41-50

 41

Chapter 41

 

The soft touch of lips was like a dragonfly touching the water lightly, separating immediately on contact. However, Jian Yi's presence remained by the pillow side, loitering. Wen Xuan heard him say quietly: "How wonderful, shixiong. You're just like how I imagined."

 

These words were rather vague, but he said it exceptionally seriously.

 

Then, Jian Yi tucked Wen Xuan in, got up and left. The door opened with a quiet sound and was closed carefully.

 

Wen Xuan finally opened his eyes and let go of his tightened right hand, discovering it was covered by a faint layer of sweat. He felt like if there were a lit lamp in the room right now, maybe he'd find his face turned red, since his cheeks felt extremely warm right now.

 

He used his fingers to wipe away the dried sweat in his palm, and couldn't resist asking himself: Why did he pretend to be asleep just now?

 

If he opened his eyes and told Jian Yi he was actually awake......

 

That kid would probably panic in shock and fear, right? Imagining the scene that could have happened, Wen Xuan couldn't help but smile.

 

But after the initial panic and shock, how would things continue to develop? Wen Xuan unconsciously withdrew the smile. Brows furrowing, he began to seriously frustrate over this.

 

To suddenly learn that Jian Yi really did hold that kind of feelings towards himself, Wen Xuan felt it was hard not to feel hesitant and confused. If this feeling that Jian Yi carefully concealed was exposed, Wen Xuan really didn't know how the other would react, or how their relationship would change.

 

What's even more important was that he didn't know what kind of response he should display either. Acceptance and rejection, both choices would create an irreversible result. Yet neither seemed quite right.

 

Despite being so conflicted and frustrated, Wen Xuan couldn't resist the weariness from today's fierce battle. Soon, his head tilted on the pillow and he fell back into deep sleep again.

 

The next day, the crying sound of the infant woke him up.

 

Wen Xuan opened both eyes and saw Jian Yi already rushing in from next door. Yet the other only knew to circle that wailing

 

infant helplessly, clearly not knowing what to do with this little ancestor.

 

"He should be hungry?" Wen Xuan said as he sat up.

 

"I think so as well." Jian Yi remained completely at a loss: "But...but..."

 

But they were both men. Where would they find things to feed this little ancestor? This was indeed a rather awkward situation. Wen Xuan also felt like he didn't know if he should laugh or cry.

 

He pondered for a moment, got up and walked over. Reaching out to hold the baby's chubby arm, he carefully breathed over a mouthful of spiritual energy. Jian Yi understood his plan and held his breath, watching attentively. Soon after, the infant's crying really did cease. However, he continued to move his little mouth vigorously, looking very sulky.

 

Jian Yi let out a breath of relief. Then his eyebrows raised: "Just look at him, still displeased."

 

"To feed spiritual energy directly as food doesn't satisfy his oral fixation. He should be displeased." Wen Xuan said: "This is only a temporary plan. If this wasn't the last resort, no one would feed kids like this."

 

"Do we need to find him a wet nurse?" Jian Yi asked, furrowing his brows heavily and grumbling lowly: "So troublesome...... Forget it. We'll be throwing him to that Zhao guy soon anyways. Let him get a headache over this instead."

 

Wen Xuan smiled, letting go of that chubby arm, then took a step back.

 

However, as he took this step backwards, he completely started staggering. Apparently, his spiritual energy was still dried up after forcibly elevating his strength yesterday with his secret skill. He knew he'd be somewhat inconvenienced momentarily, but he never imagined something as little as giving a tiny breath of spiritual energy over was enough to make him feel weak and lose balance.

 

"Shixiong!" Jian Yi turned pale with fright and hastily held him up.

 

With this support, his entire arm looped around Wen Xuan's back horizontally. One of Jian Yi's palms was pressed against Wen Xuan's shoulder, fingers grasping the frame of his shoulder securely. Jian Yi squeezed with strength, the warmth of his palm was enough to travel through Wen Xuan's clothes.

 

Normally, this would have been a rather natural gesture. But at this time, Wen Xuan couldn't help but feel somewhat strange all over, like it had some other meaning.

 

After that, Jian Yi reached out to take Wen Xuan's wrist and check his pulse. A brief examination gave him the answer. For a moment, Jian Yi didn't even know what to say: "Shixiong, you should know how reckless you were, right?"

