the void. One divine lotus after another bloomed, and a twelve-petaled lotus platform manifested. She gracefully landed on the platform, closed her eyes, and began to perform a technique.
Ye Chen's spiritual perception was incredibly sharp. He could easily sense that Chen'er on the lotus platform seemed to merge with the World Origin, her entire body flowing with profound divine charm of the Great Dao.
This was a physique close to immortality, peerless in the world. Even he could not be so intimate with heaven and earth.
After a short while, Chen'er opened her eyes and pointed in a direction: "Yiyi and little dragon are over there."
The others frowned, for the direction Chen'er pointed to was precisely at the deepest, most dangerous part of the Divine Battlefield.
Ye Chen asked, "Chen'er, what's the distance?"
"About seven hundred thousand li away," Chen'er replied.
"Good, let's go." Now that they had a direction and distance, Ye Chen and his three companions headed directly toward the deepest part. Even if it was the most dangerous, at this juncture, they naturally could not give up.
The deeper they went, the more they discovered the grandeur of the Divine Battlefield.
In the Primordial Times, during the final twilight of the glorious era, the Divine War erupted. This was the main battlefield. Skeletons piled into mountains, the earth turned bloody, burying countless living beings.
It was one of the main battlefields where the deities perished, ultimately becoming a mass burial ground, heavy with yin-killing energy. Any living being entering would struggle to survive; it could almost be called a purgatory.
"During the Divine War in the Primordial Times, this was the main battlefield. Deities perished here, and even mighty overlords fell," Ye Chen sighed. Traveling the world, he had learned many secrets and knew the origins of this Divine Battlefield.
Back then, far too many deities fell in battle on this Divine Battlefield. Naturally, it wasn't just Heavenly Kings; Saints were also hailed as divine spirits. Their blood stained every inch of land, painting the vast earth of a million li.
Precisely because of this, this vast region had almost become a land of the dead, where many eerie events occurred.
The Divine Battlefield was everywhere filled with yin-killing energy, blood-killing intent, ghosts appearing in broad daylight, gloomy clouds, mournful cries of ghosts and deities—extremely demonic and sinister!
Ultimately, the Divine Battlefield became one of the forbidden lands of life on the Ancient Emperor Continent. Even the three great races—Human, Demon, and Beast—kept their distance, never truly approaching, which spoke volumes.
"People!"
Ye Chen and the others were slightly startled. With their extraordinary vision spanning over a thousand li, they saw more than a dozen figures standing in the depths, towering like mountains. They wore ancient battle armor and held ancient Dao weapons, appearing very ancient.
"What is this? Could there be people who didn't die in the Divine Battlefield, or have corpses gained sentience?" the Goddess said. She knew quite a bit: some powerful beings, after death, if their corpses did not dissolve into the Dao and, aided by special reasons, could very likely gain sentience, birthing new spiritual awareness, thus becoming new living beings.
Of course, such corpse-sentient beings were already different entities; their Primordial Spirits were no longer the original beings.
Yi Wu furrowed her beautiful brows. "If that's the case, it's troublesome."
The so-called trouble was that the beings buried in the Divine Battlefield were all extraordinary, especially such beings. Their corpses did not decay, meaning they must have been immensely powerful in life, likely at the peak of the Saint Treasury Realm, or even Samsara level, perhaps even Heavenly Kings.
Ye Chen opened his Eyes of the Heavens, shooting forth strands of brilliant light that pierced through all falsehoods. "Indeed, they are beings born from corpse sentience. They can be called Nether Soldiers."
Boom—
The heavens and earth trembled violently. The more than a dozen fearsome Nether Soldiers, born from corpse sentience, suddenly charged toward Ye Chen and his group, stirring up a tempest in the world.
They were all Nether Soldiers reborn from the corpses of powerful beings, very strong, carrying potent blood-killing energy.
Especially Ye Chen, who, to repel the blood shadows, continuously released the blood energy of his Saint Body, making him a conspicuous target.
Hum—
One of the Nether Soldiers, clad in ancient battle armor, swung a broken, ancient halberd, cleaving through the air. The vast heavens and earth trembled and tore.
Boom—
The Human Sovereign Pagoda continuously cascaded with primordial Chaos Qi, thousands upon thousands of strands, each thread capable of crushing mountains and rivers. It effectively blocked the opponent's attack, not even being knocked away.
The other dozen or so Nether Soldiers also attacked, each wielding ancient weapons, actively launching assaults that directly shattered that part of the world.
However, the Human Sovereign Pagoda was indestructible. The attacks of these ancient Nether Soldiers could not break its defense, especially with Ye Chen controlling it; not even a Heavenly King could.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, Ye Chen made a sound of surprise because he sensed that these Nether Soldiers had no life energy within them, only boundless death energy accumulated. Their power was great, but they clearly did not understand the laws of the Great Dao, possessing only brute force.
This discovery made Ye Chen narrow his eyes. He suspected these so-called Nether Soldiers had only recently been born, lacking sufficiently powerful Primordial Spirits—they were merely physically strong.
Moreover, if such corpse-sentient Nether Soldiers could be born here, there was definitely something amiss.
"Stay within the Human Sovereign Pagoda's defense. I'll deal with them."
