ISWI Chapter 376-377

Chapter 376: Even the Heavenly Emperor Fell!

Feng Baiyu had assumed that someone like Ye Chen, bold enough to kill the Heavenly Intention Holy Son's brother without hesitation, would favor aggressive, straightforward offensive techniques. He never expected Ye Chen to choose the Thunder Emperor's Soul Purification Technique.

This technique used divine lightning to cleanse the soul, purging all anomalies, nourishing it to resist external corruption, and enhancing its resistance to lightning-based arts. It was a supportive technique, not a combative one.

"Why this one?" Feng Baiyu asked, curiosity piqued.

Ye Chen saw no need to hide his reasoning. An Miaoli was clearly suffering from a disturbance deep in her soul, unwilling to recall past-life memories. This technique might shatter those lingering thoughts. It was perfect for her.

However, since it was a gift from the Holy Lord, passing it on without acknowledgment would be disrespectful and could breed resentment. So, Ye Chen spoke openly. "An Elder of my Ascension Peak, An Miaoli, has an issue with her soul—she's recalling memories that aren't hers. I suspect it's tied to reincarnation. She doesn't want her past life, only her present one, and wishes to avoid those memories. The Thunder Emperor Soul Purification Technique seems like it could help her. I'd like to gift it to her after receiving it from you, Holy Lord."

Ye Chen was completely candid. There was no point in deceiving someone as astute as Feng Baiyu. The mention of reincarnation made Feng Baiyu's brows furrow, as if he were pondering something, but he ultimately shook his head and didn't press further. Instead, he looked at Ye Chen with a mix of admiration and amusement.

"The rumors are true—you're generous, treating women like treasures, even willing to give away something as precious as the Thunder Emperor Treasure Technique. But it's just one technique. Gift it if you wish. Now I'm curious—whose inheritance did you obtain? The Heavenly Emperor's? Or perhaps the Great Zhou Dynasty's Great Emperor?"

Ye Chen smiled and thanked him but sidestepped the question with a light chuckle. "Compared to you and Senior Brother, I'm nothing special—just piecing together bits and pieces from here and there."

In the cultivation world, most Holy Sons and Holy Lords followed their sect's inherited techniques. The question was almost unnecessary. Yet Heavenly Evolution Holy Land was an oddity—its Holy Son and Holy Lord both disdained their own legacy, which was rather absurd.

Feng Baiyu didn't take Ye Chen's words seriously, idly fanning himself with a folding fan. "You're much more likable than Hua Yunfei. I'd rather see you as the next Holy Lord. So, I plan to linger in the Unity stage a bit longer, waiting for you to grow and catch up to Hua Yunfei's cultivation. Then I'll break through and give you a boost. Seize this opportunity!"

Ye Chen's lips twitched. It was the first time he'd heard someone frame their slow cultivation progress and delayed breakthrough so elegantly. Still, he didn't call it out. With a serious nod, he said, "Thank you, Holy Lord!"

Feng Baiyu laughed heartily, pointing a finger. A beam of divine light surged into Ye Chen's forehead. Instantly, the cultivation method for the Thunder Emperor Soul Purification Technique appeared in his mind, unrestricted and free to share. Ye Chen thanked him sincerely. After a few encouraging words about crushing the Heavenly Intention Holy Son, Ye Chen took his leave from the Cloud Summit Palace.

As Feng Baiyu watched Ye Chen's departing figure, mist clouded his eyes, obscuring his pupils. "The Western Empress Scripture, Eternal Cosmos Sutra, Great Emperor Scripture, and the True Dragon, True Phoenix, and Kun Peng Treasure Techniques. Plus that massive cluster of Black Yellow Primordial Essence. Your path mirrors the Heavenly Emperor's exactly. You still claim you're not his successor? But even the Heavenly Emperor, who shook the ages, fell in the outer domains, never to return." His voice trailed off with a sigh.

As for Ye Chen's mention of reincarnation, Feng Baiyu knew it was real. But who would choose reincarnation over this life? Like himself, they were all just failures. Even if one regained their past life's peak and walked a more perfect path, what did it matter? Even the Heavenly Emperor had fallen.

Ye Chen returned to the Holy Son Peak in high spirits, increasingly satisfied with Heavenly Evolution Holy Land. Though the Holy Lord's reputation suggested he wasn't exactly virtuous, he treated his own people well.

Ye Chen despised power struggles, internal scheming, and mutual betrayal. Both his senior brother and the Holy Lord were open and forthright, making him feel at ease.

