Chapter 1355: Stay True To Your Heart

Five eggs!

At the counter, Gu Chen hugged his five eggs excitedly and moved to the side. Sitting on the ground, he took a deep breath, clasped his hands together, and muttered, "Supreme Emperor, bless me! Supreme Emperor, bless me!"

He broke the seals on the five eggs, and two dog heads immediately popped out. The two dog heads were blinking in confusion while looking around. The next moment, three chicken heads popped out of the three remaining heads.

There wasn't even a single dragon among them.

Gu Chen collapsed to the ground, and his face was drained of all color as he trembled all over. "H-How... How is this even possible...? Damn you, heavens! Why must you treat me so unfairly?!"

The onlookers had mixed reactions. Some felt pity, some sympathy, while some mocked him.

Ye Guan glanced at him, shook his head slightly, and walked away. He approached one of the counters, purchased a map, and then left the Immortal Pavilion Guild.

Just then, Gu Chen jumped up and rushed over to a young man. Grabbing the young man's hands, he enthusiastically said, "Brother Yue, Brother Yue! Could you lend me thirty spiritual crystals? I'll repay you in a few days! My parents will send me my allowance by then."

The young man immediately recoiled, waving his hands frantically to shoo him away. He was acting as if Gu Chen were a plague.

The young man's firm rejection made Gu Chen's face darken, and his embarrassment turned into anger. "Weren't we once sworn brothers? And now you won't even lend me thirty spiritual crystals? I must have been blind to think of you as a friend!"

The young man didn't bother arguing and simply backed away as far as possible.

Gu Chen let out a bitter laugh, shaking his head. "Friendships are as thin as paper. This world is truly cold and heartless—"

He stopped upon spotting Ye Guan. His eyes lit up, and he rushed over with a beaming smile, grinning from ear to ear.

"Brother, we meet again! This must be fate! Anyway, could you lend me fifty spiritual crystals?"

Ye Guan paused. "Are you still gambling on eggs?"

"No, no, no, I can feel it!" Gu Chen hurriedly responded, "I know it! This time, I'm definitely getting a dragon! If I do, I'll pay you tenfold, my brother from another mother!"

Ye Guan asked, "And if you don't get one?"

"Impossible!" Gu Chen exclaimed, shaking his head repeatedly. "Absolutely impossible! This time, I'm sure of it! A person can't be unlucky forever..."

Ye Guan glanced at him and shook his head. "Sorry, but I'm broke, too."

"Come on, brother!" Gu Chen grew desperate. "Brother, you know my situation. If I can't turn things around, my life is ruined!"

Then, he dropped to his knees, and his voice trembled with emotion. "Brother, you can't just watch me suffer, can you?! If I win, I swear on my entire family that I'll pay you back with interest! If I lie, may my entire family perish!"

Ye Guan thought for a moment and helped him up. "Brother Gu, forgive me for being blunt, but this egg gambling is nothing but an illusion.

"This isn't the right path. You should focus on steady, honest progress. If you're truly willing to turn over a new leaf and never gamble again, I can offer you some guidance in cultivation."

"Guidance in cultivation? From you?" Gu Chen scoffed. The moment he realized that Ye Guan wouldn't lend him any money, his face changed. He scanned Ye Guan from head to toe and sneered, "You? Someone without any cultivation at all? How dare you preach to me like a master?!"

"Listen!" he scoffed, and his voice was filled with bitterness as he said, "I was just unlucky today! Once I gather more funds, I will make a comeback! I refuse to believe that all the Supreme Emperors under the heavens are blind enough to treat me so unfairly!"

With that, he flung his sleeve and stormed off.

Ye Guan shook his head slightly. He was about to leave when a voice sounded from behind him. "No matter how profound one's Dao is, it cannot save those without fate."

Ye Guan turned around and saw Diyi Jingzhao walking toward him.

"Lady Jingzhao, you're not angry anymore?" he asked with a smile.

Diyi Jingzhao stared at him in silence.

He did not press the matter and simply walked outside. He approached a counter and paid ten emperor crystals. An old man then led him to a teleportation array.

Just as he was about to step in, Diyi Jingzhao, who had been following him all this while, suddenly said, "The Suiming Ruins are filled with people from countless clans and sects, fraught with danger. You'll be walking to your death if you go there without any preparations at all.

Ye Guan merely smiled.

Swoosh!

The teleportation array activated, whisking him away.

