Chapter 1053: Ten Years

One day, Ye Chen stopped once more, silently gazing at the infant in a farm woman's arms.

That infant was also a reincarnated soul.

However, Ye Chen did not summon the divine light that carried memories, because this reincarnated person was someone he had once hated deeply: Yin Zhiping.

Ye Chen lingered there for a long time without taking action.

The grudges of a past life were meant to stay in the past; he had no intention of pursuing them into this lifetime. The old resentments would dissipate with the death of the previous self.

In this life, since Yin Zhiping had been reborn as an ordinary mortal, Ye Chen decided to let him live as one, allowing everything to unfold naturally. He had no great desire to settle scores from the past, nor would he raise his blade against the innocent.

He left without leaving a trace.

In the days that followed, he found even more reincarnated souls.

Yet, among them were the reincarnations of many of his past enemies: Zi Shan, Qi Yang, Jiang Hao, Ge Hong, Qingyang Zhenren, Zhao Zhijing, Wu Changqing, Cheng Kun, Qingyun Laozu, Yin Zhou, Dan Gui, Tongxuan Zhenren, Shixue Yanluo, Xue Ling Laozu, Zhengyang Laozu, and Changtian Zhenren.

Just as with Yin Zhiping, he did not wield his blade, nor did he help them recover their past memories.

Everything drifted like a breeze, going wherever it may. Ye Chen chose not to interfere and had no time to do so. The sins committed in a previous life would vanish with that life, having no bearing on their current one.

Once again, Ye Chen set foot on the vast expanse of land.

This was a long journey, and with his hood drawn, he resembled a wandering preacher or a simple traveler.

He traveled through dust and wind, enduring meals in the open and lodging under the stars. He crossed great rivers and mountains, traversed wild plains and hidden valleys, pressing onward through rain and storms, and pausing in the dead of night, until he had explored every corner of this boundless land.

Time slipped away, and years passed in the blink of an eye.

In the cycle of blooming and fading flowers, the world had seen countless springs, summers, autumns, and winters pass by unnoticed.

In the quiet of the night, he removed his hood and brushed the dust from his clothes, sitting still atop the mountain peak.

A gentle breeze stirred, lifting his snow-white hair.

His face was weathered by the elements, etched with the marks of time's passage, his beard unkempt. The vitality and sharpness of youth had faded, replaced by the steady composure and introspection of middle age.

Ten years had passed; he was now thirty-three years old.

This year marked the tenth since he left Hengyue Zong in search of reincarnated souls.

For the first time in a decade, he sat down to rest, clutching a wine flask, gazing wearily at the starry sky.

Over those ten years, he had scoured every corner of Da Chu, using Zhou Tian Yanhua to locate one reincarnated soul after another. Amid the swirling snow, he would smile foolishly at them and call out their names.

Yet, with ninety million heroic spirits in Da Chu, what could ten years achieve?

In that time, he had found many familiar faces, but far too many remained lost: Chu Xuaner, Chu Linger, Shangguan Yuer, Shangguan Han Yue, Biyou, Luo Xi, Xuan Nu, Hongchen Xue, Chu Lingyu, Ji Ningshuang, Xiyan, Liu Yi, Xiong Er, Nangong Yue, Xie Yun, Nie Feng, Taixu Gulong, Zixuan, the descendants of the emperors, the kings of past generations, Tianzong Laozu, Dao Huang, Dugu Ao, Zhuge Laotou, Fuling, Zhong Jiang, and more.

For ten years, he had performed Zhou Tian Yanhua repeatedly, but their traces eluded him.

In the stillness of the night, he instinctively curled up, his usual pride giving way to fear. Deep in his heart, he pleaded with the heavens, hoping they had all been reborn and not utterly vanished.

Big brother, Ruoxi is hungry!

Lost in thought, Ye Chen was pulled back to reality by a childish voice.

Instinctively, Ye Chen turned his head and handed a spirit fruit to Ruoxi, but he continued to gaze quietly at the little one beside him.

Ten years had passed, and this little one had been with him the entire time.

Yet, these ten years were the most perplexing of his life, for Xiao Ruoxi remained as she was—still appearing two or three years old, showing no sign of growth. Everything about her was just as it had been when he first found her.

He could not understand it: how could an ordinary human child be so strange? Strangely unchanging, with even the Six Paths Immortal Wheel Eye unable to discern any clues, and Zhou Tian Yanhua failing to reveal any cause or effect.

At some point, Ruoxi nestled into Ye Chen's embrace, her wide eyes fluttering shut as she drifted into sleep.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and sat there motionless, like a statue, his weary eyes trembling.

He was truly exhausted. For ten years, he had not closed his eyes, fearing that a single sleep might last too long and cause him to miss too many people. The passage of time had left him utterly worn down.

As the dawn light spread across the land, he donned his hood and rose again, as if prepared to search for another ten years.

For the first time, he returned to the world of cultivators.

The cultivator world now bustled with more life than it had ten years ago.

Ten years earlier, Da Chu had only ninety-three cultivators left.

Today, their numbers had grown from ninety-three to nearly ten thousand. They were the sparks of Da Chu's heritage, passing down traditions from generation to generation, keeping the legends alive.

After ten years, he returned once more to Hengyue Zong, which he had left behind.

Like him, Hengyue Zong was covered in a thick layer of dust from the years, with weeds overtaking many areas.

He stood quietly at the base of the mountain, unmoving for a long time.

After a while, figures streaked across the sky from the distance—a white-haired woman with a haggard and weary face, as worn by time as Ye Chen. She landed at the foot of Hengyue Mountain.

She was Tang Ruxuan.

Ten years had passed, and like Ye Chen, she had been away for a decade before returning. Though she had lived in the mortal world during that time, coming back here made her eyes blur with nostalgia.

The two stood side by side in silence.

Yet, Tang Ruxuan's eyes held many questions as she looked at Xiao Ruoxi by Ye Chen's side. She was still the same as ten years ago, unchanged, as if she would never grow up.

In the ethereal sky, more figures arrived one after another—survivors from that bygone era.

After ten springs and autumns, the once-youthful among them had shed their edge, undergoing transformation through constant teaching and learning, carrying forward Da Chu's hope. They could never forget the people of the past.

See the Holy Lord!

Ninety-one individuals stood in perfect formation, eight rows deep, bowing respectfully to Ye Chen.

Behind them, their disciples and grand-disciples followed suit, offering their respects.

Though puzzled in their hearts—wondering why even their founding ancestors showed such deference—they did not know who Ye Chen was, only that he must be a supreme elder of unparalleled power.

This time, Ye Chen did not leave.

In the river of time, how many decades would pass? He had lingered too long and needed to find a moment to depart from this land.

As for those reincarnated in Da Chu, he would leave them to his three thousand incarnations, nine Dao bodies, and the cultivators who continued to pass on the legacy generation after generation. It was time for him to search for the reincarnated in the myriad realms of the heavens.

At the base of Hengyue Zong, a vast cloud platform was unfurled.

Ye Chen sat cross-legged upon it, preaching the scriptures and discussing the Dao for his successors, resolving the cultivation doubts of future generations, just as his own masters and elders had once taught him. The eager eyes of those seeking the Dao brought a weary smile to his face—they were the future of Da Chu.