Chapter 1188: Searching Along the Way

Setting out once again, there were now five people in the group.

Ruò Tiān Zhū Què had not left. Her arrival was not just to protect Ye Chen; she needed the Xingkong Tu. Now that she had unlocked her memories from her previous life, knowing herself to be Yan Fei, she had to embark on a journey to find Chen Huang. The Zhu Tian Wan Yu was vast beyond measure, and even with her Sheng Ren cultivation, she faced constant risks of getting lost.

The path to Lingxiao Gong was not short, and the journey was far from peaceful.

Ye Chen and Bi You were quite busy. Whenever they passed an ancient star with living beings, the two would enter without hesitation. They seemed to be searching for something, rushing in eagerly only to emerge with disappointed expressions, as if they hadn't found what they sought, each feeling a deep sense of letdown in their hearts.

Ruò Tiān Zhū Què was not idle either. Every time they encountered an ancient star, she would go down to investigate, but she always returned disappointed.

The three of them acted this way, leaving the black and white old women utterly puzzled, with no idea what they were actually searching for.

Little did the old women know about the stories of Ye Chen and the others. They were looking for relatives reincarnated from Da Chu, while Ruò Tiān Zhū Què was searching for Xuan Chen. Unfortunately, the greater the hope they invested, the greater the disappointment.

Another ancient star came into view, and Ye Chen and Bi You stepped out one after another, having found no reincarnated people from Da Chu.

For a long stretch of the journey that followed, there were no ancient stars with living beings.

The road was incredibly quiet.

Ruò Tiān Zhū Què remained silent, and Ye Chen said nothing.

As for Bi You, standing beside Ye Chen and gently holding his hand, she also stayed quiet.

The black and white old women followed behind, completely baffled and full of questions, but they didn't dare ask outright. Their thousand years of experience had taught them that the three ahead were people with deep stories.

At some point, Ruò Tiān Zhū Què transmitted a message to Ye Chen,

"May you tell this old one, on what basis you determine the reincarnated people?"

"Zhou Tian Yan Hua," Ye Chen replied without hiding anything. "It's a heaven-defying secret technique passed down by an elder from Da Chu. I use this technique for divination. Whenever there are reincarnated people, I can recognize them at a glance. However, you're an exception, Senior. You died too long ago, so you're beyond my divination's scope."

"You could pass this technique on to more people."

"That wouldn't work, Senior. The backlash from this technique is extremely severe," Ye Chen said with a smile. "If cultivated to its peak, one's cultivation will gradually decline with each divination, until they become an ordinary mortal without any powers."

"Is that really the case?" Ruò Tiān Zhū Què furrowed her delicate brows.

"Senior, now that you've unlocked your past memories, do you have any reflections?"

"It's like a dream, yet illusory." Ruò Tiān Zhū Què smiled.

"After three thousand years, do you still remember Chen Huang?"

"A hundred twists and turns, never forgotten until death." Ruò Tiān Zhū Què's smile was tinged with weariness, her beautiful eyes flickering with tears.

That single sentence made even a Sheng Ren's state of mind feel aged.

Three thousand years of time—how endlessly long. Past and present lives, more than just like a dream or illusion.

Time flowed on, through countless changes of seas and mulberry fields, burying generation after generation. Memories of the past were sealed away, yet the people from those times were etched into the soul. Even as a Sheng Ren, one was still human.

Ye Chen understood Ruò Tiān Zhū Què's state of mind, but he couldn't help asking the doubt in his heart, "Three thousand years ago, Da Chu's cycle of reincarnation was still intact. Even if someone died, they would reincarnate within Da Chu. Senior, could you tell me how you managed to leave Da Chu?"

"I came through a dream." Ruò Tiān Zhū Què sighed softly.

"A dream?" Ye Chen frowned. "You used a dream to connect to reality?"

"It seems you're not entirely unaware of the illusory and the real."

