Nine Astra Skies

"Really?" Ye Zhantian looked at Ye Chen suspiciously. Did Little Rou really say that in the letter? It was unlikely!

"Granduncle believes you. Ye Chen will marry Little Rou over. I'm still waiting to drink your wedding toast!" Ye Changxuan said solemnly. He firmly believed that Ye Chen could do it!

"Yes." Ye Chen nodded. His thoughts seemed to have drifted to the faraway Central Empire. He lowered his head to look at the letter in his hands and clenched his fist. After a long while, he hung the jade pendant on his neck. When he met Little Rou again one day, he would put it back on Little Rou's neck.

The people of the Ye Clan were in the recovery process. The items in Ye Castle's treasury had been completely taken by Liu Xun and there was a great shortage of medicine now.

"Little Chen, did you bring back the things belonging to the Ye Clan when you went to the Second-rank Prince's Palace?" Ye Changxuan coughed a few times and asked. It was strenuous for him to say so many words at once.

"Granduncle, rest well and don't speak anymore. I've already gotten everything back. I got quite a good haul this time outside." Ye Chen took out a Heaven-Earth Pouch filled with medicine, Chi-amassing Pills, and Chi Deposition Pills, and quickly distributed them to the clansmen.

The Heaven-Earth Pouch that Ye Chen took out had tens of thousands of Chi-amassing Pills and hundreds of Chi Deposition Pills. Ye Zhantian, Ye Changxuan, and the others were shocked. They had thought that Ye Castle would have become penniless after the ordeal.

"I gained a lot of things from outside and I've also moved the entire government treasury of the Second-rank Prince's Palace here. Father and Granduncle don't have to worry about the expenses of Ye Castle. The only trouble is that Second-rank Prince Liu Xun was conferred by the Great Emperor Mingwu and Liu Kan is also the Minister of War. Our Ye Clan killed two important imperial court courtiers, so the Great Emperor Mingwu won't spare the Ye Clan. I thought of the hidden land in the Lianyun Mountains. We should move there for now in three days." Ye Chen placed a pile of Heaven-Earth Pouches he had harvested on the table beside him.

Hearing Ye Chen saying that the Great Emperor Mingwu would be involved, Ye Zhantian and Ye Changxuan felt a haze descend in their hearts. They were both worried about that. There were thousands of people in Ye Castle. Even if they wanted to leave the Xiwu Empire, how would they be able to outrun the Xiwu Empire's cavalry? If they did not leave the Xiwu Empire, it would be difficult for the Ye Clan to remain safe!

"Little Chen said there's a hidden area in the Lianyun Mountains but can it accommodate so many of our people?" Ye Zhantian asked. Lianyun Mountain stretched for thousands of miles and danger lurked in every corner. Even the Ye Clan knew little about the places in the Lianyun Mountains despite living here for so long.

"It's a hidden valley with only one path leading to the outside and it's difficult for outsiders to detect. Even if it's discovered, the path can be defended from ten thousand men by just one man guarding it. Inside, it's a very open area with a radius of a few miles."

"There was such a magical place!" Ye Changxuan was somewhat excited. If it had a radius of a few miles, it would be able to accommodate tens of thousands of people, much less thousands.

"We'll stock up on enough rice, seeds, tools, and other things and leave quietly after three days." Ye Chen said. The plan to relocate the clansmen had to be handled carefully. Outsiders must never find out.

Now that there was a place for their people to settle down, Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian felt a weight lifted from their shoulders.

"These Heaven-Earth Pouches are embroidered with the symbol of the Second-rank Prince's Palace. It looks like they belong to the Second-rank Prince Liu Xun." Ye Zhantian opened a Heaven-Earth Pouch and found that there were many things like books inside. They were martial arts technique cultivation systems. Although the Second-rank Prince Liu Xun only cultivated one system, he had collected many books. There were also some silver certificates, title deeds, and so on.

