Chapter 1189: Guarding Against Thieves

Ye Chen's expression was quite strange; he hadn't expected something as straightforward as going to bed could have such an elegant term.

The atmosphere in the hall became awkward. Biyou lowered her eyes slightly, her cheeks flushing red and spreading to her neck. She was still quite reserved about such matters.

Seeing this, the Lingxiao Palace Master smiled at Ye Chen. "It seems you haven't done the deed yet, young friend. Why don't you say something?"

"Almost."

"It's better that you haven't. It's for the best." The Lingxiao Palace Master chuckled. "Biyou's Dao principles are unstable. Once she integrates the Jiuxiao Shenlu and her Dao is perfected, there's no rush to proceed. This matter can't be hurried."

"No hurry." Ye Chen gave a dry laugh, finding the Lingxiao Palace Master's repeated use of this scholarly phrasing rather amusing.

"Go on, then!"

"This disciple bids farewell." Biyou quickly pulled Ye Chen out of the main hall.

"What a fine pair." Watching their retreating figures, the Lingxiao Palace Master smiled with contentment.

A faint voice echoed in the hall. "Can Ye Chen truly help Biyou attain the position? The Guihuang Shenzhi has obtained the Qiongqi essence bone. If he integrates it, his strength will soar. Ye Chen might have defeated Huatian Du, but he's likely no match for the Guihuang Shenzhi. The absolute suppression of cultivation makes a comeback difficult."

"That doesn't matter." The Lingxiao Palace Master replied with a light smile. "Compared to the palace master position, what she cares about most is her romantic fate."

Meanwhile, Biyou had led Ye Chen to a graceful mountain peak, which was the exclusive domain of the Lingxiao Shennu.

The two of them chatted and laughed along the way, with Biyou introducing everything they passed like a tour guide.

Ye Chen was unperturbed, glancing around as they went. The Lingxiao Palace truly stood shoulder to shoulder with the Tianfu Shen Dynasty; it wasn't just empty talk. Even this stretch of immortal mountains was extraordinary, occupying an incredibly dominant territory.

As for Biyou, although she spoke a lot, her cheeks remained flushed, and she barely dared to meet Ye Chen's eyes directly.

Ye Chen didn't notice Biyou's unease and instead pieced together an interesting fact during their walk: in this star domain, every ancient star had ties to the Lingxiao Palace through marriages. During festivals, when people visited their in-laws, the palace was always bustling, and no one came empty-handed.

Impressive!

Ye Chen stroked his chin, pondering that the Lingxiao Palace must receive quite a haul of valuable items each year.

He wondered if Biyou would feel awkward if she knew what he was thinking about right now.

Before long, the two entered a grove of purple bamboo, though this one was far superior to the one belonging to Dongyang and his group.

Speaking of bamboo groves, Ye Chen waved his hand and produced nine stalks of Cui Xian Zhu. "Take these to integrate. Combined with the Jiuxiao Shenlu, they'll complement each other perfectly. For your Dao principles, this will bring only benefits and no drawbacks."

"This is... Cui Xian Zhu?" Biyou paused, her eyes filled with surprise, as if she recognized this divine item.

"I pulled them from the Shen Dynasty."

"You pulled Cui Xian Zhu from their grounds? Didn't they stop you?"

"Just a few bamboo stalks—surely they wouldn't turn against me over that." Ye Chen grinned. "The title of Sword God really comes in handy. Next time I go back, the Shen Dynasty's treasures are quite plentiful, after all."

"You're always full of clever ideas." Biyou accepted the Cui Xian Zhu and said softly, "Stay on the mountain for the next couple of days. I'll focus on merging with the Dao. At most, it'll take three days to emerge from seclusion, and then we can go search for the reincarnated ones together."

"Focus on your Dao merging."

"Rest early." Biyou tiptoed to kiss Ye Chen, then turned and walked away, her face still red.

"A hundred years ago, at the walls of Nanchu, you were just like this." Watching Biyou leave, Ye Chen couldn't help but smile, recalling events from a century past. Who would have thought that the woman buried among the flowers would reincarnate as the Lingxiao Shennu? Perhaps it was all fated.

