吞天神主
叶辰，大炎王朝第一天才，三岁凝气，七岁破灵，十岁踏入灵海境，名动天下。
十八岁那年，却因偷学祖传禁术“吞天魔功”，被家族废去修为，逐出家门。
绝望之际，前世记忆苏醒——他竟是万古前横扫诸天的吞天神主！
这一世，他誓要踏碎九霄，让诸天万界，再闻他之名！
炎炎烈日，悬于万里无云的苍穹之上，灼烤着大炎王朝帝都西郊那片荒凉的乱石岗。
地面上，滚烫的碎石间，一具几乎被晒干的躯体一动不动地伏着。不，那不是尸体，偶尔，那残破的衣袍下会传来一声微弱的、如同残风穿过破絮的喘息。
叶辰的意识在无尽的黑暗中沉浮。
痛。
那是深入骨髓、撕裂灵魂的痛。经脉寸断，丹田破碎，像是一千把烧红的刀子在他体内反复搅动。每一寸皮肤都在灼烧，每一次呼吸都带着铁锈般的血腥味。
但身体上的痛苦，远不及心中万分之一。
“叶辰，你私盗家族禁术，触犯族规，念你曾为家族立下些许功劳，今废你修为，逐出家门，永世不得踏入帝都半步！”
父亲……不，那个冷漠、威严、毫无感情的声音，还在他脑海中回荡。
他不甘。
凭什么？那所谓的“吞天魔功”，明明就是他突破灵海境时，于识海深处捕捉到的一缕混沌灵光所化。他以为是自己的机缘，苦苦参悟，却被告知是家族代代封印的禁忌存在，任何人触碰，皆视为叛逆。
他不服。
那些往日里对他恭顺谦卑的族兄弟，在他被拖行出宗祠时，眼中闪烁着的是毫不掩饰的鄙夷和快意。他以往倾尽所有资源培养的叶家年轻一辈，此刻怕是正在瓜分着他留下的洞府和灵药吧？
“哈哈……咳咳……哈哈哈……”
嘶哑的笑声从干裂的喉中挤出，带着血沫，在空旷的乱石岗中显得格外凄凉。
他恨。
恨这天道不公，恨这命运捉弄。
三岁凝气，七岁破灵，十岁踏入灵海境，他是大炎王朝数百年来最耀眼的天才，是叶家荣光的象征，是无数人仰望的存在。他以为，自己的一生，将会在无数赞誉和敬仰中，登上那传说中的巅峰。
然而，一纸冰冷的族规，一场蓄谋已久的构陷，便将他从云端打落尘埃，碎成一地烂泥。
“若有机会……重来一次……”
他艰难地翻了个身，仰面朝天，干涸的眼眶中，再也没有一滴泪水。剩下的，只有滔天的恨意和不甘。
意识，再次模糊。
就在这时，那破碎的识海深处，仿佛有什么东西，被这深入骨髓的痛楚和绝望彻底激活了。
嗡——
一声极其轻微的震颤，从他的灵魂深处响起。
紧接着，一股庞大到无法想象的信息洪流，如同决堤的江河，轰然冲入他的意识。
痛！比之前更甚千百倍的痛！
叶辰浑身剧烈地抽搐起来，喉咙里发出一声野兽般的嘶吼，但他已无力再动弹分毫。他的意识在这股信息的冲击下，如同狂风暴雨中的一叶扁舟，随时都可能覆灭。
一幅幅破碎的画面，一段段残缺的记忆，如同走马灯般在他脑海中飞速闪过：
无垠的星空，破碎的大陆；
亿万生灵伏尸脚下，鲜血染红了星辰大海；
一双冰冷、漠然、俯瞰苍生如蝼蚁般的眼睛；
一个黑袍身影，独坐于九天之上，掌中托着一方正在崩毁的世界……
“吞天神主……第九世……”
“此功……逆天……欲练此功，必先……噬己……”
“破而后立……不破不立……”
“轮回九转……终有一日……神主归位……”
混乱的信息碎片中，一个宏大、古老、不带丝毫感情的声音，断断续续地响起，每一个字，都像是一记重锤，狠狠地砸在叶辰的灵魂之上。
不知过了多久，也许是片刻，也许是永恒。
当那股信息洪流终于退去，叶辰的意识也重新沉入了黑暗。只是这一次，黑暗中，似乎多了一点微弱的光。
“水……”
干渴的感觉，如同沙漠中濒死的旅人。
叶辰猛地睁开眼睛。
入目，是一片刺眼的阳光，以及一张沾满了污渍、却依稀能看出清秀轮廓的稚嫩脸庞。
那是一个大约十二三岁的小女孩，衣衫破旧，头上扎着两个乱糟糟的羊角辫，一双乌黑的大眼睛里满是警惕和好奇。
“你是谁？”小女孩的声音清脆，带着一丝不属于她这个年纪的警惕，“为什么躺在这里？”
叶辰张了张嘴，喉咙里火烧火燎，只发出几声干涩的嗬嗬声。
小女孩见状，犹豫了一下，从怀里掏出一个有些发黑的羊皮水囊，小心翼翼地递到叶辰嘴边。
清凉的水，是生命之源。
叶辰贪婪地吞咽着，冰凉的液体滑过喉咙，滋润着干涸的肺腑，让他混沌的意识稍微清醒了一些。
“……谢谢。”他的声音依旧嘶哑，像是破风箱漏出的气。
“你看起来伤得很重。”小女孩歪着头，看着他，“是被人打了吗？这附近……常有吃人的妖兽出没，你不该在这里。”
