Chapter 2365: A Flashing Smile

Chapter 2365: Shan Xiao

The night was peaceful and serene. In the Ling Dan Ge, Ye Chen had already put away the alchemy furnace, holding his wine gourd as he sat on the stone steps. He crushed the jade slip given by Tian Zhi, which contained the sealed Di Dao Hei An immortal law.

As for Tian Zhi, having obtained Yi Nian Yong Heng, she had already left Heng Yue.

When it came to Di Dao Hei An, there was quite a bit to it—it wasn't something she had comprehended on her own or stumbled upon by accident. It was more accurate to say it was a gift from the heavens. If asked about it now, she probably wouldn't even know.

Ye Chen's mind was clear and tranquil as he focused on comprehending it. The more he studied, the more amazed he became. Di Dao Hei An seized heavenly fortune and creation, its principles profound beyond measure. Though only a short while had passed, he had already grasped some of its core truths.

Most importantly, he possessed the Lun Hui Yan, allowing him to enter and exit black holes at will, and Di Dao Hei An was directly related to black holes. This gave him a unique foundation for comprehending it.

Compared to him, Tian Zhi, who had already left, must have felt quite awkward.

The immortal law Yi Nian Yong Heng touched upon the principles of time. Without any expertise in the domain of time, trying to comprehend such an immortal law would be like reading a cryptic text, making it nearly impossible to grasp its essence.

"I want to learn it too. Share a copy with me!"

"Good idea, but you'll have to trade it for one of your family's immortal laws."

"No."

"Then how about giving me a smile? That could work too."

"Hehe."

Bei Sheng actually laughed, though it was a bit silly. After a quick "hehe," her smile vanished in an instant, a perfectly formal shan xiao—dry and emotionless.

"You..." Ye Chen twitched his mouth.

"I've smiled, so hand over the secret technique."

"Next time you go out, don't chat like that—it's a sure way to get beaten up." Ye Chen said with a meaningful look, but he still waved his hand and imprinted a copy of the secret technique from his eyes for Bei Sheng.

The so-called secret technique wasn't Di Dao Hei An, but a seductive art—essentially a charm technique enhanced with the principles of Di Dao Hei An, making it indistinguishable from the real thing.

It was all in good fun. A simple "hehe" shan xiao wasn't enough to fool him into giving away his secret technique for free. He had traded an immortal law for his, so he'd respond in kind.

"This is more like it." Bei Sheng smiled smugly.

"Come on, here's your share." Ye Chen raised his hand and gave Qi Yue a jade slip as well. It contained genuine immortal laws: not only Di Dao Hei An, but also Yi Nian Yong Heng, Di Dao Ping Miao, and his own Fei Lei Shen Jue. Since she was family, he was never stingy. As for how much she could comprehend or penetrate its depths, that depended on her own fortune.

Bei Sheng, on the other hand, was a different story.

That girl was a restless one, always teasing him, so she deserved a little prank. In this era of recuperation, there was nothing in short supply except idle people with too much time on their hands.

And he was one of them.

"Thank you." Qi Yue smiled sweetly, her heart filled with joy.

Ye Chen smiled and closed his eyes, stealing a glance at Bei Sheng. He could see her delicate brows furrowed tightly, as if doubting the authenticity of the immortal law, sensing something off but unable to pinpoint what.

"Are you sure this is Di Dao Hei An?" Bei Sheng turned her head and glanced at Ye Chen.

"If it's fake, may heaven strike me with five thunderbolts." Ye Chen declared righteously.

Boom!

No sooner had he spoken than a thunderous boom echoed. It was indeed thunder—or more precisely, dan thunder. Xu Fu had just produced a pill, triggering the dan thunder, and it happened to catch Ye Chen at the worst possible time.

Bei Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly, glancing at the sky and then back at Ye Chen.

"Don't sweat the small details." Ye Chen said gravely, his words full of earnestness.

It was absolutely a coincidence, but his oath was real enough. So what if it was heaven striking with five thunderbolts? Bring it on—he'd been struck by lightning all the way here anyway.

Bei Sheng was half-doubtful but slowly closed her eyes and continued to comprehend.

Meanwhile, Xu Fu had finished refining his pill. He rubbed his hands together and hurried over, all smiles.

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and sized up Xu Fu.