 

He didn't wait for Wen Xuan's response, but discovered Wen Xuan staring unblinkingly at him.

 

"Shixiong?" Jian Yi returned the gaze with an odd look: "What is it?" This behavior felt so normal, it almost made Wen Xuan feel like he only imagined what had happened last night.

 

Wen Xuan shook his head and freed himself from Jian Yi's arms: "Yesterday night, I did use up a lot of spiritual energy, but it's not a big deal. A few days of rest and I'll pretty much recover."

 

"This isn't a big deal?" Jian Yi yelled exaggeratedly, the sound of his voice rising high.

 

"Shixiong, you can't be so unconcerned about your own health." Then, he turned his face around and expressed extremely solemnly: "From now on, you're not allowed to use spiritual energy for the next half a... no, for the next whole month. Not even one bit."

 

"You make it sound like I can still use it if I wanted to." Wen Xuan shook his head, not knowing if he should laugh or cry. Looking at Jian Yi's expression that couldn't be any more serious, in the end, he swallowed the rest of his teasing words back down and nodded his head in agreement: "I'll be careful."

 

Finally, Jian Yi let out a breath, as if relieved from a burden.

 

"Then if any issues arise in the next few days, I'll be relying on you completely." Wen Xuan continued to say.

 

Originally he only meant it casually, but when these words left his mouth, Wen Xuan abruptly pressed his lips together. For some unknown reason, these words just felt very strange. However, moments later, he realized that this overly jumpy attitude of his was even more strange.

 

Good thing Jian Yi didn't notice at all and very happily nodded his head in response.

 

"Jian shidi." Wen Xuan couldn't resist saying: "Last night......"

 

Hearing him mention last night, Jian Yi evidently became more nervous.

 

"Those words that you told me last night, were those the only things you wanted to say to me?" Wen Xuan continued to ask.

 

Jian Yi let out a breath of relief and thought Wen Xuan didn't actually discover anything. He answered vaguely: "How can I tell you everything I want to say in one night. When it's time to talk about it, then it'll come naturally."

 

In other words, right now wasn't the time to say them yet.

 

Since he chose to secretly hide away those feelings, he clearly didn't want Wen Xuan to jump forth and expose him ahead of time. Wen Xuan only shook his head. Although he was still rather conflicted internally, in the end, he still moved this matter temporarily to the back of his head.

 

Then Jian Yi continued to mess with the little ancestor to the side. Wen Xuan turned around to tidy up his bed. Next to the pillow, he saw Jian Yi's storage bracelet. He was holding it last night and forgot to return it. Because he was half asleep, he had taken out many things and forgot to put them back. Right now, they were still placed to the side.

 

One of the items included the round jade magic tool that Jian Yi used to decipher the Will of Heaven. Yesterday Wen Xuan's attention was drawn by other things, so he didn't look at it carefully. At the moment, he also only glanced at it briefly. After all, it was Jian Yi's magic tool. Even if Jian Yi was generous enough to let him look, he didn't feel comfortable prying too deeply.

 

With this slight examination, he saw there was a strange pattern imprinted on the main side of the round jade tool. He called it strange because from a far, the pattern looked extremely clear. Yet when he tried to examine it more closely, the pattern suddenly felt so blurry that not even a single line was discernible.

 

He assumed this was because of some concealing spell and didn't think too much of it. Putting it back into the storage bracelet, he returned everything back to Jian Yi.

 

Jian Yi even specifically asked him: "Shixiong, did you see clearly what was imprinted?"

 

Wen Xuan honestly shook his head and described it factually. Jian Yi didn't seem too surprised, but looked somewhat disappointed, as if something rather regretful was confirmed.

 

At this time the sun has already risen high. The city was noisy and bustling with activity. The inn that they stayed in received several unexpected guests. Some City Lord or whatever, this rich merchant, that government official...... All because what happened in Qin niangzi's house yesterday night caused too much commotion. Throwing in the matters with the Deity of Fortune, and Jian Yi coming back from the dead, the people of Jiufeng City were in full panic. They had to send people to investigate.

