Chapter 2231: Buy One Get Two Free

Chapter 2231: Lead One, Send Two

Boom! Bang! Boom!

The immortal fire's arrogance only fueled the Tai Chu Shen Huo even more, making its collisions increasingly fierce. It seemed ready for another three hundred rounds of battle with the immortal fire. "You're all flames—why do you have to be so petty?"

That must have been the immortal fire's retort.

Over time, the Tai Chu Shen Huo finally calmed down, unable to break through the Emperor Dao Fuxi Array.

Once it settled, Ye Chen sent a divine sense message, but it was just empty flattery.

However, the Tai Chu Shen Huo completely ignored him. As the second-ranked flame in the hierarchy, it had its own pride and sophistication, leaving Ye Chen feeling quite awkward.

The immortal fire and heavenly thunder weren't having it—they kept trying to charge into the array to have a chat about life with the Tai Chu Shen Huo.

In fact, they actually got in.

Ye Chen didn't say a word or stop them, which was as good as giving silent approval.

With his approval, the Tai Chu Shen Huo was in for it. It was already struggling in a one-on-one with the immortal fire and getting beaten badly enough to want to flee. Add in the heavenly thunder, and things got even worse—both were incredibly ferocious, leaving it unable to fight back.

Even so, the Tai Chu Shen Huo was still tough as nails. "Beat me to death, but I won't submit."

Ye Chen had no choice but to use a divine talisman to seal it away.

He couldn't help but wonder if flames of this level had ever had masters before. Anyone who could subdue the Tai Chu Shen Huo must have been a great divine being. Clearly, he hadn't reached that level yet.

But he wasn't in a hurry. He had plenty of time—one year if not, then two; two if not, then three. Eventually, the Tai Chu Shen Huo would see his personal charm.

As for personal charm, the Book of Life and Death's evaluation of him was the most sincere.

Ye Chen finally turned around and didn't leave right away. Instead, he wandered around the black hole, just in case there were more treasures. The black hole was full of dangers, but it also held opportunities, always bringing unexpected surprises—like the chaos qi from back then or this time's Tai Chu Shen Huo, both strokes of fate.

Bei Sheng followed along, full of curiosity about the black hole.

"From behind, this girl and our holy master really look like a couple."

"The Bei Sheng of Xuan Huang, the top beauty of Bei Yue, paired with the Desolate Ancient Holy Body—it's a perfect match of talent and beauty."

"Who knows, we might even get to see some live action."

"Shh, keep it down. We don't want the beauty to hear and get embarrassed."

At the mouth of the Chaos Cauldron, a group of Da Chu talents were all lined up, peeking out and chattering away. They had no interest in the black hole, but they were very invested in Ye Chen's love life. If conditions allowed, they wouldn't mind using some Da Chu specialties to help things along.

As Bei Sheng walked, she glanced back at the Chaos Cauldron.

This woman had sharp ears and heard every word, her cheeks flushing red. The mention of "live action" made her face burn even more—it was utterly mortifying.

Ah!

Ye Chen let out a sigh, feeling a bit regretful. As he walked along, he didn't spot any more treasures, and the immortal fire and heavenly thunder had been unusually quiet, with no disturbances at all.

Time to go home!

Ye Chen invoked the Heavenly Dao and escaped the black hole.

When he reappeared, he was in the vast starry sky, shrouded in a bloody mist. The battle that had wiped out the Drought Border had been massive, with countless lives lost, leaving a layer of blood fog hanging over the star domain.

See you!

Bei Sheng waved and headed straight for Xuan Huang. After over a decade away, she was homesick.

And she wasn't the only one—Ye Chen missed home too.

Under the bright moonlight, he manifested in Da Chu, the real Da Chu, not the one in reincarnation. Every mountain, river, blade of grass, and tree was just as he remembered—familiar and warm.

Inside the cauldron, the group of Da Chu reincarnated souls were already in tears.

