Chapter 1241: The Fatty Old Man

The dream dissipated, and Ye Chen opened his eyes.

Wah!

As soon as he opened them, before he could recall the dream, Ye Chen instinctively turned his face slightly. Blinding divine light was shining directly into his eyes, forcing him to look away. He wanted to raise his hand to shield the light, but he found that both his hands and feet were bound.

What... what’s going on!

Only then did Ye Chen realize he was no longer underground; the surroundings weren't dim at all. In fact, they were brilliantly radiant, and most strangely, he was locked onto a copper pillar.

Ye Chen was stunned and quickly scanned his surroundings. He saw immortal light radiating everywhere, a world shrouded in swirling mist and clouds. Within the mist, dao principles intertwined, and runes faintly appeared and disappeared.

Copper furnace!

Ye Chen furrowed his brow deeply, instantly realizing he had been sealed inside a powerful magical artifact.

How could this be!

Ye Chen narrowed his eyes and looked around, thinking to himself that he must have been discovered by a powerful cultivator passing by while he was in the dream. This cultivator must have pulled him out from underground and locked him in this artifact.

First, I need to get out!

With that thought, Ye Chen focused his mind and tried to activate Tian Dao.

However, to his frustration, he couldn't succeed. Peering into that scroll had drained his pupil power too much, leaving him unable to sustain Tian Dao's operation. To escape, he would have to wait for his pupil power to recover.

Hmm?

While Ye Chen was dealing with his frustration, a plump head popped up from the opening of the copper furnace, peering down at him.

It was an old man, a fatty, and moreover, a Sheng Ren. He had not a single beard, but his eyebrows were extraordinarily long. That big mouth could easily fit two eggs.

Ye Chen lifted his head slightly and looked at the fat old man. "Senior, why have you captured me?"

"We're fated to meet." The fat old man stroked his beard meaningfully—oh, wait, it was his eyebrows.

"Could you let me out?" Ye Chen's face darkened a bit.

"That won't do."

"Are you out of your mind!" Ye Chen snapped. "I was sleeping just fine, and you dragged me out and locked me in this godforsaken copper furnace. Do you believe I'll kick you to death once I get out?"

"Hey, you little brat, quite the temper." The fat old man reached into the copper furnace and flicked Ye Chen on the forehead. The force wasn't strong, but it made Ye Chen's head buzz.

At that, Ye Chen quieted down, becoming as meek as a lamb. "I'm just in Huang Jing; capturing me isn't worth it."

"Nonsense." The fat old man pulled out a storage bag and waved it in front of Ye Chen—it was Ye Chen's own storage bag. "Someone in Huang Jing with this much wealth? I've never seen a junior as rich as you. I had no idea until I looked—it's shocking! So many treasures."

"Don't you want to know why I have so many treasures?" Ye Chen's face grew even darker.

"Why?"

"I'm the disciple of Jian Shen."

"Stop kidding around. I've seen Jian Shen's disciple, and she doesn't look like you."

"You've seen Jian Shen's disciple?" Ye Chen asked, breathing heavily as he looked at the fat old man.

"Yeah, like this." The fat old man pulled out a scroll, which depicted a portrait of a woman. "See? This is Jian Shen's disciple—a woman."

"Are you sure she's Jian Shen's disciple?" Ye Chen coughed lightly.

"The real deal."

"Well, that's really something." Ye Chen smirked, surprised to learn that the disciple of Zhutian Shen Hua was a woman—and the more he looked at her, the more beautiful and familiar she seemed.

"Your background must be quite significant." The fat old man tucked the scroll back into his robes.

"You know it. I'm the divine son of Kunlun Xu."

"You just said you were Jian Shen's disciple. And what's this Kunlun Xu?"

"Ever heard of Da Luo Zhutian?"

"Nope." The fat old man shook his plump head.

"What about Ji Huang Tian, Shen Dian, or Da Xia Huang Chao?"

"Nope."

"Fine, I'm the divine son of Da Luo Jian Zong." After going in circles, Ye Chen finally said it meaningfully. "Let me tell you straight, my master has a terrible temper. Don't go looking for trouble."

"You're the divine son of Da Luo Jian Zong?" The fat old man sized up Ye Chen. "That can't be right!"

"You're not going to tell me the divine son of Da Luo Jian Zong is a woman too, are you?" Ye Chen glanced at the fat old man.

"Not at all." The fat old man started fiddling with his eyebrows again. "I've heard the divine son of Da Luo Jian Zong is no good—wherever he goes, bloodbaths follow. Now that he's in my hands, I can't let him off easy. I'll rob your treasures and do some justice for the heavens while I'm at it."

"In that case, I'm not the divine son of Da Luo Jian Zong anymore." Ye Chen coughed lightly.

"So, you were just bluffing me." The fat old man grinned at Ye Chen.