 

These visitors were naturally very courteous. However, Wen Xuan didn't want to waste his breath with them. What's more important was that these visitors often spent time bothering Jian Yi. Some even tried to claim friendly relations, saying something like, 'when you were little, I even held you in my arms', etc. There were some who really did have interactions with the Jian family back then, but chose to detach and watch like bystanders after the Jian family started having issues. Although the Jian Yi right now wasn't the Jian Yi back then, Wen Xuan still didn't want him to experience these encounters.

 

Therefore, after enduring two waves of visitors and before the third wave of visitors arrived, Wen Xuan and Jian Yi flashed out carrying the baby. In a blink of an eye, they left the gates of Jiufeng City.

 

After that, Jian Yi calculated on his fingers and the two headed directly off to another spiritual city nearby.

 

On the road, Jian Yi stuck Wen Xuan's side all day as usual. Actually because Wen Xuan couldn't use spiritual energy as conveniently, Jian Yi clung even more vigorously than usual. In the past, no matter how close Jian Yi acted towards him, Wen Xuan always felt it was natural. However, now, whenever their body touched at all, Wen Xuan could feel his thoughts making circles internally.

 

After spinning around enough times, he really managed to notice plenty of clues.

 

For example, every time Jian Yi tugged on his hand, it looked normal, but Jian Yi's fingertips always loved to squeeze the center

 

of his palm a few more times. For example, when the two people leaned too close, Jian Yi's line of sight would always drift away, carrying a not-knowing-where-to-look kind of helplessness. But every time Wen Xuan suddenly shifted his gaze onto Jian Yi, 8/10 times he could catch Jian Yi staring at him. Things like this were too numerous to count.

 

However, all of these actions were so innocent. The secret kiss that other night was probably Jian Yi's most audacious behavior.

 

Since Wen Xuan already knew how Jian Yi felt, how should he face these actions? Wen Xuan discovered, even though he already decided not to consider this matter before Jian Yi came forth voluntarily, this was still an unavoidable issue. Remaining as they were before would only be deceiving oneself. Calmly accepting also didn't feel quite right. Firmly rejecting? He can't do it. To be honest, Wen Xuan didn't really oppose this.

 

In the end, he still chose to be the same as before, pretending he didn't know.

 

When he finally returned from his thoughts, he discovered actually his attitude can only be described with two words.

 

--Silent approval.

 

42

Chapter 42

 

After discovering that his own attitude was no different than a silent approval, Wen Xuan didn't make any changes at all. Like he said before, he never felt negative towards any of this at all.

 

During their travels, out of curiosity, he asked plenty of things about Jian Yi's original world.

 

Jian Yi was rather exuberant about this as well, talking without resting once he started, something about astronomy, geography, history, science, something about novels, and movies. Pretty much talking about everything and nothing at all, describing this rather strange and different world to Wen Xuan extremely vividly without restraint.

 

Jian Yi also told him that in the original world, he had both a mother and father. His family was well off financially. He even has a much younger little brother. No matter how one looked at it, this was a model sample of a happy household.

 

However, when Wen Xuan asked in detail about Jian Yi's personal experience, Jian Yi gave a laugh: "I lived pretty well, so well it was actually rather boring. I really can't think of anything to say off the top of my head."

 

Wen Xuan was about to ask a little more when the infant on the side started to cry and make a fuss again, making the two people feel under pressure again. Finally soothing this little ancestor all over again, Jian Yi wiped away hot sweat from his forehead, and angrily repeated the complaint he had said many times before already: "We'll be throwing him to that Zhao guy soon. Let him deal with this headache."

 

As he just finished saying these words, his eyes lit up. A gold colored message talisman flew over from afar and landed before the two people. Jian Yi retrieved it to take a look, the corners of his mouth instantly twisting upward. He said to himself, what good timing. This message talisman just happened to be from Zhao Feiyu who was stationed in Cerulean Feathers.

 

However, when Jian Yi finished reading the message carefully, the corners of his mouth instantly twisted downward again.

 

"What?" Wen Xuan asked from the side.

 

Jian Yi handed over the message talisman. Wen Xuan looked. So this was a plea for help. Cerulean Feathers finally issued a sect mission that had a rather bountiful reward. Following the agreement previously made, Zhao Feiryu came to ask the two for help so that he could obtain these sect contribution points.

