Chapter 910: The Messenger

"Sending a message?" Liu Ruyan was startled.

"In my current state, I alternate between confusion and clarity. Without your *qin* music, I can't leave, and I can't fly on a sword or create a clone to contact my true self. So, my only option is to find someone to deliver a message for me, so that others can come and fetch me."

"But this is the mortal world, so far from the cultivator realms. Even you, a cultivator, can't reach it, let alone a mortal," Liu Ruyan pondered for a moment.

"I'm not looking for a mortal; I'm looking for a cultivator," Ye Chen said slowly. "The imperial advisor of a mortal kingdom is a cultivator, isn't he?"

"From what I know, the imperial advisors in the mortal world are mostly low-level cultivators, far from qualified to fly on a sword. Finding them would be slower than if you went yourself."

"It's different," Ye Chen waved his hand. "If I were always clear-headed, I wouldn't need them. But since I sometimes fall into confusion, to stay awake, I have to keep you with me, which would greatly slow me down."

At this, he smiled faintly. "Besides, with me here, I can make them qualified to fly on a sword. I can perform direct empowerment, refine their meridians, and let them quickly raise their cultivation level—that's still within my capabilities."

"Nothing seems to stump you after all," Liu Ruyan smiled with her lips pursed.

"Can we not bring that up?" Ye Chen coughed dryly, then took out a jade stone and imprinted a strand of his divine sense into it. "Send someone to deliver this to the imperial advisor of Tian Lan Gu Guo."

"Understood." The guard waiting outside the hall entered immediately and took the jade stone from Ye Chen.

After the guard left, Ye Chen kept knocking on his head. "What a mess my head is in!" He had woken up from Yun Ruo Valley in this state, and even as the lord of Tian Ting, he was helpless, relying only on a mortal's *qin* music to stay clear-headed.

"Have you ever wondered why it's only my *qin* music that affects you?" Liu Ruyan glanced at Ye Chen tentatively.

"This *qin* piece isn't an ordinary one," Ye Chen took a deep breath. "I can tell it has a great origin, with the power to awaken. If played by a high-level cultivator, one person could hold off a thousand troops."

"Then teach me how to cultivate!" Liu Ruyan looked at Ye Chen with hopeful eyes.

"I have a disciple who was once a princess in the mortal world; I was the one who led her into the path of cultivation," Ye Chen found a comfortable spot to sit, pulled out a wine flask, and in his mind, the image of Xi Yan appeared. "But I've regretted it. Back then, because of me, she nearly died. I don't want you to follow in her footsteps. It's a cruel path, one you have to walk over bones and blood."

"I'm not afraid," Liu Ruyan took a deep breath, her eyes firm and resolute, much like Xi Yan had been back then, with a touch of stubbornness.

"I have a wife," Ye Chen seemed to sense the meaning in Liu Ruyan's words. She wasn't just eager for cultivation; she clearly wanted to follow him. He understood a woman's thoughts to some extent.

"I said the same three years ago, and it still holds true now," Liu Ruyan lowered her eyes and lightly bit her lip, not daring to meet Ye Chen's gaze. "I don't care how many women you have, and I don't expect to become one of them. I only wish that when you're tired or weary, I can play the *qin* for you. That would be enough."

"Why put yourself through this?"

"Heaven has brought us together again, so I won't let go."

"Then stay as a mortal for a few more days!" Ye Chen took a swig of wine. "Perhaps in ten or a hundred years, you'll look back on this mortal experience and be moved to tears. But in the end, it'll just be a fleeting cloud in your memories."

"Does that mean you've agreed?" Liu Ruyan suddenly looked up, her eyes full of joy.

"In nine days, I'll take you into cultivation."

"Thank you," Liu Ruyan jumped up in excitement, like a little girl, full of delight.

"This is the path you've chosen." Watching the joyful Liu Ruyan, Ye Chen couldn't help but smile. Because she had jumped up, the *qin* music stopped, and his eyes slowly fell into confusion as he sank into sleep.

It wasn't until sometime later that Liu Ruyan calmed down. Seeing that Ye Chen had already fallen asleep, she felt a bit embarrassed—she had gotten carried away and forgotten about it.

Seeing him sleeping soundly, she lightly bit her lip, then squatted down, gently brushing aside his falling white hair and softly touching his tired, weathered face.

"Forgive my boldness." In the quiet pavilion, she leaned down and left a lip print on Ye Chen's forehead.

Ye Chen didn't move at all; he was sleeping deeply, though a hint of pain occasionally crossed his brows.

That night, he was awakened because the imperial advisor from Tian Lan Gu Guo had arrived. The man had a sharp face and a weaselly look—no need to guess, it was the young cultivator Li Xiao, who had been scared by Ye Chen that night and hadn't dared to go out for days.

"Greetings, senior." As soon as Li Xiao entered the pavilion, he prostrated himself on the ground.

"Get up and speak," Ye Chen said indifferently.

