Chapter 172: That Guy Has Some Conscience After All

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, the carriage paused for a moment.

Inside the carriage, Liu Chen clearly felt they had entered the Imperial Palace. To be cautious, Liu Chen retracted his Spiritual Sense and waited patiently.

After another full incense stick’s worth of time, the carriage finally came to a steady halt.

“Senior Brother, hurry and get down. We’re here.”

A moment later, Ji Suyao’s voice came from outside the carriage. Liu Chen slowly stepped down, looking in astonishment at the courtyard just a short distance away.

This was a far cry from the grand palace Liu Chen had imagined; it looked more like a private holiday retreat.

“The old gentleman is waiting for you inside. I will come to pick you up in an hour.”

Ji Ming didn’t proceed any further. Instead, he led the three carriages away. Watching this, Liu Chen guessed that the Spirit Beasts pulling the carriages could be controlled by some special means.

This reminded him of the Master-Servant Contracts that Evil Cultivators used on other Cultivators. However, using a Master-Servant Contract on a Spirit Beast was common practice in the Cultivation Realm and didn’t make one an Evil Cultivator. The only ones who would likely take issue with it were the Cultivators of the Demon Race.

‘Honestly, I’m quite interested in this kind of Magic,’ Liu Chen thought. ‘If I ever find a suitable Demon Beast, I could capture it as a mount. If I run into danger, I could just toss it out as cannon fodder to draw attention. And if I’m truly out of options and supplies, I could even kill it and cook it into Spiritual Cuisine.’

“Let’s go, Senior Brother.”

Ji Suyao glanced at Liu Chen, then pulled Ye Linglong directly toward the courtyard. After passing through a moon gate, they came upon a pond. On the other side of the pond stood a large pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, a young man stood quietly, gazing in their direction.

“Grandpa, I’m back.”

While Liu Chen was still trying to figure out what was going on, Ji Suyao, who was at the front, had already started running and threw herself into the young man’s arms.

“His Majesty is a Qi Refining Cultivator, so he appears very young.”

Ye Linglong explained in a low voice before slowly following. In the past, when Ji Suyao brought her here, she would have had to bow first. But now that she was a disciple of Purple Cloud Valley, there was no need.

If she were alone, she could bow as a member of the Ye Family. But coming with her Senior Brother, she represented her Master and Grandmaster, so she couldn’t possibly bow.

“The portraits I’ve seen before were all of an old man.”

Liu Chen couldn’t help but ask. It was possible for commoners to see portraits of the Emperor, so in Liu Chen’s mind, the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty was a decrepit old man, shakily supporting the entire Great Xia Royal Family.

“That was to lay the groundwork for his abdication.”

Ji Wentao sized up Ji Suyao carefully before setting her down. His gaze then fell upon Liu Chen, and he slowly walked over.

“As you can see, I am Ji Wentao, Yao’Er’s grandfather, and also the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty.”

Ji Wentao’s gaze held a hint of scrutiny, and both Ji Suyao and Ye Linglong, standing to the side, sensed that something was amiss.

“I am Liu Chen, a disciple of Purple Bamboo Peak.”

‘Never mind how long this man cultivated before reaching the Qi Refining Realm; right now, I have a feeling I could kill the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty right where he stands. He has an undeniable, domineering aura, but he isn’t a prodigy on the Peak Path.’

‘Perhaps he once was, but the present is not the past.’

“You haven’t formally become a disciple yet? According to Purple Cloud Valley’s rules, you can do so once you become an Inner Sect Disciple.”

Ji Wentao’s gaze softened slightly. Ji Suyao was, without a doubt, his favorite junior. At first, it might have been a way to motivate his disappointing son and daughter-in-law to try harder, but he later grew to genuinely love Ji Suyao, who never quite fit in with the other juniors.

If that fellow Mo Xuan hadn’t shown up and taken a liking to Ji Suyao, he would have groomed her to be his right-hand woman. If his sons truly proved to be disappointments, he wouldn’t have been opposed to letting his dear granddaughter have a seat on the Dragon Throne.

It was impossible for him not to hold a little resentment toward Mo Xuan over this. ‘Back when we were in the Outer Sect together, we even drank together,’ he thought. ‘And now, after all these years, you finally visit me once, only to take away my most beloved junior?’

‘And the worst part is, it’s actually a good thing for her.’

Yet, just a few days after Ji Suyao went to Purple Bamboo Peak, the letter she sent back was filled with adoration for Liu Chen between the lines, which made him furious.

He had initially thought that a disciple Mo Xuan had long since chosen had deceived his granddaughter. But if that were the case, why didn’t this fellow just introduce himself as Mo Xuan’s disciple? Normally, when an Inner Sect Disciple of Purple Cloud Valley introduces themselves to an outsider, they always mention their master.

“Master said that after we return this time, I will formally become his disciple along with my two Junior Sisters.”

Liu Chen was perfectly calm. ‘Even if the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty were to suddenly fly into a rage, I’m confident I could kill him on the spot.’

“That fellow has some conscience after all.”

Ji Wentao averted his gaze. He recalled the intelligence the Great Xia Royal Family had gathered, which stated that Liu Chen had been cultivating under Mo Xuan’s guidance for two and a half years, only formally joining Purple Bamboo Peak three months ago.

When he first received this report, Ji Wentao felt it had to be fake. Then again, knowing Mo Xuan’s casual nature, it wasn’t entirely impossible that he’d let Liu Chen live in the back mountains of Purple Bamboo Peak for two and a half years before remembering that joining the peak required paperwork. But now it seemed the report was actually true. When did that guy Mo Xuan change so much?

On second thought, it was normal. With Senior Sister Bai—who, despite keeping a low profile, was someone no one could find fault with—supervising him, it would be strange if Mo Xuan hadn’t changed at all.

“You know my master?”

“Know him? If the Royal Family hadn’t faced a crisis back then, I would have at least become a Steward in Purple Cloud Valley. Alas, fate had other plans.”

Ji Wentao shook his head. Although he was a son of the official wife, he wasn’t the eldest, nor was his Talent the greatest. He had joined Purple Cloud Valley early on, but fate played its hand. The Royal Family fell into crisis, his eldest brother died, and he had no choice but to return and inherit the throne.

If he had stayed in Purple Cloud Valley and reached the Meridian Passage Peak, he wouldn’t have been stuck at the Qi Refining Beginner level for nearly a hundred years.

Ji Wentao didn’t elaborate on this, instead gesturing for the three of them to sit on the nearby stools and exchanging a few simple pleasantries.

“Yao’Er, take Linglong for a walk in the back garden. The flowers there are in bloom.”

After a short while, Ji Wentao looked at Ji Suyao. Although he wanted to chat more with his good granddaughter, there would be plenty of time after they finished their important business.

“Don’t you just want to talk to Senior Brother?”

Ji Suyao pouted, then stood up and pulled Ye Linglong away.

“Sigh… I’ve spoiled her rotten.”

Ji Wentao shook his head with a resigned sigh. Once the two had completely disappeared, the pavilion was suddenly sealed off from the outside world.

In the next second, a scorching, tyrannical wave of Spiritual Power crashed down upon Liu Chen. Liu Chen, who had been sipping his tea, looked up in astonishment at the Emperor of the Great Xia Dynasty.

“Interesting. An ordinary Body Tempering Middle Stage cultivator would have been on his knees begging for mercy by now.”