叶辰没有回答，他闭上眼睛，开始感受自己身体的情况。
经脉，寸寸断裂，如同一团乱麻；丹田，彻底破碎，原本充盈的灵海，此刻已是一片死寂。甚至连他的根骨，似乎都受到了不可逆的损伤。
废了。彻底的废了。
换做任何一个人，在这样的伤势下，都是必死无疑。
但叶辰的嘴角，却勾起一抹极其细微的弧度。
因为，在他那破碎的识海最深处，一点极其微弱，却又无比凝实的黑色光点，正静静地悬浮着。
吞天魔功。
前世记忆觉醒时，一并带来的东西。
“噬己……破而后立……”他心中默念着那残缺的口诀，一丝明悟涌上心头。
这吞天魔功，竟是以吞噬自身精气神为代价，换取前所未有的修炼速度和不灭的根基。它的第一重，便是要置之死地而后生，将原有的根基彻底粉碎，再以无上魔功重新铸就。
而他现在这副残破不堪、离死不远的躯体，不正符合了那“破而后立”的至理吗？
机缘，这何尝不是一种天大的机缘？
只是，这世间万事万物，有得必有失。想要获得无上力量，就要付出常人难以想象的代价。
叶辰缓缓睁开眼睛，目光落在了一旁正用树枝百无聊赖地在地上画圈圈的小女孩身上。
“你叫什么名字？”他问。
“我叫……阿瑶。”小女孩抬头，眨了眨眼，“我没有姓，大家都叫我阿瑶。”
“阿瑶……”叶辰重复了一遍这个名字，然后支撑着，想要坐起身来。
一阵撕心裂肺的疼痛传来，让他忍不住闷哼一声，脸色更加苍白了几分。
“你伤得这么重，不要乱动。”阿瑶连忙跑过来，想要扶他。
“我……没事。”叶辰咬着牙，用尽全身力气，终于坐了起来。他环顾四周，这是乱石岗中一处凹陷的坑洞，勉强能遮挡一些风沙。
“这里是什么地方？”叶辰问。
“这里是帝都西郊的乱石岗。”阿瑶指着一个方向，“往东走大概半天的路程，就是帝都了。”
帝都……叶辰眼中闪过一丝复杂之色。曾经的家，如今的绝地。
“你一直住在这里？”叶辰看向阿瑶，这个女孩虽然衣衫褴褛，却透着一股与生俱来的灵气，绝非寻常人家出身。
“嗯。”阿瑶点了点头，没有多说，似乎不太想谈论自己的过去。
“为什么不去帝都？”
“那里……不喜欢我。”阿瑶低着头，咬了咬嘴唇。
叶辰没有追问。每个人都有自己的秘密，如同他也有。
他闭上眼睛，开始运转体内那一丝微弱到几乎不可察的黑色魔气。
说是魔气，其实更准确地说，是一种诡异的吞噬之力。
这丝吞噬之力，游走于他那破碎的经脉之中，如同最贪婪的饕餮，开始蚕食他体内残余的、微弱到极点的生机和能量。
痛！钻心的痛！
叶辰浑身颤抖起来，额头上冷汗涔涔而下。
但他咬紧牙关，一声不吭。
因为在这剧烈的痛楚中，他清晰地感觉到，那些被吞噬的、驳杂不纯的残存能量，在经过那丝魔气的淬炼后，化为了一缕缕精纯、凝练的力量，开始缓慢地修复着他那破碎的经脉。
虽然进展极其缓慢，但确实在修复！
这吞天魔功，果然逆天！
“你……没事吧？”阿瑶被叶辰的样子吓了一跳，脸色发白，“你哪里不舒服？”
“没事……只是……在疗伤。”叶辰从牙缝里挤出几个字。
阿瑶似懂非懂地点了点头，她看着叶辰那痛苦却坚毅的侧脸，不知为何，心中涌起一股莫名的信任。
她默默地走到洞口，捡起一块尖利的石头，然后跑到旁边的灌木丛中，寻找着什么。
时间一点点流逝，太阳渐渐西斜，残阳如血，将整个乱石岗染成一片暗红色。
不知过了多久，叶辰缓缓吐出一口浊气，睁开了眼睛。
经脉的修复，只是微不足道的一丝，距离完全恢复，还不知要多久。但他的精神，却比之前好了许多。
“给。”这时，阿瑶又跑了回来，手里捧着几颗不知名的野果，果皮青涩，看起来就没什么味道。
“吃吧，虽然不好吃，但能填饱肚子。”阿瑶自己拿起一颗，在身上蹭了蹭，咔嚓一声咬了一口，酸得她眼睛都眯了起来。
叶辰看着手中的野果，又看了看阿瑶那被野草划出几道血痕的小手，心中微微一暖。
“谢谢。”
他接过野果，没有直接吃，而是放在一旁。
“你的身体……很热。”阿瑶突然说道。
“热？”叶辰一愣。
“嗯，刚才你闭上眼睛的时候，你身上很热，像一块烧红的石头。”阿瑶认真地说。
叶辰心念一动，难道是那魔气在吞噬和修复时，产生的热量外泄？
“我知道了。”叶辰点了点头，拿起一颗野果，学着阿瑶的样子，在身上蹭了蹭，然后咬了一口。
酸涩的汁液在口中爆开，难吃至极。
但他却吃得无比认真，仿佛是在品尝什么山珍海味。
因为，这是他重生后的第一口食物。
夜幕降临，乱石岗的气温骤降，寒风如刀。
