Chapter 1306: Meeting from Afar

Chapter 1306: A Destined Meeting Across a Thousand Miles

The underground palace was eerily quiet and filled with a suffocating gloom. The hunched old man and the hunched old woman were busy, sorting medicinal herbs and preparing to refine pills.

To the side, the woman in white remained sealed in place, her face pale as she watched the hunched old man and old woman. It seemed she already knew her fate—to be used as a medicinal catalyst for alchemy.

Helpless, she was completely sealed, and even if she weren't, escape would be impossible. After all, both the hunched old man and old woman were Sheng cultivators, leaving her with no chance of victory, no matter how she tried to flee.

Damn it!

As the hunched old man and old woman sorted the herbs and the woman in white despaired, a dominating curse echoed from the black copper furnace, causing it to hum and tremble.

They ignored it, though a sly smirk tugged at their lips.

Inside the black copper furnace, Ye Chen was covered in black streaks, his wandering consciousness finally returning. Opening his eyes, he was met with a scene that made him want to spit blood—he was sealed again, and in a furnace no less.

How many times was this? First it was Danguizi, then Guyuan, and now he was stuck in an alchemy furnace again. As the majestic lord of the Heavenly Court and the overbearing emperor of Great Chu, he was furious.

"Which bastard put me in here? Let me out!"

The more he thought about it, the more frustrated he became, and Ye Chen cursed loudly once more.

But his shouts went unanswered, and what frustrated him even more was that even with his combat strength, he couldn't break the seals—his entire body's mana was suppressed.

What had sealed him was a Sheng weapon from a Sheng cultivator, making escape utterly impossible once trapped.

Sometime later, the lid of the alchemy furnace was finally pushed open, revealing half of the hunched old man's wrinkled face. His murky eyes flickered with sinister light.

At the sight, Ye Chen's anger flared. He cursed again, "You old fool, let me out!"

The hunched old man just gave an eerie laugh and ignored him, then tossed the woman in white inside.

Eh?

Seeing the woman in white, Ye Chen—who had been cursing—froze in place, staring in astonishment at her stunning face. The more he looked, the more beautiful it seemed, and the more familiar.

The woman in white was also looking at Ye Chen. They were both captured for alchemy, sharing the same misfortune.

For some reason, gazing at Ye Chen's face, she suddenly felt a sense of familiarity, as if she had seen him somewhere before. In those brief moments, she almost blurted out a name.

Fated to meet across a thousand miles?

Ye Chen's expression turned strange, his mouth hanging open without closing, as he stared blankly at the woman in white.

The scene was strikingly similar to the past—in Danguizi's alchemy furnace years ago, he had sat across from her like this, both captured for refining. The only difference was that this time, he had been caught first.

As he kept looking, tears welled up in Ye Chen's eyes. Across past and present lives, they met like this again, just as back then when he was a minor disciple of Hengyue and she was an innocent young girl unaware of the world.

There was no doubt about it—the one sitting across from him was Shangguan Yuer, the holy maiden of the Shangguan family from Dongyue in his previous life.

Shangguan Yuer, reincarnated, felt uncomfortable under Ye Chen's intense gaze, especially with the tears in his eyes. She furrowed her delicate brows slightly. So what if it was death? Was he really scared to tears?

As the two faced each other, the copper furnace hummed and trembled.

Perhaps the hunched old man and old woman were starting the alchemy process, igniting flames that made the furnace's temperature rise rapidly.

Just like back then, both Ye Chen and Shangguan Yuer's clothes were burned away. He revealed his bronze-colored sacred body, while she exposed her flawless form, every inch of her skin glistening.

"Close your eyes."

In the end, the reincarnated Shangguan Yuer lost her temper, her rebuke sharp and piercing.

"Not closing them."

Ye Chen shook his head like a rattle, fully embracing his shameless side, his eyes gleaming brightly.

"You!"

Shangguan Yuer was so angry she could barely speak, nearly choking on his words. Heaven was truly unfair—faced with death, and she had to encounter such a shameless person.

"Enough joking around."

Ye Chen cleared his throat and finally averted his gaze, looking up at the top of the furnace. Numerous Xian herbs had already been thrown in, each one extraordinary and brimming with vast essence.

As a master of alchemy, how could he not know what the hunched old man and old woman were planning? They intended for him and Shangguan Yuer to absorb the essence of the Xian herbs into their bodies, then refine them into pills.

With so many Xian herbs to absorb, Ye Chen wasn't about to be polite—he needed them to escape this predicament.

This time was different from the past; back then, he had the puppet Zixuan to break his seals, but now he had no puppets to help. Everything depended on him, and these Xian herbs were his key to freedom.

He was currently at the peak of the Huang realm, just one step away from Zhunsheng. Once he broke through that bottleneck, he believed he could summon a Tianjie. With the heavenly tribulation, everything would be resolved.

Two Sheng cultivators alone were no match for him at the peak of Huang, let alone after advancing to Zhunsheng.

Across from him, Ye Chen acted like a beast, devouring the Xian herb essence greedily, accepting everything without hesitation—even the essence drifting toward Shangguan Yuer was swallowed by him, one herb after another.

As the various Xian herb essences merged into him, Ye Chen's aura continued to rise, inching closer to Zhunsheng.

Shangguan Yuer had no idea what Ye Chen was planning. She looked at him with a strange expression—facing death, and he still had such an appetite. No matter how much he swallowed, it wouldn't change their fate.

"Have you gotten married yet?"

As he absorbed the Xian herbs, Ye Chen glanced at the reincarnated Shangguan Yuer.

"None of your business."

"Don't get so fired up!"

Ye Chen grinned. "We're in the same boat, after all, companions on the road to the underworld. Who knows, maybe in the next life we could be a couple."

"Who wants to be your wife?"

Shangguan Yuer retorted coldly, her beautiful eyes sparking with anger.

"You're just shy."

Ye Chen shook his head and opened his mouth to swallow all the falling Xian herbs in one go, then refined them into pure medicinal power, merging it into his powerful sacred body.

From then on, the alchemy furnace fell silent. Shangguan Yuer sat there like a statue, sometimes closing her eyes, sometimes opening them.

Her presence felt awkward.

Outside, the hunched old man and old woman were diligently at work.

They seemed to be refining an extremely dominant pill, for which they had gathered a multitude of rare Xian herbs—counting them, there were thousands of varieties. Combined with living human catalysts, the result would be extraordinary.

For some reason, as they worked together to control the flames and add the herbs, they kept glancing at each other inadvertently.

It was clear from their eyes that there was wariness, as if they feared the other would snatch the pill once it was complete. This was meant for advancing to Shengwang in the future, a matter of great importance.

What a fine irony it was, enough to make one laugh. A cultivating couple, yet so distrustful of each other. It was hard to say whether to mock their scheming or lament the cruelty of the world.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, three days went by.

It wasn't until the fourth night that they both stood up almost simultaneously. They glanced at the alchemy furnace first, then at each other, a cold light flashing in their old eyes.

Boom!

As they faced off, a thunderous rumble suddenly echoed from the nine heavens, followed by an overwhelming pressure that made the heavens and earth tremble. Even with their Sheng cultivation, their hearts skipped a beat.