Chapter 2938: Didn't Perform Well

Chapter 2938: Didn't Perform Well

The night on Yu Nu Feng was peaceful and serene.

The scene on Yu Nu Feng was especially warm and inviting.

Tonight, Ye Chen set aside his wood carving and set up an easel, picking up a brush to paint the most beautiful scenery in the world.

That scenery was his wives.

Under the moonlight, Yao Chi danced with a sword, Nan Ming Yu Shu moved gracefully, Lin Shi Hua embroidered, and Liu Ru Yan played the qin, all of them at leisure.

Every smile, every gesture, and every elegant pose of theirs was captured by Ye Chen's brush on the canvas.

"Old dad, you're really something else!"

Ye Ling sighed, standing beside Ye Chen.

This little troublemaker was seeing a new side of her father today. She knew he was cunning and sly, but she had no idea he was also a master of music, chess, calligraphy, and painting, as if there was nothing in the world he couldn't do.

"Girl, you should learn from this."

Ye Chen spoke leisurely, glancing at his wives in the distance and adding a few strokes to the painting. Being praised by his daughter made his aura of sophistication hard to contain.

"I heard you painted one for Mom in the Ling Yu domain."

Ye Ling smiled playfully, her big eyes blinking curiously.

"That was old dad's most proud masterpiece."

Ye Chen took a deep breath, his expression full of meaning.

What could he say? That portrait of Chu Ling Er in the nude was still tucked away in his small world. He often took it out to study, considering it the ultimate treasure, one of a kind across the three realms of heaven, earth, and humanity.

"Then let me see it!"

Ye Ling tugged at Ye Chen's sleeve, her eyes blinking expectantly.

"Beautiful, truly beautiful."

Ye Chen played dumb, pretending not to hear, and continued painting, even stepping back to admire his work. He completely ignored Ye Ling's words.

Some paintings were fine for him to look at, but if Ye Ling saw them, it would be anything but child-friendly and might even cause chaos.

Ye Ling said nothing, but her gaze at Ye Chen turned a bit skeptical.

What could she say? She knew her father's ways all too well. Whenever he dodged the question, there was definitely something fishy going on.

The more he avoided it, the more curious she became about that painting.

"Ning Shuang, don't stop!"

"Xi Yan, can't you sit still?"

"Yu Shu, play another piece."

Ye Chen called out instructions one after another without pause.

In that moment, he was not just a painter but also a conductor, striving for perfection that he would bring to life with his brush.

It had to be said, Ye Chen's painting skills were as impressive as his cooking. His strokes seemed divinely guided, capturing his wives with lifelike detail and giving their graceful forms a dreamlike quality.

"Is it done yet?"

Shangguan Yu Er glanced at Ye Chen, feeling like he was just toying with them. He'd been painting for most of the night.

"Ling Er, it's late. Go rest."

Ye Chen said, adding another stroke.

"Are you trying to say I'm in the way?"

Ye Ling puffed out her cheeks.

Ye Chen didn't reply, which was as good as admitting it.

Not to boast, but if his daughter weren't there, this painting would be even more sensual than imagined—a series of nudes, he absolutely believed his brush could handle it.

This time, Ye Ling pretended not to hear. Oh, I know you too well? I'm not leaving; I'll just stay here and watch you paint.

"Beautiful, truly beautiful."

Since coaxing didn't work, Ye Chen focused on his painting.

The scene remained as warm as ever.

"This is really something."

On many other peaks, quite a few people were still awake, hands tucked in their sleeves as they watched the scene on Yu Nu Feng.

You'd think, with such a fine moonlit night, why paint?

You'd think, with so many wives, where does he find the time to paint?

"Waited half the night, and no benefits at all."

Ming Di yawned. He always paid extra attention to Yu Nu Feng on quiet nights. He'd grown tired of the usual landscapes and craved something wild, like certain explicit scenes.

Whenever this happened, Dao Zu, who was fishing, would send a sidelong glance through the barrier: Have some shame!

"Perfect."

With Ye Chen's final words, he put down his brush.

"My neck is so sore."

Xi Yan was the first to approach, rubbing her neck and shoulders. She had been the most restless while Ye Chen was painting, full of mischief.

Yao Chi and the others came over too.

When they saw the painting, their beautiful eyes instantly became mesmerized.

Their Ye Chen was truly skilled in every art—music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Each stroke carried a divine essence, portraying them with exquisite detail. It was absolutely a masterpiece for the ages.

"Didn't perform well."

Ye Chen stroked his beard, his aura of sophistication returning.

This expression made the women want to laugh.

The night turned out to be longer than expected.

After Ye Chen showed off his skills, his wives decided to show off theirs. Xi Yan had already rolled up her sleeves.

In the end, Ye Chen was set up as their model.

Ye Chen went along with it, striking poses that were spot-on.

"Looks just like him, really."

Ye Ling stood next to Shangguan Yu Er, repeating that line several times, her expression full of meaning.

"Doesn't it?"

Shangguan Yu Er chuckled, holding her brush awkwardly, but the painting she produced was boldly striking. That wasn't a person—it was clearly a pig, and a very fat one at that.

Yao Chi and Lin Shi Hua's paintings were much more normal.

Under the night sky, a hint of mist could be seen in their eyes, glistening in the moonlight like frost. Every time they painted a strand of Ye Chen's white hair, they felt an inexplicable pang of pain, a heartache.

