Chapter 2149: No Lending

Chapter 2149: Restricted Access

Amidst the nighttime commotion, the Jiu Li Clan finally quieted down. The quick-witted Ye Chen tried every possible escape route, but he couldn't shake off Bei Sheng's grasp and, as expected, ended up getting beaten.

At that moment, he was clutching his sore waist, circling around Bei Sheng. His strikingly handsome face was bruised black and blue, with blood streaming from just one nostril despite having two.

He was observing, and so were the old experts hidden in the shadows. They still hadn't figured out the root cause. It seemed like a beauty-preserving pill, but its effects were unexpectedly overwhelming.

Looking at Bei Sheng, her cheeks were flushed, and her chest heaved rapidly. In her youthful form, she looked even more delicate. Though she had shrunk in size, her extraordinary grace was unmistakable.

"Why did you get smaller? That shouldn't have happened!" Ye Chen stroked his chin and muttered to himself. He had studied it all night, pacing hundreds of circles, but still couldn't understand.

"I don't care, change me back right now." Bei Sheng huffed in annoyance.

"You were the one who insisted on taking it—how is this my fault?" Ye Chen protested innocently.

"Anyway, I don't care. If you don't change me back, you're not going anywhere." The shrunken Bei Sheng decided to act stubbornly, her youthful appearance making her look incredibly adorable.

Ye Chen didn't take it seriously. Although he hadn't pinpointed the issue, he had some guesses. It must be that the pill's effects were too strong, causing this youth-preserving medicine to deviate into something like reversing age to childhood.

He wasn't sure if Bei Sheng could grow back to normal—this was an unknown factor.

If she stayed small forever, her future husband would probably be driven to despair.

The unreliable Da Chu Emperor was lost in wild fantasies again, imagining wedding night scenes.

A full-grown groom and a girl-like bride—what could they even do? If they tried anything more intimate, there'd be screams like a pig being slaughtered.

As Ye Chen thought about it, he couldn't help but laugh, his grin sly and lecherous.

The next second, he felt a sharp pain in his head and was sent crashing to the ground.

Indeed, the clever Ye Chen had been beaten again and passed out.

The one who struck was the girl-like Bei Sheng, her beautiful eyes blazing with anger and her face turning bright red. With her ability to read minds, how could she not hear Ye Chen's vulgar thoughts?

And so, Ye Chen was tied up and hung from a tree.

As for Bei Sheng, she stormed off in a fit of rage, nursing her inner injuries.

Not long after, Qi Wang was also brought over, delivered personally by Bei Sheng. She was already furious, and catching Qi Wang in the act of stealing treasures left no room for discussion—she beat him mercilessly. After that, she tied him up and hung him from the tree, right across from Ye Chen.

The night became completely quiet.

The scene in the small bamboo grove was quite a sight: an emperor and a donkey, both dangling there, swaying with the breeze in a rhythmic motion.

The old experts in the shadows finally emerged, stroking their beards with a knowing air. So what if he was the Da Chu Emperor? In the Jiu Li Clan, he still had to bow down.

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

In the morning, both Ye Chen and Qi Wang woke up. They locked eyes—man to donkey—for a while, and strangely, a sense of mutual respect emerged between them.

"Did you manage to steal the treasure?" Ye Chen asked while struggling intensely, but his body was sealed with over a hundred layers of restrictions, making escape impossible.

"I didn't get the treasure, but I saw plenty of steamy scenes." Qi Wang bared his donkey teeth in a grin. Though he had a donkey's face, his lewd expression was remarkably human-like.

"You've got potential—keep it up. I'm rooting for you."

"Could you lend me your Reincarnation Eye sometime?"

"The Six Paths Reincarnation Eye and my wife are not for lending."

The two bantered back and forth, chatting away happily. Their spirits were remarkably high, even while tied up—this man and donkey were truly a perfect pair.

Before long, the girl-like Bei Sheng arrived. She ignored Qi Wang and stared at Ye Chen, her clear eyes still burning with fury. In her hand, she held a broken Emperor's weapon.

"This world is so unjust." Ye Chen sighed. "I kindly helped refine a pill, and not only did I get no payment, but I ended up tied up. It's blatant betrayal after kindness!"

His words nearly made Bei Sheng laugh. Was she tying him up because of the pill? It was all because of his vulgar thoughts! She hadn't killed him yet, and here he was playing the victim?

"This world is so unjust. I—"

Smack!

Qi Wang sighed too, but before he could finish, a loud slap echoed. The ambitious donkey was left dazed by Bei Sheng's hit.

Qi Wang probably wanted to curse—why didn't she hit you when you said it, but hit me the moment I did? What's with this gap between donkey and human! Discriminating against animals will bring lightning strikes.

"Let me down. I've thought of a solution." Ye Chen said deeply.

At his words, Bei Sheng's eyes lit up, and she waved her hand to lower him.

After hanging all night, Ye Chen finally touched the ground, feeling a sense of relief. He cleared away the seals and talismans covering his body—he hated being restricted.

"What solution? Spill it." Bei Sheng stepped forward and kicked him.

"To talk about this solution... hey, why is that woman not wearing any clothes?" Ye Chen's words trailed off into a casual remark, and he even stood on tiptoe, peering behind Bei Sheng.

Bei Sheng, being straightforward, actually turned to look.

But in the direction behind her, there was no one—not a soul, not even a bird.

Realizing she'd been tricked, Bei Sheng whipped around, but Ye Chen was already gone.

