73: Chapter 73 A Lotus Under the Eternal Blue Sky: My Disciple Has a Kind of Favor!

The ancient bronze gates closed behind them, completely cutting off the venomous gazes from outside.

Inside the gates lay a boundless expanse of gray chaotic space, devoid of flora, fauna, mountains, or rivers.

Thousands of fist-sized light orbs drifted through the Chaos, each surface shimmering with Law Dao patterns and containing Heaven And Earth Treasures within.

"They're all Saint-grade or higher Magic Treasures and Cultivation Techniques!" Lin Bufan cried out.

He waved his hands wildly in front of him, trying to grab the light orbs flying past.

Leng Qingqiu held the imperial sword jiuyou, her gaze locked onto several light orbs radiating a chilling aura.

Su Qiyue reached out a finger, poking at an approaching red fireball.

Just as the disciples were preparing to make a fortune...

A blue System light screen popped up, blocking Lu Chen's line of sight.

[Ding! Detected that the host has entered the core of the Azure Emperor's Secret Realm.]

[Triggered random nurturing task: Elder's Care.]

[Task Details: Find the sleeping remnant soul of the Azure Emperor and successfully demand 'meeting gifts' for your disciples.]

[Task Reward: Lifespan limit +50 years, Special Physique: Dual Pupils (can be fused with self).]

[Failure Penalty: Your disciples will collectively stomp on your face in public, causing you to lose your dignity as a Great Emperor.]

Lu Chen stared at the words on the light screen, his right eyelid twitching twice.

This damn System had completely stopped acting human.

A dignified Great Emperor of this era, getting his face stomped? Where was the decorum in that!

If this reached the ears of those old fogies in the undying divine coffin, Emperor Yun Tian might as well tear off his face and use it as a table coaster.

[Dual Pupils, huh.]

This was one of the top Heaven-Defying Physiques in the cultivation world.

[They say Dual Pupils are a path to invincibility, but one more bone means one more path; it would be even better if there were a Supreme Bone!]

Even if he didn't use it himself, giving it to a disciple for Fusion would be enough to create a peerless powerhouse.

"Stop, everyone." Lu Chen cleared his throat, interrupting his disciples' actions.

Lin Bufan had just stuffed a Saint-grade Cultivation Technique into his Storage Pouch and immediately stopped upon hearing the voice.

"Old Ancestor, what's wrong?" Lin Bufan withdrew his hand.

"Don't pick up this scrap metal." Lu Chen tucked his hands into his sleeves and started walking forward.

"As your Revered Master, I'll take you to see the Revered Master of this house. Let's meet the one who is 'a single lotus in the eternal azure sky, whose nine leaves open to support the heavens'—the Azure Emperor."

"Go straight to the owner for the big prizes. Picking up these scraps is beneath us."

Yun Qianyue withdrew her hand from a light orb, her nine fox tails swaying gently beneath her skirt.

"Revered Master is right."

The disciples quickly closed in on Lu Chen and lined up behind him.

Lu Chen stood at the exact center of the chaotic space.

He lifted his right foot and stomped down heavily against the Void Realm.

A vast pressure radiated outward from Lu Chen in all directions, his black robes snapping loudly in the chaotic currents.

Golden Law ripples spread out, shattering thousands of surrounding light orbs on the spot.

"Old man Azure Emperor!"

"Open up for guests! Stop sleeping!"

Lu Chen shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice piercing through layers of chaotic barriers.

Wei Hongyu unfurled the Myriad Treasure River, shielding the girls within it.

From deep within the Chaos, an ancient sigh slowly drifted out.

The surrounding gray mist rolled back as thousands of green lotus leaves manifested in the void, supporting a massive twelve-grade creation azure lotus.

Azure light soared into the sky as the phantom of an old man with white hair and beard, clad in a green Daoist robe, slowly condensed in the center of the lotus platform.

The old man's eyes were tightly shut, and the Imperial Dao Law surrounding him radiated a pressure far exceeding that of the Saints outside.

"I am the Azure Emperor."

The old man slowly opened his mouth, his grand Dao voice echoing through the Chaos.

"I know not how many hundreds of thousands of years have passed."

"Juniors of later generations, since you could break through my Restriction..."

The Azure Emperor's remnant soul had intended to put on the air of an ancient powerhouse to awe these Juniors and perhaps select a pleasing successor for his Legacy.

He looked down, scanning the crowd below, and his majestic expression suddenly froze.

