Chapter 2913: Twenty-Five Years

The rumbling finally faded, and the entire starry sky fell into silence. Whether it was the Donghuang Nu Di or the Sheng Ti Ye Chen, they both became an eternal moment. The Da Cheng Sheng Ti fighting alongside the emperor would forever be a legendary myth.

Ye Chen smiled wearily, blood trickling from his mouth. It was his smile, and also Yan Fei's; it was his blood, and also Yan Fei's. Killing a mid-level emperor had taken its toll—they were both injured. Yan Fei was struggling to hold on, and so was Ye Chen. The backlash from the Meng Dao affected them equally.

Fortunately, they succeeded. While the Nu Di was occupied, they eliminated one of the great E Mo emperors.

With a gentle star wind brushing by, Yan Fei collapsed, and so did Ye Chen. No matter who it was, their white hair fluttered in the breeze. During their battles against the Tian Mo and E Mo, she had sacrificed her lifespan; in his solo fight against the nine emperors, he had done the same. Both were now aged and frail, their desolate and weathered figures tugging at the heart.

"Qianbei."

Ji Ning Shuang appeared in an instant, catching Yan Fei. The moment she touched her, a trace of ancient warmth ignited—it was Ye Chen's warmth, lingering on Yan Fei. Yan Fei had fallen unconscious, and he had returned to the dream world. No one knew when he might re-enter the mortal realm—perhaps after a long stretch of years.

"I'll take you home."

The Nu Di's eyes were filled with tears, her words unclear whether directed at Yan Fei or Ye Chen. Her own figure was stained with blood, equally ancient and weathered. In this battle, Ye Chen and Yan Fei were wounded, and so was she. The Huang Gu Sheng Ti lineage was terrifying, and the Da Cheng Sheng Mo even more so, far stronger than a peak emperor. Slaying a Sheng Mo was far more difficult than killing a peak emperor.

The woman departed, leaving the starry sky in continued silence. The people of the world were still lost in the aftermath, as if in a dream—the God of War had returned and slain a mid-level emperor.

It wasn't until much later that the cultivators of the heavens snapped out of it, moving in unison. From the vast Cang Miao, figures flowed like streams, converging toward the Da Chu Zhu Tian Gate. Many wiped away tears in secret, with countless others crying openly.

"The Sheng Ti lineage has never disappointed the common people."

The Ming Di took a deep breath, his aged form seeming to regain youth. Since the great heavenly calamity, he laughed freely for the first time. That young sovereign would be the most astonishing Huang Gu Sheng Ti in history, surpassing even Di Huang.

The Dao Zu remained silent, but his expression spoke volumes. Aside from Dong Shen Yao Chi, he had never felt such pride in a junior. This era would rise again because of him, forging a new era of glory.

On Jade Maiden Peak under the moonlight, all was peaceful and serene.

Beneath the old tree on the cloud platform, Yan Fei slept soundly.

At the side of the cloud platform, Ji Ning Shuang was scattering rays of colorful light, healing Yan Fei and dispelling the latent backlash of the Meng Dao. With each ray she cast, two lines of tears fell.

"Jiu Niang, will Dad come back to life?"

Ye Ling was there too, still wiping her tears.

"He will."

Ji Ning Shuang smiled gently, without a doubt in her mind.

That night, many people came to Da Chu, even those old recluses in seclusion. They hadn't gone to Heng Yue, not daring to intrude, only watching from afar. With the Nu Di there, they felt at ease.

For three full days, there was no movement from Jade Maiden Peak.

Finally, a touch of color returned to Yan Fei's pale cheeks. The forbidden Meng Dao Xian Fa had been barely erased thanks to Ji Ning Shuang's efforts.

Yet, Yan Fei still did not awaken.

Ye Ling stayed by her side without leaving, guarding the cloud platform and gently wiping Yan Fei's tears with a handkerchief. She couldn't tell if they were Yan Fei's tears or Ye Chen's.

The ten-odd eternal lamps were also there, hovering around, silently watching over her. Each flame of the Yuan Shen flickered, revealing glimpses of crystalline light—tears hidden deep in the soul.

Ji Ning Shuang had ascended to the mountain peak, sitting cross-legged in meditation.

Under the moonlight, she appeared holy and ethereal, like a dream. She was comprehending the Dao of Dreams, hoping to master the Xian Fa that could summon someone from a dream. If anyone had to sacrifice their life to save another, she would do it without hesitation—she didn't want Yan Fei to perish because of this.

Unfortunately, the Meng Dao Xian Fa was too profound; even as an emperor, she struggled to grasp it. In this, she was far inferior to Yan Fei.

A light breeze stirred, and blood trickled from the corner of her mouth—she must have suffered a backlash while comprehending the Meng Dao.

When she opened her eyes again, Yan Fei was standing before her, gracefully poised and smiling.

"Qianbei."

Ji Ning Shuang rose and bowed in respect.

