Chapter 3215

"Revive Hong Chen and the Six Paths."

At the mountain peak, Ye Chen was lost in thought, becoming somewhat entranced. He paced back and forth with his hands tucked in his sleeves, muttering to himself. He had walked countless laps without realizing it.

The various emperors were baffled, and Nu Di furrowed her delicate brows slightly. Ever since Ye Chen had achieved full mastery as a quasi-huang, she could no longer see through that young sacred body.

It was best if they remained baffled. This universe, including Tian Dao, the three Huang Emperors, and all the emperors of the heavens, might not know about the incident where the unknown child intercepted a segment of time and space. Ye Chen was actually an accident, a coincidental fluke that allowed him to witness that eerie secret—a stolen piece of time and space that blocked everyone's path to becoming a Huang Emperor.

The one who ties the bell must untie it. This situation wasn't hard to resolve; retrieving the lost time and space would do it. But unfortunately, the unknown child was hard to find, so he had to find another way. If he couldn't get that time and space, he'd switch to another timeline.

And the Hong Chen and Six Paths were undoubtedly the best choice.

He wasn't sure which day it was, but he sat down cross-legged. If possible, he would first revive Hong Chen. Compared to the Six Paths, Hong Chen was easier to revive, simply because Hong Chen was his future self, while the Six Paths were Hong Chen's future. Although their origins were both in him, the two were somewhat different. Between him and the Six Paths, there was still a layer of separation.

He sat like that for three full days. By the fourth day, Nu Di noticed that his eyes had grown even deeper. From Ye Chen's body, she seemed to glimpse the shadow of Hong Chen—or rather, traces of Hong Chen that lingered on Ye Chen, now being manifested into reality by him.

Regrettably, Ye Chen couldn't succeed. He didn't know if it was because the rules forbade it or his cultivation wasn't sufficient; in the ether, there was always some kind of resistance holding him back, making it hard for the illusory traces to become real.

"Then I'll use the crude method," Ye Chen murmured in his heart.

The so-called crude method was to offer sacrifices to summon Hong Chen's spirit. With the spirit, everything else would be manageable. He raised his hand and conjured a statue out of thin air—a statue of Hong Chen. Then, he separated a trace of Hong Chen from within himself and inscribed it into the statue.

He was the first to pay homage. A faint, invisible offering force drifted into the Hong Chen statue. His offering was extraordinary. Because he was the commander of all living beings, bearing their beliefs, will, and destiny, his single act of homage was equivalent to that of all living beings. The offering force was incredibly vast.

"He's trying to revive Hong Chen?"

In the Honghuang, the divine generals, as well as the emperors who had attained the Dao later, all showed expressions of surprise. Hong Chen was, after all, a famous figure in the heavens.

"He has a special connection with Hong Chen, so even without the unknown factor, he could probably revive him," said Ming Di and Dao Zu, both of whom had once been spectators and seen it most clearly. Over the long years, they knew the ins and outs of the grudges between Ye Chen and Hong Chen.

"The most fundamental root is me," Emperor Zun declared, his aura of superiority instantly complete.

The various emperors took a deep breath, wanting to retort but unable to find words. Emperor Zun's statement was spot on. Hong Chen was the root of the Six Paths, Ye Chen was the root of Hong Chen, and Emperor Zun was the root of Ye Chen. Calculated this way, they all originated from Emperor Zun, giving him the capital to boast.

"Not enough," Ye Chen muttered, immediately waving his hand. Countless rays of eternal light flew out from the Taigu Honghuang, like rain from the heavens, showering the entire Zhutian. Each ray transformed into a statue, standing in ancient cities and atop mountain peaks, numbering beyond count.

"Hong Chen's statues?"

Exclamations of surprise echoed through the starry sky. Although Hong Chen and Ye Chen looked identical, Ye Chen had carved the statues with lifelike detail, perfectly capturing the wooden expression and vacant eyes. At first glance, it resembled Ye Chen, but it was actually Hong Chen.

No one recognized this better than Hong Chen Xue and Chu Lingyu. Upon seeing the Hong Chen statues, mist gathered in their beautiful eyes, glistening like frost under the moonlight, and they couldn't help but reach out to touch them.

