Chapter 1403: Long Time No See

"Huh?"

As Ye Chen watched, he couldn't help but let out a soft exclamation, instinctively turning his head toward the wedding bed.

What he saw was a stunning scene: the beautiful bride, with her flower-like face, was pinned beneath the handsome groom, her delicate wedding gown torn, revealing patches of fair skin.

Ye Chen's eyes lit up—the bride's exquisite features were just as captivating as in his memories. What perfect timing; he had stumbled upon a reincarnated soul by sheer luck.

As for the purple-haired youth, he remained on top of the bride, frozen in the act of ripping her gown, his eerie eyes staring at Ye Chen in disbelief. "Where the hell did you come from?"

The bride was equally stunned, gazing at Ye Chen in a daze, wondering where this person had suddenly appeared from.

"What audacity!" The silence in the room was shattered by the purple-haired youth's sudden shout. He leaped off the bed, forming his hand into a blade, and struck at Ye Chen.

"How rude." Ye Chen dodged to the side and slapped the purple-haired youth to the ground, then sealed his powers, true essence, and mobility with three powerful seals.

At the same time, Ye Chen summoned a formation barrier, completely isolating the bridal chamber from the outside world.

Originally, he hadn't wanted to interrupt their moment, but the scene in the room was too bizarre: the bride was sealed and tearful, looking utterly despairing, while the groom tore at her gown like a beast. Clearly, something was wrong.

Ye Chen was sharp enough to see that the bride was being forced. Since it was coercion, he wouldn't stand by and do nothing—especially not let someone try to force themselves on a reincarnated soul right in front of him. Fat chance.

"Someone, get him!" the purple-haired youth roared like a mad dog, but his shouts went unheard outside due to Ye Chen's isolating barrier.

"Noisy." Ye Chen slapped him across the face, sealing his mouth as well.

Only then did Ye Chen wave his hand to release the bride's seals. As a finishing touch, he summoned a cloak to cover her exposed skin, thinking of himself as quite the gentleman.

"Who are you?" The bride wrapped herself up, eyeing Ye Chen warily.

"Just call me brother." Ye Chen smiled slightly and waved his hand, drawing the bride into the Chaos Cauldron.

"You—" The bride opened her mouth, but before she could speak, a beam of immortal light shot into the cauldron and entered her forehead, heading straight for the seal deep in her soul.

Soon, cries of pain echoed from the cauldron, the agony throwing her mind into chaos.

"Another one." Inside the Chaos Cauldron, Qi Wang squatted with his hands tucked in, sighing. Along the way, he had seen this too many times—anyone hit by Ye Chen's immortal light ended up in excruciating pain, often breaking into tears afterward.

Outside, Ye Chen had already taken the purple-haired youth's storage bag, stripping him of everything except his clothes and even his waist-hung jade pendant, all of which went into his own storage bag.

The purple-haired youth's face twisted with fury. Though sealed, his eyes were filled with blood-red rage, glaring at Ye Chen with uncontrollable violence and killing intent.

Ye Chen glanced at him and dismissed it entirely. Bullying anyone else is one thing, but messing with a reincarnated soul? I'm already being merciful by not killing you outright, and you dare show killing intent toward me?

From then on, Ye Chen made himself comfortable, lounging with one leg crossed over the other, sipping from a white jade wine flask and drinking the unfinished wedding wine meant for the bride and groom.

"Are we leaving or not?" Qi Wang's voice came from the Chaos Cauldron. "You've stolen the bride and now you're just sitting here drinking? Aren't you afraid their ancestors will show up and kill you?"

"Where to?" Ye Chen took a swig of wine and refilled his cup.

"Out of here!" Qi Wang cursed. "Get into the space black hole already. The sooner, the better."

"What's so great about the space black hole? You know as well as I do." Ye Chen replied casually. "Who knows if it's even still there? I've been chased enough; I don't want to run into that thing again."

"I forgot about that." Qi Wang shuddered, recalling their encounter in the black hole. It was an evil entity, terrifyingly powerful. They had escaped by the skin of their teeth; the space black hole was full of dangers everywhere.

"Let's wait a bit longer." Ye Chen said lightly. "If it can't find us, it'll probably leave."

"That makes sense." Qi Wang muttered before lying down and dozing off.

No sooner had he closed his eyes than the bride's body stopped trembling. Tears blurred her beautiful eyes as she stared at Ye Chen through the cauldron, hardly believing it. "Ye Chen?"

"Qi Xi Sheng Nu, long time no see." Ye Chen turned with a smile. The so-called bride was the reincarnated Qi Xi Palace holy maiden, with a meaningful name: Xu Nuo Yan.

"Why am I still alive?" Xu Nuo Yan felt dizzy. She clearly remembered dying in the Bei Zhen Cang Yuan, more precisely, at the hands of Ji Ning Shuang's sorrow.

"A lot has happened." Ye Chen smiled and sent a strand of divine sense into her forehead, containing all the explanations. More than two hundred years ago, shortly after the heavenly demon invasion, she had died. Everything that followed was unknown to her, like the later events with the heavenly demon great emperor.

