Chapter 2927: Running Out of Lifespan, Take it Easy

The night in Da Chu was tranquil and peaceful.

That night, he returned, truly in perfect harmony with his wife, and the Donghuang Nu Di also came back.

The difference was that Yao Chi had gained something, while he had found nothing at all.

No wonder she was an emperor. Perhaps she couldn't defeat the Dacheng Sheng Ti, but her imperial insight far surpassed Ye Chen's.

Bathed in moonlight, Donghuang Taixin also returned with them.

Indeed, Yao Chi's gain was the remnant sword intent from the Zhutian Sword God, a trace of sword dao that had nearly faded away completely. Ji Ningshuang had used her imperial divine powers to forcibly preserve it in the world and only now brought it back to Da Chu.

"Thank you."

Donghuang Taixin's eyes were filled with tears, her snow-white hair strikingly vivid under the moon, for that trace of sword intent represented hope.

Ji Ningshuang silently turned away, her smile tinged with weariness, and Ye Chen was the same.

Over the years, they had searched for many heroic souls, but never found their Ye Fan, and even the supreme beings felt like crying.

Under the moonlight, their figures appeared utterly desolate.

This return took a full three months, during which Ye Chen and the Donghuang Nu Di were absent from the world.

Yunu Peak was cold and quiet; Ye Ling had gone to the mortal world for training, and the other women were still in seclusion.

Beneath the old tree, the sound of wood carving continued with a soft rustle.

Unlike before, Ye Chen was carving with his eyes closed this time, using his divine sense to gaze into the vast expanse.

Around him, various laws intertwined and wove together—reincarnation, time-space, time, space, dream dao, and chaos dao—all transforming into carving tools, etching marks into the intangible void, aiming to forge the gate of the imperial dao.

"Blazing a new trail, quite insightful."

Ming Di spoke leisurely, knowing what Ye Chen was doing, but the process would be incredibly long.

That length would likely exceed the remaining lifespan of Ye Chen.

He could become an emperor if given enough time, for he had the potential to prove the dao and ascend, but who would provide that time?

Boom!

As Ming Di watched, a booming sound came from the direction of the Niehai in the underworld, where a demonic pillar descended from the sky.

It was the Tianmo Pillar, its rolling demonic energy engulfing the Niehai.

Ming Di, who had been standing with his hands behind his back, rose to his feet and drew his imperial weapon, even pausing to yawn and wipe it with his sleeve.

In the past, he would have destroyed any descending demonic pillar with a single strike.

But this time, he had no intention of doing so, for a fire burned in his chest, pent up for decades after being dealt with by Ye Chen multiple times. As a peak emperor, how could he not feel frustrated? He desperately wanted to find another emperor to vent his anger on.

"Tianmo invasion."

"Tianmo invasion."

The great ghosts and lesser spirits in the Niehai area were shouting at the top of their lungs.

"Stop yelling."

Ming Di gripped his imperial weapon and stepped down, shaking the universe, then stood there, waiting for the emperor to arrive.

The demonic pillar hummed and released waves of demonic energy, sweeping out countless Tianmo.

However, as soon as they emerged, the Tianmo were pulled into an illusion realm created by Ming Di. With a single glance, he wiped out anyone without reincarnation, killing batch after batch, regardless of whether they were demon lords or demon generals—they couldn't withstand the supreme imperial might.

Soon, the Tianmo Emperor arrived, exuding immense presence, stepping out of the demonic pillar and making the underworld tremble.

"Stop."

Before Ming Di could unleash his killing blow, a loud shout came from Dao Zu.

No need for explanation—Ming Di stopped anyway.

"Become a great emperor in just a few decades? Your disciple is truly impressive!"

Ming Di clicked his tongue, eyeing the Tianmo Emperor with amazement.

This was a reincarnated individual, and moreover, Dao Zu's disciple: the Hun Dun Ti.

Dao Zu said nothing, his imperial form trembling uncontrollably.

