Shrouding the Heavens: Empress, I am truly not the Desolate Heavenly Emperor!

Within the Peach Blossom Spring, fallen petals were scattered in profusion.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged on a blue stone, his pores opening as he greedily inhaled the rich imperial essence in the air.

Theoretically speaking, he should be ecstatic right now.

After all, the name "pseudo-innate Dao embryo" sounds terrifying. According to the formula of fantasy novels, at this time, spiritual energy should be pouring in like a funnel, and the realm should be rising like a rocket, with the foundation building stage in three days and the core formation stage in five days.

However, reality dealt him a heavy blow.

"I can't suck it in... I can't suck it in at all."

Ye Chen opened his eyes and sighed helplessly.

He felt like a Ferrari that had just had its top-of-the-line 12-cylinder engine installed, only to be thrown into a swamp. The engine roared deafeningly, the wheels spun and smoked, but the car didn't budge an inch.

Although the spiritual energy within this desolate and forbidden land is so dense that it cannot be dispersed, every wisp of spiritual energy is mixed with the domineering and unparalleled will of the Ruthless Great Emperor, as well as the "desolate" power generated by the erosion of time.

The rule here is: all laws are empty except for the Empress.

Conventional methods of spiritual practice here are like trying to scoop mercury with a fishing net—not only will you fail to catch it, but the net will also break.

"System, explain this? Isn't this 'favorite son' treatment a bit exaggerated?" Ye Chen complained in his mind.

[Answer to host: The pseudo-innate Dao embryo is indeed close to the Great Dao, but the Great Dao of the Desolate Ancient Forbidden Land has been tampered with by the Ruthless Great Emperor. Your current state is equivalent to trying to plug an Android charging cable into an Apple phone's port.]

"..."

Ye Chen's lips twitched.

What a forceful insertion!

"Solution?"

[I suggest finding a medium with a 'transcoding' function, or... just die and start a new game.]

"roll."

Ye Chen stood up, cursing. Death was out of the question; he'd finally managed to latch onto the Empress's coattails, and even if they were a bit prickly, he had to keep clinging to them, even with tears in his eyes.

Since conventional methods don't work, we have to find some unconventional ones.

Ye Chen's gaze fell on the edge of the peach blossom grove.

That place is the boundary between the Empress's "Absolute Territory" and the outside world's "Desolate Wasteland". Due to the intense conflict of rules, the ecological environment there has become extremely bizarre.

He walked over slowly.

As you move towards the edge, the originally delicate pink peach blossoms begin to change color, gradually turning into an eerie dark red, like congealed blood scabs.

Ye Chen stopped at the edge of a cliff.

Here grows a small tree, only half a person's height. It is completely black, its bark cracked like dragon scales, and it has no leaves. On its bare branches hangs only a single fruit.

The fruit was about the size of a fist, with a pale white skin covered with twisted blue lines.

What's most chilling is that these patterns, when combined, actually resemble a face screaming in agony!

His facial features were distorted, and his expression was one of despair.

It was as if this was not a peach at all, but a wronged soul sealed inside the tree.

[High-energy reactant detected: Human-faced Peach (mutant)]

[Cause: The Empress slew a quasi-Emperor level enemy here, and his resentment and imperial blood nourished the mortal peach, which underwent a distorted transformation over 30,000 years.]

[Effect: Highly poisonous. Contains extremely strong mental pollution. However, if one can withstand the impact of resentment, one can briefly gain the perspective of "Daoist Analysis," allowing one to see through the weaknesses in some of the rules within the forbidden area.]

[Note: The taste is extremely poor; dipping sauce is recommended.]

"The resentment of a quasi-emperor..."

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, staring at the hideous "human face".

In the past, he wouldn't have dared to touch this thing even if he had ten lives. But now, he has the divine power that has been fused with the Emperor's Tears flowing through his body, and he also has the "Devouring Heaven Dao Scripture" as a foundation, a technique that is specifically designed to "eat people".

Most importantly, the Empress's task of "killing the stone men" didn't give him much time.

