Chapter 2479: A Competent Person

In the early morning, the gentle sunlight bathed Tianjie, creating a scene of perfect serenity.

In Donghai Longgong, Ye Chen had just woken from a sound sleep. He sat there with one hand propping up his face, quietly gazing outside. Through the palace gates, he could see patrols of shrimp soldiers and crab generals passing by.

These shrimp soldiers and crab generals were the Dragon Clan's aquatic troops. The commotion wasn't for battle; they were searching for someone—specifically, the Dragon King's third prince.

Unfortunately, their search was futile; that dragon had already been slain by Nezha.

Thinking of Nezha, Ye Chen couldn't help but feel concerned. The kid was actually quite decent. If the Dragon Clan remained unaware, all would be well, but if they found out, Chentang Guan would face disaster.

With that in mind, he got up and stepped out of the palace.

As he emerged, a shrimp soldier and crab general glanced over, sizing him up before asking casually,"Little rock, have you seen our third prince?"

Ye Chen shook his head, looking completely innocent.

The shrimp soldiers and crab generals didn't press further and turned to leave.

Ye Chen moved even faster, vanishing like smoke. Once out of Donghai, he saw even more shrimp soldiers and crab generals, each gripping tridents and swarming through the sea and sky, their calls echoing endlessly.

Ye Chen left Donghai and headed west.

Before long, a massive city fortification came into view—it was Chentang Guan, standing on this land for countless ages, ancient and weathered, engraved with mysterious Dao essence.

Entering the main street, it was incredibly bustling. Pavilions lined the roads, stalls abounded, and vendors hawked their wares incessantly. There were cultivators and ordinary people, and even quite a few demons.

As Ye Chen walked along, he glanced around curiously, his divine sense already spread out, enveloping all of Chentang Guan. He was searching for reincarnated souls from Da Chu—there had been some in the underworld back then, so there must be some in Tianjie too.

However, after scanning thoroughly, he found none.

Suddenly, he stopped at a stall selling calligraphy and paintings. The stall owner was an old man with a white beard, deeply engrossed in an ancient book.

The old man was absorbed in his reading, and Ye Chen was equally captivated—but for a different reason. He was fixated on a painting hanging at the stall.

The painting depicted a woman, graceful and ethereal, with an otherworldly beauty. Her indifferent eyes held a hint of pride. It was unclear whether the artist's skill was exceptional or if the woman herself was so pure and flawless, but she gave off a dreamlike aura.

Upon closer inspection, the woman's face looked exactly like that of Chu Xuan and Chu Ling.

In that moment, Ye Chen almost thought it was them.

"Young friend?" The white-bearded old man waved his hand.

"Elder, who is the woman in this painting?" Ye Chen asked with a smile.

"I don't know either; it's passed down from my ancestors."

"In that case, I'll take this painting." Ye Chen waved his hand, handed over a gold ingot, and took the portrait. He walked along, unrolling and admiring it as he went.

Perhaps he was just homesick, and it was making him see resemblances. There were many similar faces in the world, but this woman in the painting was identical to his Chu Xuan and Chu Ling, captured with stunning accuracy—especially her eyes, which seemed to shimmer with a living light.

"Come here." As he walked, a hand suddenly grabbed him and pulled him to the side of the street. Looking closely, it was Taiyi Zhenren, Nezha's master.

"You little rock, how dare you hit me?"

Taiyi Zhenren's face was darkly furious, his beard quivering. That night, he'd been completely caught off guard—a revered immortal of the heavenly court, beaten by someone in the Lingxu Realm.

"I didn't take your treasures, so consider that a favor." Ye Chen casually rolled up the painting, as if nothing had happened. If not for Nezha, he would have stripped this guy bare.

"Do I have a grudge against you?" Taiyi's face grew even darker.

"Orders from above: beat anyone from up there on sight." Ye Chen said with a grin.

At those words, Taiyi Zhenren raised an eyebrow and stepped back, reevaluating Ye Chen with a strange look. This little rock spirit—was he planning a rebellion?

As Taiyi stared, Ye Chen stared back, his eyes fixed on the divine lamp in Taiyi's arms. It resembled a long-lasting lamp, and inside it held a wisp of soul—the soul of the Dragon King's third prince. The soul was extremely weak, but with that fragment, the prince could be revived.

Ye Chen stroked his chin. This old Taiyi must have gone to that beach and used great divine powers to preserve the prince's soul for revival.

"You're quite the competent master," Ye Chen said with a laugh.

