Chapter 962: Blatantly

Chapter 962: Bold and Brazen

What? Ye Chen has come to Bei Chu again?

In the quiet night, Bei Chu was once again gripped by panic. It had only been a short time since things had calmed down, and now that killer had returned. Just hearing his name was enough to make countless people tremble uncontrollably.

As a result, what should have been a peaceful night saw the major forces in Bei Chu urgently recalling their family disciples who were away. The headquarters of these forces were layered with protective mountain barriers, all prepared for an imminent battle.

"It seems the people of Bei Chu aren't very welcoming toward me!" In an ancient city, Ye Chen looked around constantly. The vast city was empty, with not a single person in sight—most had hidden themselves away.

"You've left a bloody shadow over Bei Chu." Tai Xu Gu Long chuckled. "That battle in the past was truly intimidating. You sent millions of cultivators fleeing in defeat—who would dare challenge your might?"

"But they don't know that I'm no longer in that invincible state."

"Let's go, time to show off."

The two left the ancient city and roamed across the Bei Chu lands, acting with complete impunity. They looked like ordinary people at first glance, but from behind, they resembled a pair of sneaky hooligans—thoroughly shameless ones at that.

Boom!

The silent night was shattered by a thunderous explosion.

People from all directions were startled, turning their gazes toward one spot. It was a misty, spirit-filled mountain, the headquarters of the Tun Yuan Shi Jia in Bei Chu.

Ye Chen and Tai Xu Gu Long stood outside the Tun Yuan Shi Jia's barrier. Just moments ago, they had casually thrown a punch at the sturdy barrier, signaling their arrival.

Those who had come to scout the situation turned pale at the sight of Ye Chen and Tai Xu Gu Long. Was a battle about to begin?

Many people's legs were already shaking. The bloody scene of the Xue Ling Shi Jia being wiped out was still fresh in their minds. If Ye Chen was determined to fight, the Tun Yuan Shi Jia could become the next Xue Ling Shi Jia.

"Ye Chen, you're going too far!" The ancestor of the Tun Yuan Shi Jia roared, already clad in armor and ready for a bloody battle.

"So what if I am?"

"Do you really want to fight to the death?"

"Hand over the Jiu Zhou Shen Tu, and we can avoid fighting." Ye Chen smiled faintly.

He wasn't here tonight to start a real war; he wanted to reclaim the pieces of the Jiu Zhou Shen Tu that had been divided up in the Pan Long Sea Domain.

Of course, if the Tun Yuan Shi Jia didn't cooperate, he and Tai Xu Gu Long wouldn't mind causing chaos. At that point, it wouldn't be a request—it would be outright robbery. Anything that belonged to him had to be returned, even if it meant bloodshed.

"The Tun Yuan Shi Jia doesn't have the Jiu Zhou Shen Tu you want." The Tun Yuan ancestor snorted coldly, his anger boiling over.

What a humiliation! What an utter disgrace! The Tun Yuan Shi Jia, with its millennia of heritage, was now being openly confronted by two people demanding items at their doorstep. This would make them the laughingstock of Bei Chu.

"So, you really want to fight!" Ye Chen twisted his neck with a playful grin, his peak combat power surging in an instant. A golden divine light shot into the sky, tearing a massive hole in the virtual heavens.

Boom!

Tai Xu Gu Long also twisted his neck and unleashed his peak power, a massive dragon shadow swirling around him. His strength faintly surpassed Ye Chen's, shocking the Tun Yuan ancestor and the scouts so much they nearly lost their composure.

"Who is that? His power is even stronger than Ye Chen's."

"It must be Tai Xu Gu Long—truly formidable!"

"Ye Chen alone leveled the Xue Ling Shi Jia and sent millions of cultivators fleeing. With Tai Xu Gu Long added to the mix, who in Bei Chu can stand against them?"

"Tai Xu Gu Long!" The Tun Yuan ancestor's face changed. One Ye Chen was terrifying enough, but with someone even stronger by his side, he knew all too well how powerful they were. The protective barriers were practically useless against them.

"Ancestor... give it to them!" The head of the Tun Yuan Shi Jia stammered, his voice trembling as he pleaded.

"Don't repeat the fate of the Xue Ling Shi Jia, Ancestor."

"We only got a fraction—one percent—of the Jiu Zhou Shen Tu. We can't let the whole family be destroyed over this." Not just the family head, but everyone in the Tun Yuan Shi Jia knelt on the ground.

"Enough noise!" The Tun Yuan ancestor bellowed, his face twisted in fury.

"Are you handing it over or not?" Ye Chen's ethereal voice echoed again. "If not, we'll come in and take it. But just so you know, I'm reasonable, but my companion here isn't. If anyone gets hurt or your family gets accidentally wiped out, don't blame us later."

"You..." The Tun Yuan ancestor's face was as frosty as ice, nearly choking on his rage.