This bow had an immediate effect—Yan Fei's flushed cheeks turned pale once more, and blood overflowed from her mouth again. It wasn't that her wounds were unhealed; it was that she couldn't bear the etiquette of an emperor.

Just as Ji Ning Shuang could light incense at Ye Chen's grave but not at Ye Fan's, it was because she was an emperor.

An emperor's courtesy could only be endured by the supreme.

This was the unspoken law of the universe.

In the unseen order, even great emperors could not defy it.

"I will revive him, and bring him back to the mortal world."

Yan Fei smiled, her demeanor warm and gentle.

She left, walking farther and farther away.

Against the backdrop of the passing years, there was a kind of obsession unique to the empress of Chen Huang.

Many years ago, the moment she understood how to summon someone from a dream, she had a certain resolve: in this life, she was destined to die for one person.

The one marked by her Meng Dao seal and bound by her dream contract wasn't just Ye Chen—it was also her husband, the Chen Huang of Da Chu. She had hesitated, wondering whether to use her life to save Ye Chen or Xuan Chen.

In the end, she chose the former.

Ye Chen was the Da Cheng Sheng Ti, the God of War of the heavens. His existence meant far more than Xuan Chen's. Or rather, between the heavens and personal ties, he had chosen the common people.

Such resolve was rare.

She was tired too, longing to return to her roots and reunite with Xuan Chen quickly. Reviving Ye Chen was her only reason to live on—it was her mission, and she would fulfill it for the sake of all.

"She has come out."

As Yan Fei emerged from the mountain, people from all directions rose together.

From across the vast distance, they could see her dreamlike figure, her white robes and white hair like an immortal from a dream. On her, traces of Ye Chen's presence flickered in and out.

As she walked, Yan Fei vanished—it was an attempt at summoning someone from a dream, not entirely successful. She needed more time to master that heaven-defying forbidden art.

"Grandfather, will Yan Fei die?"

"Yes, the moment the Sheng Ti returns to the mortal world, it will be the time her soul ascends to the nine heavens."

"Exchanging life for life?"

"Everything has a price."

Such conversations between juniors and seniors echoed everywhere.

The secrets of the Meng Dao were well-known among the people.

Afterward, a wave of sorrow enveloped the heavens and earth.

Yan Fei's departure lasted ten years.

In those ten years, no one saw her again—she seemed to have vanished from the world, even the Nu Di's search yielded nothing.

In the eleventh year, Nan Ming Yu Shu and the others all reconstructed their Yuan Shen and formed immortal bodies, each with tears streaming down their faces.

That night, in the small bamboo grove of Jade Maiden Peak, grief hung in the air—it was a tribute to the Hu Xian, as well as to Ye Fan and Ye Chen.

In the twelfth year, Di Xuan awakened.

When Ye Ling visited Heng Yue again and called out, "Gugu," it made Di Xuan smile through her tears. After so many changes over the seas and mulberry fields, it was the first time she felt the warmth of family. Regardless of whether Ye Chen was truly her brother, she accepted this bond.

Compared to her Di Zun brother, the tenth sovereign of Da Chu seemed more reliable.

At least, Ye Chen had brought her a host of sisters-in-law—with sovereigns and Nu Di among them—and a young emperor-level niece. A lively family was what made a home.

In the thirteenth year, Mo Wang Kui Yu Jiang was revived.

That night, he carried a wine jug and poured a libation before the statues of sovereigns and kings. Of the nine sovereigns and nine kings of Da Chu, only he remained. His state of mind was deeply melancholic, recalling the glorious yet wasted years of the past.

In the fourteenth year, Ri Yue Shen Zi and Dong Zhou Wu Wang both returned to the mortal world.

When the people saw them again, it was before the statues of the heavenly emperors' sons—they had come to pay respects. His mouth was shadowed with stubble, and his long hair was streaked with silver; standing side by side, they said nothing, remaining in silence for nine full days before turning away quietly.

In the fifteenth year, Long Jie opened his eyes with tears.

The Cang Long clan was nearly wiped out; including him, fewer than ten of the entire race remained.

The once chatty one had become taciturn, often sitting alone at night before the grave of the Ling Zu Shen Nu. Among the spirits in the heavens, his wife was there too.

Only in true separation of yin and yang did he understand what love was, finally forgetting who Yao Chi was. His memories were now filled with his wife's image, smiling back at him.

The wheel of time in the world did not stop for sorrow.

In the following ten years, many residual souls took form—they were the ones Ji Ning Shuang had found earlier, all returning to the mortal world.

But these were only a small fraction. Compared to the heroic souls lost in battle, they were negligible. Emperors were not all-powerful; sometimes, their capabilities were indeed limited.

Twenty-five years had passed.

In that time, the Nu Di had not left Jade Maiden Peak, sitting at its summit for a full twenty-five years.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Beside her, a continuous buzzing sounded.

