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Chapter 517: Starfall
🕑 Added 2024-10-02 13:00:15 +0000 UTCYe Chen frowned. Despite reaching the Extremity Immortal Realm, there was a gnawing sensation in the back of his mind that wouldn’t leave him. He did not think the sensation was something to be ignored. Although cultivators couldn’t blindly trust their feelings, it still did not prevent the fact their intuition was an important factor when considering how to act. Especially for someone who mastered the Law of Time. Those that did would only have a stronger intuition.
He thought he would not easily fall into danger after reaching the Extremity Immortal Realm, but his intuition told him wrong.
“Just what is the source of this danger?” Ye Chen asked himself.
Logically speaking, he should not be in danger unless he directly invaded the camp of a first-rate force alone. Ye Chen did not fear emperor-level war formation because, despite their impressive power, they did not have the same speed. So, even if he was surrounded by emperor-level war formations, he could escape.
Not to mention that the first-rate forces came from fragmented inheritances. Compared to the Numinous Sword Sect’s war formations, they would have to send more immortals to achieve the same level of power that the Numinous Sword Sect could for less.
That only left other immortal emperors. He knew that the Numinous Sword Sect’s two awakened sword emperors had severely injured the Ripple Emperor and the Redmoon Emperor before they completely perished. He had to be careful of both emperors as a newly ascended sword emperor, but Ye Chen didn’t think that the both of them teaming up could threaten his life.
If anything, Ye Chen suspected that the true danger came from a hidden emperor, the one that destroyed the Wavefold Sect. ‘Maybe it’s not an immortal emperor, but an immortal sovereign? After all, even an immortal emperor wouldn’t have the ability to destroy the Wavefold Sect.’
Ye Chen shook his head. If there really was an immortal sovereign, then the Numinous Sword Sect’s situation would only be more dire than it already was.
Getting rid of unnecessary thoughts, Ye Chen couldn’t help but sigh in regret. Only after entering the Extremity Immortal Realm did he learn about the true situation of the sect. Not only was he the sole sword emperor, but the sect lost their four divine swords. Three of them vanished mysteriously, and the fourth one was stolen by either the Ripple Emperor or the Redmoon Emperor.
Although the Kunlun Sword was good, it was a weapon reforged from a broken divine artifact. It was better than nothing, but having one of the Four Immortal Exterminating Swords would have been far more helpful, especially since all of them were peerless divine swords. In this aspect, Meng Tingfeng was more lucky than him.
“That just means I have to get it back from them,” Ye Chen uttered. He had already decided to grab the last Immortal Confining Sword from the Void Ripple Sect or the Twin Moon Sect. Whichever one took it.
However, his confidence did not prevent him from making the appropriate preparation. He discussed the gnawing sensation with Monarch Solesword and came to the conclusion that the two alliances wanted to scheme against him.
Ye Chen didn’t think any of the monarchs he fought noticed the abnormality when he entered the Extremity Immortal Realm. The moment he broke through, he used the Law of Time to speed the flow of time inside his body, hiding his ascension.
More than likely, the two alliances felt threatened by his chances of becoming the next sword emperor. In that case, Monarch Solesword and Meng Tingfeng were both in danger.
However, the Numinous Sword Sect viciously guarded the deployment plans of all three of them. More often than not, the other sword immortals would only know a few days before the assault on the enemy. It was practically impossible for the two alliances to learn of Ye Chen’s or the other two’s deployment ahead of time. That only left one option to ambush them.
The two alliances must put out a bait alluring enough to draw out Ye Chen, and they must not leave behind any clues as to their plan.
After discussing it with Monarch Solesword, they decided that if something that really drew Ye Chen’s attention appeared, they would play along. They would allow Ye Chen to pretend to be alone and enter the trap. When the people appeared, they would jump out and counter ambush them.
Ye Chen didn’t have to wait for too long. Two years later, news of the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower entered his ears.
The Fleeting Wisteria was a tree that grew in the Numinous Realm. Its blooming season varied. Sometimes it happens once a year. Other times, it would bloom only once in a decade or even a century. The reason for this was the temporal qi flowing through the Fleeting Wisteria Tree. Because of this temporal qi, it made great material for forging time-related artifacts, pills, and other items.
