Chapter 2165: Want to Learn?

Time: Noon. Location: Huo Yu.

The once mighty Emperor of Da Chu, who had shaken the heavens and the earth, was now limping through the vast wilderness. One hand clutched his lower back, the other covered his face, and a stream of blood still trickled from one nostril. His usually neat long hair was disheveled like a bird's nest, and his black eyes made him look particularly pathetic.

Indeed, he had been beaten again, and the culprit was walking right beside him – the stunning Nu Sheng Ti. She had shed her black robe and was now holding a flower, casually inhaling its fragrance.

Ye Chen wiped the blood from his nose, walking with tears of bitterness welling up in his eyes.

"Don't always wear such a long face. Smile a little."

"Alright." Ye Chen forced a smile, but inwardly, he had already cursed Nu Sheng Ti's ancestors eighteen generations back. You wretched woman, if I could give you a beating, would you still be smiling? What sin did I commit in a past life to end up with a lunatic like you?

However, this was also why Ye Chen was so resilient – his acting skills were top-notch. He had to play along with Nu Sheng Ti and keep her in a good mood. Perhaps if she was happy, she would help Zhutian destroy Honghuang, or at the very least, unseal his Lunhui Yan. For the sake of his grand ambitions, enduring daily beatings was worth it. The mountains might not turn, but the waters will flow; one day, he would surpass Nu Sheng Ti and string her up on a tree.

Thinking of this, Ye Chen chuckled again. "How about we head to another domain to explore?"

Nu Sheng Ti smiled and, with a wave of her hand, summoned a gate of light. It was similar to a domain gate, but one that could shuttle between various domains.

Ye Chen watched with great interest. Nu Sheng Ti's ability to freely travel between realms was likely thanks to such gates. He needed to find a way to coax her into teaching him.

The two reappeared in another domain.

This was Lei Yu. Nu Sheng Ti had brought him here before, and it was quite different from Huo Yu. Lei Yu was thick with the power of thunder; looking up at the sky, one could always see a flash or two of lightning, followed by rumbling thunder. Newcomers to Lei Yu probably wouldn't sleep well, but the locals were used to it – without a couple of thunderclaps before bed, they might not even doze off.

Ye Chen unfolded his map again, marking down ancient cities and planning routes. He wasn't just here for sightseeing; he had his own mission.

Meanwhile, Nu Sheng Ti was quite relaxed, holding a small mirror and tending to her hair.

"There's a question I've always wanted to ask you," Ye Chen said casually while marking the map.

"Go ahead."

"Why are you so afraid of Chu Xuan and Chu Ling?" Ye Chen's words were casual, though he was focused on his task. With his divine sense, he kept a close watch on Nu Sheng Ti. This woman hid too many secrets, veiled in a mystery he couldn't penetrate.

"No particular reason," Nu Sheng Ti replied lightly, without a hint of flaw.

Ye Chen said no more, put away the map, quickly oriented himself, and soared into the sky.

Behind him, Nu Sheng Ti followed at a leisurely pace, as if strolling through a garden.

Before long, an ancient city came into view.

From afar, Ye Chen saw a crowd gathered at the city walls. Focusing, he realized a battle was underway, with many spectators. The combatants were a young man in purple robes and an elder in python robes, locked in an intense duel. Both had supporters cheering from the sides.

What caught Ye Chen's attention was that both combatants were no ordinary figures. The purple-robed youth was a reincarnated soul from Da Chu, a great general under Zhong Li in his past life: Ci Hun.

As for the python-robed elder, he was a tribulation figure from the Taotie clan.

Ye Chen looked puzzled. Earlier, it was Xiong Dashan and Zhan Wang drinking in a tavern, and now Ci Hun and Taotie clashing at the city gates. These tribulation figures and reincarnated souls kept crossing paths. He should be grateful they were from opposing camps – if they were all Da Chu's reincarnated souls and tribulation figures, that would be awkward.

Boom! Bang!

The battle grew fiercer as the two fought into the void, shaking the heavens with rumbling echoes. Blood rained down like a storm, as if it were to the death.

Clearly, Ci Hun had the upper hand. Though a reincarnated soul, he was nearly two hundred years older than the tribulation figure Taotie. Two hundred years was enough time to accomplish many things, like advancing one's cultivation.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze from the void and spread his divine sense to scan the onlookers.

Unfortunately, besides Taotie and Ci Hun, there were no other tribulation figures or reincarnated souls present.

"Boring," Nu Sheng Ti murmured softly, then gently beckoned, drawing a wisp of ethereal immortal light from Ci Hun's body and absorbing it into her own.

The nearly fully accomplished Nu Sheng Ti possessed vast divine abilities; no one in the vicinity noticed her actions.

Of course, Ye Chen was an exception. He was constantly watching her, so her move didn't escape his eyes.

As for that wisp of ethereal immortal light, it was no simple matter – he distinctly sensed the power of Lunhui within it.

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, recalling the night before when Nu Sheng Ti had sent a brilliant golden light into his brow, which also contained Lunhui power. That was why he had fallen into a deep sleep, unaware of what followed.

It wasn't surprising that Ci Hun, as a reincarnated soul, had Lunhui power in his body. What intrigued Ye Chen was how Nu Sheng Ti had extracted it.

