Chapter 2203: A Heartless Man

In the depths of the mountains, dozens of bodies lay strewn about in disarray, covered in blood. The famous escort agency, renowned throughout the four seas, had been eradicated, its main force wiped out in a single swoop, and the valuable goods it was escorting completely plundered.

It was a dark, windy night, a fitting time for murder.

In one of his lifetimes, Situ Nan, the bandit leader, perfectly embodied this sentiment. And just like that, he sent Ye Chen's fourth life on its way to a stable reincarnation.

Looking at Situ Nan's face, Ye Chen's expression turned even colder.

His second life lasted twenty-nine years, his third twenty-eight, neither reaching the age of thirty. By some twist of fate, his fourth life made it to sixty-eight, almost seventy, only to be ended by you and your gang. You and your crew truly were something else.

Frustrated as he was, he still needed to collect the reincarnation mark.

The reincarnation mark from his fourth life was slightly different from those of his second and third lives; it was purer. Once it merged with his body, it stirred the power of reincarnation briefly.

The older the age, the purer the reincarnation mark?

Ye Chen stroked his chin, certain this guess was correct.

Meanwhile, Situ Nan and his followers had already dragged away the valuables, leaving the bodies of the escort agents unattended, not even bothering to cremate them.

How tragic for his fourth life; it was even worse than his third. The body lay exposed in the wilderness, and one could easily imagine what came next, as the low growls of wolves echoed in the dark mountains.

Ye Chen sighed and shook his head, unable to watch any longer, and quietly departed.

Along the way, he repeatedly performed divinations and occasionally looked up at the void.

Logically speaking, with his fourth life's soul returned to heaven and earth, his fifth life should have been born.

However, no matter how he calculated, he couldn't detect the fifth life.

This was unsettling, making him suspect that the reincarnation of the heavens had malfunctioned. Otherwise, why couldn't he figure it out?

With that thought, he headed straight for Tianxuan Gate.

As he expected, there was indeed a problem with the heavens' gate.

When he arrived at Tianxuan Gate, it was packed with people, all zhundi experts. Donghuang Tai Xin was also there, gathered on the ethereal peak, observing the reincarnation of the heavens. This was because, at a certain moment, the reincarnation had ceased functioning, and the deceased were not entering the cycle as they should.

"Where did the problem occur?"

Tianlao and Dilao were the most anxious, scrutinizing every inch.

"Could it be instability in the emperor artifacts?"

Fu Ya pondered aloud.

"Someone is outside the reincarnation, disrupting the heavens' cycle."

Donghuang Tai Xin's beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, as if she had gleaned a clue from the vast reincarnation array.

Ye Chen was also there and could clearly see the heavens' reincarnation. He already knew the issue: it was due to Hong Chen, Shenxuan Feng, and Ruoxi, as none of them were in the three realms and six paths, which had thrown off the cycle.

He had only learned this later, but in this era, Donghuang Tai Xin was unaware of the reason, which is why it took her several hundred years to trace the source.

It was all because there were too many people in Da Chu, and they had to check each one individually.

Keep searching!

Ye Chen dusted off his hands and left the void, finding a comfortable spot to sit cross-legged, intending to contemplate reincarnation while waiting for his fifth life to be born.

With three reincarnation marks already, representing three cycles, through these marks, he could clearly see the stories of those three lives, full of tales.

Gradually, he fell into a state of deep meditation, focusing on enlightenment.

As his mind cleared, the people of Tianxuan Gate worked diligently. Both dashi and zhundi experts were dispatched to every corner of Da Chu, checking one by one.

That year, many people woke from their dreams, feeling as though pairs of eyes were watching them in the shadows, making their skin crawl.

Those watchers were, of course, from Tianxuan Gate, careful not to interfere in Da Chu's affairs and only observing covertly. Da Chu had many talented individuals with sharp senses, and they were not few in number.

Yet, after a year of searching, there was still no news. Even the heavens' reincarnation couldn't reveal Hong Chen, Shenxuan Feng, and Ruoxi, so how could they be easily found?

With no choice, they had to continue the search, checking one person at a time.

Donghuang Tai Xin issued a strict order: if they couldn't find them, there was no need to return. No wonder she was so tense—the heavens' reincarnation involved too much to take lightly.

Due to her command, even more elderly zhundi who had been in slumber were awakened and joined the search.

Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

In the small bamboo grove, Ye Chen remained seated in meditation, unmoving for a year.

From the time he entered reincarnation, nearly 120 years had passed.

For ordinary people, that spanned two generations.

But for the original era of Da Chu, it was merely three to five days.

As Ming Di had said, the flow of time in reincarnation was not aligned with the original era. Three to five days passed in an instant, but 100 to 200 years held great significance, giving Ye Chen ample time for many things, such as enlightenment.

