Chapter 2926: A Three-Year-Old Child

"Stepping onto the right track."

Ye Chen gazed into the void, murmuring to himself. He didn't know how many years it would take for the Tianting Nüdi to truly awaken. He only knew that the day she fully awoke, Chu Xuan and Chu Ling would completely merge with Ruo Xi, and perhaps they would no longer exist in the world.

At that thought, he abruptly turned around, took a step, and vanished in an instant.

When he reappeared, he was at Tianxuan Men.

By the time he arrived, Yao Chi was already waiting in front of Lingxiao Hall, having likely already spoken with Daozu and Ming Di.

The two stood side by side, quietly gazing at Lingxiao Hall.

Inside the hall, whether it was Ruo Xi, Chu Xuan, or Chu Ling, they all slept peacefully, their bodies enveloped in brilliant immortal glows. Ancient auras wafted towards them one after another, so ancient that even Ye Chen couldn't discern the passage of time.

Before long, Wu Lei descended from the sky.

"After she returns, will you all separate again?"

Ye Chen turned his gaze to Wu Lei, his eyes fixed straight ahead, hoping for a clear answer.

"Perhaps yes, perhaps no."

Wu Lei replied softly.

Ye Chen frowned. This wasn't the answer he wanted. If they could never separate, he wouldn't hesitate to stop Wu Lei and prevent their fusion. He was no longer the Ye Chen of the past, no longer that naive young cultivator.

In that instant, a trace of authority emanated from his otherwise calm demeanor.

"Do you know why we must awaken her at any cost?"

Wu Lei spoke leisurely, unfazed by the pressure from the Dacheng Shengti or the Donghuang Nüdi, her expression faintly indifferent.

Ye Chen remained silent.

The Donghuang Nüdi also remained silent.

"In this era, only she can buy more time for all living beings."

Ye Chen replied calmly, the aura around him not dissipating.

"The Shengti lineage is a fierce one, defying heaven and fate. I'm glad you have the ambition to turn the tide."

"Thank you for the praise, senior, but I don't like others controlling my fate."

"Your fate is in your own hands, not heaven's—a fine belief." Wu Lei lifted her foot and stepped forward, then turned away, just as Ye Chen had done earlier. She fixed her gaze on the Shengti and asked, "Do you have the confidence to prove the Dao and become an emperor?"

"Yes."

"How many years will it take?"

"Give me enough time, and I can certainly do it."

"How many years?"

"I—"

"How many years?"

Wu Lei repeated the question three times in succession, her unwavering eyes not even blinking.

Ye Chen frowned again, offering no words.

"You don't answer, so I will give you the minimum limit: three days." Wu Lei's words flowed gently. "After three days, I will assume that as a Shengti, you can defy heaven to prove the Dao, defeat Tianjie Hong Jun, destroy the Diyu Zhizun, and slaughter the Waiyu Tiandi. But do you naively think they only have emperors and heavenly emperors?"

"What exactly are you trying to say?"

"There is still some time, so I will tell you both a story: In a certain household, an adult is asleep, and a three-year-old child is awake. On a dark and windy night, ferocious bandits arrive. Wise Dachu Tenth Emperor, tell me: Should we wake the adult, or wait for the three-year-old to grow up?"

"The current zhutian is like the story I told. The bandits are the Tianmo, E Mo, and Sheng Mo; the sleeping adult is the Tianting Nüdi; and you, Hong Jun, Ming Di, and the Donghuang Nüdi are that three-year-old child."

"Ye Chen! It's not that I doubt you—you've done well, and your Shengti lineage is the strongest and most brilliant. But what of it?"

"Don't tell me that with enough time, anything is possible."

"Don't be foolish, child. No one will give you that time. The Tianmo, E Mo, and Sheng Mo will not wait, and zhutian cannot afford to wait either. Before you reach that level of cultivation, before you master fate, the myriad domains and zhutian will already be reduced to historical dust."

"This is the stark reality—perhaps cruel, but you must admit it."

Only then did Wu Lei stop speaking and turn to step into Lingxiao Hall.

"Wait."

Ye Chen stepped forward, and Yao Chi followed suit.

Buzz!

Lingxiao Hall trembled with a hum—or rather, it was Ruo Xi and the others trembling. A halo of light spread outward.

In that moment, the Dacheng Shengti was forced to stagger back, and the Donghuang Nüdi was the same.

It wasn't that they weren't strong enough; it was that the Tianting Nüdi was too terrifying. Even before awakening, she already possessed power surpassing that of emperors.

When they looked back at Lingxiao Hall, it was enveloped in swirling immortal mists.

Not to mention Ye Chen, even Yao Chi, with her emperor-level vision, couldn't see through it; nothing was visible.

In the haze, Ye Chen seemed to catch a glimpse of a graceful figure turning back to smile at him.

He couldn't tell whether it was Chu Xuan, Chu Ling, Ruo Xi, or Wu Lei; he only felt a sharp pain in his heart.

He tried to step forward again but couldn't. The space around Lingxiao Hall had become like a forbidden zone.

He couldn't enter, and Ji Ning Shuang couldn't either.

The two were pushed back once more by the halo, overwhelmed by a force they couldn't resist.

"What mission does the Gutian Ting Nüdi bear beyond supporting the three realms?"

Ye Chen stopped trying and turned to look at Yao Chi.

