692: Chapter 692 I have seven keys, and soon I'll have eight!

Ye Chen heard this and shook his head.

"Not necessarily."

"After all, that group of people is more shameless than I imagined."

He paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and bowed to Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai.

"Senior, I will remember your righteous words today."

"I will certainly visit you another day to express my gratitude."

"However, I have matters to attend to right now and need to leave immediately."

Having said that, he turned to leave.

There was no other way.

He did not have time to keep waiting here idly.

If anything happened to Bing Lan and the others, he would never forgive himself for the rest of his life.

"Wait."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's voice came from behind him.

Ye Chen's footsteps faltered, and he turned his head back.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai looked at him, his eyes flashing with a wise light.

"Are you in such a rush to leave because of the threat Bai Canghe made against you earlier?"

Ye Chen was taken aback: "How did you know, Senior?"

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai snorted indignantly.

"The Dragon Group and the 749 Bureau aren't just sitting around doing nothing; naturally, they would know."

"It's just that they lack the strength to contend with that group, which is why Little Huozi came to me for help."

He then waved his hand, his tone casual.

"You don't need to pay any attention to the threats from Bai Canghe and his group."

"They think their plan is flawless, but they have long been monitored by my people."

"Once they make a move, they will be executed without mercy."

Ye Chen felt a warmth in his heart.

So it really was that old guy, Xuanyuan Huo.

That old guy, who always seemed to be calculating everything, had secretly arranged all of this for him.

In that case… he would have no more worries.

Ye Chen took a deep breath, cupped his hands again, and bowed deeply.

"Thank you, Senior."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai waved his hand again.

"You're welcome."

"Actually, I had my own selfish motives for doing so much."

Ye Chen's expression shifted, his gaze falling on Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's legs, which were covered by a blanket: "Senior, are you asking me to treat your legs?"

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai laughed, his laughter full of admiration.

"Smart."

"As expected of the person that Little Huozi keeps praising."

He looked down at his own legs, a flash of desolation passing through his eyes.

"These legs have been crippled for over sixty years."

"I have sought out countless famous doctors and used countless spiritual medicines, but none have shown any improvement."

"I heard from Little Huozi that Young Friend Ye possesses profound medical skills capable of bringing the dead back to life…"

He raised his head and looked at Ye Chen with burning intensity.

"I am shamelessly asking for Young Friend Ye's help to take a look."

Ye Chen was silent for a moment.

Then, he shook his head.

"I can cure you, but I cannot treat you."

As soon as these words fell, the young girl pushing the wheelchair darkened her expression and rebuked angrily.

"What do you mean?"

"My great-grandfather just helped you, and now you're turning your back on him?"

"I thought you were some kind of hero, but it turns out you're just an ungrateful wretch!"

"Ji'er!" Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai interrupted her.

Xuanyuan Ji bit her lip and unwillingly closed her mouth, but her beautiful eyes were still full of anger.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai looked at Ye Chen with no blame in his eyes, only curiosity: "Young Friend Ye, why do you say you cannot treat me?"

Ye Chen looked at his legs, his tone calm.

"Because if your legs are cured, you will die."

The whole place went silent.

Xuanyuan Ji's eyes widened, and the anger on her face turned into astonishment: "You… what did you say?"

Ye Chen ignored her and continued.

"Senior, your legs are neither diseased nor injured."

"They have been cursed."

"A curse?" Xuanyuan Ji reacted with a cold laugh, her voice full of mockery.

"Nonsense!"

"My great-grandfather's legs were left with an ailment after a great battle in his early years, and they have been like this ever since!"

"What curse? Are you making up stories?"

Ye Chen didn't even glance at her.

Xuanyuan Ji was even more annoyed and was about to continue, but was stopped by Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai raising his hand.

"Ji'er, do not be rude."

Xuanyuan Ji said angrily: "Great-grandfather, he is clearly talking nonsense!"

"No." Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai stared straight at Ye Chen, dropping a bombshell: "Young Friend Ye is not talking nonsense; I have indeed been cursed."

"Ah?" Xuanyuan Ji was shocked.

She had always thought… that her great-grandfather's legs were caused by an injury.

Not just her. This was probably the common consensus of the entire Xuanyuan Family.

But who would have thought it was actually a curse!

And that Ye Chen had pointed it out in an instant!

However, before she could think too much.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai took a deep breath and continued to ask: "Young Friend Ye, how did you see it?"

Ye Chen's gaze fell on Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's legs as he explained casually.

