Chapter 51: Dividing the Spoils with the Fairy

Chen Ye, regardless of Wei Changsheng's objections, stripped him completely naked, not even sparing his shoes, leaving only a single garment to cover his body.

After confirming there was nothing valuable left on the man... no, after confirming there were no dangerous magical treasures, Chen Ye smiled and said to him, "Daoist, do not misunderstand; I am merely ensuring my own safety."

Wei Changsheng, his face full of humiliation, stared at Chen Ye with eyes brimming with resentment, as if he intended to imprint his face upon his soul and spirit, vowing to seek his life even if he became a vengeful ghost!

"It seems, Daoist, you have a deep misunderstanding of me."

As Chen Ye spoke, he reached out again, frightening Wei Changsheng into shouting, "Stop! I have only one left; this truly is not a magical treasure, just silk! You might as well give me a quick death!"

With only a single garment left on his body, if he stripped any further, he would truly be naked and indecent.

If he were truly stripped bare and bound, he would rather dash himself to death right here.

Chen Ye shook his head; how could one value face more than life? Wasn't the cultivation of a cultivator precisely about immortality? To truly put the cart before the horse was no wonder he was so easily controlled.

However, Chen Ye did not truly intend to strip him completely bare; instead, he helped him up.

Just as Wei Changsheng was confused, a brilliant sword light flew from the night sky.

Seeing this, Wei Changsheng immediately grew excited.

This was the sword light of the Qinghe Sword Sect; it must be that Senior Sister Su who had arrived. With her here, he would survive.

Although he was currently in a wretched state, at least he could make this demon pay the price!

Wei Changsheng was already thinking in his heart of how to retaliate against Chen Ye; he must strip this little demon bare and drag him through the streets, only then could he quell the hatred in his heart.

However, just as Wei Changsheng expected Su Chunyi to rescue him, this disciple of the Qinghe Sword Sect actually approached the demon's side and asked with considerable concern, "Mr., have you been injured?"

Chen Ye shook his head, pointed at Wei Changsheng, and said, "This one claims to be a disciple of the Incense-Burning Sect; I do not know if Miss Su recognizes him."

Su Chunyi then noticed Wei Changsheng, but she seemed not to recognize his disheveled appearance until she looked at the Five Immortals Furnace lying aside; only then did Su Chunyi nod and say, "This is Wei Changsheng, Senior Brother Wei of the Incense-Burning Sect."

Hearing this, Chen Ye thought to himself that this name was quite inauspicious.

Wei Changsheng, false immortality; with such a name, how could one cultivate immortality?

However, some words could not be spoken directly, so Chen Ye remained quite polite and said, "Brother Wei is a man of distinguished appearance; one can tell at a glance that his origins are extraordinary. I apologize for my earlier rudeness."

Wei Changsheng, bewildered by the scene before him, excitedly said to Su Chunyi, "Senior Sister Su, this is a demon; how can you be so close to him?"

Su Chunyi, hearing this, spoke with righteous conviction, "Please, Senior Brother Wei, choose your words carefully. Mr. is my closest friend; he is merely a rogue cultivator of the heterodox path, not some demon."

Wei Changsheng hurriedly said, "Is that not the Ten Thousand Souls Banner in his hand? Did you not see it?"

Chen Ye sighed, "Prejudice in the human heart is a mountain; no matter how hard you try, you cannot move it. If holding the Ten Thousand Souls Banner makes one a demon, then what of this?"

Chen Ye directly shoved the Ten Thousand Souls Banner into Wei Changsheng's hands and continued, "Brother Wei, now that you hold the Ten Thousand Souls Banner, have you become a demonic cultivator?"

Wei Changsheng's face turned red with suppressed anger, and he shouted, "Sophistry!"

"Whether it is sophistry, I believe Brother Wei knows in his heart." Chen Ye leaned close to Wei Changsheng and whispered, "Brother Wei, does what you saw when you were in agony just now also count as sophistry?"

Chen Ye's words made Wei Changsheng's face change drastically; originally, he was furious and wanted to fight Chen Ye to the death, but upon hearing him say this, Wei Changsheng's expression changed.

This was not only because the pain just now left a deep impression on him; more importantly, those iron hooks had dredged up many long-buried memories.

Those "trivial matters" he thought he had long forgotten all surged into his mind at that moment; though he felt he had never cared about them, just now they all transformed into swords piercing his heart, causing him agony beyond endurance.

Did this demon before him know all these memories just now?!

Wei Changsheng's face turned iron-green; he could not say whether it was anger or fear.

Wei Changsheng did not know Chen Ye's origins, nor did he understand why Su Chunyi was so closely related to him; the current situation simply did not allow him to deliberate.

Wei Changsheng snorted coldly and said to Chen Ye, "If this truly is a misunderstanding, then please release the restriction on my body."

Chen Ye chuckled and waved his hand to unlock the chains, allowing Wei Changsheng to regain his freedom.

Wei Changsheng suppressed the hatred in his heart, straightened his single garment, and bowed to Su Chunyi, saying, "Since Senior Sister Su vouches for him, I, Wei, will trust this Daoist for once."

Wei Changsheng forced a smile at the corner of his mouth and bowed to Chen Ye, saying, "It was a misunderstanding; I hope Daoist will forgive me."

Chen Ye saw that the knuckles of his fist were white from gripping them tight; he knew this Brother Wei hated him. He could only say that fate played tricks; who would have thought this man would attack without listening to an explanation?

