Chapter 1994: The Imposter

Chapter 1994: Masquerade

Amidst the bloody slaughter and the roars of the Honghuang, the rumbling sounds of the great battle gradually faded, until they finally vanished into the vast starry sky. At long last, the immense star domain was at peace.

That stretch of space was left in utter ruins, stained with the blood of the Honghuang.

By the time the cultivators from the myriad heavens arrived in pursuit, there was no sign of Ye Chen or the Honghuang clan.

Defeated again—the Honghuang had been completely routed.

More than a dozen races, numbering tens of thousands in total, with thousands of Dasheng among them, had been decimated by Ye Chen alone, forcing the survivors—fewer than a thousand—to flee desperately back to their ancestral lands.

The cultivators of the myriad heavens stood still, unmoving for a long time, their eyes filled with awe.

The name of the Shengtian once again resounded across the Honghuang: the myriad heavens were not without worthy opponents.

On a desolate star, Ye Chen appeared, nearly collapsing as he took a step, barely managing to steady himself. Though he had won a great victory in this battle, he was severely wounded. Without the power of the Shengdao to revive him, he would have already fallen.

From the copper furnace, Qian Shangyue stepped out and supported Ye Chen.

She had witnessed the entire bloody fight from start to finish, once again marveling at the dominance of the ancient Shengtian. As the tenth emperor of Dachu, he would never disgrace the glory of his forebears, no matter where he went.

“It's nothing, I won't die.” Ye Chen wiped away the fresh blood and sat down wearily.

Qian Shangyue sat down beside him, but she kept glancing sideways at him, stealing looks at Ye Chen's face from so close.

Under the moonlight, her beautiful eyes grew somewhat hazy, and her mind wandered.

Looking at Ye Chen now was like looking at Shen Xuanfeng from years ago.

Back then, she was just a young girl, innocent and unknowing of the world. She had sat side by side with Shen Xuanfeng just like this, gazing at him in the same way she now gazed at Ye Chen. Little did she know that the one she watched was the god king of the assassin divine dynasty, who had once nearly killed her mother.

But in that single glance, in that instant, it was love at first sight.

The peerless god king was like a seed planted in her heart, taking root and sprouting. Even after a full great cycle of reincarnation, it remained etched deeply in her soul—a love that transcended cycles.

“Had your fill of looking yet?” Ye Chen said, busy brushing the dust from his shoulders.

Qian Shangyue's thoughts were interrupted, and she quickly turned away, scrambling to find a topic to cover her embarrassment. “It's been seventy years. Why didn't you return to Dachu? And how did you end up on the Youming Dalu?”

“What about you? Why haven't you gone home?” Ye Chen smiled as he looked at Qian Shangyue.

Qian Shangyue fell silent, managing only a forced smile.

“The one you saw on the Youming Dalu was the reincarnated Liudao.” Ye Chen spoke slowly.

“No wonder, no wonder he looked so much like you.”

“During my cultivation, I encountered the Renwang and also met the Yuehuang in his reincarnation, living as a mortal.”

“I know.” Qian Shangyue gave a light smile. “I've been to that ancient star too, and I caught a glimpse of my reincarnated mother. By now, she's already seventy years old, in the twilight of her life.”

“Rest assured, the Yuehuang predecessor is extraordinarily talented and will surely pass through this tribulation.”

“I'll take your good words for it.” Qian Shangyue chuckled softly.

She slowly rose to her feet. “I must be on my way. Until we meet again in Dachu.”

“Until then in Dachu.” Ye Chen smiled and gently waved his hand, infusing a Zhundi Jian into Qian Shangyue's body. It was the Zhundi Jian that Lin Xing had lent him, and now he was giving it away without a second thought.

“Thank you.” Qian Shangyue didn't refuse and soared upward, vanishing from sight.

Gazing at Qian Shangyue's departing figure, Ye Chen let out a sigh.

Perhaps Shen Xuanfeng was already gone.

Yet Qian Shangyue was still deceiving herself, searching desperately for that past romance.

Withdrawing his gaze, Ye Chen tore off his bloodstained clothes.

Then came a pile of storage bags, stacked like a mountain—all plundered from the Honghuang clan. There were countless Yuanshi, as well as plenty of Lingdan and Lingcao. Unfortunately, there were no materials for refining the Jiuzhuan Soul-Returning Dan. The rest consisted of secret scrolls and magical artifacts, all of exceptional quality.

This battle had been quite rewarding, making his risky assassination of the Jinniwang worthwhile.

Speaking of that unexpected ally, he pulled out the Jinniwang's storage bag, hoping to find the imperial path stripping technique. That was an imperial immortal art, a god-tier cheat for deception—if he could learn it, he'd be even more formidable.

But to his regret, the imperial path stripping wasn't there.

Such a high-level immortal art wouldn't be kept in a storage bag. With the Jinniwang destroyed, it was impossible to obtain, and the imperial path stripping would likely be lost forever.

Pushing thoughts of the Jinniwang aside, Ye Chen flipped up and stepped out of the ancient star.

The auction on the Youming Dalu was imminent, and there would be true fire for sale—he couldn't miss it.

By the time he returned to the Youming Dalu, it was night.

From afar, Ye Chen spotted someone standing at the city gate—it was Lin Xing. Don't misunderstand; he wasn't there to welcome Ye Chen, but to get his Zhundi Bing back.

Seeing Ye Chen return, Lin Xing hurried over and bluntly extended his hand. “My Zhundi Jian—give it back.”

“What Zhundi Jian?” Ye Chen feigned confusion.

“Hey.” Lin Xing immediately rolled up his sleeves and cursed. “Playing dirty, are you?”

“I have this bad habit: for treasures, I'll shamelessly do anything.”

