Chapter 1981: Can't Take a Beating

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow, his bright eyes scanning the fat old man from head to toe. He examined him thoroughly—no exaggeration, he even knew the color of the old man's underwear.

The fat old man felt uncomfortable under the scrutiny, a chill running through him. He knew Ye Chen had the Liu Dao Lun Hui Yan, so in Ye Chen's eyes, whether he was clothed or not made no difference.

"Dun Jia Tian Zi, where is it?" Ye Chen asked after searching extensively and finding nothing.

"It's not with me, but I know where it is, and there's a lot of it."

"Here, take this Di Dao Fu Xi Di Yi Zhen first array. Keep it safe and don't show it to anyone."

"Got it." The fat old man grinned widely, tucked away the secrets of the Di Dao Fu Xi Di Yi Zhen first array, and stepped into the starry sky.

Ye Chen followed closely, not wanting him to get away. As a precaution, he secretly placed a mark on the old man. If he ran, it didn't matter—with the mark, Ye Chen could track him to the ends of the universe and catch him.

The two entered a domain gate, heading toward the southern starry sky.

Once in the domain gate passage, the fat old man plunked himself down, set up a small table, put out a dish of peanuts, and casually invited Ye Chen,"Still a long way to go. Have a couple of drinks."

Ye Chen didn't wait for an invitation—he made himself right at home. He grabbed the peanuts in one handful, leaving barely any, and downed the old man's wine in a single gulp.

The fat old man's face was etched with dark lines. It was just as the rumors said—seeing Ye Chen's face made him inexplicably want to throw a punch.

Ye Chen ignored it completely, eating and drinking as he pleased, acting utterly carefree. If he weren't in such a hurry to find the Dun Jia Tian Zi, he probably would have pulled out some Da Chu specialties to mess with the fat old man—that was his usual style.

"Since we're just killing time, let's chat about family," the fat old man said, his expression shifting to a cheerful smile."I heard you have a precious daughter. Is she engaged yet?"

"I don't know." Ye Chen shook his head—it was the truth. He'd been away for seventy years and had no idea if his daughter was married. Who knows, he might even have a grandchild waiting when he got back.

"I have a precious grandson. How about we become in-laws?"

"Does your grandson take a beating well?" Ye Chen asked casually.

The fat old man twitched at the corners of his mouth. What kind of logic was that—being your son-in-law means he has to endure beatings?

Ye Chen poured himself another cup of wine. He wasn't wrong—his precious daughter was a little firecracker, and not just anyone could handle her. If he were to find someone, it had to be someone tough enough to take it.

The place they were headed was indeed far away. They kept exiting and entering domain gates, nonstop for nine days.

On the tenth day, at night, the fat old man finally stopped, standing still in the starry sky.

Ye Chen emerged from the domain gate and glanced around. He'd never been to this part of the starry sky before—it was incredibly distant from Cang Lan Jie, let alone Da Chu, spanning countless star domains.

"Can you see that ancient star? The Dun Jia Tian Zi is inside." The fat old man pointed toward the east, tugging at Ye Chen's sleeve.

Ye Chen looked up and saw a massive ancient star, roughly the size of Wang Xuan Star. It had no halo, completely shrouded in dark mist.

"This is the legendary Ming Wang Xing," the fat old man explained."I got my Dun Jia Tian Zi from here back in the day."

"There's really Dun Jia Tian Zi inside?" Ye Chen asked tentatively.

"Yes, and quite a few," the fat old man replied.

"If there are, why didn't you take them?" Ye Chen asked, puzzled.

"It's not that I didn't want to—it's that I didn't dare." The fat old man gave a dry laugh and started walking toward the ancient star."You'll understand once you go in."

Ye Chen said nothing and followed. As soon as he entered the ancient star, he frowned and scanned his surroundings. Dark mist swirled everywhere, with no grass in sight. The sky was dim, the ground scorched earth, and the wind was bitingly cold—even with his cultivation, he shivered.

This eerie aura felt familiar to him—it was the kind that only the dead possessed.

Finally, he lowered his gaze to the ground beneath him. He could see through the surface to the depths below, where a massive ancient tomb lay, like an entire ancient city, buried for who knows how long.

He could see the tomb, but not what was inside—it wasn't that his abilities were lacking; it was that the being buried there was overwhelmingly powerful.

The reason this ancient star was barren was all due to that tomb. Any living thing would be eroded by the yin qi.

"Who is buried inside?" Ye Chen asked, turning to the fat old man.

"Ming Wang," the fat old man said."I heard it from my master. Whether it's really Ming Wang, no one can confirm. All we know is that the tomb has existed since the desolate ancient era."

Ye Chen stroked his chin. He knew about the Ming Di, but he'd never heard of Ming Wang. Still, anyone who could make an entire star barren must have been terrifyingly strong.

"Now you understand why I didn't take them," the fat old man said leisurely."Disturbing the dead brings disaster. But there are definitely plenty of Dun Jia Tian Zi inside."

"Then how did you get those three Dun Jia Tian Zi before?" Ye Chen asked curiously.

"They flew out on their own. Believe it or not," the fat old man replied.

"You're just messing with me!" Ye Chen snapped.

"I don't like hearing that," the fat old man retorted, pursing his lips."The tomb does have Dun Jia Tian Zi—that's no lie. Whether you can get them out depends on your own skills."

Ye Chen's face darkened again. He felt like he'd been tricked and had half a mind to beat the old man and snatch back the secrets of the Di Dao Fu Xi Di Yi Zhen first array.

"Anyway, I've brought you here. It's up to you to take them or not—I'm done here." Seeing Ye Chen's sour expression, the fat old man coughed and turned to leave, afraid of another beating.

Besides, this place was too creepy—even a great saint like him feared the chilling yin qi. No one in their right mind would want to stay.

After the fat old man left, Ye Chen stood there quietly, deeply conflicted.

Ancient tombs were no joke. Disturbing the dead could trigger a corpse transformation and unleash a zombie.

Back when he was searching for reincarnated souls, he and Dao Zhi had entered an ancient tomb, where a Chimou clan member was buried. He still hadn't told the evil spirits about that incident.

It all started because Dao Zhi touched a burial item, sparking a corpse rampage that chased them relentlessly. The thing was incredibly powerful, and it was only by burning his lifespan to use Amaterasu that Ye Chen subdued the ancient corpse. He even ended up cursed by the Chimou.

This Ming Wang tomb was even more dangerous.

It had existed since the desolate ancient era, meaning hundreds of thousands of years. The longer the burial, the more fearsome it became. Going in recklessly might mean never coming out—this wasn't a game.

"Should I get the Ming Fu Yan Luo to help fight?" Ye Chen muttered to himself."Even if there's a corpse transformation, the Ten Halls of Yan Luo could protect me."

But the thought faded as quickly as it came. Bringing people to dig up a grave was bad karma, pure and simple—it would create negative bonds, a taboo for cultivators.

"Forget it." In the end, he turned to leave. Before going, he bowed respectfully to the ancient tomb. People from the desolate ancient era were of such high seniority—they deserved his respect.

"Ye Chen." Just as he was about to walk away, a voice suddenly echoed, coming from underground—more precisely, from the ancient tomb.