Chapter 994: Red Dust's Sorrow

Chu Xuan, do you still remember Ye Chen?

Hong Chen's bloodstained hand gently caressed the white-haired woman's peerless face. His teary eyes were filled with weary tenderness.

The white-haired woman's body trembled, but she didn't pull away. She stood there in a daze, her eyes full of confusion.

You were still so beautiful back then!

Hong Chen smiled through his tears, his voice hoarse, each word carrying endless weariness.

The white-haired woman's hand gripping the sword shook, her expression growing even more bewildered.

For some reason, gazing at the tears in Hong Chen's eyes, she suddenly felt a faint pain in her heart. That inexplicable agony even surpassed the pain from the sword Hong Chen had thrust into her, tearing at her in that instant.

Zheng!

The Zhu Xian Jian rang out, instantly dispelling the confusion in her beautiful eyes. Once again, it completely controlled her mind.

Pu!

The white-haired woman withdrew the Zhu Xian Jian and staggered back a step, barely able to stand. She was injured; Hong Chen's earlier sword had pierced her body. Though it was only half its full power, it was still terrifyingly destructive. If it had been at full strength, it would have utterly destroyed her.

Hong!

From the distant horizon, the void suddenly thundered. Waves of killing intent surged forth as countless powerful figures charged toward them. Their formation was vast, with shadows covering the sky like an ocean, crushing the vast expanse of heaven and earth.

Blood overflowed from the white-haired woman's mouth as she scanned the void and continued to stagger backward. Eventually, like a divine rainbow, she turned and fled, too weakened to face the horde of experts.

"Chu Xuan." Behind her, Hong Chen called out, his steps unsteady, his bloodstained hand reaching toward her retreating figure, trying to hold onto that graceful shadow. But all he grasped was a wisp of mist.

A breeze blew, and he collapsed, his vision blurring. The distant figure grew hazy in his tear-filled eyes.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Soon, a golden figure and a purple shadow streaked across the sky like world-shaking beams of light, incredibly swift. Upon closer inspection, they were Tai Xu Gu Long and Zi Xuan.

As soon as they landed, they saw Hong Chen lying on the ground.

Without a second thought, they both stepped forward and rushed to his side.

Hong Chen's condition was utterly wretched, his body covered in blood. The ghastly sword wound on his chest was still flickering with multicolored ethereal light, eroding his life force.

Like the sword that had slain Shen Xuan Feng, this one was also a fatal strike, targeted at his soul and true form, causing his soul to crumble continuously. His soul flame was weak and dim, on the verge of extinction.

Damn it!

Tai Xu Gu Long let out a cold snort, while Zi Xuan's face darkened with anger.

Without hesitation, they both placed their hands on Hong Chen and channeled a mysterious life-sustaining force into his body.

From the sky, two more figures arrived: Ouyang Wang and Dao Huang. Seeing Hong Chen in such a state, their expressions turned extremely grim. Without a word, they also stepped forward and used their secret techniques to save him.

However, no matter how hard the four of them tried, they could not stop Hong Chen's soul flame from fading away.

That fatal sword was too terrifying, possessing the power to destroy heaven and earth. Even with Hong Chen's supreme combat prowess, he could not resist it. If it had struck an ordinary quasi-heavenly realm expert, they would have died on the spot.

Hong Chen lay there quietly, motionless, like a statue of ice.

Though his eyes were open, they were dull and vacant, like those of a puppet. He felt no pain and was oblivious to everything around him, once again sinking into a state of stupor.

Not far away, Ye Chen arrived, one hand clutching his chest as he stumbled forward, fresh blood trickling from his mouth.

Just moments ago, while flying through the air, he had suddenly felt a sharp pain in his chest, as if he had been stabbed by a sword. Every part of his body—his organs, meridians, limbs, and even his origin soul—was wracked with agony, causing even his supreme self to plummet from the void.

"You... who exactly are you?" Ye Chen staggered over, grabbing Hong Chen's collar with both hands, his blood-red eyes fixed on him. He didn't know why he was in such pain, but he knew his injury was connected to the sword that had struck Hong Chen.

Hong Chen showed no reaction to Ye Chen's question, remaining like a lifeless corpse, his expression dull and eyes empty.

"You... who exactly are you?" Ye Chen roared, as if driven mad, shaking Hong Chen violently. "Why do you look exactly like me? Why do you know all my divine abilities? Why do you have the Liu Dao Xian Lun Yan?"

Ye Chen's voice grew louder with each word, his roars filled with the secrets he desperately wanted to uncover.

For so many years, these mysteries had haunted him like ghosts, filling his world with confusion.

It wasn't just him; Tai Xu Gu Long, Zi Xuan, Dao Huang, and Ouyang Wang felt the same way. Hong Chen's resemblance to Ye Chen was no coincidence—there had to be some unknown secret behind it.

But Hong Chen remained as unresponsive as a puppet, offering no answer to Ye Chen's roars or their doubts.

Buzz! Buzz!

