Chapter 2172: Qixi Festival

Ye Chen and his companions arrived quickly and left just as fast, their figures fading into the moonlight.

Before long, people gathered from all directions, drawn by the commotion. Seeing the Hao Yang Clan reduced to ruins, they couldn't help but exclaim in shock, knowing full well who was responsible—it had to be the Tenth Emperor of Da Chu; no one else could have done it.

As they sighed in dismay, the people of the world also mourned the deceased white-robed young great saint. His careless words had led to the annihilation of his entire clan—a perfect example of how trouble comes from the mouth, a bloody lesson indeed.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen embarked on a new journey, following his planned route and appearing in ancient city after ancient city, searching for reincarnated individuals. He was like a traveler, but not a lonely one, with a beautiful companion by his side. Every few days, he'd tease her, and every so often, he'd end up getting beaten.

Under the moonlight, the two entered another ancient city—this was the last one in Lei Yu that they needed to check.

Unfortunately, this city had no reincarnated people, no tribulation-fated individuals, and no one harboring the origin of the heavenly demon within them. Ye Chen meaningfully labeled it a "three-nothing ancient city"—wait, no, make that a "four-nothing ancient city." Besides the first three, it also lacked cultivators, making it purely a mortal ancient city. And to make sure everyone knew, the city's name was straightforward: Hua Fan City.

Speaking of Hua Fan, Ye Chen couldn't help but think of Hua Fan Star, and thinking of Hua Fan Star naturally brought to mind Ji Ningshuang and Ye Fan. Indeed, the Holy Lord of the Heavenly Court was homesick; it had been over a year since he left Da Chu.

As soon as they entered the ancient city, Ye Chen took out a wine flask and walked along, sprinkling wine as he went, as if paying tribute to the departed. Perhaps this mortal ancient city had once been home to reincarnated people, but alas, mortals have such short lives—they couldn't withstand the passage of time and turned to dust before their homeland could find them. Ye Chen felt a deep sense of guilt; it wasn't that they hadn't waited, but that he had arrived too late.

Beside him, the female saint body glanced at him more than once, able to sense the sorrow in his heart. But she didn't understand that kind of quiet emotion, for she was a solitary figure, unaware of what affection or love meant. She didn't know that in this world, beyond the entrance to the primordial chaos, there were even more important things.

"Big brother, your wife is so beautiful—buy a bunch of flowers!"

As the two were lost in thought, a three- or four-year-old girl approached, carrying a basket of vibrant red flowers. The girl seemed to come from a poor family; her clothes were ragged and patched, and she was thin and sallow, though her big eyes were bright and pure. She looked up at Ye Chen with hope, wishing he would buy some so she could get steamed buns to fill her belly.

Ye Chen coughed awkwardly and glanced at the female saint body. Clearly, the girl was referring to her as his wife.

Heaven and earth as my witnesses, she's not my wife.

The female saint body shot him a look, her beautiful eyes flickering with irritation. What's wrong—is it that embarrassing for me to be your wife?

Ye Chen pursed his lips. To do a good deed, he squatted down, picked a bunch of flowers, and handed over a small ingot of gold.

The little girl jumped with joy and scampered off toward a nearby steamed bun shop. She looked starving.

"Here, for you."

Ye Chen casually tossed the bouquet to the female saint body.

She lowered her gaze to the flowers in her arms and paused for a second. The feeling of receiving flowers was indeed a bit strange.

The ancient city at night was bustling with activity, lanterns hanging everywhere and streets crowded with people from all walks of life. The street performers were especially lively, spitting fire, juggling, and showing off martial arts, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Ye Chen walked along, taking in the sights, savoring the authentic mortal atmosphere, simple and genuine. He still vividly remembered his own hundred years of living as a mortal, just like this.

Today, the ancient city was clearly celebrating a special festival, known in the mortal world as Qixi.

Because of this festival, Ye Chen had done countless good deeds along the way. There were so many little girls selling flowers, and their hopeful eyes made it hard for him to say no. The only issue was that his way of giving flowers was a bit too rough, turning what should have been a romantic gesture into something far less elegant.

Behind him, the female saint body had piles of flowers in her arms. If she changed her outfit, she could probably go sell them herself.

Up ahead, Ye Chen turned a corner and entered a small garden, not even bothering to go through the door—he headed straight to the rooftop and sat down on the eaves. Then, he pulled out a small fragment of the magic pillar, blew on it, wiped it with his sleeve, and held it up in the moonlight to examine it. Though just a fragment, it was crystal clear and even glowed.

Below, the female saint body remained quiet, hugging the pile of flowers—all given to her by Ye Chen. This thrifty girl hadn't thrown any away; she'd stored them all in her storage bag.

Tracing the origin!

On the rooftop, Ye Chen murmured softly and used the Zhou Tian evolution technique on the magic pillar fragment. This was his first time performing a deduction with it.

As he channeled his power, the fragment buzzed and trembled, flickering with specks of demonic light. Ye Chen gently closed his eyes, using the fragment as a medium to trace its source. The process was extremely lengthy, and he didn't dare rush it, proceeding slowly while staying ready to stop at any moment to avoid terrible backlash. In his current state, he couldn't afford to be tossed around like that.

The small garden fell silent as Ye Chen's mind delved into the deduction. From the outside, he looked like a stone statue, completely still, his expression solemn and focused.

