Chapter 1352: Past Life Entanglement

Chapter 1352: Qian Shi Jiu Ge

Immediately, Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's body trembled violently, and he suddenly clutched his head, letting out a painful low roar.

That immortal light was like a key, unlocking the chains of his memories. Past events slowly wove together into complete scenes, filled with people, affairs, mountains and rivers, emotions, loyalties, and his homeland.

Ye Chen and Xiao Ling Wa stood quietly to one side, both silent, waiting for Hao Tian Xuan Zhen to recover his memories.

Meanwhile, the Hun Dun Shen Ding was quite active at that moment. A vortex formed at its mouth, swallowing one magical artifact after another. These artifacts were all plundered by Ye Chen and his companions, including many Sheng Bing level ones.

Counting them up, it had devoured quite a few along the way, but there was no sign of it advancing to a Sheng Wang Bing. Ye Chen understood this well—the Hun Dun Shen Ding had an enormous appetite.

After some time, the Hun Dun Shen Ding finally settled down, hovering in mid-air and evolving its Dao principles on its own.

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen also stopped his roaring and steadied his body, staring blankly at Ye Chen in front of him. Having regained his past life memories, how could he not recognize Ye Chen? That was his child.

Past and present lives were like a dream. Waking from it and seeing his child again might be the heavens' blessing. The confusion of reincarnation paled against the excitement of reuniting.

A gentle breeze blew, carrying a warmth from another era and tears of hardship, blurring Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's eyes. This sturdy man actually shed tears, his body shaking as he sobbed uncontrollably.

"Welcome back."

Ye Chen smiled, just like in many moments from the past, his smile tinged with a sense of world-weariness.

"My child."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen could no longer contain his emotions and suddenly embraced Ye Chen. More tears flowed, soaking Ye Chen's clothes and the years of hardship they represented.

"Senior, I am not your child."

Ye Chen spoke slowly, his tone laced with guilt.

"After reincarnating through past and present lives, enduring two hundred years of trials, have you still not let go of the grudges from your previous life?"

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen released Ye Chen, his teary eyes gazing at him.

"The so-called grudges were let go the moment you died."

Ye Chen shook his head with a smile. "But fate plays tricks on us. I truly am not your child. As a junior, I once absorbed the essence of the Son of the Earth, merging my bloodline with that of all living beings. That's why the Qian Kun Yin Guo Jing lit up."

"This..."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's tear-filled eyes widened in shock, leaving him frozen like a statue.

"I'm sorry, I only learned of this later myself."

Ye Chen bowed respectfully, performing a junior's salute to Hao Tian Xuan Zhen. "If I was disrespectful in the past, I hope you can forgive me, senior."

"You're really not my child?"

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen looked at Ye Chen tentatively.

"So much time has passed—there's no need for a junior like me to deceive you, senior."

Ye Chen said.

As soon as these words were spoken, Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's expression became incredibly complex. Reincarnation already left him dizzy and disoriented, and now this sudden revelation hit him like a thunderbolt. He had thought his rebirth was a divine mercy, but who could have expected Ye Chen to deliver such a shocking twist?

The mountaintop fell into silence, the atmosphere growing awkwardly tense. Not just Ye Chen, but even Hao Tian Xuan Zhen didn't know what to say. This surprise was truly overwhelming.

"Doesn't it make you want to kick him?"

In the end, it was Xiao Ling Wa who broke the silence. "If not for this jerk, you wouldn't have carried regrets and guilt to your death."

"No matter what, I still let down many women."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's laugh was hoarse and full of remorse. "They might have borne children for me. Their childhoods must have been miserable, just like Hao Tian Chen Ye's. From the moment he could remember, the whole world was dark for him. He didn't know who his parents were, only that when he was hungry, he had to find something to eat—rats, cockroaches, tree roots, anything edible, he'd shove it into his mouth desperately."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen spoke slowly, as if recounting a tragic story, much like what Ye Chen had once told him. It was a series of bloody, heart-wrenching scenes, so miserable they made one shudder. As a father, he was already scarred by layers of guilt.

Xiao Ling Wa fell silent, no longer joking, and pulled out a Yuan Shi, munching on it rhythmically.

Ye Chen also remained quiet, well aware of Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's state of mind. Precisely because of his guilt, Hao Tian Xuan Zhen wanted to make amends with all his might. But alas, Ye Chen had let go of the grudges, yet he was no longer his child. He had received forgiveness, but gained even more regrets, destined to live forever in guilt.

After a while, Ye Chen gently raised his hand and placed it on Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's shoulder, channeling the essence of his Sheng Ti to refine his bloodline. "Don't repeat the regrets of your past life in this one. You still have Hua Xu as your senior, and your three daughters. They're all waiting for you."

"Are they doing well?"

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen set aside his thoughts for the moment, looking at Ye Chen with hopeful eyes.

"Shi Yu and Shi Xue are in Da Chu."

Ye Chen smiled slightly, then summoned his Xian Huo and Tian Lei. "Hua Xu and Shi Yue have reincarnated in the Zhu Tian Wan Yu. I've already found them."

"Thank you."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen cried again, seemingly forgetting the pain of his bloodline refinement.

"Truth be told, your family heirloom is pretty impressive."

Seeing Ye Chen and Hao Tian Xuan Zhen lost in their emotional exchange, Xiao Ling Wa changed the subject, fiddling with the Hao Yue Shen Zhu that belonged to Hao Tian Xuan Zhen.

