The Supreme Martial King Shocking All Realms Chapter 3298: 3293: Destroying the Gates of Life and Death_1
Regret came too late now, for the restriction had activated, sealing the fate of the Scorpio Ghost King in death.
Yang Chen had gleaned one crucial detail already: Wan Qiuying was gone from this realm, apparently whisked away by fellow Ghost King powerhouses to another plane for some unknown agenda.
Precisely what they intended remained a mystery, unknown even to the Scorpio Ghost King.
Yang Chen's sole disappointment lay in his unfinished quest for secrets about the Calamity City; just as he delved further into those memories, the Scorpio Ghost King's restriction flared, claiming his life.
A touch of irritation gripped him, yet gazing at the cluster of ghost cores clutched in his palm eased Yang Chen's spirits somewhat.
“Looks like my decades of intense cultivation haven't gone to waste.”
Back then, taking down these Heaven-separated Realm foes wouldn't have been too tough for him, but achieving it with such effortless grace? That was beyond his reach before.
Those many years had passed in focused effort for him.
After absorbing Princess Wenqi's words, Yang Chen plunged into profound reflection and training, convinced of her wisdom.
To push ahead in the Dao, especially with techniques, meant carving one's unique trail, not mimicking another's.
Diverging paths would only lead to his own downfall in the end.
Thus, he pondered deeply on the matter.
He even flirted with abandoning his cultivation path, but reason triumphed over rash urges, burying the notion deep.
From there, he turned to exploring the Space-Time Law, a realm he'd never touched with any Dao methods before.
This was a pristine territory for him, untouched by prior Dao cultivation.
In those decades, he'd forged numerous innovations, with the azure pattern emerging from his exhaustive fusion of the Space-Time Law into the Domain of Earth during that time.
He'd polished it more, weaving in additional laws as well.
At its core, this azure pattern stemmed from a solid foundation in pure Space-Time Law.
When deployed, the domain let him overhaul the spacetime of any intruder at will, allowing him to drag time to a crawl—by tens, hundreds, or thousands of folds if he chose.
Of course, the scale varied by the target.
A mere pebble? He could halt it in place without strain.
Breezes or showers? They'd bend to his command inside his spacetime.
Yet facing mighty entities like Ghost Kings dulled the impact somewhat; against a dozen such Ghost King powerhouses, he might only halve their pace or so.
A mere slowdown by a few times posed little real threat to Heaven-separated Realm titans. The real horror lay in how he could throttle their velocity while accelerating his own to blistering speeds.
That was the essence of reshaping spacetime itself.
He hadn't settled on a name for this domain yet.
Why? Because...
The azure domain remained imperfect in its completion. Naming it prematurely felt unwise until it reached full maturity.
For now, Yang Chen stowed the ghost cores in his storage bag; such treasures could trade for precious Jiyu Essence.
Right then, Ling Huan Sha, Zhou Yiming, and their group entered Yang Chen's view.
“Brother Yang Chen...” Ling Huan Sha gazed at him, her subtle allure radiating, her eagerness to win his favor plain as day.
The rest of the cultivators wore fawning grins, eyeing Yang Chen with profound deference, careful not to betray a hint of offense.
Reflecting on their earlier disdain toward him, these mighty figures now harbored deep unease.
The mere thought chilled them: Had Yang Chen's temper flared then, slaughtering them in secret with his might would have been child's play, bodies vanishing without a whisper. To whom could they have appealed for redress?
How could they risk slighting him now? They even lamented their past distrust; had they believed his words and joined his scheme, they might share camaraderie with him today.
Friendship with such a formidable ally...
But in this moment, that chance had slipped away forever.
Yang Chen stayed composed, his neutral poise offering neither warmth nor chill, fostering no bond whatsoever.
“The crisis is over. Fellow Daoist Ling, you may take Zhou Daoyou and depart.” Yang Chen stated, hands clasped behind his back.
Zhou Yiming gave a faint shake of his head, “I'd prefer to stick with Brother Yang Chen. You still have unfinished business in the Spirit Fire World, don't you? I'm well-versed in its ways; I could lend a hand.”
“Exactly, we hold plenty of knowledge on the Spirit Fire World ourselves. We might assist Brother Yang Chen as well.” Ling Huan Sha offered with a captivating smile.
Yang Chen replied, “Zhou Daoyou's aid suffices for me; no need to burden Fellow Daoist Ling or the rest.”
Ling Huan Sha shuddered inwardly, realizing her charms held no sway over Yang Chen. Her bids for favor now rang hollow and tardy.
She clenched her pearly teeth, aware that lingering would only invite scorn, so she signaled the others and murmured, “Then we won't impose on Brother Yang Chen further.”
With that, Ling Huan Sha and her companions swiftly departed.
Yang Chen turned his gaze to Zhou Yiming next.
Zhou Yiming bowed promptly, displaying utmost reverence.
Such honors befitted a titan like Yang Chen, especially as the slayer of over a dozen Ghost Kings—and his personal savior.
“Brother Yang Chen, what's your next move?” Zhou Yiming inquired.
“I'll shatter the Gates of Life and Death, along with the Unwarranted Black Hole.” Yang Chen declared. “These captives can yield me ample Jiyu Essence too. Fellow Daoist Zhou, track them down for me. With no Heaven-separated Realm threats left in the Spirit Fire World, your power should make freeing them straightforward. In return, I'll share some Jiyu Essence with you.”
Zhou Yiming quickly demurred, “You're too generous, Brother Yang Chen. After you rescued me, I'd never claim the Jiyu Essence. I'll hunt down and free these folks myself—I know their spots. As for the Gates of Life and Death, that's yours to handle.”
Zhou Yiming had nearly voiced a warning about the perils of tackling the Gates of Life and Death.
After all, wresting such a structure free demanded ages, and countless powerhouses had faltered, only to fall to swarms of bolstered Ghost King reinforcements. Such tragedies abounded.
But Yang Chen's displayed prowess silenced those cautions in his mind.
This warrior defied all conventional measure.
Having laid out their strategy with Zhou Yiming, Yang Chen dispatched him to locate and liberate the captives while he pressed onward to the Gates of Life and Death.
His arrival placed him before a colossal portal bridging life and death, shrouded in boundless gloom thick with ghost qi...
Legions of ghostly remains littered the ground, and Yang Chen strode amid them until he reached the grand door.