“@#￥%&*@￥.”

“We're brothers—let's not talk about money and hurt our feelings.” Ye Chen ignored Lin Xing's darkened face and draped an arm over his shoulder with a grin. “Where's that person who was with you?”

“I don't know.” Lin Xing's face grew even darker.

“Uh.” Ye Chen nodded casually, as if nothing was amiss, and casually tossed Lin Xing into the copper furnace. “My family's Zhundi said I need to capture you, so you'll have to put up with this for now.”

“Go to hell.” Lin Xing cursed and tried to charge out, but was pushed back.

“Cheer up—life is still beautiful.” Ye Chen patted Lin Xing through the copper furnace.

With that done, he strolled into the ancient city, shaking his head.

Inside the copper furnace, Lin Xing spat blood—not from being beaten, but from sheer rage.

What kind of world was this? He'd helped someone and gotten nothing in return, only to be suppressed upon his return. How many years had it been since he'd seen such a shameless person? Now that he was caught, who knew when he'd see the light of day again? There was no helping it—Ye Chen had an emperor weapon, and he didn't. That was just how unlucky he was.

Entering the ancient city, Ye Chen's first glance was at the Xianwu Dijian hidden underground.

The Dizun's life-bound artifact was still there, remaining in a dormant state.

Even now, Ye Chen didn't understand why the Dizun's artifact was hidden here.

A couple of seconds later, he withdrew his gaze and scanned the ancient city with his divine sense, but found no trace of the reincarnated Liudao.

Helpless, he looked toward the copper furnace and glanced at Lin Xing, but ultimately said nothing. That guy was still fuming, and asking him wouldn't yield any answers.

“You all didn't see it—the Shengtian displaying his divine might was spectacular.”

“More than a dozen races, thousands of Dasheng, all routed by the Shengtian alone.”

“Even the Jinniwang was instantly killed. Who dares say the myriad heavens have no one now?”

“If I'd known there was such a grand show, I would've come earlier.”

The night in the Youming ancient city was lively, with people in teahouses and taverns chattering away. Someone was always spitting as they talked, recounting the day's battle and even adding in the Shengtian's previous exploits, drawing a crowd of eager listeners.

Ye Chen smiled, pulling his hood lower as he walked by lightly.

The streets were bustling with people, and buildings were adorned with red lanterns, filled with shouts and calls for sale, showcasing the world's prosperity.

The auction wouldn't start until tomorrow, so Ye Chen was in no hurry, wandering the streets leisurely.

As he walked, he couldn't help but sigh. There were indeed many cultivators here for the auction, including some with great divine abilities, and even two or three Zhundi lurking unobtrusively.

This sparked his strong interest in the auction's organizers.

For them to auction true fire alone was proof of their deep background—they might even be backed by a major power.

“Young friend, do you want true fire? I'll sell it to you cheap.” As Ye Chen walked, a skinny old man approached, gaunt and disheveled, with messy hair and unkempt clothes, looking utterly sloppy. His words revealed a mouth of yellowed teeth, quite striking.

“You have true fire?” Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and sized up the skinny old man.

“Genuine article.” The skinny old man pulled Ye Chen to a quieter spot, glancing around mysteriously before rolling up his sleeve. Inside the sleeve was a self-contained world, where clusters of flames hung—flames of every color, vibrant and diverse.

Ye Chen said nothing, leaning in closer for a careful look.

At first glance, those flames really resembled true fire.

But they weren't true fire at all—without exception, they were beast fire. Each one, however, had a trace of true fire essence fused in. If you weren't an expert, you'd never notice.

Ye Chen stroked his chin and once again sized up the skinny old man, thinking to himself that this guy must have true fire, or where else would those traces of true fire essence in the beast fire come from? Even if he didn't have it, he was definitely connected to it.

“How about it? I didn't trick you, right!” The skinny old man stroked his beard. “If you want it, I'll give you a discount. Miss this, and it's gone forever.”

“Passing off beast fire as true fire to fool juniors—that's not honest.”

“What beast fire? This is true fire.”

“Fine, fine, true fire. I'll take all of your true fire. Name your price.”

“You can afford it all?” The skinny old man glanced at Ye Chen.

“Ten million Yuanshi, and I'll buy them all.” Ye Chen pulled out a storage bag.

“Are you dreaming?” The skinny old man scolded. “This is true fire—each one is a priceless treasure. Ten million for everything? Are you kidding?”

“Not selling? Forget it.” Ye Chen turned to leave as he spoke.

“Wait!” The skinny old man stepped forward quickly and grabbed Ye Chen, his earlier angry expression turning into a smile. “Add a bit more. You're offering way too little.”

“Ten million—that's all I have. Take it or leave it.”

“Sell, sell, sell.” The skinny old man was straightforward, stuffing the flames into a storage bag one by one, afraid Ye Chen might change his mind. He handed it over and chattered earnestly, “I like you, kid, so we're taking a loss here. Consider it building good karma.”

“Ten million for so much true fire—I'm thrilled.” Ye Chen took it and patted the skinny old man's shoulder. “Be careful walking at night, old timer—don't fall into a pit.”

“Hey, you little brat, how do you talk?”

“See you around.” Ye Chen had already walked away, waving a hand over his shoulder without looking back. If there were no flames to fuse, he wouldn't have bothered buying beast fire. And if he weren't so busy, he'd have haggled properly with the skinny old man.

Not to boast, he could've knocked it down to five hundred thousand without breaking a sweat.

Only a super-rich guy like him would spend ten million Yuanshi on beast fire—that was just burning money.

But his “see you around” carried real meaning.

He was certain the skinny old man had true fire, so he'd already planted a mark on him.

Once the auction was over, he'd go “buy” that true fire.