Chapter 3082: What Sin Did the Common People Commit?

The thunder of the heavenly tribulation faded away at some point. Di Zun, covered in blood and wounds, stumbled through the vast Cang Miao. The battle against the Tian Di tribulation had been exceptionally fierce, largely due to the heavens showing no mercy. Endless imperial laws and principles had emerged, and even someone as defiant as he had nearly been annihilated.

Fortunately, he had survived, adding another Tian Di to the myriad heavens, and not just any ordinary one. This was evident from his connection to Ye Chen. The fact that he could give rise to a ninth life as formidable as Ye Chen meant that Di Zun, as the original first life, was no simple figure.

"My, I think highly of him." Many Tian Di supremes stroked their beards, their expressions meaningful, as they waited for Di Zun to recover. Then, they planned to spar with him.

The reason was straightforward: Di Zun looked exactly like a certain Sheng Ti. Just seeing that face made them eager for a fight. They might accept defeat against Ye Chen and his counterparts, but taking on Di Zun was a different matter.

This sentiment wasn't limited to the Tian Di; even the quasi-Huang Di shared it, including the mighty Shen Zun of the Tian Ting.

Consequently, when Di Zun descended from Cang Miao, he felt a chill run through his entire body. Although those old fellows wore expressions of contentment, they were all secretly plotting to give him a beating.

"How wonderful." On Taigu Yunu Peak, Ye Xingchen spoke with a deep tone, and Ye Chen's former Dao bodies echoed the sentiment. Their appearance was far from elegant; looking up, one saw messy hair like bird's nests, faces bruised and swollen, and bodies covered in nothing but footprints.

That's right—they had been thoroughly beaten. Ever since arriving in the Taigu Honghuang, they were pummeled every few days. The old folks who thrashed them did so on a whim, their reason oddly consistent: "We just don't like the look of you."

They knew the cause all too well—it was that face, identical to Ye Chen's. Since the emperors couldn't take on Ye Chen, they vented their frustrations on his Dao bodies.

"I want to go home." Ye Xingchen muttered, covering his face. This place was too dangerous; even their original self didn't bother helping, brushing it off with some high-and-mighty excuse: "Wander the world, and you can't avoid a few beatings."

As for Ye Chen, he was the quietest one in the Taigu Honghuang, still deep in slumber, like a stone statue lying on a cloud. Strange visions appeared around him, and the sounds of Dao echoed faintly.

The female emperor watched for a long time before turning and stepping into the void, heading straight for a vortex. Before leaving, she set up a barrier on the peak of Taigu. The main reason was that the Taigu Honghuang had far too many restless emperors who harbored grudges against Ye Chen. It wouldn't matter if they attacked the Sheng Ti, but disturbing Ye Chen's enlightenment would be absurd.

Behind her, Ye Chen suddenly trembled slightly in his sleep, his brows furrowing as if he were having a nightmare.

"Where... is this?" Ye Chen murmured, his consciousness drifting away.

After a while, his mind cleared, and he gazed around in confusion, realizing he was in a vast expanse of stars. He looked around carefully, certain he had never been here before. The space was infinitely vast, filled with stars like blooming flowers in a riot of colors, shimmering in the darkness. Star sand drifted lazily toward unknown distances.

It wasn't quite accurate to call it just a starfield; it was more like an entire universe, similar to the myriad heavens in its vastness, ancient depth, and profound mystery. Being there evoked a sense of awe.

Moo!

As he observed, a deep, resonant mooing sound caught his attention, prompting him to turn his head instinctively. What he saw was a green ox carrying an old man with a white beard, strolling through the stars. They paused occasionally to look around.

"Cultivator." Ye Chen whispered. He called out, but realized the other couldn't hear him. For him, this universe seemed to exist in a realm of illusion, where he was merely a phantom.

The green ox didn't stop, carrying the old man right through Ye Chen's form and continuing onward with steady steps into the depths of the universe.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and began walking slowly. The starfield was dotted with figures, all cultivators like streaks of divine rainbows flashing by. He couldn't discern their cultivations or origins, and none of them glanced his way.