"That's the Hao Yue Shen Zhu."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen explained, glancing up and down at Xiao Ling Wa. Based on his guess, anyone traveling with Ye Chen was likely a reincarnated soul from Da Chu. However, with his Huang Jing level insight, he couldn't tell whose reincarnation Xiao Ling Wa was.

"He's Xiao Ling Wa."

Ye Chen chuckled. "He's the one with the purest bloodline in my Tian Ting."

"Low-key, low-key."

Xiao Ling Wa smoothed his hair and, quite casually, tucked Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's heirloom into his own pocket, treating it like his own without any hesitation.

"Have you no shame?"

Ye Chen scolded, reaching into Xiao Ling Wa's pocket and retrieving the Hao Yue Shen Zhu, then handing it back to Hao Tian Xuan Zhen intact.

"Tch!"

Xiao Ling Wa shrugged it off, finding it uninteresting, and went back to rhythmically chewing his Yuan Shi.

"May you choke on it."

Ye Chen ignored him completely and focused on refining Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's bloodline.

"Speaking of reincarnation, I once saw a cultivator in Dong Tian Gu Cheng who looked exactly like someone from Da Chu. I wonder if he's a reincarnated soul from there."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen spoke up.

"Which one? Do we know him?"

Xiao Ling Wa glanced at Hao Tian Xuan Zhen.

"The first divine general of Da Chu's Sheng Dian, Mo Yuan."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen said. "I've met Mo Yuan before. Even if he's reincarnated, I still remember his appearance clearly."

"Whether he is or not, we'll know once we go and check."

Ye Chen withdrew his hand and the essence of his Sheng Ti, having completed the refinement of Hao Tian Xuan Zhen's bloodline. Coincidentally, this also helped him advance to the Zhun Sheng level.

"Then let's not waste time. We..."

"Help!"

Before Xiao Ling Wa could finish, he was interrupted by a distant howl like a wolf's cry.

Hearing this, the three turned instinctively to look. In the distant sky, a donkey was fleeing madly. Though not small in size, it looked utterly disheveled, clearly being pursued.

Seeing it was just a donkey, Hao Tian Xuan Zhen and Xiao Ling Wa didn't react much, but Ye Chen raised an eyebrow because he recognized the donkey under chase—it was none other than Qi Wang.

Earlier, Qi Wang had been with him, but upon hearing the name of the Bai Yue Shen Jiao, he had fled in terror. Surprisingly, the creature had come to the Xuan Huang Dalu and run into trouble right here.

The ones chasing Qi Wang were three elders—one in black, one in white, and one in purple. Their cultivations weren't too low: one Sheng level and two Zhun Sheng levels. They all wore Tai Qing Gong robes, exuding murderous intent.

"That donkey sure has ambition."

Xiao Ling Wa stroked his chin, speaking meaningfully. "Let me calculate this—from what I can tell, he must have stolen something from Tai Qing Gong and got caught."

"First, he was scared witless by the Bai Yue Shen Jiao, and now he's bold enough to steal from Tai Qing Gong on the Xuan Huang Dalu. His courage has grown!"

Ye Chen sighed in admiration. "I really have to hand it to you."

"His bloodline is quite mysterious."

Hao Tian Xuan Zhen murmured. "There's a hidden power within him."

"He's inherited a trace of the Qi Lin bloodline, and it's the dominant imperial Qi Lin lineage at that."

Xiao Ling Wa scratched his ear, as if he could see through the vast distance and discern the extraordinariness of Qi Wang's bloodline.

"Let's go."

Ye Chen turned to leave, not intending to help or bother with it. Although Qi Wang was at the Zhun Sheng level, he had plenty of ways to save himself—who else could kill him?

"Let's go."

Xiao Ling Wa and Hao Tian Xuan Zhen followed, heading to Dong Tian Gu Cheng to find Mo Yuan.

"Hmm?"

After just a couple of steps, Ye Chen stopped again, suddenly turning back to stare at the disheveled Qi Wang—or more precisely, at the bell hanging around Qi Wang's neck.

"What's so interesting? Let's move!"

Seeing Ye Chen pause, Xiao Ling Wa urged impatiently.

"There's a reincarnated soul."

Ye Chen calculated with his fingers, his Xian Yan already activated. He saw through the bell on Qi Wang's neck—it was a storage artifact containing an immortal herb that held a reincarnated soul.

"You're not going to tell me that donkey is a reincarnated soul, are you?"

Xiao Ling Wa, clueless, glanced at Ye Chen, and even Hao Tian Xuan Zhen looked over with a strange expression.

Ye Chen smiled but didn't answer. In one step, he ascended into the sky, speeding toward Qi Wang. Without another word, he manifested a massive hand and swept out a Da Shui Bei Shou.

Immediately, a booming sound erupted from that direction. Amid the rolling smoke, the Tai Qing Gong's one Sheng and two Zhun Sheng were sent flying. Qi Wang was knocked away along with them.

Flung haphazardly through the air, cries of confusion rang out. Qi Wang flailed wildly and, upon seeing it was Ye Chen, froze.

"What the hell? Where did you come from?"

"This time at Tai Qing Gong, you must have stolen quite a bit, right?"

Ye Chen looked at Qi Wang with interest.

"Nonsense, I found it."

Qi Wang shook his head smugly, subtly shifting his storage bell, as he noticed Ye Chen's odd gaze on it.