Chapter 1704: Six Paths of Reincarnation (IV)

A warm ray of sunlight slanted across Ye Chen's face.

He awoke, slowly opening his eyes and gazing quietly at the ceiling. After a long while, the confusion in his eyes gradually cleared.

A familiar aura surged through his entire body, warm and comforting.

In the next instant, he sat up abruptly, looking around in a panic. The scene before him was all too familiar—it was Yunu Ge.

Yunu Ge was on Yunu Peak, Yunu Peak was part of Hengyue Zong, and Hengyue Zong was one of the great sects of Da Chu.

"What is going on? Wasn't I challenging the six paths?"

"How did I end up in Yunu Ge? Could this be an illusion?"

As Ye Chen pondered this, he gently closed his eyes. A few seconds later, he suddenly opened them again, his gaze bursting with brilliant divine light.

Once more, he scanned his surroundings, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Yet, everything around him—the tables, chairs, teapots, and teacups—remained unchanged, all undeniably real.

"This isn't an illusion." Ye Chen frowned, sensing something was off. He had been in the six paths, but upon waking, he was home.

As he was thinking, the door creaked open, and a graceful figure entered, holding a jade bowl in her hands.

Upon closer inspection, it was Chu Xuan—the peak master of Yunu Peak, Chu Ling's sister, and the goddess of Wulei City in her past life.

Ye Chen sprang up, his body trembling violently, tears welling in his eyes. Her face was as vivid as in his memories.

"You're awake?" Chu Xuan paused, perhaps overcome with emotion, and the jade bowl slipped from her hands, shattering on the floor. She stepped forward and threw herself into Ye Chen's arms, sobbing uncontrollably. Her hands wrapped around him with all her strength, hugging him so tightly that his bones cracked and blood overflowed from the corners of his mouth.

This feeling was real. Ye Chen smiled through the blood; what he saw was no illusion. She was a living person—his Chu Xuan.

"Three years—you've finally woken up." Chu Xuan continued to cry, her tears soaking his chest, refusing to let go.

"What do you mean, three years?" Ye Chen couldn't help but ask.

"Three years ago, a rift opened in the heavens, and you fell out of it. The Yan Emperor brought you back to Hengyue Zong, and you've been in a deep sleep ever since. I couldn't believe you were still alive."

"A rift..." Ye Chen scratched his head, wondering if the six paths of reincarnation had malfunctioned and released him early.

"Come on, line up and beat him to death—he can take it."

"Don't be so rough; someone will be heartbroken if he's killed."

"I don't care—I have to beat him until he's half-crippled today."

"You fat guy, get lost. Keep yapping, and I'll kick you to death."

As they spoke, the noise outside the door grew chaotic, with many voices mingling—it was clear there were a lot of people, and Xiong Er was among them.

Hearing this, Ye Chen took Chu Xuan's hand and stepped out of Yunu Ge.

At first glance, he saw familiar figures: Chu Xiyan, Luo Xi, Xiong Er, Xie Yun, Liu Yi, Yang Dingtian.

The entire Yunu Peak was crowded with people, a vast sea of figures, all his loved ones, gazing at him with tears in their eyes.

In an instant, Ye Chen's eyes filled with tears. He was back, finally home. The warmth of family was beyond compare.

Soon, banquets were set up across Yunu Peak and every mountain of Hengyue Zong. The air was filled with the scent of wine and joyous laughter.

Later, many more arrived: the Nine Emperors, the successive kings of Da Chu, Donghuang Taixin, Jian Fei Dao, and the Nine Divine Generals.

"I never thought you'd still be alive—it's quite a surprise."

"How did you survive? Does that count as reincarnation?"

"Where have you been these three years? How did you fall from the sky?"

Voices of doubt, sighs, and reflections echoed throughout the banquet, as elders and juniors mingled freely in Hengyue Zong.

Ye Chen let loose completely, carrying a wine jar and drinking wherever he went. After a cycle of life and death, returning home moved him to tears.

At the peak of Ming Mountain in the Ming Realm, Ming Di and Di Huang stood with the others.

The watery screen in the sky now displayed the scene from Hengyue Zong, with every person clearly visible.

"Is this his homeland?" Bai Zhi murmured softly. After so long, it was the first time she had seen Ye Chen laughing so freely.

"This must be the human path, drawing from his memories to create this scene of his hometown," Ming Jue pondered.

"The most troublesome part is that he has no idea he's still in the six paths of reincarnation. He thinks he's passed the trial and returned home."

"After all his hardships to get back, this scene is exactly what he dreamed of. He's likely to lose himself in it."

"Was this how your master fell to the human path back then?" Bai Zhi murmured, gazing at Di Huang's back.

Indeed, this was no ordinary trial. The human path created people and objects without any flaws, exploiting human emotions.

"No wonder even the emperor fell." Ming Jue glanced at Di Huang. Once lost, escape was nearly impossible—how terrifying.

Di Huang remained silent, his expression distant.

