Chapter 1050: People from the Past Life

In the early morning, gentle sunlight bathed the entire land.

The world of cultivators remained as vast and desolate as ever, with hardly any signs of life. Across the immense wilderness, it was rare to spot a single person. In such a vast territory, there were only ninety-three cultivators, a stark imbalance.

In contrast, the mortal world had entered an era of prosperity.

After enduring a great catastrophe, not only had the world of cultivators been purified, but the mortal world had also undergone a rebirth. The older emperors had abdicated, and new rulers had ascended the throne, issuing amnesties and opening granaries to distribute grain.

During the invasion by the heavenly demons, people from the mortal world of Bei Chu had been taken to Nan Chu.

Now that the invading heavenly demons had been destroyed, those who were originally from Bei Chu were led by various rulers on their journey back to their homelands.

A distance of nearly ten million *li* was an unimaginably long road for mortals; perhaps they would spend their entire lives traveling and still never return home before dying. Yet, they did not stop.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

This vast land gradually restored its former prosperity through recuperation, and there were always a few resolute individuals who crossed the endless mountains to reach the world of cultivators. They revered the immortals and sought to see another realm.

For these people, the remaining ninety-plus cultivators of Da Chu welcomed all who came, guiding them in cultivation.

These surviving cultivators were all young, with the oldest no more than twenty years old, yet they shouldered the responsibility of continuing Da Chu's legacy. In the aftermath of the catastrophe, they established sects and upheld their ancestors' traditions.

However, each sect they founded quietly included two words in its name: Tian Ting.

Indeed, before the heavenly demon invasion, this land had been unified under Tian Ting.

With the heavenly demons destroyed, the strongest being in this world was still Ye Chen, who remained the ruler of this land. Even in his absence, the name of Tian Ting endured, especially since he still stood firm in this realm.

At Heng Yue Zong,

Ye Chen sat motionless for three to five days without stirring.

Beside him, Ruo Xi had woken up several times. Seeing Ye Chen sitting still, she toddled off to play. When hungry, she would run to the spirit fruit tree to pick fruit to eat, and when tired, she would snuggle in Ye Chen's arms to sleep.

She gazed into the distance more than once, her large eyes blinking with confusion.

In her memory, this place should have been a paradise, but now it was in ruins.

In her memory, this place should have been full of people, but now it was empty.

In her memory, this mountain should have had many mothers playing with her, but now there were none.

The little one felt lost, as if everything had changed upon waking, leaving her young heart with an unprecedented sense of loneliness. So, she clung as close as possible to Ye Chen, seeking the only warmth left.

On the ninth day, Ye Chen awoke.

His eyes opened, but they were filled with chaos.

After two or three seconds, the chaos gradually dissipated, and his dark pupils became vast like the starry sky, encompassing heaven and earth. Various phenomena intertwined within them, as if evolving the primordial state before the creation of the world.

Zhou Tian evolution!

Ye Chen murmured to himself, his gaze falling on a spirit grass nearby.

He was secretly deducing, unraveling the essence of the spirit grass and predicting when it would wither. He thoroughly comprehended its entire life cycle, from sprouting to decay.

A contented smile appeared on Ye Chen's lips. Although he had not fully grasped all the mysteries of Zhou Tian evolution, he had already mastered its core.

He descended from the mountain peak, taking Ruo Xi with him as he left Heng Yue Zong.

Afterward, a massive seal enveloped Heng Yue Zong, for he knew it would be a long time before he returned.

Some time later, he stopped before a spirit mountain in Nan Chu.

The spirit mountain was shrouded in mist, hazy and ethereal like a mortal fairyland. At its base stood a stone tablet inscribed with: Tian Ting Xuan Zong.

In a daze, three figures emerged from the spirit mountain: two young men and a young woman, all cultivators. One was at True Yang Realm, and the other two at Ren Yuan Realm. They were the founders of Tian Ting Xuan Zong.

See the Holy Lord!

The three bowed respectfully. Even as sect founders, they still remembered they were followers of Tian Ting.

Ye Chen said nothing, just smiled faintly and summoned a gentle force to lift the three from their knees.

His gaze shifted to the depths of the spirit mountain, where three or five mortals resided, the oldest already in their thirties. They had endured great hardships from the mortal world to come to the world of cultivators in search of the Dao.

Ye Chen's smile carried a touch of weariness. Those three or five mortals would become the spark of hope for this land.

He departed, leaving behind numerous secret scrolls—divine abilities and cultivation techniques revered by cultivators—as the foundation for Tian Ting Xuan Zong. In addition, he left behind many materials for cultivation.

Not long after, he paused at another spirit mountain.

This was also a newly established sect, named Tian Ting Ren Zong.

Its founders were three young novices, with the strongest at the peak of Ren Yuan Realm. Though their cultivation was not powerful and they were only in their teens, they had already become the founding ancestors of a sect.

In the days that followed, Ye Chen appeared at one spirit mountain after another. Each time, he left behind secret scrolls and pills.