As a supreme being, and even stronger than Yao Chi in some ways, there were secrets that Ji Ning Shuang knew but he didn't. From Wu Lei's earlier words, it seemed there had been a change, and Ruo Xi and the others had to merge.

"I only know that she is restraining an extremely powerful entity."

Yao Chi spoke softly, not hiding anything. Though she was a Dadi and knew more than Ye Chen, it wasn't the full picture.

With that, Ye Chen instantly understood.

Clearly, Ruo Xi could no longer hold back whatever she was restraining and needed greater power. What was certain was that the entity she restrained was far beyond their ability to confront. Combined with Wu Lei's story, it all made sense.

Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!

Lingxiao Hall continued to tremble, with emperor-level forces surging forth, and in several moments, even forces surpassing emperors.

Both could sense that the four had merged.

However, it was only a merger; as for when she would awaken, it remained unknown.

In that instant, they both felt the invisible pressure in the void lighten.

Ye Chen fell silent, like a statue, standing quietly outside the hall and gazing at the hazy immortal mists within.

He didn't know when, but he finally lifted his eyes to look up at the void.

This time, he could still see the Didao Gate, as ethereal as ever, so distant it seemed more illusory than a dream.

It had taken him decades to realize one thing: The second lineage of Shengti had no such thing as a Didao Gate; it was a broken path. The reason he could see it was because the Dacheng Jie had summoned one hundred and thirty-one Sheng Mo; it wasn't his Didao Gate but theirs. With no gate to enter, how could he prove the Dao and become an emperor?

It was a broken path with no light, requiring him to grope forward in the darkness.

Thus, he needed more time to forge his own Didao Gate, and that time would be unimaginably long.

After one last glance at Lingxiao Hall, he slowly turned and left.

The Donghuang Nüdi also departed. Wu Lei's words had left Ye Chen silent and her silent as well. Emperors were supreme, but in the presence of true supremes, they were merely three-year-old children—just as she was, Ye Chen was, and so were the Tian and Ming emperors.

Ye Chen left Dachu and headed into the Haomiao Starry Sky, whether to seek enlightenment or find someone, no one knew.

His figure appeared somewhat aged.

Having survived the Dacheng Jie, he was now a Shengti in his later years, with little lifespan left and extremely limited longevity.

"How do I feel like my body is much lighter?"

"I feel the same way; it's quite wondrous."

"Is there some kind of creation in the heavens and earth?"

There were many figures in the starry sky, traveling in groups of three or five, discussing as they went, their expressions full of surprise.

Ye Chen was observing as well, and he felt it keenly.

He knew it was because Ruo Xi and the others had merged again, as if lifting some hidden restriction. This merger was no ordinary one; its implications were far from simple, as Daozu had described, and there were surely things he didn't know. The Tian and Ming emperors loved to keep their secrets, not telling him or even Ji Ning Shuang.

For a moment, he paused and glanced towards the Mingjie.

After so long, perhaps he should visit the Yinciao Diyu again, team up with Ji Ning Shuang, hang Ming Di from a tree, and force him to reveal the secrets. That improper Dadi needed a good lesson; perhaps strict interrogation would work better.

Ming Di glanced back at him, his face darkening.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and temporarily dismissed the idea. He closed his eyes and walked while seeking enlightenment. Compared to bantering with Ming Di, enlightenment was more practical. He needed to find a way to forge the Didao Gate and use his limited life for absolute rebirth.

This walk lasted three years.

In those three years, he never stopped, nor did he find the souls of those who had died in battle years ago.

In those three years, the Donghuang Nüdi did not return to Dachu.

In the fourth year, thunder from a Tianjie rumbled in the starry sky, and zhutian gained another Dizi-level figure.

It was a new-generation Dizi, from the same era as Ye Ling and the others.

Unfortunately, this Dizi was extremely unlucky, provoking two emperor-level manifestations: one from the Donghuang Nüdi and one from Xuanyuan Dadi. He couldn't hold out and was destroyed in body by the Nüdi's manifestation and in soul by Xuanyuan.

Ye Chen was present that day and sighed deeply.

Afterward, such tragic scenes occurred frequently. The new generation was full of bright stars, yet each was more pitiful than the last.

"This generation is far behind the one with the Shengti."

"Recalling how the Shengti single-handedly fought one hundred and thirty-one Sheng Mo, the new generation can't compare."

"Not everyone can create a myth."

People's sighs were filled with lament. With a Donghuang Nüdi and a Shengti Ye Chen suppressing them, not only the older and current generations but even the new one felt awkward. If another Shengti emerged, how desperate it would be.

Whether it would be desperate or not, Ye Chen didn't know. He only knew his lifespan was dwindling day by day.

In these years of enlightenment, he had consumed countless life-extending pills and sought many immortal materials for longevity.

However, those were ultimately external forces. They worked once or twice but lost effectiveness with overuse. At this rate, he might not forge the Didao Gate before dying of old age. Lifespan was truly a precious thing.

As his lifespan decreased, his insights into the Dao increased.

On many peaceful nights, he stood atop mountains, gazing up at the void and the Didao Gate.

He had moments of sudden realization.

Since proving the Dao as a Shengti violated taboos, he would use those taboos to forge the Didao Gate. He understood reincarnation, knew time and space, and had knowledge of the Meng Dao, time, and space. All of these would become bricks and tiles for the Didao Gate.