"Senior, there is a hidden, cold aura within your body. If you hadn't actively released your aura to intimidate those people, I would have found it very difficult to detect."

He paused and continued.

"That aura has already merged with your meridians, becoming indistinguishable from them."

"Forcibly expelling it would only cause your meridians to shatter, leading to paralysis at best, or death at worst."

"That is why I said I cannot treat you."

After hearing this, Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai was not disappointed but nodded with satisfaction.

"Good! Good! Good!"

He said the word "good" three times in a row, the admiration in his eyes growing even stronger.

"For these legs of mine, over the past thirty years, countless famous doctors have examined them, and countless experts have checked them, but not a single person could see that it was a curse."

"Young Friend Ye only had to take one look to explain it so thoroughly."

"Amazing, truly amazing."

He took a deep breath, his gaze becoming distant, as if recalling something from a long time ago.

"Thirty years ago, I once approached the bronze gate in the Kunlun Ruins."

Ye Chen's brows twitched slightly: "The bronze gate?"

"That's right." Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai nodded, his voice deepening.

"There was a strange aura attached to that bronze gate. Back then, I thought I could withstand it with my own cultivation."

"As a result…" He looked down at his own legs and gave a bitter laugh.

"As a result, I ended up in this state."

"Moreover… anyone who approaches the bronze gate and stays for more than a quarter of an hour will be infected with the same curse."

"Therefore, I strictly forbade anyone from getting within half a step of the bronze gate until all nine keys are collected."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow: "So it has something to do with the bronze gate?"

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai nodded, his tone full of emotion.

"Back then, I was young and ignorant, which is why I became a cripple."

"If I had known this, I wouldn't have gone near that ghost gate even if it killed me."

Xuanyuan Ji stood behind the wheelchair, her eyes immediately turning red.

She bent down, gently hugging Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's shoulders, her voice choked with emotion.

"Great-grandfather, please don't say that…"

"You went to explore the secrets of the bronze gate for the sake of the Xuanyuan Family."

"If it weren't for you, who knows how many more cripples our Xuanyuan Family would have."

The way she said that… it sounded like a compliment, yet also like an insult.

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai patted the back of her hand with a kindly smile.

"Silly girl, your great-grandfather is at this age, do you think I still care about that?"

Ye Chen stood to the side, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly.

Young and ignorant?

Thirty years ago, this old man must have been at least fifty or sixty years old, right?

Fifty or sixty years old and still young and ignorant?

What the hell…

Suddenly, Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai raised his head and looked at Ye Chen with burning intensity: "Young Friend Ye, is there really no other way?"

For a cultivator, who wouldn't want a pair of healthy legs?

Who would want to spend their whole life in a wheelchair?

Ye Chen was silent for a moment, then spoke.

"There is."

"And there are two ways."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's eyes lit up suddenly.

Ye Chen looked into his eyes and said, word for word.

"The first method is to cripple your own cultivation and start from scratch."

"You don't need to mention that one." Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai was speechless, "Crippling my cultivation, I might as well just die."

Indeed. For a cultivator, losing their cultivation is no different from being killed.

Furthermore, even if one could re-cultivate after crippling it, that would take time.

At Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's current age, how could he cultivate?

Ye Chen shrugged. "Then there is only the second method."

"That is…" "You need to solve the root problem."

"And the root is at the bronze gate."

The light in Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's eyes instantly dimmed.

He leaned back against the backrest of his wheelchair and let out a long sigh.

"Yes, the root is at the bronze gate…"

"Even if all nine keys are collected, no one knows what is inside the bronze gate."

"What's more…" "The bronze keys themselves are extremely difficult to find."

"At my age, I can't afford to wait."

Xuanyuan Ji's eyes turned even redder, her hands gripping the armrests of the wheelchair tightly, her knuckles turning white.

Thirty years. Great-grandfather has waited for this day for a full thirty years.

It was hard enough to find someone who said they could treat him, but the prerequisite for a cure was to open the bronze gate.

What is the difference between giving this hope and not giving it at all?

Ye Chen looked at Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai's dim eyes and was silent for a moment.

Then, his expression shifted, and he cut off the surrounding hearing, suddenly speaking.

"Senior, those seven keys are in my hands."

Patriarch Xuanyuan Hai suddenly raised his head, his eyes full of shock.

Xuanyuan Ji was also stunned, staring at Ye Chen with red eyes, her mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

Seeing the grandfather and granddaughter dumbfounded, Ye Chen added another sentence.

"I said, those seven bronze keys are in my hands."

"And…" He paused, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, "I will soon have the eighth one."