Chapter 1598: Emperor's Way Connects to the Netherworld

Chapter 1598: Emperor Path to the Underworld

That night, Ye Chen left Heng Yue without disturbing anyone.

The two elders, Tian Lao and Di Lao, followed him, hiding in the void to protect him secretly.

With two quasi-emperor level guardians by his side, Ye Chen certainly had quite the presence. He walked through the sky with his eyes closed, relying on his own divine spirit to perceive his surroundings instead of his divine sense.

If Hong Chen and Liu Dao were nearby, he would surely detect them. After all, he was their root, and there was an inexplicable connection between them in the depths of fate.

From afar, he looked like a two or three-year-old child, flying through the air. His chubby cheeks were plump and adorable.

Everyone who saw him was stunned and then bowed in respect toward him.

In Da Chu, it was well known that Ye Chen had reversed his aging to return to childhood and could reach the heavenly realm at just two or three years old. On this land, he was truly one of a kind.

He didn't know when, but he had left the cultivator world and entered the mortal realm.

As he passed over a certain stretch of land, he opened his eyes.

Below was a range of mountains, the very place where he had first met Shangguan Yu. It was here that he had activated the Tian Zhao.

Three hundred years had passed, and everything remained the same, though in ruins. The scattered stones had been weathered by time, gradually turning into yellow earth.

Ye Chen rubbed his nose, his smile tinged with a hint of embarrassment.

That stunning event was known only to the two of them. A karmic tie from the red dust had followed from his past life into this one.

Flying over the mountains, he entered the territory of Zhao Guo. Back then, Xiyan had been a princess of Zhao Guo, innocent of the world, who had embarked on the path of cultivation.

Three hundred years later, the nation was no longer called Zhao Guo. Dynasties had changed, and the old Zhao Guo had become history.

In a deep mountain, he descended from the sky. There stood two graves: one for Xiyan's father, the emperor, and one for her mother, the empress.

In front of the graves, eternal incense burned, maintained by a cultivator's divine ability. Without a doubt, it was Xiyan's doing—she never forgot her mortal parents.

Ye Chen stepped forward, lit three sticks of incense, and placed them in front of the graves.

It was he who had taken Xiyan on the path of cultivation, leading their daughter away, which ultimately resulted in them sending off their child with white hair in the Heavenly Devil War.

Now, their daughter had returned, but they had long since passed away. This misalignment had created an eternal separation between heaven and earth.

With a sigh, he left quietly and ascended back into the sky.

The mortal realm was no smaller than the cultivator world, with countless mortal nations locked in endless wars. There were too many battlefields, strewn with corpses.

As Ye Chen passed by, the two warring nations paused their fighting and looked up at the sky, recognizing him as an immortal.

No wonder the cultivator world was so mysterious to mortals—a two or three-year-old child flying in the heavens was truly awe-inspiring.

After a brief stop, the two nations resumed their war, treating lives like blades of grass.

Ye Chen didn't intervene. The cultivator world had its own rules, and the mortal realm had its own. Interfering would create karma.

He descended again, this time to an ancient town in the mortal realm.

In the town, there was a simple garden where petals danced in the air. It was the very garden where Ye Xingchen and the Xingyue Shengnu had gotten married.

Tragically, Ye Xingchen had been killed by the Zhuxian Sword on that very day.

Later, it triggered even greater bloodshed. Hong Chen, Chu Lingyu, and Chu Xuan had all perished in that battle.

With a creak, the small house door opened, and out walked a woman with white hair. Her face was peerlessly beautiful, but worn and haggard.

She was a cultivator, yet she wore plain clothes, like an ordinary housewife, simple and untainted by any killing intent.

This woman was undoubtedly the Xingyue Shengnu.

Three hundred years of blooming and fading flowers, one full cycle of reincarnation. A lifetime of love had been buried, leaving only a lifetime of sorrow, still in this mortal garden.

"I knew you would come here," Ye Chen said with a slight smile.

"One day, he will return." The Xingyue Shengnu tucked her hair behind her ear. "No matter how many years pass, I will wait for him."

Ye Chen fell silent, gazing at the Xingyue Shengnu with a sense of guilt.

He had searched for so many reincarnated souls, yet never found Ye Xingchen, leaving this devoted woman to wait in vain for his return.

With another sigh, Ye Chen left, his back figure desolate.

He and the Xingyue Shengnu were so alike. She waited for Ye Xingchen, and he waited just as much for Chu Xuan and Chu Lingyu.

How many others were like them? Though they had returned to their homeland, the people from back then were gone, and they lived on only in memories.

In the quiet night, he closed his eyes again and continued onward silently, crossing great mountains and sweeping over vast plains, like a traveler or a preacher, covered in dust without stopping.

He was walking the same paths he had tread three hundred years ago.

The difference was, back then he sought the reincarnated souls of Da Chu, but this time, he sought Liu Dao and Hong Chen.

In an ancient mortal city, he stopped in front of a tea stall.

He remembered that three hundred years ago, an old man sold tea here—the deposed Ling Zhen Shangren.

He had once rested at this tea stall, drinking a bowl of tea from Ling Zhen and resolving the karma between them.

The tea stall was still there, run by an old man, but not Ling Zhen. Ye Chen could tell he was Ling Zhen's descendant.

Few enemies had left such a mark on him—figures like Ling Zhen Shangren, Yin Zhiping, and Cheng Kun. Though time had passed, their shadows still lingered in his memories.

This journey of his was paved with blood and bones, a glorious era that would become stories told to future generations.