Of course, the surface work still had to be done thoroughly, so Chen Ye politely said, "Since it is a misunderstanding, let us all not take it to heart."

Wei Changsheng snorted coldly, "In that case, can Daoist return my things to me?"

"Oh, Brother Wei is right; it is time to return them to you."

Chen Ye piled up everything he had just stripped off in one go and thoughtfully wrapped it in Wei Changsheng's long robe to make it convenient for him to carry away.

Wei Changsheng, currently in a wretched state, did not wish to stay here and lose face; he grabbed the long robe, summoned the Five Immortals Furnace, and flew away, truly not wanting to stay a moment longer.

However, after he flew far away and took the items out of the long robe, Wei Changsheng could not help but cry out in sorrow, "My Black Jade Dragon-Patterned Pendant! My Treasure-Generating Pill! My Spirit Talismans!"

Wei Changsheng never expected that Chen Ye would dare to pocket his treasures even in front of Su Chunyi, and he took the most valuable ones first.

One body-protecting magical treasure, a bottle of immortal pills, and a large pile of spirit talismans; that was Wei Changsheng's entire fortune accumulated over half a lifetime.

"Despicable villain! If I do not avenge this, I swear I will not be a man!"

He wanted to return and snatch them back, but thinking of Chen Ye's bizarre methods and the fact that Su Chunyi was clearly colluding with him, Wei Changsheng knew that returning now would only bring him further humiliation.

Wei Changsheng left with gritted teeth, leaving behind Chen Ye, who was beaming with joy, and Su Chunyi, who was completely bewildered.

Chen Ye, smiling, took out the treasures he had just pocketed and said to Su Chunyi, "It is time to divide the spoils. Miss Su, these are what I just stripped from that Wei Changsheng; see if there is anything useful for you."

Su Chunyi looked at Chen Ye in confusion and asked, "Mr., when did you take these magical treasures?"

Chen Ye had clearly packed them in front of all three of them; the jade pendant was clearly in the bundle; when had it been taken? She had not even noticed.

Chen Ye explained, "Rogue cultivators always know a bit of various strange and heterodox arts."

One must know a little of the methods of plucking feathers from a passing goose or snatching chestnuts from the fire; at critical moments, they come in handy, don't they?

Chen Ye handed the pills to Su Chunyi and said, "This Treasure-Generating Pill should be useful for you, Miss Su."

The pills of the Incense-Burning Sect were very famous; the Treasure-Generating Pill was extremely effective at replenishing spiritual energy, but it could only be consumed after refining the body with the Astral and Fiendish Qi, otherwise the physical body could not withstand the medicinal effect and it would be harmful instead.

"This... I am afraid that is not appropriate?"

Where had Su Chunyi ever seen such dividing of spoils? If her sect elders found out, she would likely be punished.

"It is fine; consider it a gift from me. That Wei Changsheng tried to poison me the moment he saw me; if I did not have some methods, I would have died long ago. He showed no scruples, so naturally I could not easily let him go."

It was only because this Master Chen was kind-hearted; otherwise, he would have stripped him down to his underwear and made that Wei Changsheng crawl back with his bare buttocks.

Hard-pressed by Chen Ye, Su Chunyi dazedly accepted a bottle of pills, then suddenly seemed to recall something and hurriedly said, "Ah, I forgot to tell Mr. that Wei Changsheng represents the Incense-Burning Gate seeking instruction in secret arts; if you speak up, these magical treasures and pills are nothing."

Su Chunyi hadn't expected to forget even such an important matter; in a panic, he rushed back to Cui County, and upon seeing the entire city in white mourning garb, he worried for Chen Ye's safety, but once he truly saw him unharmed, he forgot everything again.

"You mean that 'Sutra of the Original Vows of Ksitigarbha'? I have already given it to you; dispose of it as you please."

When Chen Ye handed over the secret art, he had already tacitly permitted the Qinghe Sword Sect to dispose of it as they wished; if the Incense-Burning Gate wanted it, they could simply ask the Qinghe Sword Sect—why let this lone cultivator profit?

Su Chunyi explained, "After all, this is Mr.'s opportunity; this art is especially precious to the Incense-Burning Gate. As long as Mr. speaks up, there should be no lack of pills for cultivation thereafter."

Chen Ye thought for a long while, then said only, "Truly the Qinghe Sword Sect; I am impressed."

They were truly too proper; this Qinghe Sword Sect was as upright as could be.

After sighing with emotion, Chen Ye asked again, "But why does the Incense-Burning Gate care so much about this 'Sutra of the Original Vows of Ksitigarbha'?"

Such great sects cannot even master their own secret arts; they lack nothing, unless this secret art has some special quality.

"The Incense-Burning Gate believes this may be one of the Heavenly Book Secret Arts; the Incense-Burning Gate has always sought to gather all Heavenly Book Secret Arts, thus they attach special importance to it."

"Heavenly Book Secret Arts?"

Mo Ci had never mentioned this; it seemed he had encountered another blind spot of the rural lone cultivator.

Su Chunyi carefully explained to Chen Ye what a Heavenly Book was, along with the Incense-Burning Gate's regard for Heavenly Books.

The more Chen Ye listened, the brighter his eyes became; the Incense-Burning Gate, ah, the Incense-Burning Gate, since you struck first, do not blame him for cutting you deeply.

Chen Ye smiled like a blade: "Miss Su, I see that Brother Wei still harbors resentment; let us go find him now. It is better to resolve grievances than to deepen them."