The grand Dao voice came to an abrupt halt.

The Azure Emperor's illusory body shook violently twice, and half of the surrounding lotus phantoms dissipated along with it.

"It's you again! Lu Chen, you brat!"

The Azure Emperor's remnant soul's voice went out of tune.

He raised a hand, pointing at the youth below who had his hands tucked in his sleeves.

"You bastard brat!"

"Didn't you just come to my Secret Realm two hundred years ago?!"

"Two hundred years ago, you were in the Dragon Transformation Realm and you dug up my entire outer medicinal garden."

"You even stewed and ate the Big Yellow Dog I'd raised for twenty thousand years!"

"Now that you've become an Emperor, why the hell are you back again?!"

Lin Bufan sucked in a breath of cold air.

[Old Ancestor was here two hundred years ago? He even stewed the Azure Emperor's dog?]

[A Great Emperor's Secret Realm was treated like a personal vegetable garden by the Old Ancestor?]

Shen Mengyao's mouth hung open in a daze; it looked like a perfect opportunity.

Lu Chen tapped the void with one foot, his figure rising until he landed directly upon the twelve-grade creation azure lotus.

He walked forward and reached out an arm, slinging it familiarly over the Azure Emperor's remnant soul's shoulder.

The Azure Emperor's remnant soul struggled desperately to shake off Lu Chen's arm, but Lu Chen's Qi firmly suppressed the space around him.

"Old man, don't be so distant."

Lu Chen's free hand patted the Azure Emperor's illusory chest.

"I was young and ignorant back then, and I did take a few things of yours."

"But look, I'm an Emperor now."

"Aren't I specifically coming back today to visit a lonely old man like you?"

Lu Chen pointed at the group of disciples standing below.

"See, I didn't just come alone; I brought all my precious disciples with me."

"They're all here to kowtow and give you New Year's greetings, to play with you, fearing that a remnant soul like you might be lonely, miserable, and cold."

The Azure Emperor's remnant soul followed Lu Chen's finger and looked down.

"Bullshit! Who brings hemp sacks to a New Year's greeting?"

The Azure Emperor pointed at Lin Bufan below, whose waist was covered in Storage Pouches.

"That kid has no more room for Storage Pouches! Leave some for others! Those pouches aren't like yours back then, are they? All stolen?"

Lu Chen coughed twice and forcibly turned the Azure Emperor's face back to meet his own.

"The kid is just ignorant, picking up some trash to play with."

"Old man, let's talk business."

Lu Chen leaned close to the Azure Emperor's ear, lowering his voice but ensuring everyone below could hear him.

"I brought so many disciples to see you."

"Courtesy demands reciprocity. As a Senior who has lived for hundreds of thousands of years, shouldn't you show some appreciation?"

"The kids are all watching down there. You wouldn't be so stingy that you can't even produce a meeting gift, would you? You are 'a single lotus in the eternal azure sky'; surely my disciples catch your eye!"

Lu Chen held out his right hand, palm up, beneath the Azure Emperor's chin.

"Come on, old man, just drop some gold coins. Imperial weapons, immortal herbs, whatever—just eight or ten items will do."

"I'll just take it as thanking Uncle Azure on behalf of my disciples."

The red clothes on Leng Qingqiu fluttered without wind, and the imperial sword jiuyou let out a sword hum.

Yun Qianyue's nine fox tails spread out behind her, occupying a vast space.

She looked up at Lu Chen's back, her peach blossom eyes shimmering with liquid light.

[To be able to provoke a dead man to life, Revered Master's skin is truly thicker than the walls of Myriad Demon Mountain.]

[Revered Master is so bad~ but I like it so much~]

Lu Chen was essentially begging for food at a grave, without investing a single cent, specializing in getting something for nothing.

Atop the azure lotus, a deathly silence lasted for three full seconds.

The surrounding chaotic currents went wild.

The Azure Emperor's remnant soul shoved Lu Chen's arm away, his phantom retreating three steps as he pointed a finger at Lu Chen's nose.

"Lu Chen, you brat!"

"You've already attained the status of being 'alone across the ages'!"

"You are the number one person in this world!"

"And yet you actually run to my grave with a bunch of disciples to fleece a dead man!"

"Do you even want your dignity as a Great Emperor anymore?!"

Lu Chen's outstretched right hand remained suspended in mid-air.

"One word: are you giving or not? If not, I'll go in and dig it up myself."