Chapter 2543: Imperial Court Audience

"Where did this demonic qi come from?"

Ye Chen furrowed his brow slightly. Having once killed the Demonic Emperor and fought against demons multiple times, he was extremely sensitive to their aura. He was certain he hadn't mistaken it; the fleeting black qi at Yu Di's glabella was definitely from a demon.

"Yu Di isn't a demon, so where did the demonic qi come from?"

Ye Chen muttered again, feeling quite puzzled. Having some demonic evil qi in one's body wasn't unusual in the myriad heavens, but possessing demonic aura was strange.

"I have seen the Yu Di."

"All officials, rise."

Just as Ye Chen was muttering to himself, the throng of officials had already taken their places, cupping their hands and bowing respectfully. Yu Di's words followed immediately, and the officials tacitly stepped aside to form two neat rows, speaking in unison. Though it was just a formality, both Yu Di and the officials treated it with utmost sincerity. The emperor acted like an emperor, and the ministers like ministers.

The subsequent proceedings were particularly tedious. Some old officials would always pull out little notebooks from their sleeves and spout nonsensical words. If they disliked someone on a normal day, they would draft a memorial to impeach them, and if the target wasn't careful, it could lead to their downfall.

However, more than eighty percent of the people stood quietly, listening silently to certain high-ranking officials rambling on. Many yawned, clearly impatient.

Ye Chen didn't say anything, occasionally glancing at Yu Di, still contemplating the demonic qi. He had a feeling that this Tian Court's Yu Di must be linked to the Demonic Domain, and Daozu definitely knew the hidden secrets.

At that thought, he looked at Taiyi, then at Taibai. These two white-bearded old Daoists appeared listless, as if they hadn't noticed anything.

"Impeach whoever you don't like."

Taiyi whispered.

"I don't like Ba Taizi."

Ye Chen replied without hesitation. It was the plain truth. Not to boast, but if he were at the Quasi-Emperor level right now, even if Yu Di intervened, he'd cripple Yin Ming and demand justice for the reincarnated Dachu.

"More than ninety-nine percent of the high-ranking officials here don't like him."

Taibai scratched his ear and flicked the earwax onto Taiyi. "Impeach whoever you want, but don't cross Ba Taizi. Those who have impeached him before have suffered the worst fates imaginable; their graves are overgrown with grass by now, without even a tombstone. Isn't that ironic?"

"In an era where it all comes down to whose son you are, you have to accept it." The shrewd Young Master Ye stated a simple truth: who made his father the Yu Di?

"Bixia's immortal robe today is truly vibrant, perfectly complementing her beauty."

Taiyi chuckled, ignoring the high-ranking officials' chatter and focusing only on Bixia Xianzi. Those old eyes gleamed brightly, as lecherous as could be.

"Oh, pink underwear."

Taibai stroked his beard.

"Don't mess around—it's purple."

Ye Chen chimed in.

At his words, Bixia Xianzi, diagonally in front, turned her eyes slightly, furrowing her delicate brows and glancing over, particularly at Young Master Ye. Her pair of clear, water-like beautiful eyes now held ignited flames, with a devouring gaze.

Ye Chen and the other two suddenly became very well-behaved: one touched his nose and looked toward Yu Di; one scratched his ear and glanced outside the hall; and a certain young master stared at the barefoot official beside him, fixated on his feet. Why isn't he wearing shoes?

"Keep your voice down; she can read sound transmissions—her ears are exceptionally sharp."

"It's all because of your Huashan Xianzi's teaching; it's made us afraid to speak loudly."

"You didn't say that earlier."

The three muttered among themselves. In the entire Tian Court assembly, they stood out the most, showing up for early court in the morning without discussing proper matters, just chatting nonsense, as if treating Yu Di like mere decoration—he said his piece, and they said theirs.

It was fortunate that Bixia Xianzi was magnanimous; otherwise, she would have stood up and had each of them impeached, locking the three up in the heavenly prison for their foul mouths.

Opposite, Bixia Xianzi finally withdrew her gaze, her cheeks flushing red. She didn't know if Ye Chen was guessing or could truly see, but he had gotten it right.

Given the abundance of hooligans in the assembly, she became more cautious, summoning a layer of purple immortal light to envelop her entire form, blocking external scrutiny.

Well then! Her action stirred things up; in the entire assembly, more than eighty percent of the old fellows lowered their heads in unison, rubbed their eyes, and saw stars, completely dazzled. A few even wobbled unsteadily.

"If I go to Bixia Palace again, will I get beaten?"

Ye Chen coughed softly, and among those rubbing their eyes, he was certainly included—he had seen the most clearly and was dazzled the worst, his head buzzing as if struck by a dull club.

The barefoot official poked him. "Young friend, where's your Daojing?"

"I traded it with Ba Taizi for some treasures."

This made the barefoot official twitch his mouth. He had wanted to borrow Ye Chen's Daojing for study, but now, forget it. He truly couldn't understand Ye Chen—doing well as the Huashan sect leader in the lower world, yet he had to come up here to be an official. Ba Taizi had taken the Daojing, and from Ye Chen's expression, he didn't seem heartbroken at all.

Speaking of the Daojing, Ye Chen closed his eyes slightly and could clearly sense its exact location. The Daojing was where Ba Taizi was—in seclusion, quietly comprehending it. Once he emerged, there would surely be some grandstanding.