This was his disciple; even across the Tianming barrier, he could recognize him. As for the "few decades," that referred to time in Zhutian; if in the Tianmo Domain, it might have been several millennia, as the flow of time differed between the two realms.

Buzz!

Ming Di swung his imperial weapon, destroying the Tianmo Pillar in one strike to prevent the reincarnated Hun Dun Ti from escaping back.

Pfft!

The reincarnated Hun Dun Ti spat out blood on the spot, not even getting a chance to show off or announce his imperial title before Ming Di suppressed him with a palm. In that instant, over ten thousand imperial seals bound him tightly.

What followed was too brutal to watch.

Ming Di put away his imperial weapon and pinned the reincarnated Hun Dun Ti to the ground, giving him a thorough beating.

How to put it? The Hun Dun Ti had probably taken the fall for someone else.

It was unclear if Ming Di was treating him like Ye Chen or Dao Zu, but he beat him with great enthusiasm.

Dao Zu's face turned pitch black in an instant.

You're doing this on purpose, you bastard—acting all high and mighty, if you're so tough, come fight me!

On purpose? Of course I am.

That would be Ming Di's response. After harboring this frustration for years, he had to vent it on someone. It wasn't bragging—if it were the reincarnated Ming Jue, he'd beat him just the same. Great emperors were tough; a few extra hits wouldn't hurt.

The reincarnated Hun Dun Ti was left questioning his life choices.

This seemed like a bad time to show up, or maybe he just hadn't struck the right pose for it.

Only after some time did Ming Di stop.

That guy had a big "satisfied" grin on his face, and even his eyes toward Dao Zu were smirking.

Dao Zu didn't bother to speak; he was done scolding that jerk.

Not long after, Ye Chen heard the call and, along with Ji Ningshuang, descended to the human realm once more.

"Hun Dun Ti?"

Ye Chen was stunned at the sight, and even the usually reserved Donghuang Nu Di looked startled.

He had reincarnated—that was the reincarnated Hun Dun Ti.

The two were deeply shocked. The reincarnation in Zhutian had long collapsed, yet it had happened, and to the Tianmo Domain no less. What horrified them most was that in just a few decades, upon seeing the Hun Dun Ti again, he had already become a great emperor.

The Tianmo Domain was truly a miraculous place.

The people of Zhutian, from Long Ye in the past to the Hun Dun Ti now, were all exceptionally outstanding.

Without further thought, Ye Chen used the Dao of a Thousand Transformations and the power of reincarnation.

Wails erupted as the reincarnated Hun Dun Ti suffered greatly, his Tianmo memories and bloodline forcefully erased.

When he awoke, he was a simple, dull person.

"Bring him to Tianjie; I have a way to restore his memories and bloodline."

Dao Zu sent a message.

Ye Chen took the Hun Dun Ti and vanished with Ji Ningshuang.

Before leaving, he made a quick trip to the depths of the Ming Realm and plucked a three-colored Linglong Flower.

He had waited years for it to mature, something to replenish his lifespan.

He moved fast, and Ming Di didn't catch up—that was Ming Di's own life-extending treasure, snatched away by Ye Chen.

This emperor, who had been in a good mood, now had his face darken completely due to that shameless act.

Dao Zu had no time for him, taking the Hun Dun Ti and disappearing in an instant.

Ye Chen took a deep breath; whenever this happened, he and Ji Ningshuang felt a sense of daze. They had searched for so many heroic souls—some left remnant sword intent, some remnant souls, and some even reincarnated—yet they never found their Ye Fan.

For many days after, Dao Zu didn't appear.

When Ye Chen returned to Tianjie, the Hun Dun Ti had awakened, his memories still recovering, and his original Hun Dun bloodline was far thinner than in his previous life, almost undetectable. His status as a Tianmo Emperor was also gone.

But none of that mattered. Given enough time, his memories would fully return, and his thinned bloodline could be restored, just like with Long Ye in the past. What he needed was time, and now, he had it.