At that moment, Ye Chen's left Liu Dao Xian Lun Yan trembled with a buzz, and Hong Chen's right one did the same.

In an instant, Hong Chen, who had been like a puppet, suddenly sat up. His bloodstained hands gripped Ye Chen's tightly, his vacant eyes flickering between clarity and confusion.

"Kill... kill..."

Hong Chen struggled to speak, his face twisted in pain.

"Kill... kill Ruoruo..." His words came out in fragments, his grip on Ye Chen's hand as tight as Shen Xuan Feng's had been that day, as if using up his last bit of strength.

Yet, like Shen Xuan Feng before him, Hong Chen couldn't finish his final words even with that effort.

His soul flame extinguished completely, and his weary eyes lost their last glimmer of light. He died with eyes wide open, two streaks of blood tears trailing down his weathered face.

Ah!

Seeing Hong Chen's life force fade, Tai Xu Gu Long and the others sighed deeply and withdrew their hands from his body.

They had done all they could, but in the end, they couldn't save him. They watched as this supreme legend fell, a mythical figure who died with unresolved regrets, evoking sorrow and lamentation.

Ye Chen stood like a statue, motionless, staring at Hong Chen.

Hong Chen's hand still clutched his tightly. Like Shen Xuan Feng before, he had died in agony, his final words cut short and identical.

Ye Chen's heart ached intensely as he clutched his chest, feeling as if he had lost a loved one. The pain was excruciating, and even his Xuan Cang Jade Ring let out a mournful cry, as if weeping.

Suddenly, an ancient funeral melody seemed to echo through the heavens and earth, bidding farewell to the supreme Hong Chen.

Ah!

In the void, a faint sigh resounded, distant and ancient. Listening carefully, it was Fu Ya's voice. He stood in the grand hall of Tian Xuan Gate, gazing somewhat wistfully at the illusory water screen before him.

Beside him, Dong Huang Tai Xin also stood there, her clear and beautiful eyes flickering with profound meaning.

"Divine Maiden, now that it's come to this, have you figured out Hong Chen's origins?" Fu Ya turned to look at Dong Huang Tai Xin.

"In your view, what should his origins be?" Dong Huang Tai Xin replied calmly.

"Most likely, he's Ye Chen's ancestor." Fu Ya stroked his beard thoughtfully.

"And if I said that Ye Chen came first, and Hong Chen came after, would you believe it?"

"Divine Maiden, you must have it backward. I've checked the cycles of the heavens—Ye Chen is indeed only in his twenties. By age, Hong Chen is over nine hundred years older than him, so Hong Chen should have come first."

"I'm not mistaken, and you're not wrong either." Dong Huang Tai Xin sighed softly.

"You're not mistaken, and I'm not wrong? But that contradicts itself."

"What if they are the same person?"

"The same... the same person?" Fu Ya paused, his mind struggling to process it.

"Could it be..." After a few seconds, Fu Ya suddenly turned his head, as if realizing something, and looked at Dong Huang Tai Xin in disbelief.

"As you think, Hong Chen comes from the future. He is Ye Chen from nine hundred years later, who traveled through time and arrived in the era nine hundred years ago. So, what you and I said is correct; it's just that the timeline is reversed."

"What about Shen Xuan Feng?" Fu Ya asked, his breath quickening as he looked at Dong Huang Tai Xin.

"He also comes from the future." Dong Huang Tai Xin's words were measured. "He is the future Ye Xing Chen, who traveled through time as well. Unlike Hong Chen, he arrived in the era of Chu Huang."

"No wonder Hong Chen and Shen Xuan Feng could transcend the six paths of Da Chu's cycle of reincarnation. No wonder even the heavens' cycles couldn't reveal their past and present lives. No wonder they look identical to Ye Chen." Fu Ya suddenly understood. "So, everything makes sense now. It's time, the supreme law of the universe. How did future Ye Chen and his Dao body Ye Xing Chen achieve this?"

"It's the Liu Dao Xian Lun Yan." Dong Huang Tai Xin revealed the truth. "If I'm not mistaken, the future Ye Chen must have gathered both eyes, and the left Liu Dao Xian Lun Yan even awakened the laws of time. They traveled through time at the cost of sealing the left eye, which is why Hong Chen only has the right Liu Dao Xian Lun Yan and not the left."

"So that's how it is." Fu Ya murmured, turning back to Dong Huang Tai Xin. "But why don't Shen Xuan Feng and Hong Chen remember Ye Chen and Ye Xing Chen? And why are they mostly in a state of confusion?"

"Traveling through time is an act against heaven, breaking established laws and provoking the hidden will of the universe. That's why their memories were erased by time itself. They only have brief moments of clarity."

"So that's the root of the issue." Fu Ya took a deep breath.

"What I can't understand is, why did they pay such a heavy price to travel through time to this era? What could their purpose be?" Dong Huang Tai Xin gazed at Hong Chen's lifeless body, her expression puzzled. "Could it be that the heavens and myriad realms of the future face some catastrophic event?"