Chapter 1051: An Enemy Like an Old Acquaintance

Chapter 1051: Enemies Who Seem Like Old Acquaintances

Ye Chen left once more, departing from Zhao Guo.

Before leaving, he visited a secluded old mountain, stopping far outside it to glance at Zhao Yu and Xi Yan's mother, as well as the small grave where his disciple was buried.

The morning light once again bathed the earth.

Ye Chen moved hundreds of towering mountains, opening a passage between the cultivator realm and the mortal world.

The surviving cultivators of Da Chu brought forth a new generation of cultivators, sending them to the mortal world to spread the teachings. Increasingly, ordinary people crossed mountains and rivers to reach the cultivator realm. Though their numbers were small, they were sparks of hope.

In the mortal world, Ye Chen struck out another beam of divine light, which entered the body of an infant girl still in swaddling clothes.

She was the former outer disciple of Heng Yue Sect, Lu Xuan'er, who had reincarnated into an ordinary family. Her clean and bright eyes were identical to those she had in her previous life. Ye Chen was even fortunate enough to name her, keeping the same name: Lu Xuan'er.

As evening fell, Ye Chen, wearing a hood, traveled through the dust and stopped in an ancient town in the mortal world.

"Old man, one pot of tea!"

Ye Chen removed his hood and sat at the tea stall, placing Xiao Ruoxi on his lap.

However, after a long while, the old man still did not serve him tea.

When Ye Chen looked over, he saw the tea seller standing like a statue, one hand holding a kettle and the other gripping a tea bowl, staring blankly at him. The old man's weathered face was full of complexity and weariness.

Ling Zhen!

Ye Chen was stunned too—the tea seller was none other than Ling Zhen, the former master of Zheng Qi Dian.

In the past, when Ye Chen was still a minor cultivator without overwhelming power, the lofty Ling Zhen had labeled him a demon. But when Ye Chen returned in strength, carrying a coffin and disrupting Ling Zhen's birthday banquet, he had crippled him.

It all felt like it had happened yesterday.

Ye Chen never expected to encounter Ling Zhen here, and even less that the former master, whose cultivation had been destroyed by him, would end up in the mortal world as a simple tea seller.

"In the mortal world, are you still getting used to it?"

Ye Chen smiled faintly, without any overwhelming killing intent. Everything was calm and ordinary.

The grudges of the past had long dissipated. The so-called Ling Zhen had been buried in the river of time, and Ye Chen had no intention of seeking revenge on a mere tea seller now.

"Old and worn out, I've grown accustomed."

Ling Zhen smiled wearily, lifting his trembling steps to place the tea bowl on the table and pour Ye Chen a bowl of steaming tea.

He was no longer the exalted master of Zheng Qi Dian. Now, he was frail and aged, with half his body already in the grave. Every part of him, including his clouded eyes, bore the marks of time's passage.

Seeing Ye Chen again was beyond his expectations.

At this moment, he felt no fear at all. With his lifespan nearly at its end, he had seen through life and death.

In his years in the mortal world, though just a tea seller, he had lived in peace and fulfillment, realizing just how misguided he had been in the past.

The past was like smoke, with no hatred left.

Ling Zhen only felt a sigh for the years that had slipped away. Everything seemed like a distant dream. Ye Chen's appearance brought him a sense of spiritual comfort. He saw Ye Chen as an old acquaintance, not an enemy.

Ye Chen picked up the tea bowl, everything still so ordinary.

On the busy street, people hurried by, occasionally glancing over, but no one realized that the one drinking tea was the mightiest in Da Chu, while the one pouring it was once the lofty master of Zheng Qi Dian.

They would never imagine that two former mortal enemies would meet here, not as foes, but as old friends.

"Time to settle the bill!"

Sometime later, Ye Chen put his hood back on, placed two copper coins on the table, picked up Ruoxi, and blended into the crowd. He was like a passing traveler, coming and going lightly, leaving no trace.

Behind him, Ling Zhen's aged body trembled, and his clouded eyes blurred in an instant. The fading figure gradually disappeared from his sight amid the passing crowd.

"Ye Chen!"

Ling Zhen's voice was hoarse, filled with the weariness of reuniting with an old acquaintance.

Ye Chen continued his journey, appearing in various corners of the mortal world, tracking down people he once knew. Each time he found a reincarnated soul, he was moved to tears of excitement.

A few days later, rumbling sounds echoed through the heavens and earth.

He constructed a Xuantian teleportation array, connecting the northern and southern regions of Chu. Those led by their rulers to return to their homelands stepped onto the array. With the help of cultivators, they could quickly go back and rebuild their homes.

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

In a mortal kingdom, two infant cries shattered the night's tranquility.

Ye Chen had found another reincarnated person—this time, twin brothers. They were Zhang Fengnian and Zhang Fengyang, who had been brothers in their previous lives and were now reborn together, perhaps by fate's design.

