Chapter 2676: Taking a Stroll

Under the night sky, Xianyu was peaceful and harmonious. However, this peace wasn't entirely harmonious. If you looked out, you would always see a figure flitting back and forth in the moonlight, looking at first glance like a thief—and upon closer inspection, it was indeed a thief. Wherever there were spirit fruit trees or spirit herb gardens, his shadow was sure to be there.

That guy was none other than Ye Chen, the young master without a shred of shame. Taking advantage of the night when no one was around, he swept through everything in his path, his techniques incredibly skilled.

"You little brat, come out quick."

In Xianyu, roars could always be heard—it was Jiang Taigong. While Ye Chen wandered below, he flew back and forth above, carrying his God-Smiting Whip, his old face as black as charcoal. No matter how he searched, he couldn't find Ye Chen.

To this, Ye Chen only responded with two words: Hehe.

In this era of changes in the emperor's path, the evolution of the heavens still had some uses. It couldn't be divined, but it could conceal one's origin. In the vast Taishang Xianyu, finding him was like searching for a needle in the ocean.

At the immortal waterfall, Ye Chen manifested his Dharma body.

"Big boss."

Tears welled in the Dharma body's eyes as it opened its arms, wanting to give Ye Chen's true self a bear hug. It had been so long since they'd met, and it missed him terribly—that called for a hug.

Ye Chen lifted his foot and kicked it away.

The holy war Dharma body coughed awkwardly. It had been trying to be emotional, but the true self's kick made it extremely embarrassing—or rather, it had targeted the wrong person, as the true self didn't like nonsense.

"Go find a place to wander around."

Ye Chen waved casually and turned to disappear.

"Got it!"

The Dharma body chuckled. Sharing the same mind as the true self, it knew exactly why it had been summoned. On a night like this with such great scenery, the two of them couldn't let it go to waste.

The Dharma body left too, deliberately leaking a trace of aura to lure Jiang Taigong away from Ye Chen, buying some precious time for the true self to steal.

And sure enough, Jiang Taigong followed.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen revisited the old spot and arrived at the Changsheng Fruit Tree. He had already scoped it out earlier—this tree had to be taken. It was an invaluable immortal treasure!

This time, he didn't use brute force. He sacrificed the Chaos Dao principles, turning them into a stick, and carefully removed the array patterns engraved in secret, one by one.

After that, he unleashed his full power.

Buzz! Buzz!

The Changsheng Tree hummed and rustled its branches and leaves. It was truly shaken, inch by inch, pulling up from the ground, making the entire earth tremble.

"Up, get up for me."

Ye Chen's vital energy surged as he hugged the thick tree trunk, putting in more effort than on his wedding night. To steal someone else's treasure, he was truly dedicated.

From afar, the Changsheng Fruit Tree loomed like a mountain, while Ye Chen beneath it was as tiny as a grasshopper. Yet, this little grasshopper managed to lift the mountain.

Hmm?

Perhaps the commotion was too big, startling Jiang Taigong. He suddenly stopped in midair, glanced toward Ye Chen, then at the Dharma body, and instantly understood.

"You little rascal."

Jiang Taigong cursed loudly and charged straight at Ye Chen's true self. What a crafty scheme! To steal my treasure, you're even using diversion tactics.

"Old man, where do you think you're going?" The Dharma body chased after him.

"Get lost."

"Hey."

The Dharma body wasn't about to back down. It grabbed a spiked club and smashed it from behind, its power on par with the true self's—quite the fierce fighter.

"Do you really think you're the true self?"

Jiang Taigong turned around and swung his whip, shattering the spiked club and sending the Dharma body flying sideways. It wasn't that his power was lacking; it was because the true self was severely injured and had borrowed his strength.

Of course, it was also because the God-Smiting Whip was too ferocious. It might not work against the true self, but it hit the Dharma body perfectly—imperial weapons ignored certain laws.

"Up, get up for me."

Ye Chen's roar was powerful, veins bulging on his forehead like bright blue lines. The massive Changsheng Fruit Tree had been pulled from the ground.

"Put it down." Jiang Taigong flew over like a divine rainbow.

Ye Chen laughed. After all that hard work to pull it up, there was no way he'd put it back. He hoisted it and ran, stepping into the sky and stuffing the Changsheng Fruit Tree into his small world.

Jiang Taigong was furious, speeding up even more.

But Ye Chen's legs weren't for show either.

The two of them—one ahead, one behind—like a brilliant divine light and a dazzling immortal glow, traced two splendid arcs through the void. Ye Chen was severely injured, but his speed wasn't slow; he left Jiang Taigong tens of thousands of yards behind.

Ahead, a vortex appeared.

It was the gate of Taishang Xianyu, connecting to the Upper Immortal Realm. Ye Chen arrived in an instant, said nothing, and dove straight into the vortex.

Jiang Taigong arrived right after and chased in.

Clang!

Then came that sound. Jiang Taigong, who had just entered the vortex, was smashed out by Ye Chen's staff, leaving his divine sea buzzing and his eyes seeing stars.

By the time he regained his senses, Ye Chen had vanished.

Ugh!

Jiang Taigong's motion of clutching his chest was now practiced. This time, it was more than just swallowing a weight—he'd added a bowl of scorching lava, burning his insides painfully.

"Not bad."

Ye Chen, now out of Xianyu, descended from the sky into an ancient city. He was constantly checking his inner small world along the way. He'd prepared well—not only had he pulled up the Changsheng Tree, but he'd also taken the surrounding land for planting. Besides that, he'd swiped the bamboo grove and immortal pond to water the tree.

The massive fruit tree was lush and full of immortal energy, planted in his small world without any awkwardness. The fruits on it were crystal clear, with a fragrance wafting everywhere. He casually picked one, and its taste was no worse than a flat peach.

