Chapter 1597: Fossil

On Yu Nu Feng, Ye Chen stood at the peak, gazing quietly upward.

Although Da Chu was far from Xuan Huang, he could still sense those shocking fluctuations, indicating that something major must have happened.

Xuan Huang Continent, the sacred land of cultivators, had preserved countless ancient inheritances since ancient times, making it a place of endless turmoil.

Beyond that, his bloodline was pulsing, a trace from the earth's spiritual veins, now highly active.

He could discern that it was the bloodline of the Son of the Earth.

This made his eyes grow deeper. The strange fluctuation from the depths of the stars yesterday was undoubtedly no simple matter.

Moreover, it was certainly connected to the legendary Son of the Earth. His bloodline merged with all living beings, far too extraordinary.

"Could it be that the Son of the Earth was born yesterday?" Ye Chen stroked his chin, pondering in his heart. "If that's true, this era is going to be incredibly lively."

"Done for, done for, another three clans wiped out." A boisterous voice rang out as Xiong Er, that big lump, climbed up to the peak.

"What three clans?" Ye Chen asked Xiong Er, puzzled.

"The nine big bosses of Da Chu have gone to Xuan Huang again."

"They took nine emperor weapons and gave the Yaksha Clan, Shen Peng Clan, and Feng Diao Clan a thorough beating right after they were unsealed."

"I didn't see it myself, but I can imagine the scene was absolutely epic. When it comes to style, our Jiu Huang are still the best."

"Don't worry, there are still unsealed ones. None of them will escape—we'll take them down one by one. Da Chu isn't one to be pushed around."

As Xiong Er spoke, that guy flopped down on the ground, pulled out his wine gourd, and chugged it down desperately.

"No wonder the commotion was so big." Ye Chen murmured to himself, his eyes flickering with uncertainty and worry.

Da Chu's secrets were hidden by the nine emperor weapons. If the weapons were away for too long, the Heavenly Demons might pinpoint their exact location.

This move by Jiu Huang was quite risky. If the Heavenly Demons exploited the gap, it wouldn't just be a catastrophe—it would be far worse.

The disaster from three hundred years ago was something he never wanted to experience again.

Watching his loved ones and friends fall one by one—that pain was still fresh in his memory, heart-wrenching and gut-wrenching.

"Come on, tell your brother here, did you do it or not?" Xiong Er poked Ye Chen, grinning shamelessly.

"Do what?" Ye Chen's train of thought was interrupted, and he looked confused, not understanding the question at all.

"Don't play dumb." Xiong Er winked suggestively, looking sleazy. "With all that Huan Huan Powder and all those beautiful wives."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and scanned Xiong Er up and down. "Were you gambling again yesterday?"

"Of course I was gambling. We were betting on who shouts the loudest. In the end, I won over ten million."

"I knew it! I wouldn't get beaten for no reason."

"Next time something like this happens, tell me in advance, and we'll team up."

"Wife, someone's beating me up again and robbing my money!" Before Xiong Er could finish, Ye Chen started wailing.

"Damn it." Xiong Er cursed loudly and turned to run, knowing Ye Chen's wives were not ones to mess with.

But he was a bit too slow. The women had already arrived, all rolling up their sleeves. "It's you again, you dead fatty."

"I-I didn't hit him, I didn't... didn't rob his money." Xiong Er was nearly scared to tears, backing away frantically.

"Doesn't matter if you did or not." The women rushed at him en masse.

Xiong Er was done for. He got slapped silly and ended up sprawled out on the ground in a perfect spread-eagle, knocked out cold.

Seeing this, Ye Chen hurried over, reached into Xiong Er's pants, and pulled out a storage bag from inside.

The women couldn't help but twitch their mouths at the sight. What a clever hiding spot for that storage bag.

Ye Chen had no shame at all. He not only took the storage bag but also stripped Xiong Er of every treasure on him.

Only after that did he toss the lump off Yu Nu Feng. With his saint-level cultivation, Xiong Er wouldn't die from the fall.

When Ye Chen opened Xiong Er's storage bag, even he couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement. It was basically a treasure trove!

"Looks like this guy didn't hold back when he was at Xuan Huang Heavenly Court." Ye Chen squatted on the ground, sorting through the treasures while muttering to himself. There were so many items.

He knew Xiong Er all too well—always stuffing things into his pants for no reason. And this storage bag was huge.

Back in Xuan Huang, he'd given Xiong Er full control of the business, with a steady stream of source stones coming in every day. It'd be weird if he hadn't skimmed some off the top. Today, Ye Chen had cleaned him out in one go.

"A few of these fierce beauties are actually pretty good." Ye Chen chuckled to himself, thinking it might save him from getting beaten up every now and then.

"Wife isn't a title you get for free, you know!" Xi Yan ran over and hugged Ye Chen from behind, pressing her chest against his back as she giggled softly. "Soft enough?"

"Not bad." Ye Chen was still greedily rummaging through the treasures.

"Tonight, I'll sleep with you—the no-clothes kind."

"With your little frame, I'm afraid I'd cause an accident." Ye Chen picked up a spirit pearl and examined it in the sunlight.

His words made the women burst into laughter. Xi Yan looked like a young girl, and she really wasn't suited for that sort of thing.

"Hmph! I can make it bigger, you know!" Xi Yan huffed, unfazed.

"Oh? Everyone's here?" An elderly voice suddenly echoed as an old man landed on the peak—it was Fu Ya.

