The Tian Du Continent was vast and immense, its true extent unknown. An ordinary mortal could not travel far even in a lifetime.
The continent stretched endlessly, its territories boundless. It was divided among one hundred and eight kingdoms and countless large and small factions, all carving up this vast, misty land.
The distance from the central region to the Xia Feng Kingdom in the northwest was an incredibly long journey of over a hundred thousand li, passing through more than a dozen great dynasties and kingdoms.
At this moment, Ye Chen was riding the demonic flood dragon, swiftly heading towards the Xia Feng Kingdom, the scenery on both sides rapidly receding.
Generally, a demonic flood dragon could travel tens of thousands of li in a day. Of course, if one didn't mind depleting its divine power to rush at full speed, that was another matter.
But Ye Chen wasn't in a hurry. Taking advantage of the travel time, he took out the Dao-mark divine bottle to study the Great Dao Blood within.
Great Dao Blood was a type of blood that only existences surpassing Divine Spirits were qualified to condense. It contained their Great Dao mysteries and the secrets of transcending Divine Spirits. Even Divine Spirit powerhouses would covet it; it was a priceless divine treasure.
Ye Chen's eyes turned into crystalline gold, with wisps of golden crystalline divine fire leaping and flickering within, piercing through and observing the Great Dao Blood inside, analyzing its various mysteries.
The Dao-mark divine bottle contained only a few dozen drops of Great Dao Blood, yet it was like a vast ocean, with surging and immense blood energy misting and spreading, shimmering with a faint, precious light.
Furthermore, strands of order divine chains intertwined within the blood, infinitely profound, recording the Great Dao mysteries of a Great Dao powerhouse.
This was the Great Dao Blood of the Iceflame Heavenly King, Xia Zhidi, and it was refined essence blood, containing many Great Dao fragments and part of the Great Dao mysteries belonging to this peak Heavenly King.
If one delved deeply into it, even a Divine Spirit powerhouse would gain great insights, potentially even breaking through their own realm. It was an incomparably precious blood not to be underestimated.
Old Yan's figure drifted out. After gazing at this Great Dao Blood for a moment, he exclaimed with admiration, "This Iceflame Heavenly King Xia Zhidi can be considered a peerless talent of his generation. His Dao is extraordinary, with the potential to achieve the status of a Great Power and rule over the myriad realms."
Old Yan's evaluation of Xia Zhidi was very high; one could see the other's achievements regarding the Great Dao through the Great Dao fragments. However, Ye Chen looked at Old Yan with a strange expression.
Regarding this old man, Ye Chen had always been curious about his former realm. It had always been vague, but he at least understood that the other had surpassed the Divine Spirit level. Now, he had a new understanding.
Evaluating Xia Zhidi was like evaluating a junior. Could it be that he was also a peerless Great Power on par with the September Great Power?
"Old Yan, just what realm are you, you ancient recluse?" Ye Chen suddenly asked, catching him off guard.
"Gre..." Old Yan had just uttered one syllable before snapping back to his senses, widening his eyes. "Little Chen, you dare try to trick me into talking!"
Ye Chen chuckled, neither confirming nor denying. But Old Yan had said the syllable "Gre," which gave him much to speculate about. Could he really be a peerless Great Power?
"Little Chen, I warn you, although the killing intent within this Great Dao Blood has been completely dissolved, it is still not something you can withstand in your current state. Even a single drop would be enough to make you explode and die," Old Yan cautioned gravely. Each drop of Great Dao Blood was like an ocean containing boundless divine energy. Moreover, this was refined essence blood, superior to ordinary Great Dao Blood and even more terrifying.
Although Ye Chen had achieved the Human Yuan Golden Body, comparable to a Martial God Dao Weapon or even harder, he still could not directly withstand Great Dao Blood. The only outcome would be exploding and dying.
Ye Chen naturally understood this principle. He planned to refine it into the upcoming "Spirit Refining Pill" to take another step forward in reviving the dormant Saint Body bloodline within him.
Old Yan suddenly said, "Little Chen, could you spare some of this Great Dao Blood for me? With this Great Dao Blood, my power can recover further."
"Old Yan, why are you being so polite with me?" Ye Chen immediately nodded, speaking with grave seriousness. "I wonder, venerable elder, do you want a wisp, or half a drop?"
"..." If looks could kill, Ye Chen would have died a thousand times over.
"Haha, just joking, don't look at me like that." Ye Chen laughed heartily, feeling physically and mentally refreshed seeing Old Yan's resentful expression. "I can give you half the bottle. I need the other half to revive the Saint Body bloodline."
Old Yan looked at Ye Chen with surprise and suspicion, not expecting this kid to be so generous. He was somewhat moved and finally said softly, "Thank you."
In truth, Ye Chen giving half the Great Dao essence blood to Old Yan was not without purpose. After all, Old Yan was also his guardian. Only by making him stronger would his own safety be more assured. This investment was necessary.
To gain, one must learn to give.
After meticulously studying the Great Dao Blood for three days and three nights, Ye Chen's expression, though somewhat weary, showed he had gained no small insights. With his current level of comprehension regarding the Dao, he had long since surpassed the Divine Spirit level. Only treasures surpassing Divine Spirits could give him any real insight.
Unfortunately, his body was not strong enough, and his Primordial Spirit was not powerful enough, resulting in the strength he could exert being limited to this realm.
