Chapter 1649: Soul Planting

After leaving Yanluo Dian, Ye Chen took Kui Niu towards the ghost city.

The most pressing matter was to help Kui Niu condense his Yuan Shen. Condensing the Yuan Shen from the soul required a great deal of energy and took a long time.

The process of forming the Yuan Shen would be slow and lengthy. In the past, he and Zhao Yun had managed to condense their Yuan Shen in the Eighteen Layers of Hell thanks to the vast ocean of soul power, a fortunate coincidence. But Kui Niu was different; without such abundant soul power to support him, they had to use the Zhong Hun method, gradually building his innate Yuan Shen step by step.

Fortunately, they had three months, which was plenty of time. More importantly, Ye Chen now had some financial means, unlike when he first arrived in Ming Jie, when he was truly broke. With enough wealth, everything became easier—money could make even ghosts work, and in the underworld, ghosts were never in short supply.

"Old Seven, is there a great emperor in Ming Jie?" As they passed a ghostly mountain, Kui Niu turned his head and asked tentatively.

"Indeed there is, the ruler of Ming Jie," Ye Chen replied with a smile.

"That's truly shocking." Kui Niu grinned and clicked his tongue.

Who would have thought that Ming Jie had a living great emperor? That was a supreme existence, almost unbelievable just to imagine. To live under the rule of a great emperor was a tremendous honor. Unfortunately, this great emperor was in Ming Jie, not in the Zhutian Wanyu. Just think—if the myriad domains had a great emperor presiding, the invasion by the Tianmo wouldn't have been so devastating, with countless lives lost.

"Ming Jie is far more interesting than you imagine," Ye Chen said with a smile, taking a step forward and picking up speed.

"With a great emperor, anything seems possible." Kui Niu took a deep breath and hurried to keep up with Ye Chen.

Not long after, the two descended and entered the ghost city together.

Ye Chen was used to it by now, having been there for a while. Kui Niu, however, sighed in amazement the whole way—this underworld was just a bit darker, but otherwise, it seemed no different from the mortal world.

Though the streets of the ghost city were lively, he couldn't help but shiver; the place was full of ghosts, giving him chills down his back.

Ye Chen smiled and led Kui Niu in and out of various shops, buying Dan Yao that all supplemented soul power. After wandering around for a good while, they entered a small alley with swords and spent 1,500 Ming Shi to rent a small garden.

The garden wasn't large, just about a hundred zhang in circumference, with an old tree and two stone huts shrouded in dim light, like perpetual dusk. Yin winds raged everywhere in Ming Jie, and this garden was no exception. In fact, no matter where you went, it was all gloomy and eerie—that was just the way of the underworld.

"Why is there a red lantern hanging in front of every house?" Kui Niu scratched his head. "Is this some custom of the underworld?"

"Who knows." Ye Chen laughed and waved his hand to summon an altar, engraving array patterns to set up a Ning Shen formation.

"It's still better in the mortal world," Kui Niu muttered.

"After I died, did you ever go to my Da Chu's Hengyue Sect?" Ye Chen asked while engraving the array patterns, keeping his head down.

"I did; that's where your tomb is," Kui Niu said with a touch of melancholy.

"I'd rather there wasn't one." Ye Chen smiled, his voice hoarse, and a hint of world-weariness appeared in his deep eyes.

"It's good to have something to remember you by," Kui Niu said with a slight smile.

"Did you see my master?" Ye Chen asked, full of hope.

"I didn't," Kui Niu shook his head. "I heard that when you died, she nearly dissipated into the Dao, and was sealed by the Kunlun Shen Nu."

Upon hearing this, Ye Chen's body trembled violently, even messing up the array patterns he was engraving, and his iron-like heart ached. He could imagine how heartbroken Chu Xuan must have been after his death. They had waited through past and present lives, another three hundred years slipping away, missing each other time and again, each parting more cruel than the last. Though they had deep feelings, fate toyed with them, leaving their love riddled with wounds—they were both scarred beyond measure.

As for her being sealed by Donghuang Tai Xin, he wasn't surprised. It involved Ruoxi, and Chu Xuan was likely connected to her; Donghuang Tai Xin wouldn't let her die before figuring it out.

"As I see it, Da Chu shouldn't guard the gates of the Zhutian Wanyu anymore."

"They should just let the Tianmo in and let the Honghuang Clan get a taste of it."

"When the Tianmo invaded, they all hid away."

"Now that the Tianmo are repelled, they're all out causing trouble again."

Kui Niu continued ranting, growing more indignant with every word, his bull eyes flashing with cold light—his hatred for the Honghuang Clan was now as strong as for the Tianmo.

"One day, the Honghuang will rise again," Ye Chen said flatly, using that calm demeanor to mask his inner fury.

"If you go back, you could lead the myriad domains to glory once more," Kui Niu said seriously, full of confidence in Ye Chen.

"We'll talk about that if I can go back." Ye Chen smiled and withdrew his divine powers. "Sit on the altar formation; I'll help you condense your Yuan Shen."

"Got it!" Kui Niu stood up and stepped onto the altar, sitting cross-legged like a meditating monk, dignified and serene.

Ye Chen stood still, a divine light flashing from his brow as Yuan Shen fire surged forth, engulfing Kui Niu to refine the impurities in his soul. Then, he planted a thread of Yuan Shen into Kui Niu's soul body, like a seed that would take root and sprout, forming the Yuan Shen. Next, he drew refined soul power from his own body, merging it into Kui Niu's soul to strengthen it. Finally, he crushed various Dan Yao that supplemented soul power.

