Nine Astra Skies

Ye Chen's Astral Body swept across the palaces and gardens. Flowing sleeves danced, orioles flew, and beauties numbered like the clouds in the sky. Indeed, what the imperial palace had most were beauties. Great Emperor Mingwu was quite lucky with women. Ye Chen did not have any intention of peeping, so his Astral Body only did a quick sweep before coming back.

Speaking of which, Great Emperor Mingwu had to thank him. If Zhu Gonggong had entered the Imperial City, what kind of unrest would it cause? Ye Chen suddenly had an interesting idea in his head. Great Emperor Mingwu should reward and confer him the title of "The People's Hero". Ye Chen had saved all the belles in the Imperial City as well as three thousand beautiful asses in the harem.

Thinking about this, Ye Chen could not help but laugh.

Along the way, Ye Chen's body felt a strange feeling as he walked as if something was warming him up, making his Astral Body feel very comfortable. He immediately realized that it was the work of the jade bracelet in his chest.

It was said that jade could nourish people and the material of this jade bracelet seemed to be different than ordinary jade. Besides nourishing the body, it could also nourish the Astral Body. What was more amazing was that the effects were very obvious!

'I see!'

Ye Chen exclaimed in his heart. This material of this jade bracelet was an invaluable treasure!

"Little Tanuki, the jade material of this bracelet can nourish the body and Astral Body. What is it called?" Ye Chen asked. Little Tanuki must have known something, otherwise, she would not make him keep the jade close to his body.

Hearing Ye Chen's words, Little Tanuki said something excitedly.

"Elder Sister Little Tanuki said she had guessed that the bracelet was carved out of a jade material called soul jade and it turned out to be true. It's said that soul jade can nourish a person's physique and even if a person's meridians are completely broken, they would recover slowly if the person wears a piece of soul jade. Soul jade can even greatly assist ordinary cultivators. Besides that, soul jade has a magical function to condense Psyches. It's a treasure pursued by countless Celestial Beasts," Little Wingsy said.

"Where does soul jade come from?" Ye Chen asked. He did not think that this jade bracelet would be so precious. He thought of the pain he had suffered when his meridians were broken in the past. How good would it be if he had a piece of soul jade back then? However, on second thought, Ye Chen thought that the suffering he went through was a blessing in disguise. The pain and frustration from the past made his will stronger now.

"No one knows where soul jade came from. It's said that in ancient times, there were many soul jade mines, but they were all completely mined by people of that time. Now, no soul jade mines have been found, and a few pieces of soul jade will only be passed down occasionally. I don't know how that pig demon obtained this soul jade." Little Wingsy continued to translate Little Tanuki's words.

Ye Chen was shocked at how rare soul jade was. Previously, his Astral Body had ascertained that Zhu Gonggong carried more than a dozen pieces of jade. Were all those jade accessories soul jade? If soul jade was that rare, where did Zhu Gonggong find so many pieces?

Ye Chen pondered but he was no match for Zhu Gonggong now, so there was no point thinking about it. He also did not know where Zhu Gonggong ran off to, so he could only forget about this matter for now. However, it was great that he had obtained a piece of soul jade. This soul jade was quite useful!

While chatting, they walked through several cloisters and entered the royal study. Ye Chen's Astral Body had already found out where Great Emperor Mingwu was. He was sitting on a praying mat and cultivating with full concentration. In a garden not far away from him, more than a dozen children were playing and some eunuchs chased after the children. Those children should all be Great Emperor Mingwu's offspring.

Seeing Ye Chen arrive, an old eunuch rushed in and announced, "Your Majesty, Ye Chen is waiting outside the study."

"Alright." Great Emperor Mingwu opened his eyes and stood up, and walked out of the study.

Great Emperor Mingwu did not put on the airs of an emperor before Ye Chen, a genius with extraordinary talent in martial arts cultivation, and a future Heavenly Venerable One. However, he did not know that Ye Chen's Astral Body had already possessed the strength of a Heavenly Venerable One. He could not imagine the speed at which Ye Chen's power was increasing.

"Ye Chen, you're back from Emerald Cloud Mountain?" Great Emperor Mingwu smiled after seeing Ye Chen.

"Yes." Ye Chen nodded. In the inner courtyard of the palace, Ye Chen did not salute the Emperor and acted like he was treating an ordinary friend. Ye Chen could not bow to Great Emperor Mingwu like one of his courtiers. If Great Emperor Mingwu used his identity to pressure Ye Chen, Ye Chen would just leave.

"Let's go to the royal garden and have a taste of my royal family's treasured Turtle Rock Verdant Spot." Great Emperor Mingwu was unconcerned of Ye Chen's failure to salute him, and treated him like a visiting friend.

The guards surrounding the area were mostly Tenth Level combatants, and there were even some Earthly Venerable Ones. Seeing this scene, their eyebrows pricked. They did not think that Ye Chen would be so bold but Great Emperor Mingwu did not seem angry at all. It seemed like they had to reevaluate Ye Chen's status.

"Come with me. Did you gain anything after visiting Emerald Cloud Mountain?" Great Emperor Mingwu walked in front and looked back with a laugh.

