Chapter 80: Ye Lingyue: I Think I Saw Chu Chen...

In Shenhuo City, past the bustling and prosperous intersections, one had to walk deep inward.

One had to walk for a full half a sichen before reaching the filthy, reeking slums and shantytowns.

As soon as she arrived, Ye Han's stomach churned, and she dry-heaved several times in a row.

The air was thick with a sour, putrid stench.

All that met the eye were beggars sprawled on the ground, wailing and groaning in agony.

Endless rows of dilapidated tile-roofed shacks stretched on, while rotting vegetable leaves and animal corpses floated in the open gutters.

......

Let alone Ye Han, even Ye Lingyue, having grown up so pampered, was setting foot in a slum for the very first time.

As direct disciples of the immortal Ye Clan, they had been swaddled in silk and privilege since birth. Having meals served to their lips and clothes draped over their shoulders was merely the baseline; they possessed an endless supply of cultivation resources, from supreme techniques to precious Pills.

In their worldview, how could there possibly be people who couldn't even fill their stomachs or clothe themselves against the cold??

They simply must not be working hard enough!!

Slacking off in their cultivation~

Little did they know, the mortals living in these slums couldn't even guarantee three meals a day, let alone access so-called cultivation methods.

The truth was, poverty could never be eradicated, no matter how prosperous and affluent the city.

Wherever there were people, there were karmic tangles of profit and vicious struggles.

This reality was only magnified in the cultivation world, becoming ever more cruel and merciless.

"Big Sister, these people are truly lazy~"

Pinching her nose, Ye Han looked disdainfully at the wailing beggars. She held her snow-white neck high, resembling an arrogant white swan.

As she spoke, Ye Han pointed at a beggar curled up in a corner, her face filled with revulsion:

"Refusing to work in broad daylight, only knowing how to lie on the ground and beg."

"With no drive to seek the Dao or improve themselves, they deserve to rot in this filthy slum."

"......"

Ye Lingyue was taken aback. Following Ye Han's gaze, her body suddenly trembled:

"Xiao Han, do not speak nonsense. You... look at his legs."

Ye Han looked closer, only to realize the "lazy man" in her eyes actually had no legs...

"Hmph, so what if he has no legs?"

"Does he not still have hands?"

How could a fairy-like maiden be wrong? A fairy could never be wrong!

Even if Ye Han was in the wrong, this arrogant young miss would absolutely never admit it.

"We cultivators can soar through the skies relying on spiritual power and Dharma Treasures even without legs. Is being crippled an excuse to lie by the street and beg?"

"......."

Ye Lingyue froze, shaking her head in deep helplessness.

If the other party were a cultivator, would they be living in this slum?

Knowing Ye Han's tyrannical and capricious temper, Ye Lingyue did not bother explaining. She retrieved a Spirit Stone from her Storage Ring, placed it in the beggar's bowl, and then took out a portrait of Chu Chen for the beggar to identify.

Upon receiving the Spirit Stone, the beggar went mad with joy, kowtowing repeatedly on the dirty ground. Yet, after carefully examining the portrait, he shook his head, indicating he had never seen the boy.

"Big Sister, you... why did you give a High Grade Spirit Stone to this filthy beggar?"

Ye Han shrieked, her eyes filled with reluctance and absolute contempt:

"Even if our Ye Clan controls ninety-nine spirit veins beneath the heavens and boasts a massive estate, he... he is just a crippled mortal! A piece of trash! What use does he have for a Spirit Stone?"

The beggar pressed himself humbly into the dirt, trembling all over, furious but terrified to utter a single word.

"Seeing this beggar in such a pitiful state, I... I just couldn't help but wonder if Chu Chen might... might have ended up like this? I simply couldn't bear it."

Ye Lingyue's face was etched with sorrow and self-blame. The mere thought that her own blood brother might have been reduced to a beggar, groveling on the streets and being humiliated by mortals, made her heart bleed.

"With his Meridians destroyed and his cultivation utterly crippled, even if he survived the journey to Shenhuo City, he would only be reduced to begging."

In stark contrast, Ye Han outright sneered:

"Hmph, let him play the hero! He just had to arrogantly rebel against our Ye Clan. If he ends up like this, he deserves it!"

"We provided him with top-tier resources and immortal delicacies back at the clan, yet he acted as if our Ye Clan owed him a karmic debt! He insisted on puffing up his chest and leaving. Perfect! Without the Ye Clan's sheltering wings, let him experience the sinister nature of human hearts and the cold cruelty of this world!"

As she spoke, Ye Han affectionately linked arms with Ye Lingyue, smiling as beautifully as a blooming flower:

"Big Sister, I'm actually really hoping we find Chu Chen now. I want to admire the sight of him starving, his legs broken, looking absolutely miserable..."

Swish!

Before Ye Han could finish her malicious gloating, Ye Lingyue shot her a glare brimming with Killing Intent. Ye Han immediately stuck out her tongue and snapped her mouth shut.

Ye Lingyue knew her younger sisters harbored deep prejudices against Chu Chen. A few mere words wouldn't wash away their disdain. Left with no other choice, she utilized Sword Riding to ascend to a corner of the slums, casting out her Divine Sense to search for Chu Chen's aura.

Seeing this, Ye Han let out a spoiled harrumph, feeling immensely disgruntled.

"Big Sister is so unreasonable, actually glaring at me over that piece of trash Chu Chen~"

"If Chu Chen were even half as sensible, half as obedient, or half as kind-hearted as Xiao Xuan, would I curse him like this?"

Furious, Ye Han considered storming off, but the anticipation of finding a ruined Chu Chen wallowing in the slums was too intoxicating to abandon.