Once done, Ye Chen let out a breath and stepped back.

On the altar, Kui Niu remained seated, his soul power gradually increasing.

Under the old tree, Ye Chen leaned against it, quietly gazing up at the misty sky. Through the barrier of yin and yang, he seemed to see that vast starry sky and the familiar figures within it. He longed to return, missing his homeland desperately.

But he knew that even if he went back now, it wouldn't help. Even a Sheng-level figure like Nan Di had been defeated; a Zhun Sheng like him would fare no better. The first batch of primordial beings was terrifying. He needed to raise his cultivation; only by reaching the Sheng level could he ascend to the position of a Ming Jiang god and be worthy of seeing Chu Ling. At its core, it all came down to his cultivation. Once he reached Sheng, he could take her with him—he couldn't leave her alone in Ming Jie.

"Wait for me," Ye Chen murmured, his expression distant, his eyes blurred.

A yin wind blew over, and he closed his eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

The garden was peaceful, with occasional howls and fierce ghosts appearing, but they were repelled by the barriers Ye Chen had set.

Faint moonlight slanted down, casting on Ye Chen's face. His little finger twitched slightly, and though his expression was calm, a hint of pain showed, his brows furrowed tightly.

In a haze, his mind was pulled into a vision.

The vision was a vast starry sky, boundless and endless, with stars twinkling brilliantly and radiantly.

"This is... the Zhutian Wanyu," Ye Chen looked around in astonishment, completely certain that this vision was the myriad domains.

"A dream of returning to the Zhutian?" He scratched his head, his expression odd.

As he was stunned, the starry sky trembled suddenly, followed by a booming sound.

In the distance, a figure strode through the void, tall and imposing. The person wore golden armor and held a battle halberd, with golden hair fluttering, each strand glowing with divine light. His eyes were profoundly deep, encompassing heaven and earth, with the supreme Dao evolving within, outlining apocalyptic visions. But he seemed very old, with wrinkles on his face and a long beard; though his back was straight, there was a slight stoop. He was severely injured, his body covered in fresh blood and countless wounds, each step leaving a bloody footprint.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the ancient divine mark on the man's brow—the mark unique to the Huang Gu Sheng Ti. In other words, this man was an ancient sacred body. Moreover, one in his twilight years.

"Junior Ye Chen, greets the senior." Ye Chen hurriedly bowed, full of reverence, though the sacred body couldn't see him.

By the time he finished the bow, the old sacred body had stopped. Perhaps from exhaustion, or his wounds, or his advanced age, he sat down in the starry sky, lowered his head as if to sleep, and his golden light dimmed considerably.

Ye Chen approached and squatted beside the old sacred body. Gazing at his aged face, Ye Chen couldn't help but reach out, wanting to wipe away the weariness and traces of time. The old sacred body was so ancient, his lifespan nearly at its end, his great limit approaching. In that moment, he perfectly embodied the twilight of a hero. Though he stood shoulder to shoulder with emperors, he couldn't withstand the blade-like passage of time; the scarred ancient sacred body was etched with marks.

"Bayan, you too have this day." Suddenly, a ethereal female voice echoed through the starry sky, cold and authoritative.

The old sacred body, who had been bowing his head, looked up, using his halberd as support to stand shakily, his scattered gaze refocusing.

"Who are you?" the old sacred body asked faintly.

"You have no right to know." The starry sky cracked open, and colorful energy burst forth as a white-haired woman slowly emerged. She wore a mask, her body surrounded by colorful immortal radiance. In her hand, she held a colorful immortal sword that hummed and vibrated.

"Zhu Xian Jian." Ye Chen's eyes flashed with cold light, staring fixedly at the colorful immortal sword in the white-haired woman's hand. He could tell it was the Zhu Xian Jian and that the damned sword had taken control of the white-haired woman.

The starry sky shook as the old sacred body and the white-haired woman clashed. The battle's fluctuations were immense, shattering stars one after another. Every collision produced apocalyptic visions. The old sacred body was at a disadvantage, unable to withstand the assaults of the Zhu Xian Jian; his sacred body healed repeatedly, only to be shattered again. It wasn't that he was no match for the white-haired woman and the Zhu Xian Jian; it was just that he was old and gravely injured, far from his peak. He was defeated, bleeding profusely in the starry sky, his strands of ancient sacred blood shocking to behold, stark against the vast expanse.

In the garden, Ye Chen stirred, his forehead veins bulging, his eyes bloodshot and threaded with red, as if blood might drip from them. Another sacred body ancestor had been slain by the Zhu Xian Jian. Just like Chen Zhan, who had been extinguished in a weakened state.

Uncontrollably, Ye Chen lowered his gaze and looked inward at his own body. Gazing at those radiant sacred bones, he easily guessed they belonged to Bayan—it was they that had drawn him into this vision. But he couldn't understand why the Zhu Xian Jian specifically targeted the ancient sacred bodies—first Bayan, then Chen Zhan. These were just the ones he knew; who could say how many sacred bodies that damned Zhu Xian Jian had destroyed throughout the river of time?

"Two ancestors, I will avenge you." Ye Chen's words rang with determination, his gaze firmer than ever; one day, he would shatter that damned Zhu Xian Jian.