As he spoke, he found a small garden.

Then, a barrier sealed off the outside world.

Only then did he take out the two eternal lamps, suspending them in the air, and used his own primordial spirit to nourish the primordial spirit flames of Tianzun and Yue Xin, helping them condense.

"The true self... is still alive?"

Shura Tianzun was astonished. His primordial spirit flame was far more refined than Yue Xin's. With the added primordial spirit power, he regained his consciousness, his tone full of shock.

"I saved you, so you owe me a favor."

Ye Chen said meaningfully, quite boldly claiming the credit that should go to the Dao Ancestor. That peak great emperor wouldn't argue with him over it.

"What about Yue Xin?"

"Of course, she's alive too."

Ye Chen smiled, placing the two eternal lamps side by side. Even as primordial spirit flames, they looked incredibly well-matched, a match made in heaven.

"Thank you." Tianzun's primordial spirit flame flickered, and you could tell he was deeply moved. Being alive was a hope in itself.

"You're more reliable than Zhao Yun."

Ye Chen laughed as he withdrew his hand. Whenever he thought of Qin Mengyao, he couldn't help but sigh. They both came from the same universe, yet their endings were so different.

Tianzun didn't respond further; his flame just kept drifting toward Yue Xin. Though formless and handless, it wanted to embrace her primordial spirit flame.

Not long after, Yue Xin also regained some consciousness, overwhelmed with emotion, her voice choked with sobs. One was her protective holy lord, and the other was the Tianzun who loved her—they were both here today, a blessing from the heavens.

The emotional scene, Ye Chen didn't watch; the emotional words, he didn't listen to. He tactfully left them be and sat under an old tree in the garden.

Then, he sacrificed two flames: one was the Nine Martial Immortal Flame, and the other was the divine flame he'd fused in the Heavenly Realm. Both were golden and radiant, hovering in his palm, warm and familiar.

The immortal flame was very active, thrilled, always wanting to merge with the divine flame. It was certain that fusing them would produce Chaos Fire—it had waited for centuries.

"Wait a bit longer."

Ye Chen smiled. Both were at the immortal flame level, so they could indeed produce Chaos Fire, but he didn't plan to fuse them now. Producing Chaos Fire would be a heaven-defying creation, and he needed the right timing.

That timing would be at the ninth-level quasi-emperor bottleneck. He'd fuse the Chaos Fire in one go and break through the realm then. As for now, his eighth-level foundation was just solid; he still had a long way to ninth level, so it wasn't the right time to fuse the flames.

"You little rascal, where did you go?"

Just as he was watching, a string of curses rang out.

Looking up, it was Jiang Taigong, who had also left Xianyu, carrying his God-Smiting Whip and rampaging everywhere, shocking the immortals of the Heavenly Realm to their cores.

"Little rascal? Which little rascal?"

"It couldn't be Ye Chen, could it?"

"Judging by how furious Jiang Taigong is, it's probably him."

Below, crowds gathered, and discussions buzzed. Many pointed at the sky. Since the Heavenly Realm was unsealed that day, this was the first time they'd seen Jiang Taigong.

As for Ye Chen, he'd been taken away by the emperor and hadn't shown up since—he must have sneaked out. Jiang Taigong was here to catch him but couldn't find him.

"We greet Jiang Taigong."

Many veteran immortals and reclusive old immortals ascended and bowed respectfully from a distance. This was the old deity of the Heavenly Realm, after all!

Jiang Taigong said nothing and didn't respond, just carried his God-Smiting Whip with a dark expression, scanning below as he went. He didn't even say Ye Chen's name, just kept calling him "little rascal," afraid that if he said it, he'd curse out loud. Ye Chen had no shame, but as the old deity of the Heavenly Realm, he still had to save face.

"Didn't hear that."

In the small garden under the old tree, Ye Chen hugged an ancient book, reading it with great interest. He'd already decided to wander around the Heavenly Realm for a while, wait for things to blow over, then sneak back into Xianyu to grab more treasures. With the Dao Ancestor in seclusion and the immortals self-sealed, it was an opportunity not to be missed.

In the sky, Jiang Taigong gradually flew farther away, either because he didn't detect Ye Chen or because Ye Chen's hiding skills were too advanced—even with the imperial weapon, he couldn't find him.

The night grew deeper.

Ye Chen put away the ancient book and quietly gazed at the vast sky, longing for it. The barrier of the Heavenly Realm had been up for quite a while, and it had been ages since he'd returned to his homeland in Grand Chu—though only a few months had passed, it felt like centuries.

Buzz!

Not far away, the eternal lamp hummed. Tianzun's primordial spirit flame drifted out of the divine lamp, bathing in the starlight and moonlight, transforming into a nearly transparent human form.

In contrast, Yue Xin was still just a flame.

Ye Chen couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement at Tianzun's monstrous talent, making him sigh. In terms of prowess, he was in no way inferior to Zhao Yun. Once Tianzun recovered to his peak, Ye Chen would pit him against the Chaos Body for a fight.

"Kid, I have a sense of unease."

Tianzun stood still, nurturing Yue Xin's primordial spirit while speaking casually, his words carrying deep meaning.

"Unease?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

"The heavenly demons you mentioned are likely coming again."

"You can sense that?"

"It's one of my innate divine abilities." Shura Tianzun smiled. "I'm extremely sensitive to the Heaven-Supporting Demon Pillar. This feeling is just like back then, so it's probably going to happen."

Ye Chen fell silent, taking a deep breath. He wasn't worried about the Upper or Lower Realms—the Heavenly Realm had Dao Ancestor Hongjun in charge, so it would be fine. What he hoped for more was that among the incoming heavenly demons, there would be some reincarnated ones.