Ten thousand Top Grade Spirit Stones!

One hundred thousand High Grade Spirit Stones!!

Ten thousand common Pills, such as Spirit Recovery Pills and Detoxification Pills!

Such lavish treatment-forget the former Holy Son of the Ye Family, even if one scoured the entire Desolate Ancient Continent, not a single Holy Son could compare!!

First came the Pills, then the Spirit Stones, then the Spirit Grass...

He was granted unrestricted access to cultivation methods and Dharma Treasures, and an entire mountain peak was designated as his personal Daoist ashram.

As for the mundane affairs outside of cultivation, his daily living arrangements and the like-over a thousand servants and maids were assigned to attend to his every need.

.......

Chu Chen felt a wave of dizziness, momentarily questioning reality.

Wasn't the path of cultivation supposed to be fraught with peril and hardship?

Now, with over a thousand servants and maids waiting on him hand and foot, this...

How could this possibly be called a hardship?

Looking at his newly acquired cheap master, Qi Lao'er, who sat upon the throne with a face full of selfless devotion and fawning eagerness, Chu Chen fell into a momentary daze.

Back in the Ye Family, let alone the three years after his cultivation was crippled, even at the height of his status, his treatment had never been this extravagant!

From birth until now, the only people in this world who had treated him this well were the Empress Lin Shuwang and this white-haired old man standing before him, Qi Lao'er.

If only Qi Lao'er were a few hundred years younger.

If all the wrinkles, creases, and age spots were smoothed away.

And if his gender were swapped...

.......

Forget it. Having witnessed the kingdom-toppling beauty of the Empress Lin Shuwang, he feared that across the entire Desolate Ancient Continent, no other woman could ever catch his eye.

So, master and disciple they would remain~

"In that case... your disciple would be disrespectful to decline!"

Chu Chen cupped his hands and bowed deeply to Qi Lao'er in gratitude.

On the path of cultivation, talent alone was never enough. The four great pillars-Dharma, Wealth, Companions, and Grounds-were all indispensable.

Now that he was retreading the path of cultivation after breaking away from the Ye Family, what he lacked most were cultivation resources.

Fortunately, the Empress Lin Shuwang had meticulously planned all of this for him before entering Secluded Cultivation.

This aloof little lady-when she actually cared for someone, her enthusiasm was truly boundless~

Having stripped away her God Phoenix Feather and suffered a drop in her cultivation realm, he wondered how the Empress's Secluded Cultivation was progressing.

When he found the time, he would have to figure out a way to sneak into the Empress's Imperial Palace and investigate.

But before that...

After putting away the Storage Ring containing the Spirit Stones, Chu Chen looked up, only to meet his master Qi Lao'er's sly, mischievous gaze. He paused, slightly startled.

"Master, what are you..."

Leaning heavily on his staff, Qi Lao'er rose from the throne and walked step by step toward Chu Chen, speaking as he approached:

"Since we are now master and disciple, isn't it time you shared a few things with your master?"

"Your master still doesn't know your name, where you hail from, or who stands behind you."

"Of course, what your master is most curious about is another matter entirely."

Qi Lao'er stopped in front of Chu Chen. Though his words were probing, his tone remained gentle. His Saint King realm Pressure was completely restrained, making him appear as nothing more than an ordinary old man from the mortal dust.

"And that is-my dear disciple, you clearly possess the exceedingly rare Top Grade Five-Element Full Spiritual Root, a talent seen but once in ten thousand years. Why have you never set foot upon the path of cultivation? Why do you possess no cultivation base whatsoever?"

Faced with Qi Lao'er's inquiry, Chu Chen frowned, a trace of struggle and conflict flickering across his face.

Seeing this, Qi Lao'er quickly interjected before Chu Chen could speak:

"Disciple, please rest assured. Since we have already established our bond as master and disciple, this matter is set in stone."

"Therefore, no matter who you are, where you come from, or who stands behind you, this old man will acknowledge you as my disciple. Otherwise, I would not have..."

As he spoke, Qi Lao'er cast a meaningful glance at the Storage Ring resting on Chu Chen's finger.

Having already bestowed such a vast fortune of Spirit Stones and Pills, Qi Lao'er had clearly burned his bridges, leaving himself no way out.

"Thank you, Master!"

Chu Chen feigned a look of overwhelming gratitude, and then, without further hesitation, he replied:

"Master, I... my name is Chu Chen. Previously, I was... I was the Holy Son of the Ye Family!"

Whoosh-

The moment those words fell, Qi Lao'er's expression changed drastically. Leaning heavily on his staff, he stumbled back several steps.

Even with his Saint King realm cultivation.

Even with his thousands of years of age.

Even with his exalted status as a Palace Lord of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace.

.......

At this moment, he was panicking like never before!

The Ye Family Holy Son, Ye Chuchen-who was he?

He was the most dazzling cultivation genius and peerless monster in the entire Desolate Ancient Continent. Even the equally monstrous Empress Lin Shuwang had been brutally suppressed by him.

