Chapter 2262: The Standard Configuration of the Great Chu

Under the moonlight, Ye Chen's scolding faded. He held his wine gourd and gulped down the liquor. Apart from the sound of his drinking, the world was silent. As the tenth emperor of Da Chu, he was the focus of everyone's attention. Such a personality was truly rare.

The expressions of the Quasi-Emperors were the most awkward. Regardless of gender, they had all been thoroughly cursed. Ordinarily, they were all quick-tempered, but tonight, not a single one lost their composure.

Thinking back, the Honghuang forces had surrounded and attacked Ye Chen more than once, each time with a massive lineup. Yet Ye Chen had never disgraced Da Chu's reputation, always forcing the Honghuang forces to retreat in defeat. But this time, these Quasi-Emperors had followed in the Honghuang's footsteps, failing to catch even a single Great Saint. If they were in Ye Chen's shoes, they wouldn't just stop at cursing – they'd start a fight too.

"Thousands of years old, and you still can't grow up."

"Watch yourselves from now on. Make another stupid mistake like this, and I'll curse you again."

"Can't deny it, I was a bit fired up tonight."

Ye Chen flicked his sleeve and turned to leave with a flourish, still lecturing like an elder scolding juniors, talking nonstop as he walked. As he went, his pace quickened, turning into a jog, and soon he vanished like smoke.

He had cursed to his heart's content, but now he needed to run fast. Who knew if the Quasi-Emperors might get embarrassed and angry enough to pin him down for a beating? Da Chu's Quasi-Emperors never needed a reason to fight.

Watching his retreating figure, the people of Da Chu all gazed at him with eyes full of admiration.

"How about we give it a try and curse them out too?" Xie Yun stroked his chin.

"Sounds good." Xiong Er also stroked his chin. "You go first, then I'll follow."

"Don't mess around, you go first."

"Get lost, you go first."

The two fools muttered back and forth, each trying to egg the other on to imitate Ye Chen and curse the Quasi-Emperors.

It wasn't just them – all the people of Da Chu present shared the same thought.

Once upon a time, they had all wanted to corner a Tianxuan Gate Quasi-Emperor and give them a proper scolding. But they lacked the strength and the guts – who would go looking for trouble like that?

After all, they weren't freaks like Ye Chen, who feared nothing under heaven and even dared to curse Da Chu's Quasi-Emperors.

So, tonight's events in Da Chu were worth commemorating. They would leave a deep mark in history.

As for the Tianxuan Gate Quasi-Emperors, they were all rubbing their brows.

How many years had it been since they'd been so humiliated? They had an absolute advantage in numbers, plus over a dozen emperor weapons, and yet they let a minor Great Saint slip away. Who would believe it if word got out? And who would even dare to say it? Your junior, Ye Chen, had fought tooth and nail to build that reputation, and you lot ruined it in a single night. It wasn't just carelessness – it was outright shameless. Always slacking off and dropping the ball at critical moments. No wonder you got cursed.

"From now on, all of you grow up a bit." After a long while, the Shengzun finally spoke, his face grave.

The moment he said that, the other Quasi-Emperors turned and stared at him in unison, eyeing him up and down from head to toe. Their gazes seemed to say: And you have the nerve to lecture us?

Awkward!

Donghuang Taiyi slapped her forehead and turned to leave first – she couldn't stand staying any longer.

The group of old Quasi-Emperors dispersed one by one. Even now, their heads were still buzzing from the scolding – it was the worst they'd ever been cursed.

With the Quasi-Emperors gone, the people of Da Chu were still buzzing with excitement.

A few outstanding talents even recorded the scene of the Quasi-Emperors getting cursed. This was something to treasure and pass down through generations, so future people could see that Da Chu's history had its great figures.

By now, Ye Chen had already entered the gates of Heng Yue.

He had cursed and vented his anger, but his head was still dizzy. The Quasi-Emperors deserved scolding, and so did he. If he had used the Great Wheel of Reincarnation Heavenly Burial earlier, he could have forced out the blood wheel eye of the Bumie Xiantu. That way, Da Chu's Quasi-Emperors would have a clear understanding.

Unfortunately, he had been careless, and so had Da Chu's Quasi-Emperors. As a result, they missed a once-in-a-thousand-years chance to capture the Bumie Xiantu. Trying to catch him again would be next to impossible.

Suddenly, he clenched his chest – not from injury, but from heartache.

How could he not feel heartbroken when the cooked duck flew away? Forget the Bumie Xiantu – just that Bumie Xianjian he coveted so much. Now that Luitian had escaped, where would he find it? With the six-path blood wheel eye and the ability to freely enter spatial black holes, who could catch him?

Speaking of the heavenly dao, his brows furrowed slightly.