Before being unsealed, the thing they heard most in the realms was about the Da Chu Heavenly Gates. Little did they know, they were all Da Chu's people, and in some bygone era, they had fought bloody battles against the heavenly demons on this very land, building a crimson chang cheng with their flesh and blood.

We're home!

Ye Chen smiled and waved his hand, releasing everyone.

We're home!

Wails of crying echoed through the quiet night as they knelt on their homeland's soil. After centuries of trials and a full reincarnation cycle, they had finally found their spiritual haven. This magnificent land carried their bloody yet beautiful memories.

Amid the sobs, Ye Chen quietly departed.

This time, he didn't soar through the sky but walked step by step on the ground. If reincarnation counted as years, he had already walked a thousand years. He was a witness to history, having seen Da Chu's rise and fall, and witnessed countless joys and sorrows. In this small Da Chu, ancient legends continued to unfold.

"I really want to chat with him."

In the Tian Xuan Gate, watching Ye Chen through the Illusory Heaven Water Curtain, Di Lao stroked his chin. From the moment Ye Chen returned, he had noticed him. There were so many questions he needed this junior to answer—Ye Chen must be hiding many secrets.

"He's finally home—give him some time. Why chat now? What's there to talk about with you anyway?" Tian Lao glanced at Di Lao. "You old fool, don't you have any self-awareness?"

"Hey, you and your temper!"

"You couldn't beat me anyway."

"Tonight's such a beautiful night with a full moon—does the beauty have time to stargaze together?" Compared to Tian Lao and Di Lao, Sheng Zun was in a more romantic mood. He ignored the Illusory Heaven Water Curtain and Ye Chen, focusing instead on Yue Huang. He held a folding fan, fanning it rhythmically.

No surprise he was the one who had survived the emperor tribulation—he had no interest in ordinary women and loved to flirt with empresses, especially Yue Huang. He always wanted to have some deeper exchanges with her, and for that, he often flipped through her private collection late at night.

Yue Huang said nothing and turned to leave, not wanting to deal with him.

Sheng Zun was shameless and chased after her with a grin.

Behind them, the group of old quasi-emperors stroked their beards. It was a good thing the other Da Chu emperors were in seclusion; if the Nine Emperors were around, Sheng Zun would probably be beaten half to death.

The night grew deeper.

In the small bamboo grove, only Dong Huang Tai Xin remained, quietly watching Ye Chen. That young Holy Body was still walking step by step, his figure looking somewhat desolate, covered in the dust of ages.

As the goddess of Kunlun, she owed Ye Chen her gratitude.

She had been ready to give up, but he had reignited hope for the heavens. Even with the heavenly demons' devastation and the trials of tribulation, as long as he was there, there would always be a ray of dawn.

Bathed in moonlight, Ye Chen silently entered Heng Yue Zong.

On Long Wu's peak, he revealed his true form.

Though it was late, that big bald head wasn't asleep. He sat on the stone steps in front of his door, holding a stick and drawing circles on the ground, bored out of his mind. He was clearly waiting for someone—Ye Chen, to be exact. Ever since the Drought Border was destroyed, he'd been waiting right here.

"Whose wife is here to pick up her husband?" Ye Chen laughed, bringing out the reincarnated Dong Fang Yu Ling. She was still sealed, sleeping peacefully, her cheeks plump and adorable.

At those words, Long Wu jumped up, his eyes brimming with tears. He was a bit more flustered than expected, his hands trembling as he took her, holding her carefully for fear of dropping her.

"It's her, it's her." The big bald man's tears streamed down his face as he clutched Dong Fang Yu Ling to his chest. Even the toughest heart melted completely in that instant.

"Come on, here's your mother-in-law and father-in-law." Ye Chen was quite thoughtful, finding a spot and neatly arranging the grave of Dong Fang Yu Ling's father, while placing her mother on a layer of clouds. Now the family of three was reunited.

Long Wu wiped his tears, his expression a bit odd. Was this lead one, send two?

