Chapter 1969: Sleepwalking?

Chapter 1969: Sleepwalking?

Ye Chen soared through the air and returned to the small garden. By then, night had fallen.

Under the moonlight, the small garden was peaceful and quiet. As for Ren Wang, he remained in a deep slumber, covered in fallen leaves, dust settled on his shoulders. He slept soundly, like a living corpse in eternal rest.

Ye Chen stepped forward and peered into Ren Wang's divine sea, only to find that Ren Wang's spirit was still dormant, completely unresponsive to the outside world.

"Is he really going to sleep forever?" Ye Chen murmured to himself, shaking his head helplessly. He then turned and sat under an old tree in the garden.

With Ren Wang asleep, Ye Chen didn't stay idle. He took out the recipe for the Jiu Zhuan Huan Hun Dan and spread it on his lap, studying it intently and memorizing all the required materials one by one.

Due to the purple-robed elder's wastefulness during the previous refining attempt, several thousand types of immortal herbs needed for the Jiu Zhuan Huan Hun Dan were still missing, and these were extremely rare.

At that moment, Ye Chen silently resolved that even if it took his entire life, he would gather all the materials for refining the pill. As a Dan Sheng, he must refine a Jiu Wen Dan in his lifetime. Refining pills was like cultivation; Jiu Wen represented the pinnacle, and he pursued only the ultimate peak.

He didn't know when he put away the recipe, but then he took out his dan furnace, suspending it in mid-air, along with various refining materials. Although he couldn't refine a Jiu Wen Dan, an Ba Wen Dan was still within his capabilities.

How many years had it been since he left his homeland and last refined any pills? With some free time now, practicing alchemy was the best way to spend it.

Soon, xian huo surged forth, warming the dan furnace. One by one, the immortal herbs were methodically placed in and refined into strands of essence.

His alchemy skills had reached a masterful level, allowing him to control the flames and extract the essences with effortless ease and no pressure at all.

The rich aroma of the pills wafted out, invigorating and refreshing, spreading throughout the entire small garden and even causing the sleeping Ren Wang to show a look of enjoyment. However, there was still no sign of him waking.

Late into the night, a beam of light suddenly shot up from the dan furnace.

The Ba Wen Dan was successfully refined, but it also attracted dan lei. Dark clouds rolled in the void, with thunder booming like the heavenly tribulation of a cultivator. Looking up at the sky, one could see various extraordinary phenomena related to the pills.

It was fortunate that it was nighttime; had it been daytime, it would surely have caused a sensation among mortals. Such mystical phenomena related to pills were not seen in the mortal world.

Naturally, a few mortals caught a glimpse of it, like beggars on the street, lazy drunks, or those stepping out at midnight to relieve themselves. They stared in a daze at the spectacular sight.

The dan lei came quickly and dissipated just as fast, restoring calm to the heavens and earth.

Once the lightning and clouds dispersed, a single pill descended from the sky, enveloped in a purple halo, crystal clear like a gem, containing vast essence within.

Ye Chen waved his hand and caught the pill, a satisfied smile on his lips.

This was a pill for nourishing the yuan shen, a true top-grade among top-grades, refined for Ye Ling and Ye Fan. As a father, he always wanted to do something for his children, like this pill.

After refining the pill, Ye Chen didn't rest. He took a swig of wine and then waved his sleeve again, manifesting several thousand types of materials.

It was still the same kind of pill—one for his precious daughter and one for his precious son, so he needed to prepare two portions. But there was a difference; although both were pills for nourishing the yuan shen, they were targeted specifically, as Ye Fan and Ye Ling had different bloodlines.

As he spoke, another immortal herb was thrown in and burned into a strand of essence.

Then, Ye Chen looked up at the vast sky, detecting a familiar aura—it was a person from his homeland.

Sure enough, under his gaze, a figure appeared in his line of sight. Nothing else stood out, but that shiny, bald forehead was particularly eye-catching under the vast starry sky.

Taking a closer look, wasn't that person the rascal Long Wu?

Ye Chen continued to control the flames and add immortal herbs while watching Long Wu with interest. Encountering someone from his homeland here was quite a surprise; he just enjoyed that shiny bald head.

"I knew it! How could there be dan lei on a mortal ancient star?" Long Wu descended, sighing and clicking his tongue. He first glanced at the sleeping Ren Wang, then looked at Ye Chen. From his posture, it was clear he had been drawn here by Ye Chen's earlier dan lei.

"Why aren't you staying put in Da Chu and wandering the starry skies instead?"

"Looking for someone!" Long Wu replied, plopping down under the old tree and pulling out a wine flask. His eyes were filled with unmistakable longing.

Ye Chen fell silent at those words, knowing exactly whom Long Wu was searching for—Dongfang Yuling, the woman he loved most.

In their previous life, during the invasion of the Tian Mo, at the city walls of Nan Chu, the high-level members of Heng Yue were nearly wiped out, including Dongfang Yuling, who died in Long Wu's arms, leaving a promise for the next life.

Ye Chen hadn't witnessed that tragic scene firsthand, but he could imagine it. After all, in that brutal war, more than one woman had died in his own arms. The heartache was more torturous than being lingchi, driving one to madness.

Now, after a great cycle of reincarnation, while Ye Chen had found many of the 90 million souls from Da Chu, many others remained missing, including Long Wu's Dongfang Yuling.

