“We should go to.” This time, he addressed Xue Qi and the others. Although they were pretty strong by the Lower Three Realms’ standards, compared to sky supremes, they were utterly insignificant.
With outsiders present, all Xue Qi, Xue Lan, and Stone could do was watch from the sidelines.
Now that they were gone, Stone was the first to walk up and pound Ye Zichen on the shoulder. “You brat, where the heck have you been all these years?”
Stone was a coarse, brawny fellow, but now even his eyes were a bit bloodshot. He dimly recalled the day Ye Zichen first arrived at their village. At the time, Stone looked after him like an older brother.
In the blink of an eye, one hundred years had passed. Ye Zichen had become a supreme, while Stone was still just a sky immortal. The gap between them was enormous, but trivial details like that wouldn’t diminish their brotherly affection in the slightest,
“I became a god.” Ye Zichen didn’t know how else to explain himself, so he left it at that.
Stone froze in shock, then lit up with delight. “Great! Becoming a god is a wonderful thing! So, you have a conscience after all, you brat! Even after becoming a god, you remembered to come back and check on your old friends. This goes without saying, but tonight, we’re all getting drunk!”
“No problem,” Ye Zichen smiled brightly. “But before that, we have to properly mourn our fallen comrades.”
When someone seized their leaders, the members of Maple City’s Leisure House base were left in a panic. They didn’t settle down until Xue Qi and the others returned.
Half a month.
Everyone in the sect silently mourned those who’d fallen. This was part of the Leisure House’s rules; they did this whenever a member passed away.
However, after half a month, their mourning gave way to celebrating Ye Zichen’s return.
News of his arrival wasn’t limited to the Leisure House. They intentionally spread it to the Heavenly Court, Underworld, the rest of the Immortal Realm, and the Limitless Beast Region. Everyone who was acquainted with Ye Zichen showed up too.
“Brother, it’s really been far too long.” The banquet never paused. Ye Zichen had just seen a group from the Beast Region off when the Underworld’s Ox Head and Horse Face approached and proposed a toast.
They were old acquaintances, so Ye Zichen was delighted to see them too.
“Long time no see. Why haven’t Xie Bi’an and the others come as well?”
“We lost four of our eight ghost martials. If Xie Bi’an and the others came, what would the Underworld do?” teased Ox Head.
“Fair enough.” Ye Zichen nodded.
“See how petty the underworld is? The marshalls of the Heavenly Court came when they were supposed to. It’s just Ol’ Xie who isn’t giving you face, Emperor Ye.” At that moment, the God of Thunder walked in, wine glass in hand.
Ox Head smiled in greeting. “I won’t argue on Ol’ Xie’s behalf. Emperor Ye, I actually agree; he’s not giving you face.”
“Who said I’m not giving Emperor Ye face? Stand up and face me!” Surprisingly, Xie Bi’an laughed and walked right in. White Impermanence, who’d once shared quite a few adventures with Ye Zichen, walked alongside him.
“How’d you make it here?” Ox Head arched his brows.
“The Northern Fengdu Emperor sent me,” said Xie Bi’an with a smile. He pulled a wineglass toward him. “Hey, this isn’t like our immortal brew.”
“Emperor Ye brought it from the God Realm,” laughed Ox Head. “You’re lucky you’re here; otherwise you really would have missed out big time!”
“Ha ha ha, I got here just in time!” Xie Bi’an drained his cup in a single gulp, then wiped his mouth dry. “Good wine!”
“Emperor Ye, you’re still a member of our Immortal Region. Not contacting us for a hundred years was a bit over the line! I demand an explanation!” Suiren laughed uproariously and stroked his head. This ancient elder of the Immortal Region had given his whole life to the Immortal Region, and planned to spend his remaining days here too. Given his strength, he could have ascended to the God Realm, but he preferred his home.
The way he put it was, when people got old, they lost interest in going off on adventures.
He’d rather stay here and watch his descendants grow up until he reached the limits of his lifespan, then go peacefully to his eternal rest. He didn’t want the conflict of the God Realm; he really didn’t have it in him.
“Alright, alright, I was wrong. I’ll drink three glasses as punishment.”
The atmosphere of the banquet was vibrant. For so many major powers to gather in one place was rare and glorious indeed.
A few uninvited immortal kings wanted to slip in, but when they saw the guests, not even immortal kings dared act recklessly.
The guests’ status and seniority were far too lofty.
After three rounds, everyone had just about drunk their fill, and the old friends started chatting.
Horse Face spoke the most. Although he normally just followed Ox Head around and said nothing but “You’re right, Brother Ox Head” when he was drunk, he turned into a chatterbox.
He complained about everyone, starting the humblest ghosts of the Underworld all the way to the ten Yama Kings. In the end, Ox Head knocked him unconscious, but if he hadn’t, who knows? He might have even started complaining about Great Sacred Emperor Equaling Heavens, too.
“He’s drunk. Please, everyone, just take everything he said as a joke.” Ox Head head placed Horse Face off to the side and laughed with the others.
“No problem, people like us all have a bellyfull of troubles,” chuckled the God of Thunder. “We’re drunk and there are no outsiders present, so we might as well let it all out.”
“Emperor Ye, how long are you going to stay this time?” asked the God of Fortune.
“I ought to head back soon,” said Ye Zichen. He wasn’t free and unfettered; he had a whole gang to support him. This time, he’d infuriated the Lightning Emperor’s Xiao Family, and he really didn’t trust those other supremes. Right now, Upheaval was still in its early stages. He couldn’t fully relax unless he was there to keep an eye on it.
Besides, he was now a supreme. The Laws wouldn’t let him stay for too long.
“To the God Realm, huh?” He didn’t know who it was, but someone sighed, and the others’ eyes lit up with longing. They were different from Suiren; they weren’t nearing the end of their life, and they still wanted to take that next step and see the God Realm for themselves.
“Emperor Ye, just what is the God Realm like?”
“The God Realm, huh?”
He described its scenery, and the surrounding immortals’ expressions changed.
“Nine Divine Mountains?”
“Gods, Yao, and Demons have a friendly relationship?”
“The God, Yao, and Demon Emperors?”
In short, all of this was new and exciting, and it only increased their longing to ascend.
“I really don’t know when I’ll finally be able to ascend,” muttered the God of Thunder.
Of the members of the Heavenly Court Ye Zichen was well acquainted with, only the God of Thunder and God of Fortune had yet to ascend.
A few years ago, Third Prince Nezha underwent tribulation and ascended, and his father followed shortly after. He didn’t know what kind of opportunity they’d run into, but the two geezers Yue Lao and Old Lord Taijun ascended just a few months ago. Now the Gods of Thunder and Fortune only had each other to depend on.
Ye Zichen patted the God of Thunder’s shoulder. Rushing this sort of thing didn’t help.
Suddenly, something occurred to Ye Zichen. He couldn’t help but turn to the Gods of Thunder and Fortune and ask, “Your Heavenly Court’s guy who does communications devices, I mean the guy who can put lots of people in a group, has he ascended yet?”
