Chapter 2523: Original Wife is Best

As soon as the words were spoken, Huashan Shen Nü appeared in an instant. She glanced at Kunlun Laodao, then tentatively looked at Ye Chen. If she had heard correctly earlier, it was about changing bodies, and there might be a way to resolve it.

"This old Daoist has a method to break it." Ye Chen pulled out his wine flask.

"Really?"

"No falsehoods." Ye Chen replied casually, but his next words were spoken through divine sense. "This old fellow isn't straightforward. If you marry over one day, you must watch out for him."

Huashan Shen Nü didn't pay attention to that remark at all. She was only concerned about changing bodies.

At her side, Kunlun Laodao sat quietly, his mind deeply immersed in the profound mysteries, much like the Huashan Xianzi of the past. He was utterly captivated, completely forgetting about the matter of changing bodies at that moment.

Huashan Shen Nü cleared her throat and softly called out, "Old Daoist."

Unfortunately, Kunlun Laodao showed no reaction.

Hey!

Ye Chen suddenly shouted, startling Huashan Shen Nü so much that her body trembled, and Kunlun Laodao nearly jumped in fright. That shout was indeed effective—it truly snapped the old Daoist out of his trance.

Huashan Shen Nü covered her mouth and stifled a laugh. In reality, Ye Chen's method was quite direct.

Kunlun Laodao's face turned an unusual shade of black. He understood Ye Chen's intention, but that yell was overly shocking. Earlier, when you were in enlightenment, this old one didn't dare disturb you, yet you're so inconsiderate.

"The sooner we change, the sooner we'll be at ease." Ye Chen said with a chuckle.

Kunlun Laodao's face remained dark as he finally put away the ancient scroll and summoned the Jinji Xianhuo.

At the same time, Ye Chen tossed the wine flask aside and sat cross-legged with Huashan Shen Nü, one on each side.

The Jinji Xianhuo surged forth, urged on by Kunlun Laodao, enveloping the two of them.

Only after being in the flames did Ye Chen realize the profound mystery of the forbidden fire. It truly caused the Yuan Shen and the physical body to loosen their bond. The taboo that had confined the Yuan Shen in the flesh was now fading, and the restraints were no longer as overpowering.

"What excellent Xianhuo."

Ye Chen murmured to himself, wondering if he should take it from the old Daoist. When he returned to the Zhutian realm one day, he could merge it into the Jiuwu Xianyan. If successful, he might even create Hunlun Huo.

Beside him, Huashan Shen Nü's eyes showed delight once more. She could clearly sense the binding force weakening. Once the taboo restraints were gone, her Yuan Shen could leave the body, allowing her to switch back to her original form. Then, when she was with Kunlun Shenzi, they could add some other activities to their romance.

At the thought of this, a blush spread across her cheeks. It was a bit unreserved, mainly because last night, the special edition Ye Chen had given her had stirred her up, igniting a desire within her heart.

Of course! She must have secretly copied a version and studied it afterward.

The two of them were lost in their own thoughts, while Kunlun Laodao's brows furrowed slightly.

The old Daoist's eyes narrowed into slits as he ignored Huashan Shen Nü and focused solely on Ye Chen. Unintentionally, he had detected a trace of Kunlun imperial essence from Ye Chen.

"Where did this kid get the Kunlun imperial essence?" the old Daoist muttered to himself, full of confusion.

Pop! Pop!

In the void, sounds like these echoed, audible only to Ye Chen and Huashan Shen Nü.

Indeed, the taboo force binding their Yuan Shen had been undone by the Jinji Xianhuo.

In that same instant, both of them released their Yuan Shen and returned to their respective bodies.

"The original match is still the best." Ye Chen laughed, stretching lazily as crackling sounds came from within his body. The harmony between his own Yuan Shen and flesh felt wonderfully satisfying.

Huashan Shen Nü wore a similar expression, full of contentment at the long-lost sensation.

"Thank you, senior."

With that, the young woman turned and vanished. No need to guess—she had gone to bathe. Once she was fresh and fragrant, she'd seek out her lover. With daylight still early, they could engage in something more meaningful, like the grand endeavor of creating life.

Ye Chen was casual about it. He grabbed his outer robe and changed into a new Dao robe, not forgetting to wash his face and wipe off all the rouge and powder. A grown man like him didn't want any of that stuff on him.

"Where did you get that Kunlun imperial essence?" Kunlun Laodao asked without glancing away, fixing his gaze on Ye Chen.

"Kunlun imperial essence?" Ye Chen looked utterly astonished, his acting skills flawless.

His superb performance actually fooled Kunlun Laodao. Seeing Ye Chen's blank expression, it was clear he wasn't lying, which made it all the more puzzling—had the essence come to him on its own?

"Come on, here's the rest of the profound mysteries." Ye Chen was in high spirits and handed over another ancient scroll. It was partly out of gratitude and partly to divert attention—he couldn't let any suspicions arise.

"You little brat, you know quite a bit!" Kunlun Laodao stroked his beard and glared. Only now did he realize that the profound mysteries Ye Chen had given earlier were incomplete, and he hadn't noticed at all. He had nearly been tricked.

In fact, he had already been tricked. With Ye Chen's version of the alchemy profound mysteries, the old Daoist was bound to blow up a few furnaces of pills. One thing at a time—if you won't sell me materials, I'll give you a little surprise.

Kunlun Laodao left, moving with surprisingly quick steps. Having obtained the alchemy profound mysteries, he retreated into his own cave dwelling. For the next while, he likely wouldn't emerge, and he had no mind for the Kunlun imperial essence matter anymore.

The next day, before dawn fully broke, crowds from all directions gathered toward the Doufa arena.

The so-called delayed Doufa was just one battle: the showdown between Songshan Shenzi and Taishan Shenzi. Once they decided the winner, the Wuyue Doufa would conclude.

