Chapter 972: Chapter 943:
Tearing…
The dagger stabbed into Hei Hu’s neck, followed by a pull, creating a massive tear. Black blood gushed out, and Hei Hu clutched his neck in agony, screaming, soon turning into a puddle of mud. The Black-clothed Men also vanished instantly without a trace. Ye Chen was dumbfounded; were those guys merely an illusion? Just as Ye Chen was puzzled, a voice came from his mind: “Kid, what you saw was only your inner Heart Demon, do you know what you need to do there?”
“I don’t know, I was inexplicably brought in by that old witch!” Ye Chen said helplessly.
“Let me tell you, the world you are in has many names, it can be called the tenth layer, or Hell, or the Dark World. But no matter what, you are the master of this world!” The voice startled Ye Chen.
“Ah?! Old man, don’t scare me!” Ye Chen shivered all over.
“Indeed!” The old man laughed indifferently: “Whether you admit it or not, you cannot escape it. Let’s not talk about the past; you didn’t want to continue as the leader of the Dark World, so you decided to leave and live the life of an ordinary person outside. Unfortunately, fate won’t let you off track so easily.”
“Who exactly is controlling my destiny?” Ye Chen was stunned.
“The secrets of heaven cannot be divulged!” The old man laughed mysteriously: “No matter who controls your destiny, I must tell you to keep going and complete what you need to. You now need to break the darkness, regain the light, and recover all memories.”
“How do I find them?” Ye Chen hurriedly asked.
“Defeat your Heart Demon, drive out the dark thoughts in your heart!” The old man smiled and said: “Soon you’ll find the dark thoughts in your heart growing heavier. You must find a way to calm yourself and not fall into the Demon Path; otherwise, you will never rise again!”
After saying this, the old man’s voice soon disappeared. Ye Chen shouted, “Hey, hey, how can I control the dark thoughts in my heart? Old man, old man, speak!”
But the old man’s voice never sounded again. As Ye Chen hesitated indecisively, suddenly, a group of people walked out from all around, most of whom Ye Chen recognized, including Yan Bu’er, Zhang Dadan, and Liu Junyuan… These people were all those he had killed.
“Damn, is this really Hell? Do all the dead appear here?!” Ye Chen was instantly shocked.
“Ye Chen, give me your life!” Yan Bu’er gritted his teeth and lunged at Ye Chen, followed by Zhang Dadan, Liu Junyuan… A group of people quickly rushed up. Facing these former enemies, now all coming for revenge, Ye Chen was somewhat dumbfounded.
They say the dead cannot be reborn, but Ye Chen does not believe it; he insists on reviving Li Ruo, which violates the natural order. Unfortunately, he has such thoughts in his heart, and these people’s appearances make sense to Ye Chen.
“Yan Bu’er, go to hell!” Ye Chen panted heavily and then lunged at Yan Bu’er. Two groups of people instantly clashed together, Ye Chen appearing somewhat outnumbered, as the opponents had strength in numbers, and in this world, it seemed like each of them had become immortal fighters. Ye Chen could only do his best to cope, but no matter how he responded, the opponents’ abilities seemed always to surpass his, leaving Ye Chen puzzled and surprised.
“Ye Chen, you’re finished!” Zhang Dadan laughed coldly: “Show me the determination you had when you killed me!”
“Ye Chen, I will kill you!” Liu Junyuan gritted his teeth: “You killed me in front of so many people, killed my father, killed my sister. You killed my whole family, today I will use your blood to wash away our shame!”
As he said this, the group of people rushed up again. Ye Chen felt extremely exhausted, facing so many opponents, while he was alone. Suddenly, in Ye Chen’s mind, the old man’s words emerged, he must keep calm, mustn’t fall into the Demon Path, or he would never rise again.
Ye Chen suddenly stopped, closed his eyes, and then sat on the ground. He gritted his teeth and expelled all distractions from his mind. Yan Bu’er and others rushed up, kicking and punching Ye Chen. However, Ye Chen soon found that as the dark thoughts in his mind disappeared, these people became somewhat blurry.
“Ye Chen, if you have the guts, stand up and fight us!” Yan Bu’er roared.
“Ye Chen, you despicable person, come on if you have the guts!” Liu Junyuan and others roared one after another. Those who had been killed by Ye Chen seemed to appear before Ye Chen, provoking, insulting, torturing…
But no matter how they provoked, insulted, tortured, Ye Chen remained unmoved. He worked hard to maintain his composure, not getting angry at their provocations, not losing his temper at their insults, not giving up everything at their torture.
