Chapter 1065: Making Money

Ye Chen scratched his head and looked at the wretched old man.

"Is housing in Youdu very expensive?"

"Expensive, extremely expensive," the wretched old man sighed. "Take the lowest-level cave dwelling, for example—it's only about ten *zhang* in diameter, but it still costs a hundred thousand *yuan shi*. A medium-level one is thirty *zhang* and requires three hundred thousand *yuan shi*, while a high-level one has no size limit and needs five hundred thousand *yuan shi*. In simple terms, it's ten thousand *yuan shi* per *zhang*. It's a rip-off, but it's worth it."

"The lowest level costs a hundred thousand," Ye Chen clicked his tongue in amazement. As a broke guy without even a single *ling shi*, how was he supposed to survive? Even a quasi-emperor was worried about buying a house, making him realize just how valuable *yuan shi* really was.

"So that's why! It's not that I don't want to lend you money, but even if I lent you one *yuan shi*, it wouldn't help much. You'd get into Youdu, but you wouldn't last long and would probably get thrown out."

"Senior, do you know where I can earn money quickly—something that pays fast?" Ye Chen turned to the wretched old man.

"The fastest way is to take on tasks."

"Where do I go to take them?" Ye Chen asked hurriedly.

"See those nine stone steles standing under the city wall?" The wretched old man pointed to the distance. "Each jade plaque hanging on them represents a task. There are low-difficulty ones and high-difficulty ones. Choose based on your own strength, and don't overestimate yourself—you might lose your life, and that wouldn't be worth it."

"Thank you, senior." Ye Chen cupped his hands in respect and immediately turned to head toward the nine stone steles.

Arriving at the base of the steles, Ye Chen glanced around roughly before stopping at the first one.

The nine steles were arranged from left to right, corresponding to levels one through nine. Level one had the lowest difficulty, and level nine the highest, with clear divisions. Youdu had done a good job with this setup, allowing cultivators to act according to their abilities and avoid pointless deaths due to misunderstanding the task levels.

The first-level stele had over a hundred jade plaques, each imprinted with a task via divine sense. Most were missions to kill demonic beasts, and these beasts were not of a high level—specifically, at the *Tianjing* first level.

Since these were low-level tasks, the rewards were naturally modest—one *yuan shi* per completed task.

Impressive!

Ye Chen waved his hand and took down all the jade plaques from the stele in one go.

His action instantly drew a lot of attention, including from the guard nearby and the wretched old man in the distance, who all turned to look with expressions of surprise.

After all, *Tianjing* first-level demonic beasts were far stronger than *Tianjing* first-level cultivators, thanks to their powerful physical bodies. Some had defenses so tough that even *Tianjing* third-level cultivators might struggle to break through.

But how could they know that Ye Chen was someone who had once slain a great emperor?

As an *Huanggu Shengti*, he was invincible at the same level. Although he was only at *Tianjing* first level and not at his peak, his combat power still far surpassed that of a *Tianjing* first-level demonic beast. In terms of physical strength alone, demonic beasts were no match.

"This guy must be crazy!" Under the stele, discussions erupted, with people pointing at Ye Chen.

"Taking on over a hundred tasks at once—either he's insane or his brain got kicked by a donkey."

"A *Tianjing* first-level with hidden injuries—talk about overreaching." Some spoke without holding back, their gazes toward Ye Chen filled with contempt and disdain, as if they could already envision him being devoured by demonic beasts.

Ye Chen ignored them completely.

As an *Huanggu Shengti* with formidable combat strength, he wasn't acting recklessly—he only made moves when he was absolutely confident.

Moreover, in tasks involving killing demonic beasts, the real dangers often came from other cultivators, not the beasts themselves. He had done his share of robbing and killing, and seen powerful cultivators do the same, so he knew all the ins and outs.

With that, he stepped onto his flying sword and headed southeast, following the information from the jade plaques.

After he left, the cultivators gathered at the task steles dispersed, each searching for tasks they could handle with minimal risk. Many even held up signs to form teams and find partners.

In the sky, the flying sword streaked through, with Ye Chen flying at top speed.

He chose to fly on his sword to conserve energy, and along the way, he continuously absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to replenish the mana he was expending.

After about an hour, he finally stopped in mid-air.

In the distance was an endless stretch of mountains and forests.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

Even before entering, Ye Chen could hear the roars of demonic beasts from the vast forest, likely stirred up by the intrusion of cultivators. The forest was lush, and the wind carried traces of violence and blood.

Let's get started!

Taking a deep breath, Ye Chen descended into the forest.

Just like his first time entering a forest to hunt demonic beasts years ago, he proceeded with extreme caution, his divine sense spreading out to cover several thousand *zhang*, detecting every movement in the vicinity.

Roar! Roar!

Deep in the forest, the roars of demonic beasts continued unabated, mixed with anger and agony, and the commotion was significant—probably from groups of cultivators teaming up for tasks.

