Out of fear of death, Invest Everything into Health-Chapter 340 - 164: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Knocking on the Door of Desire! (End of Volume)

Chapter 340: Chapter 164: For Whom the Bell Tolls, Knocking on the Door of Desire! (End of Volume)

At this moment, Ye Chuxuan’s appearance was strikingly beautiful, his demeanor ethereal as if detached from the mundane. He did not face Chengming as the Great Li Emperor; an emperor should command respect without anger, should be majestic. He faced an old friend as an old friend.

"At that time, our minds were full of visions."

Chengming shook his head, "No. Only my mind was full of visions. And you, you had long thought of how to cut off the path of the Imperial Dynasty. Ye Chuxuan, during the years in Shilong Lane, I wondered why you became like this. At first, I thought it was the identity of the Great Li Emperor that changed you. Later I realized, you never changed; you have always been this way."

"In what way?" Ye Chuxuan asked with a smile.

"In your eyes, there is only yourself. Everything around you is just a step for you. Friends, family, ministers, the people... the dragon throne is your step, even Great Li is just your step." Chengming looked at him calmly.

Once, when they were young, Chengming asked Ye Chuxuan if there was anyone he aspired to be.

Ye Chuxuan’s answer was the Emperor of the Shangjing Immortal Dynasty, Jiang Xuan. Ye Chuxuan admired Jiang Xuan so much that he changed his name from "Ye Chuchen" to "Ye Chuxuan." He yearned to become an Emperor like Jiang Xuan, who could dominate the four directions and suppress the eight wildernesses, receiving the worship of thousands of immortals.

Ye Chuxuan looked toward a place in the city where rain clouds gathered in the sky, pouring down torrential rain. "Our friend here is quite adept at calling the wind and rain."

Chengming understood his implication, "Do not think others are like you."

"Oh? So, what is he like?" Ye Chuxuan squinted, "What is his goal? What does he want to achieve? Would he stop at nothing to achieve his goal? Li Ming, do you... really understand him?"

"Precisely because you don’t trust others. So, you believe others, like you, don’t trust others either." Chengming was unaffected by his words. "What he does may not be for justice, but his heart must be clear enough to reflect everyone’s face."

"You really hold him in high esteem." Ye Chuxuan coldly looked at him, "I’ll say it again, you shouldn’t have come."

Chengming, hearing this, took a step forward.

Ye Chuxuan closed his eyes, facing upward, "In Buxu City, you were no match for me, let alone here?" He opened his eyes, and a starry sky was reflected in his pupils. "The power of the stars is unparalleled."

With that, the mighty power of the Circulation Dao in the starry sky fell upon Chengming.

The Circulation Dao operates, and all things revolve around.

The Circulation Dao, occupying a place among the Nine Great Innate Dao, took Ye Chuxuan as its center, instantly covering the entire Celestial Balance Upper City. At this moment, he became the center of the starry sky, and everything in the city was like cosmic dust, revolving around him.

Chengming’s Dao was the Force Dao.

"Force" is a mystical presence, opposite to "Qi," yet inseparable from it. Everything has "Force"; the growth of plants has growth force, the creation of Qi by a cultivator has momentum, the waving of a sword technique by a swordsman has posture. "Force" is invisible, intangible, yet exists everywhere. It is the inspirational state of a thing, continuously brewing and accumulating the results it seeks to manifest.

The moment the mighty power of the Circulation Dao fell upon him, a burst of "Force" exploded from him, like a tiger swallowing a sheep, instantly consuming the power of the Circulation Dao.

He held the Heavy Profound Forging Immortal Hammer, looking at Ye Chuxuan indifferently.

"The Circulation Dao is eternal, but how long can your Force last?" Ye Chuxuan sent down the power of the Circulation Dao again and again. Meanwhile, he continuously pressed down Chengming’s physical body, making it a part that revolved around him.

Chengming simply couldn’t evade the mighty power from the stars unless he left Ye Chuxuan’s Circulation Dao domain.

Yet he couldn’t leave; his purpose for coming here was to prevent Ye Chuxuan from cutting off the path to the Emperor’s Gate.

He knew that once he left, everything would return to that initial miserable state.

He had to hold on, at least... at least until the young man at the Emperor’s Gate arrived.

He did not know if the young man could reach here. He could only believe.

Ye Chuxuan coldly watched Chengming, with no trace of nostalgia or reminiscence for the past in his eyes. Facing his once best friend, he was like a lion confronting a zebra that had trespassed into his territory. The lion would not chase away the zebra, only pounce and kill.

Chengming was strong; he possessed a cultivation base surpassing the Peak of Integration, comprehending the Force Dao to its utmost, where a blade of grass, a speck of dust, could become the existence that stirred his momentum. He also had a resilient and powerful Martial God physique, along with the Heavy Profound Forging Immortal Hammer that grew with him and could resound the Dragon-Soothing Sound.

From the moment he set foot on the Path of Cultivation, he was considered a genius in everyone’s eyes, always able to accomplish what others could not in unexpected ways. He once helped Ye Chuxuan fight his way through the harsh struggle for succession, and once to cleanse the Great Li River and Sea so that evil spirits had nowhere to hide, forging over three thousand Demon-Suppressing Bells and various magical artifacts to exorcise demons. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

He was also a person of deep affection and righteousness, staying with his beloved wife, Jiang Nianshu, for a thousand years, once becoming a tale to be passed down.

When Ye Chuxuan said he would prepare for the Imperial Dynasty, he did not hesitate, throwing himself into it resolutely, working day and night, so much so that he neglected his beloved wife Jiang Nianshu, until her death, unable to make amends.

Until the moment everything ended, he also willingly had his Dao sealed with shackles to save his only sister Li Ying, staying trapped in Shilong Lane for three hundred years, unable to step out.