Chapter 2823: Two Figures

Chapter 2823: Two Silhouettes

In Heng Yue, at Yu Nu Peak.

Ye Chen and Ji Ning Shuang landed almost simultaneously. Ji Ning Shuang summoned her Yuan Shen power to envelop Yang Lan's Yuan Shen fire, while Ye Chen did the same, using his Yuan Shen power to cover Ye Fan. One was his son, the other his daughter-in-law; both had narrowly escaped death in the calamity, surviving nine deaths out of ten, and were gravely injured.

Nan Ming Yu Shu and Xi Yan were not idle either. They each mobilized their own origins to erase the Emperor Path killing intent from the two, especially from Ye Fan, whose injuries were even more severe.

Under the moonlight, the family gathered in a warm and peaceful scene.

Boom! Rumbling!

While Grand Chu remained tranquil, the starry sky echoed with endless thunder.

It was the new generation of talents from the various heavens, countless in number, including many prodigies and Emperor-level figures. It seemed as if they had coordinated it all, with someone undergoing a heavenly tribulation almost every day. Whenever one occurred, spectators gathered—the tribulation itself was secondary; what people truly wanted was to see the Emperor Path Dharma bodies. The Emperor Path inheritances were never absent, as if they were rushing to watch a grand spectacle, always present at each event. The Emperor Zun's divine generals were also darting across the starry sky, appearing wherever someone was crossing a tribulation, all hoping to glimpse the Emperor Zun Dharma body, their eyes filled with eager light.

Unfortunately, since Ye Fan's tribulation, it had not appeared again.

"Why did it manifest and then vanish?"

In the starry sky, the divine generals walked side by side.

This doubt accompanied them all the way.

Not just them, but many at the peak of ultimate strength were also baffled. They had seen so many Emperor Path Dharma bodies, especially Emperor Zun's, which was unique. It had come and then vanished into thin air—no one could explain it.

Boom! Rumbling!

As they walked, more thunder rumbled.

The divine generals took a deep breath, set aside their thoughts, and hurried toward the depths of the starry sky. Judging by the thunder, it was likely another Emperor-level figure, surely with an Emperor Path Dharma body.

As they expected, the tribulation indeed had one, and not just one, but two. One was the Dharma body of Kui Ba Emperor, the other of Xian Yu Emperor. As for the one undergoing the tribulation, it was a lesser-known junior, but in terms of seniority, they were undoubtedly high, much like Xiao Man Wang. They had self-sealed in the ancient era and only unsealed in this age, with a domineering bloodline, though it was unclear which lineage they inherited from.

Ah!

The Fifth Divine General sighed, full of regret.

Ever since Emperor Zun left ten thousand years ago, seeing him was harder than ascending to heaven. There was Ye Chen, Emperor Zun's ninth reincarnation, but he was not truly Emperor Zun after all.

"These young ones are far stronger than we were back in the day."

Ri Yue Shen Zi was there too, sighing endlessly, though a bit awkwardly. He felt awkward, and so did Xiao Yuan Huang, Nan Di, and Zhong Huang—they all felt the same. When they had crossed their Great Saint tribulations in the past, it was basically just one Emperor Path Dharma body each. Compared to these prodigies, they fell short.

"Changes in the Emperor Path."

Ren Wang stroked his beard, uttering these four words with deep meaning. Many ancient figures had chosen to unseal in this era for a reason. This age was full of variables and opportunities for fortune; someone was bound to become emperor. That person could be an old-generation peak expert, or from Ye Chen's generation, or even a new-generation prodigy. The competition for the Emperor Path would be fiercer than imagined.

Amid the rumbling, the tribulation ended.

Boom! Rumbling!

No sooner had this one concluded than another star domain erupted with thunder—another prodigy had entered the starry sky to undergo tribulation. The crowd gathered once more, clustering together.

For many days afterward, the starry sky remained lively like this. From the prodigies' tribulations, people saw numerous Emperor Path Dharma bodies. Besides Emperor Zun, almost all had appeared. There were even one or two emperors that the world had never seen before, known only to the peak experts—those unseen Emperor Path Dharma bodies all originated from the Ancient Heavenly Court.

"You don't know until you see it, but it's shocking—our various heavens' new generation is truly something else."

"Impressive as they are, can any surpass Ye Fan?"

"This old man calculates it's the plain truth."

Every tribulation mentioned Ye Fan's name. It was no exaggeration—the new generation's juniors, which one could overshadow Ye Fan's brilliance? Even someone as heaven-defying as Gui Di's descendant Zhang Zi Fan only drew eight Emperor Path Dharma bodies in his Great Saint tribulation, still half short of Ye Fan's.

It was not until three full months later that the starry sky gradually quieted.

Under the moonlight, Yu Nu Peak was peaceful and serene.

In the immortal pond, Ye Fan and Yang Lan sat cross-legged, one on each side. They had already reformed their physical bodies, bathed in immortal light with ethereal visions manifesting and the sounds of the Great Dao echoing.

The two were out of danger; it was only a matter of time before they awoke.

Ye Chen and Ji Ning Shuang were both there, smiling gently.

"Find some time to make another one."

Xi Yan chuckled, her eyes twinkling mischievously. If they had another child, it might be another young emperor-level talent. She was very optimistic about Ye Chen and Ji Ning Shuang.

"That makes sense."

Ye Chen's words carried a meaningful tone.

Ji Ning Shuang's cheeks flushed slightly. Making a child wasn't something one person could do alone—it required cooperation and some intimate matters.

"What a family of prodigies."