 

To have this Zhao Feiyu accumulate sect contribution points from Cerulean feathers in order to obtain the manual for resolving the empathy parasite between the two of them, as well as the materials that Wen Xuan needed for yuan gathering was something that Jian Yi had instructed him. If this was under normal circumstances, after the two people received this letter, they would definitely change directions and rush directly towards Cerulean Feathers. But now that Wen Xuan was still experiencing the aftermath of using his secret technique, and couldn't use spiritual energy, this matter became somewhat complicated.

 

Wen Xuan sighed and felt like he was dragging the team down.

 

Jian Yi sent back a message, asking what kind of task it was.

 

Zhao Feiyu's return message came very fast. The task was to find a small demonic beast at a certain border of North Ning and West Ming continent. The reward was three thousand contribution points.

 

A mere three thousand! Jian Yi's already furrowed brows twitched violently. His original concern became disdain. With a big wave of his hand, he practically wrote 'deal with this little issue yourself' on the return message already.

 

However, Wen Xuan pressed down on his hand: "Three thousand is still plenty."

 

That's true. Even though Jian Yi didn't think three thousand was much, it didn't actually mean that three thousand sect points from Cerulean Feather was a small amount. This was purely because Jian Yi's family in the original world was too well off.

 

Even though he became poor after transmigrating, he couldn't cast off the mentality of a rich man.

 

With this kind of mentality, he can't be expected to care much about this request for help.

 

This mission had no time limit either, nor was it restricted to only a one person party. Whoever completed the request first received the reward, that's all. The best compromise was to let Zhao Feiyu accept this mission and try to complete it himself first. If he couldn't do it, then they could wait until Wen Xuan recovered his spiritual energy one month later to see if they could still complete this.

 

The two people sent back the rewritten message and continued their original journey.

 

The target of their destination this time was actually Anfeng City that Wen Xuan left not long ago. This was the closest spiritual city to Jiufeng City. They originally planned to rendezvous at Anfeng City. Back then, Jian Yi thought Wen Xuan would remain there to attend the auction event. Who knew once Wen Xuan learned it didn't have what he needed, he left and went to Jiufeng City. Now that they were heading over there, they won't be able to catch the start of this auction event, but they'd arrive just for the end.

 

While both were spiritual cities, the scale of Anfeng City was not something Jiufeng City could match. Just based on land, it was 4-5 times that of normal spiritual cities. The road was made of limestone bricks that emitted a faint spiritual energy. The streets were extremely rowdy. Even yuan gathering and golden core cultivators could be seen occasionally. The sighboard of several well known and prosperous trading companies could be seen

 

easily. This was one of the biggest trading centers of the North Ning Continent.

 

Anfeng City was already lively. With the attraction of the auction event, the city would probably become even more rowdy.

 

After about ten days of travel later, when Wen Xuan stepped into this spiritual city once again, he saw the streets were bursting with activity. There were even more cultivators than before.

 

"As expected of an auction event held by the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company." Wen Xuan couldn't help but exclaim.

 

Of all of the families that moved to Jiufeng City, this Thousand Sunshine Trading Company was one of the most influential. Even within all of North Ning Continent, this Thousand Sunshine Trading Company could count as a top leader of the business world.

 

The two people found a room in an inn to rest momentarily. Through the window of the inn, they could see a towering, majestic multistory building. This was the site of this auction event.

 

"Since we managed to catch the tail end, why don't we go take a look?" Jian Yi proposed.

 

Wen Xuan nodded. Although he already learned from his old friend that there weren't any of the yuan gathering materials he needed inside the event, it was rare for Jian Yi to be interested. There was no harm in going to take a look.

 

However, things didn't always go according to plan. When they arrived at the bottom of this multistory building, they realized that the auction event wasn't an easy place to get into.

 

They needed to reserve one day ahead.

 

Wen Xuan gave a dry laugh and could only inquire about tomorrow's arrangements.

 

However, very unfortunately, today was the last day for the auction event. They only arrived today, looking like they managed to catch the tail end. Yet in actuality, they already had no chance with the auction event.

 

Wen Xuan said 'how unfortunate,' and prepared to give up.

 

Jian Yi's eyes spun though, clearly coming up with a little plan.

 

After thinking for a moment, Jian Yi said quietly: "Shixiong, did you know that the head of this Thousand Sunshine Trading Company's branch in North Ning is apparently a woman?"