"Want to learn?" Nu Sheng Ti seemed to read his thoughts, her laughter light and drawn out.

"You can even tell that?" Ye Chen chuckled.

"Agree to one thing for me, and I wouldn't mind teaching you," Nu Sheng Ti said with a smile.

"Let's hear it."

Nu Sheng Ti waved her hand, and a golden divine pattern appeared in her palm.

Ye Chen frowned at the sight. He had seen such divine patterns before – they were contract divine patterns, often used between cultivators and spirit beasts. But this golden one was far more advanced.

"Form a contract with me, and I'll teach you how to extract Lunhui power." Nu Sheng Ti's smile carried a seductive charm, making Ye Chen's mind blur for a moment.

"What kind of contract is this?" Ye Chen maintained his smile on the surface, but inwardly, he cursed lightly and steadied his mind. He knew Nu Sheng Ti's words were laced with temptation; once his mind wavered, he wouldn't be able to resist. In other words, she was luring him into signing the contract, which required mutual consent – that's why she wasn't forcing him.

"It won't harm you," Nu Sheng Ti batted her eyes.

"How many times have you harmed me already?" Ye Chen scoffed inwardly, refusing to agree lightly. You're using temptation on me – who knows what scheme you have? One slip, and I could capsize in a ditch.

In his view, Nu Sheng Ti was different from Di Huang.

There were no records of Nu Sheng Ti in Zhutian's history, not even Di Huang knew of her, which was extremely strange. A figure with an unknown origin was someone to be wary of. This was an instinctual feeling – he sensed she was highly dangerous.

At least, until he uncovered Nu Sheng Ti's background, he wouldn't sign any contract with her. As the tenth emperor of Da Chu, he might be thick-skinned, but he wasn't foolish.

"Treating me with such caution really hurts," Nu Sheng Ti lowered her eyes, looking dejected.

Ye Chen almost laughed at that. You beat me up every other day – my heart's already shattered from your "hurt." And your acting skills are terrible.

Nu Sheng Ti didn't press further, and the golden contract divine pattern in her palm faded away.

Ye Chen remained composed and unfazed. If you won't teach me, I'll learn it myself. Don't underestimate my Lunhui Yan – it has the ability to copy and deduce. Whatever Xian Lun Yan can do, Lunhui Yan can do better, and even more perfectly. Give me enough time, and I'll unravel its secrets.

"Extracting Lunhui power – I should've thought of that," Ye Chen stroked his chin, muttering to himself. "I need to find a reincarnated soul and study it sometime."

He had already touched upon the laws of Lunhui, though it worked sporadically. With more Lunhui power, his comprehension of those laws would advance further.

Pfft!

As he pondered, the tribulation figure Taotie spat blood and plummeted from the void, his python robes soaked in red. Those extra two hundred years for Ci Hun weren't for nothing.

Glancing at Ci Hun, he stood tall in the ninth heaven like a god-king, his expression consistently indifferent, even cold, like a drawn sword. This demeanor matched his past life perfectly.

"Kill! Kill them all for me!" The tribulation figure Taotie roared in fury, like a grotesque demon.

At his command, figures in black robes emerged from the shadows, each wielding slender killing swords flickering with electric light and emitting a chilling glow. These were undoubtedly assassins.

"Think my clan is defenseless?" An elder bellowed, his origin essence and blood resembling Ci Hun's, clearly from the same clan. Their lineup was impressive, not outdone by the assassins.

"Kill!"

With the order, both sides clashed fiercely. People swarmed into the void, engaging in one-on-one duels or group brawls, the fight raging across the stars with bursts of bloody flowers.

Ye Chen watched with itching hands but didn't intervene. Knowing there was a tribulation figure involved – even from Honghuang – he couldn't disrupt the tribulation carelessly. Besides, Ci Hun's side had an overwhelming advantage.

The battle drew even more spectators, with vendors from the city abandoning their stalls to watch the spectacle, each holding a memory crystal stone.

Hm?

Suddenly, Ye Chen looked up, his gaze piercing through the crowd to lock onto a person. It was a sleazy old man, probably just woken up and rushing out from the city to join the excitement. He was the type who thrived on chaos, chattering nonstop, his yellowed teeth quite noticeable.

Ye Chen noticed him because the old man harbored the origin essence of a Tianmo within his body.

"Boring," Nu Sheng Ti murmured again, waving her hand through the void to extract the Tianmo origin essence from the sleazy old man, then casually crushed it to dust.

Ye Chen turned sharply, staring at Nu Sheng Ti in astonishment. "You can separate Tianmo origin essence?"

"Is that difficult?" Nu Sheng Ti shrugged with a smile.

"You're really all-powerful!" Ye Chen exclaimed in admiration. The Tianmo origin essence had already fused with the old man, yet she could separate it so easily – her methods left him truly shocked.

"Want to learn?" Nu Sheng Ti smiled at Ye Chen.

"Yes," Ye Chen nodded vigorously. If he mastered this technique, so many problems would be solved. He might even save Bei Sheng and handle the Tianmo crisis.

"Sign a contract with me, and everything's negotiable." Nu Sheng Ti's palm once again manifested the golden contract divine pattern, her eyes twinkling as she looked at Ye Chen. "Are you willing?"