In his time, in the human path, he had done the same—hand in hand with Donghua Empress, retreating from the world, ignoring mortal affairs and cultivation, living as immortal companions.

Those memories, though illusory, were incredibly beautiful.

Compared to that illusion, reality was brutally harsh—watching Donghua Empress age and die, turning to dust in history, while he could do nothing, left with only memories of hardship.

The human path had fulfilled his deepest wish. Those serene hundred years were an eternal mark in his hardships, never forgotten.

Even a supreme being had emotions; the deeper the love, the deeper the fall, until the hundred years ended, revealing the utter defeat.

"Do you really think letting Ye Chen let go of Chu Ling will get him through the human path?" Ming Di said lightly, handing over a jug of wine.

"If he can let go, he can pass." Di Huang smiled faintly.

"The human path has no flaws; he'll truly see it as his homeland." Ming Di chuckled. "He's likely to lose himself in it."

Di Huang just smiled, saying nothing. As before, he had full confidence in Ye Chen and never doubted him.

What a joke—the human path might have no flaws, but nothing in the world was truly flawless. He believed the Holy Body successor would find a way out.

In just a few words, several years had passed in the human path.

Yunu Peak in the human path was bustling, draped with red silk, covered in red carpets, and hung with large red lanterns.

Today was a joyous occasion—the wedding day of Ye Chen and Chu Xuan.

He had enough prestige that all the renowned experts from the heavens came to offer congratulations, making the wedding ceremony grand indeed.

Only then did Di Huang wave his hand, dismissing the watery screen for the first time, and stood drinking with Ming Di, at ease.

"Master, why did you dismiss it?" Bai Zhi asked in confusion.

"Are you going to watch the wedding night?" Ming Jue couldn't help but laugh.

His words left Bai Zhi awkwardly flustered, a blush crossing her cheeks—she had overlooked that detail.

Before long, Di Huang flicked his hand and summoned the screen again.

A moment in their time was several days or months in the human path. A wedding night wouldn't last forever; there would be other activities.

However, the screen showed crowds again—it was still a wedding ceremony, this time for Ye Chen marrying Shangguan Yuer.

Ming Di reacted, waving his hand to erase the screen.

After a while, they summoned it once more, but upon seeing the scene, not only Ming Jue and Bai Zhi, but even Di Huang twitched his mouth.

It was another wedding—marrying Liu Ruyan this time.

With a dry cough, the two supreme beings erased the screen again.

Subsequent attempts were the same; whenever they checked, they saw Ye Chen in his red groom's attire.

And each time, it was a different bride. He hadn't missed any of his confidantes—they were all wed.

This was thanks to Di Huang and Ming Di's clever timing; otherwise, catching a wedding night would have been awkward.

"Can he not marry them all at once?" Bai Zhi said, a bit exasperated. "He marries his master and his disciples—such a playboy."

"I wonder if Master was watching when the emperor and the empress had their wedding night." Ming Jue's mind wandered, though he didn't dare voice it.

In his eyes, his master Ming Di had always been dignified, but the Shura Sea battle had shattered that image.

His so-called master must have been quite the rascal in his youth.

So, during the emperor and empress's intimate moments, with Ming Di's personality, he had probably watched—and even recorded it.

What an embarrassing thought; if it got out, it would be humiliating. Ming Di might watch it alone at night, chuckling to himself.

Perhaps, when Ming Di passed away, he'd pass that recording to him as a legacy, to broaden his horizons.

The more Ming Jue thought, the more outlandish it became, and he started grinning mischievously.

Bai Zhi glanced sideways, while Di Huang and Ming Di turned back, eyeing Ming Jue suspiciously. Are you sick? Why are you grinning like that?

Ming Jue cleared his throat and composed himself—he had gotten carried away.

Given Ye Chen's endless weddings, the two supreme beings wised up, waiting a full hour before summoning the screen again.

An hour for them was several years in the human path.

This time, Ye Chen wasn't marrying; he was playing with children—not just one, but a group, running all over.

Looking at his wives, they were all pregnant too. The scene was quite the sight—something only he could pull off.

"This speed, this efficiency," Ming Jue sighed.

"I wonder how heartbroken they'll be when he leaves. What a wonderful family," Bai Zhi said with a deep breath.

"It's all an illusion; Ye Chen doesn't even know he's still in the six paths," Ming Jue replied. "We can't blame him."

After another long wait—one hour, two hours—they just watched Ye Chen enjoying life.

The children grew up quickly; the boys all took after him, bold and mischievous, always causing trouble.

The girls were more reserved, each as beautiful as fairies, though many suitors were kicked out by Ye Chen.

As the day drew to a close, the hundred-year limit of the human path approached, and Ming Jue and Bai Zhi grew anxious.

Ming Di felt the same, worry evident in his eyes.

If Ye Chen hadn't broken free by the end of the hundred years, it would mean defeat—doomed to wander the six paths, as good as dead.

The only one unchanged was Di Huang, his eyes like still water, without a ripple of emotion from beginning to end.