Chương 852: Chapter 851: The Bitter Rival Has Arrived!

Ye Chen harbored some suspicions about his own senior brother. He kept them to himself. The journey to the Immortal Path was made aboard their sect's flying vessel, powered by an Extreme Dao weapon that Ye Chen himself had sponsored. With nothing to worry about, he left his senior brother to earnestly instruct the young girl and returned straight to his own cabin, stepping into his Cave Heaven. He descended onto the main peak and raised an eyebrow at the scene before him. Lu Jing actually cultivating?

And right beneath the Enlightenment Tea Tree, positioned just behind and to the side of Luo Bingling—careful not to steal the spotlight. What was this? Had she finally noticed the superior cultivation environment inside his Cave Heaven after entering and realized the importance of practice? The thought made Ye Chen smile. When he arrived, Luo Bingling showed no reaction at all, clearly immersed in deep cultivation. Lu Jing, however, opened her eyes immediately.

The moment she saw Ye Chen, her face lit up with surprise and joy, though a trace of small grievance lingered in her expression. Waking so quickly proved she hadn't been serious about cultivating. But that little grievance—had Luo Bingling been bullying her?

"What's wrong?" Ye Chen asked. Lu Jing lowered her head, speaking shyly.

"Senior Luo forced me to cultivate. She insists I practice at least eight hours every day. I have so many things to do. The seeds I brought still haven't been planted… Young Master, could you please talk to Senior Luo and ask her not to force me anymore?" She really was quite depressed. Lu Jing understood her own position clearly. The fact that she could still stay by Ye Chen's side was already due to his sentimentality. So even when she saw Luo Bingling, she harbored no intention of competing for favor.

She had even taken the initiative to offer a few small gifts as a gesture of goodwill. After that, she planned to mind her own business—perhaps build a little kitchen halfway up the mountain, open a spiritual field at the foot, and plant the young master's favorite spirit plants… She could also mention spirit beasts to him later and ask him to bring in some young ones! But the very next day, Luo Bingling dragged her over.

After asking a few questions, Luo Bingling had looked furious at her lack of ambition—how could anyone have such excellent cultivation conditions and still refuse to practice? It was intolerable. From then on, she forced Lu Jing to cultivate alongside her every day. Lu Jing's comfortable days of slacking off had come to an abrupt end.

"I know Senior Luo means well, but I really don't want to cultivate…" Lu Jing said pitifully. Ye Chen thought for a moment. This seemed to be the first time Lu Jing had ever asked anything of him since becoming his maidservant. Yet even with the exceptional conditions of his Cave Heaven, she still showed zero initiative to cultivate. To be this dedicated to doing nothing—Lu Jing really was one of a kind. Looking at her gentle, uncompetitive, pitifully adorable appearance, Ye Chen suddenly felt a spark of interest.

With a sweep of his arm, he pulled her directly into his embrace. Amid the soft sound of rippling pool water, he stepped into the Star Pool.

"Since you won't cultivate on your own, I'll help raise your realm myself…" Lu Jing's face flushed crimson in an instant. If this was the kind of cultivation, she was more than willing. Soon after, the silently gestating holy spirit gnashed her teeth as she stared at the pair of hands resting on the body that housed her. She had known it would come to this! Just wait. Once she was born, she would turn heaven and earth upside down.

She would make these men and women who treated her shell as a mere tool pay a terrible price. With such commotion happening right beside her, Luo Bingling naturally woke slowly. The moment she saw Ye Chen, her mood brightened considerably. She cast a glance at Lu Jing, clearly displeased. Not out of jealousy, of course. A woman of extremely low aptitude—and a mere maidservant at that—wasn't even worth the effort of being splashed with water. No, she was simply annoyed that the girl refused to cultivate properly.

Here she was, the proud princess of the War God Clan, unwilling to waste even a single moment in this Cave Heaven. Yet this woman showed no care at all, spending her days fiddling with flowers and plants. Such reckless waste of heavenly blessings—she simply could not stand it. She strode forward and spoke directly to Lu Jing, who was braced atop the Holy Spirit Jade Stone.