If the Fleeting Wisteria Tree was transplanted from its original location, it would become an ordinary wisteria tree. The only reason wisteria trees transformed into Fleeting Wisteria Trees was because they rooted themselves on temporal nodes. Temporal nodes were almost impossible to detect, and without anything anchoring them, they shifted constantly.
The Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower was the blossom of a Fleeting Wisteria Tree that had not blossomed for ten thousand years or more. All the temporal qi that it stored for ten thousand years were concentrated into one flower, causing a qualitative change. Even eating a petal of the Fleeting Time Wisteria could increase a cultivator’s insight into the Law of Time for a period.
If concocted into a Fleeting Time Pill, it could permanently increase a cultivator’s talent in the Law of Time.
Even Ye Chen had to admit that the bait thrown out by the two alliances was fatally attractive to him. The only problem was that he didn’t know how they forced a Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower to bloom. He didn’t think about it for too long. After discussing it with Monarch Solesword, he snuck out of the Numinous Sword Sect for the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower.
Even though Ye Chen only displayed the abilities he had as a sword monarch, no one noticed he left the Sword Continent. When he flew over the blue seas, he could not sense anyone following him, so he was sure that whoever was plotting against him did not know when he would arrive. But that mattered little. He was sure that once he appeared near the Fleeting Time Wisteria, they would ambush him.
After nearly a month of travel, Ye Chen arrived at the location of the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower. Even before he stepped onto the island, he could feel the temporal waves rippling through the air. The island itself was not considered large, just ten thousand kilometers long, but it was quite remote. It wasn’t at the edge of the Numinous Realm, but if the Numinous Sword Sect wanted to send reinforcement, it would be all but impossible in a short amount of time.
The island appeared to be in spring, with verdant greenery all around, flowers blooming on the grass and trees. In Ye Chen’s eyes, the island was cloaked in white snow; the snow being the invisible manifestation of the temporal laws. In actuality, it should be around fall, not spring.
Ye Chen didn’t immediately fly toward the source of this phenomenon. Instead, he landed on the edge of the island and slowly walked toward the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower. Whenever he walked, the surrounding snow would turn into silver motes of light and flow into his body. The effect was minimal, but Ye Chen felt a change in his mentality, one that increased his insights into time.
Although he seemed to be walking slowly, with each step Ye Chen took, he would appear at least a hundred meters apart.
Three days later, Ye Chen arrived in front of a giant Fleeting Wisteria Tree. He looked around and saw a city full of mortals. The strange thing was that the mortals were all young and in the prime of their life. There was not a single mortal with a strand of white hair.
Ye Chen looked away. Why would he be interested in those that were already dead?
He floated up until he reached a wisteria flower of violet color and silver ripples flowing through its petals. In the entire tree, this was the only flower. Ye Chen didn’t immediately pluck the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower and gently caressed its petals. Just grazing it caused Ye Chen’s figure to blur, as if there were several versions of himself superimposed on each other.
After a few seconds, Ye Chen brought his hand away. A jade box appeared in his hand. It was an artifact he specially brought to store the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower. The moment he plucked it, the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower would start to lose its essence. So, he brought this box to seal the flower in its prime state.
He reached out and plucked the flower. Immediately after, the temporal phenomenon vanished. The verdant greenery dulled, the flowers wilted, and the humans in the settlement nearby all screamed in horror. They watched as their body withered until their skin turned to dust.
The reason those mortals were all young and lived idyllic lives was thanks to the aftereffects of the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower exuded. In reality, those mortals had lived for centuries, their time temporarily stopped. Once time flowed again and the world corrected their time, they would naturally return to dust.
Ye Chen’s eyes glimmered with sword light the moment he closed the box. Ripples pinched him from both sides, and a terrifying amount of qi erupted from the ripples.
It was a checkmate. The attack was too sudden and too close. Ye Chen didn’t have time to form a defense, and even if he formed a defense, the attack was more than enough to injure him. The attacks landed and Ye Chen turned into chunks of meat.
However, when the ripples appeared, Ye Chen stood in the air, nary a hair out of place. It was as if the terrifying ambush did not happen and it was just a hallucination. Ye Chen didn’t show any surprise and calmly stored the jade box containing the Fleeting Time Wisteria Flower.
