Chapter 2819: Good Business

Chapter 2819: Business is Good

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Zhang Zifan departed.

To show his gratitude, Ye Chen manifested his Fa Shen to escort him away. With so many people watching, it wouldn't be appropriate to bully a junior in public; they needed to find a secluded spot.

Not long after, Zhang Zifan was beaten by the Fa Shen. What was supposed to be a protective escort turned into leading the young man to a remote mountain corner, where they had a proper chat.

When the world saw him again, he was limping badly.

It was a good thing the Ghost Emperor was no longer in this world; otherwise, he would surely curse Ye Chen: "You bastard, my descendant is so well-behaved, and you still had the heart to lay hands on him?"

It was also fortunate the Ghost Emperor was gone; otherwise, Ye Chen the young master would retort: "Your descendant is well-behaved, but my ninth one isn't? You're a great emperor who doesn't focus on cultivation and just wastes time on useless things. Do you know how many people that Sun and Moon Forbidden Curse has tricked?"

Awesome!

Ye Chen sat at his desk, chuckling away, his face beaming with the word "awesome." The onlookers were baffled, wondering why the tenth emperor of Great Chu was smiling so happily. Did your wife just have another child?

"Run what? I'm not going to hit you."

"This kid's legs are pretty nimble!"

"Run again, and I'll make you run more."

In Ye Chen's small realm, things were still as lively as ever. That Chaos Cauldron and that Chaos Fire were quite unruly, and the Kai Tian Shen Lei, with its high intelligence, refused to submit obediently. It zipped around like a streak of light, while the Chaos Cauldron, Chaos Fire, and heavenly thunder chased it all over, turning the small world into complete chaos.

Ye Chen ignored it all.

After all, it was a divine thunder with its own pride. If it fused or submitted too easily, that would be unnatural. The Tai Chu Shen Lei was a perfect example of that.

"Jiang Taixu?"

"Feng Huang?"

As Ye Chen was enjoying himself, he suddenly heard voices speaking.

Ye Chen didn't look their way but glanced at the people around. The old folks calling out names directly was one thing, but even those young newcomers were joining in.

Indeed, it was Jiang Taixu and Feng Huang. He looked like a ethereal immortal king, and she like a fairy from the Guanghan Palace, both seemingly stepping on the river of time, emerging from the end of the ages. They were timeless and ancient, a perfect match no matter how you looked at them.

"Greetings, seniors."

From afar, Ye Chen bowed in respect, both to Jiang Taixu and to Feng Huang. There were karmic ties between them, especially with the Feng Huang clan. He still remembered Feng Xian, and the resentment lingered—because of her, so many reincarnated souls had met tragic ends far from home.

Jiang Taixu smiled faintly and flicked his sleeve, producing a bolt of lightning that he had obtained by chance. While wandering through the starry skies, he had heard about Ye Chen exchanging for thunder and decided to bring it along. He had high hopes for this junior.

"Thank you, senior."

Ye Chen didn't hesitate and went through the motions, bringing out his own magical tools, pills, and secret scrolls for them to choose from.

Jiang Taixu smiled warmly and took nothing. With Feng Huang, they walked off side by side, gradually disappearing into the distance. Wherever they passed, people bowed in reverence—their seniority was just too high.

No sooner had they left than business arrived.

From afar, they spotted the Kunlun Laodao, his face quite dark, especially when he saw Ye Chen—it turned pitch black. Back in the Heavenly Realm, all those materials for the Huan Hun Dan had been snatched by Ye Chen. Every time he thought about it, he seethed with anger. If not for Ye Chen refining the Huan Hun Dan, he would still be in the dark about it all.

"Pick whatever you like."

Ye Chen grinned, though his thick skin made him a bit embarrassed. He really felt sorry for the Kunlun Laodao—after painstakingly saving up materials for half a lifetime, they had been wiped out in one go.

"No problem."

The Kunlun Laodao's face was grim as he pulled out a large storage sack. He didn't care what magical tools, secret treasures, pills, or ancient scrolls were; he just stuffed them in one by one. The more he took, the more balanced he felt.

Ye Chen played along, pulling out his ledger. For every item the Kunlun Laodao took, he noted it down. These treasures would eventually be reimbursed by the evil demons. For saving your husband, I did some shameless things and lost all these treasures. You'd better pay up nicely, or I'll show up at your window every day, especially when you're getting intimate.

Before long, all the items outside had been taken. The Kunlun Laodao stroked his beard and weighed the sack. Hmm? It's not full yet—I can add more.

If it wasn't full, Ye Chen had to fill it. Not enough treasures? Then use local specialties. He grabbed basket after basket of Great Chu specialties and crammed them in. Just make a gesture; don't really try to bankrupt me.

The old daoist glanced at it and decided not to quibble further. He tossed out a bolt of purple true thunder and left with his sack, even opening an emperor-level domain gate to avoid any encounters with robbers on the way—you wouldn't find him even if you tried.

People getting smarter isn't always a good thing.

Ye Chen couldn't help but sigh, his expression full of meaning. He had indeed been thinking about robbing him, but now it seemed he was a step behind. That old thing had come to the various heavens and, after hanging around certain people, had become much sharper.

A few days passed quietly, with no new business.

Ye Chen sat at his desk, dozing off again. The various heavens were vast, and there must be more people with lightning, but not everyone was willing to trade, and not everyone was that generous.

On the ninth day, the Kai Tian Shen Lei finally submitted, though unwillingly. The fusion process was extremely difficult, taking a full half month to complete.

