Chapter 1049: The Zhou Tian Evolution

Chapter 1049: Zhou Tian Evolution

In the quiet night, Ye Chen stood outside the Hengyue Sect.

From afar, he saw Tang Ruxuan sitting at the peak of the mountain, her white hair swaying in the wind like a statue. Even from a distance, he could still make out her weary and haggard face.

The ruined Hengyue Sect still glimmered with light, but it was utterly desolate, filled with scars and devastation everywhere.

Ye Chen leaped up to the mountaintop in a single step. Tang Ruxuan seemed lost in thought and did not notice anyone approaching behind her.

Ye Chen sat down and pulled out a flask of wine from his robes, but he said nothing.

Now, in the entire Hengyue Sect, including the Ruoxi in Tang Ruxuan's arms, only the three of them remained. This state of mind brought an unprecedented sense of bewilderment and solitude, and looking around, there were no traces of the people from the past.

Ye Chen did not mention the possibility that Xiong Er might reincarnate, because he was not certain if Xiong Er could be reborn, and even less sure if he would be reborn in Da Chu. It was not that he did not want to give Tang Ruxuan hope; he was afraid that this hope would ultimately turn into disappointment worse than despair.

After a long while, Tang Ruxuan finally spoke, her voice hoarse and tired.

"Ye Shidi, I want to go to the mortal world."

"Alright," Ye Chen replied calmly. Staying all day in this empty Hengyue Sect, surrounded by reminders of the past, would only deepen the pain. Finding a place with people might at least provide a faint sense of existence.

With that simple exchange, neither of them spoke further. They just sat there on the ruined mountaintop, as still as ice sculptures, their eyes blurred as they reminisced about the events of bygone years.

It was unclear when, but Tang Ruxuan eventually stood up, her figure lonely as she walked off into the vast, boundless wilderness.

Ye Chen watched quietly without stopping her. In his heart, he hoped to find the reincarnated Xiong Er and bring him back intact to Tang Ruxuan's side, so they could continue their destined bond.

The one who stayed behind with him was the sleeping Ruoxi, left at Ye Chen's request.

Under the moonlight, Ye Chen summoned a cloud and placed Ruoxi on it, then suddenly activated his Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eye.

He stared straight at Ruoxi. He had lost count of how many times he had used the Immortal Wheel Eye in the dead of night to examine this little girl, all because of her unusual name: Ruoxi.

Ye Chen was no fool; in fact, he was quite astute.

Both Shen Xuan Feng and Hong Chen, in their dying moments, had left unfinished words. Their expressions and final utterances were strikingly similar, and the name they had not fully spoken was the same.

Ye Chen knew that the unspoken name was Ruoxi.

He also realized that in the future, both he and the future Ye Xingchen had paid a tremendous price to travel through time to this era, and their clear purpose was to kill someone named Ruoxi.

He had recalled the events at Yunruo Valley more than once. Hong Chen's sudden appearance there was no accident; his target was Ruoxi. And the one who repelled Hong Chen that night was Chu Xuan, controlled by the Zhu Xian Jian.

However, he had realized this too late. Hong Chen had died under Chu Xuan's sword, and Chu Xuan had died under his own sword. Because of the Zhu Xian Jian, everything had become an inevitable twist of fate.

Yet, the Ruoxi on the cloud was clearly just an ordinary mortal, nothing special at all.

Under the scrutiny of the Immortal Wheel Eye, Ruoxi showed no differences whatsoever. Ye Chen could not find any trace of strangeness, so he could not understand why the future versions of himself and Ye Xingchen wanted to kill her.

Once again, he deactivated his Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eye.

Once again, he confirmed that this ordinary little girl held no hidden secrets as he had imagined.

Therefore, he had concealed these matters from Donghuang Tai Xin. His purpose was simple: he did not want this innocent girl to be drawn into the tragic world of cultivators. He hoped Ruoxi could live a carefree and worry-free life.