The cultivators passing by Heng Yue often stopped, and those near Yu Nu Peak paused to gaze up, sighing and clicking their tongues in amazement.

"This era will see two emperors."

Xie Yun stood at the mountain base, stroking his chin as he muttered thoughtfully, his eyes rolling as if plotting something.

"If Ji Ning Shuang becomes emperor, if Ye Fan becomes emperor, if Ye Chen reaches great accomplishment, their family would have three supreme beings! Hmm, no different from a clan with three emperors."

Si Tu Nan had his hands behind his back, chattering away.

"If that's the case, nothing could be better."

Xiong Er slapped his belly, chuckling happily.

On Yu Nu Peak, Ye Chen had already sat under the old tree, still as a rock, silent, his gaze flickering uncertainly. He was pondering the Emperor Zun Dharma body—it had clearly manifested in the world, so why did it disappear? And what about that mysterious strike in the void?

Later, the divine generals arrived, and Ren Wang came too, along with many other peak experts. After glancing at Ye Fan and Yang Lan, they surrounded Ye Chen. Some stroked their beards, others their chins, scrutinizing him up and down, like they were examining a monkey. Who knows, they might suddenly gang up on him. They couldn't even remember the last time they beat Ye Chen—it made their hands itch.

"Do you think Emperor Zun's disappearance has anything to do with him?"

"Most likely."

"Could be because of him that it vanished."

The eccentric elders bantered back and forth with various guesses, and some restless ones even pinched Ye Chen's arm.

The odd ones like Ren Wang and Dong Huang Tai Xin each held a stick, prodding Ye Chen as they watched—quite a comical sight.

Ye Chen said nothing, his eyes darting left and right, glancing at this one and that. Clearly, this group of old folks was bored out of their minds. Maybe he should find them some work—send the men to the imperial palace to serve the emperor, and the women to the brothels to earn extra coin. Anything to keep them busy.

It was late at night when the peak experts finally left. The slightly serious ones walked out, while the unserious ones were personally escorted by Ye Da Shao all the way from Yu Nu Peak to Tian Xuan Gate, where he neatly slammed them onto the main hall.

The night grew quiet once more.

Under the old tree, Ye Chen sat in meditation, head bowed and eyes lowered, as if dozing or deep in thought about the Emperor Zun Dharma body. The matter was strangely eerie in both obvious and subtle ways.

As he sat, he slipped into a dream.

In the haze, he seemed to see a silhouette, majestic and resilient, standing at the end of time, more distant than a dream. Even with all his vision, he couldn't make it out clearly. He only knew that silhouette was ancient, covered in the dust of ages, more faded than time itself.

"Emperor Zun?"

Ye Chen suddenly opened his eyes, his brows furrowed slightly.

Bathed in the starlight and moonlight, he finally stood up, hands clasped behind his back, pacing back and forth. Seeing Emperor Zun's silhouette was not unusual—they shared a cycle of reincarnation. Emperor Zun was his first life, and he was Emperor Zun's ninth; to each other, they were both at the end.

Unnoticed by anyone, in the moonlight, Ye Chen had moments where two silhouettes appeared—one sometimes overlapping, sometimes separating.

The next day, Ye Chen left Heng Yue early.

By the time he reappeared, he was at Tian Xuan Gate.

When he arrived, Tang San Shao was already waiting in front of the Ling Xiao Hall, staring eagerly, his face bruised and swollen—who knows if it was from the hall or the old folks, but he'd clearly been beaten badly.

"Talent indeed."

Seeing Tang San Shao, Ye Da Shao murmured to himself. This little chubby guy was also Emperor-level, but that wasn't the point. The key was his divine-level cheat, allowing him to freely activate bloodline limits. Besides the first lineage of Sheng Ti, it was this guy—unbreakable and unharmed.

As he spoke, Ye Chen steadied himself.

In the Ling Xiao Hall, Chu Xuan and the others were still there, looking about two or three years old, plump and adorable, floating side by side in the air, sleeping soundly.

Now, looking at them, the three were quite extraordinary.

As for Chu Xuan and Chu Ling, the divine glow around them was laden with supreme Dao essence. Listening closely, there were faint Dao sounds, not their own, but likely influenced by Ruo Xi—the three Dao sounds resonated together.

"What kind of connection is this?"

Ye Chen murmured lightly, eager to unravel the mystery.

When he looked away, he turned to his precious daughter, Xiao Ye Ling. She was much more well-behaved, sitting cross-legged in enlightenment, like an ice sculpture, enveloped in divine glow with mysterious visions faintly appearing. She was settling her innate Dao essence and refining her origin bloodline—vastly different from before.

"Father-in-law, I want to marry your Ye Ling."

Tang San Shao wiped the blood from his nose.

Ye Chen gave him a sideways glance. This little chubby guy had a way with words—already calling him father-in-law before the wedding, and so smoothly at that. Outsiders might think San Shao was already part of the family.

"Even through mountains of knives and seas of fire, I'll marry her."

San Shao clenched his plump fist tightly, his eyes full of determination, as if he wouldn't stop until he won Ye Ling's hand. He was very motivated.

Ye Da Shao's gaze grew even more sideways. For some reason, he felt an urge—to toss this little fatty into a frying pan, then roll him over a mountain of knives.

"Have I seen wrong?"

In the distance, Ren Wang and Long Ye stood with hands clasped, narrowing their eyes slightly. They ignored Tang San Shao and only watched Ye Chen—clearly one person, yet sometimes two silhouettes appeared, sometimes merging, sometimes separating.