Chapter 1414: Daydreaming

Immediately, Hong Chen Xue's delicate body trembled. Her dazed eyes instantly filled with a bewildered light. A painful wail echoed, her Shen Hai buzzed, and she staggered, nearly collapsing.

Seeing this, Xiao Jiuxian stepped forward, first glancing at Hong Chen Xue before fixing her gaze on Ye Chen. "You little rascal, what did you do to her? Why has she become like this?"

"Don't worry, it won't harm her," Ye Chen replied casually, then pulled out his wine flask for a comfortable sip.

"If anything happens to her, you'll regret it." Xiao Jiuxian warned, turning her attention back to Hong Chen Xue.

Ye Chen just smiled without responding, sitting to one side and sipping his wine leisurely, waiting for her to recover.

Hong Chen Xue's body continued to tremble as immortal light merged into her, slowly unsealing a long-buried story. It was a memory full of wounds, a love affair marred by scars.

She remembered it all—the past events, her hometown of Da Chu, and her own name. She was Zhong Xiao, also known as Hong Chen Xue, the holy lord of Ren Huang and a disciple of Hong Chen.

At some point, she stopped trembling, her eyes brimming with tears as she stared blankly at Ye Chen.

Even though he still wore his mask, just from those deep eyes, she recognized him. It was Ye Chen, the legendary Huang Gu Sheng Ti who shook the heavens, the commanding general of Da Chu who dominated the eight wastelands.

"Welcome back," Ye Chen said with a laugh, removing his Gui Ming mask to reveal a face identical to Hong Chen's, etched with the same weariness and traces of time.

"How can this be?" Hong Chen Xue cried, crystal tears streaming down her sorrowful cheeks.

"No need for more explanations—just process it yourself." Ye Chen summoned his Shen Shi, wrapping it around the answers.

That strand of Shen Shi entered her Shen Hai, transforming into a series of images and words. She understood everything, saw through it all—it was the cycle of reincarnation, yet it felt so unreal.

Suddenly, she stepped forward and embraced Ye Chen, her crystal tears soaking his chest.

Past and present lives were like a fleeting dream, spanning two hundred years. Her last memory was on the city walls of Nan Chu:

The sky was dark, the ground blood-red. She had become the snow of Hong Chen, staining the magnificent rivers and mountains with sorrow, pain, and endless tragedy, stepping into the next cycle.

He had not disappointed the beings of the myriad domains; he slaughtered the great emperor, avenging the fallen heroes and leaving an immortal legend for the blood-soaked homeland of Da Chu.

The private room fell silent, filled only with her choked sobs and tear-streaked beauty.

Off to one side, Xiao Jiuxian's mouth hung open in astonishment, unsure what was happening. Why were they hugging? Why the tears? Was she just in the way here?

As for Ye Chen, blood was already spilling from the corners of his mouth, his bones cracking one after another inside his body. Hong Chen Xue's grip was too strong, nearly shattering his waist.

But he knew she was embracing not him, but her master. Even across lifetimes, her love remained for Hong Chen alone—Hong Chen's snow danced only for him.

"I suppose you'll end up fantasizing about me as Hong Chen!" Ye Chen coughed dryly.

"Get lost." Hong Chen Xue finally released him, not forgetting to kick him, but at the mention of Hong Chen, she yanked him back, her eyes full of hope.

"Is Hong Chen still in this world?" Ye Chen asked, bending over to cough up blood.

"Really?" Hong Chen Xue thought it was a dream, clutching Ye Chen's collar tightly, her tear-streaked eyes overflowing again as she cried like a child.

"No time for jokes." Ye Chen pried her hand away and sat on the ground, still coughing blood. "Your master's wife has gone to find him—I don't know if she's succeeded."

"Master's wife? Chu Ling Yu?" Hong Chen Xue paused, looking at Ye Chen questioningly.

"The sword god's disciple—among so many, she's the one who brings the most honor." Ye Chen replied.

"Master's wife is the sword god's disciple? I'll go look for them." Hong Chen Xue turned to leave, but after two steps, she stopped, giving a melancholic smile. "Going myself would just be unnecessary."

"How about you forget Hong Chen and come with me instead?" Ye Chen said with a meaningful grin. "We're identical, so what's the difference? And most importantly, I'm great in bed."

"Would you dare if I stripped naked?" Hong Chen Xue shot him a fierce glare.

"No, no, how could I?" Ye Chen coughed, feeling a sudden chill in a certain part of his body, worried he might one day be dragged off and turned into stew.

"What's going on with you two?" Xiao Jiuxian asked, completely baffled as she looked between Hong Chen Xue and Ye Chen. "What's this about a master's wife, Chu Ling Yu, and the sword god's disciple?"

Her interruption made Hong Chen Xue glance over subconsciously, sizing up Xiao Jiuxian before turning to Ye Chen. "Is Xiao Jiuxian... Xi Yan?"

"I wish she were," Ye Chen said with a helpless shake of his head. "But she's not."

"Not?" Hong Chen Xue frowned slightly, studying Xiao Jiuxian again and murmuring, "How can there be someone in this world so similar to her—in appearance, demeanor, and even talent?"