Taiyi didn't respond. Instead, he slapped a sealing talisman on Ye Chen. He'd been humiliated once; he couldn't let it slide. He had to fight back.

And so, Ye Chen, who had just entered Chentang Guan, was dragged away by him.

Ye Chen remained unfazed. He'd been dragged around in past and present lives more times than he could count. He wasn't going to let it go for free—once they were in a secluded spot, he'd give this guy another thrashing.

Soon, Taiyi Zhenren landed in a mountain range—it was the same remote area from that night. He was determined to get his revenge right where he'd been beaten before.

Ye Chen was finally set down, behaving unusually obediently.

"Drifting through the jianghu, who doesn't love a good fight?"

Taiyi Zhenren cracked his knuckles, grinning sleazily. He was going to give Ye Chen a thorough beating and then seriously figure out how a Lingxu Realm cultivator could be so powerful.

Bang! Smack! Clang!

What followed didn't need to be seen; the sounds said it all. Taiyi Zhenren lunged forward, but he was completely unprepared and got kicked away by Ye Chen. He didn't get up again. A gleaming iron staff dominated the scene, striking with thunderous force.

When the screams died down, Ye Chen and Taiyi had switched places. Ye Chen stood there neatly, while Taiyi Zhenren squatted on the ground, bruised and swollen.

This time, Ye Chen didn't hold back. He stripped the old man naked, leaving him only in floral underwear. He took every other treasure without exception.

"No justice! Where did you come from?" Taiyi Zhenren cursed.

"You're a Saint, yet you're this poor." Ye Chen clicked his tongue in amazement. In Taiyi's storage bag, there were only three items: a few hundred Tian Shi stones, several divine talismans, and...

A invitation.

"Huashan Lun Dao." Ye Chen opened it and saw the four golden characters, dazzling and infused with supreme Dao essence. It was clearly no ordinary thing.

"What's Huashan Lun Dao?" Ye Chen squatted down and asked Taiyi.

"I don't know."

Smack!

"So, Huashan Lun Dao is a grand event for debating the Dao," Taiyi Zhenren wiped the blood from his nose. He'd wanted to act tough, but Ye Chen's slap was too forceful.

"Is it lively?" Ye Chen asked with a smile.

"Huashan is the sacred mountain of the scattered immortals, a place of outstanding people and spiritual energy, where the Dao scriptures were naturally born. Legend has it that a great emperor attained enlightenment there, leaving behind imperial Dao insights. Over endless ages, it evolved with a spark of intelligence, merging into Huashan. You can hear the sounds of the Great Dao from a hundred li away, and it's most intense on the day of heaven and earth alignment. That day is Huashan Lun Dao, essentially for sensing the Dao scriptures. It could bring small opportunities or great fortunes—something rare and sought after. Such an event only happens once every hundred years, and not everyone qualifies to attend."

At that, Taiyi Zhenren sat up straighter, as if trying to adjust his collar for a dramatic effect. But realizing his clothes were gone, he just smoothed his hair and said solemnly, "This time, I was favored by the Jade Emperor and received this invitation."

Ye Chen stroked his chin. The legendary great emperor was undoubtedly Daozu. From the way Taiyi described it so excitedly, this event was no small matter. Those invited to Huashan Lun Dao were certainly no ordinary figures, encompassing both the upper immortal realm and the scattered immortal realm.

"This invitation is mine; I've waited eight hundred years for it," Taiyi Zhenren chuckled.

"Plenty from above have come down this time, right?" Ye Chen laughed.

"Let me put it this way: they're all big officials."

"Big officials are the best—I love big officials." Ye Chen's words were full of meaning. He thought to himself that he'd need to polish his Dinghai Shenzhen stick. It was rare to have such a crowd; he couldn't miss out. Not only would he cause chaos, he'd flip Huashan upside down.

"Huh?" Suddenly, Ye Chen exclaimed in surprise, raising an eyebrow as he looked at Taiyi Zhenren and scanned him up and down, his gaze settling on the old man's chest.

Taiyi felt a chill and instinctively covered his chest, worried that Ye Chen might have ulterior motives, especially since he was stripped.

"You're a Quasi-Emperor?" Ye Chen said, astonished. He had detected a small world within Taiyi's body, the kind only Quasi-Emperors could create.

"Nonsense, how else could I be a big official in the heavenly court?" Taiyi coughed.

"Why suppress yourself to Saint level?" Ye Chen asked curiously.

At that, Taiyi Zhenren's expression turned strange as he sized up Ye Chen in return. "Little rock spirit, you're not from Tianjie, are you?"