"Old Seven, what are you up to?"

In the Dou Zhan sacred ape territory, the young ape emperor shouted, assuming Ye Chen could hear him. He had been sleeping soundly when a statue suddenly crashed down, startling him awake.

Such questions arose across the entire starry sky.

"Offer sacrifices," Ye Chen said bluntly. To summon the spirit, his power alone wasn't enough. This had nothing to do with cultivation level. What was needed was numbers, and unwavering devotion, like the Nian Li of Buddhism. Once it accumulated to a certain limit, the Buddha could become indestructible, living on in the hearts of every believer.

"Got it!"

All living beings responded accordingly. Since the sacred body had spoken, they would follow suit. The offerings from all living beings were world-shaking. Looking at the Hong Chen statue standing in the Taigu Honghuang, it was instantly enveloped in a layer of brilliant light. The invisible and formless offerings, perhaps due to their sheer volume, began to take shape.

Thunder rumbled in the hazy sky, with lightning flashing and thunder booming. Ye Chen glanced over, knowing it was Tian Dao interfering. As he had anticipated, the rules didn't allow it. Or perhaps, Hong Chen didn't belong to this time and space; he had undergone reincarnation here, inherently touching the most forbidden of taboos. Bringing him back would be far more difficult than for an ordinary person.

However, the sacred body supreme wasn't just for show. All living beings only needed to offer; the rest he would handle. In that instant of eternity, he could alter the rules. Whatever could be overlooked, he would overlook; if not, he would forcibly reverse and subvert it. If this was a game, then his opponent was Tian Dao itself.

"What a grand face," the Tian Ting supremes sighed with emotion. To revive one person, the sacred body supreme had mobilized all living beings and was even willing to confront Tian Dao head-on. Hong Chen's existence must hold immense significance.

"What are you trying to do?"

Nu Di approached as well, the former commander of all living beings. She lit a stick of musk incense and placed it in the incense burner, but it wouldn't ignite—or rather, Hong Chen couldn't bear it. After all, he wasn't Ye Chen, and even Ye Chen might not be able to endure it.

"Use Hong Chen to enter the original time and space," Ye Chen said leisurely.

Nu Di understood the implication—he simply wanted to see the original course of history.

For nine full days, the offerings continued without end. But Hong Chen's spirit still didn't emerge; it was being locked away in the ether. Ye Chen had expected this; it would take time. After all, this wasn't an ordinary revival. The taboos Hong Chen had touched were too many. His existence was real, and even if Ye Chen was powerful, he couldn't erase the fact that Hong Chen had violated those taboos. It would be recorded in the ether, becoming a kind of cage.

On the tenth day, Hong Chen Xue and Chu Lingyu arrived, intending to wait there for Hong Chen's return, whether he was in a muddled state or clear-headed.

On the eleventh day, a trace of Hong Chen's spirit emerged. Unfortunately, it vanished in an instant, either erased by time and space or by the rules, too quickly for even Ye Chen to intervene.

"Can he be revived?" Hong Chen Xue asked softly.

"Yes," Ye Chen replied, drawing his hand through the air to reverse the rules.

"I believe it," Chu Lingyu said, her gaze firm. The commander of all living beings had spoken, so how could she not believe?

On the twelfth day, the spirit emerged again. Awkwardly, Ye Chen still couldn't hold onto it; it disappeared in a flash.

Not again and again, but not a third time. Ye Chen transformed the entire mountain peak into eternity, refusing to believe he couldn't keep it.

On the thirteenth day, another trace of spirit manifested. Once more, the ether tried to erase it.

Ye Chen snorted coldly, using eternity to freeze it in place, skipping the process and leaving only the result.

Boom!

The ether wouldn't let go; a terrifying force pursued it, which Ye Chen endured on Hong Chen's behalf. This moment was worth commemorating. After more than ten days of effort, they finally summoned a trace of Hong Chen's spirit.

"Return," Ye Chen said lightly. With great divine ability, he used the spirit to form a soul, then the soul to form a yuan shen, and shaped a physical body for Hong Chen. All of this was completed in an instant.

