Chapter 1159: A Portrait of the Beloved

Chapter 1159: Yi Ren Hua Juan

The starry sky was profound and vast, stretching endlessly.

In the boundless sea of stars, a small boat sped like a shuttle, gliding swiftly through the cosmos.

After some time, the boat came to a stop in the star sea.

Sensing the boat halt, Ye Chen, who had his eyes closed, slowly opened them and looked at the old man with a face full of confusion.

Seeing the old man again, a strange smile played on his lips, and his aged face no longer held the previous kindness and benevolence—it even looked somewhat ferocious. "This place will serve as a fine burial ground for you."

"Robbing and killing—I'm sure you've done plenty of that, senior."

Ye Chen regarded the old man with great interest.

"A person at the Tian Jing level as calm as you is quite rare." The old man revealed his true form: a monstrous creature with horns and scales all over its body, terrifying under the starlight.

"So, you've finally shown your original form?"

Ye Chen stood up, a smile spreading across his lips.

"You knew all along?"

The old man's eyes narrowed slightly.

"I have that level of insight." Ye Chen stretched his neck casually. "I'm not interested in you. Just keep rowing, and we'll go our separate ways peacefully. But if you insist on a fight, this place could be your resting spot too."

"A mere Tian Jing cultivator, so arrogant."

The old man's gaze turned cold, and he thrust out his claw menacingly.

"I have the capital to be arrogant." Ye Chen dodged to the side, a dark light appearing in his hand as he gripped the Da Shen Bian, smashing it solidly into the old man's crown, sending his skull flying.

"You..."

The old man bled from all seven orifices and clutched his head, letting out a shrill scream.

"Forbidden!"

Ye Chen shouted coldly, and chains of chaos principles shot out, instantly binding the old man.

"Are you behaving now?"

Ye Chen sat down and pulled out a wine flask.

"You actually have such powerful combat strength."

The old man was bound but still looked ferocious. As a Huang Jing expert, he had been taken down in one move, leaving him completely unprepared for this turn of events.

"Walk by the river often, and you're bound to get your shoes wet."

Ye Chen smirked coldly.

"Just kill me if you're going to."

"Still not behaving?"

Ye Chen picked up the Da Shen Bian and swung it again. "I gave you face, didn't I? If I didn't think your Fei Tian Suo was interesting, I wouldn't have bothered getting on your thief boat."

"Just kill me."

The old man was unusually stubborn, with a temper to match.

"I like people like you."

Ye Chen swung the Da Shen Bian again.

"Stop! Stop! Stop!"

Seeing Ye Chen raise the whip once more, the old man cowered. Another hit might kill him.

"Row the boat properly and stop with all this nonsense."

Ye Chen scolded him and casually took the old man's storage bag. "You had a perfectly good business, but you chose to be a bandit instead."

"Leave me some of that."

The old man watched his storage bag longingly.

"Not slapping you is already generous. You still want some left?" Ye Chen glanced at him. "And what are you, anyway? I've never seen a demonic beast like you—quite the novelty."

"Mind your own business about what I am."

The old man shouted and suddenly flipped into the star sea.

"Thinking of running?"

Ye Chen waved his hand, reaching into the star sea, and yanked the old man back out.

"Run, will you? Run!"

Ye Chen pinned the old man to the ground and gave him a thorough beating without another word, not stopping until the old man lay there, not daring to make a sound.

After the thrashing, the old man finally behaved. He hadn't looked presentable before, and now he looked even worse.

Ye Chen, on the other hand, was relaxed. He sat with his legs crossed, humming a tune while sorting through his spoils.

The old man's storage bag was full of treasures—several hundred thousand yuan shi alone, plus all sorts of miscellaneous items that added up to a considerable fortune. Clearly, he hadn't skimped on robbery over the years.

Hmm?

As he was going through it, Ye Chen suddenly pulled out an object from the storage bag.

It was a painting scroll depicting a woman. The artist must have put immense care into it, capturing her so lifelike that even in the portrait, her watery eyes seemed to ripple. Her peerless beauty made tears shimmer in Ye Chen's eyes.

Chu Xuan, Chu Ling—is it you?

Ye Chen reached out with a trembling hand to touch the figure in the painting. Wasn't this the person who haunted his dreams?

This guy's got issues!

Watching Ye Chen like this, the old man muttered to himself from where he was rowing. One moment he was humming a tune, and the next, his eyes were full of tears. Sure, the woman in the painting was beautiful, but did it really make him cry?

Ye Chen had already wiped away his tears. He reached out and grabbed the old man, his dark, deep eyes fixed on him. "Tell me, have you ever seen this woman in the painting? Answer me honestly."

"N-no, I haven't."

The old man replied hastily, perhaps because Ye Chen's gaze was so terrifying that it made him tremble all over.

"Then where did this painting come from?"

Sensing the old man wasn't lying, Ye Chen demanded sternly.

"I p-picked it up."

The old man's voice quivered.

"Where did you pick it up, and when?"

"Thirty years ago, in the star sea."

The old man explained, pointing toward the distant stars. "That year, a bunch of treasures drifted in from somewhere. I was still weak back then and couldn't compete with those old timers, so I just grabbed this painting. But I got chased for over eighty thousand li because of it."

"Thirty years ago..."

Ye Chen furrowed his brow. Thirty years ago, he had still been trapped in the space black hole.

"Everything I said is true."

"Just keep rowing. Once we're out of the star sea, take me to that area of stars."

Ye Chen said calmly and released the old man.

The old man felt as if he'd been granted a pardon and hurried back to the bow to row.

Ye Chen fell silent, clutching the painting the whole way, his eyes blurred with tears.

Finding a portrait of Chu Xuan or Chu Ling here was unexpected and filled him with immense excitement. It proved that one of them had indeed reincarnated into the vast heavens and myriad realms, not vanishing in the cycle of reincarnation.

Hurry up!

As he gazed at it, Ye Chen murmured.

Hearing this, the old man didn't dare speak. He channeled his vital energy and rowed with all his might, desperate to get Ye Chen out of the star sea and to that area of stars. He never wanted to see this menace again.

The boat moved like a streak of immortal light, incredibly fast, stirring up waves along the way and provoking the creatures in the star sea, though none dared approach the Fei Tian Suo.

On the third day, the boat reached the other side of the star sea.

Ye Chen put away the painting and also took the Fei Tian Suo, leaving the old man feeling a pang of distress, though he didn't dare complain given Ye Chen's strength.

Lead the way!

Ye Chen glanced sharply at the old man.

The old man had no choice but to fly off in one direction, with Ye Chen following closely behind. The two moved at tremendous speed.

After nine hours, they finally stopped in a stretch of stars. This area was quite empty, with plenty of cosmic dust but few meteorites, let alone any stars with life.

Once they arrived, the old man tried to bolt.

Seeing this, Ye Chen immediately reached out, and in the next second, the old man who had just fled was yanked back.

"I've brought you here—what more do you want?"

The old man looked at Ye Chen with fear.

"Were there any people you knew who joined in robbing the treasures thirty years ago?"

Ye Chen asked, not taking his eyes off the old man.

"There were two. One is called Hua Tian Laozu, and the other is Yan Chi Xia, that wretched old Daoist. He's the most hateful—he chased me the hardest."

The old man spoke with a mix of resentment and irritation.

"Hua Tian Laozu, Yan Chi Xia—do you know their backgrounds?"

Ye Chen asked lightly.

"No idea."

"You can go now."