 

This Thousand Sunshine Trading Company also came from the Central Sheng Continent. However, they didn't start any cultivation sects nor accepted disciples like the outer Three Clans. Instead, they focused on business. Therefore, they got along with North Ning's local authorities rather well. As for the head of this North Ning branch, rumors were that she was a very rare beauty. All sorts of handsome and talented youths from various big sects were all enamored with her.

 

"So what if she's a woman?" Wen Xuan said teasingly: "Do you plan to charm her with your beauty to enter through the back door?"

 

These joking words, however, made Jian Yi exceptionally nervous: "Of course not!"

 

Wen Xuan froze momentarily. In a flash, he actually realized why the other was nervous.

 

"I only feel she might have something she needs." Jian Yi explained quickly: "Afterall, this woman, who was such a lively young girl when she first arrived in North Ning, has been stuck here for more than ten years. Perhaps......"

 

That's right. Actually, this woman's reputation was widespread. This was something that happened over ten years ago. But starting from a certain time, she suddenly stopped traveling. Everything was all delegated to her subordinates. Even the number of people who has seen her in the last few years was few and far in between.

 

"Jian shidi," Wen Xuan asked him: "Is attending the last day of this auction event very important to you?"

 

Jian Yi was dumbfounded, and looked up at him.

 

"If it's important and you have a plan, then just say it directly." Wen Xuan said: "We can give it a try.”

 

In other words, if it wasn't important and Jian Yu was only curious and wanted to take a look, Wen Xuan didn't feel like they needed to spend the effort.

 

Jian Yi understood what he meant. Instantly, his expression became somewhat conflicted.

 

A moment later, Jian Yi shook his head lightly: "We don't have to attend." Then Jian Yi turned around: "Shixiong, it's better if we return to the inn. Your body hasn't recovered yet, plus the exhausting trip we had. You should get some good rest."

 

However, Jian Yi's conflicted expression didn't resolve. Wen Xuan could keenly feel that he wanted to attend the auction event on this last day, that he really did have an objective, but he didn't want Wen Xuan to know what this objective was. Perhaps after coaxing Wen Xuan to rest in the inn, he would still come back on his own and try his plan to enter the back door alone.

 

Wen Xuan didn't know when it started, but he's gotten very quick at deciphering the meaning of Jian Yi's every subtle expression. However, to be able to discern that Jian Yi still hid things didn't really make Wen Xuan feel happy.

 

Wen Xuan sighed and looked rather gloomy as he turned. His gaze unconsciously swept upwards. He suddenly paused. At the top floor of this building, he noticed a window.

 

Relying on his outstanding senses, he could see a girl in her prime behind the window-- of course, cultivators only needed to maintain themselves well. 180 yrs old and 18 yrs old really didn't have much difference-- This woman was currently looking out from behind the curtains.

 

This woman was dressed in all red, an inexplicable characteristic to her face. Perhaps because Wen Xuan was currently looking at

 

her, he felt that maybe this woman was currently looking at him as well. And in comparison to Wen Xuan's slight surprise, this woman's expression held even more astonishment, as if she was looking at some impossible miracle.

 

Wen Xuan stood where he was in bewilderment for a while. The woman put down the curtain and was hidden behind the window again.

 

Wen Xuan shook his head and called himself overly sensitive, then walked towards the inn together with Jian Yi.

 

After walking a distance, he couldn't resist but look up again. Unexpectedly, that woman had lifted the curtain again. This time he couldn't tell where she was looking.

 

This was really too strange. Just what exactly was that woman looking at?

 

"Shixiong?" Jian Yi discovered Wen Xuan's expression was odd and finally asked.

 

Wen Xuan raised a hand and pointed to the top of the tall building.

 

Jian Yi followed the direction of his hand. However, that woman put down the curtain and hid behind the window again. This time, the figure behind the curtain was moving. The woman seemed even more excited than before, who knew what she was doing.

 

Therefore, Jian Yi only saw that window and said to Wen Xuan: "That should be where Murong Feng lives."

 

"Murong Feng?" Wen Xuan felt a wave of surprise.

 

Wasn't that the head of the North Ning branch of Thousand Sunshine Trading Company? She lived here? And liked looking downward again and again for some unknown reason?