"Stay put; I'll come get you when I'm done."

Ye Chen sent a mental message; only the Daojing could hear it. It indeed possessed high spirituality and understood Ye Chen's words, involuntarily twitching once, which made Ba Taizi furrow his brows, feeling as if someone had kicked him in the dark.

"You old thing, how dare you frame me—are you asking for death?"

"If you don't want others to know, don't do it. If you have the guts to err, own up to it."

"In that case, I have a memorial to present and impeach you to death."

For some reason, the assembly suddenly livened up. Two high-ranking immortal lords, one on the left and one on the right, were making a racket, like performing an opera—one blowing his beard and glaring, the other red-faced and thick-necked—completely ignoring Yu Di, shouting and scolding each other, on the verge of brawling, with a thick gunpowder atmosphere.

As for Yu Di, he sat steadily, watching quietly. From his world-weary demeanor, it was clear he was accustomed to it.

The officials present mostly kept their hands behind their backs, with no one stepping in to mediate; they just watched the spectacle. In such a dull early court, there was always fresh drama unfolding. When the two high-ranking immortal lords clashed, the scene would surely be entertaining.

Ye Chen took a deep breath, half-tempted to pull Yu Di aside for a serious talk: as the ruler of Tian Court, how idle are you? This utterly pointless early court, dragging everyone into nonsense—what's the point?

"Enough."

Finally, Yu Di spoke, his words deep and majestic, halting the two high-ranking immortal lords' quarrel. His eyes held profound meaning, as if saying: everyone is busy, so you two shouldn't waste time on this.

Yu Di's words were effective; the assembly fell silent at once.

"Court dismissed."

Yu Di rose, flicked his dragon robe sleeves, and vanished in an instant, leaving only a lingering echo like a great bell, resonating endlessly in the Lingxiao Baodian and shaking the four seas and eight wildernesses. This was the majesty of Tian Court's ruler. The high-ranking officials were unaffected, but the heavenly soldiers guarding outside felt their minds reel and were shaken badly.

Humph!

The two high-ranking immortal lords snorted coldly and turned away, their gazes flickering with anger, likely to find a place to fight.

Yet, once they left the great hall, the two acted like brothers, and Ye Chen clearly saw them winking at each other, as if sharing a tacit understanding—they had clearly been putting on a show, and a realistic one at that.

Ye Chen's expression grew meaningful again.

This scene perfectly illustrated a truth: policies from above have countermeasures from below, all to annoy Yu Di. In this completely useless early court, they had to find ways to stir up trouble—if we're unhappy, we won't let you be happy either.

"Tian Court, full of talents!"

Ye Chen remarked deeply, and once out of the Lingxiao Baodian, he vanished, heading straight to the heavenly prison. Yesterday he hadn't made it, but today, he had to properly visit the reincarnated Taixu Wang and conveniently chat with Shura Tianzun about ideals.

Behind him, someone followed secretly, cloaked in a black robe—no need to say, it was Ziyang Xianjun's person. Having lost the Kongdong Seal, how could they not be anxious?

Ye Chen acted as if unaware and even divided into three thousand incarnations, rushing to various places, naturally to seek out the reincarnated individuals—this was his mission in coming to Tian Court.

Upon reaching the heavenly prison again, the heavenly soldiers and generals weren't as accommodating.

Yesterday, he had Yu Di's order, but today he had nothing—not anyone could freely enter and exit the heavenly prison; an order was required.

However, he still got in, giving the guarding general a great saint weapon, and their rapport became quite friendly; he'd likely visit the heavenly prison often in the future.

"Oh, you're back again."

It was still that purple-haired heavenly general, spotting Ye Chen from afar. Yesterday he had received two great saint weapons, so his attitude toward Ye Chen was all smiles—this little stone spirit was incredibly wealthy and generous.

"Make way for me."

Ye Chen handed over a storage bag, containing a full twenty thousand heavenly stones—not a small sum.

"No problem."

The purple-haired heavenly general grinned and casually lifted the seal.

Ye Chen stepped inside.

The prison no longer held any Yang family members, feeling quite spacious. Ye Chen spotted the reincarnated Taixu Wang at a glance, locked in the innermost cell, sitting facing the wall with his back to the cell door, like a motionless stone statue.

The purple-haired heavenly general handled things reliably; this cell appeared dim and lightless, but it had special arrangements, with a piece of warm jade concealed within.

"Senior, I hope you've been well."

Ye Chen stopped at the cell door, his smile tinged with vicissitude, his voice hoarse.

Taixu Wang heard it and couldn't help but stand and turn around, slightly furrowing his brows as he sized up Ye Chen. He had seen him yesterday, but before that, he was sure he hadn't met this little stone spirit; his memory held no trace of him.

Ye Chen said nothing and released a ray of memory immortal light.

Uh!

Immediately, Taixu Wang grunted, roaring in pain, like many reincarnated individuals, as a massive memory surged in, bit by bit engraving into his sea of consciousness and blending with his current life's memories.

Ye Chen waved his hand and set up a barrier, isolating the outside world.

Once the roaring subsided, Taixu Wang looked at Ye Chen with an inexplicable daze. Though not originally aged, his eyes now brimmed with vicissitude, marked by the wind and frost of years, his gaze a mix of shock, nostalgia, doubt, emotion, and confusion, perfectly capturing the state of just awakening from a great dream.