Chapter 1251: Making a Big Pile

The night sky was deep and vast, with scattered stars like dust.

The starry expanse wasn't peaceful; groups of three or five could always be seen roaming through it, mostly Quasi-Saints, with the occasional Saint, all searching in hopes of finding Ye Chen's figure.

However, they found nothing, and their faces were exceptionally grim.

Boom! Bang!

Soon after, a rumbling sound echoed from a section of the starry sky, drawing many people over, thinking someone had located Ye Chen.

Yet, when the crowd arrived, their expressions turned strange and intriguing.

There was indeed a battle, and it was quite intense, but Ye Chen was nowhere to be seen. Instead, it was two Saints fighting—none other than the purple-haired youth and the black shadow figure.

The two had formed an alliance to search for Ye Chen but came up empty.

Already harboring a belly full of frustration, they found each other irritating, and with a disagreement, they started fighting.

It was worth noting that without Ye Chen's assistance, the purple-haired youth was no match for the black shadow figure. He was beaten miserably and fled for his life after just twenty or thirty exchanges.

The crowd dispersed with sighs, each continuing their search for Ye Chen.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen, who had ditched his allies, was in a mountain gorge on an ancient star, drinking with the reincarnated individuals.

The wine's aroma filled the air, creating a warm scene. All were people from Da Chu, their homeland, speaking of the old Da Chu affairs and recalling their past lives' Da Chu people. No one was unmoved, and no one held back their tears.

In particular, Si Tu Nan, even after Long Yi and the others in the great cauldron had told him much, still sighed endlessly at that moment.

Everything felt like yesterday—he and Xie Yun, Xiong Er, and the others had died together in battle, roaring defiantly in their final moments, hoping Ye Chen would defeat the Heavenly Demon Emperor and avenge the nine million heroic souls of Da Chu.

Now, they were reunited.

Yet, between that life and this one, a hundred years of trials and tribulations lay in between.

It was not until near dawn that the Da Chu reincarnated individuals finally fell asleep, leaving only Si Tu Nan and Long Yi awake, along with Lin Shi Hua, who was missing one soul and three spirits. Her delicate body still trembled occasionally.

The myriad realms of the heavens, the common people of the world!

Even the usually carefree Si Tu Nan, upon seeing Lin Shi Hua, could not help but show sarcasm toward the ways of the world and sorrow for mortal life.

Ye Chen and Long Yi remained silent.

A hundred years ago, Da Chu had lost nine million heroic souls in battle, all to guard the gates of the heavens and the myriad realms' common people.

But what was the result? The very people of Da Chu who had once protected the heavens and myriad realms now lived in misery, like Lin Shi Hua and Zhou Ao. Their memories from past and present lives were still bloody and raw.

At some point, Si Tu Nan and Long Yi also drifted off to sleep.

By the time daylight fully broke, Ye Chen was not idle. He sealed Lin Shi Hua and began busying himself with a pile of treasures.

These treasures were all spoils from yesterday's battle, storage bags from Quasi-Saints, filled with an extraordinary amount of items. When pulled out, they piled up like mountains, glittering and radiant.

"Advance for me, you got it?" Ye Chen patted the Chaos Cauldron and then tossed various magical weapons into it.

The Chaos Cauldron accepted them without hesitation, crushing imperial-level weapons directly, and Quasi-Saint weapons were no exception.

However, even after devouring so many weapons, the Chaos Cauldron still did not advance to a Quasi-Saint weapon.

Seeing this, Ye Chen could not help but grimace.

The Chaos Cauldron flew up, circling around Ye Chen continuously.

Ye Chen knew it was eyeing that red killing sword—a genuine Saint weapon.

"Take it!" Ye Chen huffed and threw the Saint weapon killing sword into the Chaos Cauldron.

The cauldron trembled violently, and clear cracking sounds came from within. The Saint weapon killing sword was ground into fragments, and the fragments into dust, with its essence completely absorbed by the Chaos Cauldron as nourishment for itself.

It devoured another Saint weapon!

Ye Chen stood there, watching eagerly, hoping the Chaos Cauldron would give him a big surprise.

But there was no surprise.

After swallowing the Saint weapon, along with numerous Quasi-Saint weapons and countless other tools, the Chaos Cauldron only buzzed and trembled a few times, released a burst of brilliant divine light, and then flew into Ye Chen's sea of consciousness. It wandered around for a bit before falling back into its usual silence.

"You're impressive!" Ye Chen rubbed his brow fiercely, feeling an urge to drag the Chaos Cauldron out and kick it a couple of times.

By noon, Long Yi, Si Tu Nan, and the group of reincarnated individuals woke up one after another.

"Time to work!" Ye Chen stored the other reincarnated people in the Chaos Cauldron and left the ancient star with Long Yi and Si Tu Nan.

Not long after, the three landed on another ancient star.

To their delight, this ancient star had reincarnated individuals, and not just one. Regrettably, they were not people they knew well—mostly subordinates of the Eight Kings, and all from later generations.

For a long stretch afterward, the three wandered through this star domain, following the star map and searching ancient star by ancient star.

There were surprises, but also disappointments.

At some point, the three stopped again.