 

Nevertheless, this was only an unfamiliar woman. This brief moment of surprise passed quickly and the two people continued to leave.

 

However, just at this time, someone ran stumbling out of the tall building. Panting, they stopped them and said in greeting: "Isn't this Cultivator Wen?"

 

This person just happened to be Wen Xuan's old friend. Twenty days prior, Wen Xuan heard the insider info from this person's mouth, and learned what he needed wasn't here, then went off for Jiufeng City.

 

At this moment, this person smiled and said extremely courteously: "Cultivator Wen and this little cultivator friend, since you guys are already here, why not come in and have a look?"

 

Wen Xuan explained how he didn't have a reservation.

 

"So what!" This person promptly patted his chest and vouched: "That rule is only for outsiders. Of course, Cultivator Wen doesn't need to abide by it. Let me lead you guys in."

 

A sudden glimpse of hope in the darkest hour?

 

Wen Xuan felt it was really too strange. He knew this person belonged to Thousand Sunshine Trading Company, but even

 

though this person was an old friend, they weren't friendly to this extent. Why would he voluntarily open this back door suddenly?

 

Jian Yi also felt this matter was rather odd.

 

This person didn't explain anything and led both of them into the tall building in an overly familiar manner.

 

Inside the tall building was buzzing with activity. On the ground floor, there was a high quality jade placed on a round stage. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors were full of cultivators encircling the view of the stage. Every once in a while someone would shout out a new price. The spectacle was extremely heated.

 

Wen Xuan and Jian Yi looked at that jade. It really was a very good piece of jade, but they didn't need it.

 

Therefore, Wen Xuan turned his focus to pondering what exactly was going on. Meanwhile, Jian Yi shifted his line of sight to stare at Wen Xuan's old friend, his gaze full of suspicion and hostility.

 

The old friend was stared so hard he started sweating. He really wanted to make a tactical retreat, but for whatever reason, he remained steadfast by Wen Xuan's side.

 

Wen Xuan felt like this back door wasn't actually opened by this old friend, but rather by that strange Murong Feng.

 

According to Murong Feng's strange actions before, this assumption was reasonable despite the fact that Wen Xuan still didn't understand why.

 

Jian Yi clearly became aware of this as well. Although he didn't see Murong Feng just now, he knew Murong Feng really did need something. Therefore, after he viciously threw a few more eye daggers at the old friend, he turned his attention to the auction stage.

 

When another item was placed onto the stage, Jian Yi felt completely enthusiastic.

 

This was a type of chalcedony, normally used as raw material to make certain types of medicinal pills. However, in actuality, the chances of using these medicinal pills made from chalcedony were all very rare. Therefore, many of the methods for making these pills have been lost. That's why, although this item was rare, people weren't as excited about it as before.

 

But this didn't affect Jian Yi's enthusiasm. Jian Yi was so excited he directly participated in the bid.

 

Originally, they had carried a total of 30 thousand spiritual stones. Some were spent. Right now, they still have about 20 thousand. Although the chalcedony's bidding wasn't very heated, the price continued to rise slowly. In the end, it actually blundered its way up to about 10 thousand. Jaws clenched tightly, Jian Yi surprisingly refused to relent.

 

In the end, he used a total of 10 thousand spiritual stones to buy the chalcedony.

 

When the chalcedony arrived in his hand, he clearly let out a breath of relief. Then, another item was placed onto the stage. Jian Yi clearly didn't have the enthusiasm he had before.

 

Therefore Wen Xuan knew. Oh, the reason why Jian Yi wanted to participate in this last day was for this chalcedony.

 

This wasn't one of the items Wen Xuan needed for yuan gathering, but Jian Yi had his own needs as well. It was pretty normal so Wen Xuan didn't ask about it.

 

After several auction items later, the people at the scene suddenly became restless. The item of the hour was finally carried onto the stage.

 

The eyes of many people instantly turned green. Wen Xuan, however, noted that Jian Yi was lacking in interest.

 

Wen Xuan also didn't care so he turned his head to ask the old friend by his side: "Can we leave early?"

 

As expected, the old friend immediately panicked and hastily said don't leave in a rush, my boss wants to meet you guys.

 

So this really was the case. Wen Xuan and Jian Yi didn't feel surprised at all.

