Chapter 1332: A False Alarm

"What the hell!"

Ye Chen muttered to himself and suddenly accelerated, his body like a streak of immortal light, vanishing into the void space in an instant.

As he approached, he realized that the people from the Yuling family were bombarding the valley, which was shielded by a barrier. This barrier was extraordinary, powered by the Zhou Tian secret technique, undoubtedly Zhou Yi's handiwork.

Since it was a barrier set by Zhou Yi, it was no simple matter, and indeed, it proved to be incredibly sturdy.

Ye Chen arrived and slipped into the valley unnoticed, materializing in the bamboo grove.

Seeing Ye Chen return, nearly a thousand reincarnated individuals bowed in unison, their eyes brimming with tears, overcome with emotion. When he had left, their memories hadn't yet been awakened, so reuniting now filled them with excitement.

Ye Chen gave everyone a slight smile, then swiftly added multiple restrictions to Zhou Yi's Zhou Tian barrier to prevent the Yuling family's experts outside from breaking in suddenly.

Once done, he looked at the crowd with a puzzled expression. "Why are the Yuling family experts attacking this place?"

"What else could it be? It's because the people from Da Chu are so good-looking!" Huang Daogong scratched his ear. "We were fast asleep when those bastards showed up and started fighting without a word."

"I don't get it." Ye Chen was a bit confused.

"See that guy outside in white clothes?" Huang Daogong pointed toward a white-robed young man beyond the valley. "He's the third young master of the Yuling family. He's got a thing for our Murong Yunhuang."

"Oh, I see!" Ye Chen glanced outside the valley, then turned his eyes to the green-robed woman standing next to Huang Daogong. She was Murong Yunhuang, an elder from the Guanghan Palace in her previous life.

"As it turns out, women from Guanghan Palace are always popular wherever they go." Huang Daogong said with a meaningful tone. "I've seen plenty of cases where men go berserk for a beauty."

"Huang Daoyou, please stop teasing." Murong Yunhuang replied lightly.

"I'm just stating the facts." Huang Daogong coughed awkwardly, feeling a chill beside him, and instinctively shifted away. From his timid demeanor, it was clear he had been on the receiving end of Murong Yunhuang's discipline in his past life, and even after reincarnation, he hadn't shaken off that shadow.

"You crazy woman, you've gone too far! Come out here, or you'll regret it!" While they were talking, the third young master of the Yuling family outside the valley was shouting furiously, brandishing a club. He wasn't bad-looking, but he came across as a complete fool.

"I say, my friend, isn't this a bit much?" Ye Chen spoke up, eyeing the Yuling family's third young master with interest. "It's one thing to like someone, but trying to snatch her away? That's just over the line."

"Who the hell are you?" the third young master of the Yuling family snapped.

"I'm her distant cousin. If you've got something to say, say it to me." Ye Chen scratched his ear. "Just a heads-up, don't try to scare me. I'm not the easiest guy to get along with, and my family's got a pretty fierce temperament."

"Hey, you've got a temper, huh? Attack!" The third young master of the Yuling family was furious and immediately ordered his forces to continue their assault.

"I told you my family's fierce, and you're still at it." Ye Chen was annoyed too, rolling up his sleeves and grabbing his massive spiked club, ready to charge out and beat the guy senseless.

"Holy Lord, please go easy on him." Before Ye Chen could make a move, Murong Yunhuang spoke up.

That single sentence left not only Ye Chen and Huang Daogong, but even the usually calm Zhou Yi, stunned for a moment. A second later, they all turned to look at Murong Yunhuang.

Everyone's expressions as they gazed at her were odd, as if thinking: You couldn't have fallen for that guy, could you?

Under their stares, Murong Yunhuang laughed awkwardly. "I'm... I'm his fiancée."

"I'm calculating with my fingers, and I'm totally baffled." Huang Daogong said with a serious face.

"Senior, that's not fair." Ye Chen grimaced. "You two can handle your personal matters at home. Why drag it out like this and almost scare the life out of me?"

"This matter is a long story. I..."

"Ah!" Before Murong Yunhuang could finish, a domineering scream echoed from outside the valley.

Everyone looked up to see the Yuling family's third young master plummeting from the sky and slamming flat onto the ground, clearly kicked down by someone.

The one who kicked him was a green-robed woman, graceful and poised. Upon closer inspection, it was Xingyue Shengnu, who happened to be the third young master's aunt by family lineage.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, the third young master of the Yuling family climbed back up. Seeing the fiery glint in Xingyue Shengnu's eyes, he quickly straightened up. "Aunt, you can't blame me. She hit me first."

"You deserved it." Xingyue Shengnu glared at him fiercely, fuming. "Dragging an army of cultivators into your little lovers' quarrel? You've got some nerve."

"I was just trying to scare her a bit." The third young master of the Yuling family coughed. "Otherwise, she'd beat me when we get back."

"We'll settle this later." Xingyue Shengnu scolded him and stepped into the secluded valley, casually ignoring the Zhou Tian barrier. The Yuling family experts watched in stunned amazement.

