Chapter 3214: Filling the Small Universe

The sky of Tai Gu Hong Huang remained as dim as ever.

Nü Di had returned.

Behind her, Ye Chen followed with his hands clasped, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. He might joke around, but the crises still needed to be resolved, such as advancing his cultivation or seeking the unknown.

"If I were him, Nü Di would have gone home to rest and prepare for the child by now." Xuan Di spoke with deep meaning, thinking that the sacred body had wasted the full achievement of quasi-Huang Di cultivation.

"Face is a precious thing," Di Zun's words were profound, his demeanor reaching a state of perfect composure.

Ming Di glanced sideways, and Gui Di did the same. The two emperors collectively gave him a sidelong look: Do you even know what face means?

"Kill."

In contrast to the four emperors, the roars of the first-generation Sheng Mo were filled with savage fury.

Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention. As Ye Chen passed by, he acted as if he hadn't seen him at all. If there was a next time, he'd drag him out to take the hit again.

When Meng Mo caught sight of Ye Chen, she instantly slipped into a dream. Even the gods from the outer universe had moments of cowardice, mainly because they knew Ye Chen's nature all too well—that guy had no sense of propriety and was capable of anything.

Ye Chen ignored it and walked on like the wind. Entering a dream? As if that would help—he could drag you out with one hand. When it came to serious business, the Sheng Ti didn't mess around. The so-called serious business was to mend the universe's flaws and restore Zhutian to wholeness. And the patch for that was the Xiao Yu Zhou. As the heavenly dao of the Xiao Yu Zhou, he could fully integrate it into Zhutian.

Buzz!

It wasn't long before a booming sound echoed as the Xiao Yu Zhou was shifted over. Mountains, rivers, grasses, trees, and the rules of the universe all merged seamlessly with Zhutian.

Boom! Boom!

The first to stir was the heavenly dao, whether in anger or unease, no one could tell. People in Zizai Tian gazed upward. This universe had become even more complex, with a heavenly dao within the heavenly dao and rules within rules. In the shadows, various forces clashed, sometimes intertwining, sometimes opposing, yet maintaining an extremely delicate balance without exploding.

Meng Mo was watching too. Honestly, she didn't want to stay in this universe a moment longer—it was too dangerous.

Boom! Boom!

Zhutian's flaws were filled by the Xiao Yu Zhou, bringing strange changes and phenomena. The universe shifted, with eternal lights blooming in many places, as if immortality was evolving. In that instant, every living being in Zhutian, from mortals to spirit beasts to the supreme ones, felt a tremor in their souls, as if on the verge of an immediate transformation.

Ye Chen stood atop the mountain peak, surveying all of Zhutian. Even with the Xiao Yu Zhou filling the gaps, the universe was still incomplete, because the outer regions had breaches too, like the illusions in the Sheng Mo domain, and probably the Tian and E domains as well. An incomplete universe could only accommodate four Huang Di. If the universe were whole, it might hold a fifth.

By merging the Xiao Yu Zhou into Zhutian, he was fighting for a chance of hope for all living beings. Only after retracting his gaze did he sit down cross-legged. Soon after, dao sounds echoed, accompanied by mysterious phenomena that resounded throughout Tai Gu Hong Huang. These were phenomena unique to the Sheng Ti—eternal dao paths radiating immortal light, something no emperor could match, not even Nü Di of the heavenly court.

"If he becomes a Huang Di, it's set," many emperors murmured softly. With Ye Chen's combat power, advancing would make it easy for him to take on two Huang Di single-handedly. A Sheng Ti becoming a Huang Di would mean dividing the world equally with the heavens. But the difficulty was extraordinary. Advancing from quasi-Huang Di full achievement to Huang Di was not the same as going from quasi-emperor to great emperor.

"Huang Di gate," on an unknown day, Ye Chen murmured lightly. He had glimpsed that gate. But he could only glimpse it, separated by endless voids and illusions.

"It's incomplete." His murmur went unheard by anyone.

Hee-hee-hee!

Suddenly, faint giggles echoed, elusive and faint.

It's him!

Ye Chen's eyes snapped open, sharp as torches, confirming he hadn't misheard—it was definitely the unknown child, though he couldn't tell if it was inside or outside the universe. He looked at Nü Di. From her expression, there was no change at all, clearly meaning she hadn't heard it.

