Chapter 866: Chatting

Ye Chen swept his gaze across the area, his eyes finally settling on a small altar in the corner where a boy of about ten was chained up. That must be Zhao Ziyun.

The boy had a clear, handsome face, like a young scholar, and his bloodline power was remarkably strong, eliciting a sigh of admiration from even Ye Chen.

Perhaps because he had just been captured, his condition wasn't too bad. As for those who had been brought in before him, their bloodline power had mostly been drained, leaving them withered and emaciated.

"This little one has weak cultivation, so take it slow. Don't kill him," a purple-robed elder instructed, pointing at Zhao Ziyun.

"Don't worry, Ge Lao, I know what I'm doing."

"These are troubled times, so everyone stay alert."

"Ge Lao, have the major forces of Beichu really surrounded the Shixue Dian headquarters?" a blood-clothed youth tentatively asked the purple-robed elder.

"It's true."

"Then why on earth is that happening?" It was the same blood-clothed youth, his eyes full of confusion as he stared at the purple-robed elder.

"Someone is plotting against Shixue Dian." The purple-robed elder found a cloud platform and sat down cross-legged.

Immediately, all the Shixue Dian experts in the underground palace gathered around, their gazes fixed on the purple-robed elder without exception.

They were responsible for guarding the Yanluo Shan underground palace and, for security reasons, were forbidden from going out. Consequently, they were basically unaware of what was happening in the outside world.

Now that someone was willing to talk about the outside, they were all eager to listen, having been cooped up for too long.

Seeing the large crowd standing below the platform, all staring at him with wide eyes, and most importantly, with looks of reverence, the purple-robed elder felt quite pleased with himself.

"Everything stems from Yan Zun's incident," the purple-robed elder began, under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

"Yan Zun?" There was a wave of uproar below, their eyes filled with shock.

"The one who attacked was definitely on the same level as Taishang Laozu." The purple-robed elder gently stroked his beard. "He impersonated Yan Zun and issued erroneous assassination orders to over a dozen branch halls of Shixue Dian. Once the truth came out, that's what led to the major families besieging the Shixue Dian headquarters."

"Then what happened?" The crowd below stared intently at the purple-robed elder. "Did Shixue Dian go to war with the major families?"

"Go to war?" The purple-robed elder snorted. "Do they dare to go to war with us? That would be underestimating Shixue Dian far too much."

"Then we can't just let this slide, can we?"

"Of course not." The purple-robed elder stroked his beard again. "But for that, Shixue Dian has paid a heavy price—over a dozen branch hall masters were beheaded in public."

Hiss!

As soon as the purple-robed elder finished speaking, a wave of gasps rose from below.

While they were deep in conversation, Ye Chen wasn't idle.

He moved from one altar to another like someone browsing for vegetables, pausing to examine each person chained there with special bloodline power, stroking his chin as he looked them over.

"Where did Shixue Dian find so many people with special bloodline power?" Ye Chen muttered to himself in amazement as he went along, because among the various strange bloodlines, there were a few whose origins even he couldn't discern.

At that moment, he was squatting in front of one altar, staring intently at the person sitting on it.

The person didn't look very old, with a pointed face like a monkey, resembling a thief. His hair was disheveled, as if he'd been caught while sound asleep and woken up in this dreadful place.

"This bloodline is really interesting." Ye Chen stroked his chin and, peering through the person's body, saw that his bloodline power manifested as a miraculous form—a rat.

"No wonder he looks like a thief," Ye Chen muttered quietly to himself.

"Are you crazy? Staring at me like that," to Ye Chen's surprise, the sharp-faced person sent him a mental message.

"You can see me?" Ye Chen was stunned.

"I've seen the spatial stealth of Tianzong Shijia before. Last time I went there to steal something, I almost got killed."

"You dare to steal from Tianzong Shijia? That's got style." Ye Chen looked the person up and down with a meaningful expression.

"Cut the small talk. One thing: save me, and I'll help you steal stuff." The person's small eyes gleamed as he looked at Ye Chen. "There's nothing in this world I can't steal."

"Really? Or just boasting?" Ye Chen eyed him skeptically.

"Underestimating me, huh? I'm the Dao Sheng." The person shook his head vigorously, turning his center-parted hair into something even more messy. If his hands weren't chained, he'd probably adjust his collar too.

"I like that title," Ye Chen gave him a meaningful look. "You're just a thief, and you're proud of it?"

"So, I have a lot of potential. Hey, hey? Why are you walking away? I'm serious!"

"No time for your nonsense," Ye Chen walked off without looking back.

From then on, his ears weren't at peace. The person was a real chatterbox—Ye Chen's mental messages followed him everywhere, making his head buzz.

Ye Chen just ignored it. If you didn't say you were a thief, that'd be one thing, but if I let you out, you'd steal my stuff every day. Is this a joke?

"In my estimation, the ones plotting against Shixue Dian must be from Nanchu San Zong." As he walked, Ye Chen overheard this line.

Hearing that, Ye Chen, who was about to study some bloodlines, instinctively glanced back at the purple-robed elder, who was still chatting away.

"That guy probably hasn't left his house in days—or maybe he hasn't woken up yet." Ye Chen stroked his chin, looking at the purple-robed elder like he was a fool. Still talking about Nanchu San Zong? That's ancient history.

"Hey, bro, if you're going to make a move, do it quick. If not, get out of here and stop wandering in front of me, okay?" From not far away, the sharp-faced person sent another mental message to Ye Chen.

"I need to scout things out first!" Ye Chen replied casually, already deciding in his mind that even if he saved the guy, he'd have to keep him on a tight leash—just in case he stole something someday.

As he spoke, he flipped out the Chixiao Sword, targeting the purple-robed elder who was still talking.

He was the only one at the quasi-Tianjing level in the underground palace. Take him down, and the rest would be minor threats.

Ye Chen's plan was to knock them all out in the shortest time possible. After all, there were more and stronger people guarding outside, far beyond what he could handle.

He had to strike fast, or he might get overwhelmed.

Let's do this!

A cold light flashed in Ye Chen's eyes as he prepared his killing blow.

But just as he was about to strike the purple-robed elder, the underground palace's stone door trembled.

Then, the door swung open, and a black-clothed elder walked in, with a slender figure bound at his side.

Ye Chen froze, staring in astonishment at that figure, his expression turning extremely colorful in an instant.