Hong Chen, who had been buried for many years, finally returned to the world. He had a wooden expression, vacant eyes; even revived, he was still muddled, like a walking corpse, remembering only his mission: to kill Ruo Xi.

"Don't tell me..."

Before Ye Chen could finish, he was pushed aside by Hong Chen Xue and Chu Lingyu. The mighty commander of all living beings suddenly felt extremely awkward.

Meanwhile, the scene not far away was deeply moving: two wives, one with tear-filled eyes and the other sobbing uncontrollably, hugging Hong Chen and crying inconsolably.

"For the first time, I feel like I'm in the way," Ye Chen turned and left.

Nu Di also had good judgment. If not for restraining Hong Chen, that guy would likely have attacked, since Ruo Xi was her eternal body. A muddled person only remembered his mission. Such a person wouldn't care how strong you were; they would charge forward without hesitation. That was the very purpose of Hong Chen's existence.

Behind them, the melody of Jiu You Xian Qu began to play, a tune meant to awaken. Hong Chen awoke, but his cultivation plummeted along with it. In the entire Taigu Honghuang, he had the lowest level and was the most bewildered, as if he had just woken from a long dream. When he looked at Hong Chen Xue and Chu Lingyu, they had both become emperors?

But that didn't matter; what was important was that he had been revived. The scene was still very heartwarming. Love was truly a strange thing. It really wasn't appropriate to interrupt.

Ye Chen sat at the peak, holding a wine flask, and glanced over casually. He had waited for many days; he didn't mind waiting a bit longer.

Meanwhile, outside the Taigu Honghuang, groups upon groups arrived, coming to see Hong Chen. He had been completely buried, leaving nothing behind, yet he was revived.

Ye Chen saw Qian Shang Yue and the descendants of the emperors, their eyes full of hope as they looked at him. If Hong Chen could be revived, could their loved ones be as well?

Ye Chen gave no answer; his silence was a denial. Reviving Hong Chen was possible only because of his special connection to Ye Chen. For other fallen heroes, he was powerless. If he could revive them, why would he need the words of all living beings?

The crowd's eyes dimmed. Back then, even a peak figure like the Tian Ting Nu Di couldn't do it, let alone Ye Chen.

"He really was revived."

"The Tenth Emperor of Great Chu is truly a master of great divine abilities!"

"We helped too."

People moved about, discussing animatedly. There were plenty of idle folks: some came to see Hong Chen, some to find people, and some to flirt. The chatter was endless, and there were plenty of curses flying around.

"Get lost."

Shen Zun lost his temper, his shout knocking a crowd flat. They were trying to comprehend the Dao here; stop causing a racket.

The relationships were a mess. Meng Mo had entered dreams more than once, seeing Hong Chen, as well as Ye Xing Chen, the nine Dao bodies, plus an shameless Emperor Zun and Ye Chen. Why were there so many who looked the same? Was this face that appealing?

"You say, if the awakened Hong Chen were to prove the Dao and become an emperor, what would that look like?"

Ren Wang and Long Ye arrived, sitting one on each side of Ye Chen.

"It wouldn't affect each other," Ye Chen said. This was a hard truth. The awakened state had its own cultivation, and the muddled state had its own realm. Even if the awakened Hong Chen defied the heavens to seal a Huang Emperor position, once muddled again, he would drop to quasi-emperor level—assuming no reversal, of course.

"While he's awake, why not make a child?"

Some wit chimed in, earning disdain from the various emperors. The music stopped, and he became muddled again. What did that mean—doing that while playing the zither?

"It's not like it hasn't happened before."

Ye Chen's expression was the most profound. As he muttered, he glanced at Nu Di. More precisely, at Chu Xuan. Back then, to cook a big meal for Chu Xuan, he had added some special ingredients. Coincidentally, Hong Chen Xue had stumbled upon it and shared a meal she shouldn't have. The aftermath was known throughout the Zhutian—that scene was quite steamy.

Thinking about it now, he felt awkward for Chu Lingyu.

Nu Di turned her head and gave Ye Chen a sidelong glance. That guy had truly lived a full life in this one.