Chapter 3237

"Am I still alive?" murmured Ye Chen.

His consciousness was hazy, like a drifting duckweed on the vast ocean, aimless and directionless, feeling neither pain nor the passage of time.

He was still alive, but his body and spirit were utterly destroyed, leaving only a faint trace of consciousness.

He didn't know how long it took before he formed into a conscious entity.

And he didn't know how much longer after that before his conscious form slowly opened its eyes.

What he saw was a blank void.

Indeed, it was blank, or more precisely, unknown. Xiao Wa's belly was an endless unknown, where everything—rules, the universe, time, space—was mere illusion, without any concept.

"It's the unknown," Ye Chen whispered softly.

This was his first time inside Xiao Wa's belly, and he never expected it to be a blank void. So, what happened to all the things it had eaten? The great rivers, mountains, vegetation, and all living beings—where had they gone?

Could they have all turned into this blankness?

If that were true, then he was truly fortunate, at least his consciousness remained.

As long as there was consciousness, there was hope.

Given enough time, he could rebuild his primordial spirit and physical body.

"I've already won three tenths of the bet," Ye Chen suddenly smiled.

Entering Xiao Wa's belly and surviving was one third of the chance; finding that segment of time and space was another third; and escaping with it would be yet another third. As for the remaining tenth, it depended on fate—a desperate, risky gamble where he had successfully taken the first step.

With his consciousness clearing, he looked up.

Above was also a blank void, misty and insubstantial, where he could see neither Xiao Wa nor the world beyond the universe. Perhaps it was because his cultivation was too low and his vision limited.

Once he lowered his gaze, he sat down cross-legged.

His conscious form drifted unpredictably, twisted and formless, sometimes like flames, sometimes like tides, sometimes like rain of light, sometimes like thunder. He needed to condense a soul, then form a primordial spirit, and if possible, reshape a physical body.

There was no concept of time, and no one to count the years for him.

Perhaps after a hundred years, or maybe a thousand, he finally condensed a thread of soul, which then became a primordial spirit body, and eventually an eternal sacred body and emperor form. This process was extremely long.

He rose again and wandered through the unknown.

Who knew how vast Xiao Wa's belly was? He had walked for a hundred years without seeing its end. Because all directions were blank, it felt as if no matter how far he went, he was still treading in place.

"Where is the time and space?" Ye Chen scratched his head more than once.

He had entered, and his life still lingered, but the awkward part was not knowing how to find the time and space. It might have already been destroyed, and in this blank void, it seemed there was nothing else besides him.

As he walked, the unknown suddenly shook.

Ye Chen nearly stumbled.

Once he steadied himself, he looked up.

It must be that the sleeping Xiao Wa had awakened. Because of its awakening, he could see the outside world and Xiao Wa itself. That little thing was stretching lazily, with no memory of what had happened before. After a nap, it forgot everything. Every so often, its memories would reset, just like this unknown void becoming a blank slate. No wonder it didn't recognize Ye Chen or the female emperor.

Ye Chen didn't dare breathe loudly, afraid Xiao Wa would notice him.

In reality, Xiao Wa knew he was in its belly but didn't bother with him. It had swallowed many powerful beings, some extraordinarily outstanding, and many could survive in its belly for a while. But that didn't matter—eventually, they all turned into blankness. Anything that entered its belly would sooner or later merge with the unknown.

Giggle, giggle!

As Ye Chen watched, Xiao Wa started hopping around again, taking unsteady steps and darting through the void, still so innocent and pure.

In its world, everything seemed novel.

Of course, since its memory reset each time, it was a new beginning. It didn't remember the past or even who it was, truly living in a daze.

Ye Chen closed his eyes once more and continued his search.

Seeing a glimmer of light somewhere, he quickened his pace. In this blank unknown, any unusual light stood out, almost jarringly so, which made it all the more striking.

When he reached that blank area, he realized what the light was.

It was Dun Jia Tian Zi, over a hundred of them, floating in the air and arranging themselves. Ye Chen wasn't surprised by this. Based on his understanding of Xiao Wa, this glutton that swallowed everything couldn't digest Dun Jia Tian Zi. In the original time and space, he had seen Xiao Wa spit them out.

Now, there was something else it couldn't digest.

That was him, still alive as proof.

But he didn't know if he could last forever.

Xiao Wa might get excited and destroy him on the spot.

Ye Chen waved his hand and collected the hundred Dun Jia Tian Zi, then continued searching.

He had to say, the harvest was quite rich.

There were more Dun Jia Tian Zi, and they weren't all in one place. They clustered in groups, like separate factions, gathered but not too close.

Ye Chen took them without hesitation, couldn't help but sigh.

In the outside world, finding even one Tian Zi was incredibly difficult, yet here there were so many. It was all because Xiao Wa was too greedy, swallowing too much but unable to digest it.

Ye Chen didn't stop, walking, looking, and searching as he went.