For half a month, no one came.

Ye Chen waited while dozing, and the spectators yawned endlessly, wondering why it was so quiet. Why waste good time like this? There are so many girls out there to charm, yet here you are, just hanging around chatting.

"Get lost, don't follow me."

A harsh scolding suddenly rang out, startling Ye Chen, who was slumped over the desk. He lifted his head, his sleepy eyes foggy and confused.

The newcomer was a fairy, graceful and stunningly beautiful, in a fluttering red immortal skirt. Though her figure was petite and slender, she walked with a bold, commanding presence, full of fierce energy.

That fairy was Niu Ben, the granddaughter of Niu Shisan. She had been brought back during the Heavenly Demon invasion and was completely different from her previous life. Now, she finally looked like a proper young woman. As for her past life—well, that was a whole other story.

She wasn't alone; trailing behind were three others: Xie Yun's disciple Shao Yu, Huo Teng's disciple Wang Biao, and Xiong Er's disciple Gong Xiaotian. They scampered after her, clearly all smitten with Niu Ben. In her past life, she had been too fierce, but in this one, she was beautiful, so they all dreamed of winning her over. People should have ideals, after all.

Ye Chen's eyes held a meaningful glint; he quite approved of his three grand-disciples. They didn't just like pretty girls—they probably had a masochistic streak too. Could they really handle someone like Niu Ben? If they married her, would they be able to keep her in check? She might leave them half-paralyzed on their wedding night. Just thinking about it was amusing.

"Emperor, does your family need a daughter-in-law?"

Niu Ben approached and handed over a bolt of golden thunder, adding a direct comment. This girl didn't beat around the bush; she was straightforward, much like the Little Barbarian King.

Ye Chen accepted the thunder with a dry cough.

"If you agree, I'll just move to Jade Maiden Peak!"

Niu Ben flipped her hair, but the gesture looked oddly out of place. Maybe it was because her impression from the past life was too strong—her appearance had changed, but her temperament hadn't.

"It's probably best not to go."

Ye Chen's words were sincere and earnest. It wasn't that he feared she'd cause trouble; he was worried she couldn't take a beating. His little girl Yang Lan usually seemed gentle, but when fights broke out, she was fierce.

"How are we any worse than Ye Fan?"

Gong Xiaotian and the others chimed in, chattering away.

"Are you as tall as him?"

"Are you as handsome as him?"

"Are you as strong as him?"

Niu Ben stood with one hand on her hip, pointing at each of them in turn, like a boss laying down the law, making the three of them hang their heads.

Gong Xiaotian coughed—he wasn't as tall as Ye Fan.

Shao Yu chuckled sheepishly—he wasn't as handsome as Ye Fan.

Wang Biao pouted—he wasn't as strong as Ye Fan.

"But we're thick-skinned!"

A moment later, the three said in unison.

That statement was bold and unyielding. Not just Niu Ben, even Ye Chen was amused. These four treasures were national-level in Great Chu. When it came to thick skin, they could outdo Ye Fan by ten streets. If that guy had a thicker face, Ye Chen would have grandchildren by now.

"Get lost, don't follow me."

Niu Ben left, and the three stuck to her like dog-skin plasters. They weren't planning to go home until they won over that Niu family cabbage. They were probably on a mission from their masters too. People like Xiong Er and Xie Yun were absolutely capable of egging on their disciples to chase girls—just like Xiong Xiaoer back in the day was a prime example.

Ye Chen withdrew his gaze and sent the thunder into his small realm.

That day was extremely lively, with people coming one after another: famous generals from the Underworld, great demons from the Heavenly Realm, old cultivators from the Human Realm, and many unfamiliar daoists who said they were delivering thunder on behalf of others. Ye Chen knew exactly who they represented—the old immortal venerables of the Heavenly Realm, who probably still couldn't let go of the Heavenly Court incident and wanted to avoid awkward meetings, so they sent representatives.

That day, business was good.

The old folks were generous, each offering a true thunder along with various heavenly thunders, and even two damaged immortal thunders, all of fairly high rank.

Looking at the Tai Chu Shen Lei, it wasn't calm anymore. Now, with the sources of these thunders far surpassing its own, if they really fought, this second-ranked thunder wouldn't stand a chance against the heavenly thunder, especially since it was incomplete.

Every time this happened, the Chaos Cauldron would butt in, inevitably issuing threats and persuasion, and that Chaos Fire would join in. The two worked together seamlessly, but unfortunately, the divine thunder remained unmoved, oil and salt resistant—no matter how much you talked, it wouldn't submit. It was proud, after all.

"Still a long way to go."

Ye Chen murmured to himself. He had fused quite a bit of thunder, but it was far from reaching Chaos Thunder. Just like when he fused Chaos Fire back then, the later stages required increasingly higher-level thunder.

"I think forcibly devouring it would be more reliable."

"Exactly what I was thinking."

The Chaos Cauldron hummed, and the Chaos Fire flickered. They had truly lost patience and were ready to go all out, just swallowing the Tai Chu Shen Lei whole.

Ye Chen didn't respond—it was all nonsense.

The Chaos Return Origin secret method required not just the source, but a perfect fusion of essence, spirit, and spirituality. That was the true essence of fusion.

One day, Ye Chen sat cross-legged with his eyes closed, entering a state of enlightenment. Whenever someone brought thunder, they would say it themselves: hand over the thunder and take what you need. All the treasures were laid out outside for the taking.