This was Ye Zichen’s cycle of rebirth.
In order to verify his first impression, he returned to the start of the glowing portion and traced the illustrations with his fingers. He found that there were words beneath each image.
2717 B.C- 2599 B.C, the Yellow Emperor, Xuanyang.
1105 B.C-1045 B.C, King Zhou of Shang.
795 B.C- 771 B.C, King You of Zhou.
Ying Zheng, Lu Bu, Li Shimin, Zhao Kuangyin, Zhang Sanfeng.
The walls recorded their lifespan, as well as all the major events of their lives: their great friends and lovers, as well as their births and deaths.
Finally, he got to the end and saw the name….
Ye Zichen.
His ninth reincarnation.
These were obviously the records of Ye Zichen’s nine lives. His jaw dropped; he was too shocked to close his mouth. He only stood there, looking over the events big and small of his past lives. He had no idea what to see.
“If you’re done looking, come on over.” Suddenly, the scenery within the palace changed, and the staircase they’d been descending disappeared.
Ye Zichen and Su Yiyun reappeared in the center of a grand hall. A youth in dark purple robes sat at the front of the hall. He held an ancient tome, which he flipped through leisurely.
“Master.” Bald-headed Su Yiyun immediately bowed to him.
Despite his internal shock, Ye Zichen followed suit. “Junior Ye Zichen Greets His Excellency, Emperor Hades.”
In response, all he saw was he youth close his tome and set it aside. It was only then that he noticed the little bookshelf to the youth’s left. It was packed full of bamboo scrolls.
The youth glanced over at him, and Ye Zichen saw Emperor Hades’ face for the first time.
He was too young.
Nevermind the rest; just his tender youthfulness was in stark contrast with what Ye Zichen had imagined.
However, his gaze was as deep as the ocean, as if he’d seen through the ages. Ye Zichen felt as if he had no secrets left; that he was completely exposed.
“Yiyun, you can head out. I’d like to chat with this dear friend of yours.” After looking at Ye Zichen briefly, he addressed his disciple.
Su Yiyun nodded, cupped his fist, and said, “Then I’ll wait outside the hall.”
He turned and left. Ye Zichen wanted to signal with his eyes and try and get a feel for the situation. He didn’t know Emperor Hades at all, and he was baffled that such an expert would seek him out. Now he wanted to talk one-on-one?
Although Ye Zichen had seen quite a lot in his day, it was his first time meeting such a lofty existence, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous.
“Ye Zichen.” Once Su Yiyun had left the room, Emperor Hades addressed Ye Zichen for the first time.
He simply called his name and stopped, but simple as it was, this only multiplied the pressure on Ye Zichen.
He took a deep breath, cupped his fist, and said, “Your Excellency Emperor Hades, might this junior ask why you called me here, and why you sent Su Yiyun to fetch me instead of contacting me more directly?”
Given Emperor Hades’ status, there was no need to go through all that trouble just to see Ye Zichen.
“Also, it seemed like the two walls on the way down are related to my cycle of rebirth.”
“They are.”
“On the way down, this junior asked Su Yiyun, but he couldn’t see the images. Does that mean you meant for me to see them?”
“Of course.
“I’m afraid I don’t understand.” Ye Zichen cupped his hands and awaited an explanation.
“What does that have to do with me?” Emperor Hades flatly refused to explain himself.
It was inevitable that Ye Zichen would be confused; anyone would be a little lost after all that. There was nothing wrong with seeking out answers, but he’d forgotten…
That he was just a small fry who hadn’t even become a supreme yet.
Even if he was flourishing in the Lower Lands, in the face of Emperor Hades, who was on par with the God Emperor himself, he was nothing.
Ye Zichen didn’t understand, but that didn’t mean Emperor Hades would explain.
When he received such a clear refusal, Ye Zichen’s heart shook. This response reminded him that they weren’t on the same level. He silently lowered his head.
Emperor Hades looked him over a few times, then pulled a scroll from his shelf.
“Actually, I’ve kept an eye on you since long ago, dating back to your first ife as the Yellow Emperor.” Emperor Hades’ tone was flat, and he didn’t intentionally exert his authority like he did with other people.
Even so, hearing this made Ye Zichen’s heart shake, but when he recalled the images recorded on the painted walls, he knew Emperor Hades was telling the truth.
There was no need for Ye Zichen to speak. Emperor Hades set the scroll he was carrying down on a table, then pulled a few more from the shelf and placed them down as well.
“These scrolls contain records of all your past lives. What’s happened to you during your cycle of rebirth is quite interesting; when I have free time, I’ll flip through these scrolls to while away the time. Of course, I’m only telling you this to let you know that I’ve always been watching you.”
A calm smile surfaced on Emperor Hades’ lips. When he saw it, Ye Zichen asked, “Thank you for your concern, senior, although I’m not sure what about me is worthy of your attention.”
Emperor Hades chucked, but didn’t respond to Ye Zichen’s implied question.
It seemed like Emperor Hades wouldn’t answer any of his questions, and Ye Zichen had no interest in seeking out humiliation, so he decided to simply shut his mouth and let Emperor Hades say his piece.
“There’s some things you shouldn’t know, so it’s better not to ask. People get chattier as they get older. I almost forgot: I have important matters to discuss. Do you know the Five Elements Great Emperor?”
Why would he suddenly bring up the Five Elements Great Emperor? Ye Zichen furrowed his brows in befuddlement. Emperor Hades absolutely had a goal behind asking this question. Furthermore, Ye Zichen had no idea of what Emperor Hades’ relationship with the Five Elements Great Emperor was like or if he got along with the God Emperor or not.
“I’ve heard his name.” If he said he didn’t know, it would sound fake, but if he said he did, well, the Five Elements Great Emperor had been dead for tens of thousands of years, and the God Emperor had sealed away all information about him.
Just saying he’d heard of him seemed the most appropriate.
“You’ve heard of him? Is that all?” To his surprise, Emperor Hades smiled inexplicably, then hooked a finger at Ye Zichen. He sensed a mysterious wave from within his spatial ring, and before long, the Yao-Sealing Pagoda flew out from within.
The pitch-black pagoda flew right towards Emperor Hades and landed in his palm. “Then how do you explain the Yao-Sealing Pagoda?”
