Chapter 1 Snowfall

In mid-air, shimmering snowflakes suddenly fell.

A chill surged through the air.

The cold wind blew past, and both Butterfly Messengers were unable to withstand the sudden cold. Instinctively, they huddled together, then spun silk threads around themselves, firmly forming a large cocoon.

They entered a state of self-protective hibernation, losing all sensation of the outside world, unless someone violently tore apart the cocoon in which they hid.

Having little combat power, this was the only self-preserving measure the Butterfly Messengers possessed, barely considered reliable.

At least breaking their cocoons wouldn't be easy.

Ye Chuqi, still stubbornly wearing his white mask, appeared through the wind and snow. "Ying Shu's residence is cleverly hidden. If Jin Buyi hadn't later used the Heaven and Earth Chessboard to find it through global control, it would be difficult for others to know."

"Later?" Ye Chuxiao raised his head. A drop of thick ink fell onto the painting, immediately adding a flaw to the beautiful landscape.

Ye Chuqi looked at Ye Chuxiao, a complex emotion in his eyes.

Then, he actually took off his mask.

Indeed... it was Ye Chuqi.

Although there had been speculation before, it was only now confirmed.

"Brother! Do you believe in rebirth?" Ye Chuqi suddenly asked.

The question came so suddenly that Ye Chuxiao's heart skipped a beat.

Speaking of which, Ye Chuxiao should be considered both a transmigrator and reborn, right?

Ye Chuxiao's expression didn't change as he nodded. "I do believe! After the Mystic Realm, the soul is completely condensed, gaining Yin longevity. After losing the physical body, there are indeed some special methods to seize bodies, reincarnate, or borrow a body to be reborn, turning Yin longevity into Yang longevity."

"However, most of these methods have flaws. Either fatal weaknesses remain after rebirth, or one transforms into a demon, losing their humanity."

"From a cost-effectiveness perspective, it's better to become a ghost cultivator."

Ye Chuxiao used a long string of words to completely calm his emotions.

At the same time, he wondered why Ye Chuqi would ask such a question.

Ye Chuqi shook his head. "I'm not talking about that kind of rebirth, but... after a person dies, they return from decades later to decades earlier. The memory, even the soul, crosses the distance of time to be reborn."

"Aren't you curious how I, as someone from the Primordial Origin Church, accurately know Ying Shu's secrets, when she is an Immaculate Celestial Maiden of the Primordial Origin Church?"

"Logically speaking, in terms of cultivation, although we are both in the Primordial Origin Church, we are far apart."

Ye Chuxiao put down his brush and looked seriously at Ye Chuqi. "Are you trying to tell me that you have been reborn from decades in the future?"

Ye Chuxiao's heart was far more turbulent than he showed.

He was a transmigrator, while Ye Chuqi was a reborn... wasn't that a coincidence?

Looking at it this way, the first to be exposed, his little sister Ye Chuyu, really became the weakest of the family?

But... if what Ye Chuqi said was true, then in his original understanding, what happened to his real older brother, Ye Chuxiao?

When Ye Chuxiao thought of this, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat.

"Is it possible that you're just under a delusion?"

"I know at least a dozen ways to cast illusions that would give people a similar misconception. I even personally saw a cultivator, so immersed in an illusion that he couldn't break free, believing himself to be a reincarnated ancient Celestial Emperor, spouting nonsense... only to be easily blown apart by others." Ye Chuxiao completely calmed down and asked Ye Chuqi.

Ye Chuxiao was actually talking about his experiences in the Academy World.

The cultivator who was blown apart was the one he had cast an illusion on, making him believe he was an ancient Celestial Emperor.

Ye Chuqi walked to Ye Chuxiao's side, his expression complex and hard to describe.

"In six days, Divine Constable Lu Baimei will be found dead in his mansion, with twelve knife wounds. His internal organs will have been emptied. The Six Doors will be in an uproar, but after many days of investigation, there will be no results. Two months later, Jin Buyi will emerge from the dungeon, regain power, and target Daoist Yan Po."

"Then, half a year later, he will fight Daoist Yan Po at Misty Gorge on the Lan River, killing Yan Po at Misty Gorge, solving this major case, and thus gaining high authority within the Six Doors, beginning to rival Shi Huang."

