Chapter 276 Ziyang SectThe sun was setting by the time they arrived at the foot of the mountain. Since they were unable to travel by flying swords and the Ziyang Sect was another half-day of journey away, they had no choice but to spend the night in a small town. They would continue by horse carriage at daybreak tomorrow.
Xiao Chen understood that worrying was pointless at this moment. Huangfu Xin’er would be safe for the time being now that she was at the Ziyang Sect. He spent the night taking in and expelling Qi, restoring his cultivation to the Lv 3 of Core Forming Realm.
When the first ray of light descended, Li Heng found them two horse-drawn carriages and the group hastened to the gate of the sect. Xiao Chen learned a thing or two about his circumstances along the journey.
This place was hundreds of thousands of miles away from the Middle Continent. Due to the separation that the Thousand Summits Mountain presented, the people here rarely interacted with outsiders and the place was subsequently less developed. Even with the advent of the Annihilation Times, most cultivators were still in the Qi Refining Realm and Foundation Building Realm. Being a Core Forming Realm here would be enough to qualify one as an expert. A Nascent Soul Realm cultivator was like a mythical existence.
Ziyang Sect was located in a small town called the Spirits and Immortals Town and held quite a great reputation among locals. The commoners here tend to regard the sect’s disciples as Immortals.
The horse carriages finally arrived at the gate of the sect at noon. Xiao Chen climbed off the carriage impatiently. The buildings here weren’t grandiose. Moreover, they were rather simple and plain. They resembled the ones in the sect that he was in when he first entered the Violet Manor, the Teal Jade Sect.
When he climbed up a set of bluestone stairs, he suddenly felt as if he had returned to the Teal Jade Sect and a wave of heart-rendering nostalgia swept him.
Two disciples had already gone ahead of time to report their return to the sect. The Sect Leader, Zi Yang, was waiting in the public square. When he saw his disciple, Wang Luo, returning safely after going missing for half a month, he walked up to him with quick steps. “Luo’er, are you alright?”
Xiao Chen raised his head and saw an amicable-looking middle-aged man. It reminded him of the time he had spent in Teal Jade Sect, where he had met Liu Fenghuang’s father, Liu Yunzheng. His sect wasn’t large and his cultivation was average, but he treated every disciple like his child.
Melancholy silently pierced his heart. He smiled. “I’m fine. I apologize for worrying you, Master.”
“That’s good, that’s good.” Zi Yang was delighted. With his Lv 5 Core Forming Realm cultivation, he naturally wasn’t able to tell that he was talking to a fake and that his real disciple had died tragically three days ago.
Right then, an eighteen-year-old young lady in purple walked over to them and said, “There, he’s back. Ask him if I told him to find the snow lotus herb in the Thousand Summits Mountain!” She then gave Xiao Chen a quick glare.
Zi Yang turned around and flicked his sleeve. “How dare you bring this up on your own!”
Xiao Chen knew from Wang Luo’s memories that this young lady was called Zi Sha. She was the lady that Wang Luo longed for when he was alive and the lady that he died for. Xiao Chen hadn’t imagined that she would be such a hard-hearted person.
He smiled. “Master, please don’t blame Junior Sister. It has nothing to do with her. I wanted to bring home the snow lotus herb atop the Thousand Summits Mountain as a birthday gift for you.”
Zi Yang’s forty-year-old birthday was in three days. He also learned this from Wang Luo’s memories.
Zi Sha glared at him. “You’re not that dumb at least!”
Meanwhile, a young man in white was standing in a distant hall and looking at Xiao Chen in disbelief. This man was Mo Hengyu, the one who personally killed Wang Luo three days ago.
Zi Yang was deeply gratified. Suddenly, Xiao Chen remembered that there was something more urgent to attend to. Just as he was about to ask where was the lady that they rescued the other day, they heard the panicked voice of a disciple trying to make a report from the bottom of the mountain.
The disciple hastily ran up and explained, “We’re done for! Disciples from the Heaven and Earth Sect are attacking us!”
He had just finished his report when another disciple was sent flying through the air. Then there came peals of laughter. “The time has come for the promise we made three years ago. Heaven and Earth Sect is here to pay a visit!”
The voice had barely faded when a man dressed in yellow flew up to the square with a folding fan in hand. Behind him were seven to eight disciples. Zi Yang roared in anger, “He Shaoyi! What do you mean by this?”
Many disciples of Ziyang Sect came rushing over with their swords in hand. He Shaoyi raised his head and guffawed. “The time has come for the promise we made three years ago! Who from the Ziyang Sect will answer my battle challenge?” He pressed two fingers together and summoned a brilliant Immortal’s Sword.
Everyone gasped. “He used his Qi to form a sword! He has entered the Core Forming Realm!”
Zi Yang’s face turned as white as a sheet of paper. Frowning, Xiao Chen walked up to him and asked quietly, “Master, a few days ago…”
Zi Yang said, “Luo’er, retreat for now. We can talk again tomorrow.”
He Shaoyi raised his head and laughed heartily when he saw no one came up to answer his challenge. “What’s wrong? Is there no one in Ziyang Sect who dares to challenge me? Then, as promised, you’ll have to leave this place. From today onward, this place belongs to our Heaven and Earth Sect!”
