Chapter 924

Chapter 924: The Gate of Zhun Tian

Snow was still falling, dancing with the peach blossoms.

In Yun Ruo Gu, the three of them stopped to rest. This place seemed like a temporary stopover, a place where they could catch their breath when weary.

Wow!

The little girl ran off, taking unsteady steps as she chased the drifting snowflakes and peach blossoms, like a playful sprite. Her childish giggles echoed now and then, full of innocence and carefree joy.

"You've been here before," Chu Xuan'er glanced at the frolicking Xiao Ruoxi and turned to look at Ye Chen.

"The places you've gone, I've gone as well," Ye Chen smiled warmly.

"When you returned to Nan Chu, I was here," Chu Xuan'er linked her arm with his, resting her cheek on his shoulder.

"No wonder you didn't know about the events in Nan Chu," Ye Chen chuckled, resolving a doubt in his heart.

"I naively thought you would reincarnate as a mortal," Chu Xuan'er nestled lazily in his embrace, murmuring softly, "So I waited here, through three springs turning to autumns, three cycles of flowers blooming and fading. When you finally came, I had already left. The affairs of the world are truly wondrous—we were once so close, yet we missed each other time and again. Still, the heavens are merciful, for this time, we did not miss our chance."

"If the heavens were truly merciful, how could there be so much suffering in the world?" Ye Chen replied with a cold edge to his smile, directed at the sky, not at Chu Xuan'er.

"Ye Chen, please don't fight against the heavens. I just want peace in the world and to live as an ordinary person," Chu Xuan'er sat up from his arms, her beautiful eyes gazing at the young man before her like pools of water. She seemed to sense that Liu Ru Yan's death had filled him with hatred toward the heavens. He appeared calm on the surface, but inside, he was roaring with fury.

Her delicate body trembled; as a woman, she was afraid that this hard-won reunion would turn into an eternal farewell once more.

"Silly girl, what nonsense are you saying?" Ye Chen smiled tenderly and gently wiped away the tear about to fall from the corner of her eye.

"I want to go home."

"We'll leave tomorrow," Ye Chen chuckled. "The wind, flowers, snow, and leaves here are a rare tranquility. Let's take a moment to rest. Or, you could tell me about those three years, like the Da Chu forbidden ground."

"What are you talking about? I've never been to the Da Chu forbidden ground," Chu Xuan'er murmured, holding him a little tighter.

"Then I'll tell the story. But it's a long one."

"I'm willing to listen."

"I've been to the barren desert. It's nothing but yellow sand, a land of death with no day or night, only raging sandstorms." Ye Chen began, recounting a perilous past as if it were utterly ordinary.

Snowflakes continued to drift, and peach blossoms scattered lazily.

Sometime later, Ye Chen's words faded away.

Chu Xuan'er had fallen asleep, nestled in his arms, sleeping peacefully. He gently brushed aside her scattered white hair, and on her face, just like his, traces of weariness and hardship were evident.

Ye Chen carried her to the bamboo bed and stood there like a statue at the head of the bed, gazing at the woman sleeping soundly. He murmured to himself, "I am still your Ye Chen, but are you still my Chu Xuan'er?"

She had never been to the Da Chu forbidden ground!

That simple response left the wise Ye Chen perplexed. In her eyes, he saw no trace of deception, yet someone must be lying.

Silently, he left the bamboo house.

In the flower grove, Xiao Ruoxi lay asleep under a tree, covered in snowflakes.

Ye Chen smiled and flicked his finger, summoning a strand of light to envelop her entirely. She was a mortal, after all, and he wanted to protect her from the cold.

Turning his gaze from the little girl, he sat cross-legged on a cloud and slowly closed his eyes.

In his mind, he reached out, searching through the ethereal void for a certain power—the one mentioned by Taixu Gulong and Donghuang Taixin: Xue Ji Xian Jie.

