ISWI Chapter 1395-1396 (Patreon)

Chapter 1395: Wasted Affection!

Therefore, Shen Qinghuan hurriedly continued, "Ye Chen, I know you do not believe what I have said, but that is fine. One day you will see her true face. I came today to tell you something else. Your actions at the auction attracted far too many greedy eyes.

Nearly all the disciples ranked in the top thousand of the Ancestral Immortal sequence obtained quotas for the Ancient Relic Species Secret Realm. Yet many among them have already reached Perfect Monarch-grade flesh and blood and have no need for the products of that realm.

"After all, the essence of flesh and blood within the Ancient Relic Species Secret Realm can at best raise an immortal's physique to the Monarch grade. Their true target is you. They have even formed alliances and will not hesitate to kill you on sight if they encounter you.

"I know you are strong, but even I would struggle against so many surrounding attackers. That is why I specially contacted the prodigies of the He Clan and the Shi Clan, asking them to lend you a hand when the time comes. If you need me, I can also enter the secret realm myself."

Ye Chen raised an eyebrow at her words. What he wanted was precisely to have the entire world as his enemy. He would rather she not meddle.

Yet what was going on with Shen Qinghuan? Why the sudden change in attitude? Did she truly want the Cycle Blood Renewal Pill from him?

Before he could speak, she continued, "I know you suspect my intentions and guess that I may want the Cycle Blood Renewal Pill. But I do not need it. My father has already requested one for me from the First Realm. It will reach my hands within a month. So I genuinely wish to help you. I do not want you to be deceived."

Ye Chen's eyebrows rose even higher. He studied Shen Qinghuan thoughtfully. Had she truly changed her nature? Putting everything else aside, her multiplier was right there—one million times. Her potential was enormous. Without critical hits, she was merely roadside goods, yet if she had truly changed and could trigger critical hits, she would absolutely deserve the description of immense potential and a promising future.

Still, thinking of Wang Xuanji from the Immortal Realm left him a little doubtful. The higher the talent, the greater the pride. How could a temperament change so easily? He decided to test her.

Besides the Cycle Blood Renewal Pill, he had obtained another treasure of flesh and blood at the last auction. Though far inferior to the pill—its value ten times lower and its starting bid only eight hundred thousand top-grade immortal crystals—it was still not bad.

Ye Chen spoke softly, "Fairy Qinghuan does not seem quite as I imagined. You have rather surprised me. Perhaps I misunderstood you before."

At his words, Shen Qinghuan's heart filled with even greater resentment toward Shen Qingge. That woman must have been speaking ill of her every day. She replied gently, "The pure will clear themselves. After we spend more time together, you will naturally understand what kind of person I am."

Ye Chen nodded in agreement, then took out an item and continued quietly, "Fairy Qinghuan's willingness to help me this time makes me feel all the more that my previous harsh words were truly improper. The guilt in my heart is hard to dispel. Please accept this item so that I may ease my remorse a little."

With that, he presented a jade box containing a multicolored paste. Seeing it, Shen Qinghuan's lips curved upward. This was the Five Flowers Paste that Ye Chen had won at the auction.

Refined from five extremely rare immortal insects and the stamens of immortal root flowers, it was quite precious. When applied, it produced remarkable effects in elevating the physical body and blood. And Ye Chen had actually given it to her?

What did this prove? Sincerity was truly the ultimate weapon. She was superior to Shen Qingge in every respect to begin with. As long as she lowered her posture and showed concern for Ye Chen a few more times, he would inevitably be captured by her and return to her side. It was far too simple.

Shen Qingge, what was never yours could never be yours. Even if you luckily picked it up from between my fingers, when I decide to take it back, it remains an easy matter. Look—this is happening right now. As long as she came a few more times, Ye Chen would circle around her like a dog, simping her even more diligently than he had simped Shen Qingge.

While sneering inwardly, Shen Qinghuan extended her slender hand and accepted the item. "Fellow Daoist Ye is far too polite. Someone deliberately distorted the facts, so your misunderstanding is only natural. Once everything is clarified, it will be fine."

Having spoken, she intended to press her advantage, say a few more words to deepen her impression in Ye Chen's heart, and seize the chance to expose Shen Qingge further. What she never expected was that Ye Chen, who moments earlier had been smiling with guilt in his eyes, suddenly turned cold. He stared at her with an expression that said she was wasting his time, his gaze full of disdain.

Shen Qinghuan froze.

The next instant, Ye Chen turned away and tossed out a chilly remark. "Shen Qinghuan, stay away from me from now on. I do not want Qingge to misunderstand."