After one last glance at the tea stall, he stepped into the sky.

He didn't return to the cultivator world; he remained in the mortal realm. He had a feeling that Hong Chen and Liu Dao were here.

What followed was a long journey. He searched from the southern mortal realm of Da Chu to the northern mortal realm, then to the northern edge of Da Chu,绕 around the Bei Zhen Cang Yuan, and journeyed south again.

Regrettably, he detected no trace of Liu Dao or Hong Chen.

Da Chu was vast, and finding those two was like searching for a needle in the sea.

As night fell, he arrived at a vast ocean, part of the Panlong Sea Domain. Land was scarce, with mostly islands.

The sea at night shimmered with waves, peaceful and serene.

"There's yinming qi." For the first time, Tian Lao and Di Lao emerged from the void, standing one on each side of Ye Chen.

Ye Chen had already sensed something was off, even without their reminder.

Though his cultivation was low, his vision was sharp. Having slain a great emperor, his perception was no less than that of a quasi-emperor.

As the three watched, the calm sea surface began to ripple. A mysterious, ancient power suddenly manifested.

From the surging waves, two stone coffins rose, covered in ancient runes that felt heavy and chilling.

"Emperor path to spirits," Di Lao frowned, his old eyes narrowing.

"More accurately, it's the emperor path to the underworld," Tian Lao pondered, seeing through it more clearly. He had deciphered the secret technique.

Ye Chen's expression was calm as he gazed silently. This was a heaven-defying underworld summoning technique, capable of connecting to the underworld and calling forth powerful entities.

During the Heavenly Devil War, Lin Shihua had used it to save him, summoning back the deceased Tianmo Wang.

This method desecrated the dead and had always been forbidden. No one would resort to it unless absolutely necessary.

"Inside must be quasi-emperor level," Di Lao said slowly.

"I'm more curious about who performed the emperor path to the underworld." Tian Lao murmured, spreading his divine sense to search inch by inch.

As they spoke, the lids of the two stone coffins fell away, revealing two figures standing straight inside.

In the left coffin was a middle-aged man, tall and imposing with black hair like a waterfall, but his expression was wooden, his eyes hollow, like a puppet.

In the right coffin was a young man with blood-red hair, his shoulders dusted with the grime of ages, exuding an aura of ancient desolation.

"Qiankun Master and Wuxing Emperor," Di Lao's old eyes narrowed, as if he recognized the middle-aged man and the young man in the coffins.

"Truly the two great gods of antiquity," Tian Lao took a deep breath. "To see them today is our honor."

"Whether it's an honor or not, I don't know, but I think we've walked into a trap," Di Lao glanced around. Misty clouds began to swirl, obscuring the heavens and earth, reversing the natural order of yin and yang.

"A different space," Tian Lao raised an eyebrow, surprised. "Daring to cause trouble in Da Chu means they have some real skill."

"It's been a while." Ye Chen, who had been silent, finally spoke, his calm eyes fixed straight ahead.

Tian Lao and Di Lao turned at his words, looking toward the void opposite.

Through the hazy mist, a figure slowly approached.

It was a child, more precisely a little girl, about two or three years old, small and petite.

Her large eyes were clear, yet they revealed an emotionless coldness. An ancient divine pattern was etched on her forehead, and her body was enveloped in seven-colored divine light.

She seemed to have come from a distant era, stepping across the river of time, dreamlike and illusory, with no trace to follow and no origin to grasp.

"Ruoxi." Di Lao's eyes flashed with a sharp light, recognizing her at once. Wasn't it Ruoxi?

"No wonder Hong Chen and Liu Dao came to Da Chu," Tian Lao said lightly. "This time, it must be because of her."

Ruoxi said nothing, her indifferent eyes fixed only on Ye Chen.

Ye Chen was silent too, meeting her gaze from across the sky, showing no joy or sorrow.

Three hundred years had passed, and she hadn't grown at all, just as she was back then.

Three hundred years had passed, and he had reversed his aging, making them the same age.

This scene was strangely surreal—both Ruoxi and Ye Chen looked two or three years old, their expressions equally unruffled.

The karma between them stretched back to ancient times, unclear and indefinable, with cause and effect still entangled through the ages.

"If those two got engaged as children, it might not be a bad idea," Di Lao stroked his beard and remarked.

"They've had a marital vibe since they were young. I think they're a good match," Tian Lao dusted off his shoulder and said earnestly.

"Us chatting like this—doesn't it feel a bit insincere?" Di Lao coughed dryly, his expression meaningful.

"You're right." Tian Lao became serious, staring at Ruoxi.

"Little girl, who exactly are you?"

"I underestimated you." Ruoxi finally spoke, her voice like a heavenly melody, beautiful and enchanting, carrying a magical allure.

However, she wasn't addressing Tian Lao and Di Lao—it was directed at Ye Chen, her words laden with deeper meaning.

"When have you ever thought highly of me?" Ye Chen's words were flat.

But he wasn't speaking to Ruoxi; he was addressing the Zhuxian Sword that controlled her, knowing it resided within her.

Toward the Zhuxian Sword, he felt only deep-seated hatred, a pain that tore at his heart. It was because of it that Chu Xuan had died in regret.

It was also because of it that Chen Zhan had been destroyed—that was a blood debt he could never forget.

And the female emperor in the Dijue realm had been slain by it too, her imperial weapon shattered and her imperial form faded.

"Today, dust returns to dust, and earth to earth." Ruoxi raised her hand, forming a seal with one hand, and lifted the seals on the Wuxing Emperor and Qiankun Master.