The old man’s grin was just too odd—it looked downright sleazy no matter how you looked at it.

"Share the spoils." Xu Fu winked suggestively.

"Spot on." Ye Chen clicked his tongue and passed on the secret technique. After all, they were all on the same side.

Xu Fu chuckled and left, continuing his alchemy.

Compared to cultivating immortal laws, he valued refining pills more. The reason he asked Ye Chen for an immortal law this time was because it could fetch a high price—it was incredibly valuable. If Ye Chen knew his thoughts, he'd probably flip the alchemy furnace over. What the heck, treating a priceless treasure like something to sell?

The night fell silent once more.

In the moonlit Ling Dan Ge, all was calm. Xu Fu was refining pills, while the other three were deep in comprehension.

Looking up, whether it was Qi Yue or Bei Sheng, both had slight frowns on their brows.

But their frowns meant different things. For Qi Yue, it was because the immortal laws were too profound. For Bei Sheng, it was on a whole other level—she was completely disoriented by that fake secret technique.

This was all thanks to Ye Chen's skill at making fakes seem real—truly his style.

Among the three, he was the most composed. With his innate foundation of black holes and the calculations of his Lun Hui Yan, his comprehension of Di Dao Hei An had yielded even more profound insights.

It wasn't until sometime later that he stood up and stepped out of the Ling Dan Ge.

In an open area outside Heng Yue, he slowly came to a stop, closed his eyes slightly, and unleashed Di Dao Hei An.

Immediately, the ground began to tremble.

Then, the surrounding world transformed dramatically. With him at the center, the area within ten zhang was solid land, while beyond that, a hundred zhang radius turned into a black hole, and outside the black hole, it was land again.

From high above, that ten-zhang patch of land where he stood looked like a small island, surrounded by darkness and shimmering with immortal light, strikingly vivid.

This was Di Dao Hei An.

Darkness held no order or balance, no yin or yang—just pitch-black void where laws were rendered meaningless. It was essentially a spatial black hole with terrifying phagocytic power, having already devoured mountains, rocks, flowers, and grass. If anyone approached without a deep enough foundation, they would likely be sucked in.

At that moment, if an enemy wanted to attack him, they would have to cross that hundred-zhang ring of black hole. In terms of defense, Di Dao Hei An was unparalleled. In this era, aside from a few individuals, who could casually cross a black hole? And if they couldn't cross it, they couldn't hit the one casting the technique.

No wonder he was known as the tenth emperor of Da Chu—he was a monster. In just a few hours, he had fully mastered an emperor-level immortal law. Such terrifying talent was nothing short of heaven-defying.

In comparison, Qi Yue was quite awkward; from the moment she received the law, she hadn't even grasped the basics. And even more awkward was Bei Sheng—her mind was a complete mess, turned to mush.

Equally awkward was Tian Zhi, who had obtained Yi Nian Yong Heng but couldn't comprehend it.

"Amazing, truly amazing." Bathed in starlight, Ye Chen laughed, his joy evident.

"Di Dao Hei An?" As Ye Chen rejoiced, a voice of surprise rang out. Someone had arrived—it was a stunning beauty. Upon closer look, it was none other than Hong Chen Xue.

Ye Chen opened his eyes and dispelled Di Dao Hei An, stretching lazily.

"Where did you learn Di Dao Hei An?" Hong Chen Xue approached, her expression full of astonishment.

"A senior passed it down." Ye Chen chuckled. "Want to learn it?"

"No interest."

"See you around." Ye Chen's laughter stopped abruptly, his face darkening. What kind of immortal law was this—something you could only encounter by chance, not seek out—and she just says no interest? He doubted anyone else in a million years would respond like that.

"Where are you going? Come with me." Hong Chen Xue quickened her pace to catch up, grabbing Ye Chen and pulling him along. Her movements were rough and urgent, as if there was some pressing matter.

Ye Chen furrowed his brow slightly. He didn't even need to ask—he knew something had gone wrong with Hong Chen.

Sure enough, she spoke lightly, "My master has awakened."

"Then?"

"Then, he started talking in his sleep." Hong Chen Xue took a deep breath. "Since yesterday, he's been like he's possessed, repeating the same eight words over and over."

"Eight words?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Tian Huang Di Lao, Bi An Hua Kai." Hong Chen Xue said.

"This..."