Chapter 2370: Free Gift

The vast starry sky was far from peaceful, with thunder rumbling incessantly, mostly from heavenly tribulations. Breakthroughs happened every day, and those advancing to quasi-emperor were countless.

The older generation felt awkward, reminiscing about how difficult it had been for them to reach quasi-emperor in their time. But in this era, advancing to quasi-emperor seemed effortlessly easy.

Count them up, and you'd find plenty under a thousand years old who had become quasi-emperors—sure, some were from the older ranks, but most were rising stars, each more monstrous than the last, fiercely talented.

Even Jiu Xiao Zhenren, the legendary youngest quasi-emperor, couldn't hide his embarrassment. His myth wasn't just broken; it had been utterly crushed, beyond comparison.

The quasi-emperors at the peak of the heavens remained composed, especially those in the know. Ye Chen had already sealed his position as quasi-emperor a decade ago, and the Dizi's imperial suppression had weakened considerably, easing the era's constraints and making breakthroughs simpler.

What excited people most was the golden age, with the divine coffin tribulation already manifesting—this was the era of new emperors. As for who would become emperor, any quasi-emperor was a possibility.

Thus, the coming years would be a contest for the imperial path, with no regard for order of arrival or seniority—purely fair competition. The one who defied the heavens to become emperor would lead a new era, and the new emperor's glory would soon illuminate the myriad domains and heavens.

The starry sky rumbled, and Lingdan Pavilion was no exception.

This was all thanks to Young Master Ye, who was beyond obsessed—he had gone completely mad in his alchemy pursuits, muttering to himself constantly as he reached a bottleneck in comprehending the Dao of pills.

It was another serene night when an eight-pattern pill soared from Ye Chen's furnace into the sky.

Instantly, dark clouds gathered, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring in all colors, painting the void in dazzling splendor.

"A seven-colored pill tribulation."

Xu Fu stared in a daze.

"This kind of phenomenon..." Bei Sheng and Qi Yue both murmured. Though it was a pill tribulation, it resembled a human crossing a tribulation, with the seven-colored pill lightning mirroring a cultivator's seven divine tribulations.

Ye Chen watched intently, using his Samsara Eye to evolve and capture the essence of the nine-pattern pill Dao.

To this day, he dared not attempt refining a nine-pattern pill. Aside from the Nine Revolutions Soul-Returning Pill, he had other nine-pattern recipes, but he wouldn't touch them—first, due to a lack of materials, and second, because he hadn't broken through the eight-pattern level yet, like a cultivator hitting a bottleneck.

In the days that followed, he often ventured out, always starting with a visit to Di Huang.

His ancestor was truly a deep sleeper—it had been several years, and he showed no sign of waking, muttering the same eight words in his dreams every night: Tianhuang Dilao, Bi'anhua Kai.

It was a good thing he didn't sleepwalk; otherwise, no one in the heavens could stop him. If he caused chaos, it would be utter mayhem—a fully realized Sheng Ti that no one could handle.

The Nü Di's remnant soul was a loyal guardian.

She knew the secret: waking Di Huang was simple—it just required Ye Chen to dissolve the memory contract. She also knew he could do it, as he had once dissolved the memory contract of the former Nü Sheng Ti.

However, Di Huang had instructed before falling asleep that as long as there was no war in the heavens, there was no need to wake him. A fully realized Sheng Ti had deep obsessions and wouldn't rest until he uncovered the truth.

And Zi Xuan, in these years, had faithfully kept that secret, never telling Ye Chen. As for the clever Young Master Ye, he never realized what that contract truly signified.

Di Huang was his first stop; the second was Yunu Peak. Every so often, he went to check on his wives. Whether it was Chu Xuan, Chu Ling, Ji Ningshuang, or Liu Ruyan and the others, they had all reached their breakthrough bottlenecks and could seal as quasi-emperors with a single thought.

The reason they hadn't broken through was to consolidate their Dao essence, which might take a long while.

The Nü Sheng Ti was still there, stuck in her childlike form with no sign of growth. The domineering nature of the Zhuxian Forbidden Curse even made Ye Chen click his tongue in amazement—it had trapped a Nü Sheng Ti for over a decade.