Diyi Jingzhao's face darkened.

***

An unknown amount of time later, Ye Guan appeared in an open clearing. He looked up and saw a crumbling ancient city in the distance. It wasn't large, and after countless years of decay, its original form was barely recognizable.

However, he knew that he was staring at Sui City.

Sui City was on the periphery of the Suiming Ruins.

When this city was discovered, it shocked all of the Ten Desolate Universe. People then realized that before the Ancient Era, there was an entirely different civilization here.

From that moment on, the experts of the Ten Desolate Universe began their frenzied exploration of the Suiming Ruins, and such exploration reached great heights when the founding ancestor of the Diyi Clan emerged from within and became a Supreme Emperor.

That event ignited an obsession among the strong to delve into these ruins at all costs. However, the dangers of the Suiming Ruins far exceeded their expectations. Over the ages, countless lives were lost to the ruins.

Even Quasi Emperor Realm experts had perished inside!

Despite the immense danger, countless people still explored the ruins. For where there was great risk, there would be great opportunities.

Just then, Ye Guan sensed something and stopped in his tracks. He turned around and saw that Diyi Jingzhao had followed him.

Today, she was dressed in a gray robe. Her slender figure was both elegant and graceful. Her face was concealed behind a veil, but her stunning eyes and flawless silhouette still made her appear breathtakingly beautiful.

Diyi Jingzhao walked up to him but said nothing.

Ye Guan did not bring up their previous conversation. Instead, he gazed at the distant Sui City and asked, "Lady Jingzhao, how much do you know about the Suiming Ruins?"

"Not much."

"Have you been here before?"

"I've been here once, but I never returned. The Supreme Emperor Clans and Immortal Clans all have a rule that clan leaders must never set foot in this place."

"Why?"

"It's dangerous."

Dangerous?

Ye Guan was stunned, but he quickly understood. This place was far from ordinary. Even Supreme Emperors faced the risk of death here. If a clan leader were to perish here, the blow to their clan would be devastating.

Ye Guan became even more curious. He was once a Supreme Emperor, so he understood how terrifying a Supreme Emperor was. In truth, aside from a few people in his own family, he was practically invincible at the time.

At the very least, he was absolutely unmatched within this known universe.

Just then, he recalled Emperor Yuan's words.

"After becoming a Supreme Emperor and becoming invincible in this universe, one naturally desires to become invincible throughout all the starry regions and take yet another step forward...

"To do that, they will seek out places that even they consider dangerous."

Ye Guan himself was no exception to that. Upon arriving at the Suiming Ruins, he actually felt a bit excited. He was looking forward to encountering something that could finally make him feel in danger.

Humans were like that. While one was poor, one's thoughts were simple.

One would only want to earn money to pay off one's mortgage and car loan.

Upon becoming rich, however, one's ambition would change, and one would start thinking about foot massages, private performances, or going to bars.

Once one became even richer, one would start craving thrilling experiences, like starting one's own theater.

Ye Guan was the same. His goal prior to becoming a Supreme Emperor was to grow strong enough that people couldn't randomly beat him up.

Upon becoming a Supreme Emperor, however, his mindset changed. Now, he wanted to meet stronger opponents. He wanted to feel the thrill of danger; he wanted the adrenaline rush.

Just then, he and Diyi Jingzhao finally entered Sui City. The city was desolate, and its buildings were dilapidated. The majority of them even looked like they would fall at any second now.

There were very few people in sight, and most lurked in the shadows, moving about suspiciously.

As soon as Ye Guan and Diyi Jingzhao stepped into the city, numerous hidden gazes immediately locked onto them.

When they saw Diyi Jingzhao, their eyes lit up.

A woman as beautiful as her was a rare sight in a place like this.

Diyi Jingzhao looked up and saw that it was already dark.

"It's too late to travel today. What do you think about resting for the night?"

Ye Guan glanced at the sky as well and agreed, "Alright."

The two of them walked into the distance.

Not far behind them, two men were watching their every move. The leader was a bald man in a black robe, and his face was fierce and menacing. Beside him stood a younger man, who was staring at Diyi Jingzhao with eyes full of desire.

"Third Uncle, why aren't we making a move?" asked the young man.

"Fool!" the black-robed man scolded, shooting him a cold glare. "That woman is unimaginably beautiful, and yet, she dared to step into such a dangerous place. Take a guess, why do you think that is?"

