Since the Divine Monk is willing to take my friend as a disciple, that is naturally the best possible outcome. Ye Chen pondered briefly before nodding his assent. With the cultivation level of this South Sea Divine Monk, if he could guide Bailong and the others in their training, their achievements would surely advance by leaps and bounds, which would finally put his mind at ease.
“You bald man, you’re quite cunning!” “They always say monks are full of schemes, and it seems to be true.”
“Brother Ye, I am also willing to take them as my apprentices; I will certainly teach them everything I know.”
The others shot the South Sea Divine Monk a sidelong glance, then one after another sincerely spoke up to Ye Chen.
Ye Chen was slightly taken aback, his brow furrowing slowly. “Seniors, why are you all so eager to take on disciples?”
Hearing this, the powerful Divine Emperor experts exchanged glances, their expressions somewhat awkward. The South Sea Divine Monk softly chanted a Buddhist phrase, his features benevolent, and he smiled faintly, “This old monk sees that your friends possess ruddy complexions, auspicious signs in their foreheads, and powerful destinies interwoven with great fortune. They are likely reincarnations of great figures. Therefore, I wish to cultivate them. When they awaken to their true potential, I hope they will remember the grace of my guidance, securing a powerful ally for myself in the future.”
Seeing him state so frankly what was on everyone’s minds, the others mumbled softly but said nothing more, quietly awaiting Ye Chen’s reply.
Ye Chen frowned in deep thought for a moment. He glanced at Bailong and the others, his eyes flickering, and immediately nodded, “Very well.”
Upon hearing this, the many Divine Emperor powerhouses present were overjoyed. Although Ye Chen was currently a man close to death, and merely a junior in the Half-God Realm, making him someone not to be feared, he had the Spiritual Civilization behind him—a civilization of immense power whose Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors were renowned across the Ancient Continent.
Furthermore, the Spiritual Civilization maintained extensive connections; powerful civilizations like the Immortal Realm Civilization, the Buddhist Realm Civilization, and the Dragon Realm Civilization all had varying degrees of relationship with it. Thus, provoking anyone connected to this civilization generally meant facing the combined opposition of several supreme powers. Only families like the Bai Tian’s, one of the Nine Great Ancient Families controlling hundreds of civilizations, dared to look down upon a major force like the Spiritual Civilization.
At this moment, Yue Heng, Xu Tianguo, Bailong, and the others snapped back to awareness. Hearing the exchange between Ye Chen and the assembled seniors, they were astonished, and immediately gathered around Ye Chen. Bailong was the first to ask, “Xiao Chen Chen, what are you planning to do?”
“Who are these people? Where are we?”
After asking a couple of questions, they stared intently at Ye Chen, awaiting his answer. They all vaguely sensed that Ye Chen’s physical condition seemed far from good...
Ye Chen looked at the familiar faces before him—the earliest group who had followed him through the biological crisis on Earth. A warmth filled his heart, and he smiled. “These are Divine Emperor powerhouses, renowned throughout the world, surpassing even peak Deities. If you apprentice yourselves under them and work diligently, becoming peak Deities in the future will not be difficult. If luck is on your side, perhaps you might even become Divine Emperors.”
Divine Emperor!
Hearing these two words, everyone’s heart jolted, and a surge of blood rushed through them. Although their experience meant they had never heard the term ‘Divine Emperor,’ Ye Chen’s introduction made them understand what terrifying existences these figures were!
“I must leave for a period of time. Do not worry about me. When your cultivation reaches a certain level, I will come to find you,” Ye Chen said with a faint smile. “When you all have the ability to venture out on your own, you can visit the ancestral headquarters of our Spiritual Civilization to awaken your racial talents.”
The group stared blankly at Ye Chen. It wasn't his words that stunned them, but the shocking realization that Ye Chen was smiling!
Since they had known him, across all these years, they had never once seen Ye Chen show them even the slightest smile. Yet now, they witnessed it.
After saying these few sentences, Ye Chen couldn't help but take two shallow breaths, feeling the strength within his body gradually draining away. He frowned, turned, and with a sweep of his hand, a surge of immense divine power flowed into the runic spaceship, retrieving the spatial ruin tokens containing the descendants of the Spiritual Civilization. He tossed them casually to Xu Tianguo. “You guard these.”
Xu Tianguo stared blankly at the ten rings in his hand; each ring was connected to a vast space filled with the warriors of the Spiritual Civilization.
“Farewell, everyone.”
Ye Chen cast one last glance at Xu Tianguo and the others, waved with a slight smile, then slowly turned around. His retreating figure held a hint of desolate loneliness. With heavy, labored steps, he forced himself to remain steady and calmly walked toward the threshold of the courtyard. Rounding the doorway, his figure vanished from their sight.
“Ye Chen,” Zhuge Fan watched Ye Chen’s retreating back. For some unknown reason, a sudden sense of heartache gripped him.