"If you and I haven't had a greater impact on the future, then what I'm saying might all become reality," Ye Chuqi said to Ye Chuxiao.

Ye Chuxiao was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Whether what you're saying is true or false... why are you telling me this?"

Ye Chuqi looked at the sky absentmindedly. "Brother! You don't know how surprised and delighted I was when I was reborn and discovered that you... were still alive."

"Last time, because of my immaturity, I exposed my identity to my fellow disciples in the Primordial Origin Church, which led to your tribulation. But when I saw you successfully overcome the danger, I thought it was because my rebirth had caused a change."

"But even though I had you pass on a message to Tang Sudong, Tang Sudong still chose to sacrifice himself to the Dao."

Ye Chuxiao was slightly surprised to hear this. He had originally thought that Ye Chuqi had him deliver the message to Tang Sudong in order to push Tang Sudong to 'commit suicide' and complete the sacrifice to the Dao.

So, that wasn't the case!

"That's right! What kind of person is Tang Sudong? How could his life and death be influenced by a few words from me?" Ye Chuxiao couldn't help but feel a little ridiculous about his initial arrogance.

"Not only did Tang Sudong sacrifice himself to the Dao, but Ying Shu still chose Jin Buyi to be her cauldron."

"In that game, when everyone thought Ying Shu had the upper hand, the one who won in the end was Jin Buyi. He deceived everyone with one ingenious illusion after another," Ye Chuqi said, as if he had let go of his concerns, recklessly revealing the secrets hidden in his heart.

"Wait! Don't talk nonsense." Ye Chuxiao thought of Ying Shu's prying eyes and stopped Ye Chuqi.

Regardless of whether Ye Chuqi was really a reborn person, assuming he was telling the truth... then the information he possessed would be extremely important.

How could such crucial information be eavesdropped on by Ying Shu?

Ye Chuqi smiled. "Don't worry! I've slightly modified the formation here. Even Ying Shu can't sense what you're seeing and hearing right now. Ying Shu actually put a lot of effort into building this courtyard. It's her secret residence in the Divine Capital, able to hide from various searches and sweeps. This is its advantage. I've just taken advantage of this to guard against Ying Shu."

"How did Jin Buyi deceive Ying Shu, and how did he create the illusions? Tell me in detail." Since Ye Chuqi had said so, Ye Chuxiao could only believe him.

Of course, Ye Chuxiao was most interested in how Jin Buyi reversed the situation, overcame Ying Shu, and won the final victory in this battle for the Heart Elixir.

After all, from the current situation, Jin Buyi was clearly a 'loser', constantly being fooled by Ying Shu.

"Wait! Ye Chuqi said earlier that in his original memory, Jin Buyi would be released from prison in two months. In other words, even without my intervention, Jin Buyi still suffered setbacks during the Cloud Dream Marsh Dragon Palace incident and was eventually imprisoned."

"Logically, this is impossible, because in this incident, I clearly played a pivotal role in the final outcome. I was a huge driving force, a catalyst."

"If I'm excluded, and the result is still the same... then there must be deeper secrets behind this, beyond the information I have. No matter what I did in the process, the result is fixed. Perhaps the only thing I saved was myself, and those innocent Six Doors constables." Ye Chuxiao's mood turned gloomy. He didn't completely believe Ye Chuqi's 'rebirth' story, but assuming it was true, then he had clearly been fooled as well.

"I don't know the specifics, after all, Jin Buyi wouldn't write his success story into a book and publish it in detail, letting everyone know," Ye Chuqi said, spreading his hands.

Ye Chuxiao agreed with this statement. Even from a historical perspective, could one really know all the truths in history?

It was just wishful thinking!

"However, in terms of results, there are a few important nodes that cannot be ignored. First, the death of Divine Constable Lu Baimei, and Daoist Yan Po being framed as the murderer, but not refuting the accusation, instead agreeing to a duel with Jin Buyi, and eventually being killed. There must be hidden secrets in this. Then, three years later, Ying Shu broke into the eighth level of the Ministry of Justice's dungeon, seemingly alarming something, and then fled severely injured, unable to even leave the Divine Capital, and eventually hid in this courtyard for half a year."

