Chapter 128: As Though Weeping, As Though Laughing—the Empress’s Fruit of the Way
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Seeing the puzzled expressions on Ye Fan and the others, Chen Chen unhappily puffed out her cheeks. She was upset that they did not know how formidable her father was!
With no choice but to explain, she said, “That old white-bearded man Hongjun is probably the most powerful of them all. Yet even he has to greet Daddy respectfully and bow to him whenever he sees him. He even gave me presents! Heehee.”
The moment she mentioned the gifts others had given her, the little girl broke into a happy smile again. Every now and then, she glanced at the group with her big eyes, a hint of anticipation in them.
Duan De and the Black Emperor were utterly bewildered. Only Ye Fan felt as though he had been struck by lightning. Having grown up on Blue Star, how could he not have heard of Daoist Ancestor Hongjun? He was the foremost saint in the creation of heaven and earth!
Chen Xing watched Ye Fan with an ambiguous smile. Since Blue Star was another plane of Earth, it naturally had legends of the primordial wilderness as well. Seeing Ye Fan’s foolish expression, Chen Xing secretly chuckled to himself.
“Hong... Hongjun!” Ye Fan murmured. Only now did he understand that the “saints” mentioned by Chen Chen earlier were not remotely comparable to the “saints” of this world that he knew.
Seeing that Ye Fan seemed to know something, the Black Emperor nudged him with a paw and whispered, “Ye Blackie, who is Hongjun?”
Ye Fan glanced at it, then at Chen Xing, who was still wearing that faintly mocking smile. A shiver ran through him, and he hurriedly said, “He’s just some powerful person. Dead Dog, stop asking!”
Ye Fan was worried that Chen Chen did not wish her identity to be revealed, so he naturally did not dare explain anything to the Black Emperor and the others in front of her. Yet he could not help wondering why he had never heard of Chen Xing in the legends. Someone capable of making Daoist Ancestor Hongjun bow to him should not have been unknown.
Naturally, he believed that with Chen Xing’s status, he would never allow his daughter to lie or deceive others.
Once he had steadied himself, he saw the little girl gazing at them with eager anticipation. Recalling what she had said earlier, he immediately understood.
He gave a wry smile. After thinking it over, he gritted his teeth and brought out every treasure he possessed—even the million catties of source that Divine King Jiang had prepared for him to use in breaking through his realm!
In an instant, dazzling radiance of every color filled the space before them, brilliant enough to sting the eyes. Ye Fan ingratiatingly said to the two little girls, “Big Brother came in such a hurry that I didn’t have time to prepare anything. Take a look and see what you like. Big Brother will give it all to you!”
Ye Fan understood that if he could win over this little girl, perhaps the troublesome matter of breaking through his realm could be resolved with ease. He might even manage to cling to the most powerful backer in all of history.
Seeing the small mountain of treasures that had suddenly appeared before them, Chen Chen and Little Nannan’s eyes lit up. In unison, they said, “Thank you, Big Brother!” Then they happily began searching through the gifts.
When they saw that Ye Fan had brought out all his treasures without the slightest hesitation—even the embryo of the Profound Yellow Cauldron, the supreme treasure he had prepared for attaining the Dao—Duan De and the Black Emperor were left dumbfounded.
Was this really the same Ye Blackie who was vicious, ruthless, and miserly beyond compare?
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The Black Emperor rolled its eyes, then hurried over to the two little girls and said ingratiatingly, “Ladies, I have gifts prepared for you too! Come, come! Take a look and see what you like. They’re all yours!”
With a sweep of its paw, countless treasures radiating multicolored light appeared before the two girls. The little ones cheered again, stroked the Black Emperor’s fur with their tiny hands, and said, “Thank you!” before returning to their selection.
The Black Emperor secretly congratulated itself. Even that miser Ye Fan had been so generous, so there had to be something special about this situation. It absolutely could not allow itself to fall behind.
Only Duan De felt bitter. He did possess a few treasures, but they had all been excavated from tombs. Chen Xing knew this very well. If he brought those things out for two little children, he would probably be punished.
After thinking for a long while, Duan De finally gritted his teeth and circulated his elemental energy. The lid of the Heaven-Swallowing Demonic Jar, which lay within his Sea of Bitterness, emerged in his hand, radiating an eerie aura.
He believed that although it too had been dug out of a tomb, it was nevertheless an Imperial Armament. Moreover, the engraved ghost face upon it, seemingly crying and laughing at once, ought to appeal to the two little girls.