Full of curiosity, Ye Chen stepped onto an ancient star. Mountains and rivers stretched across it, with lush ancient trees and vegetation. Here, grand ancient cities stood tall, and misty immortal mountains rose in the distance. The place teemed with life—ordinary people and cultivators alike—all in a scene of prosperity.

"A prosperous era." Ye Chen smiled, wandering through various spots. There were no signs of war or bloodshed; everything was peaceful.

However, upon reentering the stars, he witnessed chaos, evoking a wry smile. Where there were people, there were conflicts—driven by greed, desires, and schemes.

Ye Chen didn't dwell on it and kept moving, like a traveler leaving no trace behind. This universe and its inhabitants remained unchanged by his presence.

He didn't know how long he walked before finally stopping. He now stood on a vast continent with a towering mountain, where a white-haired elder sat cross-legged at the peak. The area around him was crowded with people, all gazing up with reverence, as if he were a god.

"What is the Dao?""The Dao is all things; the Dao is all phenomena.""All in the world can be the Dao."

The elder spoke with kindness, his words ethereal and rich with Dao insights and truths. The listeners were all immersed in his teachings.

Ye Chen smiled and listened as well. This mountain must be the elder's Dao field, and the people below his disciples and descendants, as he imparted his wisdom to the younger generation.

There was no denying the elder's profound comprehension of the Dao; many of his words enlightened even Ye Chen. He was likely a great power in this universe, standing at the pinnacle—perhaps on par with a great emperor.

His guess proved correct; though the white-haired elder had concealed his aura, certain Dao essence couldn't be hidden. At Ye Chen's level, sensing Dao essence was more revealing than cultivation.

Unfortunately, the elder was in his twilight years, showing signs of decline, with his Dao roots decaying. Without some fortuitous breakthrough, he would turn to dust.

"Only this one supreme." Ye Chen tilted his head slightly, peering through the void to see the so-called imperial Dao imprints—countless in number, but the elder's was the strongest. This situation resembled the myriad heavens in ancient times: old emperors either perished or departed, their imprints weakening over time but never vanishing, while the newest one's shone brightest.

As Ye Chen watched, the white-haired elder rose, ending his three-day lecture. Perhaps weary, he waved gently and turned to leave. The listeners below were still enthralled, many having gained insights, while others frowned in thought, pondering unanswered questions.

Ye Chen followed the elder. This supreme of the universe was extremely aged, his essence waning and lifespan nearly exhausted. From his decrepit back, one could see the marks of countless years.

Ye Chen trailed silently; with his end approaching, he would see the supreme off.

The elder was unaware of being followed, shuffling along with faltering steps, pausing in the skies or on mountainsides, gazing for long moments. His turbid eyes held only nostalgia and weariness.

Ye Chen observed quietly. He understood the elder's state of mind all too well. In one's final years, with life ebbing away, every path walked and place visited might be familiar from the past, a last look before the end.

The white-haired elder continued on. Ye Chen, the Tian Di, followed.

They reappeared in a secluded forest, devoid of people, peaceful and serene. Deep in the forest lay an ancient grave, its tombstone overgrown with weeds, the inscriptions faded and illegible.

"Xue Zun, I've come to see you." The elder smiled, his voice hoarse, as he poured a jug of wine at the base of the tomb.

In his eyes, there was no hatred or anger, only reminiscence and sorrow, occasionally lost in thought.

Ye Chen remained silent, watching. He didn't know who Xue Zun was—likely the elder's old rival or enemy, buried in the earth. He probably never imagined that, after endless ages, a frail supreme would come to pay respects.

"You were a peerless prodigy back then.""Even someone as brilliant as you couldn't escape the vast workings of heaven and earth.""I've grown old too."

The elder spoke one phrase after another, as if talking to himself or his former foe. A lifetime of rivalry, and in the end, nothing but dust.

He spoke for three full days. Then, he reappeared in a peach blossom grove, paying homage to his long-lost beloved. His old eyes brimmed with turbid tears.

From then on, the aged supreme wandered aimlessly, filled with a deep sense of disorientation. Looking around, he saw no one from his past; his long life had outlasted all kin and friends, leaving unprecedented solitude.

Ye Chen understood this feeling all too well.