 

The surprise occurred after they met Murong Feng. This event and the original plot was somewhat different. Actually Jian Yi faintly expected that. After all, in the original novel, Murong Feng never met Wen Xuan. However, he never imagined this event would be so vastly different from the original story.

 

The two were led by the old friend up to the highest floor of the building. He pushed open a door.

 

As soon as the door opened, Wen Xuan felt a wave of warm air in his face. At this time the weather was already slightly cold. However, this room felt warm like there was charcoal burning inside. Inside this warm room, in a spacious chair facing the door, that red clothed woman sat.

 

The old man respectfully greeted this woman.

 

She was Murong Feng.

 

She really was beautiful like a flower, but her cheeks were a peculiar shade of red.

 

"Can the two of you," She reached out a hand: "walk a little closer."

 

Her voice was clear as a bell, but also carried a rather overbearing arrogance. Clearly, she was making a request, yet it made people subconsciously feel like they didn't have the rights to refuse.

 

Therefore, Wen Xuan and Jian Yi walked closer two steps and stopped in front of her, within arms reach.

 

Then, she really did reach out a hand, took Jian Yi's right hand, and held it for a while. Jian Yi was stunned at first. When he recovered, he only felt like he was pricked by needles, and almost threw the woman off. However, before he acted, Murong Feng already let go of his hand, her expression carrying a light hint of disappointment.

 

Then Murong Feng also used a hand to grab Wen Xuan's right hand.

 

Wen Xuan was also stunned.

 

Murong Feng very quickly let go of Wen Xuan's hand. This time she didn't reveal a disappointed expression. Instead, she was very happy.

 

"This Cultivator Wen. It looks like you're the person I was looking for." Murong Feng said.

 

appear пеге,

 

Wen Xuan nodded his head in bewilderment: "Don't know why xianzi was looking for me?"

 

"I have a request.” Mu Rongfeng said very happily, using a tone like she found someone to lend her a bit of money: "I need you to marry me as your wife."

 

Wen Xuan was dumbfounded. After he recovered, his first reaction was to look at Jian Yi who was beside him. For some unknown reason, at this time, rather than responding to this troublesome request, he was more interested in Jian Yi's reaction.

 

En. Jian Yi's face turned completely green.

 

43

Chapter 43

 

In this world, Jian Yi always had a certain advantage. This advantage can be considered a type of foresight. He read the original novel, knew the underlying plots and knew much information unknown to others.

 

From a certain perspective, he was a person who had a grasp of the Will of Heaven. That round jade magic tool was able to advance his understanding of the Will of Heaven to a higher level as well. This way when he encountered situations that didn't occur in the original novel, he can still quickly decipher its development through paying a certain price.

 

But his foresight was limited. His understanding of the original novel still didn't give him control over everything in this world. As for the ability to quickly decipher how a situation would develop, while this skill was rather unparalleled, it can't be used constantly, at all times.

 

Therefore, at this moment in time, in face of the situation before him, all of Jian Yi's foresight was useless.

 

He was like a completely naked person on top of an icy mountain, shaking all over, utterly helpless to the head-on offense of a blizzard. Practically forgetting how to think, he could only watch wide-eyed as this beautiful looking woman in front of him took Wen Xuan's hand and said with a flower-like smile: "I need you to marry me as your wife."

 

This wasn't right. This script wasn't right. How did it become like this? Jian Yi almost felt like he was crazy.

 

After a long time, finally, like a rusty piece of machinery, he turned his head jerkingly over to look at Wen Xuan.

 

Wen Xuan just glanced at him a second ago. By this time, he already withdrew his gaze.

 

What was worth celebrating was that Wen Xuan had his brows furrowed, clearly not giving a happy response to these unexpected words.

 

Brows furrowed, Wen Xuan looked at Murong Feng. After a moment, he pressed his mouth together, looking like he wanted to decline.

 

"Cultivator Wen." Just at this time, Murong Feng said: "If you marry me as your wife, it will give you huge benefits."

 

This was pretty true. This was really a wonderful opportunity that many men couldn't even dream of.

 

Even if they didn't discuss Murong Feng's beauty and only focus on her identity and her wealth, the situation before them was equivalent to a huge cookie falling out of the sky.