Among Da Chu's ninety-three cultivators, excluding Ye Chen and Tang Ruxuan, there were ninety-one others. They had formed groups of three or two to establish over twenty sects, each prefixed with the words Tian Ting.

The heavenly demon invasion had nearly reduced Da Chu to its primitive state.

Everything had to start anew, and as the Holy Lord of Tian Ting, Ye Chen naturally contributed his all. In the long years to come, Da Chu would one day regain its former glory.

On this day, he took Ruo Xi and left the world of cultivators, arriving in the mortal world.

This was Zhao Guo in the mortal world, where his disciple Xi Yan had once been a princess.

Upon reaching Zhao Guo, he visited many places, such as where he first met Shangguan Yuer, or where Ye Xingchen and the Xing Yue Saintess had wed. Everywhere evoked memories through the objects he saw.

The night sky was profound, with stars like scattered dust.

He arrived at the royal palace of Zhao Guo but did not see Xi Yan's father or mother.

After inquiring, he learned that Zhao Yu had abdicated, passing the throne to a wise successor, and had left the palace with Xi Yan's mother. They had settled in a secluded mountain area, guarding their daughter's grave and living quietly.

Ye Chen did not leave. He stood silently outside a mansion in the royal city, watching a room within and waiting patiently.

In front of that room, a young scholar paced back and forth, looking anxious. He glanced into the room several times and nearly pushed the door open a few times.

Waah waah waah!

The quiet night was broken by a baby's cry, and the scholar's eyes filled with tears of excitement.

Congratulations, young master, it's a son!

The midwife emerged, bowing repeatedly with a beaming smile.

Outside the courtyard, Ye Chen took a deep breath and looked at the baby in the scholar's arms, smiling contentedly.

Huo Teng, my good brother, I've found you!

Ye Chen's smile was tearful, his vision blurred. That baby was the reincarnated Huo Teng, deduced through Zhou Tian evolution. Though the baby was small, Ye Chen recognized him at a glance.

Without hesitation, he gently raised his hand and sent a beam of divine light into the reincarnated Huo Teng's eyes.

Suddenly, the reincarnated Huo Teng in the scholar's arms blinked his large eyes, stared blankly for three to five seconds, and then let out a loud wail:

Damn!

This outburst startled the scholar, nearly making him cry, and even the grandfather who had rushed over to pinch the baby's cheek stumbled in shock. It was a cry that shook heaven and earth.

The divine light Ye Chen had sent contained Huo Teng's memories.

However, Ye Chen did not unseal them for the reincarnated Huo Teng. It was rare for him to experience a mortal life, so he deserved a happy childhood.

As for Huo Teng's memories, they would gradually unlock as he grew older. Now that Ye Chen had found him, he was in no hurry. Knowing he was here was enough; he would take him away when the time was right.

Ye Chen left, feeling gratified, and deeply grateful to Zhou Yi.

Without the secrets of Zhou Tian evolution, he could not have found the reincarnated Huo Teng so easily.

In the dead of night, he entered a dense, ancient forest.

From afar, he spotted a nest on a withered branch, where a black crow perched, occasionally blinking as it watched an egg in the nest. The egg had cracked open, and a fluffy little head poked out, gazing curiously at this new world.

Li San Er!

Ye Chen's smile was peculiar. Who would have thought that Li San Er, the disciple of Xiong Er's uncle Lin Qingshan, would reincarnate as a crow?

Ye Chen still remembered Li San Er vividly—from the first time he and Xiong Er stole spirit herbs from the spirit herb garden, where Li San Er was caught in the act with a female disciple and knocked out cold by Xiong Er's swift strike.

Even now, Ye Chen recalled Li San Er's emaciated appearance. Seeing him reincarnated, though not as a human, still felt warmly familiar.

Once again, he raised his hand and sent a beam of divine light into the body of the newly hatched Li San Er.

The divine light contained Li San Er's past-life memories, which would gradually unlock as he grew.

Because Li San Er's reincarnation was unique—as a bird—Ye Chen added a protective secret technique to the divine light. It would be a shame if such a found soul were snatched by an eagle.

What an unusual life!

Ye Chen chuckled and turned to leave the forest. When the time was right, he would personally retrieve Li San Er.

Beyond the forest, Ye Chen entered a stretch of continuous mountains and stopped at the edge of a sheer cliff.

Gazing ahead, he saw a tiny sprout the size of a fingernail on the cliff—a freshly sprouted snow lotus, surrounded by faint, shimmering light, bathed in the moonlight.

Qi Yue, my senior sister, I hope you're well!

Ye Chen smiled, tears flickering in his eyes. Through Zhou Tian evolution, he had deduced that this snow lotus sprout was Qi Yue, the disciple of Heng Yue's Spirit Pill Pavilion master Xu Fu. To his surprise, she had reincarnated as a spirit herb, a snow lotus.

No one will disturb you!

Ye Chen smiled, flicked his finger, and sent a beam of divine light into the snow lotus, carrying Qi Yue's past-life memories. It would grow alongside her reincarnated form and protect her, ensuring she wasn't picked and used as medicine.