Chương 217: The Emperor's Fate (Part 32)

After ten thousand years, Ye Liuli finally awakened. Inside the Ye Family. Ten thousand years had brought many changes, and many familiar faces had vanished.

"How long was I asleep?"

"Ten thousand years." Ye Liuli looked at the familiar yet now distant figure before her. He had become the ruler of the entire universe.

"So, a whole ten thousand years have passed. No wonder, Little Chen, you're starting to carry the true bearing of a supreme." Ye Liuli blinked playfully. In the entire universe, perhaps only Ye Liuli could address a Great Emperor in such a casual manner. A smile appeared on Su Chen's face. Strangely, he found her way of calling him rather endearing.

"This is a Supreme Pill. It will help you perfect your own Great Dao." Su Chen handed the Supreme Pill to Ye Liuli. He had slain two unfortunate Supremes in an instant. Using their Dao, he had refined two Supreme Pills. One had been given to Ji Changkong, and the other he had kept until now. Refining pills from supremes—only one person in the entire universe could achieve such a feat. After awakening, Ye Liuli refined the Supreme Pill and advanced her cultivation further.

Su Chen, however, left the Ye Family once again. The Starfall Pavilion had now grown into a powerful orthodoxy under the Myriad Laws Hall. In addition, there were countless battle generals. These were Su Chen's former followers. Yet after ten thousand years, most of them had grown old.

"My Lord, if there is a next life, we will follow you once more." One by one, his followers left behind their final words. Some chose to seal themselves away, while others accepted the cycle of life and death and passed away peacefully in the mortal world. Old friends fell like leaves in the wind, fading away one after another. In the Myriad Laws Hall. Ji Changkong had advanced further and stepped onto an alternative path of attaining the Dao.

Following Su Chen's guidance, he went to Falling Emperor Mountain to search for his lost memories. In the end, he chose to return to the Myriad Laws Hall. He had remembered everything, but he was now an entirely new being. During the ten thousand years, Divine Source Master Yuan Ming had drawn upon the power of the universe to develop a brand-new source technique, becoming the tenth Heavenly Master in the history of Divine Source Masters.

However, he did not continue researching source techniques, as further progress would invite great terror. Instead, he devoted his life to strengthening the Myriad Laws Hall. The foundation he built in a single lifetime rivaled that of many eras combined. Ye San came from the Heaven Severing Sect, but like Ji Changkong, he chose to remain in the Myriad Laws Hall. The Black Dragon Emperor had advanced even further with the help of the Myriad Laws Hall's destiny and stepped into the Quasi-Emperor realm.

Over ten thousand years, the Myriad Laws Hall had produced talents in abundance. In addition to the four Quasi-Emperors—Ji Changkong, Yuan Ming, Ye San, and the Black Dragon Emperor—a new Quasi-Emperor named Song Dao had emerged. Beyond them, countless other experts filled the hall. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Su Chen presided over the Myriad Laws Hall.

He watched heavenly geniuses compete across the millennia, witnessed the rise and fall of prosperous eras, and saw one orthodoxy after another emerge only to eventually perish. Gradually, it had been a very long time since any living being from the myriad races had seen that Emperor. The order of the myriad races returned to its normal course. Fierce competition continued, and new heroes rose one after another… yet in this great era, none of them could reach the absolute peak. This era acquired a new name.

The Myriad Laws Era. Yet there were no myriad laws—only one person who stood supreme above all.... Another ten thousand years passed. In a secluded immortal realm. Su Chen's expression remained unchanged as he flipped his hand and suppressed Ye Liuli. This was not the first time Ye Liuli had tried to sneak up on him. But no matter what, he was the current Great Emperor who controlled the universe. How could he possibly miss her movements? So this was not the first time she had been suppressed either.

"Little Chen, let me go already! I am still your ancestor, after all!" Her words were technically correct. But Su Chen was not swayed.

"Speak. What is it this time?" Su Chen asked calmly. Whenever Ye Liuli came to him, it was never for anything good. Ye Liuli struggled for a moment, then gave up and slumped onto the ground without any grace.

"Little Chen, you are the current Great Emperor now. Haven't you considered leaving behind some descendants? An Emperor's child! Recently, an unparalleled woman has appeared in the Void God Palace. She has suppressed all the heavenly geniuses of the myriad races. Would you consider her?" Ye Liuli worried endlessly about Su Chen's descendants. Su Chen shook his head. Ye Liuli turned her head and sighed.

"A Great Emperor is destined to walk a lonely path. You will watch one relative after another pass away, one orthodoxy after another rise and fall. Everything once familiar will gradually disappear, and you will endure the loneliness of watching strangers become close, only for them to vanish again." Su Chen looked at Ye Liuli, whose expression had rarely been so serious.

"Your lifespan… is running out." Ye Liuli did not take it to heart. Even after twenty thousand years, she remained as peerlessly elegant as ever.

"I will live out my third life. Then I'll snatch your Emperor position and beat you up properly!" Ye Liuli waved the talisman paper in her hand. Living out a third life… How many people throughout history had ever managed such a feat? Su Chen remained silent for a moment, then smiled and nodded.

"Alright. I'll be waiting for you." Ye Liuli left. Su Chen returned to the Myriad Laws Hall. At this moment, Yuan Ming had grown old and frail. Su Chen personally sealed him inside the divine source. He also sealed Ji Changkong and Ye San into the divine source with his own hands. As for the Black Dragon Emperor… an ordinary Quasi-Emperor had a lifespan of thirty thousand years, while the Black Dragon Emperor, with his innate true dragon bloodline, possessed fifty thousand years.

Su Chen was not in a hurry to seal him. After all, it was nice to have one more old friend walking the path of longevity beside him. Su Chen brought Chi Yao back to the Jade Pool Sacred Land. Chi Yao's lifespan had also reached its end, yet she did not choose to seal herself. She had originally been a fruit from the immortal tree, so it was only natural for her to return to it now. The two of them strolled together beneath the immortal tree, walking through the vast sea of stars.

"Thank you. Because of you, I experienced what it meant to be human. I felt the joys, angers, sorrows, and pleasures of a normal living being. I gained emotions, felt joy, and understood what it meant to like someone." Chi Yao looked at the figure before her, her eyes glistening with tears and reluctance.

"Perhaps in some future life, we will meet again." Su Chen made the promise. Chi Yao leaned against him and listened quietly. The next life… the next life… Even a powerful Great Emperor could not open the cycle of reincarnation. Did this world truly have a next life? Su Chen's answer was yes. Chi Yao chose to believe it as well. Falling leaves danced in the air, dyeing the heavens in red clouds.

Su Chen felt the figure leaning against him gradually become lighter until it transformed into a streak of immortal light. He reached out to grasp it, but the immortal light passed through his fingers. Even with the speed of the Flying Immortal Dao Body, he could not stop that light from merging into the immortal tree. Su Chen stood beneath the immortal tree, gazing at the enormous tree that spanned past and present.

"In some future life… we will meet again after all." Chi Yao's consciousness merged into the immortal tree. Perhaps in ten thousand years, a million years, or ten million years, the immortal tree would give birth to a living will and transform into an unrivaled immortal spirit. It would strike across the nine heavens, break out of the universe, and shatter the myth that no one could achieve transcendence. Perhaps within that immortal spirit's body, a trace of Chi Yao's consciousness would still remain.

Su Chen left the Jade Pool Sacred Land. Only now could he truly be called a 'Great Emperor.'