However, analyzing this Great Dao Blood gave Ye Chen a deeper understanding of the Iceflame. This was a strange fire refined by a Heavenly King, with incredible effects that could achieve extraordinary results in battle.
Ye Chen's finger now had wisps of chilling Iceflame leaping and dancing, radiating astonishing cold air, with threads of mist. It even seemed to faintly freeze the void itself.
This was the true Iceflame refined by the Iceflame Heavenly King. With Ye Chen's current strength, he could only display a wisp of its true power. If a supreme Heavenly King like the Iceflame Heavenly King were to wield it, they could completely freeze tens of thousands of li of void into dust. That was the most terrifying display.
After flying for another two days, although their speed was already fast, they had covered less than half the journey. Ye Chen frowned slightly, ultimately feeling the time spent was too long. He sighed lightly, "If I had spirit stones, I could construct a spatial channel and directly traverse the void to return."
The spatial channel mentioned here was not the kind used during the battle with the four Ancient Talents, which was at most a short-distance channel. What he wanted to construct was a long-distance teleportation spatial channel that could instantly cover a distance of hundreds of thousands or even millions of li, comparable to light-speed transmission.
To achieve this step, one needed spirit stones—the condensation of heaven and earth spiritual energy into physical objects—as a foundation, and one needed to be proficient in the Dao of formations to construct it.
For Ye Chen, as long as he had spirit stones, he could construct it. In his previous life, he had delved deeply into the Dao of formations and achieved extraordinary accomplishments. The spatial channel he could construct could absolutely span hundreds of thousands or even millions of li.
However, spirit stones were very scarce on the Tian Du Continent, mostly occupied by those top-tier factions. He didn't have a single one.
"Old Yan, it's time for you, venerable elder, to make a move," Ye Chen suddenly said with a grin.
Old Yan was speechless. Even lying down, he got shot. This kid purely wanted him to take action. "Fine, fine. Considering you found this Great Dao Blood for me, old man, I'll help you out."
Old Yan appeared in front of the demonic flood dragon, his illusory figure somewhat blurred. Then, with a single swipe of his hand, a tearing sound was heard as the void before him was directly shattered, revealing a spatial channel. "Just enter the channel. It should take about an hour to return to Luo Feng City."
This was because Old Yan was worried that shortening the distance too much and the excessive void force would cause Ye Chen and the demonic flood dragon to become dizzy, creating a powerful impact.
Whoosh—
Ye Chen rode the demonic flood dragon into the spatial channel, completely disappearing.
Luo Feng City still stood at the edge of the Demonic Beast Mountain Range.
This ancient city of a thousand years, originally just a third-rate small city, had recently become many times more prosperous and bustling. It had even taken a step further, faintly becoming the primary city of the western region of the Xia Feng Kingdom.
All of this was because of Ye Chen. By now, he was already famous throughout the Xia Feng Kingdom, able to contend with the Crown Prince and slay Xiantian demonic beasts like weeds on the battlefield. Earlier, it was even rumored that his fame had shaken the Tian Du Continent. This news still left many people quite astonished.
This youth, once a waste who committed suicide over a woman, had grown to this point in just a year. It was unbelievable.
Therefore, to win Ye Chen over, the royal family had granted the Ye family a higher status. The Ye family, once just a lordly family of a border town, suddenly rose to become an important great clan of the northwestern territory, a true frontier lord.
Now, the Ye family had become the lordly family of this vast region spanning thousands of li, commanding ten ancient cities, surpassing even the glory passed down by their ancestors.
With the help of the Xia Feng royal family, Luo Feng City had undergone significant expansion, growing more than twice its original size. The entire small city had taken on a completely new look.
As the city lord's family, the Ye family mansion had also been expanded, with newly built magnificent towers, jade palaces, and pavilions, grand and imposing like a city within a city, far surpassing the Yang and Xia families.
Moreover, during this period, the gates of the Ye family mansion were practically bustling with activity. Many important figures from within the kingdom rushed to establish friendly relations, even including major figures from both the military and government who sent gifts to show goodwill, practically wearing out the threshold. It took a full month for this to subside. It was hard to imagine just how much prestige Ye Chen had established outside for this to happen.
Now, the Ye family appeared even more prestigious. Once ashamed of Ye Chen, they now took pride in him. Almost all clan members felt proud to be part of the Ye family. Even the most ordinary clansman walking on the street would receive respect from the common people, something unimaginable before.
It could be said that the Ye family was now thriving, steadily advancing towards a better future.
However, recently, the Ye family had encountered some major events. Outsiders didn't know, but within the clan, the atmosphere was solemn.
In the Ye family's council hall, Ye Ao sat upright on the patriarch's throne, high above. Some time had passed, and Ye Ao's authority had grown even greater, his cultivation surpassing the past, almost reaching the true Martial God realm. Yet despite this, the white in his brows and hair had increased noticeably, showing worry.
The atmosphere in the hall was tense and solemn. Everyone's expressions were grim.
Not long ago, the Ye family had suffered a terrifying attack. Apart from the headquarters in Luo Feng City, the branch locations in other ancient cities had all been assaulted, with serious casualties.
Later, when the Second Elder led the clan's powerhouses to rescue clansmen in one of the cities, a Martial God realm fluctuation erupted, beating the Second Elder to within an inch of his life, nearly killing him, causing an uproar of shock and fear.
When the clansmen brought the Second Elder back, there was also a blood-stained letter attached—
Ye Chen, blood debt must be paid in blood!