Chapter 3013: The Era Theory

The heavenly tribulation and the great battle had ended, and the Tai Gu Lu returned to tranquility.

The Nu Di had already departed for the end, while the various emperors were each engaged in their own tasks. For instance, Jian Shen and Jian Zun were closing their eyes to heal, and Di Huang and Hong Yan, having advanced, were focused on stabilizing their Dao roots.

As for the gods and generals, they tended to gather together, and what they watched most intently was Ye Tian Di.

Though they bantered idly, there was still a sense of reverence. No one knew exactly when that small Saint Body had surpassed them, or when they had been left only able to look up to Ye Chen.

Before long, Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes, his gaze brimming with eternity, manifesting the immortal.

The emperors all rose, each having their own fortunes, but compared to Ye Chen, they were truly insignificant in scale.

Ye Chen gathered the gods and generals and took a single step across the vast expanse.

At the end of the Tai Gu Lu, the Nu Di was already waiting. Her gaze swept over the emperors and lingered on Ye Chen for a moment. That fleeting look held both contentment and astonishment.

"Have you detected anyone spying?"

Ye Chen approached, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Nu Di, and transmitted his words through divine sense.

The Nu Di nodded lightly.

Seeing her response, Ye Chen asked no further questions. Clearly, the Nu Di also did not know who was spying.

Nevertheless, whoever it was, they were far above them in power.

Precisely because of this, he was baffled, unable to imagine who possessed such heaven-defying might.

The Nu Di formed seals with her hands, reactivating the immortal array.

Ye Chen set aside his thoughts, letting eternal immortal light bloom, intertwining with the Nu Di's aura.

At the same time, Di Huang and Hong Yan also took their positions.

Accompanied by a deep hum, the Tai Gu Lu began to reconstruct inch by inch, extending toward the void ahead.

It was another long journey.

The Nu Di remained silent, as still as an ice sculpture from beginning to end, with only her three thousand strands of hair gently swaying.

The emperors were equally quiet.

The various gods and generals mostly clung to the rim of the chaos cauldron, gazing hopefully toward the opposite side, yearning to see the Tai Gu Lu as soon as possible. They had been trapped on this road for far too long and now felt a deep longing for the Tai Gu Hong Huang.

Ye Chen had his own thoughts and would occasionally glance sideways without thinking.

To this day, he still could not fathom how the Heavenly Court had endured back then. During the Tian Di tribulation, he had managed to escape, but in the Heavenly Court war, the Nu Di had no way out—she had fought head-on. A single Saint Demon was already a formidable threat, let alone with the addition of the Tian Mo, E Mo, and Huang Di.

"The Heavenly Court predated Pangu— what kind of era was that exactly?"

Ye Chen suddenly spoke, his words concealed by eternity, audible only to the Nu Di and not to the other emperors.

"The various heavens and the Heavenly Court do not belong to the same ji yuan."

The Nu Di parted her lips slightly.

"This—"

Ye Chen's heart trembled, and even his eternal essence nearly detached, almost causing the immortal array's power to surge out of control. Di Huang and Hong Yan behind him were affected and nearly lost their footing, while only the Nu Di stood firm like a monument.

Not the same ji yuan?

Ye Chen's mind surged with waves, his supreme state of mind struggling to calm.

What kind of existence was a ji yuan?

In the depths of the void, the end of a ji yuan meant total destruction—living beings, all things, laws, Dao essence, the universe... everything returned to chaos, starting from zero. Only after endless ages of sedimentation would the heavens and earth be reborn, as in the legendary chaos opening.

Ye Chen never imagined that the various heavens and the Heavenly Court were not in the same ji yuan.

In other words, the Nu Di and the Ancient Heavenly Court had survived a great destruction of the heavens and earth, the end of one ji yuan and the start of another. They were remnants from the previous ji yuan, living on into this one.

Back then, Tian Zhu Di Mie had mentioned playing with Pangu's something, and he hadn't believed it.