"Move aside. I'm going first…" Lu Jing's face flushed red. A flicker of grievance passed through her eyes, but she didn't dare voice her anger. Yet she was so close to completion that she couldn't bear to leave. With a small, aggrieved pout, she simply quickened her pace… Luo Bingling was actually in a rather good mood at having such a pushover around. None of the women by Ye Chen's side was easy to deal with. Finally, she'd found a soft target.

But Lu Jing's pitiful expression didn't linger on the sidelines for long. Soon, Luo Bingling was looking at her with pleading eyes.

"Quick—come here, help me hold on for a bit…" Lu Jing: "???" How could this Senior Luo be so weak in actual combat? In the end, Lu Jing's gentle nature won out. She stepped forward willingly to share the burden. Ye Chen, for his part, stayed out of it entirely. Everyone had their own temperament, and some things couldn't be forced. As long as it didn't cross any real lines—such as outright bullying within the harem or threats to life and limb—he wouldn't interfere. Let them sort it out themselves.

If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. And so, amid Lu Jing's soft gentleness, Luo Bingling's mix of bravado and desperate pleas, and the holy spirit's gnashing fury… time slipped away unnoticed. Eventually, the flying vessel arrived outside Immortal City. Ye Chen drifted down gracefully and stepped inside. All around him, gazes carried deep awe and reverence. Even sect masters and Holy Masters now came forward of their own accord to greet him.

As for the prodigies of his generation? They didn't even qualify to exchange words. They could only offer distant bows.

Whether it was Ye Chen's earlier slaughter of an entire generation of prodigies from the myriad races, or his domination of self-severed saints along the Immortal Path, or the incident at the Heavenly Desire Sect where assassins came for him, only for the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land to go door-to-door with the corpses demanding compensation from every clan that had sent a genius, or simply his current, openly displayed peak Half-Saint realm—All of it had cemented Ye Chen's status as one of the undisputed top existences in the current cultivation world.

A figure with true potential to ascend to immortality in the future. Of course, there were still plenty who watched him with cold hostility. A powerhouse from the Dao One Holy Land swept his gaze over Ye Chen, eyes icy. Their holy land possessed the Eight-Crowned King—an existence that made them supremely transcendent. Even though their clan elders had struck first, Ye Chen had shown zero mercy.

Then that white-feathered envoy had arrived in Immortal City carrying the corpse, loudly questioning whether the Eight-Crowned King had cultivated some flaw and lost his invincible will. Otherwise, why would the Dao One Holy Land have sent people to assassinate their own Fourth Holy Son? The incident had turned their once aloof holy land into a laughingstock. It had even tarnished the invincible reputation of their Eight-Crowned King.

In the end, they could only swallow the humiliation, send people to Immortal City to pay compensation, offer explanations, and finally take the body away… Ye Chen naturally sensed the malice directed at him. He didn't care in the slightest. No matter how much hostility there was—what could it actually do to him? But just as he was about to step onto the teleportation array bound for the Immortal Path, a figure blocked his path. Ye Chen raised an eyebrow. Someone still dared to court death?

Then he recognized the person, and the corner of his mouth gave an almost imperceptible twitch. It was the current Feather Transformation King. The bitter rival had come knocking in person. In his heart, Ye Chen cursed the Demon-Exterminating Great Saint. If that fool ever showed up offering his head, he'd kick it around like a ball. Useless at accomplishing anything, expert only at making things worse. Despite the storm of irritation inside, Ye Chen's expression remained supremely arrogant.

He looked down at the man, the corners of his lips curling into a cold, mocking smile.

"Feather Transformation King? You think you're qualified to block my way? Here to avenge your son?" His words were deliberately cutting and devoid of courtesy. Back then, the Feather Transformation King of the Third Heaven realm had stood high and mighty outside Immortal City, intent on blocking Ye Chen's path. Now, after only a dozen or so short years, Ye Chen's cultivation had already surpassed his, reaching the peak of Half-Saint. The gap in combat power between them was as vast as the heavens and the earth.

