Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

With Mu Liuji gone, the injured Shakyamuni alone was clearly no match for the red-haired youth, especially not with Ye Chen watching menacingly from the side.

Shakyamuni shook his head and sighed softly, as if he had already expected this outcome. "I knew it. Those guys from the Valley of Death are completely unreliable."

"Lord Shakyamuni, what should we do now?"

The two Saint Monks placed all their hope in Shakyamuni.

"What should we do?"

Shakyamuni glanced at the two Saint Monks. His indifferent gaze made their hearts skip a beat, and a sense of unease washed over them.

"I will return to the sect immediately and call for reinforcements!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Shakyamuni turned to leave.

"Now!"

Just then, Ye Chen barked a cold command.

BOOM!

A searing sea of fire surged forth. Blazing light blotted out the sky, pressing down upon the heavens with immense, overwhelming power!

Amidst the roiling flames, an agile figure shot out, spear in hand. Radiating a formidable aura, he aimed straight for the fleeing Shakyamuni!

Shakyamuni's expression changed drastically. His aura was completely locked down, making it impossible to escape. Left with no choice, he had to turn back and fight.

Boundless Buddhist light spread out. He pressed a hand forward, and it was as if the sky filled with phantom Buddhas chanting scriptures. The power was immense, making space itself ripple and churn!

At the same time, Ye Chen's figure flashed as he charged toward the two Saint Monks.

Even though he was injured, dealing with two Divinity Transformation Realm Saint Monks was no problem at all.

The two Saint Monks' faces fell. They both unleashed astonishing Secret Techniques in unison.

But no matter what methods they employed, they were effortlessly crushed and suppressed by Ye Chen.

'Why is this kid such a monster?'

Their hearts were filled with confusion and frustration. In the end, they were both severely injured, their cultivation sealed by Ye Chen, and taken prisoner.

Seeing this, Shakyamuni lost all will to fight. He conjured a Zen Seal to block Chi Ming's spear, then hastily retreated.

In just a few blinks of an eye, he had already retreated several thousand meters.

"Get back here!"

Chi Ming's expression was icy. His spear erupted with blazing divine flames as he prepared to give chase.

But Ye Chen stopped him. "That's enough. Come back."

Hearing this, Chi Ming halted his attack. He stepped through the sea of fire and landed beside Ye Chen.

"He is, after all, a Great Power at the Third Layer of the Divine Might Realm."

"Even injured, if an existence like that is determined to flee, we can't stop him."

Ye Chen stared in the direction Shakyamuni had fled and said coldly, "Besides, we should be meeting him again very soon."

"Oh?" Chi Ming was taken aback, not quite understanding what Ye Chen meant.

"I'm going to heal first. Help me gather the spoils of war."

"Afterward, we're going to pay a visit to the Holy Temple!"

Ye Chen's eyes glinted, a decision already made in his heart.

'The reason I'm going to the Holy Temple isn't to completely annihilate our enemy.'

'After all, even with a powerful ally like Chi Ming, trying to wipe out the Holy Temple is still a bit unrealistic.'

'The real purpose of the trip is simply to rescue the World Spirit!'

'If I'm not mistaken, the World Spirit should be under the Holy Temple's control right now.'

'And the reason I only sealed those two Saint Monks' cultivation instead of killing them is for a hostage exchange.'

Soon, Ye Chen sat down cross-legged, took a medicinal pill, and began to heal.

Meanwhile, Chi Ming gathered all the Storage Rings scattered on the ground and handed them to Ye Chen.

Clearly, these Storage Rings, dropped by their dead enemies, were the "spoils of war" Ye Chen had mentioned.

Whether it was the experts from the Xu family or the Saint Monks from the Holy Temple, the factions behind them all possessed astonishing resources.

Therefore, it was only natural that they carried plenty of treasures on them.

The wealth from the three fallen Saint Monks alone was a considerable sum.

At the very least, the treasury of any of the four great families in Lei Province couldn't compare to this haul.

Of course, this was also normal.

The strongest members of the four great families were their patriarchs, who had barely stepped into the Primordial Mansion Realm.

In contrast, every Saint Monk from the Holy Temple was a powerful figure in the late Divinity Transformation Realm.

Their resources were naturally on a level that the four great families of Lei Province could not hope to match.

Every time he thought about this, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel a wave of emotion.

Back when he was in Lei Province, it was like being confined to a tiny corner of the world, completely unaware of how vast and magnificent the outside world truly was.

In Lei Province, a Primordial Mansion Realm cultivator could be called a Great Power. As long as one reached the threshold of the Primordial Mansion Realm, they could run rampant anywhere in the province, standing head and shoulders above all others.

But now, Ye Chen didn't even bat an eye at Divinity Transformation Realm existences.

If this were the past, it would have been something he couldn't even dare to imagine!

As his strength constantly improved, Ye Chen's perspective also continued to broaden, and he witnessed many things that were previously completely beyond his reach.

「Two hours later.」

Ye Chen stopped circulating the Demon God's World-Shaking Record and slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze was as sharp as a sword. The vital energy and blood in his body surged and roiled, and the sound of his heartbeat was as terrifying as a clap of thunder.

Clearly, after two hours of recovery, Ye Chen's condition had not only returned to its peak but was even better than before!

After battling a Divine Might Realm expert, Ye Chen felt that his strength had improved slightly, bringing him even closer to the Divinity Transformation Realm.

It wouldn't be long before he could touch the threshold of the Divinity Transformation Realm.

'I can already clash head-on with a Divine Might Realm Great Power now. Once I truly break through to the Divinity Transformation Realm, just how powerful will I become?'

Ye Chen looked forward to it.

But the most pressing matter at hand was still rescuing the World Spirit.

"It's time to move."

Ye Chen exhaled a long, turbid breath. He stood up and looked up to find that the sky had already darkened.

"This time, even though we can't wipe out the Holy Temple, we can at least... collect some interest from them first."

Ye Chen's eyes flickered. With a wave of his sleeve, he stored the two captive Saint Monks inside the Chaos-Suppressing Prison Cauldron.

"Let's go."

Then, he transformed into a streak of light and sped toward Flame City.

Behind Ye Chen, Chi Ming rode a fiery auspicious cloud, keeping pace with an equally astonishing speed.

* * *

Before long, the two arrived at Flame City.

Flame City was truly worthy of its title as the number one city in Yan Province. From a distance, it looked like a colossal dragon coiled among the mountain ranges—magnificent and filled with an ancient, boundless aura.

After arriving at Flame City, Ye Chen paid no mind to whether his actions would attract too much attention. He flew directly over the city gates, heading straight for the location he sensed.

In an instant, many of the city's experts were alarmed. They all looked up, their tones filled with astonishment.

"Is this kid insane?"