"Half a year later, Jin Buyi married Princess Xiao Yun, and also borrowed the Heaven and Earth Chessboard, an important treasure of the Imperial Clan. He simulated the myriad phenomena of the Divine Capital in the chessboard, then destroyed it, thereby finding the small courtyard where Ying Shu was hiding."

"After finding Ying Shu, the two of them engaged in a great battle in the Divine Capital. In the end, Ying Shu was nailed to the Vermilion Bird Gate by Jin Buyi, and drained of her essence, Qi, and spirit."

"Before Ying Shu died, she shouted, 'Who exactly are you!' and then passed away."

"I saw part of that great battle with my own eyes."

"So I'm pretty sure about this part."

Ye Chuqi told Ye Chuxiao everything he knew about the struggle between Ying Shu and Jin Buyi.

"So you're pushing me to participate in the struggle between these two people? Trying to find the truth?" Ye Chuxiao wasn't blaming him, but trying to understand Ye Chuqi's plan.

As far as the current results were concerned, Ye Chuxiao was benefiting.

Ye Chuqi shook his head with a wry smile. "I just wanted to use you to test Ying Shu's tone, to try to grasp more information. I didn't know that cultivating the Longevity Saber would be related to becoming Ying Shu's cauldron. It wasn't until I discovered that you had actually moved into this courtyard hidden by Ying Shu that I was sure you had also obtained a part of Ying Shu's Heart Elixir, and I had no choice but to appear and have an open and honest conversation with you."

"If I had known earlier that you, a mere Ability Realm cultivator at the time, could be targeted by Ying Shu, who wasn't picky about what she ate, I wouldn't have let you take the risk."

Although Ye Chuqi was Ye Chuxiao's younger brother, Ye Chuqi, who believed he had lived several decades longer, instead treated Ye Chuxiao as his 'younger brother', wanting to help him plan and arrange his path.

"Maybe it's because I'm too outstanding!" Ye Chuxiao said.

Ye Chuxiao was much more open-minded than Ye Chuqi about getting involved with the Heart Elixir.

It wasn't like he didn't have a way out. Even if the future Jin Buyi caused a storm, that was still a matter for the future.

People living in the present didn't need to be frightened by the things of tomorrow.

Ye Chuxiao didn't believe that with his participation, Jin Buyi's plans and calculations could still succeed.

"You care about the Heart Elixir struggle between Ying Shu and Jin Buyi because of Jin Buyi?" Ye Chuxiao asked Ye Chuqi.

Ye Chuqi nodded. "Yes! After winning the Heart Elixir struggle, Jin Buyi broke through to the Unfixed Realm, completely surpassing Shi Huang and becoming the number one person in the Six Doors. Then, he recklessly seized power, feigning support for the Emperor, but in reality using the Emperor's name to eliminate dissidents. In just ten years, he made the people live in misery. Later, he directly killed the Emperor and sat on the Dragon Throne himself, changing the country's name to 'Jin'."

"After that, in order to cultivate a demonic art, he recklessly absorbed the earth's veins, leading to frequent earthquakes and floods. The world was on the verge of collapse under his abuse. The Primordial Origin Church organized forces to besiege him, wanting to stop Jin Buyi from acting against morality, but he uprooted the Primordial Origin Church in this world."

"Since then, those in this world who still had some ability chose to flee to other worlds. Those who stayed in this world lived in constant insecurity."

"Some people believe that it was Tang Sudong's sacrifice to the Dao that released this demon, so I thought that perhaps preventing Tang Sudong from committing suicide from the very beginning could solve this disaster at its source."

Ye Chuxiao digested this information, feeling that it was a bit unreliable, but also thought that it might not be impossible.

The Unfixed Realm was a realm that Ye Chuxiao didn't understand, not even having in-depth information about it.

He didn't have much of a concept of what cultivators in this realm could do.

At the same time, Ye Chuxiao wasn't sure if there were other Unfixed Realm cultivators within the Great Heng Dynasty.

"In short, if everything you're saying is true, then as long as we put obstacles in Jin Buyi's way and prevent him from continuing down the 'old path', that's the right thing to do."

"And right now, the key thing is Lu Baimei's death in six days!"

