Chapter 2721: No Rush

Within the Lei She Ancestral Ground, everything lay in ruins. Amidst the devastation, Ye Chen and his family wandered leisurely, forming a team to search the area. The battlefield needed clearing. Although it wasn't an emperor's inheritance, there were many treasures, and quite a substantial number of them.

"You dead big cauldron, why do you swallow everything? Give it back to me."

"Don't make a fuss, I'm not full yet."

Ye Ling's voice was crisp and clear as she chased the Hun Dun Ding. It was only because the big cauldron was too greedy. It devoured large chunks of scattered artifact fragments from the ancestral ground. Magical tools, immortal iron, divine iron – everything was fair game. Even the small piece of immortal iron in the little girl's hand was snatched away in the blink of an eye. For the sake of treasure, it had completely abandoned all shame.

Ye Chen couldn't help but smile bitterly. The Hun Dun Ding was a true troublemaker. Not only did it steal Ye Ling's treasures, but it also dared to rob him, its master. Whenever it stayed in his inner world, it would secretly devour magical tools for no reason.

"Father, here's the Yan Tian Zhen Lei." Ye Fan walked over, holding a streak of crimson lightning in his palm. It glowed like burning embers, tearing through space with a crackling hiss. He had found it in the Lei She Ancestral Ground.

Ye Chen smiled and took it, but then transferred it into Ye Fan's body. His expression was gentle as he said, "You're innately aligned with thunder, so you can fuse with it. Use heavenly tribulation to refine it and extract the source of thunder."

"I'm not in a hurry."

Ye Fan chuckled and pulled the Yan Tian Zhen Lei back out, merging it directly into Ye Chen's dantian without a second thought, as if afraid his father would return it. Then, he turned and dashed away. He was truly a filial child.

"We're not in a hurry either."

Chu Xuan Er, Nan Ming Yu Shu, Shang Guan Yu Er, and Liu Ru Yan arrived, each carrying a strand of genuine thunder. Without a word, they all fused it into Ye Chen's body.

However, that simple phrase "not in a hurry" carried deep meaning. Ye Chen was already at the half-step to great accomplishment level. If he could manifest the Hun Dun Zhi Lei, he might seize the opportunity to break through to quasi-emperor perfection. Only when he reached great accomplishment could he truly safeguard the myriad heavens.

This principle was understood by his wives, and naturally by his children as well. No matter how quickly or strongly their own combat power grew, it paled in comparison to Ye Chen taking that final half-step. The significance of the Sheng Ti reaching great accomplishment was far greater.

Thus, in the face of Ye Chen's advancement, everything else was unimportant. Their role was to concentrate all resources and gather them onto him.

Ye Chen's smile was full of warmth, fully aware of his family's thoughtful intentions. He was the sky of their home. Only when his Sheng Ti reached great accomplishment could he truly hold up that sky to its highest and vastest extent.

"Are you touched?"

Xi Yan blinked her eyes playfully and grinned.

"Touched." Ye Chen lowered his head, rubbing his eyes vigorously. It looked just like he was wiping away tears.

"You're acting pretty convincingly."

"Nonsense, I'm really touched and crying. Look, tears!"

"Tears my foot."

Chu Ling kicked him squarely, and Chu Xuan Er and the others stretched their muscles as if ready for action.

Yang Lan, who had just arrived, couldn't help but cover her mouth and stifle a laugh. The ladies in her family all seemed to have a violent streak, always finding ways to beat up some emperor-level expert for fun when they were bored.

That's how the saying "eat, sleep, and beat Ye Chen" came about.

This little daughter-in-law was quite sensible too. She handed over a strand of purple lightning and then turned to leave. After all, moments of flirtatious banter weren't something anyone wanted to interrupt.

For some reason, deep in her heart, Yang Lan felt a subtle longing. She wished her Ye Fan would tease her now and then, whether there was a reason or not. That kind of feeling would probably be quite nice.