In the distance was a small ancient star, unusually tiny.

Ye Chen unfolded the star map, glanced at the ancient star, then at the map in his hand, his expression turning odd. This might be the smallest ancient star he had seen on this journey: Hua Fan Star.

"Don't dawdle, hurry up!" Long Yi and Si Tu Nan were the most impatient, shooting into the ancient star like two beams of divine light.

Ye Chen smiled and stepped into the ancient star.

"Wow!" The moment he entered, Ye Chen exclaimed in surprise.

Si Tu Nan and Long Yi were stunned and turned to look at him. Throughout their journey, they had never seen Ye Chen so excited.

Ye Chen was indeed excited, more than just a little. Even with his composure, he was breathing heavily, as if he had seen something more thrilling than a rare treasure—oh, wait, it was even more exciting than that.

Seeing this, Long Yi and Si Tu Nan exchanged glances, then looked back at Ye Chen. They had never seen him so stirred up before, leading them to wonder if this ancient star held someone extremely important to him, perhaps his most cherished women, Chu Ling and Chu Xuan.

Ye Chen was still catching his breath, unable to calm down for a long time.

Long Yi and Si Tu Nan could not contain their curiosity and asked tentatively,

"Is there a reincarnated person?"

"Yes."

"How many?"

"All of them."

"This..." Si Tu Nan and Long Yi were both stunned. Along their path, many ancient stars had no reincarnated individuals at all, and even if they did, it was only two or three. Who would have thought this ancient star was full of them? This wasn't just a gathering—this was a massive pile!

Ye Chen had already soared into the sky, heading straight for the center of the ancient star.

Long Yi and Si Tu Nan snapped out of it, overjoyed and eager as they followed, breathing heavily themselves, hoping to find the ones they longed for.

This ancient star was indeed very small, about the size of Nan Chu's Dong Yue, with only one majestic ancient city.

The three descended, and Si Tu Nan and Long Yi's eyes lit up.

Surveying the bustling streets, the crowds thronging about...

Whether it was the vendors, the hawkers, the drinkers, or the flirts, they all seemed vaguely familiar. Even a dog or a spirit beast in their eyes felt so recognizable.

"That one, I've seen him—from the Niu family in Pan Long Sea Domain." Si Tu Nan pointed to a young man not far away.

"That one is from my clan, the Ouyang family." Long Yi pointed as well.

"That old man selling goods is an elder from the Mu Yun family."

"That white-robed youth was once a disciple on the Feng Yun List."

Not just Long Yi and Si Tu Nan, but the Da Chu reincarnated people in the Chaos Cauldron also chimed in. Since they were all from Da Chu, there were many familiar faces—all fellow countrymen.

Many people on the street stopped and stared at Ye Chen and his companions, their expressions puzzled, with some scratching their heads, wondering why Ye Chen and the others felt so familiar.

Ye Chen took a deep breath, letting his divine sense envelop the entire ancient city.

The city wasn't small, and its inhabitants weren't few—over thirty thousand in total. This surprise came out of nowhere.

"Quick, unseal them!" Si Tu Nan and Long Yi both looked at Ye Chen.

"Sure!" Ye Chen rose into the sky in one step, and a beam of immortal light flew from his brow—one beam split into two, two into four, four into eight, and so on, until it divided into over thirty thousand beams.

The immortal light was dazzling, each beam targeting a person and entering their brow.

Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!

Instantly, throughout the ancient city—whether walking, hawking, drinking, or flirting—everyone trembled at the same time, then clutched their heads and groaned in pain.

It was a grand spectacle: all sorts of people, playing various roles, yet in that instant, doing the exact same thing. If an outsider saw this, they would surely be stunned.

"Any?"

"Any?"

Long Yi and Si Tu Nan darted into the crowd, moving like streaks of light, appearing in every corner of the ancient city.

In the end, Long Yi was the first to stop, under a peach blossom tree, where he found a woman in white, groaning in pain as her past and present memories intertwined.

Long Yi's eyes brimmed with tears as he stepped forward and embraced her.

It was Murong Miao Xin, who had made a vow with him in their past life to meet again in this one, and now he had found her.

Elsewhere, Si Tu Nan hugged an elderly woman with white hair, her face aged, but he recognized her at a glance. She was Ye Ru Xue, one of the nine great true disciples of the Qing generation in Heng Yue Sect, and the one he had loved most in his past life. Now, he had found her too.

At some point, everyone in the ancient city lowered their hands from their heads.

In that instant, all raised their faces, staring blankly at Ye Chen and his companions in the sky, the last traces of confusion fading from their eyes, replaced by shimmering tears.

"Saint... Lord!"

Everyone's bodies trembled as they looked at Ye Chen in disbelief. A hundred years ago, they had fought side by side, willing to pave a bloody path with their lives to help him win that heaven-defying battle.

That figure, even across past and present lives, even after a hundred years, was etched deeply into their souls.

"Welcome back!" Ye Chen smiled, his words ethereal yet incredibly gentle, like a spring breeze sweeping over the land.

"We have seen the Saint Lord!" The thirty thousand people knelt on one knee with a thud, tears streaming down their faces, sobbing uncontrollably.