Shaking off his thoughts, Ye Chen pulled out the storage bag given by Dongyang Zhenren and Qingyue Xianzi.

Those two saints were indeed generous; it contained several million yuan stones, along with secret scrolls, magical treasures, pills, and most importantly, a vast star map.

Not bad at all!

Ye Chen summoned his magical tools, piling them into small mountains, and then brought out the Chaos God Cauldron to devour their essence.

Next came the Tian Dun Copper Furnace. Ye Chen carefully pried off the Dunjia Tianzi engraved on it.

Here you go!

With a smile, he pressed his palm against the Chaos God Cauldron, imprinting the three radiant Dunjia Tianzi onto it.

Immediately, the cauldron hummed, and the Dunjia Tianzi appeared, circling its body and performing their own formations. Each one emitted dazzling immortal light, incredibly striking, with profound Dao insights contained within.

When will you finally advance?

Gazing at the magical tools that had been completely devoured, Ye Chen grimaced.

The Chaos God Cauldron's appetite was enormous; it had swallowed tools that could form entire mountains, yet it still hadn't reached the imperial realm.

Shifting his focus, Ye Chen pulled out two star maps.

The one from the auction covered three star domains, while the one from Dongyang and his group actually spanned nearly four. However, there was some overlap, so together they only amounted to four star domains.

To Ye Chen's regret, he didn't find the Beidou Star Domain.

To his delight, at the edge of the star map, he spotted a small section of the Ziwei Star.

Once Lingxiao Palace matters are settled, I'll head to Ziwei Star!

Thinking this, Ye Chen put away the star maps and sat down cross-legged. The nine stalks of Cui Xian Zhu also flew out.

Cui Xian Zhu was said to be formed from the essence of a Daluo Gold Immortal, though the legend might be exaggerated. Still, it was exceptional, containing pure essence and inherent Dao insights, far from ordinary.

Merge!

With Ye Chen's soft command, the nine stalks of Cui Xian Zhu merged into his body one by one.

Though Cui Xian Zhu was valuable, absorbing too much was pointless, which was why he had only given Biyou nine stalks.

Night fell into silence at that moment.

Ye Chen might not have realized it, but on a nearby mountain peak, a woman was observing him. She wore green immortal robes and had striking purple hair, somewhat resembling Nianwei from Youdu.

This woman was no ordinary person; her name was Biyue, a descendant of the former Lingxiao Palace Master, with an extremely powerful bloodline.

The Huanggu Shengti!

Biyue's lips curved into a playful smile.

The night passed without incident, and dawn arrived in the blink of an eye.

In the purple bamboo grove, Ye Chen exhaled a breath and slowly opened his eyes. After merging with the Cui Xian Zhu, his gaze was even deeper than before, appearing calm like a still pond yet vast enough to encompass the heavens and earth.

A night of cultivation had fully healed the hidden injuries in his body, though his Xianlun Eye remained sealed.

Ah!

With a sigh, Ye Chen stood up and headed to where Biyou was in seclusion.

From afar, he saw the black-and-white old women standing like gatekeepers, with an air that suggested no one could approach.

As Ye Chen drew near, the two old women bowed in respect, no longer showing their earlier disdain or mockery.

No need for such formalities, seniors!

Ye Chen spoke, then stood on tiptoe to peek inside, but a powerful barrier blocked him, preventing him from seeing Biyou or knowing how she was doing.

Helpless, Ye Chen withdrew his gaze, only to notice the old women's eyes on him were a bit odd.

Their look was one of wariness, as if they feared he might slip past them unnoticed and... well, you know.

Ye Chen's mouth twitched. He thought to himself that these two old women were quite amusing—he was a proper gentleman, after all. If anything were to happen, it would be out in the open, not like this, as if they were guarding against a thief.

Truly loyal!

Ye Chen gave the black-and-white old women a meaningful thumbs-up before turning to leave.

After leaving, he exited the mountain peak and flew out of the immortal mountains.

With Biyou in seclusion and the competition for the palace master position still days away, he couldn't waste this time. Searching for reincarnated individuals was a good plan.