The elder pressed on, stopping and starting, crossing great rivers, mountains, and vast plains. Time carves away even the greatest heroes.

Ye Chen followed, sighing all the way. The elder's form reflected the fading glow of the setting sun; even as a supreme, he couldn't withstand the erosion of time.

"Home." The elder's voice was raspy as he entered a small town, where not a single cultivator lived—all ordinary people.

The mortal world was lively. Entering the town, he heard vendors calling out, streets bustling with crowds, full of vibrancy. But in the elder's eyes, everything had changed beyond recognition.

He stopped again, setting up a table with fortune-telling tools, hanging a cloth embroidered with the eight trigrams. No longer the lofty supreme, he was now just an ordinary diviner.

This must have been his original trade. Had fate not led him to the path of cultivation, he would have long since turned to ashes in history, forgotten, with no myths or legends to his name.

Ye Chen sat beside him. He had done fortune-telling himself once, during his hundred years as a mortal, observing the myriad aspects of life.

This time, it was Ye Chen who left. This old supreme had found his final resting place, returning to his roots in his hometown.

Ye Chen remained the traveler. Like the elder, he wandered, stopping and starting, still unsure of his location. He only knew this universe was more extraordinary than imagined—vast beyond measure, even larger than the myriad heavens.

He walked far enough that time seemed to lose meaning, witnessing flowers bloom and fade, year after year, all within this realm.

Once, he paused on a mountaintop, gazing upward with deep eyes. In his scrutiny, he saw the universe decaying, its essence gradually dissipating. The once-lush flora withered bit by bit, and the vital energy turned increasingly desolate.

After a long while, he stepped back into the stars. As he had observed, every ancient star teeming with life was slowly declining, its brilliant halos dimming.

"The end of an era?" Ye Chen pondered inwardly, shaking his head slightly. He saw no heavenly Dao of destruction, yet the universe's spiritual energy was vanishing completely.

Perhaps in a hundred years, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth would be depleted, cultivators existing only in legends, and this universe might utterly collapse with the passage of time.

Boom!

Suddenly, a thunderous roar made him look up. He saw lightning flashing in the Cang Miao, space rifts tearing open, and black hole vortices appearing, devouring star sand.

Then, a massive hand emerged—not just covering the sky, but the entire universe. Even Ye Chen felt his heart tremble at the sight; such a colossal hand might be beyond even the female emperor's capabilities.

He only glimpsed the hand, unaware of its owner, but knew it brought destruction. Before it fully descended, the stars began to collapse, and one by one, they exploded.

Boom! Boom!

The starfield erupted into chaos, becoming a realm of death. Continents shattered, and the debris was ground to dust.

Ye Chen frowned, scanning the surroundings. Though distant, he could see the expressions of the beings: mortals' confusion, immortals' fear, and the strong's horror, all vividly displayed.

"What crime has the common people committed?"

Shouts erupted, hoarse and filled with resentment and fury, echoing across the universe.

Looking into the distance, it was the elder whose lifespan was nearly spent—the universe's sole supreme—who had burst from the mortal town into the skies.

In the few years since Ye Chen last saw him, he appeared even more aged, with barely any life left. Though a supreme, he was shrouded in deathly aura, his turbid eyes devoid of clarity, as if half-buried already.

"What crime has the common people committed?" The old supreme roared from his soul, glaring at the heavens and the massive hand.

In that instant, he shed his frailty, reverting to youth—likely by sacrificing his remaining lifespan for one final surge of power.

His once-weary back now seemed majestic, like a monument. From him, Ye Chen saw legends and myths, and a path paved with blood and bones—the epitome of imperial struggles—in this, his last battle.

Sadly, even at his peak, it wasn't enough. Under the destructive hand, he vanished in an instant.

"What crime has the common people committed?" Ye Chen asked as well, his eyes full of sorrow. Such a flourishing world, such magnificent lands, all erased into nothingness by that merciless hand.

This universe turned to dust. Ye Chen was a witness, having seen its prosperity and now its destruction. Chunks of debris were refined into the palm of the hand, forming a gleaming golden character.

It was the word "Dao."

Though the character shone brilliantly, in Ye Chen's eyes, it was stained crimson. For it was dyed in the blood of all living beings.