"Greetings, senior." The women were polite and quickly bowed in respect. This was someone from Tian Xuan Men, after all.

"No need for such formalities." Fu Ya waved it off casually, his old eyes scanning Yu Nu Feng. He could see the baskets piled high with Huan Huan Powder.

"This would take forever to use up!" Fu Ya muttered. "Da Chu's Huan Huan Powder is mostly stockpiled here."

As he spoke, he stroked his chin and eyed the storage bag in Ye Chen's hand. So many treasures, and quite a few source stones too.

Ye Chen quickly put it away, stuffing it into his robe, afraid Fu Ya might swipe it. He hadn't even warmed up to it yet.

"I'm not going to rob you." Fu Ya gave Ye Chen a sideways glance.

"Senior came all this way, so there must be something you want to discuss with this junior." Ye Chen coughed and chuckled awkwardly.

"Of course there's a matter." Fu Ya smiled. "Tian Xuan Men has opened a secret realm and wants to select people to enter for cultivation."

"Looks like quite a few from Heng Yue have been chosen."

"They are all on the list." Fu Ya glanced at the women.

"What about Ye Chen?" the women asked tentatively.

"The divine maiden has other arrangements for him." Fu Ya stroked his beard.

"Then we won't go." The women chimed in one after another. It was a secret realm, after all—who knew when they'd come out? They preferred to stay and keep Ye Chen company.

"This is Jiu Huang's intention." Fu Ya smiled faintly.

"Go, of course you should go." Ye Chen laughed and answered for them. "Tian Xuan Men's secret realm is full of opportunities."

"We can go, but when we come out of the secret realm, you have to marry us, okay!" The women looked at Ye Chen with eyes full of tenderness.

"Deal." Ye Chen smiled, agreeing without hesitation.

"You have to keep your word." The women smiled radiantly.

"Alright, let's head out. I still need to pick up others." Fu Ya waved his hand, drawing the women into a spatial realm, then turned and soared away, vanishing from sight.

Fu Ya came quickly and left just as fast, taking the women with him. Yu Nu Feng suddenly felt much emptier.

Ye Chen waved his hand. This trip would surely bring them great fortune; when they returned, they would be transformed and reborn.

As for him, whether he went or not didn't matter.

As always, even if he reached Quasi-Emperor, he still couldn't escape the three-year death tribulation. It made no difference.

Slowly, he withdrew his gaze and pulled out the Wordless Heavenly Book, sitting cross-legged at the peak of Yu Nu Feng to delve into the Dao.

That day, many from Da Chu were taken away—the descendants of emperors, the five kings of Da Chu, all exceptionally talented individuals without exception.

The sky gradually darkened as day gave way to night.

At the peak of Yu Nu Feng, Ye Chen remained perfectly still, like a statue, completely absorbed, his mind drawn into the heavenly book.

He sat like that for nine days, not moving an inch the whole time.

It wasn't until the tenth day that the Ye Chen, who had been buried in the book, underwent a strange change. Strands of his flowing white hair were visibly turning to stone.

Next, his head, arms, legs, and even the Wordless Heavenly Book in his hands all transformed into stone.

In that moment, he was no longer like a statue—he had become one, carved with exquisite detail and lifelike precision.

Under the moonlight, the stone statue gleamed with a luster, strands of starlight merging into it, brewing essence and making the stone shine brilliantly.

"How could this be?" The two elders, Tian Lao and Di Lao, who were secretly protecting him, rubbed their eyes, thinking they were seeing things.

But when they looked again, the flesh-and-blood Ye Chen had truly turned to stone, still in the pose of studying the book.

The two were astonished and descended from the void, circling around Ye Chen. They even couldn't help reaching out to tap it a couple of times.

The solid thud confirmed it was stone, leaving them even more baffled. With their Quasi-Emperor insight, they couldn't see through it at all.

"There's no aura of spirit, no blood flowing." Di Lao pondered, but even their eyes couldn't penetrate the mystery.

"Something must have gone wrong." Tian Lao immediately waved his sleeve, summoning a water curtain to connect with Tian Xuan Men.

"Divine maiden, he has turned to stone." Tian Lao said.

Donghuang Tai Xin and Da Chu Jiu Huang glanced at the water curtain and frowned, their gazes falling on Ren Wang.

"No need to worry, just keep watch." Ren Wang replied without even looking at the curtain, standing there with his hands tucked in his sleeves.

Donghuang Tai Xin dispersed the water curtain and stared straight at Ren Wang. "You're hiding something from us."

"There are many things I'm hiding, all secrets of heaven. Dare I speak them?" Ren Wang adjusted his sleeves. "I don't want to face another tribulation."

"Then, what is his connection to Xian Wu Di Zun?" Yan Huang spoke up next, glancing at Ren Wang, also known as Fu Xi.

"I'll tell you plainly, I can't calculate his origins." Ren Wang sighed leisurely. "He himself seems like a dead loop. No matter where I start, I can't find the source."

"Perhaps we could ask the emperor weapons. Emperor artifacts have emperor spirits, which might see through the mysteries."

"If even I can't figure it out, asking would be pointless." Ren Wang said, looking around at Jiu Huang. "I don't care how deep your grudge with the ten thousand clans runs—you absolutely cannot take the emperor weapons away from this land again. And you nine, don't go running around for no reason."

With that, he tucked his hands and walked away. Before leaving the bamboo grove, he couldn't help but glance at the hazy void. "Son of the Earth, Son of Heavenly Punishment, the incarnations of heaven and earth—who is stronger?"