Exactly—it was lead one, send two. In the years to come, as her son-in-law, he'd have to take good care of his mother-in-law, getting up early every day to burn incense for his father-in-law.

Ye Chen left, feeling a bit more at ease after sorting out another romance.

That night, Ye Da Shao wasn't idle.

As he passed Xiong Er's peak, he tossed in a few heavenly thunder curses.

When he went by Si Tu Nan's peak, he threw in a few landmines.

And at Xie Yun's peak, he stuck on a few explosion talismans.

Boom! Bang! Boom!

These sounds rang out loudly in the quiet night.

"Which bastard is full and has nothing better to do?"

"A bunch of idiots, all of you are brainless."

These curses echoed just as sharply through the night.

The entire Heng Yue Zong was thrown into chaos in an instant, with people waking from their sleep everywhere.

The people of Heng Yue Zong were used to this sort of thing by now.

Stuff like this happened every few days—someone's treasure going missing, someone getting ambushed. It was all par for the course. If there wasn't an incident or two every day, people wouldn't know what to do with themselves.

The worst was when meals turned out to have Da Chu specialties mixed with laxatives.

That was Heng Yue Zong for you—the gathering place of talents and the birthplace of unique customs.

I'm truly content!

Listening to the swearing from the peaks, Ye Chen wore a look of earnest satisfaction.

As he spoke, he had already arrived at the base of Jade Girl Peak.

Ah!

Before he could step onto the stone stairs, he heard a scream from underfoot.

Ye Chen looked down—huh? It was a person.

And what a person it was—round and pitch-black.

He was so dark that you could barely see him at night. Ye Chen had been wondering why his step felt so soft, only to realize there was someone lying on the stairs.

No need to guess—it was Tang San Shao. Across all of Da Chu, and even the heavens, you couldn't find anyone blacker than him. He was impressively dark.

"Old father-in-law, you're back." The little black fatty climbed up, clutching his waist and grimacing in pain. It was all because Ye Chen's foot had been too heavy, nearly breaking his waist.

One thing worth noting was that when he spoke, his teeth were strikingly white—like two rows floating in the dark, enough to scare the timid into thinking it was a ghost.

"I say, little fatty, why aren't you sleeping at this hour and lying here instead?" Ye Chen chuckled as he looked at Tang San Shao. The guy might not be much to look at, but he was pretty entertaining.

"Your Ye Ling won't let me sleep up there."

"She won't let me eat either."

"Every night, she throws me down and scares me."

"What can I do? I just lie here and sleep."

The little black fatty went on and on, tears and snot flowing as he finally found someone to vent to. "I'm not even the son-in-law, just a guest, and I get beaten up every few days."

Ye Chen listened and felt quite pleased. You little chunk, not only are you dark, but you've got a big heart too. If you're dark, go sleep somewhere bright! Lying here at night— no one can see you. It's a good thing I stepped on your waist; if it had been your head, it might have exploded.

"Old father-in-law, apart from being a bit dark, a little short, and eating a lot, I've got no other flaws. Why not give me Ye Ling?"

Tang San Shao rubbed his hands together, chuckling. Not chuckling would have been better—his eyes narrowed into slits, and calling Ye Chen "old father-in-law" was sickeningly sweet.

"This might be a bit tricky."

"What's the standard for choosing a son-in-law in your family?"

"At the very least, he has to look like a person at first glance."

"Old father-in-law, are you cursing me?"

"Don't overthink it—life is still beautiful."

Ye Chen patted Tang San Shao on the shoulder with a meaningful tone, then strolled up Jade Girl Peak.

Behind him, Tang San Shao scratched his head, not quite sure what had just happened. After a moment of confusion, he lay back down and was snoring in just a second.

Just as Ye Chen said, this guy wasn't just dark—he had a huge heart. The no-worries type, and he never learned his lesson. He'd just been stepped on and was sleeping in the same spot again. With moves like that, his big head was bound to get crushed one day.