Just as he endured the agony of watching his blood drip away and prepared to give the item to them, Little Nannan, who had been happily choosing gifts, suddenly turned around.
Her large eyes locked onto the lid in Duan De’s hand.
At that moment, Little Nannan seemed to become a marionette pulled by invisible strings. She walked woodenly up to Duan De, extended a small hand, and gently stroked the ghost-face engraving that seemed to be crying and laughing. Tears welled in her wide eyes and began to fall.
Seeing this, Chen Xing sighed and reached out to pull Little Nannan into his arms. Stroking her little head, he comforted her softly. “Everything has already passed. With Big Brother here, Little Nannan mustn’t cry.”
At those words, Little Nannan’s tears flowed even faster. Choking back sobs, she said, “Big Brother! I don’t know why, but when I saw that picture, my heart hurt so much... it hurt terribly!”
Chen Xing naturally knew why, but this was not yet the right time to deal with the matter. For now, he could only gently soothe her emotions.
No one noticed that a look of understanding and fear flashed through the Black Emperor’s eyes. It had long suspected that Little Nannan was the transformed Dao Fruit of some invincible Emperor. If it still could not understand what was happening now, it might as well go and die.
It thought of that peerless woman from legend—unmatched in talent and beauty, a tragic figure who had slaughtered an entire era with nothing but the word “ruthless.” The thought made its heart tremble. She was a supreme Ruthless One no weaker than the Beginningless Emperor!
Duan De was completely dumbfounded. Never had he imagined that bringing out his most precious Imperial Armament would not only fail to curry favor with them, but would actually make a little girl cry.
At that moment, he felt as though he could cry himself. He stood there in a daze, utterly at a loss.
After soothing the weeping girl, Chen Xing took the Imperial Armament from Duan De’s hands. Looking at the ghostly face upon it, both crying and laughing, he sighed inwardly.
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How tragic had the Empress’s life been? The single line, “I do not wish to become an immortal; I only wish to wait for you to return amid the mortal world,” had caused countless readers to burst into tears.
He recalled the distant past, when he had been on Earth and first read those words in a book. Chen Xing had always wondered what kind of person the Ruthless One’s elder brother had been to make that peerless Empress, unmatched in talent throughout the ages, regard him as an obsession for hundreds of thousands of years.
Now, Chen Xing’s curiosity was not as intense as it had once been. Even so, if he ever had the opportunity, he would still like to meet that Sacred Body—a figure who had never appeared, yet whose reputation was so immense.
He shook his head, casting aside his tangled thoughts, and looked at Duan De. “I’ll take this item. I’ll give you something in compensation.”
Without waiting to see whether Duan De agreed, he turned his palm over. An object shaped like a bottle appeared in his hand. He casually tossed it to Duan De, then paid him no further attention.
Duan De had yet to react. It was only when the bottle landed in his hands that he came back to himself. He stared blankly at it, then suddenly revealed an expression of wild delight.
The bottle was blue-violet in color, with a narrow neck and a broad body. A faint immortal aura emanated from it. Clearly, it was a treasure of the Immortal-Artifact level!
Nearby, Ye Fan and the Black Emperor were staring fixedly at the bottle in his hands, greed written plainly across their faces.
Duan De hurriedly put it away and glared at them. “What are you looking at? This was given to me by Senior. Do you dare try to take it?”
Ye Fan and the Black Emperor fell silent, awkwardly withdrawing their gazes. In their hearts, they cursed Duan De for his unbelievable luck, yet they were consumed by envy. That was an Immortal Artifact!
Chen Xing glanced at them and secretly laughed. It was merely an acquired spiritual treasure he had once picked up casually. Was there really any need for such excitement? Although the bottle could be considered an Immortal Artifact, it was not even as valuable as Liu Yiyi’s bracelet.
When Chen Xing raised his head, however, he saw the Black Emperor gazing at him with pitiful longing. Thinking that the creature had helped amuse his daughter and had also brought out so many treasures for the little girl, he decided to see the matter through and be generous to the end.
With a casual flick of his hand, he tossed out another object. It flew over the Black Emperor’s head and settled around its neck.
Ye Fan and Duan De focused their attention, eager to see what treasure Chen Xing had given the Black Emperor.
When they finally saw it clearly, the two of them immediately burst into uproarious laughter.
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