Chapter 2140: Dream Cycle

Chapter 2140: Reincarnation in Dreams

In Tianxuan Gate’s Xiaozhulin, Ye Chen lay quietly on the stone bed, as still as an ice sculpture. His brow occasionally showed signs of pain, as if he were having a nightmare, and blood would sometimes trickle from the corners of his mouth, impossible to stop—it was the influence of the Tianmo origin.

Donghuang Taiyi watched in silence, saying nothing, while Yue Huang and Tianjiu were also there, their eyes narrowed in observation. Tianjiu, in particular, felt an growing sense of familiarity as he looked at Ye Chen now.

Yue Huang murmured, "Where does this supreme emperor's might come from?" She was deeply puzzled. Ye Chen was clearly a great saint, with no emperor weapons or emperor blood in his body, yet he inexplicably possessed this emperor's might—it was truly strange.

"Could it be from that trace of Tianmo origin?" Tianjiu stroked his chin and pondered.

"It's not from the Tianmo origin," Donghuang Taiyi said calmly, her eyes flickering with uncertainty. "The supreme emperor's might indeed comes from Ye Chen himself. It's incredibly pure, far surpassing the power of any emperor artifact, and it comes and goes intermittently."

"That makes it even stranger," Tianjiu replied, even more baffled. He began circling around Ye Chen, examining him from left to right. If Yue Huang and Donghuang Taiyi weren't there, he probably would have stripped Ye Chen bare and studied him thoroughly. Mainly, he wanted to feed him some specialties from Dachu to see if it could wake him up—after all, sleeping like this indefinitely wasn't a solution.

Hey!

As Tianjiu was observing, Ye Chen suddenly shouted. The abruptness of the cry startled even the god generals, making them feel an urge to relieve themselves—who could handle such a sudden outburst?

"This mountain is mine to open, this tree is mine to plant. If you want to pass this road, leave behind your toll!" Ye Chen kept talking without opening his eyes, as if speaking in his sleep. His expression was fierce and menacing, perfectly matching the words of a bandit living on the edge of a knife.

"Congratulations, master, the mistress is with child!" Before Tianjiu could react, Ye Chen spoke again. His bold tone shifted to one of obsequious flattery, his fierce bandit face transforming into that of a servile attendant, like a physician who had just diagnosed a wealthy lady's pregnancy.

"Brave warriors, join the army to defend our homeland!" In an instant, his tone changed again, becoming resolute and commanding. His flattery turned into a majestic presence, like a general leading troops into battle.

"May the winds and rains be favorable—this year should bring a good harvest."

"In my lifetime, I will expand our borders and establish an eternal dynasty."

"This good sir, are you here for a meal or to stay at the inn?"

"When I return home in glory, I will come to marry you—just wait for me."

"Once we cross this mountain and rest, after completing this escort mission, I'll treat everyone to drinks."

Ye Chen continued speaking, uttering all sorts of bizarre phrases. With each sentence, his expression and tone changed, as if he were playing different roles—sometimes a bandit, sometimes a general, sometimes a physician, sometimes an innkeeper. Through these few lines, he vividly captured the full spectrum of human experiences.

Strangely, he never opened his eyes the whole time, as if he were simply mumbling in his sleep.

This guy isn't dreaming—he's sick! Tianjiu's expression grew meaningful.

Yue Huang's face was much the same. If anyone could be called the most eccentric emperor, it was undoubtedly Ye Chen.

Donghuang Taiyi's eyes became even deeper. This wasn't the first time Ye Chen had acted this way.

Back in the day, when Chu Xuan was controlled by the Zhuxian Sword and died by Ye Chen's hand, Ye Chen had returned to Hengyue and fallen into a deep sleep, just like now, muttering strange words. She had witnessed it back then, and today she was here again, even closer, seeing it more clearly. From within Ye Chen's body, she detected a force more elusive than emperor's might—what the world called Lunhui.

She had seen it years ago, and she saw it again today. Ye Chen was absorbing the Lunhui power from his previous lives, and within that power were fragments of many broken memories—like in one life he was a bandit, in another a physician, in another a general, in another an innkeeper. This was exactly why he was spouting these strange words; it wasn't a dream at all.

Beside her, Yue Huang and Tianjiu also sensed something was off. They activated their Tianyan divine abilities to peer into Ye Chen's body and vaguely caught a mysterious force, which they called Lunhui.

Ye Chen finally fell still, sleeping peacefully, only occasionally murmuring four words: Taigu Honghuang.

Though the sound of those four words was faint, it made Donghuang Taiyi and the others furrow their brows even more. They couldn't fathom Ye Chen at all—who exactly was he, that he had connections to Taigu Honghuang? A shadow of doubt lingered in their hearts, impossible to dispel.

On Jieming Mountain, Di Huang glanced at Ming Di and asked, "Is it that person?"

"It shouldn't be!" Ming Di murmured to himself, his brow furrowed. He didn't answer Di Huang's question but just muttered away, seeming a bit deranged, with none of an emperor's dignity.

Di Huang waited for an answer, but Ming Di simply turned and descended Jieming Mountain, vanishing in an instant, leaving Di Huang with a face full of frustration. At least give a response!

Ye Chen slept for nine full days.

In those nine days, Dachu was extraordinarily lively. Countless homeless cultivators flocked to Dachu, wave after wave, seeking refuge. With their homes destroyed, they needed a place to settle.

