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Chapter 1702: The stubborn elemental essence spirits refuse to leave

Ye Zichen didn’t want to interact with the essence spirits any more than absolutely necessary. He’d rather visit the Gu Family.

Although he accepted Lan Tu’s invitation, Ye Zichen couldn’t just up and leave on a moment’s notice. He’d need to delegate the alliance’s affairs, and Lan Tu wanted to look around the Upheaval Alliance. Thus, they agreed to leave tomorrow morning.

As for the five elemental essence spirits, they seemed content to linger within the military guesthouse.

Ye Zichen decided to just leave them on the top floor. He followed Xiao Yumei out of the military guesthouse. 

“Why’d you stop me just now? Did you see his attitude?” The fire elemental essence spirit glared viciously, and from the indistinct flames blazing around him, it was obvious how furious he was. 

They were the masters of their respective elements, yet they were being ignored to such an extent!

They dared say with certainty that Ye Zichen had known about their arrival days ago, and that he’d intentionally kept them away and refused to see them.

“Who’d argue with that? Whoever we five elemental essence spirits grace with our presence is fortunate indeed! You ask me, we shouldn’t waste our time on him. This era has twin emperors, who why not just go find the other one?” snorted the lightning elemental essence spirit.

“Ignorant!” The thunder spirit roared and crackled with electricity. He shouted, solemn and furious, at the two of them.

If they’d said that back in the mausoleum, the thunder essence spirit would have understood. 

But they were already here, and they were now keenly aware that Ye Zichen had built the Upheaval Alliance’s base upon the Tenth Divine Mountain. 

Looking back at the last two eras, which Master of the Stars had ever created their own Divine Mountain?

It didn’t matter where the mountain had come from or how he’d pulled it off. It was obvious that Ye Zichen was different from the last eras’ masters of the stars.

Ye Zichen’s elemental power was highly compatible with theirs, and he possessed the Five Elements Imperial Crown.

They wanted to find someone else? If that wasn’t ignorant, what was it?

The fire and lightning essence spirits fearfully sat down. Due to their presence, the concentration of elemental energies was increasing in and around the military guesthouse.

“Then what do we do? Are we really going to hang out even if he tries to get us to leave?” asked the lightning elemental essence spirit.

“Isn’t this a pretty good place to hang out?” The water elemental essence spirit sprawled out on the ground. “Don’t even think about looking for someone else. I hate nothing more than trouble. He’s this era’s Master of the Stars, and he’s proficient in the Grand Dao of the Five Elements. We’re destined to join forces with him, and he ought to be fully aware of that too. This era doesn’t have much time left, and with his current attainments, even with the Five Elements Imperial Crown, he doesn’t have the strength to turn the tides. When the time comes, he’ll naturally let us merge with him.”

The indolent water essence spirit to say so much at once was practically a miracle.

The others, who knew him well, were stunned that he’d said so much, but they couldn’t help but confirm, “Surely you aren’t asking us to just hang around here?”

“That’s right! We’re just going to hang out here!”

……

……

……

The Alliance Head’s courtyard. 

Ye Zichen sat by the stone table, scrolling through user comments. The search bar contained the keywords “Gu Family”; he was trying to see if he could learn anything about them online.

The result left him a bit disappointed, despite himself. Although there was some information about the Gu Family available, it was superficial. 

It seemed that the Gu Family, the faction everyone visited after becoming a ruler, was a mysterious organization to outsiders.

Or perhaps it was that after visiting the Gu Family, even if they learned about what went on there, guests dared not buy and sell this information.

It seemed the Gu Family was far more terrifying than Ye Zichen imagined. 

“Have you decided to visit the Gu Family?” Xiao Yumei entered the courtyard. Ye Zichen set down his phone, then saw her stunningly beautiful face.

A hint of a smile flashed across his face, and he nodded, then showed her his phone. “I want to go take a look, but I wanted to learn a bit about them first. It’s a shame, though; we only have the most ordinary of information about the Gu Family.”

“That’s inevitable,” said Xiao Yumei with a shrug. “You’ve never been, so you can’t possibly understand how those who have been feel. After leaving the Gu Family estate, no one would dare discuss them, much less sell their information.”

“Have you visited the Gu Family?”  

“Of course, but that was ten thousand years ago. At the time, I’d yet to reincarnate into the Modern Realm. When I became a ruler, Xiao Ting took me to see the Gu Family.”

“They….” Ye Zichen started to probe further, but trailed off.

Xiao Yumei’s eyes inexplicably filled with respectful awe. “I can’t say.”

Despite himself, Ye Zichen felt practically mute.

He and Xiao Yumei were immediate family, but despite their closeness, she was unwilling to describe the Gu Family. The Gu Family sure was peculiar! Ye Zichen rubbed his lower lip and frowned.

“Then can you tell me just what is it that makes you all so afraid of them? If it’s inconvenient to say, you don’t have to. After all, I’ll go there myself tomorrow, and I’ll find out for myself.”

“All I can tell you is that the Gu Family includes three half-step transcendents!”

Whoosh!

A cold wind howled by, and the leaves on the courtyard’s trees fluttered about as if they were dancing.

The fingers with which Ye Zichen held his phone quivered inexplicably. He slowly looked up and met Xiao Yumei’s solemn gaze.

Half-step transcendents.

The same cultivation as for old Dragon God!

Only now did he realize that Gu Luolin hadn’t just been bragging earlier. 

With three half-step transcendents, never mind obliterating the demons; obliterating the yao and gods while they were at it was entirely within the realm of possibility.

No wonder the others didn’t even dare bring up the Gu Family. Who knew what half-step transcendents were capable of?

If they said something they shouldn’t, and if those half-step transcendents found out about it, they’d be biting off far more than they could chew!

“In any event, when you visit them together, keep your temper under control. It’s really a home of crouching tigers and hidden dragons.”

Ye Zichen nodded in response to her warning. Since he knew about their three half-step transcendents now, he wasn’t so foolish as to keep hunting for information about them. He simply locked his screen and put his phone back into a pocket, then took a few deep breaths to adjust his mood. 

“Are the essence spirits still on the top floor?”

“They are. I sent two imperial kings proficient with the Grand Dao of Space to check up on them. It seems they’ve settled in and are going about their business up there,” said Xiao Yumei.

“Pass on my orders: anyone who’s gleaned enlightenment into the Grand Dao of the Five Elements, whether it’s one element or several, is to go to the Military Guesthouse. Before long, the elemental essences in the vicinity will increase in concentration. If the five of them like it there, we might as well not waste their good intentions.”

“Alright.” The two imperial kings had mentioned the increased elemental concentration in their report too.

Even if Ye Zichen hadn’t said it, Xiao Yumei was planning to give the same orders.

They’d take the increased ambient elemental energy as interest, or alternatively, as the essence spirit’s lodging fees.

Suddenly, Ye Zichen’s expression turned utterly serious, and he said with the utmost solemnity, “That aside, there’s something extremely important that I’d like you and a group we can trust beyond a doubt to investigate.”