"What are you two even talking about? And who's Xi Yan?" Xiao Jiuxian demanded, her eyes wide as she looked at Ye Chen, but he remained silent.

"Xi Yan is his disciple—you look exactly like her," Hong Chen Xue explained, seeing Ye Chen's silence. "Her talent is no less than yours, or even greater."

"His disciple?" Xiao Jiuxian raised an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "I don't believe anyone in this era has talent surpassing mine. I'll compare with her someday."

Hong Chen Xue just smiled and said no more, turning her gaze silently to Ye Chen. As a person from Da Chu, how could she not know about Ye Chen's disciples or the generational bonds between them?

She vaguely recalled over two hundred years ago, when Ye Chen carried Hu Wa and Ji Ning Shuang carried Xi Yan, charging through the demon armies and even slaying a demon lord to honor their disciples.

Those events were long past, yet the memories remained vivid, unforgotten even through reincarnation.

Ye Chen fell silent too, hugging his wine flask and drinking, his expression turning distant and weary. A sad, ancient phrase still echoed in his ears: Ye Chen, I'll wait for you in the next life.

The private room grew quiet again, with Ye Chen drinking in silence and Hong Chen Xue lost in her thoughts.

Xiao Jiuxian was the most confused, scratching her head as she glanced between Ye Chen and Hong Chen Xue, wondering what secrets they hid. One thing was certain—they had a story.

While Xiao Jiuxian was lost in thought, Ye Chen finished his flask, smiled, and slowly walked to the window, sending a message to the bald old man and the purple-haired youth. "You two, come up."

Below, the purple-haired youth and the bald old man, who were enjoying their drinks and food, froze. They exchanged glances before turning toward the private room.

Recognizing it as the Dan Zun Hall's room, they were surprised, not realizing Ye Chen was inside. Since it was Dan Zun Hall, they didn't dare delay, setting aside their drinks and food, brushing off their seats, and hurrying upstairs, afraid of upsetting Ye Chen.

"You've met them before," Ye Chen said with a smile to Hong Chen Xue.

"Of course," Hong Chen Xue replied. "The purple-haired youth is a disciple of my Yan Huang, and that bald old man is from the Da Chu imperial clan—he once visited my Ren Huang Ling Shan."

"I have no idea what you two are talking about." Xiao Jiuxian pouted, giving Ye Chen an extra glance—it was this guy who had used immortal light to make Bi Yao act so strangely.

"You'll know in time," Hong Chen Xue said lightly, stepping out of the room and grabbing the purple-haired youth and the bald old man at the door before they could even speak, pulling them inside.

The two black-and-white elders guarding the door stared in stunned silence. The Dan Zun Hall's goddess seemed different today—usually so cold, when had they ever seen her so enthusiastic?

The purple-haired youth and the bald old man were even more astonished, feeling unreal. The one dragging them was the goddess of Dan Zun Hall—what an honor.

And they were both clueless about why they were receiving such treatment.

Ye Chen didn't say a word, sending two more beams of immortal light into their brows.

What followed was just like with Hong Chen Xue—they clutched their heads and squatted on the ground, roaring in pain, the agony tearing at their minds and disrupting their spirits.

"What's the deal with this?" Xiao Jiuxian muttered, glancing at Ye Chen and wisely stepping aside, not wanting him to hit her with that strange immortal light.

"Just wait," Ye Chen said, ignoring Xiao Jiuxian's odd look and pulling out another wine flask.

"These years alone must have been tough for you," Hong Chen Xue said softly, standing gracefully at his side.

"You know it," Ye Chen replied, handing her a storage bag. "Your master has your master's wife searching for him, so don't just sit idle. Once those two recover, send them on their way to help look."

"Pity your master isn't here—it would save a lot of trouble." Hong Chen Xue took the storage bag. "He's been gone for a hundred years without a trace. If he were around, things would be easier."

"Dan Zun is in Da Chu," Ye Chen transmitted quietly. In his most recent dream of Da Chu, he had seen not only the Da Chu emperor and the sword god, but also Dan Zun at Tian Xuan Gate.

"No wonder you're keeping such a low profile," Hong Chen Xue said thoughtfully. "If the Da Chu emperors were in the myriad domains, or if Kunlun Xu and the others weren't sealed, we could use their influence to search. But with even your master and the sword god absent, we're on our own."

"They'll return eventually." Ye Chen smiled faintly, stepping to the window and narrowing his eyes at the central cloud platform below, focusing on the object in the crane-haired elder's hand.

It was a small ding, ancient and weathered, simple and natural, showing no signs of anything extraordinary.

Ye Chen had several like it, identical to the one in the crane-haired elder's hand. They were all Xiao Mo Ding from Mo Yuan, each containing pure demonic blood.

"Why? Have you set your sights on that small ding?" Seeing Ye Chen's excitement, Hong Chen Xue and Xiao Jiuxian both approached, looking down from above at the small ding in the crane-haired elder's hand.

"I must have it," Ye Chen said, wiping the blood from his mouth, for that small ding was truly remarkable.