Chapter 1977: Freshness

The deep starry sky returned to calm after the hunchbacked old man's demise.

Qin Guang Wang descended, his lips smacking constantly, looking as if he hadn't had enough of a fight and wanted to find another opponent. He had spent his days bored to death in the Ming Realm, and coming to Zhutian was a rare opportunity to experience the thrill of hand-to-hand combat—it was exhilarating.

Ye Chen glanced at him, finding Qin Guang Wang's demeanor unbearable. He really wanted to summon the God of Creation again and give him another beating.

"It's truly as Ming Di said, the suppression from Zhutian's Emperor Dao imprint has significantly weakened," Qin Guang Wang stroked his beard, his gaze fixed on the ethereal void, his eyes filled with profound meaning. "At this rate, it's possible that a true emperor could emerge."

"Don't just stand there, come help," Ye Chen called out. He had already released the evil demon from the great cauldron, and she was sitting cross-legged, healing herself.

Her condition was still dire, her body covered in mottled light from the power of evil fate, which had latched onto her and was difficult to dispel. The most troublesome part was her yuan shen, which bore a terrifying scar.

No one knew what she had encountered in the Sea of Evil Fate's starry sky, but whatever had wounded her so severely must have been incredibly powerful—at least at the quasi-emperor peak level.

For some reason, Ye Chen felt a bit of sympathy for her. She was rushing around the world to save her lover, facing strong enemies head-on without hesitation, all just to find the materials for refining the Jiu Zhuan Huan Hun Dan.

Love in this world is truly wondrous; even sinister demons and evil gods can't escape its bonds. For love, one can throw caution to the wind.

"Cang Lan, I hope you've been well," Qin Guang Wang smiled slightly.

The word "Cang Lan" made the evil demon, who was healing with her eyes closed, open them involuntarily. That name hadn't been used in ages; people called her the evil demon, and few referred to her as Cang Lan anymore.

"Do you still remember me?" Qin Guang Wang smiled and channeled a strand of immortal light into the evil demon's body to help her dispel the evil fate.

"Jiang Zi Wen?" The evil demon furrowed her brows slightly, asking tentatively.

"It's an honor that a great god like you still remembers me," Qin Guang Wang laughed. "Our parting back then feels like ages ago, with seas turning to fields."

"How are you still alive?" the evil demon said, staggering to her feet and staring straight at Qin Guang Wang. "I saw you perish in that ancient blood war with my own eyes."

"That story is a long one," Qin Guang Wang shook his head with a smile.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Ye Chen finally spoke up, looking at them both with a baffled expression.

"Old acquaintances, the really ancient kind," Qin Guang Wang chuckled.

"This is quite something... no wonder you beat that hunchbacked old man to death," Ye Chen clicked his tongue, glancing at the evil demon and then at Qin Guang Wang. He could now guess that Qin Guang Wang had once been from Zhutian and the myriad realms, passing into the Yin Cao Di Fu after death, and later becoming the first Yan Luo under Ming Di.

That explained it: the three realms of heaven, earth, and underworld were once unified, so it wasn't impossible for people from Zhutian to end up in the Ming Realm or the heavenly realm.

As he watched, the evil demon Cang Lan watched too. Just as Qin Guang Wang had said, their parting had been hundreds of thousands of years ago, with seas turning to fields.

But she couldn't figure out how Jiang Zi Wen, who had died, was still alive. Was it because of the Jiu Zhuan Huan Hun Dan? There must be some untold secrets involved.

"So, you know Mu Liu Qing too?" Ye Chen snapped out of it and poked Qin Guang Wang, breaking the silence.

"Of course," Qin Guang Wang coughed awkwardly. Back in ancient times, Mu Liu Qing had given him quite a hard time, and together with the evil demon, the couple had loved to tease him.

"Hearing all this has really turned my world upside down!" Ye Chen sighed, but then he thought it through and felt relieved. Compared to Di Huang still being alive, Qin Guang Wang's situation was nothing.

"Here, take this," Qin Guang Wang handed Ye Chen a storage bag.

"I knew you'd bring me some treasures!" Ye Chen grinned and opened the storage bag. Inside, there were only three items: a red snow lotus, a purple vine, and a bottle of green immortal grass, all shimmering with light.

Ye Chen recognized them all and swallowed hard. They were Yin Ming Chi Xue Lian, Zi Xue Man Teng Luo, and Qing Xin Xian Ling Cao—materials for refining the Jiu Zhuan Huan Hun Dan. These were mostly extinct in Zhutian and could only be found in the Ming Realm.