Logically, Xiao Wa's belly should be a living treasure trove, but anything that entered was either destroyed or turned into the unknown. All treasures became nothing. Besides Dun Jia Tian Zi, nothing else could be found, not even remnants.

"Where is the time and space?" Ye Chen muttered.

Treasures weren't the main thing; the key was the time and space.

He walked on, seeing only unknown all around.

But he believed that even if the time and space had turned into blankness, it could still be found—he just hadn't found the right method yet. This place was different from the outside world, profoundly mysterious.

Buzz! Buzz!

For a moment, the blank unknown shook again, coming without warning.

Ye Chen looked up and saw Xiao Wa fighting someone—or more accurately, pinning someone down and beating them mercilessly. To call the opponent a person wasn't quite right; it was a strange life form, not humanoid, more like a monster with a head but no eyes, a mouth but no nose, entirely red and covered in scales. Its roar sounded like a dragon's cry, clearly audible even in Xiao Wa's belly.

"Huang Di level?" Ye Chen murmured.

This strange life form was quite tough, taking two slaps from Xiao Wa without turning to ash, and its recovery was formidable. Even after being beaten formless, its flesh was still writhing, reshaping in a short time.

But it didn't help.

Xiao Wa must have been hungry, acting domineeringly, beating the monster into a pulp and swallowing it whole. Ye Chen watched as the monster smashed down from above, a massive thing like a mountain.

However, before it fully fell, it was inch by inch destroyed by the unknown forces. Every piece of flesh, every drop of blood, was assimilated into blankness.

Ye Chen felt a chill in his heart.

A Huang Di level being was wiped out just like that, turned into blankness?

So, he was very grateful.

Even a Huang Di was destroyed, yet he, a mere quasi-Huang Di, had survived.

Thinking about it, he attributed it to his unyielding will.

It must be that his Dao heart hadn't died, so his person hadn't been destroyed.

Burp!

Outside, Xiao Wa let out a satisfied burp and continued hopping.

Ye Chen just sighed.

Look at that one—so impressive, swallowing a Huang Di like a midnight snack. He, a small fry, was probably just a tiny treat, not even enough to get stuck in its teeth.

Bang! Clang! Crash!

After that, there was a lot of noise. Xiao Wa was truly a glutton, eating whatever it encountered in the universe beyond, from life forms to strange things like meteorites, vast seas, and immortal iron.

Ye Chen couldn't help but twitch his mouth.

Seeing it with his own eyes, he felt Xiao Wa's belly was like a garbage disposal plant.

Chaotic and full of everything.

It wasn't an exaggeration to call it a garbage disposal, because anything that entered Xiao Wa's belly was destroyed, melted into the unknown, turned into blankness.

Unknowingly, Xiao Wa arrived at a patch of void.

Ye Chen didn't look sideways; he knew this void—they had been there before, the ancient battlefield beyond the universe, with old war chariots and tattered banners everywhere.

Here, Xiao Wa acted strangely.

It had eaten everything before, but now it looked around in confusion, perhaps remembering some ancient events. However, the "Xing" character on its forehead flickered with eternity, preventing it from recalling.

"Yong Heng Tian."

From the lingering remnants on the battlefield, there seemed to be a resonance. They roared in unison, a soul-shaking cry full of anger, sorrow, and tragedy. It made Ye Chen's heart tremble violently, as if he could see the heroic spirits fighting desperately in some ancient era, falling one by one in resentment amid destruction.

Uh...!

Xiao Wa clutched its little head, its expression pained, burying its head and growling.

It must have fragments of memory, but "Xing" wouldn't allow it. For every piece it remembered, another was erased, leaving Xiao Wa in agony between recollection and forgetfulness, muddled and on the verge of madness. It didn't know who to direct its resentment toward.

Ah...!

Xiao Wa's roar wasn't childish; to Ye Chen, it sounded familiar, like his own voice or Zhao Yun's.

The next scene played out just like that.

Xiao Wa changed forms, sometimes Zhao Yun, sometimes Ye Chen.

Ye Chen had seen this sight more than once.

To this day, he still didn't know the connection between Xiao Wa, him, and Zhao Yun.

"Yong Heng Tian."

Again, that roar came from the battlefield's remnants.

Ye Chen could clearly see that after the roar, all the remnants turned to ash, but the soul-shaking cry lingered like a curse across the ancient battlefield.

It seemed meant only to awaken Xiao Wa.

For this, all the remnants poured their lifetime's hopes into that roar, vanishing completely.

Uh...!

Xiao Wa collapsed there, whether howling or crying, it was unclear.

"Are you also the commander of all living beings?" Ye Chen murmured.

He felt a deep empathy, touching his eye corner to find tear stains.

He began to imagine a war, a battle between humans and gods. Humanity was utterly defeated, leaving only a dazed commander, sealed in an unknown realm. For endless ages, it forgot its past, wandering like a walking corpse.

Now, the heroic spirits of humanity were calling their commander, hoping for its revival, to rally all living beings once more, sound the horn, and fight the gods again.