Ye Chen paid them no mind; he had already ventured deep enough.

At some point, he paused and narrowed his eyes at the depths ahead.

There, a massive creature came into view: a purple-flame male lion, its entire body engulfed in flames, standing seven or eight *zhang* tall. Even its breath was a rolling wave of heat, and its massive blood-red eyes gleamed with savagery and bloodlust.

In its mouth, it held a bloody figure—a unfortunate cultivator whose lower body had been devoured, his face frozen in terror and despair.

Roar!

The purple-flame male lion had keen senses and spotted Ye Chen standing there. It swallowed its prey whole and let out a furious roar, the powerful sound waves toppling ancient trees in waves.

You're my first target!

Ye Chen stepped forward, and the *Wuhuang Zhanmao* appeared in his hand in an instant.

The purple-flame male lion raged, leaping into the air and spewing a sea of flames to incinerate Ye Chen to ashes.

Break!

Ye Chen swung his spear like a staff, smashing out a river of stars that split the flames. The lion, which had just charged, was struck bloody and battered, crashing to the ground in a pool of blood.

Ye Chen charged with his spear, showing no mercy—the cruel world had cruel rules, and to survive, one had to be ruthless.

Thud!

As fresh blood sprayed, the purple-flame male lion, which had just risen, was pierced through the skull by his spear. Its massive body collapsed with a boom, and the gushing blood formed a steaming stream.

Immediately, Ye Chen waved his hand to collect the lion's body and vanished from the spot, having completed one task.

Roar!

Not long after, on one side of the forest, another agonized beast roar echoed as another massive creature was slain—a spider even larger than the purple-flame male lion, but meeting the same fate.

After collecting the spider, Ye Chen didn't forget to pluck a blood-red lotus from the rock wall.

It was a *Sanqing Blood Lotus*, one of the items from his tasks and a great material for alchemy. This plant was extinct in Dachu, yet here in the forest, he obtained it so easily, which left Ye Chen sighing in amazement.

Roar! Roar!

In the following time, the vast forest rang with continuous roars of demonic beasts.

It was still early, and groups of cultivators kept entering the forest, stirring up quite a commotion.

From a black pool, Ye Chen emerged, carrying a pitch-black *Jiaolong* on his shoulder.

This *Jiaolong* wasn't part of his tasks; it had suddenly ambushed him as he passed by. Perhaps due to its exceptional stealth, even Ye Chen was caught off guard and dragged into the black pool. After a fierce battle, he slew the black *Jiaolong*.

As night fell, Ye Chen stopped at a rocky outcrop.

His body was stained with blood—some from demonic beasts, some his own.

He had been injured, having underestimated the beasts. He was surrounded and attacked by nine powerful *Tianlang* beasts, and even his robust *Shengti* body sustained wounds. However, these injuries were minor for him.

Soon, he built a campfire, suspending the *Chaos Shending* above it, where a demonic beast was stewing inside.

Ye Chen took out the task jade plaques; he had already completed over half of them. In other words, he was no longer penniless—he had earned over fifty *yuan shi* from finishing more than fifty tasks.

Still, Ye Chen didn't leave. First, because the tasks weren't all done, and second, because those fifty-plus *yuan shi* would only cover about ten days in Youdu.

The campfire blazed, and Ye Chen sat cross-legged, constantly flicking his fingers as if divining fortunes.

Since this was the myriad realms of the heavens, Zhuque Star likely had reincarnated souls from Dachu. He wouldn't give up any leads, and the dominant power of *Zhou Tian* evolution saved him a lot of effort.

There are some, right here!

After a while, a look of surprise appeared on Ye Chen's face.

He had deduced a clue: Zhuque Star indeed had reincarnated souls from Dachu. However, this place was different from Dachu—he couldn't pinpoint exactly whose they were or where they were, possibly because the distance was too great.

But one thing was certain: they existed on Zhuque Star.

Furthermore, while using *Zhou Tian* evolution, he discovered a strange issue—there was a mysterious force in Youdu blocking his deductions, making him afraid to probe deeper for fear of attracting a powerful entity.

I hope nothing goes wrong!

Ye Chen took a deep breath, feeling quite worried. This place was nothing like Dachu; death here meant true oblivion, no reincarnation.

Hmm?

As he was thinking, Ye Chen furrowed his brow and glanced toward the darkness, sensing a powerful aura approaching.

His perception was spot-on. A chilling wind blew from the darkness, and a young man in white robes emerged, holding a folding fan. He had a pair of *Danfeng* eyes, an unusually pale face, and two strange streams of purple and green qi swirling around him. A mocking smile played on his lips, which Ye Chen found utterly detestable.

*Tianjing* third level!

Ye Chen's expression remained unchanged as he murmured to himself, having already assessed the young man's cultivation the moment he appeared.