Chapter 1514: Compassion

Chapter 1514: Cí Bēi

With the matters in Nan Yu settled, a new journey began, and Ye Chen finally set foot on the land of Xi Mo as he wished.

This time, he was not alone. Six figures accompanied him, casting long shadows under the setting sun as they walked shoulder to shoulder, chatting and laughing, sharing jokes and bawdy stories with great enthusiasm.

Xi Mo of the Xuan Huang world was no smaller than Nan Yu. The land was vast and desolate, with expansive plains, towering giant peaks, and mighty rivers flowing across it, carrying the dust of history and witnessing the changes of seas turning to fields.

Unlike Nan Yu, Xi Mo carried an air of solemnity and harmony. The flowing spiritual energy was laced with a power of faith, like a cloak of purity draped over the entire land.

Xi Mo was home to many temples, a holy ground for Buddhism. The people devoutly worshiped the Buddha, gathering vast waves of niàn lì for it. In the eyes of the world, they were the Buddha, and mortals knelt in prayer, seeking peace and safety.

Three days later, at night, the seven of them entered the first ancient city they had come across in Xi Mo: Cí Bēi City.

Every ancient city had its legends, and Cí Bēi City was no exception. Legend had it that in ancient times, a venerable one came here to spread the Buddhist path and achieved enlightenment once more, later known as the Cí Bēi Venerable.

The city's name originated from that era, serving as a reminder to the world to embrace compassion.

Upon entering the city, the seven smelled the scent of burning incense, thick and pervasive, filling all of Cí Bēi City. It felt less like stepping into an ancient city and more like entering a temple, with the aroma of incense everywhere.

"The Nan Yu region has been quite lively these past few days!"

Even amid the thick incense, it was still the mortal world. Where people gathered, stories abounded. In the night of Cí Bēi City, discussions were everywhere.

"The Holy Body went there—how could it not be lively?" In teahouses and taverns, there were sighs and exclamations. "His path has proven one thing: wherever he goes, things get exciting."

"The Wàn Zú gathering turned into chaos because of him. So many clan heirs were wiped out, and it even provoked the Four Emperors' Heavenly Tribulation. For his sake, the Wàn Zú nearly went to war, all brandishing their Emperor Weapons."

"It's ridiculous how the Jin Wu and Kun Peng heirs acted. The Holy Body had already left, but they insisted on stirring things up, only to get killed in a counterattack. Not only did they die, but their clans suffered heavy losses too."

"Especially the Kun Peng heir. I heard the Holy Body sneaked into the Kun Peng clan and abducted someone, which enraged the Kun Peng ancestor. That's why they issued the Wàn Zú wanted order."

"What a pity for the Holy Body, fighting alone." Sighs echoed all around. "To catch him, over five thousand clans joined in, along with nine Quasi-Emperors and nine Extreme Dao Emperor Weapons. He broke through time and again, but ultimately couldn't escape his fate, buried in the Míng Tǔ. At least he's at peace now."

"Speaking of Míng Tǔ, that's truly eerie." Mentioning the forbidden zone made many shudder. "Including the Holy Body, four have died there, each with a horrific death!"

"How is it that you're in every legend no matter where we go?" Xiǎo Yuán Huáng grumbled, shouldering his Wú Jìn iron staff and glaring at Ye Chen. "Can't you let us get some spotlight for once?"

"Fellow Daoist, have you seen this woman?" Ye Chen ignored Xiǎo Yuán Huáng's words entirely. He was holding a portrait and asking people one by one on the street.

The woman in the portrait was a female figure—it was naturally Chu Xuán Er.

He had come to Xuán Huáng's Xi Mo precisely to find the woman who had emerged from Wú Lèi Zhī Chéng. If she looked exactly like the one in the portrait, it was almost certainly her.

However, after asking around, the responses were mostly shakes of the head. "Never seen her."

"Then, do you know about the Wú Lèi Zhī Chéng that descended in Xi Mo earlier?" Ye Chen persisted, always asking this question. "Do you know where the women from Wú Lèi Zhī Chéng are now?"

"She entered a nunnery to cultivate—who knows which one." Many gave this answer.

"Thank you." Ye Chen felt a bit disappointed and fell silent. Xi Mo had so many temples; searching them one by one could take a lifetime, and the only issue was that Xi Mo was just too vast.

"I've checked—the transmission array in this city is damaged and won't open until tomorrow." Běi Míng Yu and Xiān Wáng Hé returned from one side. "It's getting late; why don't we rest here for the night?"

"That works." Ye Chen replied casually.

"Hey? Who's this beauty? She's stunning." Xiān Wáng Hé took the scroll from Ye Chen's hand.

"No need to ask—who else could it be but our seventh brother's wife?" Kuí Niú took it and stared, drooling.

"Mind if I borrow it for the night?" Xiǎo Yuán Huáng nudged Ye Chen with a sleazy grin.

As soon as he spoke, he was sent flying, straight up into the ninth heaven, and didn't come down for a long time.

Kuí Niú and Dà Dì Wǔ Xiōng swallowed hard and quickly handed the scroll back to Ye Chen. Don't be fooled by his rank as seventh—they knew he was the fiercest one, so it was best not to joke with him.

Ye Chen walked away, glancing at the sky as he went. If Xiǎo Yuán Huáng came down, he'd kick him again without hesitation. My woman, and you're thinking about her?

Kuí Niú and the others like Chuān Shān Jiǎ exchanged glances, then hooked arms and headed to another part of the ancient city.