叶辰和阿瑶挤在狭窄的坑洞中，靠着彼此微弱的体温，抵挡着彻骨的寒意。
“你冷吗？”阿瑶小声问。
“不冷。”叶辰摇了摇头。他体内那丝魔气，即使在沉睡中，也在缓慢地运转着，不断吞噬着他身体散发的热量，然后转化为一丝丝微弱的暖流，游走全身。
“骗人，你的身体都在发抖。”阿瑶往他身边靠了靠，“我的身体很热，借你一点好了。”
说着，阿瑶伸出手，握住了叶辰冰冷的手。
一股暖意传来，让叶辰微微一怔。
这暖意，并非来自体温，而是来自阿瑶体内，一股极其微弱、却精纯无比的气息。
灵根？
叶辰心中一震。
这股气息，虽然微弱，却蕴含着一丝极其纯粹、凝练的灵力，这是……天灵根的气息！
想不到，在这荒郊野岭，竟然能遇到一个拥有天灵根的小女孩！
叶辰心中，翻起了惊涛骇浪。
但他表面上不动声色，只是反手，轻轻握住了阿瑶的手。
“谢谢。”
“不客气。”阿瑶笑了笑，黑暗中，她的眼睛亮晶晶的，像两颗璀璨的星辰。
一夜无话。
第二天，天刚蒙蒙亮，叶辰便从浅睡中醒来。
他感受了一下身体的状况，惊喜地发现，经过一夜的运转，那丝魔气竟然自行吞噬修复了更多，他的经脉虽然依旧破碎，但至少能勉强支撑他站起来了。
他尝试着站起身来，虽然双腿还有些发软，但已经能站稳了。
“你……能站起来了？”阿瑶也被他的动静惊醒，揉了揉眼睛，一脸惊讶地看着他。
“嗯。”叶辰点了点头，活动了一下僵硬的四肢。
“太好了！”阿瑶开心地跳了起来，“我还以为你要死了呢！”
“我还没那么容易死。”叶辰嘴角扯出一个弧度。
他看向东方，那里，是帝都的方向。
“我要去帝都。”他说。
“去帝都？你不是……”阿瑶有些犹豫，“你的伤还没好，而且帝都……”
“有些事，我必须去确认。”叶辰目光坚定，“有些账，也迟早要去讨回来。”
他不能再这样躺在这里，被动地等待恢复。他需要资源，大量的修炼资源。
而想要获得修炼资源，目前最快的途径，就是进入帝都。
当然，以他现在的身体状况，贸然回到帝都，无疑是自投罗网。以叶家的势力，想要碾死他，如同碾死一只蚂蚁。
但他有他的打算。
“我跟你一起去。”阿瑶想了想，说道。
“你？”叶辰看着她。
“嗯，我也想去帝都看看，那里……有我的仇人。”阿瑶低下头，声音低了下去，“虽然我打不过他们，但我可以帮你。”
叶辰看着阿瑶那稚嫩却坚定的脸庞，沉默了。
“好。”最终，他点了点头。
一个残废的天才，一个无依无靠的小乞丐，就这样，踏上了前往帝都的路。
夕阳西下，帝都那巍峨的城墙，终于遥遥在望。
叶辰站在一处高坡上，远远地望着那座熟悉的城市，心中百感交集。
“帝都，我叶辰，回来了。”
“那些欠我的，终有一日，我会亲手拿回。”
他深吸一口气，带着阿瑶，大步走向城门。
然而，就在他们即将靠近城门时，叶辰心中警兆突生！
他猛然抬头，看向城墙上空。
只见一道流光，如同彗星坠地，携带着恐怖无匹的威压，朝着城门口，狠狠地砸了下来！
那道流光中，一个冷漠的声音，响彻天地：“叶辰，你竟然还敢回来？”
The Heaven-Devouring Sovereign
Ye Chen, the foremost genius of the Great Yan Dynasty. Qi Condensation at three, Spirit Breaking at seven, and entering the Spirit Sea Realm at ten—his name shook the world.
At eighteen, however, he was stripped of his cultivation and cast out from his clan for secretly cultivating the forbidden ancestral art, the "Heaven-Devouring Demon Art."
At the brink of despair, the memories of his past life awakened—he was none other than the Heaven-Devouring Sovereign who had swept across the myriad heavens countless eons ago!