Soon, the sound beside his ears gradually weakened, and many people mysteriously disappeared from there. Just then, the sky began to darken, as strange lightning slashed across the sky. Yan Bu’er and the others screamed in terror, scattering frantically in all directions. Unfortunately, they couldn’t escape the heavens’ punishment; a single bolt of lightning struck them, scattering their souls, disappearing without a trace in an instant.
In the sky, a Black Lotus slowly descended. Amidst the haze, it seemed there was a person atop the Black Lotus, but Ye Chen couldn’t see clearly. He squinted his eyes and asked doubtfully, “Who are you!”
“I am you, you are me. We were originally the same entity!” The person smiled indifferently, “Years ago, you committed a terrible mistake and then decided to immerse yourself in worldly affairs for cultivation. Thus, you ended up like this today. Do you regret it?”
“Why should I regret?” Ye Chen looked at the figure, puzzled.
“Alright, I’ll return your memory to you!” The figure pointed at Ye Chen, and an eerie light entered Ye Chen’s mind, causing him intense pain. He rolled on the ground, his face flushed like dog blood. Holding his head with both hands, he struggled on the ground, just like Sun Wukong under Tang Seng’s tightening curse.
However, Ye Chen soon calmed down. Just, as he calmed down, everything about him seemed to change. His eyes held more of the vicissitudes of time, more traces of the passage of years. He looked at the pitch-black sky and uttered profound words: “I am the leader of the Dark World, my power is sealed in Beihai…”
“Now I ask you… Do you regret?” the figure asked again.
“No, I don’t regret!” Ye Chen stood up, looked up at the person on the Black Lotus, and said, “I am no longer the leader of the Dark World. This world belongs to you now. You can’t control my destiny!”
“Sigh…” The person on the Black Lotus sighed, seemingly confused by Ye Chen’s actions. He asked doubtfully, “I have several questions. Can you answer them?”
“Speak!” Ye Chen nodded, at that moment appearing enlightened and as if he had ascended into the Mortal World like a high monk.
“Why would you choose to be a humble, insignificant person rather than an all-powerful God who can achieve anything?” The person tilted his head, seemingly puzzled by Ye Chen’s actions. Ye Chen smiled indifferently and said, “Neither joy nor sorrow, emotionless and indifferent, what’s the benefit of being a God? Constantly cooped up in a godforsaken place. I prefer that earthly, mundane world, whether it’s love or hate. There’s sadness, there’s happiness. There are brothers, there are loved ones…”
Ye Chen passionately articulated the path of the Mortal World. Conversely, the person on the Black Lotus was shaken by Ye Chen’s words. He smiled, “With you saying this, I am shaken. Unfortunately, this world still needs me, otherwise, I would definitely join you for a journey in the Mortal World!”
“You have no chance!” Ye Chen shook his head and said, “That place isn’t suitable for you because there are too many things you deem evil!”
“Alright!” The person smiled and said, “I ask you one last time; do you truly want to relinquish your position as the leader?”
“Yes!” Ye Chen nodded, looking at that Great Thousand World filled with Eight-direction Divine Power, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, Black Tortoise… Eight Divine Powers supporting the entire Great Thousand World. The leader of the Dark World is equivalent to controlling the life of the entire world. Ye Chen doesn’t want to continue taking on such a responsibility. Being a God for a thousand years is no better than being a human for a day. That’s Ye Chen’s conclusion.
“Alright, I’ll give you one more chance. If next time you still tell me you want to give up this position, then I won’t hesitate to destroy your Divine Power, causing you to lose your Divine status forever!” The person smiled indifferently and then instantly disappeared into the air.
After the man on the Black Lotus vanished, Ye Chen felt a burst of pain in his head, feeling as if it was splitting open. Soon, he collapsed and fainted on the ground. Time flowed slowly, who knows how much has passed, perhaps the time in this world is equivalent to millions of spring and autumn in another.
When Ye Chen woke up and opened his eyes, the first person he saw was Du Meisha.
“Master!” Du Meisha anxiously shook Ye Chen, Ye Chen was naked, and down below he was embarrassingly erect. After waking, he suddenly sat up and asked Du Meisha in shock, “Du Meisha, when did I come out?”
“Ah?” Du Meisha was startled, looking at Ye Chen puzzled, “Master, where did you come from?”
“Which layer is this?” Ye Chen asked urgently.
“Master, this is the third layer!” Du Meisha answered hurriedly.
“Wasn’t I supposed to come back from the fourth layer?” Ye Chen was stunned.