"I wonder if the time flow between the heavens and the Tianmo Domain is also different."

Gazing at the thousand-year Da Chu, Di Huang mused.

"Of course it is."

Ming Di replied calmly, with full conviction. "The Tianmo Domain is like the current thousand-year Da Chu, with a vastly unequal time flow. A few days in the heavens' myriad domains might equate to three to five years in the Tianmo Domain. That's why, during each Tianmo invasion, the number of Tianmo zhundi absolutely overwhelms ours. If not for the suppression the Tianmo face in the heavens, any invasion could potentially flatten them."

"Why can multiple emperors coexist in the Tianmo Domain?"

Di Huang asked again.

"That's my doubt as well."

Ming Di took a deep breath, deeply curious about the Tianmo Domain and what kind of world it was, hiding what secrets. If conditions allowed, he would like to see it for himself. For multiple heavens to coexist, there must be a reason.

After this brief exchange, both withdrew their gazes from the thousand-year Da Chu and looked toward the original era of Da Chu. The female Shengti still said nothing, leaving the zhundi frustrated.

Helplessly, Tianxuan Gate sealed the female Shengti again.

Chu Xuan and Chu Ling, along with the others, were also unsealed one after another and sent back to Hengyue.

At that moment, Jade Girl Peak was shrouded in gloom.

The goddesses all looked sorrowful, their tear stains never drying. Even little Ye Fan and little Yang Lan sensed the sadness and behaved quietly, not daring to be too playful.

Ye Chen was unaware of all this; his mind was still wandering in enlightenment.

Bathed in starlight and moonlight, the reincarnation power around his body became even more refined than before, subtly resonating with the Dao principles and weaving heavenly sounds of the great Dao.

And so, many more years passed before he awoke from his trance.

On a peaceful night, he left Tianxuan Gate and went to the mortal realm of Nan Chu.

His fifth life had already been born, in a remote village nestled by mountains and rivers, peaceful and serene—a kind of tranquility rarely found in the cultivation world.

Through the window, he could see a young boy reading late into the night by lamplight.

It was the height of summer, with incessant insect chirps, but the boy was extraordinarily diligent, wiping sweat repeatedly while never taking his eyes off his studies. He flipped through the pages again and again, oblivious to the world outside, focused solely on the sages' texts.

When Ye Chen descended, he saw his fifth life's body suddenly look up, gazing blankly toward the window, as if he could see Ye Chen, but only for a moment before burying himself back in his books.

Ye Chen smiled. For his fifth life, though he had memories, they were vague. He only knew it was that of a scholar, striving to pass the imperial exams and return home in glory.

In the deep night, he and his fifth life—one inside the house, the other outside the window—were mere steps apart, yet separated by several cycles of reincarnation.

Ye Chen had often wondered what it would be like if he could meet his past selves in reincarnation—it would surely be quite novel.

This wasn't without precedent, like Shenxuan Feng or Hong Chen and the six paths, both from future timelines. Reversing time and reversing reincarnation were likely the same principle. They might meet, but one side would be in a muddled state, inevitably facing the backlash of laws.

At some point, his fifth life slung his book satchel over his shoulder and stepped out the door, heading to the capital for the exams. The entire village came to see him off, hoping he would top the list as the top scholar.

"Wait for me to return in glory, and I will come to marry you!"

At the east end of the village, his fifth life held a woman's hand, his voice full of tender affection.

As for that woman, whenever Ye Chen saw her, he couldn't help but rub his brow.

Clearly, she was another familiar face, named Nian Wei. She had once been a disciple of Da Chu's Xingyue Palace. Back then, when Ye Chen went to Xingyue Palace to arrange a marriage for Ye Xingchen, he had received an emperor fragment from her hands, forging a connection since that time.

During the Tianmo invasion, Nian Wei had also died in battle, like Xie Yun, and reincarnated to Zhuque Star, becoming the niece of Ruo Tian Zhuque. As for Ruo Tian Zhuque, she was Xuan Chen's wife: Yan Fei. Ye Chen still vividly remembered those events from the past.

What surprised him was that his fifth life and Nian Wei shared a fated connection in reincarnation, a karma that might span several cycles.

His fifth life departed, walking farther and farther away.

Ye Chen accompanied him, and even as they went, his fifth life kept looking back.

At the village entrance, under the peach blossom tree, Nian Wei was still waving, standing on tiptoe to gaze into the distance, until his fifth life's figure blurred, yet she remained unwilling to leave.

Don't let her down.

Ye Chen averted his gaze and continued on the road with his fifth life.

He had great confidence in his fifth life.