"Ye Chen!" Her voice was piercing with rage as she chased after him furiously, her speed boosted by the broken Emperor's weapon, streaking like a brilliant divine rainbow.

As for Ye Chen, his escape technique was no joke—he had already left the spatial realm behind. In situations like this, he moved like wind and thunder, flashing like lightning at full speed.

From his perspective, she was clearly a beauty with no brains.

That was Ye Chen's assessment of Bei Sheng. Her combat strength was decent, and she was beautiful, but her intelligence, like Ji Ning Shuang's, was disappointingly low—easy to trick every time.

Of course, this was also thanks to his masterful acting skills, which had reached their peak.

"Run, where do you think you're running?" Bei Sheng caught up, her entire body engulfed in flames. From afar, she looked like a ball of fire, blazing and eye-catching, fully in a rampage.

Her yelling only made Ye Chen run faster, shrinking the ground beneath him as he fled at top speed—he had no desire to be caught and beaten again.

Bei Sheng's speed was no slouch; in fact, it was even faster than Ye Chen's, thanks to the broken Emperor's weapon enhancing her. There were a few times she nearly grabbed him.

Bang! Boom! Bang!

Their pursuit and escape wreaked havoc on the mountains along the way, collapsing one after another. Such disruptive behavior drew waves of curses from the people below.

This chase lasted three days and nights.

The rampaging Bei Sheng lacked the cultivation to keep up fully. She pursued Ye Chen for over eight million li but let him slip away. Even with the broken Emperor's weapon, she couldn't catch him.

In the void, she clutched her chest, unsure if it was from injury or anger.

Indeed, her cultivation fell short by a long shot. Whether in combat or wits, she was utterly outmatched by Ye Chen—this was the stuff of legendary gaps.

Meanwhile, the Da Chu Tenth Emperor was still sprinting away.

As dawn approached, he finally descended from the sky.

"Is this my fault? No, it's not." Ye Chen wiped the fresh blood from his mouth and grumbled. Thinking it over, this really wasn't his fault—accidents happen.

As he spoke, he arrived at an ancient city.

This city was called Bei Yue Ancient City, vast and imposing, exuding an aura of ancient desolation. It had stood for countless years, with the city walls etched by the marks of time.

"A reward of ninety million source stones—that's quite the bold move."

"What kind of background does this woman in the portrait have to warrant ninety million in rewards? Could she be a runaway disciple or elder? Or perhaps a treasure thief?"

"So much reward means her identity must be significant."

When Ye Chen arrived, cultivators had gathered under the city walls, crowding around a notice—or more precisely, a wanted poster—chattering away with sighs and exclamations.

Ye Chen glanced at it casually as he walked into the city.

The next instant, he came back out and joined the crowd under the walls, staring at the notice through the throng. It featured a portrait of a woman, vividly drawn with skin like polished jade, dreamlike and illusory. Her beauty was absolute, flawless to the extreme.

"Why does this woman look so familiar?" Ye Chen stroked his chin.

As he thought, his eyes suddenly flashed with shock.

Familiar? Of course she was! Upon closer inspection, wasn't this the female Holy Body?

From his memory, the female Holy Body should have been sealed in Yao Chi.

"No wonder they're called a holy land—their influence is massive. Besides Bei Yue, there are notices like this in Dong Huang, Nan Yu, Xi Mo, and Zhong Zhou, spreading across the entire Xuan Huang realm!"

"I've seen all the fairies of Yao Chi, and there's no one like her!"

"She must be a thief then, daring to steal from Yao Chi—quite the nerve!"

The discussions continued endlessly, a chaotic mix of voices.

Ye Chen turned and entered the city, heading straight for the teleportation array.

As people said, these wanted posters were everywhere. As Ye Chen teleported along his path, every ancient city he reached had them plastered across streets and alleys.

He frowned, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. Yao Chi's holy land was sparing no expense in this manhunt—there must be a major upheaval. Involving the female Holy Body meant it touched on eternal secrets.

Three days later, at night, Ye Chen appeared outside Yao Chi Immortal Mountain, wrapped in a cloak and hood, concealing his origin energy with Zhou Tian Evolution to avoid detection by outsiders.

Under the moonlight, Yao Chi Holy Land remained as pure as ever, shrouded in mist and haze, draped in a radiant veil like a dreamlike fairy.

Now, Yao Chi was heavily fortified, with protective barriers activated. The Emperor's weapon of the Yao Chi Female Emperor loomed in the vast expanse, strands of supreme laws cascading down to guard the inheritance.

A oppressive atmosphere enveloped the heavens and earth, thick with gloom.

Before Ye Chen could call out to the mountain gate, figures descended from the sky.

The newcomer was Chen Yi, the Female Emperor's own brother—how could he not come with Yao Chi in trouble? Accompanying him was a lively young girl, naturally Di Jiu Xian.

"Oh, the Da Chu Emperor is here too." Little Jiu Xian chirped like a sprite, giggling.

"I heard about it just now and came to take a look." Ye Chen smiled, glancing at Chen Yi.

From Chen Yi's expression, it seemed he knew nothing about the female Holy Body—that was Yao Chi's top secret, not for outsiders. Even among Yao Chi's own, only a few were privy to it. Though Chen Yi was the Female Emperor's brother, he wasn't part of Yao Chi.

As for Ye Chen and Ren Wang, they were exceptions.

Chen Yi said nothing, using divine sense to summon a Yao Chi elder and open the barrier.