An open attack is easy to dodge, but a hidden one is hard to guard against. With an existence like Luitian around, even sleep would be uneasy. Sneaking into Da Chu every few days or causing chaos every so often – who could put up with that?

Fortunately, after this incident, Da Chu's Quasi-Emperors would surely wise up and find a way to counter the blood wheel eye. At the very least, they needed to block the blood wheel heavenly dao to prevent Luitian from scheming in the shadows.

As he spoke, he stepped onto the Jade Girl Peak.

The Female Holy Body was still there, sitting obediently under the old tree. The little girl seemed completely at ease, even as the outside world was in chaos. She acted like nothing was wrong, holding a carving knife in one hand and a piece of wood in the other, quietly carving away.

Ye Chen approached for a closer look and couldn't help raising an eyebrow. He had no idea what the Female Holy Body was carving. At first glance, it looked like a person, but on closer inspection, it resembled some kind of beast. Her carving skills were terribly sloppy and haphazard.

"Immortal Body that's indestructible, impervious to all laws – must be quite a blow to you." The Female Holy Body didn't lift her head, glancing at her wood carving as she spoke casually.

"Don't say it, it really hits a bit." Ye Chen plopped down, pulled out his wine gourd, and dangled it in his hand without drinking for a long time. Only after truly clashing with the Bumie Xiantu did he realize how terrifying that heaven-defying bloodline was. In his eyes, it had no weaknesses at all.

To put it bluntly, beating Luitian was easy, but killing him was hard. He could destroy Luitian's immortal body time and again, but he had no confidence in finishing him off for good. Even if he could, he'd be left half-dead himself. Indestructible and impervious to all laws – wasn't that just playing for real?

Thinking of this, he finally took a swig of wine and looked at the Female Holy Body. "My dear wife, do you know the weak point of the Bumie Xiantu?"

"Get lost, who's your wife?" The Female Holy Body's face flushed red, whether from anger or embarrassment, she didn't know. Rejuvenated to youth and stripped of her cultivation, she had the misfortune to meet someone like him.

"My dear Holy Body, do you know the weak point of the Bumie Xiantu?" Ye Chen rubbed his hands together and chuckled, changing his wording. Don't mention it, teasing the Female Holy Body like this was quite fun. It was rare for her to be rejuvenated – what better time than now?

"I don't know." The Female Holy Body kept her head down, carving her wood without even glancing at Ye Chen.

"So you really think you're all-knowing. Turns out, you're just riding on hype!"

"Reverse psychology won't work on me."

"People get smaller, and their smarts actually improve. I'm truly pleased." Ye Chen spoke earnestly, no longer joking around. He just chugged his wine, pondering the mysteries of the Bumie Xiantu. This needed thorough study, because he and the Bumie Xiantu were destined for a final battle.

Due to their silence, Jade Girl Peak fell back into quietness. One drank wine, the other carved wood, like strangers with nothing in common, each doing their own thing.

Boom!

Sometime later, a loud boom shattered the silence.

Both were startled and glanced in that direction.

They saw a dark, lumpy egg flying up, exploding before it even hit the ground. The blast wasn't huge, but the noise was deafening.

That's right, it was a landmine bomb, a specialty of Heng Yue Sect. Every quiet night, some troublemakers would toss these at various peaks.

"Kid, you did great!" Then came a howl from below the mountain – it was Situ Nan. He had gone to watch the battle earlier and returned to Heng Yue after it ended. Passing by Jade Girl Peak, he casually threw a landmine as a greeting.

His "you did great" referred to Ye Chen's bold exploits today. He had cursed so satisfyingly, bringing honor to Heng Yue. Maybe too excited, he threw another landmine.

"Kid, you did great!" Following him were Xiong Er, Xie Yun, Huoteng, Xiao Lingwa, Long Yi, and the Heng Yue talents. Without exception, before speaking, they all threw something onto Jade Girl Peak – landmine bombs or sky thunder curses – to show their enthusiasm.

You could say that pretty much everyone passing by Jade Girl Peak did the same.

It was as if throwing landmine bombs at Jade Girl Peak had become Heng Yue's standard practice.

Actually, calling it Heng Yue's standard wasn't quite right – Da Chu's standard was more accurate.

The reason it's Da Chu's standard is because there are so many people in Da Chu. Those returning from the spectacle would toss a landmine when passing Heng Yue. Some real pests, like Gu Santong, Wu Sanpao, and Niu Shisan, even traveled thousands of miles just to throw a dark egg at Jade Girl Peak.

And let me tell you, even from far away, their aim was spot-on, all targeted at Jade Girl Peak, landing perfectly every time.

Afterward, they'd let out a mighty howl: "You did great!"

