Chapter 1362: Strength in Numbers

As he spoke, Ye Chen raised his hand and released a beam of xian mang, lifting the seal on a portion of the shen hai in Hei Yi Sheng Ren.

Hei Yi Sheng Ren kept his word and condensed a wisp of divine sense containing the essence of the Yi Tian Huan Di secret law.

Ye Chen opened his shen hai completely to accept it, but when he saw that the secret law's intent was only a tiny fragment, he couldn't help but smirk and glance at the old man in black robes. "Is that all? Not even enough to fill the gaps between my teeth."

"If I passed on the full essence, would I still be alive?" Hei Yi Sheng Ren sneered. "You're a smart one, but don't treat me like a fool. Kill Yin Zhong first, and then I'll hand over the secret law completely."

"Given how scheming you are, you should take a nap first!" Ye Chen swung his palm, stunning Hei Yi Sheng Ren, and then sealed him inside a shen fu.

With Hei Yi Sheng Ren dealt with, Ye Chen sat cross-legged on the cloud cluster, gently closing his eyes like a monk in meditation, and immersed his mind into that wisp of intent to contemplate the Yi Tian Huan Di secret law.

It had to be said, this secret technique truly defied the heavens and reshaped creation. Even with his xian yan, Ye Chen found it bitterly difficult to understand, unable to trace its origins, let alone with such a meager fragment of intent.

In the early morning, before the sky had fully brightened, Xiao Ling Wa and Man Shan kicked open the door and ransacked the room. One gripped a wolf-tooth club, the other a massive hammer, rampaging like bandits, their faces as dark as charcoal.

"Can you get any more outrageous?" Ye Chen was jolted awake, black lines crisscrossing his forehead.

"Where's the donkey? That damn donkey!" Xiao Ling Wa and Man Shan started yelling the moment they opened their mouths, as if they'd eaten gunpowder, spitting furiously and making the whole room rumble and shake.

"What's going on?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, looking at Xiao Ling Wa and Man Shan in astonishment.

"To hell with it! We woke up and all our treasures were gone—not a single hair left!" The two were flushed with rage, howling at the top of their lungs. "That donkey took off with everything!"

"Is that so?" Ye Chen paused, quickly checking his storage bag and seeing it still hanging quietly at his waist, which put him at ease. If it had been stolen too, that would have been a real headache.

"Why didn't it steal yours?" Xiao Ling Wa and Man Shan crowded closer, eyeing Ye Chen's storage bag intently.

"This must be what they call a matter of character." Ye Chen said meaningfully, glancing toward the door where Liu Yi and Mo Yuan were leisurely drinking tea, seemingly undisturbed.

"Don't give us that nonsense." The two cursed loudly, their voices buzzing. "Divine it out—quickly figure out where that thing ran off to. How dare it steal our treasures!"

"I really can't divine that." Ye Chen shrugged. "Who knows where it's gone."

"Hey!" The two were exasperated, grabbing their weapons and storming out, cursing all the way.

"How novel." Ye Chen sighed again, getting up and following them out of the room. He watched as Xiao Ling Wa and Man Shan flew out of the small garden in a fury. Even he hadn't expected Qi Wang to have such audacity, sneaking away with the treasures while everyone was drunk and asleep.

"Ye Shi Di, come over and sit." Liu Yi called out, already pouring a cup of tea for Ye Chen.

"I've thought about it all night—the matter of the reincarnated people. Searching alone is too slow." Ye Chen sat down and took a sip of tea before speaking slowly. "Those of you here might be able to help."

"What do you mean, young friend?" Hao Tian Xuan Zhen, Mo Yuan, and the other reincarnated people all turned to look.

"Although only I have the soul imprints of the reincarnated people, you can still search based on their appearances." Ye Chen continued. "Anyone who looks identical is likely a reincarnated person."

"That's what we thought too." The group nodded. "Liu Yi's case is a perfect example. It's like searching for a needle in a haystack, but it's still better than you doing it alone."

"The idea of having reincarnated people search for other reincarnated people isn't new to me." Ye Chen said. "But the myriad realms of the heavens are full of dangers, and their cultivation and combat strength are too low—they could be wiped out at any moment. So, every time I find one, I arrange a safe place for them. But now, it seems I've been too cautious. If I keep searching alone, I might not find them all in my lifetime."

"Many hands make light work—don't worry so much anymore." The group smiled. "We can help."

"In that case, let's do it." Ye Chen immediately waved his hand, and jade jian flew out from his sleeve, piling up like mountains in the small garden. "Each of these jade jian contains a sealed memory xian guang. If you find someone who looks identical, crush one to test them. If they're a reincarnated person, the xian guang will unlock their past life's seal."

"Don't just stand there—go get them." Mo Yuan urged, gesturing for the reincarnated people present to take the jade jian.

"Xuan Huang Continent is also fraught with peril, so I hope everyone acts with caution. If you find a reincarnated person, pass out the memory jade jian and keep searching." Ye Chen instructed while waving his sleeve again to release various ling fu. "These ling fu contain sealed Zhou Tian Yan Hua. Fuse them into your body, and they can conceal your aura—even a Sheng Wang level expert might not see through it."

"This is perfect." The group smiled and accepted the shen fu, merging them into their shen hai.

"See you at Kunlun Xu in a hundred years."

"Take care on your journey." Liu Yi and the others stood up, bowing respectfully to Ye Chen.

"Leave two people to wait for Xiao Ling Wa and Man Shan—I'll head out first." Ye Chen was decisive, downing his last cup of tea and stepping into the void, vanishing into the sky.

After he left, Liu Yi and the others didn't idle around. They each took some memory jade jian, and people like Hao Tian Xuan Zhen and Mo Yuan had already departed first, leaving only two reincarnated people behind to wait for Xiao Ling Wa and Man Shan. Once the two returned, they would explain everything and set off together to search.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen had already flown out of the ancient city, heading straight along his pre-planned route.

Along the way, he could see people from Tai Qing Gong, Piaomiao Gong, and Zhizun Cheng everywhere—some in groups of three, others in groups of five, not a small force, and all with grim expressions.

At this, Ye Chen couldn't help but cough dryly. Clearly, yesterday's events had enraged these three factions, or they wouldn't have mobilized such a large operation, stirring up panic everywhere.

After a final glance, he transformed into a streak of xian guang and disappeared, with no time to deal with them.

In the days that followed, he stayed busy. Whenever he encountered a ancient city pooling with cultivators, he would descend to check. If he found any, he took them away; if not, he headed straight to the next place.

The same went for Liu Yi and the others—they had clear divisions to avoid overlap, heading in different directions, all cloaked in black robes and suppressing their auras completely.

Although many hands made light work, this method of having reincarnated people search for other reincarnated people still had its flaws.

Unlike Ye Chen, who possessed the profound Zhou Tian Yan Hua and the soul imprints of Da Chu's reincarnated people, they had to identify targets one by one, only able to search for those with identical appearances and test them. For instance, they couldn't recognize reincarnations as immortal herbs or spirit beasts.

Still, something was better than nothing. Even if the reincarnated people they found were limited, it was an improvement over Ye Chen searching alone. The only pity was that time was running out for him, making this a necessary but regrettable choice.