The younger man looked puzzled. "Why...?"

The black-robed man lifted his gaze towards the distance, his eyes filled with deep wariness. "A woman of such extraordinary beauty will normally be locked away as someone's forbidden treasure. Yet, she dared to step into such a perilous place. She's either brainless or extremely powerful."

He then shifted his gaze to the young man beside him and continued, "And that man next to her... Look at him. He has no cultivation at all. Damn it, a man with no cultivation coming here? Either he's pretending to be weak, or his background is beyond our imagination."

Pausing, he glared sharply at the young man and added, "Remember this—if you want to be a bandit in this era, you need to learn to use your brain. If all you know is fighting and killing, no matter how strong you are, you'll be nothing but a brute, do you understand?"

The young man was left stunned and speechless.

In the distance, countless gazes followed Ye Guan and Diyi Jingzhao. However, no one made a move or dared to cause trouble.

The two had boldly walked right in; the young man even appeared to have no cultivation base at all, and the other was impossible to read. It was like they were walking around with the words "peerless experts" written on their foreheads.

Soon, they arrived at an old, dilapidated hall. A damaged statue was inside the hall. The statue was missing its upper half, while a huge chunk of its upper body was missing.

Ye Guan glanced at it and walked over. He cleared away some debris, gathered a few wooden branches, and stacked them into a small pile before lighting them up.

Sitting before the flickering flames, he remained silent, lost in deep thought.

Diyi Jingzhao sat across from him as she watched the fire, remaining silent as well.

Breaking the stillness, Ye Guan asked, "Lady Jingzhao, shall we have an honest conversation?"

Diyi Jingzhao lifted her eyes to meet his. "About what?"

Ye Guan smiled. "Do you like me?"

Diyi Jingzhao was stunned, caught off guard. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond, but she quickly regained her composure. However, she did not answer his question and simply stared at him.

Ye Guan met her gaze head-on. "I suppose the answer is no, right?"

Diyi Jingzhao remained silent, her gaze unwavering.

Ye Guan withdrew his gaze and used a wooden stick to stir the fire. "Since I arrived at the Diyi Clan, you've been treating me with great respect. You even went so far as to do...

that.

"

Diyi Jingzhao's eyes turned cold.

Ye Guan saw that and chose not to mention that particular event anymore.

"Simply put, you respect me only because I'm a Supreme Emperor, and you did

that

because I'm a Supreme Emperor. In your eyes, I hold that title, and I also happen to be somewhat good-looking. So, deep down, you never truly rejected me. In fact, you were even a little curious about me, weren't you?"

Diyi Jingzhao's hands slowly clenched into fists.

"On that day, you were angry because I compromised with the Emperor Sword Clan. You could even say that I yielded, and that must have shattered the image of an all-powerful Supreme Emperor in your heart.

"You couldn't accept that, could you?"

Diyi Jingzhao locked eyes with him. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Suddenly, Ye Guan moved closer, sitting right beside her. Without hesitation, he grabbed her hand. She instinctively tried to resist, but Ye Guan held her hand firmly.

Diyi Jingzhao stared at him but said nothing.

Ye Guan gazed into her eyes and said, "Your hand... It's trembling."

Diyi Jingzhao glared at him.

"Lady Jingzhao, you're a Quasi Emperor, and you are no ordinary person by reaching that realm at such a young age, but your young age is exactly the reason that you haven't noticed the fact that your heart is in turmoil.

"Your mind is clouded, and you're too fixated on the idea of becoming a Supreme Emperor. This obsession of yours has led to the growth of an inner demon.

"What does it matter if I, Ye Guan, am a Supreme Emperor or not? If I'm a Supreme Emperor, you are willing to respect me, even willing to give yourself to me without any resentment.

"But if I weren't a Supreme Emperor, would you then see me as nothing more than an ant? Would you look down on me?

"Lady Jingzhao, you have lost yourself in your attachment to the title of 'Supreme Emperor.' You are no different from a worldly woman who loves only those with wealth and status, but such women are merely slaves to money, and even the wealthy do not respect them. They see them only as playthings.

"Cultivation is about staying true to one's heart, about seeking the truth. What is your heart really telling you? What is

your

truth? Lady Jingzhao, don't let the illusion of a Supreme Emperor's status cloud your heart and corrupt your mind.

"I believe you're exceptional; you can go much further than this."

Diyi Jingzhao stiffened.