It had been so many years since they had really looked at Ye Chen closely. The vibrant memories of his youth had all been overshadowed by age.

Shangguan Yu Er bit her lip and stopped her antics, replacing the paper to quietly paint the man named Ye Chen.

At some point, the seated Ye Chen lowered his head slightly, his white hair falling loose and brushing against his face in the night breeze. Strand by strand, it couldn't hide the weariness etched there.

He must have been tired, drifting quietly into sleep.

Ji Ning Shuang and the others stopped painting, using gentle power to carry Ye Chen back to his room, tears lingering in their eyes.

Ye Chen was probably truly exhausted, sleeping for many days like a statue on the bed, not moving at all.

It was still a quiet night, and Yu Nu Feng was eerily silent.

Accompanied by a faint feminine fragrance, a boudoir door slowly opened.

Out came Ji Ning Shuang, who stepped up to the peak of Yu Nu Feng and silently gazed up at Di Dao Men, her beautiful eyes lost in a daze.

She was looking, and so were Tian Ming and the two emperors.

The difference was, she was looking at Di Dao Men.

Dao Zu and Ming Di, however, were quietly watching her, occasionally furrowing their brows with a hint of struggle in their eyes.

Di Dao Men, Di Dao Men—the door was there, but it lacked the emperor's path, the origin of the emperor, divine power, dao roots, divine treasures, laws, primordial spirit, imperial body... everything related to the emperor.

In short, it lacked an emperor.

To forge Di Dao Men, a complete emperor had to be sacrificed.

That was what Di Dao Men was missing.

The two emperors had pondered this for years before truly understanding it, only confirming it in the instant Ye Chen tried to destroy Di Dao Men.

The sacred body had no precedent for achieving emperorship, and it wasn't unfounded.

The ancestors of the sacred body lineage probably never imagined that for a sacred body to prove the dao and become an emperor, it would require such a tragic price—exchanging one supreme being for another, a blood-soaked imperial path.

That was why Ye Chen wanted to destroy Di Dao Men, fearing Ji Ning Shuang would figure it out. Once she did, she would sacrifice herself without hesitation, trading her life for his.

In this life, he had already owed too much.

"She'll think of it eventually."

Ming Di said softly, not planning to tell Ji Ning Shuang. It wasn't out of fear of Ye Chen seeking revenge; he just understood Ye Chen. Even if Yao Chi sacrificed herself and Di Dao Men was forged, Ye Chen wouldn't cross it.

Since Ming Di didn't speak, Dao Zu remained silent too.

He was a sacred body with deep emotions and obsessions. If his child sacrificed for him during his great achievement, he wouldn't want his wife to die for him in proving the dao.

One Ye Fan had nearly broken him.

If another Yao Chi followed, he would truly shatter.

"What exactly is missing from Di Dao Men, you two seniors?"

Yao Chi murmured, asking for what felt like the hundredth time.

"We don't know."

Dao Zu and Ming Di replied in unison.

Yao Chi didn't ask further. She slowly turned and walked away, looking back three times with every step, always pausing to glance at Di Dao Men.

As Ming Di said, she would think of it eventually. She was an emperor too, her vision not as broad as theirs, but she would see it one day.

And indeed, that was the case.

Ye Chen was asleep, but Yao Chi was awake. Every day, she went to the peak of Yu Nu Feng to gaze quietly at Di Dao Men, staring for a long time.

From that night on, she never asked Dao Zu or Ming Di again.

Or perhaps, a suspicion had taken root and sprouted, growing with the passage of time into the undeniable truth.

"Ninth Mother, what are you looking at?"

Ye Ling hadn't slept and came to the peak, tugging at Yao Chi's sleeve.

"Hope."

Yao Chi smiled gently, giving the same answer as before.

"Hope?"

Nan Ming Yu Shu and the others were there too, having gazed at the vast sky for many days.

Unfortunately, they weren't emperors, so they couldn't see Di Dao Men.

But one thing was certain, and neither Tian Ming nor the two emperors would doubt it, nor would the beings of the myriad domains—Tian Ming wouldn't doubt it. Any of them would, in any situation, unhesitatingly shatter themselves for Ye Chen. That was also an obsession.

This family was shrouded in the sorrow of separation.

Except for Ye Ling, every one of them had died before, and every one had traded their life for Ye Chen's.

The peerless war god had lived up to the myriad domains and all living beings, but he had let down his wife and children, bearing the lives of too many on his shoulders.

"The night is deep. Rest early."

Yao Chi smiled lightly and gently waved her hand.

A breeze swept over the women, and they all slumped over, sent to their rooms by Ji Ning Shuang's gesture.

She descended from the peak and went to the bamboo grove, standing before Ye Fan's grave for a long time, inserting three sticks of incense that wouldn't light.

She also stood outside Ye Chen's door for a long time, her clear eyes somewhat dazed. In that instant, her gaze reflected all the karma between her and Ye Chen—a span of rugged years.

She was silent, and so were Tian Ming and the two emperors.

No need to ask; they knew what she intended to do.

Both emperors opened their mouths but said nothing.

Bathed in the bright moonlight, Yao Chi suddenly turned and stepped into the air, walking step by step toward that door—Ye Chen's Di Dao Men, but for her, it was the gate to the underworld.

In the passage of time, the female emperor's elegance was unparalleled.