In this life, he vows to trample the nine skies, and make the myriad worlds tremble at his name once more!
The blazing sun hung high in a cloudless sky, scorching the desolate rocky wasteland on the western outskirts of the Great Yan Dynasty's imperial capital.
On the ground, among the searing gravel, a body lay motionless, nearly dried out by the heat. No—not a corpse. Occasionally, from beneath those tattered robes, came a faint, ragged breath, like a dying wind passing through torn cloth.
Ye Chen's consciousness drifted in endless darkness.
Pain.
The kind of pain that burrowed into the marrow and tore at the soul. His meridians were severed inch by inch, his dantian shattered completely—like a thousand red-hot knives churning ceaselessly inside him. Every inch of skin burned, every breath carried the metallic tang of blood.
But the physical agony was nothing compared to the anguish in his heart.
"Ye Chen, you secretly cultivated the clan's forbidden art, violating clan law. In consideration of your past contributions to the family, your cultivation is hereby abolished and you are expelled from the clan, forbidden from ever stepping foot within the imperial capital again!"
Father... no, that cold, authoritative, utterly emotionless voice still echoed in his mind.
He was unwilling to accept this.
Why? That so-called "Heaven-Devouring Demon Art" was clearly a wisp of chaotic spiritual light he had captured from the depths of his sea of consciousness when he broke through to the Spirit Sea Realm. He had thought it was his own fortuitous encounter, and had painstakingly studied it—only to be told it was a forbidden existence sealed away by the clan for generations, and that anyone who touched it would be deemed a traitor.
He refused to submit.
