Unparalleled medical and martial arts skills, saving the CEO's fiancée at the start.

Ye Chen's reaction was astonishingly fast.

Without a second thought, Ye Chen flipped his right hand and shoved the parchment back into Aygul's hand, whispering, "Someone's coming, put it away quickly."

After saying that, Ye Chen picked up the Dragon Heart Bronze Lamp from the stone platform. It was heavy in his hand, and the lamp oil was still sloshing inside.

Ye Chen stuffed the bronze lamp into his arms, then pulled Ayiguli and slipped behind a natural boulder on the side of the high platform.

The footsteps grew closer, each step steady and rhythmic.

Ye Chen could tell from the footsteps that there was only one person, but the other party's aura was extremely restrained, obviously a master of cultivation, whose strength might even be above Du Qiansui.

Aygul's hand was already on the hilt of the knife, her whole body like a taut bowstring, waiting for Ye Chen's signal to spring out.

Ye Chen pressed her wrist, gently shook his head, and then tilted his head towards the entrance of the stone hall, indicating that she should observe first.

The glowing fluorite from the stone palace dome pulled the figures of the visitors in through the passageway.

He was an elderly man with white hair and beard, whose age was impossible to determine; one could say he was sixty or eighty.

He was not tall and was rather thin. He wore a simple, dark gray robe and black cloth shoes. The sound of his shoes hitting the ground was light yet solid, as if each step was measuring the dimensions of the stone palace.

His facial features were striking, with a high nose, deep-set eyes, and slightly sunken eye sockets, making him look unlike a typical Han Chinese from the Central Plains.

Ye Chen could tell at a glance that the newcomer had cultivated an extremely profound pupil technique. When mastered to its peak, it could grant the person daytime vision and even see through the flow of the body's meridians.

This old man is unfathomable.

Ye Chen's heart skipped a beat. Before he could make any further judgments, the old man stopped in the center of the stone hall, facing the jade coffin on the high platform with his back to them, and slowly began to speak.

His voice was deep and hoarse, with an ancient and desolate quality, like the sound of wind coming from the depths of the earth.

"Twenty years have passed, and finally someone has found this place. Ye Chen, your abilities are indeed superior to your martial uncle's."

Ye Chen felt a chill run down his spine after hearing this.

This old man not only knew of the existence of the stone hall, but also knew his name.

More importantly, he knew of his uncle's existence, and when he spoke of him, it was as if he were mentioning an old friend, someone he remembered vividly, or even someone who was a party to that incident twenty years ago.

Ye Chen stood up from behind the boulder, neither dodging nor avoiding it.

Now that the other party has already called out my name, there's no point in hiding anymore.

Ye Chen slowly walked to the front of the high platform and looked at the old man across a jade coffin.

Aygul remained hidden behind the boulder, her knife already in hand, ready to strike from the flank at any moment.

"You know my martial uncle?" Ye Chen's voice was steady, but the true energy in his body was already circulating wildly, and the palms of his hands were slightly hot.

The pressure from the old man in front of him was stronger than that from Du Qiansui, Han Song, or even his master Su Qinghan when he was in a rage.

Ye Chen had only ever felt a similar aura from one person in his life: his master, Su Qinghan, when he unleashed his full cultivation.

Ye Chen still doesn't know Su Qinghan's strength, but he is very clear about one thing: this old man is at least in the late stage of the Transformation Realm.

"Of course I know him. Su Youdao is the most stubborn person I've ever met. Back then, when the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce invited him to join, he refused. Wei Qing used every means to force him to hand over the rubbing, but he would rather die than hand it over. Later, he ran to the Western Regions and raised a child. That child should be the little girl hiding behind that rock, right? Her swordsmanship has some of the shadow of Su Youdao when he was young."

Aygul didn't move, but Ye Chen clearly felt the killing intent coming from the direction of the boulder behind him suddenly increase several times.

The matter related to her status as Su Youdao's adopted daughter is her biggest weakness and Achilles' heel.

The old man's few words exposed her true nature, which was enough to make her want to kill him.

Ye Chen tried his best to remain calm and quickly thought of a solution.

Since this old man was able to follow her all the way to the outside of Longxin Ancient Cave and even knew Ayiguli's identity, the power behind him could not be ordinary.

The Qingyun Chamber of Commerce, or rather the older organization behind it, is the one he truly serves.

"You're here for the rubbings too?" Ye Chen asked directly.

"Rubbings? Although the three rubbings are precious, they are not worth the trip I made in person. I came for that lamp." He pointed to the slightly bulging area in Ye Chen's chest.

"Hand over the Dragon Heart Bronze Lamp to me, and also present the sheepskin scroll in that girl's hand. I might consider sparing your lives. Otherwise, there will probably be two more corpses in the jade coffin in this stone hall."

At this moment, Ye Chen finally understood the old man's true purpose.

He hadn't fully figured out the significance of the Dragon Heart Bronze Lamp, but since the old man had come all this way to retrieve it, it meant that this lamp was the real key.

With the rubbing of the parchment copy on it, this old man had timed his arrival perfectly, intending to take both items with him.

"What if I don't give it to him?" Ye Chen slowly moved the knuckles of his right hand. The old injury on his palm was no longer a big problem, and the internal energy in his body had recovered to more than 90% of its peak state.

Ye Chen knew the gap between himself and this old man, but if he were to surrender without a fight in this place and hand over what Su Youdao had risked his life for, he would rather let him die by crashing into the jade coffin.

"It's good for young people to have backbone, but it depends on who they're talking to. Listen carefully, my name is Wei Qing."

Ye Chen's mind went blank for a moment.

Wei Qing? Wei Qing, the boss of the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce?

The mastermind behind the ancient tomb scheme twenty years ago, which forced Su Youdao to his death and caused the death of Jiang Yuanshan.

Guipu and Zhou Wantong had said that the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce had long since disbanded, and Wei Qing might already be dead.

But the person in front of me is actually Wei Qing himself?

No wonder he dared to come here alone, no wonder he has such an aura of dominance over everything.

"You're not dead?" Ye Chen's voice was as cold as ice shards squeezed from his throat.

"Twenty years ago, I was severely injured by Su Youdao's Breaking Palm and almost died, but the people behind me saved me." Wei Qing said casually, but his tone carried a hint of reminiscence.

"It wouldn't hurt to give it a try," Ye Chen replied casually.

"I've remembered that palm strike for twenty years. How about you strike him again today?" Before the words were finished, Wei Qing's figure had already disappeared from the spot.

Ye Chen felt an overwhelming force pressing down on him, incredibly fast.

Ye Chen subconsciously crossed his arms to protect his chest, and used the Ghost Shadow Step technique to create a perfect dodge point, moving his entire body seven or eight feet to the side before barely dodging Wei Qing's attack.

Late stage of Transformation Realm.

Ye Chen's heart sank to its deepest point in that instant.

Ye Chen once thought he had reached the threshold of the Transformation Realm, but Wei Qing's hand chop made him realize that he might not even have a chance to fight back against this old man.

But he had to fight, because Ye Chen had nowhere to retreat.

Behind him was the jade coffin, the dragon heart bronze lamp, and the last secret Su Youdao left for this world.

He cannot back down, nor can he retreat.