Chapter 480: Celestial Essence Realm and Hell Array

As Chen Yu stepped out of the Space-Time Gate, the map coordinates of the Space-Time Anomaly appeared in his mind.

“Next up… hmm, let’s go with the Celestial Essence Realm.”

Having confirmed his next destination, Chen Yu vanished on the spot.

…

In the Azure Firmament Realm, deep within a vast expanse of the Gobi Desert, Chen Yu’s figure emerged.

Standing mid-air, Chen Yu cast his gaze toward the depths of a nearby canyon.

The canyon was dozens of yards wide and stretched for hundreds of miles. From the sky, it looked perfectly straight, as if carved by the single sword strike of an Immortal God.

Upon reaching the depths of the canyon, a gloomy, chilling aura permeated the air.

Chen Yu’s gaze fell upon the empty clearing before him. There was nothing there, but it was a different story in his eyes.

“An Array… It seems the defenses here are much stronger than in the Desolate Nine Space-Time,” Chen Yu muttered to himself, staring ahead.

He took a single, light step forward. Instantly, the world around him shifted, and a faint layer of light flared into existence.

With no difficulty at all, Chen Yu easily passed through the grand protective Array of the Space-Time Gate and arrived before it.

Before him stood a silent, hundred-zhang-tall Space-Time Gate.

This was the entrance to the Celestial Essence Realm!

His figure dissolved into a streak of light as he shot directly into the Space-Time Gate.

A second later, Chen Yu appeared inside the Celestial Essence Realm.

The sky was a brilliant blue, and Spiritual Qi filled the air.

In the distance, the wreckage of fallen spacecraft was scattered everywhere, alongside rows of abandoned skyscrapers.

‘Looks like this world also birthed an advanced civilization. A pity it’s already been destroyed…’

With a sweep of his Divine Thought, the entire state of the Celestial Essence Space-Time was laid bare before him.

Abandoned cities, overrun by strange beasts.

It was a post-apocalyptic scene.

Total devastation.

Flying into the sky, Chen Yu stood atop the clouds. He then stretched out a hand, and a World Tree constructed from World Power materialized before him.

VMMMM!!!

As the World Tree materialized, it released a peculiar ripple. At the same moment, Chen Yu sensed an identical ripple coming from deep within the Celestial Essence Realm.

“Looks like my luck is good. I’m about to harvest a second World Tree so soon.”

A smile touched Chen Yu’s lips. His figure vanished from the clouds, and moments later, he arrived at the peak of a snow-capped mountain.

It was a 10,000-meter-high mountain, its peak ravaged by a blizzard, with peals of thunder echoing all around.

However, the environment had no effect on him whatsoever.

Holding the World Tree formed from World Power, Chen Yu descended upon the peak, clearly sensing the intense ripple.

‘It’s hidden in a small pocket of space-time within the snow mountain.’

Following the ripple, Chen Yu locked onto its source and immediately phased into it.

He dove into the snow mountain, arriving at its very core. With a light wave of his hand, the dark earth trembled, space distorted, and a rift in space-time tore open.

Chen Yu stepped into the rift without a moment’s hesitation.

But the instant he stepped through, Chen Yu felt that something was wrong.

‘The aura of Hell!?’

Chen Yu’s expression hardened.

His face grew incomparably solemn.

In the void ahead, a thirty-thousand-zhang-tall World Tree stood rooted in the Chaos.

It looked normal, but the aura emanating from the World Tree felt wrong to Chen Yu.

‘The aura of Hell, there’s no mistaking it. Could it be that Hell has already broken through the boundary of the Underworld?’

Chen Yu stopped less than a hundred meters from the World Tree.

Using the ripples of his own World Power, he sensed a hidden, peculiar ripple.

It was identical to the aura of Hell.

‘It seems those from the Underworld’s Hell have already constructed an Array, but they haven’t transported any beings from Hell through it yet.’

In an instant, Chen Yu realized something.

This situation was just like what had happened on the Ancestor Star.

Except, the Space-Time Array on the Ancestor Star had been fully completed. This one, however, seemed to have only just been finished.

When he had entered the Celestial Essence Realm, his Divine Thought had swept across this entire corner of the world.

There had been no trace of Hell’s aura.

“Looks like I’ve stumbled into doing a good deed,” Chen Yu said, a sinister smile spreading across his face. In the next instant, he raised his hand.

VMMMM!!

Divine Power surged. Golden Divine Light flared as the immense power condensed into a golden fist seal, which then shot ferociously toward the World Tree.

BOOM!!!

Within fifty meters of the World Tree, a dark Barrier materialized. Runes of an Array spun across its surface, radiating an intense aura of Hell. The golden fist seal collided with it, instantly erupting with a Destruction Level shockwave.

KRAK!!

With a sound like shattering glass, the dark Barrier shattered and collapsed in just ten breaths’ time.

The moment it collapsed, a skull radiating overwhelming Demonic Qi materialized.

“Damn you, Human Race! You dare ruin my plans? You’re courting death!” an enraged voice boomed.

Chen Yu’s expression remained unchanged as he watched the skull attack. He extended a hand, and a golden Palm Seal shot forth, colliding directly with the skull that pulsed with overwhelming Demonic Qi.

A heaven-shaking shockwave swept out, completely obliterating the remnants of the Array.

The massive skull was annihilated by the single palm strike.

“Too weak. Only comparable to a Tier Two True God.”

Chen Yu sighed. He looked at the World Tree before him, then reached out, forcibly uprooting it and storing it within his Divine Domain.

After clearing away the Demonic Qi from the space and confirming there were no other issues, Chen Yu quickly departed.

At that very moment, deep in the cosmos, a derelict star suddenly exploded. The destructive shockwave from the blast annihilated the surrounding stars.

A black-robed figure appeared.

“You animal! God damn it, all for nothing again! Damn that Human Race! I’ve memorized your aura. You’d better pray I never run into you,” the black-robed figure seethed, grinding his teeth. Then, he vanished from the starry sky.

…

Time flows like water. A month passed in the blink of an eye.

In the Azure Firmament Realm, inside a villa in the inner district of Azure Firmament City.

Chen Yu took stock of his gains from the past month.

He had investigated every Anomaly Realm in the Azure Sky World, and his haul was astounding.

‘Twenty-three World Trees… I wonder how strong Ling will become after devouring them. It should be able to break its limits several more times.’

Gazing at the World Trees in his Divine Domain, Chen Yu was very satisfied.

Harvesting so many World Trees from a single world was enough to significantly boost his power.

If they were all devoured, he couldn’t even imagine what heights his Divine Power would reach.

Every time he broke a limit, his Divine Power would at least double.

The growth would be truly astonishing.

‘A pity Ling still hasn’t woken up… Could there be a problem?’

Chen Yu frowned as he looked at Ling’s true form.

It had been slumbering for far longer than he had anticipated.

Over a month had passed, and there still wasn’t the slightest stir from Ling.

Chen Yu tried to communicate with it, but he received no response.

‘Oh well. There’s still plenty of time. I should head to the next world.’

Pulling his thoughts back, Chen Yu looked out the window.

He had to complete as much of his plan as possible before his agreed-upon deadline with the Angel Empress.

Then, once Ling awakened, he would experience an explosive surge in power.

He even felt that his opportunity to master the Ninth Law might lie with Ling.

By fusing with the other World Trees, he would receive immense feedback.

With enough accumulation, this could be a shortcut.

Once he comprehended the Ninth Law, he would have complete confidence in facing the Divine Tribulation.

Tearing open space-time, Chen Yu took a step through and vanished from the villa.