185: Chapter 185 Coming to Zhongzhou? I won't come back unless I become an emperor!

Inside the Deliberation Hall, Ye Lanxi rubbed her brow, her phoenix eyes filled with the irritable headache.

The invitation from the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty had become a hot potato; inviting was difficult, and not inviting was also difficult.

Lu Chen looked at her distressed expression and muttered to himself: Is it really that serious?

He put down his wine gourd, stood up from the main seat, and walked at a steady pace, bypassing Ye Qingxian's seat to reach Ye Lanxi's side.

Ye Lanxi was staring down at the list Jade Slip in her hand and didn't notice him approaching.

Lu Chen stopped on her right side, looking down at her.

From this angle, Ye Lanxi's high bun revealed her slender neck, and the high collar of her purple phoenix robe was open by half an inch, revealing the deep curve below her collarbone, tucked into the tight fabric.

Lu Chen's gaze lingered on that curve for a moment.

Hmm, nice view.

Then he raised his right hand and covered it with his palm.

Pat.

A very light tap.

His palm landed on Ye Lanxi's shoulder, pressed against the silk fabric of the phoenix robe, his fingertips pressing down with just the right amount of force.

Ye Lanxi's shoulder visibly trembled.

It wasn't because she was startled.

It was because the moment that palm covered her, the warmth from it seeped through the fabric into her skin, spreading down along her shoulder blade.

The majestic blood and Qi unique to a Great Emperor surged beneath his fingertips—warm, dry, and overbearing.

Her phoenix eyes looked up, her pupils meeting Lu Chen's face.

The distance was too close.

He stood right beside her, his shadow covering half her body, his expression written with four big words: complete indifference.

"It's not a big deal."

Lu Chen's voice fell from above, extremely nonchalant.

"Is such a small scene worth the Ye Family Head's worry?"

Everyone in the hall turned their gazes toward them.

Third Ancestor Ye Wuji's hand holding the teacup paused. Fifth Ancestor Su Yaoxian's eyelid twitched.

Ye Cangsong opened his mouth but made no sound.

Ye Lanxi looked up at him, the frustration in her phoenix eyes fading layer by layer.

She didn't brush off his hand.

That palm resting on her shoulder was broad, hot, and steady.

It belonged to the same Revered Master as the arm that had held her waist in the illusion array.

"Does Emperor Lu have a solution?"

Her voice softened by half a degree, and a layer of mist appeared in her phoenix eyes—not tears, but expectation.

Lu Chen's hand lifted from her shoulder and moved behind his back.

"That little princess of the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty... cough, that Empress, this Emperor is very familiar with her."

He paused for a moment and changed his wording.

"I'll personally make a trip with this invitation. I'll talk to her and tell her not to disrupt my Disciple Recruitment Ceremony."

The hall erupted.

Ye Cangsong was the first to stand up, the wrinkles on his old face smoothing out: "Emperor Yun, you mean you'll deliver the invitation yourself?"

Third Ancestor Ye Wuji put down his teacup, his white hair moving slightly:

"Fellow Daoist Lu, this absolutely won't do. For a dignified Great Emperor Peak to personally run errands is simply improper."

Fifth Ancestor Su Yaoxian also leaned forward:

"It's enough to send a Pseudo-Emperor Elder from our Ye family. Why trouble Emperor Lu to go personally?"

Lu Chen waved his hand.

"She and I are old acquaintances. Since I've come to this Central Continent and have the chance, I should go see her!"

He lifted the wine gourd and shook it; there was still nearly half a bottle left.

"If this Emperor goes, it'll be settled in one trip. It's easier."

Third Ancestor Ye Wuji and Fifth Ancestor Su Yaoxian exchanged glances. The two Old Ancestors' expressions changed from shock to realization, and then to relief.

Taking this man's granddaughter as a disciple, the Ye family had truly profited immensely.

Ye Lanxi remained in her seat, her phoenix eyes fixed on Lu Chen's profile.

His expression hadn't changed; he still had that half-asleep, relaxed look, eyes slightly squinted, with a faint smile on his lips.

Her fingertips curled slightly on her lap.

This man was fierce in a fight, upright in character, and could step up to shoulder things for her at critical moments.

The light in her phoenix eyes brightened slightly before being suppressed.

"Thank you, Emperor Yun."

The four words left her mouth in a steady tone, but the ending softened by half a degree, something even she didn't notice.

"Revered Master, you're going to invite them personally?"