Before arriving, they had already heard that this city had brothels with quite appealing options. Going as a group to drink and enjoy might even lead to some conquests—that was their usual motto.

Ye Chen was more straightforward. He walked along, asking questions as he went, and even activated his Zhōu Tiān evolution to search for reincarnated souls.

Regrettably, there were no reincarnated souls in Cí Bēi City, and using Zhōu Tiān evolution again consumed a bit more of his lifespan and cultivation. His realm had now dropped to the initial stage of Saint.

In other words, it wouldn't be long before he fell from the Saint level to Quasi-Saint.

Suddenly, he stopped at a small stall selling magical tools. The stall owner was an old man, probably having a slow day, as he sat with his hands tucked in, dozing off with loud snores.

Ye Chen didn't disturb him. Instead, he reached out and grabbed an iron staff from the stall—or more precisely, an iron whip. It was pitch-black and felt extremely heavy in his hand.

"God-Smacking Whip." He frowned, certain that this was the one he had used before.

Over two hundred years ago, at the Dà Chǔ Tiān Xuán Mén auction, he had bid on the God-Smacking Whip.

More than a hundred years ago, to save Dà Chǔ's imperial princess, it was taken by the Star Lord of Fate, said to be an item of Jiāng Tài Gōng.

To his surprise, the God-Smacking Whip had reappeared in the myriad realms of the heavens, and he couldn't figure out how.

The God-Smacking Whip seemed to remember him, buzzing in his hand as if in joy or nostalgia.

"How did you come back?" Ye Chen smiled and gently stroked it, like an old friend.

"Young friend, taken a liking to that iron whip? I can give it to you cheap." The old man woke up, stretched, and pulled out a wine flask for a swig, looking utterly content.

"Senior, where did you get this iron whip from?" Ye Chen asked.

"A grave robber sold it to me, said it was a treasure." The old man yawned as he spoke.

"A grave robber?"

"Want it? Ten thousand source stones—it's a real treasure."

"Yes." Ye Chen didn't haggle, left a storage bag containing ten thousand source stones, and turned to leave.

"So straightforward—if I'd known, I'd have asked for more." The old man muttered, pocketing the storage bag and starting to pack up his stall. Business was tough; might as well close early and head to the brothel for a visit.

Ye Chen walked through the bustling streets, gripping the God-Smacking Whip and examining it closely.

He still couldn't understand how the whip, taken to the Heavenly Realm, had ended up back here, even in a grave robber's hands. Maybe Jiāng Tài Gōng had discarded it—whoever picked it up owned it?

Though the God-Smacking Whip was powerful, it had spirituality but no true intelligence. If it did, he could have asked it directly.

Heavenly Realm artifacts were all extraordinary, let alone one from Jiāng Tài Gōng, the supreme figure there who sealed all the gods. The God-Smacking Whip was likely used for smiting gods.

Unable to uncover the reason, he simply put it away. He felt a deep affection for it; it had accompanied him for a hundred years, a treasure brought from Dà Chǔ, and after so long, it still felt perfectly suited to his hand.

He took out the portrait again and continued walking, asking as he went.

Before he knew it, he arrived at a city god temple.

Even at night, the temple was bustling with people coming and going, mostly mortals. Some sought safety, others wealth, all praying for good fortune.

The massive incense burner was filled with sandalwood sticks, and there was a treasure basin overflowing with copper coins.

Ye Chen stood in silence, watching the devout mortals kneeling in worship, and he couldn't help but smile slightly.

Long ago, before he embarked on the path of cultivation, he had been like them, kneeling in the dark night before a rundown Buddha statue, praying for a warm home, enough food every day, no more hunger, and no need to fight wild dogs for scraps.

The gods must have opened their eyes, for he became a cultivator. Apart from a warm home, all his wishes had come true. But after seeing and experiencing so much, he realized how ridiculous the mortal world could be.

Were there really gods in this world? Ye Chen chuckled self-mockingly. In the eyes of mortals, they were lofty immortals. Mortals knelt to immortals, but what about the immortals? Whom should they kneel to? The heavens?

After one last look, he entered the main hall of the city god temple and saw the statue of the deity.

Mortals called it the City God, the guardian spirit of the city. Almost every city had a city god temple, all worshiping the City God as a deity, kneeling before it regularly.

Ye Chen didn't understand why Cí Bēi City, named after Buddhism, also had a city god temple. One Buddha and one City God—two deities—whom should the people believe in?

"If you can truly manifest, could you grant me one long-cherished wish?" Ye Chen smiled faintly, picked up a sandalwood stick, lit it with his fingers, and gently placed it in the incense burner, bowing with his hands clasped.

But when he finished his bow, he noticed that the sandalwood stick he had inserted was bending toward him, as if returning the gesture.

Or perhaps, the City God couldn't accept his bow and used the sandalwood as a medium to return a great courtesy. He was an immortal, of a higher rank than it; bowing to it would diminish the so-called incense offerings.

"You have a spirit—are you from the Heavenly Realm?" Ye Chen waved his hand to extinguish the sandalwood and smiled at the City God statue.

"A mere fragment of a soul. The true City God is in the Heavenly Realm."

"Have you seen her?" Ye Chen asked, pulling out Chu Xuán's portrait.

"Once, there was a woman like you, holding a portrait and asking me the same way." The City God smiled. "The person in her portrait was you. I just don't know if the one in yours is her."