Chapter 2058: Family

Ye Chen was stunned. "Tian Sha with Tian Qian? Are you sure there won't be any problems?"

Xie Mo smiled at Ye Chen. "In your view, since both have the word 'Tian,' what does that imply?"

Ye Chen furrowed his brow, pondering for three to five seconds before tentatively saying, "They mutually generate and restrain each other?"

"As you said," Xie Mo replied leisurely. "Tian Sha and Tian Qian both carry fates of calamity. They restrain and generate each other, and meeting in the same era is a destined fortune. The union of these two bloodlines isn't without precedent in the history of the myriad heavens—there's only one case, which produced an emperor who shook the ancients and dazzled the moderns. His imperial title is Wuqing, known as Wuqing Dadi. As someone with the Huanggu Shengti, you must have heard of this emperor from the mid-Huanggu era."

"Of course, I've heard of him." Ye Chen nodded lightly, his eyes full of reverence. Among the 130 emperors of Xuan Huang, which one didn't achieve feats that covered the heavens, and which one didn't command awe across the universe? No one in the ten thousand domains is unaware of them. But he was surprised—if not for Xie Mo mentioning it, he wouldn't have known that the fates of Tian Qian and Tian Sha, both involving calamity, could combine through mutual generation and restraint to create an eternal emperor.

Speaking of it, Wuqing Dadi had quite a connection with the Huanggu Shengti. It was an ancient legend. Whether it was the great Cheng Shengti or the supreme emperors, they had all forged immortal myths. As an inheritor of the Shengti, his reverence for the emperors came from the depths of his soul.

"Ren Wang, your schemes are far-reaching!" The Xie Mo opposite him murmured to himself, utterly convinced that Ren Wang must have foreseen all of this, including the Tian Mo and the Tian Sha Gu Xing. Sending Ye Chen here was undoubtedly part of his plan.

In that instant, Xie Mo was shocked by Ren Wang's methods. A single Zhou Tian evolution was godlike. He was merely a wisp of a remnant soul—if the true Ren Huang were still around, how terrifying would that be?

After a moment of thought, Ye Chen looked at Xie Mo again, his eyes filled with hope. "When the Tian Sha Gu Xing is born, can we save her birth mother?"

"The fate of Tian Sha is the first to afflict the birth mother," Xie Mo said slowly. "It will drain away all of the mother's life force in the instant of birth. This cycle of life and death is like the legendary other shore flower—where the flower blooms, the leaves are unseen, and where the leaves exist, the flowers are not. They never meet through endless lifetimes."

"Is it that tragic?" Ye Chen frowned.

"However, this god does have a method to let her birth mother live in another state." Xie Mo smiled mysteriously.

Those words made Ye Chen's eyes light up with brilliance as he stared intently at Xie Mo.

Xie Mo stretched lazily before speaking. "Back then, Ren Wang altered your fate, and Nanming Yu Shu exchanged her life for yours to revive you. You should understand that state—you were already dead, yet you wandered the world in the form of a living person. This method can apply to the Tian Sha's birth mother too. The difference is, it doesn't require exchanging lives or altering the original fate. It's slightly different for mortals and cultivators."

"If we use this method, how long can the Tian Sha's birth mother live?" Ye Chen asked hurriedly.

"That depends on her fortune. Maybe one or two years, or seven or eight. If she's lucky, living three to fifty years isn't impossible."

"Is there any way to make the Tian Sha Gu Xing die in the womb?"

"Are you out of your mind?" Xie Mo rolled his eyes at Ye Chen. "Tian Sha Gu Xing appears once in ten thousand ages, and you're thinking of eliminating her? Do you know she'll be your future daughter-in-law? If you dare touch the Tian Sha Gu Xing, I'll slap you to death myself."

"I'm just asking." Ye Chen chuckled awkwardly.

"You're hilarious." Xie Mo kicked Ye Chen and vanished without a trace.

Behind him, Ye Chen felt embarrassed. Heaven and earth could attest—he was truly just curious and had no intention of harming the Tian Sha Gu Xing. Thinking it over calmly, even abortion drugs from the mortal world couldn't harm the Tian Sha Gu Xing. To eliminate her, one would need a cultivator's intervention, or perhaps kill Xia Lan.

In other words, Yang Ge Lao and Xia Lan no longer had a choice in the matter.

Ah!

Ye Chen sighed inwardly, feeling a headache. Even in the mortal world, someone who could evolve Zhou Tian like him could still miscalculate. A single Tian Sha Gu Xing had caught him off guard.

Today, he packed up early, so when Yang Ge Lao came out again, he was a bit stunned. Ever since Ye Chen started fortune-telling here, he had always been punctual, so why was he leaving so early today?

The night in Zhu Xian Zhen was peaceful and quiet.

In contrast, Yan Wang Ducheng was extremely lively. The eighty allied armies of the various lords had fought fiercely for a day and a night, finally capturing the city, leaving mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.

Yan Wang was defeated, utterly defeated.

He still had some backbone and didn't want to fall into enemy hands, so he hanged himself in the palace while wearing his dragon robes.

Thus, the most powerful lord became history.

However, the world didn't become peaceful because of Yan Wang's defeat. The eight major lords divided up Yan territory, but due to unequal shares, they turned on each other, spreading war across Yan land and making it even more chaotic than before. Everyone wanted to unify the realm, but none had the strength. Yan Wang, who had the greatest power, could have had a chance, but his arrogance and poor decisions led to his downfall.

