"Senior Brother, I have an artifact that might be useful for the Holy Maiden. It could lend you a hand!"

At Ye Chen's current realm, there was no need to hide something like a supreme Extreme Dao weapon. Aside from a few with truly special functions, he barely cared about the rest anymore. So he could bring it out casually without worry—few people even had the qualification or courage to covet anything of his.

At those words, Hua Yunfei's eyes lit up with anticipation as he looked at Ye Chen.

Seeing no one else around, Ye Chen waved his hand. The Divine Maiden Furnace appeared. The moment its form came into view, Hua Yunfei's mouth twitched. He stared at Ye Chen in disbelief.

The furnace was crystal-clear, as though carved from celestial glass. Its shape resembled a reclining divine maiden with flawless, translucent skin. The furnace head bore vivid, breathtaking facial features—eyelashes that seemed to tremble gently.

Every curve of the body was exquisitely lifelike, with starlight twinkling at the most sensitive points, accentuating its perfection. The furnace feet were long, graceful limbs. At first glance, it was nothing less than a flawless jade beauty.

Hua Yunfei looked at Ye Chen in astonishment. He hadn't expected his junior brother to show him something like this. Had his junior brother grown tired of real women and started crafting sculptures for himself?

After a brief hesitation, Hua Yunfei spoke softly.

"Junior Brother, I understand your tastes. As long as it doesn't affect your cultivation, it's fine. I know you're sharing this rare treasure with good intentions. But Senior Brother… I'm not into this kind of thing. Please don't show me anything like it next time!"

Ye Chen's mouth twitched. Still, he couldn't blame Hua Yunfei for misunderstanding—the thing really was indecent. When he first obtained it, even he had been shocked. What kind of proper person would forge a supreme Extreme Dao weapon into this shape?

It was too embarrassing to even use in battle. Everyone else wielded swords, spears, and staves, while you summoned a fully nude jade beauty. The scene alone was absurd.

Ye Chen hurriedly explained, "Senior Brother, what are you thinking? This is the Divine Maiden Furnace…"

Hua Yunfei immediately showed a surprised expression. Yet he refused to look at it again, tilting his head upward as he said in astonishment, "So this is that infamous Divine Maiden Furnace? Even the Heavenly Emperor collected something like this in his treasury? That's really…"

Ye Chen's mouth twitched again.

Great—the Heavenly Emperor was taking the blame once more.

Still, two grown men standing around with this furnace hovering between them felt incredibly awkward. So Ye Chen quickly pushed the Divine Maiden Furnace toward him.

"Since Senior Brother already knows about the Divine Maiden Furnace, I won't bother explaining its functions. The Holy Maiden refuses to listen and won't cultivate the secret art herself. So this time I'll capture her directly. Then hand her over to you. You toss her into the furnace. Once she's dazed and delirious—willing to accept any demand you make—just have her cultivate the dharma you found…"

As Ye Chen spoke, he suddenly felt like laughing. A woman screaming that she would agree to anything, yet the man's only demand was for her to cultivate. It was as ridiculous as those old jokes about asking someone to do math problems.

Hua Yunfei's eyes brightened at the idea. It was a good plan. The process might be strange, but the result was what mattered. Yet when he heard the full proposal and saw Ye Chen pushing the Divine Maiden Furnace toward him, Hua Yunfei immediately took two steps back, staring at Ye Chen in shock.

"Why should I be the one to do it? What are you giving me this furnace for?"

His reaction stunned Ye Chen in turn. Anyone could imagine what would happen to a woman thrown into the Divine Maiden Furnace. No man would ever be willing to let another man take his place in something like that.

Who would happily watch the woman he cared about being refined by someone else? And the sights during the refining process would surely be endlessly tantalizing. What was wrong with Senior Brother? Was he really treating him like family to this degree?

But since Senior Brother was being so open, Ye Chen felt awkward too. His reputation was already bad enough—he couldn't afford more unjust accusations.

"Senior Brother, you care so deeply about the Holy Maiden—doesn't that mean you like her? How could I possibly take your place in the refining process? Don't worry—whatever happens with the Divine Maiden Furnace, I swear I won't tell a soul! It'll be a secret between heaven, earth, you, me, and the Holy Maiden… Is that acceptable?"

Hearing Ye Chen's words, Hua Yunfei explained helplessly, "My feelings for Dantai are purely that of senior brother to junior sister… She entered the holy land when she was very young and has always stayed by my side… Back then, she was only three or four years old—carved from jade, unbelievably adorable. So I took special care of her, and our bond as martial siblings grew especially deep. But I have always regarded her strictly as a little sister. There has never been the slightest romantic feeling."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Ye Chen was dumbfounded.

Bullshit! You follow Dantai Xuan around the Immortal Path like a devoted simp every single day. And now you say you only see her as a sister? I'd sooner believe a ghost.

Ye Chen didn't even try to hide his disbelief—it was written all over his face.

Hua Yunfei's refined, jade-like features were filled with even greater helplessness.

"Junior Brother, I truly don't."

He felt too embarrassed to continue. But he still spoke earnestly.

"Junior Brother, I trust your character. You should be the one to handle this. I understand Dantai's temperament. If this method can bring her back, she will never hold a grudge over it!"

Ye Chen: "???"

