Chapter 3228: It Won't Work

Chapter 3228: Not Feasible

The heavens were serene and peaceful.

The offerings from all living beings flowed in endlessly each day, merging into the Liudao statue.

Yet, even after three full months, no spirit emerged from the Liudao.

Everyone understood that reviving the Liudao was far more difficult than reviving Hong Chen. The reasoning was straightforward: while both stemmed from Ye Chen at their core, Hong Chen and the Liudao were separated by a layer involving Hong Chen. Thus, Ye Chen could revive Hong Chen, but it was uncertain whether he could bring the Liudao back to the mortal realm.

Three days later, Ye Chen awoke from his dream.

The Nü Huang stirred alongside him, her eyes flickering with flames as she gazed at him.

"You can't beat me."

Ye Chen tucked his hands behind his back and paced back and forth. No one knew what he was thinking, or what he had seen at the end of the Nü Huang's dream.

All they could tell was that his look toward her was filled with profound meaning.

After a long while, the Nü Huang murmured softly, "You're hiding something from me."

"And aren't you doing the same?"

Ye Chen replied leisurely, still pacing, lost in his thoughts.

Indeed, he had glimpsed a secret.

The so-called Nü Huang was not as simple as she appeared on the surface; she was truly connected to the child.

However, that memory had been sealed away.

This time, if he hadn't entered the dream and journeyed all the way to its end, he never would have seen it.

Perhaps she needed to play the qin after all.

With that thought, he waved his hand and summoned a simple qin, suspending it before the Nü Huang.

The implication was clear: try playing the Yongheng melody.

The Nü Huang said nothing, sitting cross-legged. She had heard the Yongheng melody many times before and, though she hadn't grasped its true essence, she had picked up enough to play it.

Zheng!

The qin strings resonated, producing a melody that was graceful and ancient.

What she played was more than just surface knowledge; her music carried a touch of sorrow. At least, Ye Chen could hear it clearly—the qin wasn't played with hands alone; it required emotion.

This time, the Nü Huang did not dance.

As for the sovereigns, they were faithful listeners, circling around her.

On this day, countless people shed tears.

It wasn't the same as when one person played; the emotions in the qin varied. The Nü Huang's melody was more delicate, while Ye Chen's would have been vast yet laced with grief—a contrast of moods.

For a moment, Ye Chen suddenly halted.

He saw Yongheng light blooming over his body, with complete laws manifesting on their own, etching strand by strand into his physique. Faintly, a Dao sound echoed, harmonizing with the immortal melody.

This wasn't his own transformation; it was due to his beloved's nirvana.

The lineage of the Desolate Ancient Holy Body meant they shared in glory and suffering alike. As the Nü Holy Body gained enlightenment, Ye Chen and Di Huang benefited as well. This enlightenment was Qi Huan's gift, fully unearthed and integrated into the holy body after so many ages.

Boom! Boom!

Visions unfolded in the vast sky, with scenes evolving and strands of immortal light weaving together.

And at the center was his beloved, seated within it all.

In that vast expanse, she appeared impeccably pure and sacred, her talent rivaling even the Nü Huang's.

"Qi Huan."

The Divine Venerable murmured, staring in a daze, utterly captivated. In that instant, he couldn't distinguish whether she was his beloved or Qi Huan; he only knew that the woman before him bore the shadow of his love—so beautiful, so extraordinarily elegant. Time seemed to freeze for him in that moment, tears streaming down his face.

Boom! Boom!

In the eastern void, visions also filled the sky, with Di Huang standing amid them.

His beloved's transformation had triggered his own nirvana.

The Nether Emperor spoke gravely, "Honestly, I don't think much of him."

We do.

That was the sentiment in the eyes of the other three emperors. The Nether Emperor had been beaten up by Di Huang time and again, with surprise attacks that left him battered.

Even more ruthless than Di Huang was the Donghua Nü Huang.

This couple had thoroughly tamed the Nether Emperor.

Their treasured edition wasn't viewed for nothing.

The Holy Body lineage's transformation lasted a full day.

Ye Chen benefited the most from it.

Unfortunately, his quasi-desolate great accomplishment realm showed no sign of loosening. It was all because of the child, who had swallowed a segment of time. Just like Ye Chen in the past, he couldn't find the gate to the emperor's path. Now, the situation was even more frustrating; even if he could forge the gate of the Desolate Emperor, he couldn't ascend to it. Without that segment of time, it was futile no matter who tried.

The Nü Huang's qin playing continued for nine days straight.

It wasn't that she wouldn't stop; her mind was deeply immersed in the Yongheng melody, much like the Donghuang Nü Huang, who often couldn't extricate herself, hence her reputation as a bookish recluse.

Ye Chen didn't leave.

He listened for nine days as she played and waited for nine days.

By the end, the child with the Xing character still hadn't appeared.

On the tenth day, he vanished in an instant, entering the Nü Huang's dream alone, while she remained in reality, still playing the melody.

Now, her dream was a blank void.

This blankness was akin to the unknown, with no trace of her to be found.

Ye Chen realized it was likely due to the Yongheng melody.

That tune was strangely captivating, like a poison that ensnared the listener. Given the Nü Huang's unique identity, both hearing and playing it immersed her mind, leaving her consciousness blank—she didn't even know what she was doing.

On the eleventh day, the qin sound finally ceased.

It wasn't her choice to stop; Ye Chen had forcibly interrupted the Yongheng melody.

Even with the Nü Huang playing, the child hadn't been drawn out.

In his view, something was still missing, or perhaps the method was wrong.

"Why is it like this?"

The Nü Huang fell silent for a long time before turning to Ye Chen, wondering why her consciousness had gone blank.

Ye Chen shook his head lightly.