Those clan brothers who had once been deferential and humble before him—when he was dragged out of the ancestral hall, their eyes had gleamed with undisguised contempt and schadenfreude. The younger generation of the Ye clan whom he had poured all his resources into nurturing were probably, at this very moment, dividing up the cave dwelling and spirit herbs he had left behind.
"Ha... haha... cough... hahaha..."
Hoarse laughter squeezed from his parched throat, tinged with blood, echoing desolately through the empty wasteland.
He hated.
Hated the injustice of heaven, hated the cruelty of fate.
Qi Condensation at three, Spirit Breaking at seven, Spirit Sea Realm at ten. He had been the most dazzling genius the Great Yan Dynasty had seen in centuries—the symbol of the Ye clan's glory, an existence countless people looked up to. He had believed his life would climb toward that legendary peak amid endless praise and admiration.
Yet a single sheet of cold clan law, a carefully orchestrated conspiracy, had cast him down from the clouds into the dirt, shattered into mud.
"If only I had a chance... to start over..."
He rolled over with difficulty, facing the sky. No more tears remained in his parched eye sockets. All that remained was overwhelming hatred and unwillingness.
His consciousness blurred again.
And then, in the depths of his shattered sea of consciousness, something seemed to be fully awakened by this bone-deep pain and despair.
Hum—
An extremely faint tremor rose from the depths of his soul.
Immediately after, a torrent of information, vast beyond imagination, crashed into his consciousness like a bursting dam.
Pain! Pain a thousand times worse than before!
Ye Chen's entire body convulsed violently, a beast-like roar tearing from his throat, but he could no longer move a single muscle. His consciousness was like a lone leaf in a raging storm, on the verge of capsizing at any moment under the impact of this flood of information.
Fragmented images, broken memories, flashed through his mind like a revolving lantern:
Boundless starry skies, shattered continents;
Billions of living beings lying dead at his feet, their blood staining the sea of stars crimson;
A pair of ice-cold, indifferent eyes that looked down upon all living things as mere ants;
A black-robed figure sitting alone above the nine heavens, holding a collapsing world in his palm...
"Heaven-Devouring Sovereign... ninth life..."
"This art... defies heaven... to cultivate it, one must first... devour oneself..."
"Break before establishing... without breaking, there is no establishing..."
"Nine revolutions of reincarnation... one day... the Sovereign shall return..."
Amid the chaotic fragments of information, a grand, ancient voice, utterly devoid of emotion, echoed intermittently—each word like a heavy hammer slamming against Ye Chen's soul.
He didn't know how long it lasted. Perhaps a moment, perhaps an eternity.
When the flood of information finally receded, Ye Chen's consciousness sank back into darkness. Only this time, within the darkness, there seemed to be a faint glimmer of light.
"Water..."
Thirst—like a traveler dying in the desert.
Ye Chen's eyes snapped open.
What met his gaze was a blaze of sunlight, and a young face—smudged with dirt, but still bearing traces of delicate features.
It was a little girl of about twelve or thirteen, in tattered clothes, with two messy pigtails. Her large, dark eyes were full of wariness and curiosity.
"Who are you?" the little girl asked. Her voice was crisp, carrying a wariness beyond her years. "Why are you lying here?"
Ye Chen opened his mouth, but his throat felt like it was on fire, producing only dry, rasping sounds.
The little girl hesitated for a moment, then took out a somewhat blackened sheepskin waterskin from her bosom and carefully brought it to Ye Chen's lips.
Cool water—the source of life.
Ye Chen swallowed greedily. The icy liquid slid down his throat, moistening his parched lungs, clearing his muddled consciousness slightly.
"...Thank you." His voice was still hoarse, like air leaking from a broken bellows.
"You look badly hurt," the little girl tilted her head, studying him. "Did someone beat you up? There are... man-eating demon beasts around here. You shouldn't be here."
Ye Chen didn't answer. He closed his eyes and began to sense the condition of his body.
Meridians—shattered inch by inch, like a tangled mess. Dantian—completely destroyed; the once-ample spirit sea was now a dead wasteland. Even his root bone seemed to have suffered irreversible damage.
Ruined. Completely ruined.
For anyone else, such injuries would mean certain death.
But a trace of a smile curved at the corner of Ye Chen's lips.
Because in the deepest recesses of his shattered sea of consciousness, an extremely faint yet incomparably solid point of black light floated silently.
