Chapter 663: Chapter 663: Arrival at Wuji Immortal Palace
"Xiao Xiao, do you two know each other?" Ye Qingchen asked, feeling a little uncomfortable as he saw the gleam in Wu Chang’s eyes.
Xiao Xiao ducked behind Ye Qingchen. "Young Master, I don’t know him at all!"
"Hey now, Little Girl Xiaoxiao, we had such a pleasant chat back at the Jiang Ancient Clan. How can you say you don’t know me now?" Wu Chang said with a smile, sidling closer to her.
Xiao Xiao frowned, not even sparing him a glance. "What pleasant chat? You were the one who kept trying to talk to me. I completely ignored you."
"Young Master, rest assured, I have absolutely no connection to this person!"
Xiao Xiao’s attitude displeased Wu Chang. Seeing how close she was to Ye Qingchen, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy. "Little Girl Xiaoxiao, can it be that you don’t know my status? I am the Saint Heir of the Wuji Immortal Palace. Are you really going to ignore me?"
Finding Ye Qingchen to be an eyesore, Wu Chang stepped forward to push him away, only to find that he couldn’t budge him an inch. "Look, brother, step aside. I have something to say to Xiao Xiao," he said, waving his hand dismissively at Ye Qingchen.
Ye Qingchen immediately saw through his intentions. He replied calmly, "A Saint Heir, you say? Then do you know that Xiao Xiao is my person? I don’t permit anyone to lay a hand on my people!"
Xiao Xiao clearly detested the man, but his thick skin meant he just kept pressing forward. Naturally, Ye Qingchen wouldn’t let him have his way. Besides, this so-called Saint Heir was merely at the Eighth Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. He was no match for him!
The rejection made Wu Chang furious. "And what are you supposed to be? ’Your person’? Has Little Girl Xiaoxiao even acknowledged that?"
Xiao Xiao stepped forward and declared loudly, "I belong to the Young Master in life, and I will be his ghost in death! I advise you not to waste your time on me. The one I like is the Young Master, not you!"
Wu Chang’s face instantly darkened. "Heh. And you, what’s your name?" Not wanting to make things difficult for Xiao Xiao, he directed his hostility toward Ye Qingchen.
"Ahem, ahem, little Saint Heir, when are we going to see Elder Chen?" Elder Yang finally interjected, unable to stand by any longer. What had he told Ye Qingchen? He had specifically warned him not to cause trouble. They hadn’t even set foot inside the Wuji Immortal Palace, and he’d already offended their Saint Heir.
"You’re Elder Yang, correct? You’re a friend of Elder Chen, so I won’t do anything to you. But this guy... This Holy Son just can’t stand the sight of him!" Wu Chang declared, holding his head high as if Ye Qingchen was beneath his notice.
"My name is Ye Qingchen. If you can’t stand me, feel free to make a move. I, Ye Qingchen, have never been afraid of anything!" he retorted without a shred of fear. The tension between the two was palpable.
Elder Yang sighed helplessly. "Ahem, Ye Qingchen! Don’t forget why we’re here. We came to find an antidote for you! Provoke the Saint Heir any further, and you might not even get through the gate."
Elder Yang wasn’t afraid; he just found the youngsters’ quarreling to be a headache. Seeing the situation, Xiao Xiao understood as well.
"Saint Heir Wu Chang, I was in the wrong earlier, and I apologize. Please, don’t hold it against my Young Master." When it came to matters concerning Ye Qingchen, Xiao Xiao always put him first, even if it meant dealing with a Saint Heir who made her uncomfortable.
Ye Qingchen said helplessly, "Xiao Xiao, you have absolutely no reason to—"
"Young Master, please don’t say any more. The Saint Heir is actually a very nice person," she interrupted, turning back to Wu Chang with a broad smile, showing no hint of reluctance. "Saint Heir, may we enter now?"
Wu Chang seemed to be placated by Xiao Xiao’s words, and the anger in his heart dissipated considerably. "Fine, then. Elder Chen has been waiting for you inside the Immortal Palace for a long time. Follow me!"
Wu Chang turned and led the group toward the main gate. The farther they walked from the entrance, the thicker the surrounding fog became. Eventually, it became so dense they couldn’t see their hands in front of their faces. Xiao Xiao clutched Ye Qingchen’s arm, walking forward cautiously.
"To enter the Wuji Immortal Palace, one must pass three trials. The first is crossing the Misty Sea’s surface," Wu Chang explained. "We’ll need to take one of the Wuji Immortal Palace’s unique small boats to cross it. But rest assured. With me here, there won’t be any accidents... though that’s not to say they’re impossible."
As he spoke the last words, he cast a meaningful glance at Ye Qingchen.
Soon, the group arrived at the edge of a body of water. Due to the dense fog, they couldn’t see how vast the sea was. These trials weren’t meant to inconvenience visitors but to repel intruders.
"Please wait here for a moment. I’ll go call the boats over." With that, Wu Chang vanished from their sight.
When he reappeared, he was at the seabed.
"Saint Heir, what brings you here?" The moment Wu Chang arrived, the Monster Beasts of the seabed swarmed to his side.
He waved his hand at them. "In a little while, I need you to help me teach someone a lesson. He’s about my age and also wears a white robe. You’ll see him when he gets on the boat." Wu Chang extended his hand, and an aura of Ye Qingchen’s scent spread through the water. All the creatures on the seabed became alert.
"Rest assured, Saint Heir. We will attack anything with this scent relentlessly!"
"With you lot handling this, I can rest easy. When you see the target, make him suffer, but don’t kill him. That would ruin the fun." Wu Chang’s expression grew more sinister as he imagined the fate awaiting Ye Qingchen.
Soon, two small boats appeared in their line of sight.
With a broad smile, Wu Chang announced, "Haha, these boats can only hold two people at a time. Elder Yang, you and Little Girl Xiaoxiao can go first. Is it alright if we two men follow behind?"
Ye Qingchen, oh, Ye Qingchen, you could never have guessed that I’ve already given your scent to the Monster Beasts in the sea. Just you wait!
Ye Qingchen was about to say something, but upon hearing Wu Chang’s thoughts, his expression became playful. "Xiao Xiao, you and Elder Yang go ahead. I’ll ride in the same boat as him."
This Saint Heir of the Wuji Immortal Palace is truly naive, daring to play such petty tricks in front of me. We’ll see who gets the last laugh.
The two men, each harboring their own schemes, boarded a boat.
The moment Ye Qingchen stepped onto the vessel, his foot slipped, and he stumbled right into Wu Chang, grabbing him for support. "Whoops! My apologies, Saint Heir. I got a little scared and lost my footing," Ye Qingchen explained, his face a mask of remorse.
Wu Chang snorted coldly.
What a pathetic weakling, falling down just getting onto a boat! His cultivation is pathetic, too—only the Third Layer of the Martial Emperor Realm. If Xiao Xiao hadn’t been here, I would’ve killed him already! I have no idea why she’s so devoted to such a loser. No matter. Once we’re in the Wuji Immortal Palace and this weakling is out of the picture, her gaze will naturally turn to me!
At this thought, Wu Chang’s mood improved considerably.
Little did he know, however, that Ye Qingchen had heard every single one of his thoughts.