Treasures like that.....given enough time.....could always be obtained again.
But if the Gu Clan issue had not been resolved properly, he might have been forced to live a life of constant flight and concealment.
After returning to the imperial capital, Ye Chen had originally planned to travel beyond the borders of the Jia Ma Empire.
However, only a few days later, he noticed that his cultivation had once again loosened, showing clear signs of an imminent breakthrough to the Dou Zong realm.
Perhaps because of the experience card he had used earlier, Ye Chen felt no difficulty at all before this Dou Zong bottleneck.....an insurmountable chasm for ordinary cultivators.
Everything progressed as naturally as flowing water.
"Looks like I'll need to enter seclusion again."
After confirming his physical condition, Ye Chen murmured softly to himself.
All other matters would have to be set aside for now.
Before long, Ye Chen gave a few brief instructions to Yun Yun, Nalan Yanran, and the others, then headed alone toward the depths of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Once there, he quickly found a secluded valley. Sitting down cross-legged at its base, he began his breakthrough toward the Dou Zong realm.
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
On this day, an overwhelmingly powerful aura suddenly erupted from deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
Magical beasts within several hundred li were instantly thrown into panic....especially those sixth-rank beasts that already possessed human-level intelligence.
They understood all too clearly just how terrifying that aura was.
At the epicenter of this presence, violent fluctuations of天地 energy gathered vast storm clouds in the sky.
In an instant, what had been a bright, cloudless day turned into a scene of rolling dark clouds.
Boom!
A thunderous explosion echoed as the valley where Ye Chen was located shook violently. Moments later, a tall, straight figure slowly emerged at the valley entrance.
His feet lightly stepped upon empty space, his posture upright like a spear, while a vast, surging aura radiated from his body like roaring thunder, daring to contend with the heavens themselves.
Ye Chen stood in midair, without any Dou Qi wings or lightning wings manifesting behind him.
Walking upon the void.....this was the exclusive hallmark of a Dou Zong expert.
Dou Zong marked the true dividing line among the continent's powerhouses.
Only upon reaching this realm could one truly gain a foothold in Central Plains.
And yet Ye Chen had arrived here at such a young age....one would be hard-pressed to find a second individual like him in this era.
"Hu…"
Suspended in the air, Ye Chen exhaled slowly before sinking his consciousness inward to carefully sense the changes within his body.
Inside him, a transformation bordering on rebirth had taken place.
His meridians had expanded to more than ten times their previous width.
Beyond even the meridians and bones, a faint crystalline layer of Dou Qi had formed, emitting subtle glimmers of light.
Ye Chen clenched his fist slightly and threw a simple, unadorned punch.
In an instant, the space around his fist twisted violently.
A low, piercing sonic boom resounded across the sky like muffled thunder.
Such terrifying power....from a punch so plain and straightforward.
Dou Zong and Dou Huang were indeed worlds apart.
"With my current strength, even if Yao Chen and the Vulture Protector joined forces, they probably wouldn't be my match anymore," Ye Chen said confidently.
Calculating the time, there was still a little over a month before Ya Fei and Xiao Xun'er were due to give birth.
Ye Chen had no intention of returning immediately. Instead, he planned to make a trip to the Black Corner Region.
With the Spatial Translocation Banner in his possession, even if he traveled to the Black Corner Region—or even Central Plains—he could instantly return to the Jia Ma Imperial Palace.
One day later, Ye Chen appeared along the northwestern border of the Jia Ma Empire.
Defenses here were extremely tight, especially above major military fortresses, where flying was strictly forbidden.
Anyone discovered would be mercilessly attacked by the garrison.
However, such regulations only applied to ordinary experts.
Laws without sufficient enforcement strength were nothing more than a joke.
Among all the border troops stationed here, there was only a single Dou Wang expert. How could such defenses possibly stop Dou Huang—or Dou Zong—powerhouses?
Like Ye Chen, who flew straight past two massive border fortresses without anyone noticing his presence.
Now before him stood an enormous fortress, looming at the empire's border like a primordial beast.....Zhen Gui Pass.
The colossal walls stretched for dozens of li, disappearing beyond the horizon.
Tens of thousands of soldiers trained atop them in perfect order, their momentum awe-inspiring.
This was the largest fortress Ye Chen had ever seen.....though it was still not the largest within the Jia Ma Empire.
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