Unfortunately, the tenth prince of Great Chu was a bit dense and didn't take after his father or mother. No one would ever guess that after being together with the heavenly tribulation and heavenly fiend for so long, they hadn't even shared a bed.

Thinking about this made Yang Lan's face flush red, and she felt a bit less reserved, her mind wandering to some embarrassing thoughts. If Ye Fan found out, who knows what he'd think? Would he call her frivolous?

"Little brother, I've got a good treasure for you."

Ye Ling sneaked over and stuffed a storage bag into Ye Fan's hands.

Ye Fan let out a sudden cough at the sight of it.

The so-called "good treasure" was a bunch of powdery substances, colorless and odorless, with a particularly elegant name: Great Chu Special Product.

Not this again.

Ye Fan was both amused and exasperated. Whenever his older sister gave him treasures, it was always some version of Great Chu Special Product—bottled, loose, or canned—and she never repeated herself.

"Not enough? I've got more."

"Don't be so clueless all the time. Learn from our old man—there's a certain charm about him that stands out anywhere."

"A man doesn't need face, you know."

Ye Ling draped an arm around Ye Fan's neck and lectured him nonstop, acting every bit the big sister boss. Seeing her brother so upright made her anxious. If he kept this up, who knows when she'd get to hold a little niece or nephew. She couldn't let little Yang Lan have to make the first move!

A rumbling sound echoed not long after, and Ye Chen's family emerged as the entire Lei She Ancestral Ground collapsed in a thunderous roar.

They set off once more.

After crossing a star river, Ye Chen pulled out a small gourd and hung it above his head to collect the imperial essence. Chu Xuan Er and the others weren't idle either, all activating their divine sense eyes to scan as they went.

"Even if you become Hun Dun Lei, you still couldn't beat it."

"No problem, big bro's got your back. We'll team up and smash that big cauldron."

"Stick with me, and you've got a bright future."

In his dantian, the Hun Dun Huo was buzzing with energy, circling around the Tian Lei and chattering away like it was lecturing its big brother. The Tian Lei ignored it the whole time, which was probably for the best. If the Tian Lei turned into Hun Dun, the three of them would surely fight every day.

Ye Chen fell silent for a while, switching back and forth between his reincarnation eye and Hun Dun eye.

He had already unlocked all the forbidden techniques of the six paths reincarnation eye, but as for the Hun Dun eye, he still didn't know its exact abilities. However, it allowed him to see the most fundamental essence of all things in the world.

The starry sky wasn't peaceful; rumbles echoed every so often.

If you listened closely, you could hear roars, howls, and battle cries. It must be another Hong Huang clan being tracked down by the quasi-emperor. Most of them weren't emperor's inheritances, and they were being decisively wiped out by the myriad heavens.

Things stayed quiet across the four seas and eight wildernesses for the next three days.

On the fourth day, fluctuations arose in the southern starry sky as the Hong Huang Chi Lang clan's ancestral ground was discovered.

On the sixth day, the Hong Huang Ning Yuan clan appeared and was exterminated to the last member.

On the ninth day, the Hong Huang Long Yu clan was surrounded and, under the myriad heavens' assault, turned to dust in history.

On the tenth day, the Hong Huang Tian Gou clan was buried, leaving mountains of corpses.

The myriad heavens' search never stopped; they wouldn't rest until every Hong Huang clan was rooted out, especially the emperor's inheritance ones. They couldn't be given any chance to breathe, or they'd cause chaos again. Precisely because they were emperor's inheritances, they were even harder to find.

In the western star domain, Ye Chen paused again, standing on a rock and scanning the starry sky inch by inch with all his might. Non-emperor inheritance clans couldn't escape his law eyes.

Unfortunately, he found nothing.

The Tian Ming and Liang Di wanted to help, but it was futile. The starry sky was too vast, with every speck of dust like a world, even more like searching for a needle in the ocean. The chances of finding every Hong Huang clan were slim to none.

Unless the myriad heavens had an emperor, whose supreme vision could see through everything.