"What makes you say that?"

"The scattered immortal realm has heavenly restraints; anyone from the upper immortal realm gets suppressed to Saint level. Everyone in Tianjie knows that." As Taiyi spoke, his eyes glowed with immortal light as he used his insight technique to observe Ye Chen. From his reaction, Taiyi could tell he really didn't know, which was intriguing.

What was even more intriguing was Ye Chen's combat strength—it was terrifying. The first time, Taiyi had been caught off guard, but the second was a direct confrontation.

The heavenly court's big officials knew the lower realms well, but they'd never heard of someone like Ye Chen—a Lingxu Realm cultivator beating a Saint. Where had this rock spirit come from?

How interesting.

Ye Chen stroked his chin again. He hadn't realized the scattered immortal realm had such restraints. But so what? With his strength, he could rampage through it. Everyone was suppressed to Saint level, so he could take on a whole group alone. He had to stir up Huashan Lun Dao.

"Who exactly are you?" Taiyi Zhenren asked, more seriously this time.

Ye Chen didn't answer directly. Instead, he waved the invitation in front of Taiyi. "Want this back? Trade me for treasures. Otherwise, no deal."

"This is robbery!"

"If you don't behave, I might rob something else too."

"This small alchemy furnace—I think you'd like it." Taiyi Zhenren cooperated fully, valuing his dignity and fearing Ye Chen might do something worse.

For some reason, seeing Taiyi so cooperative made Ye Chen feel a bit nauseated. This plump old man was quite the character—I'd at least rob a woman if I were going that route, not you.

Ye Chen took the small alchemy furnace but didn't hand over the invitation. He was joking—a Saint-level furnace for an invitation? He'd caught a big fish; he needed more.

Taiyi Zhenren's face darkened. He didn't know where Nezha had found such a shameless character, and now, as his master, he'd run into him.

"Hurry up." Ye Chen poked Taiyi, eyeing his treasures.

At that moment, Ye Chen felt a pang of regret. Back in Da Chu, he should have learned that immortal technique from Ji Ningshuang—the one that lets you pull treasures from someone's small world. If he knew that secret art, he wouldn't have to waste time bantering with Taiyi.

Taiyi reluctantly pulled out a sword—a genuine Great Saint weapon.

"It's barely passable." Ye Chen took the sword and casually handed over the invitation. The old man had waited eight hundred years, after all; he couldn't ruin his chance.

As for Huashan Lun Dao, Ye Chen would go anyway. With so many attendees, he could just rob one on the way or force his way in if needed.

Thinking of that, he glanced up at the void, his eyes seeming to say: Hongjun Laodao, if I flip your Huashan, you won't get mad, right?

This time, Daozu wasn't around; he was probably in seclusion—or more accurately, in a self-imposed slumber. He did that every so often.

The realms of heaven and underworld differed from the human realm; they had powers that allowed emperors to self-seal, which was why figures like the Underworld Emperor and Daozu lived so long. The human realm lacked that.

Beside him, Taiyi finally stood up, quickly putting on a new daoist robe. His heart was full of melancholy. This trip to the lower realm had been eventful—he, a Quasi-Emperor of the heavenly court, had been beaten twice in the same place over two days.

He wouldn't even dare mention this when he got back.

"With talents like yours, if you went to the heavenly court, you could land a great position," Taiyi said, stroking his beard with a straight face, trying to sound like a senior.

"You're just trying to lure me to the upper immortal realm so you can beat me, right?" Ye Chen replied, while crushing the Great Saint weapon and refining its essence into his Dinghai Shenzhen.

"Don't measure an upper immortal's belly with a rock spirit's heart." Taiyi gazed into the distant sky. Truth be told, that's exactly what he was thinking. At Saint level, he couldn't beat Ye Chen, but in the upper immortal realm, as a Quasi-Emperor, there's no way he'd lose. He couldn't let those beatings go unavenged.

Ye Chen almost laughed. Even in the upper immortal realm, he'd still thrash you.

As he spoke, the Great Saint weapon was fully integrated. The Dinghai Shenzhen hummed, its vibrations shaking the soul, especially the four Dunjia Tianzi characters on it, which shone the brightest. The profound Dao essence they emitted, enhanced with mysterious power, made the iron staff even more extraordinary.

Taiyi glanced at it, his eyes sharp. He'd experienced the staff's power firsthand—a single swing could make even a Quasi-Emperor's head ring.

The more he saw, the more curious he became about this little rock spirit's origins. A Great Saint weapon, casually melted down—who didn't treat treasures like treasures?

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