She grew even more bewildered. Just now he had called her Fairy Qinghuan. Why had he suddenly switched to addressing her by her full name? And what did he mean by not wanting Qingge to misunderstand? How could this dog of a man change his face so quickly? What exactly had gone wrong? Had Shen Qingge discovered her visit and secretly transmitted a message to Ye Chen?

Shen Qinghuan wanted to demand an explanation at once. Yet Ye Chen, who had been heading back into his cave dwelling, suddenly returned and walked toward her.

The system feedback echoing in his mind—one million boxes of Five Flowers Paste—only made him angrier the more he thought about it.

Shen Qinghuan had not only wasted his time; she had also wasted the paste itself. Had he given it to Shen Qingge, it would certainly have been critically struck into something of far higher grade. What a waste of affection.

Seeing Ye Chen return, Shen Qinghuan opened her mouth to ask what was happening. Instead, she watched him reach out, snatch the Five Flowers Paste from her hand, and stride cleanly back into the cave dwelling under her dumbfounded gaze. Not until the great doors of the cave slammed shut with a heavy boom did she recover her senses.

What was going on? Could a gift that had already been given be taken back? Although she herself looked down on that Five Flowers Paste, was Ye Chen's action not a bit too humiliating?

Her teeth clenched at once as she glared toward the mountainside. A man as generous as Ye Chen would never reclaim a gift he had given. It must have been Shen Qingge secretly transmitting some message that forced him to speak harshly and demand the item back.

Shen Qingge, you have already chosen the path to death!

Staring blankly at the tightly shut cave doors, Shen Qinghuan turned and left. Unexpected complications had arisen this time, yet what of it? Once Shen Qingge entered the Ancient Relic Species Secret Realm, her death was certain.

...

At the War God Academy, on the Transmission Divine Peak, the place was livelier than it had ever been. Although the number of disciples who descended into the transmission formation was not large—barely a thousand—the quality was extraordinarily luxurious.

Nearly all the disciples ranked in the top thousand of the Ancestral Immortal sequence had arrived. That was not all. Sharp-eyed and knowledgeable disciples also spotted a number of prodigies from great clans and major forces who had never entered the War God Academy yet still enjoyed considerable fame.

Chapter 1396: Set Up by Ye Chen?

The threshold of the War God Academy was extremely high. Yet the identities and talents of these people clearly qualified them to join through other special recruitment channels. Their appearance on the Transmission Divine Peak now left only one possibility: they had also come for Ye Chen.

At that thought, the crowd sighed with even greater emotion. Some disciples, seeing so many absolute prodigies gathered, felt the situation was truly hopeless. Even if they entered, they would not be able to compete for much of the Ancient Relic Species flesh essence. Thus they chose to sell their quotas on the spot, starting at a million points. The trading grew extremely lively.

All of that, however, remained secondary. Everyone waited quietly, gazes fixed in the direction of the Golden Immortal disciples' peak, awaiting Ye Chen's arrival. Their reaction was similar to that of the Great Luo Golden Immortal disciples before entering a secret realm. The only difference was that the Great Luo Golden Immortal disciples had feared Ye Chen's arrival, while these people feared he would not come at all.

When only the time of one incense stick remained before the secret realm opened and Ye Chen still had not appeared, the faces of the disciples turned ugly. Could it be that Ye Chen was not coming?

At that very moment, a graceful figure descended upon the peak. Seeing Shen Qingge's solitary, elegant form, the expressions of the crowd grew even darker. Why had Shen Qingge come alone? Where was Ye Chen? Had he truly decided not to appear?

For this secret realm, everyone had invested heavily. Some had used family-held quotas for the War God Academy and rushed through enrollment. Others had expended vast resources to purchase points from academy disciples and then bought quotas at high prices.

They had been willing to make such investments solely for the treasures on Ye Chen. Yet why had he still not arrived? If Ye Chen failed to come, they would suffer enormous losses.

Shi Yi could no longer sit still. Shi Qi, Shi Ba, and Shi Jiu had all been brought by him, and the points used to buy their quotas had also come from his pocket. He had basically emptied all the points he had accumulated over the years at the War God Academy.

If Ye Chen did not come, even monopolizing every resource inside the Ancient Relic Species Secret Realm would not recover his costs. More importantly, he would be unable to complete the task the clan leader had assigned him.

Unable to remain seated, he asked Shen Qingge directly, "Sister Qingge, where is Ye Chen?"

Shen Qingge swept him with a cold glance. Although the two clans shared a relative connection, that connection existed only for Shen Qinghuan. To Shen Qingge, the Shi Clan was her greatest enemy.