"If we can prevent Lu Baimei from being killed, or figure out who killed Lu Baimei and why, we can disrupt Jin Buyi's rhythm, right?" Ye Chuxiao asked Ye Chuqi.

At the same time, he thought to himself, "Similarly, the Lu Baimei incident is also a touchstone to verify whether what Ye Chuqi is saying is true or false."

"If someone really comes to kill Lu Baimei, and proves that they have the strength to kill Lu Baimei, then it means that what Ye Chuqi is saying is likely to be true."

"That's right!" Ye Chuqi nodded.

"It's just that with our abilities alone, I'm afraid it will be difficult to intervene."

"Although I have the memories and soul strength of rebirth, my cultivation is still only at the Ability Realm, even worse than yours. I just have more methods and am better at hiding."

"And you're just a Mystic Realm cultivator."

"Lu Baimei is also an Intent Realm cultivator. The person who can kill him must be at least at the Intent Realm."

"Where are we going to find an Intent Realm cultivator?"

"We can't just report this to Shi Huang, right! He won't believe me, and he won't believe you." Ye Chuqi sighed and shook his head, throwing out a series of questions, clearly having been struggling with this problem for a long time.

"There is one person we might be able to try!" Ye Chuxiao said.

"No! To be safe, we need to find two more..." Ye Chuxiao's mind was quick, not interrupting himself at all.

Ye Chuqi looked at Ye Chuxiao in surprise. From what Ye Chuxiao was saying, he could find not just one Intent Realm expert?

What kind of amazing older brother was this?

Was this still his older brother who died young?

Who cares about who's the reborn one?

Although Intent Realm experts weren't Unfixed Realm cultivators, and were relatively rare in all the heavens and worlds, they were also the top-tier combat power of real cultivators, and not so common.

Before his rebirth, Ye Chuqi was only at the Intent Realm.

He wandered in other worlds for decades, eventually dying in a demonic disaster.

If it wasn't for the loss of his homeland, forcing him to choose to wander through the heavens, so that he had no foothold, and the various side effects of cultivation frequently occurred in his body, he actually had a chance to step into the Unfixed Realm.

"Who are you talking about?" Ye Chuqi asked, not understanding.

Ye Chuxiao said, "First is Yan Po. He's the person Jin Buyi framed, but he didn't refute the other party's claims, so he was clearly caught with evidence against him."

"Since that's the case, perhaps the clues have already begun to appear."

"So to find out the truth, contacting Yan Po is an essential step."

Ye Chuxiao was enthusiastic about this matter, not only because of the series of effects that Jin Buyi caused later in Ye Chuqi's description, but also because he was already in the game, and only by taking the initiative and actively attacking could he occupy a more favorable position, using offense as defense... he might not be able to steal part of Jin Buyi's trajectory for himself.

"What if Yan Po is the murderer?"

"Assuming he was just framed, this is my idea, it doesn't represent the facts," Ye Chuqi said.

Ye Chuxiao said, "So we have to find the other two dragons first!"

"By the way! Since you've been reborn from the future, do you know where the Cloud Dream Cauldron of the Cloud Dream Marsh is?"

Ye Chuqi pondered for a moment and said, "This... I don't know very well, but in the second year after Jin Buyi took power, a big explosion occurred on Mount Yao, blowing up the entire mountaintop, making it bald for a large section. Jin Buyi also went into seclusion for more than a year after that big explosion. Some people suspect that he was seriously injured at that time."

"My original plan was that if things dragged on until that time and I still hadn't stopped Jin Buyi's rise, I would take advantage of the time when he might be seriously injured to assassinate him."

"In a few more years, my cultivation should be completely restored."

"Okay! I understand!" Ye Chuxiao didn't delay. Then, he and Ye Chuqi went out together to look for the Dragon King and Dragon Queen on Mount Yao.

On the mountainside of a peak on Mount Yao, Ye Chuxiao played the Six Bewitching Dragon Sounds. This was originally a song to summon dragons. Ye Chuxiao had used this song to drive the Dragon Gu and suppress Jin Buyi, and also helped the two dragons capture Corpse Pile Old Man. Now it was perfect for summoning the Dragon King and Dragon Queen.

The music was melodious, and with the effect of Ye Chuxiao's shaking energy transmission, it floated above half of Mount Yao.