"Let's give it our all."

Ye Chen took a deep breath and reached out to pluck the peach with the human face.

It felt icy cold to the touch, like touching a dead person's skin.

Without any hesitation, he opened his mouth and took a bite.

"Click."

Juice splashed everywhere.

It lacked the delicate fragrance of peaches, instead possessing a strong rusty smell and... a bitter taste.

"vomit……"

Ye Chen almost vomited on the spot. The smell was like squeezing a moldy rag, expired canned herring, and large intestine together into juice.

But he forced himself to swallow the whole peach in two or three bites, without even spitting out the pit.

boom!

The moment the peach flesh entered my stomach, an extremely cold current rushed straight to the top of my head.

Ye Chen's perspective changed instantly.

The once vibrant world has lost its colors, transforming into a black and white line drawing.

He saw it.

The previously invisible "forbidden zone laws" in the air have now transformed into chains, densely intertwined. And occasionally, a flash of red light can be seen in the gaps between these chains.

That's... a flaw!

This is what is known as a "vulnerability".

"Found it."

Ye Chen wiped the black blood from the corner of his mouth, a glint of fanaticism flashing in his eyes.

With this perspective, he was no longer like a blind man feeling an elephant in the forbidden area. Even with his cultivation suppressed, he could act like a thief with a master key, avoiding those sure-kill formations and striking straight at the heart of the enemy.

"The nine-aperture stone man, is that right?"

Ye Chen looked towards the inner perimeter of the forbidden area, his gaze suddenly turning cold.

"Wash your neck clean and wait, your grandfather is coming to perform brain surgery on you."

……

at the same time.

Three thousand miles outside the desolate and forbidden land.

Rumble—!

The sky seemed to be torn apart by a giant hand, and the clouds churned and retreated to both sides.

A bronze warship, thousands of feet long, crushed the void and slowly entered the airspace at the edge of the forbidden area, carrying a suffocating pressure.

On the warships, banners fluttered in the wind, each flag embroidered with a radiant sun—the symbol of the Yao Guang Holy Land, a dominant force in the Eastern Wilderness.

At the very front of the deck stood a young man dressed in a jade burial suit embroidered with gold thread.

He stood with his hands behind his back, surrounded by 108 divine rings. Within each ring, it seemed as if a deity was sitting cross-legged, chanting scriptures and worshipping.

The Holy Son of Yaoguang.

One of the most outstanding young talents in the Eastern Wilderness, a true prodigy.

Behind him, four elderly men with white hair and beards stood in a fan shape, each holding a battle flag, their expressions extremely solemn.

In the center of the warship, a large black cauldron with three legs and two handles bobbed up and down.

The body of the cauldron is engraved with ancient dragon patterns. Although it is only a replica, the aura it exudes still causes the surrounding space to collapse and recombine continuously.

Dragon-patterned black and gold tripod (imitation).

This is a precious artifact that the Yao Guang Holy Land specially brought out for this operation.

"Holy Son, the life-stripping zone lies ahead."

An elder spoke in a deep voice, a hint of undisguised apprehension in his tone, "The scouting team lost contact here. Their life tablets weren't broken, but they were completely devoid of life force. I'm afraid..."

"It's alright."

The Holy Son of Yaoguang spoke calmly, his voice clear and melodious like the clinking of jade stones, yet it carried an undeniable arrogance.

"A bunch of useless trash, they're fine as long as they're dead."

He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through layers of mist, looking directly into the depths of the forbidden area.

"This holy son has come here for only two purposes."

He extended two long, slender fingers.

"First, to harvest the legendary elixir of immortality, which will help me master the Holy Light Technique."

"second……"

The Holy Son of Yaoguang paused, a hint of interest flashing in his eyes.

"I've heard that deep within this forbidden land, someone has seen what appears to be a 'celestial being.' I'd like to see just who this person is, daring to play tricks in this forbidden zone of life."

"Pass down the order."

"Offer sacrifices to the cauldron, clear the way!"

"If anyone stands in our way, we will slay gods if they are gods, and demons if they are demons!"