All along, he had been seeking that power, a state nearly impervious to harm that allowed him to defeat hundreds of thousands of cultivators single-handedly. It was also what gave him the courage to challenge the heavens.

Yet, despite multiple attempts, he had failed each time.

He didn't know what that power was, only that it was profoundly mysterious and formidable. In that state, he felt invincible, even against emperors.

Time slipped away with the swirling snow.

Night fell, and after trying over a hundred times, he still hadn't found that power—it was as if it didn't exist at all.

Buzz!

At some point, his snow-covered sacred body trembled involuntarily, shaking off all the snow.

He hadn't found the power, but he had entered a strange state, feeling as though his entire being had transcended. His Zhun Tian realm cultivation stirred slightly in that moment.

Was this the opportunity to advance to Tian Jing?

Ye Chen murmured in his heart, maintaining an unprecedented state of serene emptiness as he carefully grasped at that fleeting chance.

In the haze, he seemed to see a massive gate, ethereal and grand, right before him. But when he reached out to touch it, the gate receded like a dream, tantalizingly out of reach.

Beyond that gate lay Tian Jing!

He had such a suspicion, for from the other side, he sensed a pressure that made him shudder—an aura unique to Tian Jing, which he had felt from Tian Jing artifacts before.

Cross that gate!

His heart roared; that gate had blocked countless legendary figures throughout the ages.

Yet, the gate remained elusive, just a step away, but for him, it was like an insurmountable chasm.

It wasn't that his cultivation was insufficient; it was that the opportunity was far from enough.

Or perhaps, it was the machinations of the heavens, unwilling to let him cross, for he had defied their will. Thus, breaking through to Tian Jing would be far more difficult for him than for the kings of Da Chu throughout history.

"Can you block me the first time and the second? Can you block me forever?" Ye Chen's expression turned icy as he looked up at the nine heavens.

"One day, I will forcefully cross that gate."

"One day, I will ascend to the nine skies and overthrow you, this hypocritical heaven."

After a final glance at the ethereal void, he turned silently.

But just as he was about to exit that wondrous state, he paused.

His brows furrowed, and he turned back, narrowing his eyes to stare once more at the illusory gate.

"Something's wrong," he murmured, as if seeing through something. "Crossing that gate isn't Tian Jing."

"Why are there two gates?" He focused his vision, peering past the first gate to see another, even more ethereal and massive one beyond it. Only by crossing that second gate would he truly reach Tian Jing.

"Zhun Tian realm has nine levels, and I'm already at the peak. Why must I cross two gates to reach Tian Jing?" His brows knitted in confusion, unable to fathom the reason.

"Is this another restriction imposed by the heavens on me?" He murmured, glancing once more at the sky, then withdrew from the wondrous state. His doubts would have to wait until he could ask Taixu Gulong.

In Yun Ruo Gu, he opened his eyes.

It was deep into the night, with snow still falling and peach blossoms scattering, the valley peaceful and serene.

He glanced sideways; Xiao Ruoxi was still sound asleep. He looked toward the bamboo house; Chu Xuan'er was also in deep slumber, likely from exhaustion, both of them resting as quietly as the night itself.

Hmm?

As he watched, his brows furrowed, and he instinctively looked in one direction.

There, snowflakes scattered in the air, peach blossoms drifted, and even the petals and snow on the ground were swept to the sides.

Bang!

The ground trembled slightly; it was the sound of footsteps landing, as if the person were as heavy as a mountain, causing the earth to rumble.

What a powerful presence!

Ye Chen's expression grew stern, his eyes narrowing into slits as he stared intently in that direction. The dark night seemed filled with endless danger, even making his current strength quiver slightly.

Bang!

The ground shook again with a thunderous boom.

The figure approached, but Ye Chen first saw not the person, but their eyes—more precisely, their right eye. It was deeper than the starry sky, endless at a glance.

Most importantly, on that pupil, he spotted an incredibly familiar ancient mark: Xian Zhi Lun.

Six Paths Xian Lun Eye!