Chapter 146: The Taichu Sacred Land

When Xu Chen took Yi Bingrou away, the faces of the Taichu Sacred Land's people turned utterly grim.

They never expected Xu Chen would dare such audacity, nor did they anticipate the Empress would personally intervene to protect him.

This left them in utter helplessness, and they had lost all face. This grudge, they must—repay.

Yang Hao's eyes flickered; the other three Holy Lands had not yet emerged—perhaps they could unite. If they could unite the other three Holy Lands, they would no longer fear Luo Shen.

At that point, wouldn't Luo Shen be nothing but Yang Hao's plaything? Thinking this, Yang Hao narrowed his eyes.

Xu Chen, Luo Shen—you wait.

You've offended the Taichu Sacred Land—your outcome won't be so smooth. Watching the two depart, leaders of various sects couldn't help but murmur: "In centuries, this is the first time we've seen the Taichu Sacred Land so humiliated."

"Indeed, the Jixia Xuegong never had such influence before."

"The main shock is that Xu Chen made the Empress speak out personally—it's astonishing."

"Yes! The Empress actually helped Xu Chen steal a woman—I'm stunned!" Xu Chen carried Yi Bingrou back to the Imperial Palace.

Yi Bingrou's heart swelled with sweetness, her face flushed with shyness: "Thank you, Xu Chen."

Xu Chen nodded: "No need to thank me. Since I saved you, stay at the Jixia Xuegong." Yi Bingrou smiled: "I won't stay at the Jixia Xuegong—I'm following you."

Xu Chen rubbed his temples: "I already have too many women around me—don't follow me."

He already felt overwhelmed; now another one showed up—he was about to lose his mind. Yi Bingrou declared firmly: "Either kill me, or I follow you—you choose." Xu Chen ignored her: "You have a match tomorrow—try your best."

Saying this, he drove all the women out and began practicing alone. Yi Bingrou stomped her jade foot: "Aaaah, is he always like this?"

Huo Qilin chuckled: "He's not like this at home—he never kicks people out. Today, maybe he's just scared." Bu Fengshuang said coolly: "Adding one more is indeed too many—get used to it." Yi Bingrou grinned: "Hehe, no problem—we'll just keep clinging to him."

The women covered their mouths and giggled: "Exactly." Xu Chen sank into his mind and continued practicing.

He vaguely felt he had touched the threshold of Seventh Grade Late Stage.

It had to do with the dense Spiritual Qi, his innate talent, past experience, and even his Cultivation Method.

In short, his cultivation speed was a hundred times faster than others'.

So where others took years to advance one level, he did it in one or two months—or even faster. After another day of practice, the next morning, the Spiritual Qi within Xu Chen grew denser and more potent. "Today is the second match of the Tianzun Dynasty—time to conclude."

"Previously, Ye Xuan won the championship, but now Yi Bingrou has emerged—this might be tricky."

"But it doesn't matter anymore—this won't trigger a rebirth cycle."

Presumably, Xu Chen, lost in thought, led the women back to the competition grounds of the two zones.

As the second day's match neared its end, a Jixia Xuegong disciple rushed over: "Palace Master, Young Palace Master—trouble."

Xu Chen froze: "What happened?" He remembered no such turmoil in his past life!

Yet now it seemed serious.

"In the alchemy and artifact forging zones, our people suddenly collapsed from poisoning."

"No cause found—even the Imperial Dynasty's investigators can't trace it. But the Taichu Sacred Land's people are acting outrageously."

"We suspect they're retaliating against us with underhanded tactics."

The disciple spoke quickly.

Shangguan Luoyun frowned: "The match is nearly over."

Her expression turned cold; even if they rushed in now, it would be too late.

The Taichu Sacred Land played this move brilliantly—they timed it perfectly. Alchemy and artifact forging both require time: alchemy takes at least two days, artifact forging up to a month.

Our Xuegong sent out normal prodigies to compete—we still had a chance at the championship. Now, that's gone.

Bu Fengshuang said: "The match result isn't crucial to us—but we can't lose face."

Li Ruoling's expression turned icy: "Indeed, the Taichu Sacred Land is provoking us openly." Xu Chen sighed: "I'll go. Honestly, this is my fault."

If I hadn't provoked them yesterday, the Taichu Sacred Land wouldn't have pulled this stunt today.