Chapter 1873: Kindred Love

In the Domain Gate passage, a strange silence hung in the air. Ji Ningshuang, Ye Chen, and Ren Wang were all silent, their brows furrowed in deep thought. Even Xiao Ye Fan was well-behaved, remaining quiet.

All the gloom stemmed from that mysterious entity, making the atmosphere strangely oppressive and unsettling, as if a pair of lifeless eyes in the darkness were watching their every move.

"You shouldn't dwell on it too much." After some time, Ren Wang finally spoke, turning to Ye Chen. "That mysterious person sacrificed the soul of the Qiu Ao but didn't harm you, which proves something. His target is likely Hong Huang—at the very least, he's not your enemy."

"I understand." Ye Chen nodded, but the shadows in his mind didn't lift; instead, they grew thicker, and his heart stirred with unease.

"The priority now is to focus on improving your cultivation." Ren Wang pondered aloud. "I have a bad premonition that a great catastrophe is coming to the myriad heavens. You need to bring Di Huang through the Tong Ming as soon as possible—the myriad heavens require a fully realized Saint Body to stand guard."

"I understand." Ye Chen nodded again, forcefully suppressing his thoughts. If Ren Wang sensed it, it must be serious. Bringing Di Huang through the Tong Ming was urgent and couldn't wait.

"Very well, then." Ren Wang stepped out of the passage, his voice fading into the distance. "I'll head to the Ren Huang ancestral land; it will take some time. You two go back to Da Chu first."

After he left, Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang set off, moving like beams of immortal light toward the Domain Gate exit.

They reappeared on a small ancient star, not particularly vast but radiant with starlight, adding a touch of splendor to the cosmos.

This was Zhu Que Star, the first stop Ye Chen had made in his past life when searching for reincarnated souls across the myriad heavens.

He had found Yan Fei, Xie Yun, Nian Wei, and Xiao Ying here, and he had stayed the longest on Zhu Que Star.

You Du remained as mysterious as ever, covered in ancient formations, with towering immortal palaces reaching nine levels to the heavens, like a mortal paradise.

Standing outside You Du, gazing at the guards at the gate, Ye Chen couldn't help but recall his early days in the myriad heavens. Back then, he didn't even know what source stones were and had made quite a few foolish mistakes.

His purpose for coming here was to pay respects to an old friend—a fox, a devoted fox.

"Go ahead. Xiao Ye Fan and I will wait for you in the city." Ji Ningshuang smiled gently and entered the city with the little one in her arms.

Ye Chen said nothing, stepping forward and ascending to the third level of heaven, where his old alchemy residence was located.

Behind the alchemy residence, in a bamboo grove, stood a small, humble gravestone hidden among the dense bamboo. Etched on it in elegant script were the three characters: Hu Xian Er.

Indeed, it was Hu Xian Er he came to honor—the devoted fox who, through nine lifetimes of reincarnation, had planted a fox's blessing to save his life.

"It's been over three hundred years since we parted. I've come to see you." Ye Chen took out a flask of wine and poured it before the gravestone, his voice hoarse and his expression weathered. "Your kindness, Ye Chen will never forget. May your spirit find peace in the nine underworlds."

As his words fell, a small sprout emerged from the grave, breaking through the soil and growing inch by inch. It sprouted leaves, formed buds, and finally bloomed into a flower.

The flower was neither overly vibrant nor flashy, yet it was covered in dewdrops like crystalline tears, enveloped in a melancholic beauty, as if a woman were dancing through her tears, turning back to smile at him.

In the end, Hu Xian had severed her fox tail, holding no regrets through nine lifetimes. In the end, she had planted her affections, remembering only his name across nine lives.

Yet she had become merely a speck of dust in history, severing her tail and sowing her fate, burying that ancient blessing in Ye Chen's name, to accompany him through endless cycles.

"What is love in this world, that it drives people to vow their lives to it?" A sigh echoed from behind Ye Chen.

Another visitor had come to pay respects: a disheveled old man with messy hair like a bird's nest, his face bruised and swollen, his clothes tattered and covered in footprints. Clearly, he had been beaten badly.

This was Fan Tong, Ye Chen's old buddy from back in the day. He had once joined Ye Chen and Hu Xian in attacking the old tree demon and loved frequenting gambling houses, always losing everything.

"I never imagined your background was so grand. I still remember when you first arrived in the myriad heavens, you were just at the Tian Jing realm." Fan Tong sighed in amazement, pulling out his own flask to offer to Hu Xian Er. Over the years, he had often come here to chat with her. He had heard countless legends about Ye Chen.

"Time is like a blade." Ye Chen smiled with a touch of weariness. Fan Tong had aged significantly since then, with little lifespan left.