A crisp voice broke the atmosphere in the hall.

Ye Qingxian jumped up from her seat, dashed to Lu Chen's side in two steps, hugged his arm, and rubbed her face against his robe.

"I want to go too! I want to go play in the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty! I heard there's good food there!"

Lu Chen looked down at her.

He flicked her forehead.

"Ow!"

Ye Qingxian clutched her forehead, her eyes welling with tears.

"Why would you go? Stay home and practice your skills."

Lu Chen withdrew his hand, his tone leaving no room for negotiation.

"Your Revered Master is going on official business. Taking a little tag-along like you would only slow this Emperor down."

"But..."

"No buts."

Lu Chen flicked the tip of her nose.

"Cultivate well in the Ye family. Let your mother develop and train your Ye family's ancestral Desolate Ancient Sacred Body's Bloodline Power. I'll check on it when I return."

Ye Qingxian pouted and didn't dare to make a fuss anymore.

Ye Cangsong stepped forward:

"Emperor Lu, I will arrange a team of Ye family guards and servants to accompany you..."

"No need."

Lu Chen interrupted him, flipped his right hand, and with a flash of spiritual light in his palm, a three-foot-long Spirit Wood Boat floated there.

A flying Magical Artifact.

He hung the wine gourd on his waist and walked out of the hall.

For a Great Emperor Peak, the distance to the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty could be covered in an instant if he used his full speed.

Yet he chose to fly slowly for two or three days. He wasn't going to save the day or a life, so there was no rush.

Saving the day or a life requires perfect timing, but this was a stroll, not some 'special forces' student tourism.

Third Ancestor Ye Wuji and Fifth Ancestor Su Yaoxian said no more. When a Great Emperor acts, others needn't speculate, and there was plenty of time anyway.

Lu Chen walked out of the Deliberation Hall.

Ye Qingxian's voice came from behind him, echoing through the hall's porch.

"Revered Master, come back soon!"

Lu Chen didn't look back, just raised his left hand and waved.

At the summit of the First Peak, tens of thousands of feet high, the wind poured in from all sides.

He tossed the Spirit Wood Boat into the Void Realm, and with a surge of spiritual light, it transformed into a ten-foot-long Flying Boat, hovering steadily.

Lu Chen stepped onto the boat, sat down cross-legged, and placed the wine gourd beside his knee.

"Wushuang Immortal Dynasty, Yue Qingxuan."

When he murmured the name, the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

The little girl who used to follow him around back then was now the Peerless Empress who shook the Northern Border of the Central Continent.

Pseudo-Emperor Ninth Transformation Peak, Major Achievement of the Heavenly Overlord Body, her power was something even the Ye family found troublesome.

Time really flies.

The spiritual wood skiff slowly rose into the air, passed through the clouds, and headed toward the Northern Border of the Central Continent.

The wind whistled past his ears.

Lu Chen half-closed his eyes as a memory flashed through his mind.

A tea stall in a small town, at dusk.

A little girl looked up, her large eyes shining brightly.

"Brother Lu, will you come to the Central Continent again in the future?"

"I don't know. If I don't become an Emperor, I probably won't come back!"

"I believe in you. I'll wait for you to become an Emperor. Remember to teach me Alchemy then!"

---

Deliberation Hall.

Ye Lanxi leaned against a pillar, her phoenix eyes gazing at the horizon.

The spiritual wood skiff became a small dot, sinking deep into the sea of clouds and disappearing.

The wind poured down from the Peak, blowing the hem of her purple phoenix robe, and a few strands of long hair escaped her bun, brushing against her cheek.

She raised her right hand, her fingertips resting on her left shoulder.

She gave it a gentle stroke.

The warmth from earlier still lingered there.

The Great Emperor's palm was broad and hot.

Ye Lanxi bit her red lip and lowered her hand.

Footsteps came from behind.

Ye Qingluan stood three steps away, her phoenix eyes shifting between Ye Lanxi's profile and the horizon.

"What is Sister looking at?"

Ye Lanxi withdrew her gaze, her expression unchanged.

"Looking at the weather."

Ye Qingluan's mouth twitched, but she didn't expose her.

Her phoenix eyes also glanced toward the horizon, a trace of possessiveness that others couldn't understand flashing deep in her pupils.

Her Revered Master had left and hadn't taken her.

Meanwhile, deep in the palace of the Wushuang Immortal Dynasty in the Northern Border of the Central Continent, a woman sat on the Dragon throne, resting with her eyes closed.