Only then did he scan his surroundings. A sword with a mirror-like blade appeared in his hand. “Since you’ve already attacked, what’s the point of hiding?”
Less than a second later, a red-robed man stepped out of a ripple. He was the Redmoon Emperor. Although his aura was not weak, it could not hide the shaky foundation. More ripples appeared and several Lunar Giant War Formation appeared. Each one exuded the aura of a half-emperor or higher.
“Kunlun Sword Monarch, you should just accept your fate and give up all meaningless resistance,” the Redmoon Emperor said.
Ye Chen sneered. “I’ll return those words to you!”
He didn’t waste anymore words and attacked. In response, the Redmoon Emperor deployed his signature Redmoon Realm. Although it had a greater suppressive effect on immortals that specialized in spells, it could still prevent Ye Chen from fleeing. After releasing the Redmoon Realm, the Redmoon Emperor hid himself.
The Redmoon Emperor’s primary task was to seal Ye Chen’s escape route. He had no interest in losing his life to a newly ascended emperor. Originally, they were the strongest first-rate forces, but the Bluemoon Emperor perished, making them fall to the level of the Void Ripple Sect. The Twin Moon Sect could ill afford to lose him, their remaining immortal emperor.
The six war formations surrounded Ye Chen and attacked him at once. Ye Chen only sneered. His figure blurred, and he appeared in front of one of the war formations and slashed. Ripples appeared on the war formation’s skin. He was repeating the same tactic he used to destroy the war formation he fought before.
Why fix what ain’t broke?
Naturally, the other war formations would not watch and allow it to happen. They rushed toward Ye Chen, preventing him from slashing the third time. But just like before, he disappeared again. This time, he reappeared behind another war formation and slashed.
And so, a game of cat and mouse began. Ye Chen would focus on one war formation until the other war formations stopped him before focusing on another one. If given the chance, he would attack a formation that still had ripples across its skin. Despite the Lunar Giant War Formations’ best efforts, the rate of ripples appearing was faster than they could stop Ye Chen.
The Redmoon Emperor frowned and increased the intensity of the Redmoon Realm. Although it increased the consumption of qi for himself and the war formations, Ye Chen was in an even worse situation.
Ye Chen fell into a disadvantage. His movements had slowed, and he couldn’t reveal the war formations’ weak links. “Since that’s the case, goodbye. I’m not a fool that will fight a losing battle.”
He disappeared from the encirclement of the Lunar Giant War Formation. When he reappeared, he was already at the edge of the Redmoon Realm.
“What?” the Redmoon Emperor shouted. “How could you teleport inside my Redmoon Realm? Not even the Ripple Emperor can teleport.”
“Why do I have to tell you?” Ye Chen asked with a sneer. He slashed an opening out of the Redmoon Realm and slipped out, but he didn’t see the calm and confident expression on the Redmoon Emperor’s face.
The moment Ye Chen slipped out, he found the surrounding space frozen, shackling him in place. Not only that, the sky had turned dark, revealing the limitless, glimmering stars in the sky. With each moment, the stars shone brighter. No, they weren’t shining brighter, but falling.
Hundreds of stars fell from the night sky, each hurtling toward him. Shackled in place, it seemed that Ye Chen had no choice but to take the falling stars.
BOOOM!
BOOOOM!!
BOOOOOM!!!
One after the other, the stars crashed into Ye Chen. They didn’t stop and crashed into the ground, causing the land to fissure. With each star that fell, the island splintered until it eventually sank below the sea.
Above the water’s surface, the Redmoon Emperor stood beside another immortal emperor. The immortal emperor wore a purple-robe with countless stars shimmering in it. He was the Starfall Emperor.
“Did we get him?”
The Starfall Emperor shook his head. “Although my spell hit him, I can still feel his aura, and it hasn’t changed at all.”
The Redmoon Emperor didn’t show much surprise. “As expected, the Kunlun Sword Monarch has become the Kunlun Sword Emperor.”
“I’m surprised, how did you guess that I became an emperor?” Ye Chen asked. He didn’t appear from below the water but reappeared where he had exited the Redmoon Realm. He glanced at the Ripple Emperor, who appeared next to the two emperors, before looking at all three of them. “I’m curious, is there another emperor hidden in the Three Island Alliance?”