"She died right in front of me." Fan Tong waved his hand to brush the dust from the gravestone. "What a foolish fox. When women fall in love, do they all become so reckless with their lives?"

Ye Chen fell silent, filled with guilt. What virtue did he possess to make a fox spirit sacrifice herself for him like that?

Fan Tong also grew quiet, pouring the wine and starting to clear away the weeds. Perhaps he harbored his own unspoken feelings for Hu Xian.

"Fu Zhu!" The tranquility was broken by calls from the alchemy masters of the residence, who surged in like a tide. They were all seventh-pattern alchemists, all trained by Ye Chen in the past, and now masters of their craft. Not just on Zhu Que Star, but even in Xuan Huang, they were highly sought after.

Accompanying them were Mu Xuan Gong and the powerhouses of You Du. After Yan Fei and Xie Yun left, You Du had been under their control, and over the centuries, it had become a dominant force in this star domain.

Who could have guessed that the young cultivator who once wiped out the Ku Yue faction would turn out to be the emperor of Da Chu, the one who had slain an emperor? The legend of Saint Body Ye Chen had spread throughout the stars.

"Esteemed seniors, I hope you've all been well." Ye Chen bowed respectfully, as a junior should. It had indeed been too long.

"This bow from you is our greatest honor!" Mu Xuan Gong was overwhelmingly excited, as were the You Du elders. Being saluted by someone who had slain an emperor was truly an honor, a story they'd pass down for generations.

Ye Chen's arrival shook You Du, drawing people from the other levels of heaven to gather at the third, creating a massive commotion as they came to pay their respects.

However, by the time they arrived, Ye Chen had already vanished from the third level. He left life-extending pills for Fan Tong, alchemy manuals for the residence's masters, and peerless secret techniques for the You Du powerhouses.

He was like a fleeting traveler in the dust—arriving quickly and leaving just as fast.

The people of You Du felt regretful, but upon learning he had come to honor Hu Xian, they all stood straight, bowing toward her gravestone. They could guess at the connection.

On the first level of heaven, Ye Chen picked up Xiao Ye Fan and walked side by side with Ji Ningshuang out of You Du, stepping back into the starry sky.

Before leaving, he turned around one last time, gazing at Zhu Que Star and at Hu Xian's grave.

The karma between him and Hu Xian seemed severed, yet because of that blessing, it would follow him eternally, accompanying him through lifetimes.

Ahead, a Buddha manifested, treading a path of Buddhist light, his appearance dignified and serene, accompanied by the sound of sutras.

This was an acquaintance: Fa Hai, the abbot of Jin Shan Temple on Buddha Star. Back then, because of Li Xiao and Bai Su Su, he had angrily summoned a stellar river to flood Jin Shan.

"Benefactor, will you not become a Buddha?" Fa Hai performed a Buddhist rite, his voice like a resounding bell, infused with the power to enlighten.

"The Buddha cannot save me." Ye Chen held his child and walked away, vowing never to entangle with Buddhism in this life or any other—their karma was too terrifying.

Ji Ningshuang followed, and the two figures gradually faded into the distance.

The Domain Gate opened again, spanning the stars, heading toward Da Chu.

Behind them, Fa Hai smiled and slowly turned, leaning on his Buddhist staff and holding his golden alms bowl, venturing deeper into the starry sky to spread the Dharma and save more souls. He had long forgotten the incident of the flooded Jin Shan.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang made no stops along the way; their Domain Gate was of emperor level, leading straight to their homeland of Da Chu.

"Can you smell the scent of home?" Ye Chen smiled with a husband's warmth, glancing sideways at Ji Ningshuang.

"It's still so familiar." Ji Ningshuang replied softly with a laugh. It had been three hundred years since her death in a previous life, and that vast land had been etched into her soul like Ye Chen himself. The aura of home made her inexplicably want to cry.

"Mother, he's following us again." As they reminisced, Xiao Ye Fan spoke in his childish voice, tilting his little head toward the hazy void, his big eyes full of curiosity.

"Who is it?" Both frowned and looked at Ye Fan. "Following us? Do you mean he was following before?"

"Yes." Ye Fan nodded. "He's been with us for a long time. Is he lost and can't find his way home?"

Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang exchanged glances, then both peered intently into the void.

Unfortunately, despite their utmost efforts, they saw nothing—no sign of whoever Ye Fan was talking about. This made their brows furrow even more. Who could be tailing them?

"He's gone again." Xiao Ye Fan scratched his little head.

Ye Chen and Ji Ningshuang exchanged looks once more, their eyes on Ye Fan now carrying a hint of surprise. This little one—could his vision be that sharp? They couldn't see it, but he could?