Ye Chen did not take them away. He implanted a divine light of memories into their bodies and quietly left.

The night remained peaceful.

Ye Chen stood on a mountaintop, quietly gazing at the stars.

Ruoxi had fallen asleep, lying on a warm cloud, occasionally murmuring "mother" in her dreams.

In the dead of night, Ye Chen slowly raised his hand, reaching toward the ethereal stars.

In the next instant, two beams of divine light streaked across the sky toward him.

Upon closer inspection, they were a cluster of golden flames and a bolt of black thunder—more precisely, immortal fire and heavenly thunder.

They had returned, landing in Ye Chen's palm and dancing joyfully, full of excitement. They nuzzled against his hand as if recounting their experiences over the years.

Ye Chen smiled and gently stroked them.

In the past, when his immortal fire Dao body and heavenly thunder Dao body were destroyed, they had not completely vanished from the world. As forces of heaven and earth, their origins remained, allowing them to regenerate.

As time passed, they regathered their essential powers and reformed, coming back to Ye Chen.

Just as he had suspected back then, the one who destroyed them was someone they knew intimately, so familiar that they had no defenses, struck down in an instant without Ye Chen's true self detecting any flaw.

The attacker had been controlled by the Zhuxian Sword. Now, all doubts were resolved.

Under the moonlight, the immortal fire and heavenly thunder once again transformed into Dao bodies. Though they took human form, their cultivation was much weaker than before. To reach their peak again would require endless years of refinement.

Ye Chen swung his sword, severing the connection to their origins, just as he had done for the star Dao body. He granted the immortal fire and heavenly thunder Dao bodies their freedom, allowing them to truly live as individuals.

The two were moved to tears, never expecting Ye Chen to cut ties with them for their sake.

"Go now! Help me find the reincarnated ones!"

Ye Chen patted their shoulders and passed on the secrets of Zhou Tian evolution, hoping they would assist in the search.

The two nodded solemnly, turned abruptly, and flew off in different directions, vowing to help Ye Chen locate all the reincarnated souls.

This time, they no longer feared being schemed against, for in Da Chu today, aside from Ye Chen and Tang Ruxuan, the strongest were only at the Zhen Yang realm. No one could harm them.

After they left, Ye Chen remained standing on the mountaintop, gently closing his eyes to sense the most fundamental forces of the world.

He merged with heaven and earth, becoming one with it.

Time passed as he activated the Zhou Tian secret technique, constantly deriving the world's powers to trace back to their original sources. Every wisp of wind, every inch of soil, every drop of water, every blade of grass and flower felt intimately familiar to him, like family.

He stood there for nine days straight.

Throughout those nine days, he was like a statue, unmoved by wind, rain, or sun. His entire being wandered within the essence of heaven and earth.

During that time, Ruoxi woke up more than once. When hungry, she ate the spiritual fruits Ye Chen had left for her; when tired, she climbed onto the cloud and slept, sometimes blinking her eyes at her surroundings or murmuring in her dreams.

On the tenth day, Ye Chen's body trembled slightly.

Then, a wisp of wind emerged from within him, invisible yet tangible, forming a figure identical to him.

"A Dao body?"

A cry of surprise echoed from Tianxuan Gate—it was Fu Ya, staring in astonishment at the figure beside Ye Chen.

Even Donghuang Taixin, watching through the illusionary water curtain, showed a look of surprise.

As they observed, strange forces continued to emerge from Ye Chen's body, manifesting six more figures, all identical to him and formed from various elemental powers of heaven and earth.

Though they were all Dao bodies, their cultivation was not strong, similar to the immortal fire and heavenly thunder Dao bodies. They would need to cultivate on their own paths as free entities.

"This is unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable."

Fu Ya clicked his tongue in amazement, utterly shocked. "Adding the previous immortal fire and heavenly thunder Dao bodies, that's a total of nine! Gold, wood, water, fire, earth, wind, thunder, yin, and yang—each representing a force of heaven and earth. Is this even possible?"

"This guy's talent is truly astonishing."

Even Donghuang Taixin, with his composure, was shocked by the sight of those Dao bodies—they were genuine, not mere clones!

"Sever!"

As the two marveled, Ye Chen uttered a soft command.

Immediately, an invisible force from within him formed an ethereal divine sword, striking nine times against himself. In that instant, his nine Dao bodies became truly independent.

"This guy must be crazy!"

Fu Ya was stunned, blurting out in disbelief.

"What do you know?"

Donghuang Taixin took a deep breath. "He's bound to go to the Zhutian Wanyu eventually. Traveling through the space black hole is full of risks of getting lost. He's preparing a backup plan for himself. If he doesn't return, these nine Dao bodies will carry on his hopes."

"Even so, that's too extreme!"

Fu Ya smacked his lips again, knowing he wouldn't have Ye Chen's resolve.

"If he goes to Zhutian Wanyu, he's destined to create a legend of his own."