An Miaoli was still in seclusion, so Ye Chen wasn't in a rush to gift her the Thunder Emperor Treasure Technique. Instead, he retrieved an Ancient Star his senior brother had given him long ago, intending to give it to An Yuyi. Its return wouldn't greatly enhance his combat or cultivation, so it had been low on his gifting priority. Now was the perfect time.

An Yuyi, with the Soul-Swaying Divine Stone, had reached a five-hundred-fold return. Though their status as cultivation partners meant no critical hits, the partner bonus doubled it to a thousand-fold—not bad at all. It could yield a few stars to brighten his small world and keep the Star Pool replenished with spiritual liquid. If it fell short, he could refine and gift a star himself once his cultivation advanced, filling his small world's sky. No big deal.

He drifted to An Yuyi's cave abode. She was cultivating the Hundred Flowers Immortal Scripture. Since reaching the Nascent Soul stage, her skin exuded a faint fragrance. Her youthful, adorable face, complete with small tiger teeth, carried a hint of mischief, yet her stunning figure—only slightly less striking than his master's—created a captivating contrast. Seeing Ye Chen, her eyes curved into crescents, her voice syrupy sweet. "Senior Brother, you're here! Feeling unwell again? Need some detoxification?"

Ye Chen flicked her smooth forehead with a wry smile. "All you think about! Focus on serious matters—cultivation is the true path."

An Yuyi pouted. "How is it not serious? Dual cultivation is cultivation too." Having tasted its delights, she was hooked.

Ye Chen chuckled, presenting the Ancient Star. "This is for you. Refine it, and your strength will soar." Stars shone in the daylight sky but were far weaker than at night, limiting cultivators of star-based arts during the day. Possessing a star eliminated that constraint.

An Yuyi's eyes sparkled as she took the star, clutching it to her chest. Her face flushed with excitement, her voice even sweeter. "Senior Brother, are you sure you don't want me to detoxify you?"

A system prompt sounded in Ye Chen's mind, and he grinned. If he was happy, he couldn't let her down. With an indulgent nod, he said, "Alright, detoxify away!"

Chapter 377: An Miaoli's Gratitude

An Yuyi couldn't get enough. Every few days, she'd eagerly seek out Ye Chen for "detoxification," brimming with enthusiasm. Meanwhile, Ye Chen opened Ascension Peak's gates to recruit another disciple. This time, the influx of female disciples was even greater, but his standards were stricter. He sought not only heavenly spiritual roots but also unique physiques.

In the end, he selected just one disciple with a seven-hundred-fold return. This left countless female disciples of Heavenly Evolution Holy Land sighing in regret. They shouldn't have hesitated back then—hesitation led to defeat. Now, they lacked even the chance to join the Holy Son's peak.

Ye Chen also learned of Li Feihuang's earlier attempt to storm his gates. He brushed it off. She was becoming increasingly irrelevant to him, not worth his attention.

Two weeks later, An Miaoli emerged from seclusion, having successfully broken through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Sensing the disturbance, Ye Chen flew to her immediately. The newly advanced An Miaoli was radiant, exuding an ethereal, sacred aura, like a celestial maiden from the heavens, untouchable by profane thoughts—except, of course, to Ye Chen.

"Congratulations, Senior!" Ye Chen said with a smile, then asked, "Did you notice anything unusual in your body after this breakthrough?"

An Miaoli understood his meaning. Inviting him into her cave abode to sit, she shook her head. "No more memories surfaced, nor did that immortal scripture reappear." She had worried that advancing her cultivation might awaken more past-life memories, but now she felt relieved.

Ye Chen nodded and produced a jade slip. "This is the Thunder Emperor Soul Purification Technique I requested from the Holy Lord. Those past-life memories likely stem from deep within your soul. Cultivating this technique, using divine lightning to cleanse your true soul, might eliminate the issue entirely."

An Miaoli's eyes lit up. Her stunning gaze fixed on Ye Chen, a swirl of emotions within. The Thunder Emperor, one of the Vicious Ten, made its Treasure Technique immensely valuable. Even a Holy Lord wouldn't part with it lightly.

Yet Ye Chen had gone to great lengths to obtain it for her. The depth of his care touched her deeply, melting her usual cool composure. With a soft word of thanks, her eyes shimmered like gentle waves, lacking overt charm but far more captivating.

She spoke softly. "Has Fellow Daoist Ye's nether poison improved?"

Ye Chen caught her meaning instantly. Just yesterday, An Yuyi had pestered him for detoxification, but how could he refuse such a heartfelt gesture?