“Where is he going?” Yue Heng asked numbly. He wanted to stride forward and question him clearly, but inexplicably, his body felt as if it had been anchored in place, utterly unable to move.
Bailong stared at the doorway, his brow furrowing slowly. A light flickered in his dark eyes as he quietly clenched his fist. Suddenly, he threw his arms wide and roared to the heavens: “YE CHEN!!!”
This sudden cry, wild and unrestrained, echoed across the entire summit of White Spirit Mountain.
The figure walking past the threshold paused abruptly, halting his advance. Then, he slowly turned his head, gazing back toward the doorway.
Bailong’s fist cracked as he roared at the sky, “You will always be my brother!!”
The black silhouette beyond the door trembled slightly, then slowly clenched its own fist, a faint smile curving the corner of its lips.
Yue Heng and the others beside Bailong were startled for a moment, but then they realized something. Among them, Bailong had followed Ye Chen the longest and understood him the best. If he suddenly said this, he must have sensed something amiss.
They all knew that although Bailong appeared careless and spoke nonsense on the surface, he was in fact extremely perceptive, merely preferring to play the fool.
“Could it be…” Xu Tianguo’s heart lurched as a terrible suspicion struck him, “Could something have happened, something life-threatening?”
Thinking of this, he instinctively looked up, wanting to chase after him. But as his body stirred slightly, a thought occurred to him: If he didn't tell us, he must have his reasons. If I chase after him now, what good could it do? A wave of sorrow washed over him. He clenched his fist, and at the very moment Bailong’s cry faded, he roared out loud, “You are my brother too!!” Yue Heng and the others nearby puffed out their chests and bellowed in unison, “Our brother too!!”
“You are the big brother for my entire life!!” Zhuge Fan bellowed.
This sound drifted past the doorway and into Ye Chen’s ears. He stood motionless, his eyes growing moist. Slowly, he lowered his head and clenched his fists tightly. After a long pause, he slowly turned around and began to walk down the corridor, his steps labored and staggering, advancing toward the front hall with painstaking effort, as if every footstep exhausted all his strength.
Step by step.
He crossed the threshold of the corridor, his hand bracing against the wall, his body struggling.
His skin slowly lost its luster. With every step, he seemed to age a year. Wrinkles gradually appeared on his skin—the marks of time and hardship emerged on his face and hands. His body grew increasingly ancient until, by the time he reached the battlefield in the front hall, he had become completely white-haired, like an octogenarian.
Ye Chen knew, without needing a mirror, how dreadful he must look. He paused, raising his gaze to the sky, where blue skies and white clouds floated leisurely, serene and peaceful, an object of yearning.
In that sky, the magnificent Demon God Palace stood tall. Upon receiving the sensation Ye Chen emitted, it immediately shone a beam of white light, enveloping his body, and with a faint flash, transported him into the core area of the palace.
Inside the Demon God Palace, in the central control sector.
Zixiang tilted her small head, hopping joyfully toward the cabin door. Her face beamed with anticipation, expecting to see Ye Chen appear as the door slowly opened. Instead, she saw a white-haired, wrinkled old man and paused in surprise. “Who are you?”
“It’s me,” Ye Chen’s voice was weary, carrying a faint, bitter tang.
As his body aged, Ye Chen’s Adam’s apple had withered too, deepening his voice slightly, but Zixiang still discerned the familiar tone. She gasped in shock and quickly rushed to support Ye Chen’s frame. “Master, how did you become like this?”
Ye Chen shook his head slightly. “Shrink the Demon God Palace; we are leaving this place.”
Zixiang nodded. “Master, where are we going?”
Where to go?
Ye Chen suddenly froze.
He realized, with a profound shock, that in the vastness of heaven and earth, there was not a single place where he belonged.
Where was his home?
Where was the place he could call home?
The people waiting for him were right behind him, yet he could not return. He had become a homeless wanderer, without even a patch of earth to wait for death quietly.
Was the loneliest thing in life simply being left utterly alone?
He gave a bitter smile, then suddenly thought of a place. His voice rasped, “Shrink the Demon God Palace down to the size of your palm.”
Zixiang watched him utter these words, pausing several times herself. Her heart filled with deep worry, so she dared not say another word, swiftly shrinking the Demon God Palace to palm size.
Ye Chen floated out of the Demon God Palace. With a grasp of his hand, he held the palace in his palm. Then, he retrieved the token for the Nameless Cave from within his armor and communicated with it using his intent. Immediately, a dark black vortex materialized before him.
His figure shifted, and he stepped into it.
The dark black vortex slowly contracted and vanished.
In the distant White Lotus Divine State, deep beneath the earth, the stone gate of the ancient Nameless Cave sealed shut tightly. In the empty space behind the gate, a vortex suddenly appeared out of thin air. From it emerged a stooped figure, skin dry and wrinkled, devoid of any luster, his hair like silver, with patches completely bare at the temples. (To be continued)