No one dared to say anything. Zi Yang’s expression turned even ghastlier. He Shaoyi was still a manageable opponent three years ago, but he was now a Core Forming Realm cultivator. Who among his disciples was a match for him?
Suddenly, an indifferent voice rang out. “Since you’re so desperate for a fight, I’ll play along with you.” The speaker was none other than Xiao Chen.
“Luo’er, leave now! Don’t be hasty!” Zi Yang said in a panic. The others were flabbergasted as well. Did the disciple, who typically found all sorts of excuses not to cultivate, take the wrong medicine? Or did he forget to take his medicine?
He Shaoyi smiled contemptuously. “Wang Luo? You hadn’t suffered enough three years ago, had you?”
“Save your breath and hurry up. I have something to do,” Xiao Chen said coldly.
He Shaoyi raised his head and laughed. “Gutsy!” Without a pause, he thrust his sword at Xiao Chen in a lightning-quick motion. Everyone turned pale as the clanging of metals resounded.
Xiao Chen didn’t even move. He pressed his forefinger and middle finger together and pinched He Shaoyi’s Immortal Sword in between. With the lightest bend of his fingers, the sword noisily broke into four to five pieces. He threw a palm attack with his other hand and sent He Shaoyi flying while coughing up blood.
“You! You…” He Shaoyi pointed to him, unable to finish his sentence. He swiftly crawled back up to his feet and led the other disciples down the mountain.
Those from Ziyang Sect had yet to recover their senses. Zi Yang said in bewilderment, “Luo’er, you…”
Xiao Chen shook his head. “I met an Esteemed Senior three days ago. It was him who imbued me with ten percent of his Mystic Skill.” He then hastily asked, “Oh, right. Master, did my Senior Brothers bring a lady here the other day? Where is she now?”
“Come with me.” Zi Yang didn’t question him further after seeing how worried he looked. He led Xiao Chen to a small house.
Zi Sha was still standing in place, looking spellbound. One reason was Wang Luo’s sudden explosive strength. The other was he didn’t look at her once since the very beginning.
The moment Xiao Chen pushed open the door to the small house, he nearly cried out. The lady lying on the reclining couch was indeed Huangfu Xin’er.
Huangfu Xin’er looked deathly pale as she lay on the couch, emanating the faintest of Qi. He hastily walked to her, pressed two fingers together, and placed them on her wrist. Upon a quick examination, he found that nearly all of her heart meridians were cut short.
“It’s fine. You can all leave now. I’ll be treating her injuries.”
The others said nothing else and closed the doors behind them as they left the house. Xiao Chen propped Huangfu Xin’er up and immediately sat cross-legged behind her. He began pouring True Energy into her.
“Xin’er, hold on. I’ll definitely save you.”
His heart was twisting in agony. She could very well leave that day, but she let go of the opportunity to block Zuoqiu Yang’s attack for him. The lacerating force of the spatial collapse was so intense and she didn’t have Evernight and Su Xiaomei protecting her. How could she take it?
Zhiluan finally couldn’t contain himself after keeping quiet for the whole day and muttered, “Meow! Kid, are you sure she can wake up?”
“Shut up!” Xiao Chen bellowed.
Remembering the half-full bottle of blood, he immediately took it out and carefully fed Huangfu Xin’er with it. Zhiluan muttered, “Meow! What a waste! You’re spilling it everywhere! You need to thin it out with water and feed her mouth-to-mouth.”
“Shut up!”
The day came to an end just like that. Xiao Chen stayed awake the entire night, pouring True Energy into Huangfu Xin’er the entire time and slowly healing her injured heart meridians. Even so, she remained unconscious and her Sign of Life remained very weak. She could perish at any time.
Suddenly, a quarrel broke out outside the door.
“Let me in!”
“Senior Brother Wang Luo doesn’t want anyone to enter while he heals the lady. Junior Sister, can’t you wait until it’s over?”
“Move aside!”
Before long, the door was loudly kicked open and an exasperated Zi Sha stood by the door. She said angrily, “Wang Luo! What did you tell my Father?”
Xiao Chen’s brows were deeply furrowed. He must not be distracted while pouring energy into Huangfu Xin’er. He could afford the injuries caused by the interruption, but Huangfu Xin’er was so weak that the injuries could very well be fatal.
Seeing him ignore her, Zi Sha became even angrier. “I asked you a question! Are you deaf? Wang Luo, I’m telling you that I’d rather die than marry you! It doesn’t matter who you speak to! Who do you think you are? My Father took you in out of pity back then! Stop dreaming of going above your station…!”
Xiao Chen was beginning to feel agitated. He harshly rebuked her. “Get out!”
Zi Sha was stunned but it quickly faded into fury. The fire raged even more when she saw that the lady in front of him was still prettier than her despite her pale complexion.
That was just how contradicting a woman’s feelings could be. She could be uninterested in a man, to the point where she ignored him, but when the man fell for another woman, she would feel uneasy somehow.
“How dare you shout at me! I won’t let you save her! Since you want to save her so desperately, I’ll kill her!”
“Clang.” She unsheathed her sword and attacked Huangfu Xin’er.