The Heaven-Devouring Demon Art.
Something that had come with the awakening of his past life's memories.
"Devour oneself... break before establishing..." He silently recited the incomplete mantra in his heart, a thread of enlightenment surging within him.
This Heaven-Devouring Demon Art actually required devouring one's own essence, energy, and spirit as the price for unprecedented cultivation speed and an indestructible foundation. Its first stage demanded putting oneself in a near-death state, completely shattering one's original foundation, then rebuilding it anew through this supreme demon art.
And his current broken, dying body—didn't it perfectly match the principle of "breaking before establishing"?
A fortuitous encounter. Was this not, in some sense, a tremendous stroke of fortune?
Only, in this world, everything gained comes with something lost. To obtain supreme power, one must pay a price ordinary people cannot imagine.
Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on the little girl beside him, who was idly drawing circles in the dirt with a twig.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"I'm called... A'Yao." The little girl looked up, blinking. "I don't have a surname. Everyone just calls me A'Yao."
"A'Yao..." Ye Chen repeated the name, then braced himself to sit up.
A wave of tearing pain shot through him, drawing a muffled groan from his lips, his face growing even paler.
"You're hurt so badly—don't move," A'Yao hurried over, trying to help him.
"I'm... fine." Ye Chen gritted his teeth and, with every ounce of strength he had, finally managed to sit up. He looked around. They were in a hollow depression in the rocky wasteland, barely enough to block some of the wind and sand.
"Where is this?" Ye Chen asked.
"This is the rocky wasteland west of the imperial capital." A'Yao pointed in a direction. "About half a day's walk east is the capital."
The capital... A complex expression flickered through Ye Chen's eyes. Once his home, now a forbidden land.
"You've been living here?" Ye Chen looked at A'Yao. Though dressed in rags, this girl possessed an innate spiritual quality—certainly not someone of common origin.
"Mm." A'Yao nodded without elaborating, seemingly unwilling to discuss her past.
"Why not go to the capital?"
"They... don't like me there." A'Yao lowered her head and bit her lip.
Ye Chen didn't press further. Everyone has their own secrets, just as he had his.
He closed his eyes and began to circulate that faint, almost imperceptible wisp of black demonic energy within him.
Demonic energy—though more accurately, it was a strange devouring power.
This wisp of devouring power traveled through his shattered meridians like the most voracious glutton, beginning to consume the remnants of vitality and energy within him—faint to the extreme.
Pain! Excruciating pain!
Ye Chen's body trembled, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.
But he clenched his jaw and made not a sound.
Because within this intense agony, he could clearly feel that those devoured, impure residual energies—after being refined by that wisp of demonic energy—were transforming into strands of pure, condensed power that began to slowly repair his shattered meridians.
The progress was painfully slow, but it was indeed repairing!
This Heaven-Devouring Demon Art truly defied the heavens!
"Are... are you okay?" A'Yao was startled by Ye Chen's appearance, her face pale. "Where does it hurt?"
"It's nothing... just... healing." Ye Chen squeezed the words out through gritted teeth.
A'Yao nodded, half understanding. She looked at Ye Chen's agonized yet resolute profile, and for some reason, a strange sense of trust welled up in her heart.
She silently walked to the entrance of the hollow, picked up a sharp stone, then ran to a nearby thicket, searching for something.
Time passed slowly. The sun gradually sank westward, the dying rays staining the entire rocky wasteland a dark crimson like blood.
After an unknown period, Ye Chen slowly exhaled a turbid breath and opened his eyes.
The meridian repair was just an infinitesimal strand—still a long way from full recovery. But his spirit was much better than before.
"Here." A'Yao came running back, her hands cupped around a few wild fruits with green, unripe skins that looked utterly tasteless.
"Eat. They don't taste good, but they fill your stomach." A'Yao picked one up herself, rubbed it on her clothes, and bit into it with a crunch, the sourness making her eyes squint.
Ye Chen looked at the wild fruits in his hand, then at A'Yao's small hands, scratched and bleeding from the wild grass, and felt a faint warmth in his heart.
"Thank you."
He took the fruit but didn't eat it immediately, setting it aside instead.
"Your body... is very hot," A'Yao suddenly said.
"Hot?" Ye Chen was startled.