Now, he truly believed it. People from the previous ji yuan were of a higher generation than those in this one.

Involuntarily, he glanced at the Nu Di again.

"Since it was the end of a ji yuan and the great destruction of the heavens and earth, how did you survive?"

"The Tai Gu Hong Huang." The Nu Di offered only these four sparse words.

Hearing this, Ye Chen furrowed his brow and ventured, "Is the Tai Gu Hong Huang the previous ji yuan?"

The Nu Di said nothing, merely nodding lightly.

Well then! Seeing her tacit agreement, Ye Tian Di felt a wave of bewilderment. He had always thought the Tai Gu Hong Huang was just a span of time and space, never imagining it was the previous ji yuan. Even with his wisdom, he needed time to process it.

After a long while, he lowered his gaze and once more focused on the Tai Gu Lu.

He was astounded—astounded by the divine abilities of the Ancient Heavenly Court Nu Di. She had withstood the outer domain invasions and shouldered the great destruction of the heavens and earth, stubbornly forging a path that connected two ji yuan.

Even a Tian Di-level Saint Body felt a bit dizzy.

No wonder, no wonder the forbidden zones had refused to reveal the secrets back then. Even now, hearing it, he found it hard to believe. With a younger mindset, it would have surely disrupted his inner peace, far beyond the scope of comprehension.

"This woman is the real monster!"

Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Compared to the Nu Di, he was utterly outclassed.

"Now, do you understand the origins and connections of the Saint Demon, Tian Mo, and E Mo?"

The Nu Di spoke softly, ignoring Ye Chen's peculiar gaze—or perhaps she was accustomed to it. Every emperor who entered the Tai Gu Hong Huang or learned the eternal secrets had shown such an expression.

"If I still can't figure it out, I'd have to be out of my mind."

Ye Chen sighed. "Grudges from the previous ji yuan carried into this one— that's not fair at all!"

"If not for the Heavenly Court holding the line, this ji yuan would likely have ended long ago."

The Nu Di's words were calm and flat, but her eyes carried a hint of weariness, as if she were exhausted.

"On behalf of the myriad domains and all living beings, I thank the Heavenly Court first."

Ye Chen took a deep breath.

His words were sincere gratitude. The fact that living beings still existed today was due to the forebears bearing the burden.

As for the previous ji yuan, it must have been an incomplete destruction.

The persistence of the Ancient Heavenly Court and the Nu Di was proof of that—a sliver of life amid the destruction, and that ancient variable had allowed this ji yuan, which should have ended, to continue to the present.

"We've spotted the Tai Gu Lu."

The little spirit child suddenly shouted, interrupting Ye Chen's thoughts.

No reminder was needed; the emperors had already seen it.

Ye Chen stopped dwelling on it and, together with the Nu Di, unleashed eternity, accelerating the Tai Gu Lu's extension to its peak. From the vast heavens above, the extending road looked like a beam of light.

Boom!

Soon, the two segments of the Tai Gu Lu collided with a thunderous crash.

The Nu Di and Ye Chen divided their tasks clearly: they connected the two roads, with the Nu Di wielding eternity to mend the cracks, while Ye Chen, gripping his eternal sword, stepped into the void. If any outer domain supreme beings appeared, they would need to be cleared out first.

However, after a thorough scan, not a single demon soldier or general was in sight—instead, he found people from the various heavens.

They were two weathered elders, both clad in bloodstained armor, their hair white, their shoulders covered in dust. Hearing the commotion, they had rushed from the eastern heavens. Upon seeing Ye Chen, they froze.

An Huang Gu Saint Body?

A Tian Di-level Huang Gu Saint Body?

The two wore expressions of shock.

Ye Chen recognized them at a glance, without needing to ask—they were gods and generals who had emerged from the Tai Gu Hong Huang, much like Hou Yi and Xing Tian, likely sent back to the various heavens for reinforcements. Due to the Tai Gu Lu's collapse, they had been stranded here.

"Wu Yun."

"Tian Luo."