Ye Chen's third stop was naturally Tianxuan Gate—to see Ye Fan and Yang Lan, to check on Hong Chen, and to scavenge for immortal herbs. Refining pills required materials, and once his own stock ran out, he had to find a source—Tianxuan Gate was like a natural immortal herb garden.

Thus, every visit to Tianxuan Gate turned into complete chaos. He boldly robbed the place, and the old folks weren't having it, each grabbing their weapons for a fight.

But Ye Chen had a secret trick to defuse the awkwardness—something even better than imperial Dao immortal techniques. Yes, the legendary collector's edition. Though the old folks acted indignant, they all lit up at the sight of it. It wasn't really about ganging up on Ye Chen; they were just putting on a show to get some collector's edition for themselves.

So, when Ye Chen stayed away for a while, those improper old men actually missed it and sent people every few days to ask if the Tenth Emperor of Great Chu still needed alchemy materials.

In the end, Ye Chen and Tianxuan Gate reached an unspoken agreement: with the collector's edition, no words were needed—they could take whatever from Tianxuan Gate.

It was fortunate Donghuang Taixin wasn't around; otherwise, seeing this scene would probably make her so angry she'd spit blood. She had left them in Great Chu to guard the place and ward off thieves like a certain someone, but instead, they were inviting him and even fetching things for him. That wasn't theft anymore—it was practically giving it away!

As proven, having a divine ability for peeping was incredibly useful, and Ye Chen's experiences over the thousand years in Great Chu weren't for nothing. Many of those collector's editions came from the Samsara.

With Tianxuan Gate as a natural treasure trove and using collector's editions to exchange for materials, Ye Chen's path in alchemy grew more unrestrained. His alchemy skills had reached a terrifying level.

Time passed, and the eighth year ended as the ninth arrived.

The master of Wanhua Valley, Fu Ling, returned as a quasi-emperor and brought good news to Ye Chen: Bi You had overcome nirvana and finally taken that step, advancing to quasi-emperor.

In the second month, more good news came—Shangguan Han Yue and Lin Shi Hua had also become quasi-emperors. Lin Shi Hua and Haotian Shiyue didn't let Great Chu down either, bathing in thunder and undergoing a heaven-defying transformation. After nine deaths and one life, they became quasi-emperors, writing their own legend.

Late at night, Ye Chen put away his alchemy furnace, changed into clean dao robes, prepared the collector's edition, and headed to Tianxuan Gate for materials. He hadn't planned to go, as he still had plenty.

But those improper old men had run out and had urged him several times already.

"This isn't my fault; your people are forcing me." Ye Chen left Lingdan Pavilion and strolled along, saying this to Donghuang Taixin. He wondered if that woman would come back and see the mess at Tianxuan Gate, then smack Tianlao and the others one by one.

As usual, he first went to check on Di Huang—still sound asleep.

Zi Xuan stayed by his side like a gentle wife, secretly stroking his face. In the dead of night, she would leave a red lip print on him, then hurriedly wipe it away, afraid he'd wake up furious. After all, she was just a remnant soul, not the Nü Di.

Ye Chen was quite understanding and always slipped some treasures to Zi Xuan on his visits.

The so-called treasures were some powdered items: Great Chu specialties.

"Scram."

In the quiet night, Zi Xuan's scolding rang out sharply, waking many people.

Ye Chen was already long gone by the time she yelled, having used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape—it was incredibly practical and impossible to chase.

Passing by Yunu Peak, he couldn't help but look up.

Those wives who had gone out for training had all succeeded, so why was there no sign of movement from these ones? Take Chu Xuan and Ji Ningshuang, for example—their talents far surpassed Haotian Shiyue's, yet there was no hint of a breakthrough.

But as he glanced, something extraordinary happened—a beam of immortal light shot into the sky, piercing a hole in the void. Dark clouds gathered, thunder boomed, and the entire Hengyue Sect shook.

Ye Chen's eyes lit up—it was clearly a heavenly tribulation, and the one triggering it was Chu Xuan.