After Xingyue Shengnu left, the Yuling family experts all turned to the third young master, especially the saints among them, their faces etched with awkward expressions. They had come for a fight, only to realize they were attacking the future daughter-in-law of their own family. If not for Xingyue Shengnu's arrival, they would still be in the dark.

Thus, a group of elders surrounded him, forming circles inside and out.

What followed was anything but harmonious.

After all, he was the third young master of the Yuling family—someone of high status—so even his screams were domineering.

In the valley, Xingyue Shengnu had already reached the depths and found Murong Yunhuang, smiling apologetically. "Xue Ling, I hope I didn't scare you. When we get back to the family, I'll help you get even."

Murong Yunhuang smiled, though it felt unnatural. In her previous life, she had been over a thousand years old, and now having a two-hundred-something-year-old aunt was quite embarrassing—she didn't even know how to address it.

Clearly, while Xingyue Shengnu's appearance was the same as in her past life, she hadn't recognized Murong Yunhuang. It was just that the Da Chu realm was so vast, with so many people, not everyone from the homeland had met.

She might not have recognized her, but many of the reincarnated individuals present did. Too many people were giving Xingyue Shengnu strange looks, especially those from Xingyue Palace, who stared in a daze.

"I say, don't you think she looks familiar?" Huang Daogong nudged Ye Chen standing beside him.

"Looks like you've seen Xingyue Shengnu before." Ye Chen shrugged. "She's also a reincarnated person from Da Chu. Because of her special status, I haven't unlocked her past memories yet."

"This family lineage is getting messy."

"There are even messier things. You'll get used to it."

"Huh?" As they spoke through divine sense, a surprised voice came from the side. Xingyue Shengnu had recognized Ye Chen. She had been so focused on finding Murong Yunhuang that she hadn't noticed her savior was there.

"Yuling Daoyou, I hope you're well." Ye Chen smiled slightly.

"Forgive my poor eyesight, benefactor. I didn't realize you were here." Xingyue Shengnu bowed immediately, referring to herself as the junior. A world-shaking figure who could slay saints must be some reclusive elder.

"I wasn't planning to unseal you, but my time is limited. Who knows how many years it'll be before I return, so might as well do it now." Ye Chen said as he raised his palm.

Xingyue Shengnu was still trying to process it when a beam of immortal light entered her brow.

At this sight, everyone present was overcome with excitement. They had wondered if Xingyue Shengnu was truly a reincarnated person, and now they had confirmation—they hadn't been wrong; she was from their homeland.

Murong Yunhuang's expression was the most amusing. In terms of seniority in Da Chu from her past life, she outranked the lord of Xingyue Palace, but after reincarnation, her status had dropped several levels.

As everyone was stirred up, Ye Chen waved his hand continuously, releasing the reincarnated individuals sealed in the Chaos God Cauldron and various artifacts. There were nearly ten thousand of them, and their past memories had all been awakened.

The atmosphere in the bamboo grove instantly became lively.

After cycles of reincarnation and two hundred years of trials, reuniting with people from their homeland stirred deep emotions. Just before awakening from their dreams, they had been on the walls of Southern Chu, defending their home.

Xingyue Shengnu awakened, her expression dazed, her eyes full of tears, as if she had just emerged from a dream.

Ye Chen smiled faintly and transmitted the events as divine knowledge to her. She and Ye Xingchen had died before the invasion of the heavenly demons, so she was unaware of much that followed. She never imagined Da Chu had endured such tragedies or that reincarnation existed in this world.

Even so, tears streamed down her face. Through her teary eyes, she looked at Ye Chen—Ye Xingchen was Ye Chen's Dao body, and they looked identical, so gazing at him was like seeing Ye Xingchen.

Ye Chen shook his head lightly. Even now, he wasn't sure if Ye Xingchen could reincarnate, given his special identity as a former Dao body that had later gained independence.

At some point, Xingyue Shengnu wiped away her tears and smiled sadly, just as she had in the past, firmly believing that Ye Xingchen had reincarnated. No matter how slim the hope, in the face of despair, it was possible.

"I'm about to set off. The Da Chu reincarnated individuals can settle on Yuling Xing for now." Ye Chen said with a smile. "I hope you, as a fellow Da Chu person, can protect their safety, so we can all return home together one day."

"In that case, Holy Lord, please come with me. The Yuling family has a star domain teleportation platform." Xingyue Shengnu said hastily.

"That's perfect—it'll save a lot of time."

"Let's go." Xingyue Shengnu led the way out of the valley. As she turned, she glanced back at Murong Yunhuang, and both wore awkward expressions—the Da Chu seniority was completely tangled.

Outside the valley, the Yuling family experts were still waiting, their faces full of embarrassment. They had charged in with nearly ten thousand people, bombarding the Zhou Tian barrier for so long, only for it to turn out to be a farce.

Thinking about it, many of them glared at the third young master of the Yuling family—he was the one who had called them.

And there he was, looking utterly dejected, having been beaten to tears by the elders, who hadn't held back.

"They're coming out!"

Someone shouted, drawing all eyes.

When they saw the massive group of over ten thousand people emerging, everyone was astonished. They had no idea such a small valley could hide so many, which explained why their bombardment of the Zhou Tian barrier hadn't succeeded.