Compared to Long Wu, Long Yi was much luckier, having found Murong Miaoxin and mending his past regrets. As for the three remnant souls of Taixu Long Di, Long Ye's fate was unknown, Long Wu was desperately searching for his lover, and Long Yi was indeed the luckiest one.

"Sorry." Ye Chen suddenly sighed, his voice laced with guilt. So many reincarnated people had been found, yet Dongfang Yuling's reincarnation eluded them—it felt like letting Long Wu down.

"How could it be your fault?" Long Wu laughed, though his smile was forced. The usually unreliable guy was showing his true emotions now. His longing for Dongfang Yuling was etched deep into his soul.

Over the years, he had ventured into the starry skies multiple times, each trip lasting many years, traveling through dust and wind just to find the woman he loved.

Time and again, hope turned to disappointment, gradually morphing into despair on his search. He was deceiving himself; perhaps the woman who had promised him a next life had already perished in the passage of time, while he clung to his pitiful memories, taking one step after another.

Ye Chen sighed again. The current Long Wu was so similar to Ren Wang from back then—both were usually unruly and did shameless things, but only in the dead of night did they drop their facades and reveal their true selves.

Life was like a play, with all living beings as actors, performing joys and sorrows, outlining the rolling red dust.

The small garden fell silent again. Ye Chen quietly refined his pills, Ren Wang quietly slept, and Long Wu quietly drank, gazing up at the stars with tears welling in his eyes. Like Ye Chen, he was covered in the marks of time, like an elderly man in his twilight years, looking back on the past.

As dawn approached, Ye Chen finally completed the pill. To avoid unnecessary panic, he had set up a jie to conceal the dan lei.

"Time to go." Long Wu stood up from under the old tree, dusted off his clothes, and soared into the sky, leaving a lonely and gaunt silhouette, as desolate as Ye Chen had once been.

Below, Ye Chen remained silent, merely watching Long Wu depart.

He didn't need to look to know that in the starry skies, there were many others like Long Wu—such as Liu Yi, Fu Ling, Qian Shang Yue, and Xingyue Shengnu—all searching for their past-life lovers.

Without hesitation, he manifested numerous clones, sending them to various parts of the starry skies. Each clone carried a jade slip that could unlock past-life memories, helping to search for the reincarnated souls of Da Chu.

This was how he had spent these years, constantly dispatching clones to the depths of the starry skies in search of Da Chu's heroic souls.

As he had said back then, finding the reincarnated people was his lifelong mission, and as long as he lived, that mission would not end.

Slowly collecting his thoughts, he waved his hand again and continued refining pills.

Day and night alternated, the sun and moon cycled, and in the blink of an eye, three days passed quietly.

During those three days, he didn't rest at all, refining one Ba Wen Dan after another. For some reason, thinking of his two children filled him with energy, leading him to refine over a dozen Ba Wen Dans in one go. Each was a top-grade pill, infinitely close to Jiu Wen Dan.

On the fourth night, he finally stopped, not because he was tired, but because he had run out of materials and couldn't gather enough for another Ba Wen Dan.

After three days, he sat down to rest for the first time, drinking strong liquor and looking inward at his dan hai, trying once more to communicate with Jiu You Xian Yan.

Jiu You Xian Yan remained as uncooperative as ever, showing no response no matter how Ye Chen called out, just quietly suspended in his dan hai.

Jiu Wu Xian Yan and Tian Lei, however, were quite understanding, occasionally approaching to get close to Jiu You Xian Yan, as if trying to persuade it on Ye Chen's behalf.

"No worries, if you can't figure it out, take your time. I'll give you all the time you need." Ye Chen said with a smile, not forcing the issue.

No sooner had he spoken than there was movement from Ren Wang's side. Without even opening his eyes, Ren Wang sat up abruptly and said nothing.

"Woken up?" Ye Chen glanced over, his tone impatient.

It wasn't that Ye Chen was being harsh; it was just that Ren Wang's long sleep had nearly cost him his life. When Ren Wang had called for help, there was no response at all. If not for the critical moment when his sheng blood intertwined with the Zaohua Shen Blood, generating a mysterious power that broke through the quasi-di seal, and then Tong Ming Yan Luo's assistance in battle, he and Lin Xing would have already perished in the dan furnace.

Ren Wang showed no reaction to Ye Chen's words, just sitting there motionless, like a stone statue.

Ye Chen frowned and stood up, peering into Ren Wang again, only to find that Ren Wang's spirit was still in a dormant state.

"Fu Xi?" Ye Chen gently patted Ren Wang, calling out tentatively. If you're not awake, just lie there and sleep properly! Suddenly sitting up like that is scary, and not saying a word.

To his surprise, at that pat, Ren Wang actually moved. He got up from the lounge chair, eyes closed, and started walking, step by step, onto the vast sky. Moreover, his state was strangely ethereal, his body flickering between illusion and solidity.

"Meng You?" Ye Chen was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly chased after him. Sleepwalking like this could lead to trouble.

The awkward part was that although Ren Wang was asleep, his speed was incredibly fast. Each step seemed to tread on the river of time, disrupting spatial laws, covering tens of thousands of zhang in a single stride. Ye Chen exerted all his effort to chase him but still couldn't catch up.