Calls rang out instantly, and from the chaos cauldron, two figures emerged: one the Dong Zhou Wu Wang, the other the Sun Moon God Child. Though they were usually unreliable, tears now streamed down their faces. Clearly, they knew these two veteran gods and generals.

"Everywhere we go, there are old acquaintances."

Hou Yi and Xing Tian also stepped out, both from the Tai Gu Hong Huang, so naturally they recognized them.

While they knew them, Ye Chen did not.

"The first is Wu Yun, the legendary Xu Miao Immortal Body, the first god and general under Hun Lun Da Di; the second is Ling Tian Luo, who was born with a naturally formed Dao root, the first god and general under Jiu Huang Da Di."

Hou Yi was quite helpful, giving Ye Chen a clear rundown.

Ye Chen listened carefully, but his eyes lingered most on Dong Zhou Wu Wang and the Sun Moon God Child. Though they lived in the same era, they were from different times—one from the Hun Lun Da Di era, the other from the Jiu Huang Da Di era. It made sense that they knew the gods and generals under those emperors, and they were likely close comrades.

In fact, their relationship was indeed extraordinary.

It could be said that if Dong Zhou Wu Wang and the Sun Moon God Child had not self-sealed in ancient times, they would likely have become gods and generals under the great emperors, like Wu Yun and Ling Tian Luo. Now, reuniting as old friends—one self-sealed, the other not—they had walked entirely different paths.

"They possess emperor potential, but carry hidden injuries."

Di Huang murmured softly, instantly seeing through the two veteran gods and generals. Not only were they aged, but their condition was extremely poor—lifespan depleted and irreversible, with dark injuries in their Dao ravaging their bodies, blocking their path to emperorship.

People like them, over time, would inevitably decay into dust.

Ye Chen did not interrupt, simply flicking out two strands of eternal light, which entered the bodies of the two gods and generals, erasing their hidden injuries. As for their lifespan, even as a Tian Di, he could not reverse it; they would have to rely on themselves. If they could achieve emperorship in their remaining years, it would be a path to salvation.

The two gods and generals smiled wearily, tears at the corners of their eyes.

Dong Zhou Wu Wang and the Sun Moon God Child were also filled with emotion. They never expected to encounter their old friends on the Tai Gu Lu. Once peerless talents, they now met again as white-haired elders.

Ye Chen waved his hand, drawing the four into the great cauldron.

The emotional scene also brought shock and astonishment—for Ye Tian Di and the later various heavens. After hearing the story, they were overwhelmingly stunned, but even more excited, for they had finally awaited reinforcements from the various heavens.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and strode through the skies, heading to the end of the Tai Gu Lu.

The Nu Di had mended the cracks and followed, once again activating the connecting immortal array.

Buzz!

Another hum resounded, and in less than a quarter of an hour, the Tai Gu Lu extended further.

This time, the distance was greater.

With the Nu Di and Ye Chen supporting it, it took a full three days to connect to the opposite Tai Gu Lu.

What followed were waves of battle.

Outer domain supreme beings were present, but no Tian Di to match them. Ye Chen and the emperors pushed forward relentlessly, fighting all the way to the end of the Tai Gu Lu. From peak great emperors down to demon soldiers and generals, they were all slaughtered clean.

The emperors did not delay and continued their mission on the Tai Gu Lu.

In the days that followed, segment after segment of the Tai Gu Lu was connected, and with each connection came battles. Including Ye Chen and the Nu Di, Jian Zun and Jian Shen—all were enveloped in killing intent. Front to back, they fought dozens of battles, leaving the gods and generals sighing in awe. The outer domain supreme beings were alarmingly numerous; along this path, Ye Chen and the others had slain at least eight hundred, if not a thousand.

That was not the main issue—what mattered was that the Tai Gu Hong Huang still seemed distant.

Not just the gods and generals—even Ye Chen frowned. This road was longer than he had imagined, and he was unsure if they had covered half the distance. What was certain was that more trials awaited ahead.