"Where are you?" Ye Chen closed his eyes and performed a divination. This was the first time he'd used it since reaching full achievement, not for anything else, but to track down that child and verify one thing. As he traced back, the giggles became clearer. However, no matter how he calculated or pursued, it was all blank.

He knew that was the unknown. Regrettably, he couldn't pinpoint its location—it was because his cultivation wasn't sufficient. Just like before, any divination would invite backlash. This time was no exception; he suffered the unknown's backlash. The blankness he chased was eroding his eternity, and if it went on too long, it could consume him entirely.

Without hesitation, he severed the connection. In that instant of severing, he seemed to catch a glimpse of a segment of time and space—a fragmented one. He strained his eyes to the limit but only captured a corner of it.

"So that's how it is." His expression turned unusually grim, as if he'd sensed some secrets.

Afterward, he attempted more divinations. The backlash came each time, and it grew more ferocious. All the emperors witnessing this furrowed their brows. For a quasi-Huang Di full achievement to suffer backlash, it was clearly no simple matter—who knew what he was up to?

"Don't worry about it. Focus on enlightenment." Nü Di's words reached him, as if she knew whom he was divining, implying: As a quasi-Huang Di Sheng Ti, your priority is to break through to Huang Di.

Ye Chen shook his head lightly. This gesture seemed to carry deeper meaning: Without finding it, he couldn't advance. It wasn't an exaggeration. His eternity appeared complete but was actually flawed. What was missing? A segment of time and space. When the unknown child left, it took a piece of time and space, blocking everyone's path to becoming Huang Di in this universe—not just Zhutian, but the outer three domains as well. This was his realization over these days.

In the end, it all boiled down to flaws. Everyone had been marked by that child, though no one knew it. If not for his accidental glimpse, he wouldn't have been truly certain.

"You've got some nerve." Ye Chen cursed under his breath. Whether intentional or not, that child's move was infuriatingly troublesome—the greedy thing had actually swallowed time and space. So, he had to find it. If he succeeded, he could retrieve that lost segment of time and space. If not, he'd have to find another way. He had no clear idea for that alternative path. It wasn't impossible to mend, but it depended on how—it could turn into a disaster if done wrong.

Boom! Boom!

As he pondered, deafening booms suddenly erupted, shaking the entire universe.

"Another Huang Di tribulation?" Many ancient supreme beings rose collectively, gazing into the vast sky. A tribulation had been triggered, but it wasn't for the common people—it was from one of the three outer domains, though no one knew which.

"The Sheng Mo domain is producing talents!" Shen Zun sighed with emotion. They had just eliminated one demon overlord, and now another outstanding one emerged. Not just him—the two Huang Di turned their gazes as well. They even glanced at the first-generation Sheng Mo: Your domain really has a lot of talents!

"I said, someone's undergoing a tribulation." Xuan Di called out to Ye Chen, wondering why he was acting so nonchalant.

Ye Chen was watching, watching seriously. The Sheng Mo domain indeed had many talents, like Di Sha Can Zhu, Tian Xing Mo Kui, quasi-Huang Di Qi Wan, and now another one. How had he not noticed last time? Still, he remained calm. Triggering a Huang Di tribulation didn't mean becoming a Huang Di—that child's interference was massive. Zhutian's beings had flaws, and so did the outer three domains—it was absolutely fair.

So, that one would be struck to ashes. And that's exactly what happened—the Sheng Mo under the thunder tribulation perished.

"Ah, that's a relief." The emperors' tense nerves relaxed, and in their spare time, they glanced at Ye Chen. He sat steadily like a fisherman, never intending to intervene from start to finish.

"You knew all along?" Nü Di's lips parted slightly.

"Whether we can find a way to resurrect the Hong Chen Six Dao." Ye Chen stood with his hands clasped, speaking leisurely. He didn't answer her question but posed this instead, as if asking Nü Di or himself.

Nü Di frowned, not understanding. Ye Chen's eyes grew profoundly deep, with a hint of enlightenment. Time and space—he could traverse time and space. Not this one, but the future time and space from the original historical trajectory—the line of Hong Chen and the Six Dao.

Existence is truth. In any timeline, that child existed. Reviving Hong Chen and the Six Dao, and glimpsing the original historical path, might yield unexpected gains.