A gentle breeze carried a faint fragrance as the female saint body ascended to the rooftop and sat lightly beside Ye Chen. Like an icy beauty, she didn't move a muscle, but without warning, she turned her head to glance at him. She seemed to want to reach out and brush away the stray strands of his white hair or smooth the marks of time on his face. In her eyes, a hint of feminine tenderness had appeared.

Suddenly, a firework shot up from the city and burst brilliantly in the sky, blooming like vibrant flowers or fluttering butterflies.

The female saint body tilted her head back slightly, her eyes filled with a dreamy haze as she watched, entranced. She couldn't help but reach out toward the ethereal display. Even as one infinitely close to great accomplishment as a saint body, she was still a woman, and a woman's heart could, in some unexpected moment, bloom across the sky like fireworks.

In another sudden moment, her cheek gently rested on Ye Chen's shoulder. With misty eyes, she gazed at the sky, where the fireworks resembled a person's life—seemingly splendid, yet fleeting, rising to their peak only to fade into darkness, leaving no trace in the world.

This picturesque scene even made the Ming Emperor want to scratch his head in confusion. This female saint body was truly unfathomable!

He couldn't figure her out, and neither could Di Huang. The saint body lineage was full of talents—Ye Chen was one, and so was the female saint body.

On the rooftop, Ye Chen remained deep in his deduction, and the female saint body stayed by his side. Their silhouettes, on this Qixi night, were perfectly fitting and atmospheric.

Ye Chen, of course, was unaware of all this; his mind was still in the midst of the deduction.

In the void, he seemed to trace back to the source, but it was still a rolling sea of demonic mist, identical to what he'd seen when deducing the origin of the heavenly demon.

"So it's really like that." Ye Chen's Zhou Tian divine eyes gleamed. By now, he had truly confirmed that there was a Qingtian Magic Pillar in the heavens, and this so-called heavenly demon origin was its doing.

This time, he pushed his vision to the limit, trying to pierce through the black demonic mist to find the pillar's location. But all he saw was a pair of massive eyes, flickering with demonic light and carrying an irresistible demonic power.

Ye Chen opened his eyes, fresh blood surging from his mouth—he had suffered another terrible backlash. Whether through the heavenly demon origin or the magic pillar fragment, he couldn't find the location, and both led to the same backlash.

"Where on earth is it?" Ye Chen murmured to himself, then subconsciously turned his head, feeling something unusual on his shoulder.

There it was—the female saint body had her cheek resting on his shoulder, sleeping peacefully under the moonlight, looking serene.

The only odd thing was a strand of clear liquid at the corner of her mouth—definitely drool.

Ye Chen's heart skipped a beat, and he felt an urgent need to... well, this was quite the situation. Not to brag, but he didn't dare move a muscle. If he woke this woman and she got embarrassed and angry, another beating was inevitable.

As he watched, the female saint body woke up. Realizing Ye Chen was looking at her, she quickly sat up and wiped her mouth. This near-great-accomplishment female saint body, in her flustered state, was quite a sight—like a mischievous girl who had done something wrong, her cheeks even a bit flushed, though it was unclear if it was from shame or something else.

Ye Chen said nothing, just gave her a meaningful look with his captivating eyes.

"What's there to look at?" the female saint body snapped irritably and turned to leave the rooftop.

Ye Chen's mouth twitched. You must be out of your mind!

The night grew deeper, and after that little interlude, Ye Chen collected his thoughts and sat back on the eaves, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. He knew the Qingtian Magic Pillar existed, but couldn't find its location—that was the most frustrating part.

Forcing down his doubts, he closed his eyes again to sense the principles of reincarnation.

In these recent days, searching for reincarnated people hadn't been without gains; each one found was a small stroke of fortune, allowing him to absorb reincarnation power. Little by little, it accumulated, refining his understanding of reincarnation bit by bit. But he still needed more reincarnation power to aid in this nirvana.

As night faded, dawn arrived.

In the morning, the warm sunlight bathed the world, adding a touch of harmony to the small city.

Ye Chen was up early, never forgetting his mission to find reincarnated people.

But someone had beaten him to it—the female saint body, of course. Today, she looked completely different, having shed her immortal robes for simple plain clothes, toning down her radiance for a more ordinary air. At that moment, she was like a gentle wife, busy in the kitchen preparing breakfast.

Ye Chen was stunned. A world-shaking female saint body making food? That totally upended his worldview!

When it came to the table, Ye Chen hesitated. Honestly, the female saint body's breakfast didn't look appetizing at all—dark and lumpy, clearly the work of someone who had never cooked before.

"First time making it," she said casually.

"I can tell." Ye Chen spoke with a tone of deep meaning, sitting there steadily without any intention of picking up his chopsticks. For no particular reason, he suspected the female saint body might have poisoned it. This woman had been acting way too strangely lately, and based on his years of experience, something was off. This whole scene felt eerily suspicious.

"What's the holdup? Eat," she glanced at him.

Ye Chen coughed and finally took his chopsticks. The food was hard to swallow, but Ye Chen could handle it. A man who had gnawed on book covers and eaten mice could stomach anything. The key was, this was made by the female saint body—even if it were a pile of crap, he'd have to eat it with his eyes closed. If she forced it down his throat, that would just hurt their "relationship."

He ate with gusto, but the female saint body looked awkward with hers. The food was awful—was she going to eat it or not?

"Are you hiding something about where the Qingtian Magic Pillar is?" Ye Chen asked suddenly, head down and shoveling rice, his expression casual but full of implication.