They were various Di Qi—or more precisely, broken Di Qi. She had spent twenty-five years reshaping them into form, though they were merely shells. The seals and spirits hidden within the emperor weapons would require countless years of nurturing to revive.

That night, she sent the Di Qi away from Jade Maiden Peak, like beams of divine light flying to their respective ancestral lands.

Twenty-five years on, she stepped out of Heng Yue for the first time, wandering aimlessly through the starry sky in search of Yan Fei.

Since Yan Fei's departure, she had not appeared again.

The Nu Di's divine sense roamed the starry sky daily, yet she never found Yan Fei—as if she had truly evaporated from the world.

"We greet the Nu Di."

Many shadows appeared in the starry sky, mostly unfamiliar faces, bowing from afar as soon as they saw her.

They were all from the new generation.

In twenty-five years, with no chaos in the heavens and no invasions from the outer domains, under the Nu Di's protection, a new wave of talents had emerged like bamboo shoots after rain. Each was a brilliant star, poised to lead a new era of glory.

The unification of the ten thousand domains was a boon for the heavens. Spiritual energy and origin power grew denser every day over those twenty-five years. Whether old or young, human or demon cultivators, all experienced some form of rebirth or transformation. Almost daily, signs of heavenly tribulations appeared.

This was an era of recovery and renewal, gradually restoring vitality after the great calamity, with life flourishing once more.

At the far end of the star river, the Nu Di came to a stop.

This patch of starry sky held traces of Yan Fei's aura, but it was from many years ago. Yan Fei was likely not in the real world anymore; she must be in a dream, with her true self entered into it. The Nu Di could not find her dream realm, only sensing the lingering traces.

After standing for a long while, she continued on her way, tilting her face slightly upward to gaze quietly at the vast cosmos. She could clearly see her own Di Dao imprint, enveloping the entire universe and suppressing the heavens. Any new emperor would need to break this suppression.

Beyond her imprint, she also detected those of past great emperors. These imprints would only weaken infinitely, never dissipate—they were more enduring than the emperors themselves. Even though the emperors of history had been buried for eons, their imprints remained.

This was why later emperors were generally stronger than their predecessors—the more Di Dao imprints a later emperor had to bear, the greater the pressure, leading to a more profound breakthrough.

As for her, she was a product of anomalies in the Di Dao.

On this point, Tian Ming and Liang Di could provide a good explanation. With no emperor anomalies emerging, she had defied the heavens to achieve dao. She was the first in the history of the heavens. If history had not changed, Jian Zun would have become emperor, but due to this anomaly, variables arose.

In the starry sky, the Nu Di gradually faded into the distance.

Nine days later, she appeared in Donghuang of Xuan Huang, entering the Yao Chi sacred ground on a quiet night.

Deep in Yao Chi, by a fairy lake, she manifested suddenly, gazing quietly at a lotus by the shore.

It was a seven-colored exquisite flower, bathed in moonlight, crystal clear and a rare treasure for alchemy, extinct in the outside world.

She came here for two reasons: one to revisit the old place, and the other for this seven-colored exquisite flower. In it, she detected a familiar trace of soul power.

"Donghuang Tai Xin."

The Nu Di murmured softly. The soul power she sensed belonged to Donghuang Tai Xin. Others might not detect it, but it escaped no emperor's scrutiny. That trace carried the hue of reincarnation.

After watching for a long time, the Nu Di looked up, pushing her Di Dao vision to its limit, once again peering into the vast void.

Did the heavens have reincarnation?

"Shijie."

A soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

Yao Xin had arrived, dressed in white with white hair.

Now, she was the immortal matriarch of Yao Chi sacred ground, but her face showed weariness, with undried tears at the corners of her eyes. The jade hairpin in her hair sparkled under the moonlight—it was a gift from Xuan Yuan Di Zi, a token of their bond.

After the great calamity, more than twenty years had passed, and Xuan Yuan Di Zi had been dead for over twenty years, yet she still dreamed of him.

The Nu Di reached out, gently wiping away the tears from her eyes. She understood that pain, that scar—it was more agonizing than being torn apart.

Bathed in the moonlight, she left, taking the seven-colored exquisite flower with her on her way to Lian Yu.

There were secrets she needed to verify with Lian Yu.

Lian Yu was now quiet and desolate. Aside from those who had perished, most were in slumber, mostly juniors, with few quasi-emperors and their numbers sparse.

In this life and the previous, this was her first time entering the forbidden zone. Only upon truly stepping in did she realize its extraordinariness—the depths hid ancient foundations that even she could not fully penetrate.

"We greet the Nu Di."

The one bowing was Lian Yu Di Zi.

Now, he was the heavenly king of Lian Yu, though his seniority far exceeded hers, he still offered a bow.

"Is there reincarnation in the heavens?"

The Nu Di spoke lightly, questioning Lian Yu Di Zi and also probing the depths for a precise answer.