"Thank you," the evil demon said softly, her beautiful eyes filled with gratitude. Each material was priceless to her.

"He once did me a favor, so this is just repayment," Qin Guang Wang smiled, his body beginning to turn to ashes as he returned to the Ming Realm.

Ye Chen clearly saw a hint of tender affection in Qin Guang Wang's eyes as he looked at Cang Lan—a buried romantic tie.

"You've really impressed me now," Ye Chen murmured to himself. The mighty Yan Luo of the underworld actually harbored feelings for a sinister evil god, a seed planted since the Hong Huang era, lasting hundreds of thousands of years. This unrequited love spanned an eternity.

What impressed Ye Chen most was that Qin Guang Wang had used these materials to help save his rival in love—truly a real man.

"Where did he go?" the evil demon turned her head and stared at Ye Chen.

"The Ming Realm, or as it's also called, the Yin Cao Di Fu."

"There's really a Ming Realm?" Even the mighty evil demon was surprised.

"Otherwise, where do you think I summoned those strong experts from with my Emperor Dao Tong Ming?" Ye Chen shrugged. "Pretty amazing, right?"

"Have you been to the Yin Cao Di Fu?" the evil demon asked without looking away.

"Looks like it's time to open your eyes to something fresh," Ye Chen pinched a strand of his divine sense and passed it to the evil demon.

The divine sense contained many past events, all related to the Ming Realm.

It included details about Ming Di and Di Huang, as well as everything Ye Chen had seen and heard in the Ming Realm.

As the evil demon read the divine sense, her expression changed from calm to astonishment, then to utter disbelief. Even as a sinister evil god, she was shocked.

"So, how about it? Fresh enough?" Ye Chen looked at the evil demon with a smile.

The evil demon tried to speak but ended up spitting out blood on the spot. Given her injuries, she couldn't hold it in, and as the saying goes, extreme shock leads to this—even for a sinister evil god, it was unavoidable.

"I spoke too soon and made your injuries worse," Ye Chen coughed and guided the evil demon back into the great cauldron, then headed straight for Cang Lan Jie.

Inside the cauldron, the evil demon was still coughing up blood, and her gaze at Ye Chen had changed.

Only now did she realize why Ye Chen, who had died fighting a great emperor, had come back to life. He had gone to the Yin Cao Di Fu, passed through the six paths of reincarnation, and been reborn in Zhutian.

And Jiang Zi Wen, whom she knew, had become a Yan Luo in the underworld, likely following a similar path after death.

What shocked her most was that the Ming Realm had a great emperor and a Dacheng Saint Body—two supreme beings—and that Dacheng Saint Body was Di Huang, who had battled five emperors in ancient times.

All these revelations left her thoughts in chaos, making her question everything. As a sinister evil god, she realized that what she knew was just the tip of the iceberg; the three realms hid far too many secrets.

Five days later, Ye Chen returned to Cang Lan Jie and released the evil demon.

After several days of healing, the evil fate in her body had been completely erased, though the scar on her yuan shen still needed time to heal on its own.

This severe injury had been worth it; after a near-death experience, she had obtained the Yin Ming Hua Guo, adding another material to her collection.

"I need to go into seclusion, so don't disturb me," the evil demon left those words and headed to the small bamboo grove. She needed to heal properly and sort through all those secrets. Once she had it figured out, she'd tell Mu Liu Qing—she was still in shock.

With the evil demon gone, Ye Chen didn't idle around. He gathered the dan materials and counted them, but he was still short on quite a few. The common ones weren't a problem, but the extinct ones were impossible for him to find. This task would have to rely on the evil demon's immortal eyes.

Speaking of the evil demon's immortal eyes, Ye Chen really admired them; they had a talent for seeking treasures. That ability was impressive—if he could borrow it, finding the Dun Jia Tian Zi would be twice as effective and save a lot of random searching.

Thinking about the evil demon's immortal eyes, he subconsciously touched his own eyes. He didn't lack immortal eyes; in fact, his were quite domineering.

It had been seventy years since the Yao Chi grand event, and his Six Paths Reincarnation Eyes were still sealed, completely suppressed by that damned Wheel of Reincarnation Eyes.

All these years, he had been searching for a way to unseal them, but to no avail—even Ren Wang was helpless. It was frustrating.

With no other choice, he planned to use a heavenly tribulation to break the seal, but first, he needed to advance to the Great Saint level. Though Saint King peak and Great Saint were only half a step apart, it could be an insurmountable chasm.

As he pondered, he sat down cross-legged and entered a meditative state.