If you asked who the hundreds of thousands of disciples of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace hated the most?

If you asked who was the public enemy of the entire demonic path?

It was him, the Ye Family Holy Son, Ye Chuchen!!

Qi Lao'er had considered ten thousand possibilities. Even if Chu Chen were a heinous, universally despised great demon lord, he would have risked his old life to protect him.

After all, his lifespan was truly nearing its end; he only had a few years left to live anyway.

But of all things...

Chu Chen had once suppressed the Empress, making him the absolute public enemy of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace!

If the Empress were to learn that he had accepted this boy as his beloved disciple and directly promoted him to Pro-disciple of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, then...

Although the Empress was only at the Saint realm, in name, Lin Shuwang was still the supreme master of the entire Divine Flame Imperial Palace.

Would he have to tear away all pretense with the Empress and go to war over this kid ahead of schedule?

Then wouldn't he just become a vanguard pawn? After he and the Empress fought to mutual destruction, the other Palace Lords would seize the opportunity to swoop in and reap the rewards!

Qi Lao'er panicked. At his advanced age, this was the first time he had ever truly panicked.

He glared fiercely at Chu Chen, fury burning in his heart.

This kid... is this kid sick in the head?!

Three years ago, he beat the Empress half to death and brutally suppressed her.

Three years later, he comes running straight into the Empress's territory and joins her sect. This...

Isn't this Courting death?!

Is this kid truly stupid, or is he just pretending?!

"Um... Master, you don't need to worry."

Looking at Qi Lao'er, whose face was a tangled mess of shifting expressions and deep conflict, Chu Chen waved his hand and offered a word of comfort:

"Before coming to you, your disciple had already met the Empress and even delivered a declaration of war to her... oh, wait, no, a love letter!"

Qi Lao'er had just begun to breathe a sigh of relief, but when the words fully registered, his hair practically stood on end. He took several quick steps, stopping right in front of Chu Chen, and demanded:

"What did you say? You've already met Her Majesty the Empress? And... and you delivered a declaration of... a love letter to Her Majesty the Empress???"

Chu Chen nodded. The fact that he had publicly recited a love letter to the Empress had been witnessed by the entire Council of Elders; there was no hiding it.

Furthermore, during his great battle with the Empress three years ago, his face had been seen by the Elders and disciples of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace; that couldn't be hidden either.

It was better to admit it openly. After all, he had the Empress backing him up. What was there to fear?

"You... you..."

Qi Lao'er forcibly suppressed the agitation and unease churning within him. Eyes wide, he stared at Chu Chen in utter disbelief.

"Quick! Tell your master the whole story from beginning to end! Don't leave out a single detail! Don't conceal anything!"

In all his long life, this was the first time he had encountered such a... bizarre matter!

Looking at the extremely tense Qi Lao'er, Chu Chen no longer hesitated and immediately spoke:

"Yes, Master!"

He had to spin the story perfectly to reassure this cheap master, who clearly harbored his own ulterior motives.

Reassured enough to pour countless cultivation resources onto him, aiding his unstoppable rise to power.

"Three years ago, after my great battle with the Empress, my cultivation was crippled. The entire Ye Family then discarded me like a worn-out shoe. I suffered endless humiliation and abuse within the family, and my life was miserable."

"A few days ago, the Ye Family stripped me of my Holy Son title and expelled me from the clan, leaving me to fend for myself."

"Filled with resentment, I came to the Divine Flame Imperial Palace, planning to issue a declaration of war in the Ye Family's name, inciting a massive conflict between both sides as an act of revenge!"

"......"

Hearing this, Qi Lao'er's pupils instantly dilated, and he couldn't help but give Chu Chen a thumbs up.

What a viciously ruthless kid! He truly possessed a bit of his own style.

It seemed that their becoming master and disciple was truly fated by the unseen forces of destiny...

"Since it was a declaration of war, why did it turn into a love letter?"

Qi Lao'er asked impatiently. The story Chu Chen was telling was simply too bizarre and full of twists; even this old monster who had lived for thousands of years was completely captivated.

"The... the Empress was simply too beautiful. Your disciple... for a moment, I couldn't control myself, and..."

"And I changed the declaration of war into a love letter and confessed my feelings to Her Majesty the Empress~"

Having said this, Chu Chen lowered his head, his face flushing red with feigned embarrassment.

Qi Lao'er was stunned for a long time before he finally reacted. Eyes wide and mouth half-open, he thought he had misheard.

But just as the story reached its critical climax, Chu Chen lowered his head in embarrassment and fell silent. This left Qi Lao'er scratching his head and ears in sheer anxiety.

He took another step forward, stared intently at Chu Chen, and demanded:

"And then? Go on, tell me! What are you being so shy about!"

"You confessed to Her Majesty the Empress. What did she say? What did she do?"

"Did Her Majesty the Empress not order your execution? Did those Elders of the Council of Elders not strike you down on the spot??"

"......"