22: Chapter 22 The Story of Stealing the Bellyband and Teasing the Fairy

The five-day period passed in the blink of an eye.

Five days ago, the news of Yunxiao Holy Land widely distributing invitations was like a giant boulder crashing into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves across the entire Eastern Region and even the Middle Province.

The only Great Emperor currently walking the world, that ruthless man Lu Chen who had shattered the Immortal Ascension Gate with a single sword strike, was actually taking a disciple?

In an instant, radiant flying boats, exotic beasts breathing auspicious mist, and Cultivators traveling on swords converged toward Yunxiao Holy Land like a school of carp crossing a river.

The leaders of small and medium-sized forces were all flushed with excitement, tightly clutching their congratulatory gifts.

...

At the border of the Middle Province, a thousand-foot-long pitch-black warship lay hidden within the clouds.

On the warship's deck, two elderly figures sat opposite each other, an unfinished game of chess laid out before them.

The old man on the left was dressed in a purple-gold robe, with lightning flickering around him and stars seemingly being born and dying as he opened and closed his eyes; he was Ziyang, the Old Ancestor of the Zixiao Holy Land, a Quasi-Emperor in cultivation.

The old man on the right was dressed in grey and looked to be at death's door, but in reality, his aura was as deep as an abyss; he was the stabilizing pillar of the Wanhua Immortal Gate and was likewise a Quasi-Emperor.

“That sword strike—did you see it?” Ziyang placed a piece down, his voice low and rumbling like muffled thunder.

“I saw it.” A sharp glint flashed in the cloudy eyes of Ancestor Wanhua, Han Jing.

“Shattering the Immortal Gate was indeed domineering. But how can the Heavenly Dao be so easily defied? The power of the backlash is something even a Great Emperor would find difficult to endure.”

“Indeed.” Ziyang gave a cold laugh, his fingers lightly tapping the chessboard.

“According to reports from the spies I planted in the Yunxiao Holy Land, Lu Chen has not stepped out of his doors for these past few days, and even the Holy Land's grand array is kept active at all times. If he weren't strong on the outside but hollow within, why would he be so cautious?”

Ancestor Wanhua, Han Jing, nodded.

“A few thousand years ago, Great Emperors vanished and the world was without an Emperor, which gave us old bones a chance to breathe. If he is allowed to stabilize his injuries and return to his Peak, what say will we have left in this Eastern Region or even the Middle Province?”

The two looked at each other, both seeing the Killing Intent in the depths of the other's eyes.

This was a test.

It was called an audience, but it was actually a forced confrontation.

If Lu Chen were truly heavily injured, today would be the day of the Emperor's slaughter!

“How are the preparations?” Ziyang asked.

“I've brought both of those trump cards you keep hidden at the bottom of your chest.” Ancestor Wanhua, Han Jing, pointed behind him.

Deep within the warship, four terrifying auras were entrenched. Two Supremes and two Saints; even more deadly were the two ripples faintly emanating from the Void Realm that made heaven and earth tremble.

They were imperial weapons of the utmost path!

This wasn't going to a feast; this was going to a funeral.

“Six imperial weapons and four combatants at the Supreme level or higher.” Ziyang stood up, his robes fluttering.

“Even if that Lu Chen is made of iron, we shall melt him today!”

“Depart!”

Rumble—

...

At the summit of Xiaoyao Peak, the breeze was gentle.

Lu Chen lay on a rattan chair under the Enlightenment Tree, his face covered by an ancient book and his hand holding a handful of melon seeds, cracking them every now and then.

“Ptooey.”

He spat out a melon seed shell and lazily rolled over.

Nearby, Yan Lingji was floating in mid-air, waving that flaming teaching whip and roaring at the three sweating young girls in the distance:

“Keep your backs straight! Haven't you eaten? Su Qiyue, that is a Pill Furnace, not a stove for roasting sweet potatoes! Don't throw yams into it!”

Over the past few days, this older-sister-style housekeeper had been quite dutiful, working the three disciples to the bone.

Lu Chen was very satisfied with this.

A life without having to look after children was the kind of life a Great Emperor should have.

Suddenly, Lu Chen's brow twitched slightly.

Even from tens of thousands of miles away, they had still entered his Divine Sense range.

“Oh, quite a lot of people have come.”

Lu Chen's Divine Sense swept out, penetrating the Void Realm to clearly see that Killing Intent-laden black warship and several old acquaintances upon it...

“Zixiao Holy Land? Wanhua Immortal Gate?”

Lu Chen took the ancient book off his face, his expression a bit strange.

“Two sixth-turn Quasi-Emperors, two Supremes, two Saints... and they even brought six imperial weapons?”