So, what should have been a peaceful Jade Girl Peak turned lively under the moon. Landmine bombs exploded one after another, sky thunders boomed, sounding like a string of firecrackers, booming nonstop.

As a result, the elegant Jade Girl Peak was filled with smoke and chaos, like a battlefield. The whole mountain shook, rocks flew everywhere, as if struck by lightning.

This scene nearly made Hengyun Daogu's coffin lid pop off. Did I die too early? Is this how outstanding Da Chu's younger generation is? Staying up late to throw landmines – who's got nothing better to do?

Looking at the Female Holy Body, her face was pitch black. People said Da Chu's folks were all lunatics, and now she saw it was true. In their era, anyone like this would have been turned to ash.

Compared to her, Ye Chen was completely unfazed. He did this kind of thing all the time – tossing a landmine at one peak, stuffing a sky thunder curse at another. He was more experienced than anyone.

There's an old saying: Walk by the river often, and you're bound to get your shoes wet. Do shameless things enough, and it becomes a custom – which is exactly Da Chu's current culture.

With such a fierce culture, as the emperor, he deserved the credit.

Of course, he wasn't just going to watch Jade Girl Peak get blown up. He had already set up a massive barrier, covering the entire peak. And those who threw landmines at Jade Girl Peak – he remembered every one of them clearly. When he had time, he'd return the favor, one by one, and make sure to give them a big one. The impact would definitely satisfy them.

This night was far from peaceful, with booms echoing through the sky.

It wasn't until deep into the night that the rumbling finally died down.

"Come on, this is for you." Under the old tree, the Female Holy Body yawned and handed over the finished wood carving to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen eyed it sideways, still clueless about what she had carved.

Carved into such a mess, and she had the nerve to give it away?

That was Ye Chen's inner thought, but he didn't say it out loud. Instead, he wiped his hands on his clothes and carefully took it. "A gift from the Female Holy Body – I'm honored."

However, when he saw the name carved on the base, his smile turned a bit forced. It boldly read "Ye Chen."

In other words, this unrecognizable wood carving was supposed to be him.

Ye Chen said nothing, just slowly lifted his head and gave the Female Holy Body a meaningful look.

"Not carved well, don't hold it against me." The Female Holy Body pulled out a spirit fruit and munched on it busily.

Ye Chen still didn't speak, just stared at her intently.

In that moment, he suddenly felt an urge to relieve himself – holding his little brother in one hand and the Female Holy Body in the other. I didn't tease you, but you went and teased me? If you're this unruly, maybe I should find a branch and hang you up.

In fact, that's exactly what Ye Chen did. He found a rope and hung her up.

The Female Holy Body was surprisingly okay with it, or maybe just used to it. You've carried me to pee before – what couldn't I handle?

"Give me a couple of nice words, and I'll let you down." Ye Chen was in a playful mood, still examining the wood carving, which looked more and more like a toad.

The Female Holy Body glanced over but ignored him completely.

Ye Chen remained calm and composed. No nice words, no letting you down.

After studying the wood carving, he finally sat cross-legged, summoning the Taichu Divine Fire. It had been quite a while since he chatted with it – maybe it had come around by now.

"Taichu Divine Fire." The Female Holy Body, still hanging, had just closed her eyes when she opened them again. She recognized this heaven-defying flame – Chaos Fire was first, and it was second; no other flame dared to compete.

Ye Chen having the Taichu Divine Fire was beyond her expectations.

"Don't hold out on me – my patience is limited."

"Fuse with my immortal fire, and I'll take you to all the good stuff."

"Push me too far, and I'll just swallow you."

Under the Female Holy Body's watchful eye, Ye Chen launched into his persuasion, trying to coax the Taichu Divine Fire to submit.

But things didn't go as planned. The Taichu Divine Fire's pride was beyond his imagination. No matter how flowery his words, it just ignored him. Threats didn't work either.

"He wants to draw out the Chaos Fire." The Female Holy Body murmured to herself, full of surprise. She thought the world was full of astonishing talents, actually creating such a secret technique.

Unfortunately, Chaos Fire wasn't that easy to produce. Even fusing with this second-ranked divine fire wouldn't do it. Getting infinitely close to Chaos Fire was like a peak Quasi-Emperor getting infinitely close to a Great Emperor – though just half a step away, the gap was incredibly hard to cross.

"I underestimated you." After murmuring, she glanced at Ye Chen again. If the Taichu Divine Fire submitted and fused with the immortal fire, he might really break through the Great Saint bottleneck and become a Quasi-Emperor.

With that, she felt the rope loosen as the kind-hearted Ye Chen let her down and even condensed a cloud bed for her. Then, he stepped onto the peak of Jade Girl Peak, standing like a statue, quietly gazing up at the vast sky. The immortal light of his tribulation response was growing stronger and stronger.