Before long, Dragon Queen Yuan Meng appeared before Ye Chuxiao.

"You're here to find me. Have you decided what you want?" Yuan Meng asked Ye Chuxiao.

Yuan Meng had promised to give Ye Chuxiao some more benefits on the official ship.

Ye Chuxiao didn't mention it at the time.

Now, although they had left the official ship, Yuan Meng could deny it, but she didn't plan to cheat.

Her style was obviously very different from that of the Old Dragon King, Yuan Zhen.

"Yes! I want you and the Dragon King to accompany me to see someone, and then go to the mansion of Divine Constable Lu Baimei in six days," Ye Chuxiao said.

Yuan Meng shook her head upon hearing this. "The Dragon King and I don't have that time."

"Boy! I promised to give you benefits, but you can't push your luck."

Ye Chuxiao said, "What if I exchange it for the whereabouts of the Cloud Dream Cauldron?"

Yuan Meng frowned slightly, then said, "You're not the first person to come to trade the whereabouts of the Cloud Dream Cauldron recently. Boy... I think you're pleasing to the eye, so I hope you're not wasting my time."

Ye Chuxiao said, "Your thinking is right. For that old castrated dragon, Mount Yao is indeed the best place for him to hide the Cloud Dream Cauldron."

"But there are too many hidden secret realms on Mount Yao, and most of the secret realms have owners, so it's not good to break in forcefully. If you keep looking like this, you'll offend people, and you'll easily be used as a weapon."

"I think you might as well think about what other places on Mount Yao that old castrated dragon can go to, but also feel the safest place?"

"Targeted efforts are always better than blindly blundering."

Yuan Meng pondered for a moment, then shifted her gaze upwards, looking towards the summit of Mount Yao.

That was the top secret realm of the entire Mount Yao, a private secret realm of the Imperial Family. Without permission, entering without authorization was tantamount to treason.

The Old Castrated Dragon had a close relationship with the late Emperor, perhaps he had been summoned to enter the summit of Mount Yao.

If he took the opportunity to hide the Cloud Dream Cauldron on the summit of Mount Yao, that would indeed be extremely safe.

"Unfortunately, we are not allowed to go to the summit of Mount Yao. This order was given by the Duke of Zhenhai, and Yuan Jia and I don't dare disobey," Yuan Meng said.

"Duke of Zhenhai?" Ye Chuxiao carefully searched for this term in his mind.

Then he suddenly remembered that this wasn't a term that had appeared in the last one or two hundred years.

But the title of a great eunuch who had spread his fame to the four seas more than three hundred years ago.

It was also this great eunuch who suppressed the four seas of the Great Heng Dynasty, preventing the barbarians of the four seas and overseas cultivators and demons from wantonly plundering around the coast of the Great Heng Dynasty.

"A name from more than three hundred years ago is still appearing now, suppressing Yuan Meng and Yuan Jia from daring to act rashly..."

Ye Chuxiao's pupils dilated slightly. "Unfixed Realm!"

"There are Unfixed Realm experts in the Great Heng Dynasty. Tang Sudong, who sacrificed himself to the Dao, isn't the only Unfixed Realm cultivator."

"But if there is an Unfixed Realm expert sitting in the Great Heng Dynasty, how could Jin Buyi be able to completely control the court in just ten years, and even usurp the throne after breaking through to the Unfixed Realm?"

Ye Chuxiao exhaled.

The places he didn't understand needed to be unraveled slowly.

Of course, the foundation of all doubts was built on the premise that what Ye Chuqi said was the truth.

"I can help you arrange for the Duke of Zhenhai to lift the ban, and even help you enter the summit of Mount Yao to find the Cloud Dream Cauldron."

"In fact, if the matter of helping you this time is successfully resolved, you might be able to win over a very good ally." Ye Chuxiao tried hard to start painting a cake.

Yuan Meng didn't show any emotion, but there was a slight fluctuation in her eyes.

Ye Chuxiao continued to exert his strength and said, "I'm from the Six Doors. After this incident, I'm deeply valued by Divine Constable Shi Huang. If I help you, it will be better than you running around like headless flies."

"Moreover, you also want to find the Cloud Dream Cauldron as soon as possible and then return to the Cloud Dream Marsh, right!"