"Just joking around." Ye Chen chuckled.

"I'm done wasting time with you." The fat old man turned and walked away. "I'll find a good spot and chop you up to stew. Your bloodline is a real treat—I like it a lot."

"You bastard, how could you do that!" Ye Chen cursed loudly, but his words echoed without any response.

Left with no choice, Ye Chen turned his attention to the rune chains binding him and tried to channel his qi and blood to break free.

Unfortunately, he was completely sealed, unable to escape the restraints. Moreover, this was the fat old man's natal artifact, and once someone was sealed inside, escape was nearly impossible unless their cultivation far surpassed the owner's—which wasn't the case here, as the owner was a Sheng Ren.

Nonsense!

Ye Chen cursed inwardly and hurriedly gathered his Xian Lun pupil power. Being trapped here meant he could be dragged out and stewed at any moment.

Outside, the fat old man was carefree, sitting on a flying gourd, sipping wine, humming tunes, and occasionally crunching on something.

Ye Chen glanced over and saw the man was eating source stones—from his own storage bag, no less.

This sight reminded Ye Chen of Xiao Ling Wa, that little thing that loved eating spirit stones. Though small, it had a huge appetite, much like the fat old man now.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and closed his eyes slightly, continuing to gather his Xian Lun pupil power.

Day and night cycled, the sun and moon alternating.

In the blink of an eye, three days passed, but the fat old man showed no sign of stopping. He had stopped drinking, humming, and eating source stones, and was now snoring loudly.

It wasn't until the fourth night's evening that the old man landed on a modest ancient star, in a range of mountains.

Only then was Ye Chen released, though still sealed.

The fat old man, however, set up a large iron pot and lit a roaring fire. He then pulled out a knife and began sharpening it while humming an off-key tune.

Is this guy really going to chop me up and cook me?

Ye Chen's mouth twitched, feeling like he was about to be slaughtered.

But soon, to his relief, the fat old man retrieved a massive creature from his storage bag—a purple Jiao Long, enormous in size and a Zhun Sheng level beast.

The purple Jiao Long was already dead, its yuan shen extinguished.

The fat old man went over and skillfully skinned and gutted it.

Next, he threw pieces of Jiao Long meat into the iron pot, adding some strange and exotic ingredients, making the dragon stew aromatic.

He's on par with the Sheng Wang barbarians!

Ye Chen smirked to himself, thinking that anyone who eats dragon meat is a tough character.

Before long, the fat old man dug in, eating with gusto and no shame.

Hmm?

As Ye Chen watched, he instinctively looked up at the sky, where a figure was streaking through— a woman in green robes, also a Sheng Ren, with peerless beauty and extraordinary grace. Immortal light enveloped her, and even her flowing hair was tinged with divine radiance.

As soon as the woman in green landed, the fat old man stood up, wiped his greasy hands on his clothes, rubbed his palms together, and approached with a sleazy smile. "Gu Lan, you've arrived."

The woman in green glanced at the fat old man and then at the sealed Ye Chen.

As she looked, her beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, her expression tinged with surprise. "Huang Gu Sheng Ti."

"How about it? This one I found is good, right!" The fat old man said, then shamelessly tried to take her hand, only to be swatted away.

"Keep your hands to yourself, or I'll chop them off." The woman in green shot him a glance.

"You're as fiery as ever." The fat old man chuckled awkwardly.

"Where did you find him?" The woman in green turned back to Ye Chen.

"On a desolate ancient star." The fat old man scratched his nose. "He was hiding underground, sleeping away, so I dragged him out. The kid's got a mouth on him—he cursed me the whole way."

"That's not true; I didn't curse you." Ye Chen's forehead was covered in dark lines.

"Say that again." The fat old man stepped forward and flicked Ye Chen's forehead. "I heard it all—you cursed my ancestors for eighteen generations and kept thinking about breaking out to kick me."

"Who asked you to grab me and steal my treasures?"

"Me."

"Enough." The woman in green cut off the fat old man and smiled at Ye Chen. "Little one, you've hit the jackpot. Taking you back this time will bring you a tremendous opportunity."

"I don't see it." Ye Chen pursed his lips.

"When you get that opportunity, you'll thank me." The fat old man stroked his long whiskers.

"So, can you let me go first?"

"Of course." The woman in green smiled lightly and waved her hand, dispelling Ye Chen's seal.

"Huh? That woman up there isn't wearing any clothes." No sooner had the seal been lifted than Ye Chen pointed to the sky.

"No clothes? Where?" The fat old man's big head turned immediately, and the woman in green followed his gaze to where Ye Chen was looking.

But in that direction, there was no woman without clothes—or even a bird in sight.

Realizing they'd been tricked, they both whipped their heads back around.

Damn! Where did he go?