He couldn't help but complain:

“Are Quasi-Emperors like common cabbage these days? Is there a promotion at the wholesale market? To deal with a 'disabled person' like me, is such a grand formation really necessary?”

Such a lineup would be enough to sweep through an entire region in any era.

But in Lu Chen's eyes, they were just slightly larger fireworks.

“I originally wanted to keep a low profile, but since you've come to my door to be stepping stones...” Lu Chen stretched, preparing to brainstorm how to put on a big show later.

Suddenly, his Divine Sense caught two familiar figures in the crowd.

They were two women.

One was dressed in a radiant gold-threaded phoenix-embroidered dress, her appearance elegant and luxurious, her entire being radiating an aura of “I am rich, I am very rich, I am as wealthy as a nation.”

The Head of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce, Wei Hongyu.

The other was draped in seven-colored rainbow clothes, surrounded by clouds and mist like a Fairy from a painting; a sense of holy compassion for the world sat between her brows, yet it couldn't hide the deep resentment in the depths of her eyes.

The current Sacred Lord of the Yaochi Holy Land, Yao Xi.

Lu Chen's originally lazy body instantly stiffened, and he bounced up from the rattan chair like a reanimated corpse.

“Holy crap!”

The Great Emperor's composure—that quality of remaining unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed before him—vanished completely at this moment.

He shrunk his neck, instinctively wanting to find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

“This is bad, this is bad. Why are those two here?!”

Lu Chen only felt his scalp go numb.

Compared to those two Quasi-Emperors who had come with imperial weapons and Killing Intent, these two women were the real “nuclear weapons”!

Back in the day, in order to exploit a System bug to avoid Ascension, he had caused trouble everywhere in the mortal world.

Lacking money to buy wine, he had robbed the Young Lord of the Wanbao Chamber of Commerce and even teased the Young Lord, Wei Hongyu, saying her “feet were quite white and suitable for being a bandit's bride,” and he had even tied her up and tickled her for half an hour to force out the vault's password.

And that wasn't all.

He had also broken into the Yaochi Holy Land's territory and accidentally made off with Yao Xi's personal undergarment that was drying on the back mountain, using it as a rag to wipe his sword-nurturing gourd...

Above the clouds.

Wei Hongyu and Yao Xi stood side by side, their gazes like locked-on cruise missiles, dead-set on that single black-clothed figure on Xiaoyao Peak.

Wei Hongyu gritted her teeth, her eyes slightly red: “He really didn't ascend! You owe me so much money, and you still want to dodge the debt?”

Yao Xi clutched a silk handkerchief in her hand, nearly shredding it, as a mist of water filled her beautiful eyes: “You little thief... after that night, you actually hid for hundreds of years! You still haven't returned my undergarment to me!”

The two looked at each other and instantly reached a strategic alliance.

“We absolutely cannot let him run away again this time! Even if we have to use the immortal binding rope, we must tie him up and take him back!”

...

On Xiaoyao Peak.

A bone-chilling cold rushed straight to the top of his head.

Lu Chen shivered; that feeling of being stared down by top-tier predators was even more terrifying than facing a Heavenly Tribulation.

“Revered Master?”

Leng Qingqiu had just finished a round of special training and was walking over with her sword, drenched in fragrant sweat.

She keenly noticed that something was wrong with her Revered Master.

Her Revered Master, who was usually as lazy as a cat, was actually pale, his eyes were wandering, and he even seemed a bit panicked?

Leng Qingqiu's eyes sharpened, her long sword hummed, and a cold Killing Intent began to spread.

“Is a powerful enemy invading?”

Lu Chen reached out and pressed down on her head, patting away that Killing Intent she had just gathered.

He wiped away the non-existent cold sweat on his forehead and said with a serious face: “It's more terrifying than a powerful enemy...”

“It is a debt.”

Lu Chen took a deep breath, his tone sorrowful, as if he were carrying the weight of the entire world.

“Ahem, it's nothing. I suddenly had an epiphany and need to go for a stroll to comprehend the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.”

Leng Qingqiu was stunned: “But Revered Master, the ceremony is about to begin, and the guests have already entered. If you leave now...”

“Don't ask so many questions!”

Lu Chen had already begun shuffling toward the back mountain, his speed incredibly fast.

“Let your Senior Martial Uncle Mo handle those tedious formalities at the beginning of the ceremony. You just act as the mascot or whatever and stand on the stage for them to look at.”

Having finished, Lu Chen greased his feet and his figure flickered, turning directly into a beam of light that charged into the back mountain's Forbidden Ground; that speed was even three points faster than when he had shattered the Immortal Gate.

“Revered Master?”

Leng Qingqiu stared blankly in the direction Lu Chen had disappeared, her face full of confusion.

Is this... running away?

“Debt?”

“Something's not right. Could it be a romantic debt?”