"The Second-rank Prince's Palace has been raking in the people's wealth over the years and became rich. The number of properties they have in Donglin County alone is staggering. If these deeds are sold, I don't even know how much they'll cost." Ye Changxuan sighed. The House of Ye only had five or six shops in Donglin County while Second-rank Prince's Palace had more than seventy as well as dozens of large manors. These things could still be used in the future.

"Sixth Uncle, look at these!" Ye Zhantian held several letters in his hands and passed them to Ye Changxuan, trembling in excitement.

"It's just a few letters. Huh? This is that barbarian country's official seal!" Ye Changxuan saw the strange words and recognized the word "Tuoba". Tuoba was the surname of the Nanman Kingdom's royal family! "Liu Xun had correspondence with that barbarian country!"

What was written in the letter was telling Liu Xun to prepare his forces in Donglin County to let the Nanman Kingdom enter the Xiwu Empire!

"It's not surprising that Liu Xun can't wait to let the Yun Clan unify the Eighteen Houses of Lianyun. So that's why!" Ye Chen understood after reading the letter.

"What should we do about these letters? If they're handed over to the imperial court, the name of our Ye Clan will be cleared," Ye Zhantian said excitedly before calming down. Although they had obtained these letters, how would they deliver it to the Great Emperor Mingwu's hands and let him listen?

Ye Changxuan and Ye Zhantian looked at each other and dimmed.

"Let me handle these letters," Ye Chen said after a thought.

"What are you planning to do?"

"I'll send these letters to the Yinbei Prince Yin Mengtian and let him deliver it to the Great Emperor Mingwu."

"Yin Mengtian? Little Chen, you know Prince Yin?"

"Yin Mengtian was being chased some time ago and I saved his life."

"So, that was the reason why Prince Yin brought troops to save Ye Castle but was beaten back by Liu Xun. At that time, I was still a little surprised since our House of Ye didn't have any friendly relations with Prince Yin. Now, it makes sense." Ye Changxuan suddenly realized.

Ye Chen had never thought that there would be such a thing. Yin Mengtian was a person who returned the favor after being helped. They would be at ease if they sent these letters to Yin Mengtian.

Ye Chen sent a few uninjured clansmen to Yinbei County with the letters as well as the Blizzard Leopard to protect them. With a top Tenth Level mystical beast with them, they would not encounter any accidents.

"I still have some weapons and armor that Granduncle and Father can distribute to the clan. If the House of Ye encounters another battle, these weapons and armor would be useful," Ye Chen said. He took out the weapons and armor he had obtained in the Second-rank Prince's Palace.

"These are all first-rate black armor. Even if an ordinary Sixth or Seventh Level clansman wears this, it would be difficult for an Eighth Level combatant to hurt them!" Ye Zhantian touched the shiny armor and said excitedly. The Dark Troopers from before had worn this kind of armor.

Besides the black armor, Ye Chen had placed more than fifty pieces of armor and weapons of various colors. They were shaped and designed strangely but were simple and unadorned. These were the ones he had brought out from the Sunken Jade Tower.

"What are these weapons and armor made of? They look a little old… Huh?" Ye Zhantian picked up a sword and vaguely recognized the words on the sword. "Sword name Juque?" He waved the sword. The blade did not look sharp and the hilt was rotten but it seemed to have a faint aura and was heavy in his hands. When waving it, he accidentally struck a black armor and with a 'slash' sound, the solid black armor was cut into half. Ye Zhantian was shocked and his heart immediately ached for the black armor. A set of black armor like that was invaluable.

"Huh?" Ye Changxuan also noticed the <anno data-annotation-id="e1bff93f-7f81-05c4-2c50-95839599110e">Juque Sword</anno> in Ye Zhantian's hand. "What a sharp sword!"

<annotations style="display: none;"><ol class="tinymce-annotation-container"><li data-annotation-id="e1bff93f-7f81-05c4-2c50-95839599110e">The Juque Sword is a sword made by Ou Yezi, a legendary master of sword-making. Ou Yezi made five treasured swords for Gan Jiang and King Zhao of Chu, which were named Zhanlu, Juque, Shengxie, Yuchang, and Chunjun.</li></ol></annotations>",