The night grew deeper.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and took out an ancient turtle shell from his robes. It was the one entrusted to him by Zhou Yi from the Qing Xian Ancient Town long ago.

Suddenly, the turtle shell trembled slightly, and ancient patterns began to flow across its surface, intertwining to form a profound Dao essence. Ye Chen was drawn into a fantastical realm.

"Unrepaired Heavenly Path, Zhou Tian Evolution!" he murmured with his eyes closed.

He had unraveled the secret of the turtle shell. Inside it was sealed Zhou Yi's understanding of the heavenly mechanisms—a secret technique of divination that connected to the heavens above and the mysteries of the earth below.

After some time, a vision of the Nine Palaces and Eight Trigrams appeared around him, faint and elusive, rotating on its own. It seemed as though all things in the world, once placed within, would reveal their origins.

This was a secret technique that seized the creation of heaven and earth. Immersed in that wondrous realm, Ye Chen felt his perspective instantly broaden.

While deciphering the mysteries of Zhou Tian Evolution, Ye Chen also uncovered another secret: the origins of Zhou Yi.

That elder named Zhou Yi carried a fearsome and respectable lineage. He was not without cultivation, nor was he an ordinary mortal; he was a rare anomaly in the world of cultivators.

Divining mysteries, unmatched in the world.

This lineage focused on the art of divination, existing on the boundary between cultivators and mortals. They had zero combat ability but could divine the heavens and the earth. Perhaps because they had uncovered too many heavenly secrets, those in this lineage often met tragic ends.

At that moment, Ye Chen understood Zhou Yi's intentions. He wanted to pass on the inheritance of Zhou Tian Evolution.

As for the other purpose, Zhou Yi must have foreseen that Ye Chen would search for those who had reincarnated, so he taught him this divination secret technique. With it, finding people would be much easier.

"Thank you for this gift, senior!" Ye Chen said, becoming calm and composed as he delved deeper into the wonders of Zhou Tian Evolution.

As the saying goes, sharpening the axe won't delay the woodcutting. He needed to quickly comprehend and master this technique. Only by controlling this divination secret could he more accurately locate those who had reincarnated, making his efforts more efficient and targeted.

All of this was fully observed by Donghuang Tai Xin of the Tianxuan Gate.

However, her beautiful eyes were not focused on Ye Chen, but on the sleeping Ruoxi on the cloud beside him.

Donghuang Tai Xin's eyes narrowed more than once. Even from millions of miles away, she could still discern the extraordinariness of that little girl. Her gaze was filled with an indescribable depth.

"Divine Maiden, that little girl..." Fu Ya said, glancing back from the Illusory Heaven Water Curtain and looking at Donghuang Tai Xin, hesitating as if he wanted to say more.

"It's truly a case of seeking everywhere without success, only to find it effortlessly," Donghuang Tai Xin sighed. "Now it seems, the third person to transcend the Da Chu Six Paths of Reincarnation is that little girl named Ruoxi."

"But she doesn't seem special at all. Even Ye Chen's Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eye couldn't detect anything unusual."

"Being unremarkable doesn't mean she's not suspicious. Just because the Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eye can't see through her doesn't mean there's no issue," Donghuang Tai Xin said, taking a deep breath. "Perhaps her existence far surpasses the Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eye. From what I see, Hong Chen and Shen Xuan Feng's defiance of heaven to come to this time likely has to do with that little girl."

"I don't understand. If it's such a big matter, why would Ye Chen hide it from the Tianxuan Gate?" Fu Ya frowned.

"You still don't know him well," Donghuang Tai Xin replied softly. "He's a man who defies heaven and refuses to accept fate. He must have glimpsed some scenes of the future, which should be a great catastrophe. But he believes that man can conquer heaven. To him, the so-called destined fate has always been nothing more than a trick played by the heavens on the world. That's why he's rebelling against it."