"I've encountered it before." Ye Chen smiled wearily, recalling the time in Da Chu's forbidden land, Wuwang Great Marsh, when he had turned illusions into reality, summoning people from Da Chu to fight and defeat another version of himself. That had led him into a state of confusion, sparking a romantic entanglement in the mortal world.

"The entanglement of illusion and reality is a forbidden secret technique, inviting powerful backlash from the unseen forces," Ruò Tiān Zhū Què said again. "In the future, avoid this domain as much as possible—it's too dangerous."

"Senior, since you left Da Chu through a dream, could you also return to Da Chu the same way?"

"Yes."

"Then, Senior, could you use that method to go back?" Ye Chen said hurriedly. "Once there, go to Tianxuan Gate and find Donghuang Tai Xin. Ask her about the whereabouts of those Kunlun Xu places, and then come back and tell me. That would be better than us searching through each star domain one by one."

"That won't work." Ruò Tiān Zhū Què gently shook her head.

"Why not?"

"Dreaming back to Da Chu and my true self returning to Da Chu are two different concepts." Ruò Tiān Zhū Què sighed softly.

"I don't understand."

"When I dream back to Da Chu, I can see the people of Da Chu, but they can't see me, because I'm in an illusory dream. For my true self to return to Da Chu, I would have to use the dream to connect to reality."

"Then just use the dream to connect to reality."

"I would die. Back then, when I used a dream to connect to reality, I already died once. That time, I still had the chance for reincarnation. But if I recklessly connect dream and reality again, death would leave me without even the opportunity for reincarnation. After all, this isn't Da Chu—there's no cycle of reincarnation here." Ruò Tiān Zhū Què sighed. "I can't take that risk, and I won't. I haven't found my Xuan Chen yet."

"I believe you." Ye Chen took a deep breath, still vividly remembering the events of the past. Fortunately, he had only fallen into confusion, not suffering such a severe backlash as Ruò Tiān Zhū Què.

As he thought about it, Ye Chen looked at Ruò Tiān Zhū Què again. "What about the overlap of our dreams? What was that about?"

"I've considered it," Ruò Tiān Zhū Què pondered. "It's likely that we both dreamed of the same place, which pulled you into my dream and, by a twist of fate, took you back to Da Chu in the dream."

"If we dream again, could we go back to Da Chu?"

"It's a rare occurrence, not something that can happen at will." Ruò Tiān Zhū Què said lightly. "You're from Da Chu, so you could try the same method to return."

"That would take a hundred years." Ye Chen scratched his head. "In that time, I could probably find the Kunlun Xu places myself. But more importantly, I've already forgotten the exact route. Spending a hundred years only to fail to get back would be even more frustrating."

"Then there's no solution. Let's keep searching!" Ruò Tiān Zhū Què said with a laugh and a shake of her head.

"We're here—that's Tianlang Xing." While the two were talking, Bi You pointed to a distant star. "I've checked it out. The Hua Tian Laozu you're looking for is the old ancestor on Tianlang Xing."

Hearing this, Ye Chen collected his thoughts and looked toward the ancient star Bi You indicated.

From afar, Tianlang Xing was vastly different from Wangu Xing—it was only about one percent of Wangu Xing's size.

However, Tianlang Xing had a peculiar appearance. Viewed from a distance, its shape was irregular, resembling a wolf's head, with faint visions of a cang lang intertwining and flashing.

"Why are you looking for Hua Tian Laozu?" Ruò Tiān Zhū Què asked Ye Chen curiously.

"Do you know him?"

"I've crossed paths with him once." Ruò Tiān Zhū Què said. "Back in the day, he visited the Tianyuan Xingyu. By coincidence, we fought, and that old fellow's escape skills were on par with yours."

"That's perfect—today, I'll have a good chat with him." Ye Chen smiled and immediately stepped forward, shooting off like a divine light toward Tianlang Xing. Behind him, Ruò Tiān Zhū Què, Bi You, and the black and white old women followed suit.