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At the end of the day, Ye Zichen was still half a son-in-law of the Sea of Innocence, and his other identity was staring them right in the face. The Ocean Emperor had reserved residences for him as well as Yang Jian and the rest of his companions, and their rooms were all adjacent to each other.

Currently, the Great Sage, Yang Jian, and Pu Jingwan were gathered by the window of Ye Zichen’s room. Who knew what the three of them were looking at? From time to time, they’d even giggle and snicker. Venerate Spirit Treasure, meanwhile, sat in a chair fiddling with the low grade divine artifact Ye Zichen had gotten out of the Yao-Sealing Pagoda for him.

“You seem to have quite a lot of time on your hands.” Ye Zichen walked through the door carrying two gourds of nectar. Both of them were from Xue Yang’s private stash, and on a normal day, he couldn’t bear to take even a few sips.

But of late, the long-lost Ocean God’s Ring had been recovered, and he’d even obtained a water-elemental pearl.

The Ocean Emperor was in an excellent mood, so Ye Zichen seized the opportunity to get the good stuff. He’d gotten these two bottles specifically so the Great Sage could have a taste.

As for the others, they’d gotten their chance at the great emperors’ banquet. They’d already drunk a fair bit.

The Great Sage shrugged and glanced over at Ye Zichen, but Venerate Spirit Treasure was faster. Not even Yang Jian and Pu Jingwan could tell how exactly he’d done it, but by the time they realized what had happened, he’d already snatched one of the two gourds.

He leaned against the wall and began enjoying himself. From the look of things, he had no intention of sharing.

“What treasure is this?” The Great Sage blinked curiously, while Yang Jian and Pu Jingwan licked their lips. They’d drunk this stuff before, but that was why just thinking about it made them salivate.

“This is… I think the Ocean Emperor took some sort of essence from the Sea of Innocence… what kind of essence was it?” Ye Zichen scratched his head and glanced at Pu Jingwan and the others for support.”

“Who cares what kind of essence it is? It’s good booze, and that’s what matters.” Yang Jian flipped his hand. Several little jade shot glasses appeared, which he placed on the table. He lifted the gourd and poured a little into each. Then, he took one of the glasses and drained it in a single gulp.

When the liquid reached his stomach, even Yang Jian with his imperial lord-level cultivation showed signs of intoxication.

“This nectar….” The Great Sage was overcome with curiosity. He looked at the liquid in the jade cups and, without any further hesitation, took a drink. “It’s good!”

Ye Zichen glanced at the others. He couldn’t help but lick his lips.

The nectar was a viscous milky liquid, and its dense aroma permeated the room. Just sniffing the air increased their blood flow and filled them with vigor.

They raised their cups to their noses and took a sniff.

As its fragrance entered the nostrils, they felt comfortable all over, and their pores unwittingly opened.

Gulp.

He took a small taste, and when the liquid entered his stomach, he felt a warm current flow from his chest, through all of his meridians. It was as if even his divine power livened up a little.

Even though it wasn’t his first time tasting the stuff, its aftertaste lingering on his lips and tongue.

One gourd was so small that, even drinking on his own, two cups was enough to see the bottom. Great Sage was currently holding his and pouring the last drops down his throat. “Bro, where did you get this? Is there any more?”

“I didn’t say it earlier, but this is from the Ocean Emperor’s private stash. He’s been in a good mood lately, which is why he was willing to part with a few extra gourds. But it seems this is the last of it. Getting him to part with any more is likely to be difficult.” Ye Zichen shrugged.

“If he doesn’t want to cough it up, can’t we just go take it?” The Great Sage set his gourd and pounded the table. “It’s not like you don’t know me. Everyone in the Heavenly Court knows Ol’ Sun’s skill. Do you know where he keeps his stash? I’ll definitely go steal some more for you.”

“Who could argue with that? We just have to go back and steal some more.” Venerate Spirit Treasure chimed in his agreement. But as soon as the words left his lips, he sensed they were a bit off. He looked at the Great Sage and added, “Stealing? What stealing? This is called ‘collecting.’ ‘Steal’ is such an unpleasant word. It makes us sound like petty thieves.”

“Heh, a kindred spirit.” The Great Sage laughed.

Ye Zichen couldn’t help but facepalm. Why did he let the two of them meet up?

Back in the day, the Great Sage had caused a commotion at the Immortality Peach Fairy’s banquet. All the trading firms present had brought tributes, and he’d practically seized all of them and taken them back to Mount Huaguo.

Venerate Spirit Treasure was even worse; practically all the major powers of the Upper Three Realms had it out for him.

They were both “Master treasure hunters.” If they met, or worse, joined forces...

Even the three Realm Emperors would have to watch their treasures at all times going forward!

“You two, don’t make trouble,” said Ye Zichen, his ‘words of righteousness’ wiping out their budding schemes. “The Ocean Emperor has been good to us, and besides, we live here. However you look at it, we can’t set our sights on his treasures.”

“But what about the others? That’s okay, right?” asked Venerate Spirit Treasure. “Let me tell you, all of these great emperors have a private stash. Nectar, divine fruits… Going forward, let’s keep our ears open. If we hear about something, the two of us can just go ‘collect’ it. It’ll be a chance to see your skills myself.”

“Heh, when it comes to collecting treasure, I’ve never been afraid of anyone!”

“What a coincidence! Me neither!”

Even though they’d known each other for less than four hours, it felt as if they’d known each other their whole lives. Ye Zichen was speechless. He could just imagine the commotion they were sure to cause in the near future…

But...

This wasn’t actually a bad thing. It wasn’t like everyone in the Upper Three Realms was a member of their alliance.

With these two ‘master treasure hunters’ around, if anyone dared oppose the alliance, he could just send the two of them to clear out objectors’ storerooms.

Especially God Emperor Zhou Wu and Demon Emperor Kui Lin. They definitely had a terrifying collection of treasure.

If they could steal, no, collect, all of their treasures….

It would be ridiculously satisfying.

Just thinking about it, Ye Zichen’s heart rate picked up speed, but he quickly cast those thoughts aside. He was an upright citizen. How could he engage in petty theft? But…

This was an unusual time! And unusual times called for unusual methods, didn’t they? Ye Zichen grinned and laughed, but when he came to his sentences, he saw that everyone was seated. Their heads were in their hands, and they were discussing… him!

“He’s definitely up to no good.”

“Look at him! He’s even drooling!”

He was generally under so much pressure. A little day dreaming shouldn’t hurt, right? Ye Zichen tried to comfort himself, but he couldn’t afford to lose his dignity in front of this bunch.

He hurriedly cleared his throat and wiped away his drool. “Let me tell you now: you’d better not get the wrong idea. Especially you, Venerate Spirit Treasure. How did you spend the past ten thousand years? You ought to know better than anyone! Besides, we’re warriors on the side of righteousness! We can’t walk down the wrong path!”

When he heard Ye Zichen’s righteous proclamation, Venerate Spirit Treasure suddenly understood. “Aha! Just now, you were picturing us ‘collecting’ treasures. I was wondering! Don’t get ahead of yourself, though. Even if we do go out and do a little collecting, whatever we take won’t go to you.”

“Who’s asking?”

“Don’t try and explain. Explaining is just covering up the truth, the clear, objective truth,” said Venerate Spirit Treasure.

Ye Zichen took in his complacent look, but he was in no mood to argue. He quickly changed tack. “Great Sage, you said you went to Heavenly Court. What for? And how did you get down there?”

“Lady Providence sent me,” said the Great Sage, instantly serious. “Also, you haven’t been looking at the Heavenly Court’s group chat lately, have you? If you had, you’d know why I went.”