"Mm. When you closed your eyes earlier, your body was very hot, like a burning rock." A'Yao said seriously.
Ye Chen's heart stirred. Could it be heat radiating outward when the demonic energy was devouring and repairing?
"I see." Ye Chen nodded, picked up a wild fruit, and imitating A'Yao, rubbed it on his clothes before taking a bite.
The sour, astringent juice burst in his mouth—utterly revolting.
Yet he ate it with complete seriousness, as if savoring some rare delicacy.
Because this was the first bite of food after his rebirth.
Night fell. The temperature in the rocky wasteland plummeted, the wind cutting like knives.
Ye Chen and A'Yao huddled together in the narrow hollow, relying on each other's meager body heat to fend off the bone-chilling cold.
"Are you cold?" A'Yao asked softly.
"Not cold." Ye Chen shook his head. The wisp of demonic energy within him, even in sleep, circulated slowly, constantly devouring the heat radiating from his body and converting it into faint traces of warmth that flowed through his limbs.
"Liar, your body is trembling." A'Yao scooted closer. "My body is very warm. I'll lend you some."
With that, A'Yao reached out and grasped Ye Chen's ice-cold hand.
A wave of warmth spread through him, making Ye Chen pause.
This warmth didn't come from body temperature—it came from within A'Yao, an extremely faint yet incomparably pure aura.
Spiritual root?
Ye Chen's heart jolted.
This aura, though weak, contained a thread of spiritual power that was exceptionally pure and condensed. This was... the aura of a Heavenly Spiritual Root!
To think that in this desolate wilderness, he would encounter a little girl possessing a Heavenly Spiritual Root!
Stormy waves surged in Ye Chen's heart.
But outwardly, he remained composed, simply turning his hand to gently hold A'Yao's.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." A'Yao smiled. In the darkness, her eyes sparkled like two brilliant stars.
The night passed without incident.
The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Ye Chen awoke from his light sleep.
He checked his body's condition and was pleasantly surprised to find that after a night of circulation, the wisp of demonic energy had autonomously devoured and repaired even more. His meridians were still shattered, but he could at least stand now.
He tried to stand up. His legs were still a bit weak, but he managed to steady himself.
"You... you can stand?" A'Yao was also awakened by his movements. Rubbing her eyes, she stared at him in astonishment.
"Mm." Ye Chen nodded, stretching his stiff limbs.
"That's wonderful!" A'Yao jumped up happily. "I thought you were going to die!"
"I'm not that easy to kill." A faint smile tugged at Ye Chen's lips.
He looked eastward, toward the imperial capital.
"I'm going to the capital," he said.
"To the capital? But you..." A'Yao hesitated. "Your injuries aren't healed, and besides, the capital..."
"There are things I must confirm." Ye Chen's gaze was resolute. "And there are debts that will eventually need to be collected."
He couldn't just lie here, passively waiting for recovery. He needed resources—vast amounts of cultivation resources.
And the fastest way to obtain cultivation resources right now was to enter the capital.
Of course, in his current physical condition, returning to the capital rashly would be walking into a trap. With the Ye clan's power, crushing him would be like crushing an ant.
But he had his own plans.
"I'll go with you," A'Yao said after a moment of thought.
"You?" Ye Chen looked at her.
"Mm. I want to see the capital too. There... there are people I hate there." A'Yao lowered her head, her voice dropping. "I can't beat them, but I can help you."
Ye Chen looked at A'Yao's young yet determined face and fell silent.
"All right," he finally nodded.
A crippled genius and a helpless little beggar—together, they set out on the road to the imperial capital.
As the sun set, the majestic walls of the capital finally loomed in the distance.
Ye Chen stood on a high slope, gazing at that familiar city from afar, a myriad of emotions surging in his heart.
"Imperial capital, I, Ye Chen, have returned."
"Those who owe me—one day, I will take it all back with my own hands."
He took a deep breath and, with A'Yao at his side, strode toward the city gate.
But just as they were about to approach the gate, a warning bell screamed in Ye Chen's mind!
He snapped his head up, staring at the sky above the city walls.
A streak of light, like a comet crashing to earth, carrying terrifying, boundless pressure, was hurtling toward the city gate!
From within that streak of light, a cold voice thundered across heaven and earth:
"Ye Chen, you dare come back?!"