She could already picture Chu Chen kneeling before her, bowing and scraping, wagging his tail and begging like a loyal hound for a chance to return to the Ye Clan~

At the thought of this, Ye Han's fighting spirit ignited. Suddenly, this filthy, foul-smelling slum didn't seem so detestable after all.

Seeing her eldest sister meticulously scanning the eastern edge of the slums, Ye Han didn't dally. She initiated Sword Riding toward the western edge, sweeping her own Divine Sense outward.

Ye Lingyue swept through every shack and crumbling courtyard, terrified of overlooking even the slightest trace.

Ye Han, however, specifically locked her Divine Sense onto those missing arms and legs.

She scrutinized the dying wretches clinging to their last breaths, those whose chests barely rose.

She even scanned the stiff corpses wrapped in tattered straw mats...

One sichen.

......

Five sichen.

.......

One day!

......

Three days!!

.......

Shenhuo City's slums were overwhelmingly vast. Even with her Divine Fire Realm cultivation, it took Ye Lingyue nearly five full days to turn the entire district upside down.

Driven by the terror of missing him, Ye Lingyue had scoured the area four or five times over those five days, yet the result...

Still yielded zero trace of Chu Chen. She couldn't even find a single soul who had laid eyes on him.

If she weren't so absolutely confident in her Dao of Divination and trigram calculations, Ye Lingyue would have suspected Chu Chen had already perished...

Erased from this world!!

Chu Chen, where are you? Where exactly are you?!

Are you still furious with your Big Sister? Are you deliberately hiding in the shadows to punish me?!

"Big Sister, let's stop searching. Let's leave quickly!"

Just as Ye Lingyue was drowning in her own despair, an elegant figure arrived via Sword Riding:

"That trash Chu... Chu Chen is probably dead already! Or... or he fled Shenhuo City and left the Southern Frontier altogether!"

"After all... Shenhuo City is the core territory of the Divine Flame Imperial Palace. Chu Chen previously defeated and suppressed Empress Lin Shuwang. The entire population of Shenhuo City hates him to the bone."

"Even he isn't stupid enough to walk into Shenhuo City. How about we head back to the Ye Clan? Xiao Xuan's birthday is rapidly approaching. After we celebrate Xiao Xuan's birthday, we can..."

The newcomer was Ye Han, desperately trying to persuade her eldest sister to abandon the search and return home.

After all, weighed against Xiao Xuan's birthday banquet, Chu Chen's life, death, or whereabouts were utterly insignificant.

Ye Lingyue had searched the filthy slums for five days and five nights, but Ye Han possessed no such patience. After five sichen of fruitless sweeping, she had simply rented a room in Shenhuo City's most luxurious inn to cultivate her spirit.

"Oh, right, Big Sister."

Seeing Ye Lingyue remain completely unmoved, Ye Han's eyes lit up as she quickly added:

"Even though I've been cultivating at the inn, I gathered quite a bit of intelligence."

"Shenhuo City is hosting a grand auction today, and rumor has it there are many rare treasures. Since we're already here, why don't we go take a look?"

"Maybe... maybe we can win a supreme treasure to give Xiao Xuan as a birthday gift~"

"......."

Ye Lingyue froze, a sudden, sharp sting pricking her nose as tears threatened to fall.

No matter how hard she pondered, she couldn't understand it. Chu Chen was their blood brother, and Ye Xuan was merely an adopted son, yet...

Whether in their father's heart or in her sisters' eyes, why couldn't Chu Chen compare to even a tenth of Ye Xuan? Why wasn't he even worth a single hair on Ye Xuan's head?

"If you wish to go, go alone. I am returning to the Ye Clan!"

Forcefully swallowing her mounting fury, she initiated Sword Riding, streaking out of the slums toward the city gates.

Five days and five nights of scouring without a single trace. There was only one logical conclusion: Chu Chen was not in Shenhuo City, or...

He had already met a grim end, his bones turned to ash and scattered to the winds!!

"Big Sister, wait! Wait for me~"

Watching Ye Lingyue fly away, Ye Han stomped her foot in frustration. She had been greatly anticipating the Shenhuo City auction, but alas...

After a brief hesitation, she reluctantly summoned her flying sword and chased after her eldest sister.

But the moment Ye Han flew out of the slums, fully expecting Ye Lingyue to be leagues outside the city gates, she was stunned to see her sister hovering frozen in mid-air. Ye Lingyue was staring blankly at three figures in the distance, looking as if her soul had been snatched.

Ye Han followed her gaze in confusion. There were three figures: a young man, a young woman, and an old man. The young man was draped in luxurious brocade robes, exuding an extraordinary, transcendent aura. That silhouette...

Looked somewhat familiar~

"Big Sister!"

Just as Ye Han called out, the three figures stepped through the grand entrance of the Shenhuo Auction palace. Ye Lingyue was violently jolted awake from her stupor.

"It's Chu Chen! It's Chu Chen!!"

Weeping tears of overwhelming joy, Ye Lingyue pointed wildly at the entrance the three figures had just vanished into:

"I couldn't possibly be mistaken! It has to be Chu Chen!!"

"......"

Looking at her fiercely trembling, ecstatic eldest sister, Ye Han frowned. Though she also felt a twinge of familiarity from that back, pure logic dictated that the man couldn't possibly be Chu Chen.

"Big Sister, you are mistaken. How could Chu Chen ever afford such peerless silk robes?"

"He even had a personal maid and an old servant trailing behind him! A crippled piece of trash like him would be thanking the heavens just to be accepted as a lowly servant, how could he possibly..."

Before Ye Han's mocking words could land, Ye Lingyue had already surged forward, abandoning all decorum as she charged recklessly toward the Shenhuo Auction.

.......

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