"That forehead is so shiny!"

Ye Ling was also perched on a meteorite, her big eyes blinking as she peered into the distance.

In her line of sight, at the other end of the star river, two figures were approaching through the void, scanning as they went in search of Hong Huang traces. Looking closely, it was Long Yi with his bald head.

Accompanying him was Long Wu, with his long hair flowing and a silent demeanor.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, who do we have here?"

Spotting Ye Chen, Long Yi sauntered over with his hands tucked in his sleeves, clicking his tongue in amazement, his forehead gleaming like polished tile.

Ye Chen ignored him and looked straight at Long Wu.

It had been three years since the calamity, and this was Ye Chen's first time seeing Long Wu. He appeared somewhat disheveled, with stubble covering his mouth. The once mischievous troublemaker was now as still as ice. Even the remnant soul of Long Di couldn't escape the pull of emotions; it had changed Dong Fang Yu's temperament entirely.

Chu Xuan Er and the others felt a pang of regret too. Ye Chen might not know the details, but they did. In the past few years, they'd heard of Long Wu battling the male eternal body time and again, only to be defeated repeatedly.

"Just say the word, and I'll bring her back for you."

Ye Chen said with a smile. Long Wu might not be a match for the eternal body, but as a half-step to great accomplishment, he could crush it outright.

"I'll defeat him myself."

Long Wu's smile was strained. What he inherited wasn't just Long Di's memories but also his pride. He'd bring back his own loved one—that was a man's dignity.

Ye Chen shook his head with a laugh and didn't press further. If Long Wu had agreed, he might have thought less of him.

"Beating him in this lifetime is probably impossible."

Long Yi sighed heavily. He knew all too well how terrifying the eternal body was. Long Wu was outclassed by far.

"Since you've returned, I'll give you both a gift."

"A gift?" Long Wu stayed silent, but Long Yi's eyes lit up brightly.

Ye Chen smiled mysteriously and formed a seal with one hand, invoking the borrowing law divine ability.

Immediately, a profound array appeared, and a divine light descended from the ethereal void, straight into the array. Under everyone's watchful eyes, it slowly took human form, bit by bit.

Wasn't he exactly Long Ye? The most outstanding reincarnated person from Great Chu.

Before venturing into the Hun Dun Sea, Ye Chen had already made arrangements to secure a divine position for Long Ye, so he could borrow him back now that the heavenly barrier was open.

"You..."

"Master?"

Long Yi and Long Wu froze for a moment, tears welling up in their eyes. Lin Shi Hua was already choking back sobs.

"It's me."

Long Ye's laugh was tinged with tears, his voice hoarse and weathered from the passage of time. His tear-blurred eyes gazed at the crowd and the vast starry sky, greedily inhaling the aura of the human realm. Past and present lives felt like one long illusion; his hometown in his memories was still so familiar and dear.

What followed was quite an emotional scene.

Accompanied by Long Yi's heartbroken howl, the three remnant souls of Long Di, separated for centuries and spanning a great cycle of reincarnation, finally reunited. They cried their hearts out.

They weren't blood brothers, yet they were closer than any. Being apart for so long as a single soul had been tough.

If Long Di were still in the world, he'd surely be proud. Even his remnant souls had brought him honor, all reaching quasi-emperor level and earning renowned fame across the myriad heavens.

"At last, you're back."

Chu Ling's smile was laced with a sense of time's passage.

In the former Northern Chu, she had witnessed firsthand how tragically Long Ye had died, struck down by the Tian Mo Di in a single blow, his dragon blood splattering the vast sky. And the remnant soul of the female emperor, Zi Xuan, had died just as miserably. It was their appearance that had saved Ye Chen and given Great Chu a chance to turn the tide.

"Reincarnated to the heavenly realm?"

Bi You glanced at Ye Chen.

"The Tian Mo domain."

"The Tian Mo?"

"And a Tian Mo great emperor at that."

"A great emperor?"