Seeing his Eldest Senior Brother's resolute attitude, Ye Chen simply withdrew the furnace. But there was no way he was doing it himself. How many good brothers had fallen out over women?

If you won't do it, then neither will I. I'm in no rush anyway. When the time comes, I'll capture her and deliver both her and the furnace straight to you. Let's see whether you take it or not!

Hua Yunfei watched Ye Chen put the furnace away. The thought that Dantai Xuan might still be saved brought a natural calm back to his expression. He handed Ye Chen two secret arts. One was the Soul-Cleansing Technique from the Thunder Emperor Treasure Technique. The other came from an ancient True Immortal's scripture—a different Soul-Cleansing Method with its own emphasis.

Ye Chen accepted both without ceremony. The two spent several days catching up and chatting about recent events.

"I've heard some rumors lately," Hua Yunfei said. "In the Eighth Realm of the Immortal Path, a treasure related to the Front Secret appeared… But by the time I arrived, the place had already been reduced to ruins. I don't know who ended up with it."

At the mention of the Front Secret, Ye Chen's brow lifted.

The Front Secret—first among the Nine Secrets. It was said to shatter divine prohibitions, allowing one's combat power to break the Heavenly Dao's restrictions, along with countless other profound mysteries.

Ye Chen himself was only missing this one secret to complete the full set of Nine Secrets. Legend held that uniting all nine would surpass even immortal scriptures, granting invincibility in this era. He still harbored some anticipation toward it. So he quietly noted the information, planning to investigate later and see if he could trade for it.

Hua Yunfei continued, "Lately in the Central Continent, there have been reports of evil cultivators abducting female cultivators. But unlike the old cases where people targeted Holy Maidens, this time they're abducting mature married women. The wife of the Feather Transformation Dynasty's Holy Master has gone missing.

"It's said another Holy Land's Holy Master's wife vanished too, though she's hiding the fact. And in Alkaid Holy Land, someone tried to target the Holy Son's mother, but was discovered and stopped. The trail supposedly leads to one of their Supreme Elders…

"In the final generation of the Immortal Path, all kinds of demons and monsters are crawling out. I don't know who's so deranged, or what they even want with these women! But the methods are so vile and despicable—it's truly beneath contempt…"

Ye Chen had been listening with interest—until the end, when his mouth twitched violently.

Demon-Exterminating Great Saint, what the hell are you doing? Stop it right now! If this ever gets exposed, I'll never wash the stain off. It'll become a lifelong black mark.

...

Ye Chen and his Eldest Senior Brother got along exceptionally well. After several days of discussing the Dao together, Hua Yunfei finally stepped out of the cabin with him.

Besides the group of elders on the flying vessel, there was also a dainty little girl, no more than seven or eight years old, carved from pink jade. She was the granddaughter of one of the Supreme Elders. Her aptitude was excellent—fully 2,000×—so she was dearly loved by her grandfather and had been specially brought along to Central Continent to broaden her horizons. If a battle broke out, she could simply be tucked into a cave heaven—no trouble at all.

Ye Chen found the little girl adorable, and since she had a multiplier, he casually gave her quite a few gifts. As a result, she quickly grew very fond of him. She kept asking him to pick her up and hold her.

But the elders were extremely wary of Ye Chen. They hurriedly blocked her, refusing to let him carry her. That guarded look in their eyes wounded Ye Chen deeply.

Bro, your granddaughter is only seven or eight years old. Do you really need to guard against me like this? How could I possibly go after a little girl that young? Prejudice truly is a mountain.

What surprised Ye Chen even more, however, was that his Eldest Senior Brother also doted on the little girl. Throughout the journey, Hua Yunfei patiently taught her foundational principles and gave her all sorts of small gifts. Once, when they passed a strangely shaped mountain peak that looked like a tiny house, the little girl took a particular liking to it.

Without hesitation, Hua Yunfei waved his sleeve, uprooted the divine peak, refined it into a delicate ornament, and presented it to her. The elders showed no concern whatsoever about Hua Yunfei getting close to her. They never once tried to stop the little girl from clinging to him. So very quickly, she forgot all about Ye Chen and spent her days trailing after Hua Yunfei like a little tail.

Feeling the stark difference in treatment, Ye Chen felt even more injured.

Prejudice. Pure prejudice.

Meanwhile, Feng Baiyu stood beside Ye Chen with a cheerful grin. Watching Hua Yunfei—ever gentle and patient as he taught the little girl—his eyes filled with reminiscence.

"Back when Dantai Xuan first entered the holy land, she was even younger than this girl… Dantai Xuan was incredibly cute at that age, too. Hua Yunfei basically took care of her every single day—more devoted than even her own master. When he went out on missions, he secretly followed to protect her. You could call them true siblings and no one would argue. But once Dantai Xuan grew up, Hua Yunfei very properly kept his distance. He no longer got as close as before…"

"To be honest, Hua Yunfei has always liked children. Many female cultivators in the holy land were personally taught by him when they were little. But once they grew up, he always kept far away—never the slightest improper thought! You could really learn from your Eldest Senior Brother. That's what a true gentleman looks like!"

Hearing the Holy Master's words, Ye Chen watched his Eldest Senior Brother—so endlessly patient, so gentle as he corrected the little girl's mistakes. Warm and attentive when they were small, impeccably polite once they grew up?

There's something wrong here… There is definitely something wrong!

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