Though it was only one fight, the attendees were numerous, even more so than before.

Ye Chen arrived early, not to watch the fight, but to search for reincarnated souls. With so many new spectators arriving, there was a chance some might be among them. However, after scanning around, he didn't spot a single one.

"Find a good time to pass through the Tianren Wu Shuaijie." Huashan Zhenren sent a message through divine sense.

"Understood." Ye Chen nodded with a smile, still surveying the surroundings. Another group of spectators had just arrived, including people from the Sanxian realm and others, mostly those who had just emerged from seclusion.

Before long, Huashan Shen Nü landed on the Yuntai, but Huashan Shenzi was nowhere to be seen.

Her arrival drew sidelong glances from Huashan Zhenren and Huashan Xianzi, and even Ye Chen, who was searching for reincarnated souls, turned his head for a look. He raised an eyebrow, his gaze a bit odd.

It was just that today's Huashan Shen Nü seemed different from yesterday. Her complexion was rosy, her cheeks flushed, and her watery eyes rippled with a hazy mist.

Huashan Zhenren and Huashan Xianzi shook their heads with a smile, needing no questions to know what had happened last night.

"What a fine cabbage, gobbled up by a pig again."

Ye Chen took a deep breath, his words laden with meaning, and glanced across to where Kunlun Shenzi had also landed. Today, he wasn't drunk as usual; he was full of vigor, grinning broadly. His whole demeanor seemed to spell out one word: satisfied.

His remark amused Huashan Zhenren and Huashan Xianzi. It was spot on.

Huashan Shen Nü's eyes flashed with anger. If you didn't speak, no one would think you were mute.

More and more spectators arrived from all sides, a dense mass of people. Every cloud was packed, and the surrounding void was a sea of black, with barely any space left to stand.

Once they found comfortable spots, the spectators tucked their hands away.

One could see that the people's gazes weren't as brightly eager as before. They had little interest in this battle. No matter how stunning it was, it couldn't compare to Huashan's little stone. Even if someone won the Wuyue Doufa first place, they'd still be overshadowed by Ye Chen.

Thus, the Huashan Yuntai became the center of everyone's attention.

Nearly every attendee would glance at Ye Chen. Though he wasn't eligible for the Wuyue Doufa, he was the hottest one there, outshining all the Shenzi and Shen Nü.

As they spoke, the other four peaks arrived one after another.

There was one action that the people from the four peaks performed with striking similarity: they all looked toward Huashan. Their focus was especially on Ye Chen, with Songshan Shenzi and Taishan Shenzi looking particularly vicious and sinister. They still vividly remembered the battle two days ago and how miserably they had lost.

The faces of the four peaks' Zhangjiao weren't much better. To reclaim their Shenzi and Shen Nü's magical tools, they had paid a heavy price. Every time they thought of it, it hurt deeply, and their gazes at Ye Chen carried an extra edge of malice.

Ye Chen was completely at ease, hands tucked and eyes lowered, ignoring everything around him. Only when new spectators arrived would he look up. If there were no reincarnated souls, he'd lower his head again, lost in thought.

"Come on, make some room."

Taiyi and Tai Bai arrived, quite self-assured, squeezing out Huashan Shen Nü and sitting one on each side of Ye Chen. Of course, Si Ming was there too. After sitting down, he grinned cheerfully, clearly hoping Ye Chen would give him a few more special editions.

Following them, a great demon and a great fiend also landed, pushing the three aside to sit one on each side. These two great demon and fiend looked like Ye Chen's guards no matter how you saw it.

More arrivals followed—many old fellows, mostly the unserious types from the Sanxian realm. The once-spacious Yuntai became crowded, leaving Huashan Shen Nü feeling awkward. In the end, she stood up and went to the Kunlun side, where Kunlun Shenzi had an empty seat next to him.

At a glance, the Huashan Yuntai was a mix of all sorts: human cultivators, demon cultivators, fiend cultivators, immortals from the Upper Immortal realm, and great fiends from the Sanxian realm. Such a gathering was quite a sight.

"Everyone, have any of you seen these three types of Xianliao?"

Ye Chen took out a piece of paper with three materials listed on it, all needed for refining the Jiuzhuan Huan Hun Dan. With these plus what Kunlun Laodao had, he could gather a full set. Once he found these three, he'd go get the old Daoist's share, and that would complete the merit.

"Long Xian Cao, Phoenix Flower, Qilin Fruit." Jiaolong Wang glanced at it and then at Ye Chen. He knew how precious these three were; as a great demon, he had only heard of them.

"Such valuable items aren't something ordinary people would have." Niu Mo Wang said leisurely.

"The Eighth Prince has Qilin Fruit, but I've never heard of the other two." Taiyi said with his hands tucked, throwing Ye Chen a meaningful look, implying that he shouldn't even think about the Qilin Fruit—it was out of reach.

"Perhaps there's Phoenix Flower in the Buzhou Mountain."

"Go find the Jade Emperor; he might have Long Xian Cao. That guy has a ton of treasures."

"How about we discuss flipping the Heavenly Palace?"

The group chattered away, with Jiaolong Wang and Niu Mo Wang being the most restless, always egging on the other great demons and fiends to stir up trouble in the Heavenly Court and then invite the Jade Emperor to the Sanxian realm for some fun.

The speakers meant no harm, but the listeners took note.

Ye Chen's eyes lit up more than once. Knowing who had them and where they were made things easier. If not, he could buy them; if that failed, steal them; and if stealing didn't work, then rob them. Not just the Eighth Prince—even the Jade Emperor, he would rob if needed. Not just Buzhou Mountain—even a sea of knives and fire, he would go if he had to.

Without causing some chaos, the Daozu wouldn't awaken.