"My cousin was bullied in Emerald Cloud Mountain, so I helped her deal with the problem. However, I didn't gain anything," Ye Chen said. Although he had a good impression of Great Emperor Mingwu, it was not to the point where he was willing to share secrets. Of course, he would not tell Great Emperor Mingwu that he had subdued Emerald Cloud Sect and was now the true sect leader of Emerald Cloud Sect!

"That fatty Nie Qingyun is due for a lesson." Great Emperor Mingwu laughed and looked at Little Wingsy beside Ye Chen. Little Wingsy's strength was what frightened others the most. Nie Qingyun could have offended anyone, but why did he have to provoke Ye Chen?

In the royal garden, there were small bridges and flowing water. Flowers blossomed fully, splendid, and colorful. Entering the garden was like a fairyland on earth.

In the middle was a pavilion. The eunuchs had already set up tea and snacks on the table.

Great Emperor Mingwu, Ye Chen, and Little Wingsy took their seats respectively while Little Tanuki looked around.

There was a cup of tea set in front of them and a faint scent wafted up from the tea. The tea had a pure dark green color with several tea leaves floating in it. The fragrance of the tea made people relaxed and happy.

"Can we drink this?" Little Wingsy pointed at the tea in front of him and looked at Ye Chen and Great Emperor Mingwu with eager eyes.

Great Emperor Mingwu smiled and said, "Of course."

Little WIngsy picked up the teacup and drank it all at once with a "gulp", swallowing even the tea leaves. He licked his mouth as if pondering on the aftertaste. "It's delicious but there's too little. Is there another cup for me?"

Seeing Little Wingsy drinking the tea so quickly and asking for more, Great Emperor Mingwu smiled wryly and said, "There are other kinds of tea but no more Turtle Rock Verdant Spot."

"Are other teas as delicious as this one?" Little Wingsy asked. He felt his mouth water at the rich aftertaste of the tea. Furthermore, his limbs and arteries felt warm and comfortable.

"Of course, other teas won't be as delicious as Turtle Rock Verdant Spot," Great Emperor Mingwu said. "This tea comes from a country on the southeast coast called Linhai. On a mountain near the sea, there's a huge rock that's shaped like a turtle, which is why it's called Turtle Rock. On it, there's a tea tree that from a distance, looks like a drop of green in an ink painting, so the tea tree is called Turtle Rock Verdant Spot. No one knows how long the tea tree has been growing on Turtle Rock but it's said that it has grown for at least tens of thousands of years. It'll only grow three new leaves every five hundred years, and these three leaves will only grow for three hours. After three hours, they'll become highly toxic old leaves. Someone needs to collect these three new leaves with special methods and go through seventy-six manufacturing processes before the tea can be made. This tea is extremely fragrant and is also a superb product to nourish meridians for cultivators. The Xiwu Empire has only collected sixteen Turtle Rock Verdant Spot leaves for the past thousand years." Great Emperor Mingwu held out his right hand and pointed at the cup in front of Ye Chen. "This Turtle Rock Verdant Spot needs to be tasted carefully!"

Ye Chen had never thought that these tea leaves would have such a history. He looked at the cup and the three leaves floating in the tea. In other words, this cup of tea could only be drunk once every five hundred years. Little Wingsy and Little Tanuki each had one cup, so that meant that a total of nine leaves were used. Ye Chen's heart jolted. Great Emperor Mingwu might have a request for taking out such treasures. Ye Chen pondered but decided to discuss after drinking the valuable Turtle Rock Verdant Spot. He had given Great Emperor Mingwu many Purple-gold Divine Pills, so it would not be overboard to drink some of this tea. If Great Emperor Mingwu wanted to ask him to do something, he would think about it carefully. He would help if he could, but if he could not help, then he was powerless.

Ye Chen picked up the cup of tea in front of him and took a sip. A stirring sensation flowed down his throat and the lingering fragrance surrounded him like he was in a fairyland.

What good tea!

Ye Chen praised secretly. Little Tanuki held out a pair of chubby paws and drank the tea bit by bit, her tail wagging in the wind.

Little Wingsy snapped his mouth shut as his saliva almost flowed out. He stared at the empty cup in front of him. Who told him to drink so quickly?

Ye Chen drank a portion and could not help but laugh at Little Wingsy. He offered the remaining half of his tea and said, "Little Wingsy, drink this."

Little Wingsy's head shook like a rattle. "Brother Ye Chen, you drink it. I already drank a cup." Then, he grabbed a few cakes and wolfed them down. Although he was gluttonous, he would never snatch things from Ye Chen or Little Tanuki.

"Drink." Ye Chen smiled. He had already eaten enough valuable treasures. The remaining half of Turtle Rock Verdant Spot was not that important.

Little Wingsy still firmly shook his head.

Seeing Ye Chen treating Little Wingsy so well, Great Emperor Mingwu was silent for a moment before saying, "I'll give my cup to Little Wingsy."

"You're not drinking?" Little Wingsy looked at Great Emperor Mingwu and blinked owlishly.

"I still have some. I can make another cup when I get back," Great Emperor Mingwu said. Although it hurt slightly, he offered the cup in front of him.