Xu Nuo Yan stood there, stunned like a statue, her body trembling uncontrollably. The scenes in that divine sense depicted a dark world, with blood-soaked mountains and rivers, and countless cultivators fallen on that land.

She could hardly believe it, dared not believe that after her death, such tragedies had occurred. The eighty million cultivators of Da Chu had fought to near annihilation against the heavenly demons.

Suddenly, she lifted her teary eyes, quietly watching Ye Chen. It was he who had slain the great emperor and avenged the people of Da Chu, walking a lonely path all the way to the myriad realms of the heavens.

"What about her?" Xu Nuo Yan lowered her gaze, biting her lip gently.

"If you know she's a woman, why bother asking?" Ye Chen shook his head with a smile.

"I'm just asking." Xu Nuo Yan huffed, wiping away her tears with feigned toughness.

"You could visit the Yao Chi Holy Land if you have nothing else to do." Ye Chen replied vaguely. "Your Ji Wu Chen is the goddess of Yao Chi, known far and wide as the East God."

"Yao Chi goddess?" Xu Nuo Yan was taken aback; this was unexpected.

"In this life, she's a bit different—a bookworm." Ye Chen drank his wine idly. "Unlike other Da Chu reincarnated souls, I still can't unlock her memory seal."

"Why is that?" Xu Nuo Yan asked in surprise. "Is there something wrong with her?"

"It must be something with her." Ye Chen smiled helplessly. "Just let it be."

"I hear you two were quite the talk at the Yao Chi grand event!" Xu Nuo Yan looked at Ye Chen with interest. "The Archaic Holy Body still dominates like a force of nature, and the East God of Yao Chi is as radiant as in her past life. You two are incredibly well-matched in both lives—is fate playing tricks on people?"

"You're talking about yourself, aren't you?" Ye Chen chuckled. "Heaven played the same trick on your feelings—a Ji Ning Shuang disguised as a man, making you carry that attachment from past to present life."

"This mortal world is truly ridiculous." Xu Nuo Yan didn't argue, but her laugh held a touch of melancholy.

"Treasure! There's treasure!" As soon as she finished, Qi Wang jumped up in the Chaos Cauldron, his large eyes gleaming with excitement as he peered through the cauldron toward a spot in the mansion.

"Treasure my foot—let's go." Ye Chen stood up, knocked the purple-haired youth unconscious with a palm, and tossed him into the Chaos Cauldron. He planned to use the Heavenly Dao escape technique to avoid unnecessary trouble.

"You idiot, that's Nine Yang Immortal Iron!" Qi Wang was frantic, leaping up. Xu Nuo Yan, standing nearby, looked at him oddly—this donkey's appearance was comically arbitrary.

"Nine Yang Immortal Iron?" Ye Chen paused mid-step, raising an eyebrow, and decided to stay put. It was just too valuable, even more so than the piece the barbarian godson had given at the Yao Chi grand event. The Chaos Cauldron loved that level of immortal iron.

"Are you sure it's Nine Yang Immortal Iron?" Ye Chen fixed his gaze on Qi Wang.

"Don't underestimate my talents." Qi Wang lifted his chin proudly. "I'm spot-on with treasure hunting."

"Want to grab it for fun?" Ye Chen was tempted. Immortal iron like this was rare, especially the extremely rigid and yang Nine Yang variety. If the Chaos Cauldron absorbed it, its power would surge.

"Hold on." With his mind made up, he closed his eyes slightly. He'd been sitting here long enough to sense how many powerful experts were in this mansion. To snatch treasure, he needed to know the enemy's setup first. If there were great saints around, only a fool would stir up trouble.

"The Yang family has Quasi Saint Kings—not one, but two," Xu Nuo Yan added.

"Probably more than two." Ye Chen slowly opened his eyes, a glint flashing in them. This mansion indeed had Quasi Saint Kings, but not two—three.

"More than two?" Xu Nuo Yan frowned slightly, catching the implication from Ye Chen's words: at least three Quasi Saint Kings. That was a major secret.

"Qi Wang, the exact location." Ye Chen asked Qi Wang, ready to go for the treasure.

"Southeast." Qi Wang cooperated, transmitting the precise position via divine sense.

Ye Chen absorbed it and slipped into the void space, concealing his aura as he headed straight there. He couldn't take on three Quasi Saint Kings head-on, so stealth was the way.

Outside, the guards at the bridal chamber door noticed nothing amiss, though they felt uneasy. Their holy son had been inside for quite a while without any sound, which was unusual. Upon closer inspection, they saw the chamber was enveloped in a barrier, completely cut off from the outside.

The group coughed awkwardly, assuming the holy son had set up the barrier to prevent anyone from peeping or listening in on his intimate moments with the bride.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen stealthily moved through the void, evading powerful divine senses.

Only then did he fully see the mansion—it was like a vast realm, enormous, with three towering peaks shrouded in mist and terrifying restrictions everywhere.