He remembered Ye Chen and Yao Chi, and because of that memory, his smile was filled with emotion.

In the past, the three young emperors who stood as equals—one had proven the dao, one had achieved great accomplishment—and both were now genuine supreme beings, while he remained only a quasi-emperor, no longer qualified to stand alongside them.

"I still don't know your name."

"Huang Qiu Feng."

"Good name."

Ye Chen smiled and, with Yao Chi, gradually walked away, leaving the Hun Dun Ti behind as his recovery was incomplete.

Behind them, the Hun Dun Ti's mind was in a daze.

The great calamity of Zhutian back then, the hope fought for by all living beings, truly shone brighter than the sun.

"Reincarnation, reincarnation, reincarnation."

Leaving Tianjie, Ye Chen murmured all the way, for the reincarnation of Zhutian had collapsed, yet such power still existed.

That night, he came once more to the front of Lingxiao Hall.

It had been ten years, and he still couldn't see clearly what was inside the hall, only knowing that ancient visions intertwined above it, along with mysterious dao sounds that even made his heart sway.

Over the years, he came every few days, lingering for a long time each visit.

The dao of the Tian Court Female Emperor—who knew what kind of dao it was? Her dao sounds were ordinary yet profound, aiding others in comprehending the great dao.

Ye Chen stood like a statue, listening to the dao sounds, and slowly closed his eyes.

Bathed in starlight, he stood motionless, quietly pondering the great dao, his own heavenly sounds intertwining with hers.

He peered into reincarnation, from the eighth life all the way to the second.

As for the first life, it wasn't that blurred—perhaps due to limited vision, he only saw a silhouette.

Ten springs and autumns, ten winters and summers.

He stood there for twenty years, his shoulders covered in dust, without moving an inch the whole time.

"Limited lifespan, take it easy."

Ren Wang was there too, hands behind his back, having circled Ye Chen dozens of times, and still circling.

Cultivators in seclusion could easily spend centuries, but Ye Chen's lifespan couldn't support that; a few more sessions like this, and he'd be on the road to the Yellow Springs.

"Can you stop circling? You'll never find the rare edition that way."

Zao Hua Shen Wang pulled Ren Wang away.

"I don't like what you're saying."

"A good beating, and the whole world would be quiet."

"Don't make trouble."

Buzz!

As they spoke, a sudden buzz rang out, like a bell tolling, shaking their hearts.

The sound came from Ye Chen; his Sheng Ti was trembling.

In the end, Zao Hua Shen Wang and Ren Wang were both flung back.

Looking at Ye Chen again, his form had changed slightly—his floating white hair turned black, his Sheng Ti bloodline dispersed, and the aura of Dacheng transformed into supreme imperial might, with strands of imperial dao laws weaving around him.

"Xianwu Emperor."

"How is that possible?"

Ming Di shot to his feet, and Dao Zu did the same, staring in disbelief—they wouldn't mistake it.

"A great emperor?"

Even the two emperors were like this, let alone Ren Wang and Zao Hua Shen Wang, who had already stood up, staring wide-eyed.

In an instant, the Donghuang Nu Di appeared, sensing the imperial might.

In another instant, Di Xuan and the resurrected Fourth God General descended one after another, detecting the aura of the emperor.

"Brother."

"Emperor."

Their eyes brimmed with tears as they rushed forward, but Yao Chi blocked them. There was an imperial might they couldn't withstand—a peak emperor's might, no ordinary one, carrying destructive power.

"All well since we last met."

A female voice emerged from Lingxiao Hall, like a ethereal fairy melody, each word like a melodious note.

"All well since we last met."

Ye Chen spoke, though it was unclear if it was him or the emperor speaking. Regardless, the voice was hoarse and weary, filled with a sense of age. The Tianxuan Gate disciples passing by, upon hearing it, aged a hundred years in an instant.