Chapter 1003: Standing Alone in One’s Own Virtue!

Originally, Ye Chen had remained indifferent toward the news that the immortal realm was being invaded. The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were attacking the immortal realm, even intending to shatter it entirely. He had felt no urge to save the world or play the role of savior. After all, he held no sense of belonging to the immortal realm whatsoever. Whoever wanted to fight could fight—so long as it did not affect him.

But now, learning that the destruction of a world could even damage the immortal artifacts within it, he realized that the people inside could hardly remain untouched. Even peak experts capable of existing apart from their world would likely suffer all kinds of negative consequences if they tried to relocate to another realm. The destruction of one's native world was clearly not something that could be resolved simply by moving elsewhere.

What about himself, then? If the immortal realm were destroyed one day, would he also be dragged into the consequences?

The more he thought about it, the more serious the issue seemed. His previous detached attitude toward the conflict between the immortal realm and the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths no longer felt tenable. He could no longer simply stand alone in his own virtue.

Still, these matters would have to wait until he became an immortal and entered the immortal realm himself. Surely, relevant knowledge would be available there.

Ye Chen turned his attention to the Chaos Bell that had appeared inside his small world. The small bell was a chaotic dark-yellow color. Its surface was engraved with suns, moons, and stars. Earth, water, fire, and wind swirled around it.

Inside the bell lay mountains and rivers, along with imprints of countless races—including humans and many others that Ye Chen had never even heard of. They were most likely the races from the destroyed world mentioned by the system.

The small bell appeared somewhat damaged, with severe cracks and broken marks in many places. Yet it still radiated terrifying power, emitting five-colored divine light that illuminated the entire small world.

The other immortal artifacts—including the Undying Celestial Blade and the Heaven Devouring Demon Jar—instinctively kept their distance. Only the ancient bronze coffin remained completely motionless.

Ye Chen nodded in satisfaction. This Chaos Bell was truly a fine treasure. He could try fusing it with his own bell in the future. If he continued to nurture and upgrade it, the bell might one day recover its original might and reach the divine grade once more.

…

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze. He looked at Manjusaka and smiled.

After a ten-thousand-times female cultivator became his Dao companion, critical hits and heart strikes still triggered as expected. He was especially pleased with the Chaos Bell he had received in feedback.

Seeing Manjusaka attempting to bond with the Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Halberd, Ye Chen gave a soft chuckle. He tapped a finger gently on her smooth, proud forehead. "I grant you the Armement Secret. With it, you will control immortal artifacts more easily and unleash even greater power from them…"

Manjusaka felt the profound mysteries of the Armement Secret and her face lit up with joy. The Armement Secret's formidable reputation was known to everyone in the cultivation world. With this technique, she could manipulate immortal artifacts far more smoothly and draw out far stronger might from them. Her gaze toward Ye Chen grew even more complicated.

Being Ye Chen's Dao companion was truly wonderful! Even ancient secret arts like the Nine Secrets could be obtained so casually. Compared to this, all her past struggles felt utterly meaningless.

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Thinking back to how Ye Chen had even used the soul intercourse method earlier, Manjusaka felt a twinge of regret. She had been too stubborn before. When she was still in soul form, she should have offered herself to Ye Chen and become his Dao companion right then. If she had, she might have obtained a perfect physical body ten years earlier.

What a massive loss!

After the gift transmission was complete, Ye Chen prepared to leave. With a wave of his hand, he withdrew the formation, reconnecting the area with the outside world. The crowd outside had already been discussing fervently.

The moment they saw Ye Chen appear, they all jumped in shock, their faces filled with awe and fear. When they clearly saw the female cultivators beside him, their eyes widened even further.

They all knew Su Yuxuan—the Nether Maiden of the Nether God Holy Land, whose methods were extremely formidable.

But that was not the main point. After all, everyone knew she was Ye Chen's Dao companion, so her presence here was not surprising.

What shocked them most was the female cultivator on Ye Chen's other side. She had six wings on her back, bearing a striking resemblance to the extinct Heavenly Human Race. Yet half her wings were white and half were red, differing greatly from the legends. Her aura was terrifyingly powerful. Many quasi-immortals present immediately sensed danger and felt a surge of fear.

Who was this woman?

The quasi-immortals from the Peacock Race and the Nether God Holy Land wore strange expressions. They knew the full story, of course—that a soul had been revived. But they had not expected the revived soul to look almost identical to the previous immortal corpse, except that her figure was now far more voluptuous.

Had the Heavenly Emperor's heir specifically requested this?

Their expressions were complicated, but they said nothing. They simply bowed to Ye Chen once more with sincere gratitude, thanking him for saving their lives.

Yan Ruyu had also been waiting here. The moment she saw Manjusaka, her pupils shrank. This woman's appearance was no weaker than her own. She felt a strong sense of crisis. No wonder Ye Chen had ignored her so completely this time. He must have been completely taken by this woman.

For a moment, Yan Ruyu's emotions grew even more tangled. She looked at Ye Chen, with a thousand words she wanted to say.

Ye Chen vaguely noticed that Yan Ruyu was no longer as coldly aloof as before. It was probably because he had chosen Su Yuxuan when giving gifts earlier, which had made her feel threatened.

However, Ye Chen had no intention of explaining anything. On the contrary, he was happy to see it. The more complicated Yan Ruyu's emotions became and the more abandoned she felt, the higher the emotional feedback would be once she returned to the Myriad Races Immortal City and received the Chaos Azure Lotus seed.

That was good for him. So Ye Chen simply nodded to the quasi-immortals from the Peacock Race and the Nether God Holy Land. Then he turned to Elder Shangguan and the loli Ancestor with a faint smile. "My trip to the Central Continent is over. I will return and prepare to break through to the quasi-immortal realm. Would the two seniors like to come with me?"

Upon hearing this, both Elder Shangguan and the loli Ancestor nodded.

During this period, Elder Shangguan had gained a much deeper understanding of Ye Chen. She was shocked that their holy land had produced such a monstrous genius. It was truly unprecedented.

The loli Ancestor naturally wanted to get closer to Ye Chen even more. The current protector of their divine maiden turned out to be one of the only two contenders for immortality in the entire cultivation world.

More importantly, almost everyone believed that once Ye Chen reached the quasi-immortal stage, the Eight-Crowned King would no longer be his match.

Under such circumstances, Ye Chen could almost be considered the strongest protector in the history of the Heavenly Desire Sect.

Moreover, Ye Chen was surrounded by too many top-tier female cultivators. Su Yuxuan was pure yet charming, with impressive methods.

Yan Ruyu needed no further mention—the loli Ancestor had never seen a woman of such caliber, and the way she looked at Ye Chen was clearly off. Now there was even a revived Heavenly Human Race member with top-tier beauty.

The loli Ancestor was very worried about whether their divine maiden could hold onto Ye Chen. She had to use this life-saving favor to invite Ye Chen to the Heavenly Desire Sect and tie him down properly.

In short, everyone present had their own thoughts.

Ye Chen did not dwell on them. He summoned an immortal boat, invited Elder Shangguan and the loli Ancestor aboard, and sailed gracefully toward the Great Yan Continent.

Su Yuxuan and the others soon departed as well. Only the original onlookers remained, curiously inquiring about Manjusaka's identity.