Beneath the Feather Transformation King's sleeves, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails pierced his palms. Over all these years, the brighter Ye Chen shone, the deeper his hatred grew. Ye Chen had killed his only son. If the chance ever came to kick a man when he was down, he would never hesitate. Unfortunately, his own cultivation was too low. Not long ago, when he heard rumors of a secret assassination attempt on Ye Chen, his heart had stirred with temptation.

But a mere King realm cultivator was trash—nobody even bothered recruiting him for the job. Then came the total annihilation of the attackers, followed by the Heavenly Evolution Holy Land going door-to-door demanding compensation. It left him with lingering fear. Good thing he hadn't gotten involved. He never expected that, in the blink of an eye, his own wife would suddenly vanish. In the entire cultivation world, who would dare act so brazenly as to abduct the Dao companion of a King realm expert?

The first figure that flashed into his mind was Ye Chen. Back when he had blocked Ye Chen, the young man had stared at his wife several times with obvious amazement and regret in his eyes. Coupled with Ye Chen's infamous reputation—vindictive to the extreme, insatiable when it came to beautiful women, even bold enough to covet the wife of the Divine Silkworm Clan's patriarch—it suddenly seemed entirely possible. So he had come looking for answers.

Swallowing his humiliation, he transmitted his voice: "Heir of the Heavenly Emperor, I beg you to return my wife… Calamity should not befall the innocent. My son's death back then was simply because he was inferior in skill—he deserved it. I acted impulsively and offended you at the time… Please, show mercy and let her go." Ye Chen's face immediately darkened. Your wife was taken by the Devouring lineage—why the hell are you coming to me first? He was so angry that he felt like trembling.

Prejudice really was like a mountain, pressing down until he could hardly breathe. Next time, he absolutely had to twist that Demon-Exterminating Great Saint's head off with his own hands.

"If you can't even keep watch over your own dao companion, what are you bothering me for? I, Ye Chen, don't collect just any trash!" There was no good way to explain this. With a grim expression, Ye Chen strode toward the teleportation array. The Feather Transformation King actually doubted it was really Ye Chen. Sneaking into his own holy land and abducting someone without anyone noticing seemed beyond Ye Chen's current abilities. There had to be a traitor within the Feather Transformation Divine Dynasty.

He had already contacted the Alkaid Holy Land. They had uncovered an Elder who self-destructed during interrogation, and their only guess was the Devouring lineage. Given that Ye Chen was the heir of the Heavenly Emperor—and judging by that look of open disdain on his face—he really did seem uninvolved. With that reassurance, the Feather Transformation King finally relaxed. He shot Ye Chen one last furious glare. You've offended the Dao One Holy Land. You've offended the Undying Celestial Phoenix Clan.

Both of those factions have ancient monstrous prodigies among their prodigies. Let's see how long you can keep acting arrogant. … Though Ye Chen's face remained dark, the moment he stepped onto the teleportation array, the corners of his mouth couldn't help curling into a faint smile. Back then, this man had used his superior status to try to crush him to death. And now? Someone was casually snatching his dao companion and gifting her to him. Yet the man himself didn't even dare stand straight in his presence.

Even when he suspected Ye Chen had taken his wife, all he could do was beg—never curse or threaten. Ye Chen didn't exactly approve of such behavior. Still, this particular brand of face-slapping felt unexpectedly satisfying. But the smile quickly faded as he frowned. Why did his way of doing things suddenly feel more and more like that of a villain? No. Absolutely not. He had to hold fast to his principles. He couldn't let these small moments of smug satisfaction and face-slapping pleasure corrupt his mind!

In the next instant, the teleportation array flared with light. Ye Chen's figure vanished from the spot! … Meanwhile, inside the Immortal City. The Demon-Exterminating Great Saint, hidden among the crowd, caught that final fleeting smile on Ye Chen's face. He immediately confirmed one thing. The young master might say no with his mouth, but his body was very honest. Since he had failed in this task, he would simply have to redouble his efforts in other areas and keep up the good work!