Ye Chen actively stepped outside the Human Sovereign Pagoda's defensive range. His Saint Body golden form flowed with vast golden radiance, his blood energy like a prison. He stepped forward to confront one of the ancient Nether Soldiers.
Without employing the laws of the Great Dao, he simply threw a punch, carrying overwhelming, sky-scorching golden blood energy that collided with the opponent's halberd, shaking the heavens and causing chaos, vibrating the Divine Battlefield.
Boom—
The earth collapsed for a hundred thousand li. Ye Chen stood firm as a mountain, while his opponent was sent flying, even the halberd shattered. The ancient Nether Soldier let out a scream, large amounts of black mist sizzling and rising from its body, thoroughly corroding the void. Its aura clearly weakened significantly.
Nether Soldiers, born from corpse sentience, were naturally yin and evil. Ye Chen's Battle Sacred Body, being of the utmost yang and purity, was the perfect weapon to counter such Nether Soldiers.
Swish, swish, swish—
The other dozen or so powerful beings abandoned their assault on the Human Sovereign Pagoda and turned to attack Ye Chen. Their moves were fierce, terrifying, and powerful, piercing through the void.
Clang, clang—
Ye Chen's Saint Body was indestructible. Even when the attacks of these ancient Nether Soldiers struck his body, capable of breaking the sky and shattering the firmament, they only produced metallic clanging sounds, sparks flying in succession, unable to harm his golden form.
Ye Chen sealed his own Dao, relying solely on his invincible Saint Body. His palm transformed into a blade, slicing through heaven and earth, also carrying vast golden blood energy deep as an abyss, sending all these ancient Nether Soldiers flying. They all emitted sizzling black corpse mist, screaming.
And he swiftly captured one of the ancient Nether Soldiers.
He employed extraordinary means, restrained this ancient Nether Soldier, and pulled it close for observation. He saw it was clad in ancient, mottled battle armor, its skin pale without a hint of blood, releasing icy cold air.
Its battle attire was very ancient, of an unknown era, filled with the marks of time, countless battle scars, and numerous cracks.
Boom—
Just as Ye Chen was about to investigate, the black battle attire on the ancient Nether Soldier cracked. Strand after strand of black corpse mist continuously seeped out, the attire began to disintegrate, turning into dust just like that.
This made Ye Chen frown. He directly knocked off the ancient Nether Soldier's helmet, revealing its true appearance: a pale face, grayish-white hair disheveled, death aura frighteningly thick.
It appeared to be a man in his forties or fifties, motionless. After being sealed by Ye Chen, it did not struggle, like a statue of death.
Ye Chen wanted to extract an Imprint from its brow to see how they were born. However, at this moment, the man's death energy intensified. His entire body emitted a mass of black light, as if burning, rapidly turning to dust.
Even Ye Chen could not stop it; this black light burned from the inside out.
Subsequently, even when Ye Chen captured other ancient Nether Soldiers, the result was the same. Even their divine sense was destroyed beforehand, so he could not obtain any useful information.
Ye Chen frowned. He always felt an eerie, chilling strangeness lurking within, not simple at all.
But for now, he couldn't find a clue.
These Nether Soldiers were very powerful in life, at least at the peak of the Saint Treasury Realm. Their corpses remained somewhat incorruptible, but after gaining sentience, only their powerful yet scarred former battle bodies remained. Their Primordial Spirits were relatively pitifully weak, even could be said to possess only a bit of confused, murderous spiritual awareness. How could they be Ye Chen's match?
Unable to extract useful information, Ye Chen got slightly serious, directly sweeping through and killing all the ancient Nether Soldiers.
The group could only continue toward the deepest part of the vast, boundless battlefield. It truly was like a continent, endless and without limit.
Said to be a million li in radius, it was even more expansive.
Ye Chen understood in his heart: when that overlord Great Power fell back then, the inner world he created was shattered. Fragments of that world merged with the Divine Battlefield, undergoing mutation, making it far larger than imagined, becoming a unique and vast small world.
After advancing tens of thousands of li, Ye Chen opened his Eyes of the Heavens, seeing through all directions. As they went deeper, changes occurred: similarly desolate, even more gloomy, with ribbon-like bands of black mist swirling about, very quiet and sinister.
In the farther distance, they even saw large stretches of burial mounds, each as large as a small hill, enormous, burying ancient power, appearing sinister and frightening.
They proceeded cautiously. Even someone as strong as Ye Chen did not truly let his guard down in such a dangerous place. Leading the three women, they entered a plain, but it was even more terrifying than the previous burial mounds. As far as the eye could see, there were corpses everywhere, many even petrified, having endured too long an age.
And it stretched as far as the eye could see, unimaginable how many living beings died in the war of deity destruction back then to create such a shocking sea of bones.
Of course, not all were Divine Spirits. Among the so-called deities, a large portion were Saints, also called divine spirits, who participated in the war.
And even more were not Saints; they were the terrifying armies gathered by the deities, legions that joined the battle, a vast war.
True Divine Spirits were only a small part.
Boom—
Suddenly, ahead, an astonishing aura erupted, shaking heaven and earth, sweeping across all directions, vibrating the entire vast Divine Battlefield.
Ye Chen's gaze turned sharp. He saw on the distant horizon, an unbelievable scene unfolding.