He truly didn't know; he only knew the Nü Huang was connected to the child, and that was it.

"A spirit has emerged."

As they spoke, a sudden wolf howl echoed from Da Chu, from the Tianxuan Gate.

The so-called emergence referred to the Liudao spirit.

After the tireless offerings from all realms' beings day after day, they had finally summoned the Liudao spirit. Though it was just a thread, it was enough for a full revival.

"Come."

Ye Chen said faintly, pulling the statue through the void.

Just as in the past.

With his great divine ability, he used the spirit to form a soul, then the soul to form a primordial spirit, and reshaped the Liudao's body—all in an instant.

The Liudao, who had been buried for so long, returned to the mortal world.

Like Hong Chen, he appeared dull and vacant-eyed. Even revived, he was still in a stupor, a walking corpse, remembering only his mission: to protect Ruoxi.

"What a pity, the Emperor's Daughter is no longer here."

Many murmured, feeling sorrow for the Liudao. Everyone knew he had fought to his supreme death back then, and the Emperor's Daughter had wept heartbrokenly, tugging at everyone's heartstrings.

Now, the Liudao had returned to the world.

But the Emperor's Daughter he loved had long turned to historical dust.

Such was the strangeness of fate.

The heartless Heavenly Dao toyed with the world, creating another tragedy.

Ye Chen said nothing, stepping directly into the Liudao's body.

Having seen Hong Chen's time, he now wanted to see the Liudao's time.

However, though he could glimpse the illusory time, he couldn't cross into it.

The Liudao was a bridge, but he was not Hong Chen.

To enter that time, it had to be Hong Chen, because Hong Chen was closest to the Liudao. This connection couldn't be reversed.

This was troublesome.

Sending Hong Chen was clearly impossible; Hong Chen was in a daze, without self-awareness, and going might mean never returning.

Ye Chen waved his hand again, bringing Hong Chen over.

Along with him came Hong Chen Xue and Chu Ling Yu.

After many years, the three reunited.

Ye Chen was the ultimate origin, with his future self and Hong Chen's future self present, standing on the mountaintop—a truly striking sight. When the emperors saw it, they were all stunned. Whether Ye Chen, Hong Chen, or the Liudao, their figures were all etched with the weight of ages.

"This universe is truly extraordinary."

The Meng Mo murmured. If Ye Chen was the ultimate origin, it seemed not entirely accurate; the most fundamental one was the one called Di Zun, who shared a reincarnation with Ye Chen. As for Hong Chen and the Liudao, they came after. The relationships among them weren't hard to understand, but such violations of rules had never occurred in their universe.

Under her watch, Ye Chen entered the Liudao's body more than once.

Alas, separated by two layers of illusory time, even as a quasi-desolate great accomplishment, he couldn't cross it. In the eyes of Zizaitian, this difficulty surpassed even ascending to the Desolate Emperor.

This path was not feasible.

Ye Chen sat down again. He had wanted to see the Liudao's time and uncover more secrets about the child, but his cultivation wasn't enough. He had comprehended time but not its illusions.

"Do you think if those three merged, there might be a miracle?"

The Fourth Divine General pondered aloud. As a former Divine General of Di Zun, he had witnessed miracles before. Back then, when the Heavenly Demon Emperor was revived, it was Ye Chen merging with him and the other two. Hong Chen and the Liudao borrowed Ye Chen's Holy Body bloodline, while Ye Chen borrowed their quasi-emperor peak cultivation. The merged trio, though not fully accomplished, had defied heaven to slay the Heavenly Demon Emperor.

"It's possible they could even ascend to the Desolate Emperor."

Long Ye stroked his beard; this possibility wasn't out of the question.

Not feasible.

That would be the Nü Huang's answer. Even merging with Hong Chen and the Liudao wouldn't recover that segment of time. There would still be a flaw, and no one could cross that gate.

So, they still had to find the child with the Xing character.

Even if they found him, it might not retrieve that segment of time.

Ye Chen felt this deeply.

In the original time, the six great Heavenly Daos of the outer universe had been powerless.

To make the child spit out the time, one would have to surpass the Heavenly Dao.

Yet, nothing was absolute. Ye Chen had another method—dangerous, but viable.

Boom! Boom!

That day, in the ancient wilderness, extreme emperor tribulations appeared—not one, but two.

They were the emperor tribulations of Hong Chen and the Liudao.

No one knew what method Ye Chen used to push them into the emperor realm.

As for the tribulations, he erased them directly.

The booming continued endlessly; after the great emperor tribulations came the heavenly emperor tribulations for both.

"That guy must be cheating."

Ren Wang exclaimed in admiration and shock, creating supreme beings out of thin air.

"It's not out of nowhere."

The Divine Venerable said calmly. It was Ye Chen evolving it; what the world saw was illusion, but he had linked the illusion to reality, creating this scene.

Indeed, that was the case.

Under the emperors' gaze, Ye Chen withdrew his divine ability, and Hong Chen and the Liudao returned to normal.

"Let's take a trip beyond the universe."

Ye Chen finally stood up. This was directed at the Nü Huang—they were going to find the child. Evolving Hong Chen and the Liudao had been an attempt to find a method, but it hadn't worked.

So, they had to take a risky path.

The Nü Huang said nothing, joining Ye Chen as they gradually faded into the distance. Before leaving, they left Yongheng Marks in the heavens, so they could return instantly if the common people faced danger.

"Have you found a method?"

The Nü Huang glanced sideways and murmured.

Ye Chen took a swig of wine.

"Like you, I'll gamble everything."

The premise was finding the child with the Xing character.

Fighting him directly was impossible; they needed a new approach. This was the so-called gamble. With things at a deadlock and no other options, not risking it all would mean defeat for the common people.