"Thank you, senior." Li Xiao stood up, full of respect, but when he saw the red lip print on Ye Chen's forehead, he couldn't help but add meaningfully, "Senior is quite the man of passion!"

"Help me with something," Ye Chen spoke up. "Deliver something to Tian Ting."

"As senior commands, I will do my best." Li Xiao hadn't finished speaking when he paused and looked at Ye Chen tentatively. "Forgive my ignorance, but where is Tian Ting exactly?"

"Nan Chu."

"South... Nan Chu?" Li Xiao subconsciously swallowed, his face full of distress. "Senior, Nan Chu is at least a few million *li* away. With my speed, I couldn't get there in eight lifetimes!"

"Can't you use a teleportation array?" Ye Chen looked at Li Xiao with interest.

"Well, I could." Li Xiao's expression was awkward. "But I don't have the money. I hear using a teleportation array costs a lot of spirit stones—several ten thousands each time. I don't even have enough for a fraction of that."

"I understand," Ye Chen smiled. He didn't have spirit stones either; he'd used them all up in Wu Wang Da Ze. But he had treasures, and plenty of them—any one pulled out would be priceless.

"The things inside—sell them, and you'll get enough to make the trip back and forth several times over." He waved his hand and tossed a storage bag to Li Xiao from afar.

"Thank you so much, senior!" Li Xiao instinctively opened the storage bag. Inside were spirit tools, spirit jade, and spirit pearls, all gleaming brightly, nearly blinding him. His heart raced at the sight; he'd never seen so many treasures.

"Wealth shouldn't be flaunted; you know that. Keep everything low-key," Ye Chen said casually. "Also, don't leak any information about me to anyone outside Tian Ting. If you dare spread it, you know the consequences."

As he spoke, Ye Chen flicked out a divine light, placing a restriction on Li Xiao's soul to prevent any ill-intentioned soul searches.

"I understand." Li Xiao grinned awkwardly and looked at Ye Chen. "Senior, could you tell me exactly where in Nan Chu Tian Ting is? That way I won't take any wrong turns."

"The entire Nan Chu is Tian Ting."

"That can't be!" Li Xiao's mouth fell open. "I only know about the three sects in Nan Chu. Where did Tian Ting come from?"

"You've been in the mortal world too long."

"That I have—over ten years now." Li Xiao laughed dryly.

"Stay still and focus your *qi*," Ye Chen had already moved to his side, placing a hand on top of Li Xiao's head.

Then, holy body blood energy poured from Li Xiao's crown into his body, forcefully expanding his meridians and *dantian*.

"Uh...!" Li Xiao groaned immediately, his face contorted in pain.

"Endure it!" Ye Chen lightly scolded, unleashing torrents of bloodline power, holy body essence, and holy blood. Along the way, he drew out the spiritual energy from various spirit pearls and spirit jade, channeling it all into Li Xiao to fuel his advancement.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

As mysterious sounds echoed, Li Xiao's cultivation soared from Ren Yuan Jing straight into Zhen Yang Jing, and from there all the way to the peak of Zhen Yang Jing, until he broke through to Ling Xu Jing and finally stabilized.

Sometime later, Li Xiao awoke, overwhelmed with excitement. He was worlds apart from his former self now. If he returned to his sect like this, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with the elders!

"These talismans can be used in emergencies," Ye Chen handed another storage bag to Li Xiao.

"Thank you, senior! Thank you!" Li Xiao kept kowtowing. This was his lucky benefactor, the one who had completely changed his life.

"This is what I need you to deliver," Ye Chen passed the Ba Long Dao to Li Xiao.

"What a powerful blade." Li Xiao took it and staggered back immediately, because the blade was incredibly heavy and exuded an oppressive aura that even his Ling Xu Jing cultivation struggled to handle.

"You can set off now!"

"I won't fail this mission," Li Xiao said gratefully, then turned and stepped into the void. But unaccustomed to it, he tumbled down headfirst. Embarrassed, he scrambled up and summoned his flying sword.

"I hope he doesn't mess this up." Watching Li Xiao leave, Ye Chen took a deep breath.

"Aren't you afraid he'll go against you behind your back?" Liu Ruyan, still playing the *qin*, remarked.

"Unless he has a death wish."

"Should I feel honored?" Liu Ruyan said with a light smile.

"What do you mean?" Ye Chen, who had just sat down, looked at her in surprise.

"Though I don't know much about the cultivator world, I do know it has Nan Chu and Bei Chu. If the entire Nan Chu is Tian Ting, your status there is like that of a feudal lord in our mortal kingdom—one even the emperor would fear. For someone like you, a great figure, to stay in Nan Zhao, isn't that our honor?"

"You could see it that way," Ye Chen shrugged casually. "But just like your mortal feudal lords, their territories, achievements, and glory aren't gifts from heaven. Behind them lie mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

"Can I take this as you teaching me the rules of survival in the cultivator world?"

"Not just the cultivator world—the mortal world is the same. The strong rule, and fists make the rules."