"Stop talking—let's just kill them all." Tai Xu Gu Long spoke up, drawing his Tai Xu Dragon Sword.

"Take this." Seeing Tai Xu Gu Long about to attack, the Tun Yuan ancestor snorted and handed over the fragmented Jiu Zhou Shen Tu.

"That's more like it!" Ye Chen waved his hand to grab the Jiu Zhou Shen Tu. It was indeed damaged, just a fraction of the original, but that didn't matter. He'd keep searching around Bei Chu until he collected it all.

"Why haven't you left?" The Tun Yuan ancestor raged.

"You have such a bad temper." Tai Xu Gu Long smirked. "If this were the old days, I'd have kicked you without a second thought."

"You..." The Tun Yuan ancestor's face turned iron-blue, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, spraying it three meters high, nearly fainting on the spot.

"Let's go." Outside the barrier, Ye Chen waved and vanished into the darkness with Tai Xu Gu Long.

Whoosh!

Watching them leave, the people of the Tun Yuan Shi Jia finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"In a few days, we'll be back." Just as everyone relaxed, Ye Chen's ethereal voice echoed from the distant darkness, sending the Tun Yuan Shi Jia scrambling to grip their weapons again.

Tsk, tsk, tsk!

The scouts watching Ye Chen and Tai Xu Gu Long depart clicked their tongues in amazement. Just two people had a whole family too scared to step out, with over a dozen grand Virtual Heaven Arrays set up, yet no one dared to make a move. That was real power!

Ye Chen and Tai Xu Gu Long headed straight for the next family, trailed by a crowd of onlookers who found the situation absurd.

"No need to drag this out—hand it over!"

Ye Chen was forceful, mainly because he didn't have time to waste. There were so many families to visit, and efficiency was key. After all, he still had to go to Dong Ling Gu Yuan for that appointed battle.

This family was straightforward—they handed it over without a word.

"That's the spirit! We'll be back in a few days."

Ye Chen clutched the Jiu Zhou Shen Tu fragment and left with Tai Xu Gu Long, leaving behind words that made everyone uneasy.

Boom! Bang!

From then on, the night in Bei Chu was far from peaceful. Wherever Ye Chen and Tai Xu Gu Long went, it was marked by one or two explosive sounds.

What followed was their bold demands for items.

To be fair, the families in Bei Chu were quite cooperative. Not everyone was as aggressive as the Shi Xue Dian. They had already witnessed Ye Chen's dominance and ruthlessness—the consequences of refusal were severe.

"We really don't have the Jiu Zhou Shen Tu." It was another family, not a major one. As soon as Ye Chen and Tai Xu Gu Long punched the barrier, the family ancestor was scared stiff.

They weren't as strong as the Tun Yuan Shi Jia or the Shi Xue Dian. If Ye Chen decided to force his way in, the fight would end quickly.

"Don't have it?" Ye Chen raised an eyebrow.

"Try lying to me—the consequences are serious." As he spoke, Ye Chen pulled out an ancient scroll from his robe, listing hundreds of family names that had divided the Jiu Zhou Shen Tu in the Pan Long Sea Domain.

But after checking, this family's name wasn't on it, which left him a bit embarrassed.

"It really isn't here." Ye Chen coughed awkwardly. "But since we've come all this way, we can't leave empty-handed!"

"Damn!" The onlookers couldn't help but twitch their mouths. Weren't you here for your own things? How did this turn into something else?

"Is this outright extortion?" Someone's expression shifted dramatically.

"I think Ye Chen planned this. He says he's here for his stuff, but it's just an excuse for extortion."

"We naturally won't let you two leave empty-handed." The family head's face twisted in distress.

What choice did they have? Ye Chen was too powerful, and they had tried to kill him before. This was karma. Better to pay up and avoid disaster—if those two stormed in, it would be total destruction.

With that, the family head tossed over a storage bag, which Ye Chen caught with a wave.

Ye Chen opened the storage bag, glanced inside, and tucked it away casually.

"Lord Dragon, the weather's nice today."

"I think so too."

"With a night like this, how about a couple of drinks right here?"

"Then let's have a couple."

"H-here, take this!" The family head hurriedly threw over a larger storage bag.

Anyone could see they thought the first one wasn't enough!

"Alright, see you around!"

Ye Chen pocketed the storage bag, waved, and turned to leave.

Watching those two scoundrels go, the onlookers were stunned for a long time. These two knew all the tricks—Tai Xu Gu Long and the Heavenly Court Holy Lord, both as shameless as could be!

"Oh my god!" In a remote, desolate corner of Bei Chu, Gu San Tong, Gu Ya Dao Ren, Zhuge Lao Tou, Niu Shi San, Wu San Pao, and Man Shan were squatting there, clicking their tongues in awe.

"We're always sneaking around to kidnap people, but they're openly extorting!"

"I've calculated it—these two scoundrels are pulling off quite the act."