Chapter 659: Shangguan

The night sky was deep, with scattered stars like dust.

In the vast emptiness, Ye Chen streaked through like a golden beam, his body enveloped in a black robe.

He had no choice; the attire of the Godslayer Qin Yu was too noticeable, and he didn't want to be discovered alive so soon. Ever the schemer, he intended to catch certain forces off guard.

Three hours later, he landed in the small garden of the ancient city.

As he expected, Zhou Ao and Li Xinghun were no longer there, having likely relocated.

"Still too lenient," Ye Chen said helplessly, shaking his head. If he had crippled Ji Ningshuang earlier, none of the subsequent troubles would have arisen.

With that, he slowly turned around.

Soon, two figures appeared before him: Li Xinghun and Zhou Ao, both cloaked in black robes.

Seeing them, Ye Chen was taken aback. "You didn't leave?"

"We left, but came back." Zhou Ao grinned. "The most dangerous place is the safest, after all!"

"Looks like you're not complete idiots after all!"

"But what's strange is that Zhengyang Zong didn't send anyone here." Li Xinghun scratched his head.

"They didn't send anyone?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow and stroked his chin. "Could it be that Ji Ningshuang didn't reveal this place to Zhengyang Zong?"

"Most likely."

"That's quite a surprise." Ye Chen continued stroking his chin, now viewing Ji Ningshuang in a new light. Zhengyang Zong's failure to search the city was largely due to her influence.

While Ye Chen pondered, Zhou Ao and Li Xinghun looked at him with puzzled expressions. "We heard about your heavenly tribulation, brother. Everyone says you were struck dead by it. How did you survive?"

"Nonsense, I still have to lead you in conquering the world. How could I die so young?" Ye Chen said, shaking his head and smugly smoothing his hair. "Stick with me, and you won't go wrong."

That went without saying!

The looks in Zhou Ao and Li Xinghun's eyes were full of conviction.

Leaving aside everything else, just consider the events from a few days ago: over thirty Zhuntian Jing experts and more than a thousand Kongming Jing cultivators couldn't catch Ye Chen, and ended up scattered by his heavenly tribulation.

Could anyone in Great Chu find such an impressive Kongming Jing first-layer cultivator?

More importantly, they had heard that the heavenly tribulation Ye Chen triggered was something no ordinary person could survive. For him to live through that and be as lively as ever now spoke volumes about his immense potential!

As they marveled, Ye Chen asked, "What about the others?" He took a swig of wine as he spoke.

"They're all in this ancient city, just waiting for you to lead us out and make a splash," Zhou Ao and Li Xinghun said with grins.

"Now that's music to my ears." Ye Chen shook his head again, smoothing his hair, channeling a bit of Chen Rongyun's style.

With that, he turned and headed outside first. "Gather our people; we're going home."

"You got it!" Zhou Ao and Li Xinghun followed, hurrying a couple of steps before chuckling awkwardly. "Uh, if you take us back like this, Liu Yi and Situ Nan won't beat us up, will they?"

"Don't worry, I'll leave you breathing."

The stars shone brightly, and the moonlight was pure.

This was a range of mountains, and deep within lay a majestic ancient city known as Dongyue Tiancheng in Southern Chu.

From afar, Dongyue Tiancheng radiated with splendor, overflowing with brilliant divine light. Amid the mountains, it stood like a dazzling pearl. It was enormously vast, with a towering peak rising within, enveloped in mist like a celestial mountain in the mortal world.

This was the Dongyue Shangguan family, one of the great powers in Southern Chu.

In a flower grove, a woman in white sat there, leaning against the railing and gazing absently at the petals drifting through the air.

Her beauty was unparalleled, but her face showed signs of weariness. A gentle breeze stirred her hair, covering half her face, yet it couldn't hide her poignant expression.

This was none other than Shangguan Yuer.

"You've been gone for a year now!" After a while, Shangguan Yuer tilted her face slightly, looking up at the hazy starry sky, hoping to find the brightest, most radiant star.

"Ye Chen, which one is you?" Shangguan Yuer murmured softly, her beautiful eyes growing misty and dreamlike. Though her words were tender, a hint of mist in her eyes condensed into frost under the moonlight.

Perhaps lost in her thoughts, she didn't notice that Shangguan Hanyue had quietly appeared behind her.

Ah!

Seeing Shangguan Yuer like this, Shangguan Hanyue couldn't help but sigh.

She had underestimated her younger sister's determination. So much time had passed, yet she still couldn't let go, wandering like a lost soul, leaving her elder sister feeling helpless.

As she thought this, Shangguan Hanyue stepped forward gently and patted Shangguan Yuer's shoulder. "Yuer, thinking about him again?"

Startled by Shangguan Hanyue's words, Shangguan Yuer quickly turned around. The mist in her eyes vanished in an instant, replaced by a forced smile. "Sister, you're back."

"After so long on my travels, it's time to return." Shangguan Hanyue smiled lightly and sat down beside Shangguan Yuer.

"So, Sister, did you have any exciting stories from your journey? Tell me about them."

"Nothing too exciting happened, but I did meet an interesting person." As Shangguan Hanyue spoke, the image of a figure wearing a ghostly mask with the character for "vengeance" on his forehead flashed in her mind.

Lost in thought, she became so absorbed that a faint smile curved her lips.

"Looks like Sister has found someone she fancies!" Shangguan Yuer said with a playful blink of her lively eyes.

"Yuer, don't tease." Interrupted from her thoughts, Shangguan Hanyue's cheeks flushed. "He's just different from others, and not at all like the rumors say."

At this, Shangguan Hanyue glanced at Shangguan Yuer. "And he knows you, by the way."

"Knows me?" Shangguan Yuer was stunned. "Who?"

"Qin Yu."

"Qin Yu?" Shangguan Yuer scratched her head, thinking for a couple of seconds before looking back at Shangguan Hanyue tentatively. "The Godslayer Qin Yu?"

"That's the one." Shangguan Hanyue said, her expression turning a bit odd. "He robbed my storage bag at first, but when he heard I was your sister, he gave it back right away."

"But I don't know him at all!" Shangguan Yuer said, bewildered.

"Maybe he's seen you, but you haven't seen him."

"That doesn't matter." Shangguan Yuer smiled and blinked at Shangguan Hanyue. "What matters is, does Sister like him?"

"Of course not. I'm just impressed by his strength. He's a peerless hero."

A peerless hero!

Hearing those words, Shangguan Yuer pursed her lips and looked back at the hazy starry sky, searching once more for the brightest, most radiant star.

"My Ye Chen is also a peerless hero."