A system prompt rang in his mind: "Congratulations, Host, for successfully gifting…"

"Triggering critical reward!"

"Reward: Complete Thunder Emperor Treasure Technique!"

"The Thunder Emperor Treasure Technique: In ancient times, the Thunder Emperor embodied the heavens, wielding tribulation lightning. At its peak, one can become the master of the lightning path…"

As the system's notification echoed in his mind, Ye Chen felt a surge of joy. After acquiring the True Dragon Treasure Technique, the True Phoenix Treasure Technique, and the Kun Peng Treasure Technique, he had finally obtained the fourth of the Vicious Ten Treasure Techniques. If he continued at this pace, he might truly complete the set before ascending to immortality.

Beyond the system's voice, a faint sound reached his ears, like a kitten lapping water. In that moment, Ye Chen's spirit soared to the Ninth Heaven, light as if he were already an immortal. If only there were some jelly, he thought whimsically—that would make this moment perfect.

But soon, an unexpected interruption broke his reverie. An Yuyi burst in, her voice brimming with excitement. "Auntie, have you broken through? Ah…" The cave's restrictions hadn't been sealed, and she walked right in. Her words cut off abruptly as she took in the scene.

An Miaoli didn't pause or show any trace of panic. With calm composure, she merely beckoned to Yuyi, inviting her to join. Before long, another "kitten" was drinking water in the cave.

Ye Chen gazed at the two breathtaking faces, utterly absorbed in their task, and couldn't help but think that even becoming an immortal ancestor might pale in comparison to this. Yet the thought was fleeting. The cultivation world was not Earth.

On Earth, one could drift through life without much turmoil. But in the cultivation world, disasters—natural or man-made—lurked at every turn. Only by attaining absolute strength and reaching the pinnacle could one truly savor the world's beauty without fear.

...

In his small world, Ye Chen sat quietly beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree. Most of its leaves had been plucked, yet the tree remained extraordinary, as if the Great Dao itself descended, enveloping his body. An aura of profound tranquility emanated from him as he immersed himself in deep cultivation.

Flashes of lightning occasionally sparked from his pores, and at times, divine thunder liquid flowed forth, casting Ye Chen in the likeness of a Thunder Emperor.

Above, in the sky of his small world, over a thousand stars glimmered, forming a radiant river of light. Each strand of starlight carried spiritual qi and stellar energy, bathing the world in brilliance and elevating its spiritual qi density to rival that of most Holy Lands.

After a long while, Ye Chen opened his eyes. An indescribable majesty shone in his gaze. Tiny arcs of electricity flickered across his body, vanishing as quickly as they appeared. He stretched lazily, his mood buoyant.

The thousand stars An Yuyi had gifted him were now fully integrated into his small world, not only providing starlight but also condensing spiritual qi, indistinguishable from the real thing.

With the stars in place, Ye Chen mused about one day adding a small sun and moon to make his small world even more like a true great world. The Enlightenment Tea Tree's effects had exceeded his expectations.

Far from indulging in worldly pleasures, he had thrown himself into cultivation after acquiring the Thunder Emperor Treasure Technique. Beneath the tree, his cultivation speed skyrocketed, and his comprehension of the Treasure Techniques advanced by leaps and bounds.

In the past, mastering the True Dragon and True Phoenix Treasure Techniques had taken considerable effort. But now, the Thunder Emperor Treasure Technique came to him with astonishing ease, his progress almost effortless.

Beyond that, Ye Chen revisited the various Treasure Techniques and immortal scriptures he had learned. With the tree's enhancement, each review brought fresh insights, making him feel more complete, more whole.

Time slipped by. Ye Chen focused on cultivation, occasionally exchanging gifts or dispelling toxins. Senior An still couldn't take the final step—neither the Thunder Emperor Soul Purification Technique nor anything else seemed to work, as if her past life resisted it. His master sent word that she had successfully ascended to a Heavenly Spirit Root and was now fully focused on refining the seal.

As for the little demoness, after taking Ye Chen's golden core, she vanished, and no further news had come. She had the air of a heartless rogue, true to her style. Ye Chen half-suspected she'd followed Granny Man-Hater to another great continent.

Two years passed in the blink of an eye. For cultivators, two years was a fleeting moment. Those at the Nascent Soul or Deity Transformation stage might spend years in seclusion comprehending a single technique or decades breaking through a realm.

But for Ye Chen, with the Enlightenment Tea Tree, two years was enough to advance another minor realm. Now, he stood at the peak of mid-Nascent Soul, ready to break through to the late stage at any moment.