Over the years, he had stayed by his fifth life's side and knew of his hard work and ambition. It would be against heaven's justice if he didn't become the top scholar.

Indeed, his fifth life lived up to expectations, securing first place.

But Ye Chen guessed the beginning correctly and not the end. His fifth life became the top scholar, yet he fell to the temptations of wealth and status. He married the princess and became the emperor's son-in-law.

The once poor scholar, in the eyes of the world, had risen to the skies in a single bound.

The wedding was grand, with red silk draping the imperial city.

Looking up, his fifth life sat high on horseback, basking in glory and admiration from the people. The feeling of superiority had completely ensnared him.

At that moment, how could he remember his original intentions, his vows, or the devoted woman waiting at the edge of the world?

This must be the legendary scum!

As a heartless man in the world, he was the perfect example.

Ye Chen remarked meaningfully, and it felt entirely natural to curse his fifth life that way.

He had spent years accompanying his fifth life in study, only to have him perform a real-life Chen Shimei. How gratifying—truly gratifying.

Ye Da Shao left and returned to his fifth life's hometown.

The village was still the same, nestled by mountains and rivers, with birdsong and flowers.

That year's peach blossom tree was especially vibrant, its petals scattering through the air.

Under the peach blossom tree, Nian Wei was still there—or rather, she came every day, gazing in the direction her fifth life had gone, standing on tiptoe in the hope that her beloved would return home.

Ah!

Ye Chen sighed and sat under the peach blossom tree.

He sat there for a full sixty years.

Nian Wei came every day, year after year, as flowers bloomed and faded. She waited for her fifth life for sixty years straight, waiting until her hair turned white, her back bent, and she needed a cane to walk. She waited until her beautiful eyes grew dim, offering her entire life's splendor to those tragic years.

Today, she didn't come again; she no longer had the strength. She lay on her sickbed.

Ye Chen was there by the bed, silent.

Sixty years—for mortals, how long that was. He had watched this devoted woman go from youthful grace to frail old age, bit by bit.

Yet, she never waited for her fifth life.

In her final moment, two turbid tears traced down her sorrowful cheeks.

For sixty years, she had upheld their vows and deceived herself. Only at the end did she accept the harsh reality, no longer willing to wait. With regret and sorrow, she stepped into the next reincarnation.

In the room, Ye Chen left quietly and glanced at the void.

His fifth life had also died, at the ripe age of eighty, surrounded by descendants.

In his last instant, his fifth life suddenly recalled the past—the peach blossom tree and the woman who had waited for him.

In a haze, he seemed to see her smiling back at him.

For sixty years, he had enjoyed wealth and glory and seen through the vicissitudes of life. He wanted to return to the village but could never go back.

This cycle was already missed; he hoped to atone in the next.

Atonement, my foot!

Ye Chen cursed loudly and stormed off. It was fortunate he couldn't interfere in reincarnation; if he could, he would revive his fifth life just to strangle him again.

This life was infuriating to watch.

So much so that Ye Chen didn't even bother to see his fifth life off. You heartless scum, you lowlife, you lived to eighty—why didn't lightning strike you dead?

Not far along, he saw his fifth life's reincarnation mark streak through the sky and merge into his body, intertwining and resonating with the other marks.

As Ye Chen contemplated reincarnation, he headed to the other end of Nan Chu.

With his fifth life extinguished, his sixth life had already been born as fated.

Still in the mortal realm of Nan Chu, in a quiet town, his sixth life was in swaddling clothes, chubby and pink, with innocent wide eyes curiously observing the world.

When Ye Chen appeared in the void, the little one paused briefly.

Ye Chen's expression softened, returning a smile.

His memories of his sixth life were not insignificant; it would be that of a physician, following in his father's footsteps. Unfortunately, his fate was full of hardships, and he didn't live past thirty.

The death of his sixth life was the result of a conspiracy. It happened because he diagnosed a court minister's daughter as pregnant. It should have been good news, but the woman wasn't married yet.

In this mortal kingdom, premarital pregnancy was a violation of propriety and could lead to punishment like immersion in a pig cage. To cover up the scandal, the court minister sent assassins to kill his sixth life.

And indeed, things unfolded as Ye Chen had foreseen.

On a moonless, windy night twenty-three years later, his sixth life, returning from a house call, collapsed in a pool of blood. An ordinary commoner to the end, he died in confusion, never having done evil in his life and even accumulating good karma—yet he met such a fate.

Ye Chen was present at his death, witnessing it firsthand.

"Congratulations, sir, your wife is with child!"

Those words still echoed in his ears—they were what his sixth life had said. What he remembered most was that the pregnancy his sixth life had diagnosed belonged to someone familiar.