Dachu was undoubtedly the best choice—at least it was safer than the starry skies. Although the Tianmo had been eradicated, Honghuang still loomed, and no one could say when another disaster might strike. Drawing from past lessons, many major sects had their elders lead the entire clan in relocating here.

Dachu welcomed all who came.

Among those seeking refuge were not a few Zhundi-level experts, and their juniors included many prodigious talents with extraordinary gifts. With proper nurturing, they would become Dachu's pillars in the future.

What delighted Tianxuan Gate the most was that Danzun Hall, the inheritance of Danzun, had also arrived from Xuanhuang. It wasn't just one person—it was the entire hall. They were all alchemists, perhaps aware that Danzun had perished, or that his legacy had been passed to Hongchen Xue.

Hongchen Xue showed great resolve, issuing a command that merged Danzun Hall with Dancheng.

The people of Danzun Hall dared not defy their hall master's order. Now that they had come to Dachu, they had no intention of leaving. As fellow alchemists, merging into one family wasn't bad, and they got along quite well.

Once the two alchemy inheritances merged, the clever Hongchen Xue issued another command, passing the hall master position to Ye Chen, along with her Honglian industry fire.

With that done, she set off with Chu Lingyu to continue guarding their Hongchen. In her eyes, only Hongchen mattered. As for being the Huang Shengzhu or the Danzun Hall master, it was all trivial. She simply became a hands-off manager, leaving the burden entirely to Ye Chen.

Unfortunately, Ye Chen was still in his deep sleep and knew nothing of this.

Fortunately, the people of Danzun Hall had no objections. In terms of alchemy skills, Hongchen Xue was far inferior to Ye Chen. Now that they had merged with Dancheng and become part of Dachu, who served as hall master didn't matter. Ye Chen was already the city master of Dancheng, so being the hall master of Danzun Hall was perfectly fitting.

And so, day and night alternated, and in the blink of an eye, three more days passed quietly.

In the serene night, another visitor arrived—a supreme Honghuang-level figure.

Indeed, it was Chimai Xieshen, and she had brought Canglan Realm with her.

Why call her a xieshen? She didn't even give a greeting. On the southern side of Chu, she found a secluded spot and settled Canglan Realm there. The whole process was seamless.

Donghuang Taiyi watched it all from start to finish, feeling extremely awkward. After all, she was Dachu's guardian deity, right? You just show up without a word—how could you be so self-assured?

Despite her inner complaints, Donghuang Taiyi still welcomed the evil demon's arrival. That woman was a formidable force, and her presence in Dachu was a significant boost. Most importantly, she carried an emperor weapon—the life artifact of Honglian Empress, which was extraordinarily powerful.

The night remained quiet, and the evil demon was summoned to Tianxuan Gate.

The four of them lined up neatly, diligently studying Ye Chen.

That fellow had slept for a full month with no sign of waking, and he kept muttering to himself in the dead of night, one string of nonsense after another.

Given his restlessness, Tianjiu found a rag and stuffed it in his mouth.

Now, the whole world was peaceful.

"Self-contained Lunhui," the evil demon murmured, her tone full of surprise.

"Is there any precedent like this in the secret scrolls left by Honglian Empress?" Donghuang Taiyi asked.

"I've never heard of it," the evil demon replied, shaking her head slightly. She tried her best to capture the Lunhui force within Ye Chen, as if it might hold the key to reviving Mu Liuqing. Compared to the Jiuzhuan Huanhun Dan, this Lunhui force seemed more promising. If Ye Chen could truly comprehend the laws of Lunhui, he might actually revive Mu Liuqing—no need for true fire, true thunder, or alchemy materials.

With that, everyone fell silent again. Afraid he might sleepwalk, they tied him up with ropes.

Three months passed, and Ye Chen slept for a full three months, his body covered in dust.

Chu Xuan and the others had visited, and seeing Ye Chen with his mouth gagged and bound hand and foot, they all twitched at the corners of their mouths. Well, that explains it—he hadn't come home for three months because he was tied up here.

The women all assumed Ye Chen must have done something shameless again, which was why he was left at Tianxuan Gate. Such things were nothing new. Dachu's tenth emperor was just that kind of person.

It wasn't until the fourth month that Ye Chen finally woke up, groggily opening his eyes.

The first thing he saw was the vast starry sky, with stars twinkling as if winking at him.

Ye Chen rolled his eyes up, down, left, and right, trying to sit up, only to find his hands, feet, and body all bound, with a rag stuffed in his mouth. The smell was utterly foul.

What kind of situation was this? Even with an emperor's composure, he was a bit stunned.

Waking up from a nap and finding himself tied up?

Seeing him awake, Donghuang Taiyi gently waved her hand, releasing the Xianling Rope's seal and removing the rag from his mouth. After all, he was Dachu's emperor, so they had to save him some face.

Ye Chen tumbled off the bed and started retching nonstop, all because of the rag's stench—it was just like an unwashed sock from eight hundred years ago. The sour odor made tears stream down his face.

Before Ye Chen could finish vomiting, the evil demon stepped forward, grabbing his collar with one hand. Her evil eyes stared intently at him, full of expectation as she asked, "Do you understand Lunhui?"

"A little bit of the basics," Ye Chen replied, still wanting to vomit, his mouth full of the sock's taste.

"Can your Lunhui save people?" The evil demon's eyes were still filled with hope.