Like a Dream

Wang Yangzi’s appearance caught Chen Xia completely off guard, more so than even the members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea.

Wang Yangzi stood before him, one hand resting on the hilt of his flying sword, and smiled at Chen Xia.

“I had to travel quite a distance to find you, the Medicine Ancestor.”

“Why go through such trouble at your age? Just wait for me to come find you,” Chen Xia replied with a shake of his head.

“Who knows if I’ll still be around by the time you return? It’s always a good thing to meet an old friend who’s been through life and death together.” Wang Yangzi continued to smile.

He didn’t recognize the members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea, but they were likely friends of Chen Xia.

Chen Xia introduced both sides, and they all seemed to be on good terms.

Emperor Capital quickly nodded, grabbing Wang Yangzi’s hand with excitement and saying,

“Your esteemed name, Elder Wang, has long been heard in Emperor Capital. I know you’re a great cultivator from the realm, extremely formidable!”

“Ah, is that so?” Wang Yangzi scratched his head, looking a bit embarrassed, before apologizing,

“But I’ve never heard of Elder Emperor Capital. It must be my ignorance.”

Emperor Capital’s expression froze, his enthusiasm fading as he let go of Wang Yangzi’s hand and stepped back, feeling that the old man was quite out of touch and couldn’t even exchange a few words of flattery.

“Don’t take it personally. He’s just like that.” Chen Xia commented.

“Indeed.” Qiu Li agreed.

“Alright, perhaps I’m being too presumptuous.” Wang Yangzi offered an apologetic smile.

The group slowly got to know each other through casual conversation. Chen Xia sat aside, his eyes carrying a hint of killing intent as he sent a mental message to Daoist Suppressing Heaven.

“Was Wang Yangzi’s arrival also arranged by you?”

“No,” Daoist Suppressing Heaven calmly replied and added,

“The great era has begun, and your opportunities will naturally come, one after another. The only thing I’ve done is bring the members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea from the Great Heaven.”

“You’re aware that the Immortal Realm is in turmoil?” Chen Xia’s mental voice carried hints of anger.

“You need transformation and opportunities. Otherwise, you won’t be able to compete with the Five Paths Great Emperor, who has cultivated for hundreds of thousands of years, much less the Martial Emperor, who has been undefeated for countless years.”

“The Immortal Realm may be in turmoil, but isn’t it also your chance?”

Chen Xia sat silently, continuing to ask,

“So, you sent them to the Immortal Realm to die in this chaos?”

“Once you become invincible, they naturally won’t die,” Daoist Suppressing Heaven replied serenely.

Chen Xia’s expression grew somber, and he stopped asking further questions. He turned his attention to preparing for alchemy, intending to create a life-saving imperial pill for each person present. It was the least he could do now.

After Tian Di destroyed three-tenths of Cloudzhou with a single strike, strange events began to unfold in Baohuan Linzhou. A ruler of the Immortal Realm led a rebellion of former cultivators, attempting to break free from Baohuan Linzhou.

Among these Immortal Realm cultivators was Xu Zhen.

The ruler of the Divine Domain naturally wouldn’t allow this, casually suppressing the chaos with a single hand and slaying the leader of the rebellion, an emperor of the Immortal Realm, to quell the revolt.

However, when it came to Xu Zhen, he hesitated. Considering Chen Xia’s involvement, he didn’t dare act against her directly, so he decided to slowly control Xu Zhen within Baohuan Linzhou, meanwhile using his clone to seek out Chen Xia.

“This is the situation. What do you propose we do?” The ruler of the Divine Domain asked Chen Xia.

Chen Xia paused before suggesting,

“Why don’t you just hand over the entire Fuyao Immortal Sect to me?”

“You may not know, but Xu Zhen joined the rebellion precisely to come to East Jia State to find you,” the ruler of the Divine Domain said flatly.

“Well, there you go. You might as well give me the Fuyao Immortal Sect and Xu Zhen. I’ll give you a sincere thank you in return, and we can consider it an equal exchange.” Chen Xia grinned.

“How about three imperial pills and one request from you after you become an emperor?”

“Two and a half, bro,” Chen Xia negotiated.

“The last time was two and a half, and now you’re still asking for the same? Do you think I can combine two and a half into one or something?” the ruler of the Divine Domain retorted.

“Why not? Give it a try,” Chen Xia suggested.

“Enough, three imperial pills and one request from you after becoming an emperor. That’s final. Don’t agree, forget it.” The ruler of the Divine Domain shot back decisively.

Chen Xia had no choice. He couldn’t win against him, so he agreed.

This was still a good deal, though, as it allowed him to have both the Fuyao Immortal Sect and Xu Zhen by his side.

With the agreement reached, the ruler of the Divine Domain expelled Xu Zhen and the Fuyao Immortal Sect from Baohuan Linzhou under the pretense of banishment.

Xu Zhen was overjoyed, leading the cultivators of the Fuyao Immortal Sect to settle in East Jia State. She then excitedly headed to the Heaven Pill Gate.

She saw Li Yang and Li Yue standing at the gates.

Xu Zhen frowned, sensing something unusual. Her gaze wandered and landed on the members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea, but she didn’t see Chen Xia. She couldn’t help but ask,

“Where’s Brother Chen?”

The members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea looked at her, with Emperor Capital asking curiously,

“Why are you asking about brother Chen?”

“What business is it of yours?” Xu Zhen frowned again, her gaze landing on Li Yang and Li Yue. “Who are you two?”

The atmosphere between them started to get tense.

“What’s going on? What’s going on?” Chen Xia hurried out from within the Heaven Pill Gate, holding a spatula, and quickly assessed the situation before stopping the argument.

“We’re all family here. What’s there to argue about? Let me introduce everyone.”

He briefly explained the situation, and Xu Zhen understood, her attitude improving significantly. As Chen Xia’s Blue Sky Sword Sea, it was also her Blue Sky Sword Sea, making them all family.

Xu Zhen quickly became friendly with the members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea, chatting and laughing, getting along very well.

After that, East Jia State remained calm for a long time, and no chaos or battles occurred in other states. The emperors didn’t engage in combat.

Soon, a major event happened at the Ninth Mountain. Huang Qingyue broke through and came out of seclusion, becoming the current ruler of the Ninth Mountain. Her blue skirt billowing at the mountaintop, radiating a commanding presence, she descended the mountain.

Now, let’s see what the first thing the new ruler of the Ninth Mountain did after coming out of seclusion.

She directly headed for East Jia State, arriving at the Heaven Pill Gate and eagerly shouting,

“Brother Chen, Brother Chen!”

Xu Zhen peeked her head out from the gate, her eyes squinting with a smile as she asked Huang Qingyue,

“Who are you calling?”

Huang Qingyue froze, scratching her head, looking a bit dazed.

Fortunately, she didn’t stay confused for too long, as she quickly got into an argument with Xu Zhen. Luckily, they didn’t come to blows, allowing everyone to enjoy the spectacle, even placing bets on who would come out on top.

Chen Xia sat inside the house, not intervening. He held a spatula but didn’t cook. Instead, he stared blankly at the sky, his eyes revealing a rare gentleness.

Outside, the quarreling continued, mingled with the persuasions from the members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea, and the provocations from Emperor Capital.

Everything was peaceful.

Peaceful as if in a dream.