Heaven-Dominating Martial Emperor

"What a terrifying guy!"

Ye Chen's expression was grim. He felt an immense pressure weighing on him.

A single glance had been enough to send his mind into a daze.

This Venerable Minghui's power was terrifying beyond imagination, far surpassing a Great Saint Monk like Lord Shakyamuni!

With Ye Chen's current combat prowess, he was clearly no match for him.

"Are you all right?"

Jie Ling's cool, clear voice drifted over. It was like a gentle spring breeze, soothing to the soul.

Ye Chen looked over at her, shaking his head with a faint smile. "I'm fine."

Jie Ling was a Spirit Body, and her greatest strength lay in the domain of spiritual and mental power.

It was Jie Ling who had just acted, protecting Ye Chen's Divine Soul and allowing his mind to clear.

Hongyu Pill Venerable glanced at Jie Ling, a little surprised.

When she first met Jie Ling, she had assumed she was merely a maidservant accompanying Ye Chen.

After all, the girl had no aura of cultivation. 'A mortal like her couldn't possibly be Ye Chen's cultivation partner, could she?'

But in that moment, she saw a different side to Jie Ling.

She was startled to realize that Jie Ling was no ordinary person!

'Her aura... Is she a Spirit Body?'

'Strange, how have I not noticed this all this time? How did she manage to conceal her aura so perfectly?'

Hongyu Pill Venerable was secretly alarmed.

Chi Ming, on the other hand, was not surprised in the least. He had long known Jie Ling's identity. Seeing that Ye Chen was unharmed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Within the crowd of onlookers, gazes shot toward Ye Chen, filled with both envy and jealousy.

After all, he was accompanied by two stunning beauties, Jie Ling and Hongyu Pill Venerable, and protected by Chi Ming, a powerful Divine Might Realm Great Power.

Who wouldn't be envious of such a situation?

Everyone grew intensely curious about Ye Chen's identity. What kind of scion from a great noble family could possibly enjoy such treatment?

Meanwhile, upon seeing Ye Chen recover, the distant Venerable Minghui was taken aback for a moment, letting out a soft "Hm?"

But he quickly regained his composure.

Ye Chen and his group also turned their gazes toward Venerable Minghui, and the atmosphere grew tense and oppressive.

They couldn't quite figure out Venerable Minghui's intentions.

They had been on the verge of fighting Lord Shakyamuni, but Venerable Minghui's sudden intervention had prevented the battle from breaking out.

After a brief standoff, Venerable Minghui finally spoke.

"What will it take for you to hand him over?" he asked, glancing at Jue Ming, who was beside Ye Chen.

"Three Buddha's Light Five-Profound Stones," Ye Chen said without hesitation.

"Done."

Unexpectedly, Venerable Minghui agreed just as readily.

"What?"

"This... Venerable Minghui actually agreed?"

The others were also stunned, finding it unbelievable.

With Venerable Minghui's power, he could have easily taken down Ye Chen's entire group.

Of course, if a fight truly broke out, Jue Ming would most likely die at their hands first.

'Could it be that Venerable Minghui was truly willing to pay the price of three Buddha's Light Five-Profound Stones just to rescue Jue Ming?'

"Venerable Minghui, this..." Lord Shakyamuni looked up, stunned. He hesitated, his eyes filled with confusion.

"But he is a Saint Monk of our Saint Temple!"

"In your eyes, is he not even worth more than mere material objects like Buddha's Light Five-Profound Stones?"

Venerable Minghui glanced at Lord Shakyamuni and said casually.

"..." Lord Shakyamuni fell silent, not daring to retort.

"Of course..." Venerable Minghui spoke again. "Besides that, there is another reason I agreed to this exchange."

"Steward Mo, from this day forward, our Saint Temple no longer owes your Demon Exorcism Institute anything."

He looked toward the crowd below, where Mo Tianyun and his group were standing!

"But of course," Mo Tianyun nodded repeatedly.

"It's Steward Mo!"

Ye Chen's group also noticed Mo Tianyun and the others, and Chi Ming cried out in surprise.

Ye Chen was rather surprised. He clearly hadn't expected to run into Mo Tianyun and his people here.

Beside Mo Tianyun, Luo Rou was watching him with a worried expression. However, upon noticing Jie Ling and Hongyu Pill Venerable by his side, the light in Luo Rou's eyes seemed to dim somewhat.

"Here are the Buddha's Light Five-Profound Stones you wanted."

Venerable Minghui raised his hand, and an exquisite wooden box flew toward Ye Chen.

Ye Chen caught the box, and Hongyu Pill Venerable, standing beside him, hurriedly opened it.

Instantly, a surging Buddhist aura emanated from within. Lying inside were three jade-like stones, each shrouded in a radiant Buddhist light!

"So these are the Buddha's Light Five-Profound Stones?" Chi Ming, stunned by the sacred aura, couldn't help but ask.

"That's right!"

Hongyu Pill Venerable nodded repeatedly. "He didn't trick us. These are indeed Buddha's Light Five-Profound Stones."

"Chi Ming, release him!" Ye Chen ordered upon hearing this.

Chi Ming nodded and removed the restraints on Saint Monk Jue Ming.

Saint Monk Jue Ming felt power return to his body. Overjoyed, he didn't hesitate for a second. With a flash, he distanced himself from Ye Chen's group and returned to the Saint Temple's faction.

Seeing Jue Ming's successful escape, the Cultivators from the Saint Temple were invigorated, and their gazes toward Ye Chen and his group turned malicious.

Lord Shakyamuni's aura flared as he snorted coldly. "Finally, we can deal with them without any worries!"

But unexpectedly, Venerable Minghui waved his hand and said, "That's enough. Stop causing trouble. It's time for us to leave."

"What?"

Lord Shakyamuni was stunned, unable to understand. They now had the home-field advantage and superior numbers; taking down Ye Chen's group should have been a simple matter.

'Yet Venerable Minghui chose to back down? Why?'

The other powerful experts of the Saint Temple were also baffled.

"This was a favor I owed the Demon Exorcism Institute."

"Rest assured, no one can humiliate the Saint Temple and get away with it! The next time we meet, I will personally hang that boy's corpse above my Flame City!"

Venerable Minghui glanced at Ye Chen from afar, then spoke calmly to Mo Tianyun, "Is that acceptable, Steward Mo? You did say that your Demon Exorcism Institute would no longer interfere in the conflict between us."

"But of course," Mo Tianyun nodded.

"Very well."

With that, ignoring the shifting expressions on Lord Shakyamuni's face, Venerable Minghui led the Cultivators of the Saint Temple back inside.

A shocking incident that had nearly alarmed the entire Flame City thus ended with a whimper, not a bang.

So much so that many people still hadn't processed what had just happened.

"Let's go, too."

Ye Chen said to his companions before taking the lead and flying toward Mo Tianyun and the others.