On a new day, the warm sunlight bathed Zhu Xian Zhen.

Early in the morning, Ye Chen had already set up his fortune-telling stall, with a long line of people waiting.

Once the crowd thinned, Yang Ge Lao arrived, bringing Xia Lan with him.

After more than ten days, Xia Lan's lower abdomen was slightly bulging, and anyone could tell she was pregnant. The old Yang was overjoyed, thrilled about having a son in his old age—how could he not be happy?

Ye Chen's gaze was quite meaningful. He completely ignored Yang Ge Lao and stared straight at Xia Lan—or more precisely, at her lower abdomen. The little girl inside was the Tian Sha Gu Xing, and also his future daughter-in-law.

Xia Lan felt uncomfortable under his stare, sensing something odd about Ye Chen's eyes.

"Don't keep staring at my wife." Yang Ge Lao slapped the table, blowing his beard in anger.

"I was saying, Qin Jia... ah, I mean, Old Yang! Your temper is too fiery; it'll harm your health."

"Your forehead still looks a bit dark, doesn't it?" Yang Ge Lao grumbled with a dark face.

"Tch." Ye Chen didn't mind, but he couldn't help sighing inwardly and clicking his tongue. Who would have thought that the Yang Ge Lao who beat him up back then would become his future in-laws? It really was a case of no fight, no acquaintance. From that, not only did they form a karmic tie, but they would also become family.

Old Yang didn't bother responding and helped Xia Lan leave to buy medicine for stabilizing the pregnancy.

Ye Chen was relaxed, propping his chin with his hands and feeling bored.

Sometime later, he raised an eyebrow and glanced in a certain direction. In the crowd, he spotted a familiar face, shrouded entirely in a black robe with his face covered, except for his eyes. The rest was wrapped up tightly, making passersby quite curious about such a mysterious figure in broad daylight.

Passersby couldn't tell, but Ye Chen could see through it at a glance—it was Yin Shan Lao Dao.

Ye Chen wasn't surprised that Yin Shan Lao Dao would appear here. With Yan Wang's defeat and death, as a former guest of Yan Wang's court, Yin Shan was likely wanted, so coming here to hide was expected.

As Yin Shan Lao Dao approached, he headed straight for Ye Chen—or rather, he had come specifically for him.

Yin Shan was well aware of the martial world affairs. A martial arts legend hiding in Zhu Xian Zhen as a fortune-teller—who could visit without paying respects?

Speaking of it, this old Daoist was quite bold. Back at Gui Shan, if not for Yan Wang's arrogance giving them only an incense stick's time, the army would have charged into Gui Yu City long ago. What Lone Sword Saint or martial arts legend—they'd all be dead. In that sense, he and Ye Chen had some grudges. Now, coming here—wasn't he asking for trouble?

A gentle breeze blew as Yin Shan Lao Dao sat down at the fortune-telling table.

"You're quite bold!" Ye Chen smiled at Yin Shan. "You still dare to come here? Aren't you afraid I'll eliminate you?"

"If the martial arts legend wants to eliminate me, hiding at the edge of the sky or the corner of the sea would be useless." Yin Shan was quite composed, his old eyes calm and without a ripple, as if he had seen through life and death.

"Since you've come today, there's something I need to clarify." Ye Chen cleared his throat. "That night, when you were robbed, it was me."

Surprisingly, Yin Shan showed no shock or surprise, making Ye Chen feel like he had stated the obvious. Had this old man been through some shock? He seemed completely indifferent to that night's events?

"Who it was doesn't matter anymore." Yin Shan sighed with a smile. "This time, I've come to ask the martial arts legend to tell my fortune."

"Entering the old tomb means ten deaths and no life." Ye Chen chuckled.

"You know I want to explore that old tomb?" Yin Shan Lao Dao was finally surprised.

"I'm a fortune-teller, after all—omniscient."

"That's true. The martial arts legend is all-powerful. It seems you've been inside that old tomb."

"You're not interested in the old tomb itself, but in its owner." Ye Chen spoke while hugging his money jar and counting the copper coins. "Buried inside is a pre-Qin emperor, guarded by Yin Yue Huang Fei. Do you think you have any chance of entering the main tomb?"

Ye Chen's words shocked Yin Shan. The calm in his old eyes rippled with waves. How could he have imagined that the tomb of a pre-Qin emperor would be built in such a remote place, or that Yin Yue Huang Fei was still alive? In terms of seniority, he would have to address her as grandmaster-uncle.

At that moment, he understood why so many strange experts had perished inside—with Yin Yue Huang Fei guarding it, even if he went in personally, the outcome would be the same. In that case, that night, Ye Chen had actually saved him. If not for Ye Chen robbing him, he probably would have entered the old tomb already.

After a long silence, Yin Shan looked up at Ye Chen without glancing aside. "You're an immortal, aren't you?"

"Having that realization proves you're not foolish." Ye Chen laughed.

Yin Shan shook his head with a smile, then slowly stood up, bowed to Ye Chen as a junior would, and merged into the bustling crowd, heading toward the eastern part of the town. Even if it meant ten deaths and no life, he still had to go. It wasn't to explore the tomb, but to pay respects to Yin Yue Huang Fei—that was his senior, and he wanted to see the legendary extraordinary woman from the pre-Qin era in all her glory.

Ye Chen didn't stop him and continued counting his money.

He could see that Yin Shan Lao Dao's state of mind was as still as water—he had truly seen through the mortal world—and his lifespan was nearly spent. He probably wanted to do something meaningful before he died.