Chapter 287: A Familiar Demand

Ye Chen prepared to deal with Beiming Ancestor first.

Beiming’s face twisted with bitterness as he pleaded, “Successor of the Heavenly Emperor, I’m willing to serve as your charioteer, pledging eternal loyalty! My descendants—males as servants, females as maids—only spare my life!”

Successor of the Heavenly Emperor?

The Great Chu Ancestor’s eyes widened. Ye Chen was the Heavenly Emperor’s successor? Was that true?

Ye Chen’s expression remained unmoved. With his cultivation speed, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator wasn’t worth keeping by his side. In the future, only prodigies like Senior Brother Hua Yunfei would be fit to stand with him. A flash of divine light gleamed in his eyes, and a destructive beam shot forth.

Beiming Ancestor exploded into nothingness, leaving only a soul that Ye Chen deftly collected, refining it into the Human Emperor Banner. Then, his gaze turned to the Great Chu Ancestor.

The Great Chu Ancestor trembled. The more he thought, the more plausible it seemed. In ancient times, the Heavenly Emperor had commanded a golden war chariot, blazing like the rising sun in battle. Legends also spoke of him mastering three of the Ten Vicious Treasure Techniques through various means, one of which was the True Dragon Treasure Technique.

Ye Chen’s True Dragon Treasure Technique was terrifyingly potent—could he have truly inherited its entirety? And to dominate Nascent Soul cultivators like children while only at the late Golden Core stage? His talent was horrifying.

The more the Ancestor considered, the more his heart raced. Feeling Ye Chen’s gaze, he forced a fawning smile onto his wrinkled face. “My dear son-in-law, it’s all a misunderstanding, truly! You can see it, can’t you? That old fool Beiming knew he was done for and dragged me down with him. It was definitely the Wang Clan’s doing. Don’t worry, I’ll head back and wipe them out for you—every last one!”

Ye Chen studied him calmly, saying nothing.

The Ancestor’s panic grew under that gaze, terrified that a divine beam might send him to meet his ancestors at any moment. He spoke even more humbly. “I came because I heard you and Feihuang didn’t reach an agreement. I wanted to persuade you. Feihuang was foolish to miss out on a prodigy like you. Great Chu can’t afford to lose someone of your caliber!”

Ye Chen remained silent.

The Ancestor gritted his teeth. “The throne of Great Chu belongs to you, my dear son-in-law. Feihuang? She’s just a princess—how could she be worthy of being your dao companion? Let her serve as your maid, attending to your needs. And Great Chu? It can change its name. What do you think of the Great Ye Dynasty?”

Seeing the Great Chu Ancestor’s desperate flattery, Ye Chen rolled his neck. He had no interest in the Great Chu Dynasty or becoming an emperor. Why settle for an emperor’s throne when he could aim for Immortal Emperor?

His only question now was whether to kill the Great Chu Ancestor. Though he hadn’t sensed killing intent when the old man first appeared, sneaking around a battlefield wasn’t exactly a sign of good intentions.

After a moment’s thought, Ye Chen spoke calmly. “Offer a wisp of your soul and hand over the True Phoenix Treasure Technique you possess.”

The Great Chu Ancestor’s eyes widened.

Why did that demand sound so familiar?

“Offer a wisp of your soul, hand over the True Phoenix Treasure Technique, the Spirit-Nurturing Fruit, and the Primordial Spirit Grass…” Ye Chen paused, then added, “As for your surname, forget it.”

His demands were undeniably harsh. But this was exactly what the Great Chu Ancestor had demanded of him through Li Feihuang. Though Ye Chen hadn’t sensed any killing intent from the old man, he wasn’t naive.

After years in the cultivation world, he knew the nature of cultivators all too well. They flocked to any commotion, watching from the sidelines if no opportunity presented itself, but striking ruthlessly the moment one did. They were masters of adapting to the situation, with flexible morals and seamless shifts between hero and villain.

If Ye Chen had been mutually wounded in his fight with Beiming and Zhanye, the Great Chu Ancestor would have struck without hesitation. So, Ye Chen showed no mercy in his demands.

The only reason he spared the Ancestor instead of sending him to the Human Emperor Banner was the influence of the Great Chu Dynasty. As Ye Chen’s critical-hit treasures grew in number and quality, his ally Sun Ye wouldn’t have the strength to handle such high-value goods. The Great Chu Dynasty, however, was an ideal channel for distribution.

As a Nascent Soul cultivator, the Great Chu Ancestor frequently attended high-level cultivator gatherings and trade fairs, making him the perfect candidate to serve as Ye Chen’s agent.

…

“My dear son-in-law, why not rename the Great Chu Dynasty to the Great Ye Dynasty?” the Ancestor pleaded.

He knew full well that Ye Chen was retaliating. The conditions he’d had Li Feihuang propose were the same. But he was innocent! Those demands were never meant to be accepted—they were designed to drive Ye Chen away from Great Chu.

Soul lamps had been common ten thousand years ago, but now only clans used them for their members. Sects had largely abandoned the practice after a traitor infiltrated a sect, destroyed its soul lamp hall, and caused catastrophic losses—wounding its experts and dooming an ancestor’s breakthrough. Since then, the cultivation world preferred binding oaths to the Heavenly Dao.

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Tearing out a soul wisp was not only excruciating but also irreversible, slightly hindering cultivation progress. The Great Chu Ancestor was desperate to avoid it.

But as he opened his mouth to negotiate, he saw Ye Chen casually raise the Human Emperor Banner. A chill ran through him as a terrifying thought struck. Was Ye Chen, like him, making demands he never expected to be met, just to justify refining him into the banner?

Recalling Ye Chen’s practiced soul-refining technique, the Ancestor’s bargaining spirit faltered. Gritting his teeth against the soul-deep pain, he tore out a wisp of his soul and respectfully offered it.

Ye Chen’s expression darkened, a hint of disappointment flickering across his face.

The Great Chu Ancestor shuddered and hurriedly offered up his True Phoenix Treasure Technique, transmitting it directly into Ye Chen’s mind.

The Great Chu Ancestor’s True Phoenix Treasure Technique consisted of only one move: Phoenix Cry. It unleashed a terrifying phoenix wail, a sonic attack to obliterate enemies. To Ye Chen, it was merely an entry-level technique, not particularly significant.