Under such circumstances, she spoke not a single word and could not even be bothered to look at him, leaving Shi Yi's face extremely dark. Vicious thoughts rose in his heart. A mere illegitimate daughter dared to act so arrogantly. Once inside, he would thoroughly eliminate Shen Qingge and see whether she could still maintain such arrogance then.

Those around them were also watching closely. Seeing Shen Qingge remain silent, their expressions grew uglier still. Could Ye Chen truly have decided not to come?

Some even began to suspect this was a trap. Ye Chen had stockpiled large quantities of War God Academy points and secret realm quotas in advance. By flaunting his wealth, he had lured them into joining this expedition.

Then he had used those points to exchange large amounts of resources from them at low prices, after which he used the quotas to reclaim their points. Finally, he simply washed his hands of the matter and refused to appear.

The immortals of the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths were all extremely shrewd. All sorts of deceptive schemes and hot-potato fraud routines existed in abundance. Some sects even made their living primarily through scams, especially the cultivators from the Nineteenth Realm, who engaged in the most fraud of all.

They truly began to suspect they had been scammed by Ye Chen. Otherwise, how could a mere country bumpkin from the Nineteenth Realm possess so much wealth? Why would he be so foolish as to insist on bidding at ten times the price?

At this moment they even suspected that Ye Chen's rise to fame from the very beginning—his displayed talent, his astonishing combat strength, everything—had all been part of a larger arrangement designed precisely to harvest them today.

As time pressed closer second by second and Ye Chen still failed to appear, some disciples could no longer remain seated and began shouting for refunds. The unfortunate fools who had just purchased quotas at high prices were already seeking out the sellers, hoping to break the agreements.

Most others, however, did not shout or make a scene. They still retained the bearing of prodigies. They simply fixed cold, gloomy stares on Shen Qingge. If Ye Chen did not come, then Shen Qingge would suffer.

At the very least, she carried one Cycle Blood Renewal Pill on her person. That was a supreme treasure. Used well, it could elevate flesh and blood to the King grade. Obtaining it would still count as a profit, just not as large a profit.

With that thought, their dissatisfaction deepened, and the gazes they directed at Shen Qingge grew even darker. Even though she was Shen Wanshan's own daughter, they felt no fear. After all, everyone present came from top-tier forces. Whose family lacked an Immortal King?

The Nine Heavens and Ten Earths had existed for countless years. Immortal Kings were certainly not as common as dogs, yet neither were they truly rare. The forces behind them might mostly be inferior to the Shen Clan, but they were not so weak as to be terrified to this degree.

Under so many cold and sinister stares, Shen Qingge kept her expression blank, yet a faint unease stirred in her heart. Truthfully, she herself did not know where Ye Chen was. Before setting out, she had gone to find him, yet his cave dwelling had shown not the slightest response. After waiting a long time, she had no choice but to come alone.

Still, she never considered that Ye Chen might have abandoned her. She only worried that he might have met with some accident. Because of her previous actions, however, being stared at by so many people still left her a little panicked. Were it not for the possible Nine Apertures Bone Marrow Crystal, which was simply too important to her and concerned the recovery of her Longevity Bone, she would almost have preferred not to go.

At present, Shen Qingge was also considering whether she should first declare that she had not brought the Cycle Blood Renewal Pill.

In the final ten breaths, when everyone had completely given up hope and concluded either that Ye Chen had scammed them or that he had grown afraid and dared not appear, a streak of light suddenly shot forth from the cluster of peaks belonging to the Golden Immortal disciples. Its speed was unbelievable. In the blink of an eye, it crossed the endless sky, traced an arc, and landed in the center of the Transmission Divine Peak.

Seeing that black-haired, wildly dancing figure that seemed to symbolize domineering wealth, everyone exhaled in relief, their eyes lighting up. Ye Chen had come! They had not been scammed.

At the same time, they cursed under their breath. They had already heard that Ye Chen possessed this particular habit—insisting on arriving at the very last moment under the gaze of the multitude.

What a show-off!

Ye Chen paid no attention to their stares. Looking cheerful and radiant, he landed beside his fiancée Shen Qingge and explained softly, "I reached a critical point in my cultivation and could not afford to be distracted. That is why I am so late."

His words were of course an excuse. In reality, he had originally intended to hold Immortal Monarch Yue Yao for only a short while. Yet the changes in his skin had made his perception of the outside world far too sensitive, drawing a look of surprise from his senior sister.

That surprised look had then made him unable to resist proving himself. On top of that, Shen Qinghuan's earlier visit had wasted a considerable amount of his time. In short, all these unexpected incidents had delayed him a full hour longer than planned.