 

Wen Xuan only furrowed his brows deeper: "Murong-xianzi, there's no need to make this kind of joke."

 

Murong Feng looked at his face and carefully examined his facial features, then sighed lightly: "An old fashioned type huh?"

 

She finished speaking, then lightly clapped her hands.

 

Maids swarmed into the room like fish, each carrying a round plate covered by a red cloth. In a flash, they lined up inside the room. Then, with another light clap of Murong Feng's hands, one of the maids took off the red cloth in her hand and revealed the item on the plate.

 

Even before seeing this item, Wen Xuan already felt a very heavy spiritual energy. Carefully taking a look, his expression instantly changed.

 

On the plate were two Lanti flowers, one of the items he needed for yuan gathering. This was something he thought he'd obtain after experiencing many hardships.

 

The sound of Murong Feng clapping didn't stop. With every one of her claps, another red cloth was uncovered.

 

Every round plate had a spiritual item on it, all were items that Wen Xuan needed for yuan gathering.

 

Things that he's only seen in his dreams were now placed before him just like this. Wen Xuan's gaze swept across these round plates in amazement, unable to respond for a while. He was a bit stupefied.

 

"It's no joke.” Murong Feng said: "As long as you agree to marry me, everything in the room is yours."

 

Wen Xuan returned from his thoughts and carefully counted these spiritual items.

 

No mistake. There were 27 items that he required for yuan gathering. He found 14 within the sect. After leaving the sect, he found 5 more. The rest of the remaining 8 were all rather troublesome to obtain. Yet at this moment, they were all in this room. The ones he had, the ones he didn't have, regardless of how common or rare they were. All 27 items that Wen Xuan needed for yuan gathering were present.

 

27 items, not one was missing.

 

Although the amount of each item and what Wen Xuan needed had some slight differences, it still wasn't lacking at all.

 

Looking at these, Wen Xuan immediately felt sweat gathering.

 

Then Wen Xuan reluctantly forced himself to shift his gaze away from these yuan gathering items to look left and right.

 

At this time, Jian Yi already recovered. Looking similarly at these items that filled the entire room, he clenched his jaw tightly as his face color turned green and then white.

 

Then Wen Xuan looked at that old friend to his other side and finally realized something.

 

He placed his hand into his sleeves and squeezed the piece of paper inside, shaking his head and smiling bitterly. This piece of paper was a list of all of the yuan gathering items he needed. He once showed it to his old friend. Looks like this list was placed in front of Murong Feng's eyes by this friend, easily exposing what Wen Xuan needed and allowing the other to grab his weakness.

 

This move was rather effective. If Murong Feng had requested anything else, Wen Xuan probably would have agreed impatiently already.

 

"Murong-xianzi......" Wen Xuan said with difficulty.

 

"This is only a trivial matter." Murong Feng said: "If you become my husband, don't even say merely returning to yuan gathering. Even on the path that follows, I will definitely use all my strength to help you."

 

While saying these words, the high and mighty presence she emitted didn't diminish at all. She looked at Wen Xuan, and has been looking at him arrogantly since the start. She actually had this right, to look at others from above. Although she was sitting at a corner of the room at the moment, with her surrounding presence curling around her, looking a little frail. In actuality, this was the presence of a golden core cultivator.

 

More than ten years ago, Murong Feng of the Thousand Sunshine Trade Company was already at a stage one step away from Nascent Soul.

 

"With your natural aptitude, reaching golden core would be a cinch. With your talent, my experience, and the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company's wealth, this path can be extremely fast." Murong Feng said: "If everything goes smoothly, perhaps we can even become Nascent Soul together."

 

In other words, if Wen Xuan agreed to marry her, not only would he obtain these yuan gathering items, he would also gain the devoted guidance of a golden core cultivator. To be honest, although Wen Xuan was the disciple of a Nascent Soul cultivator by reputation, in actuality, he had no one to guide him. He reached his current stage purely though fumbling around by himself this entire time.

 

No matter which aspect, to Wen Xuan, they were all an enormous temptation.

 

Yet Murong Feng was still raising the benefits: "Actually, you don't even need to consider what I can give you. As long as you agree, half of the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company can be yours."

 

Half of the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company wasn't merely talking about the branch at North Ning Continent. That's because this Murong Feng had another identity. She was the daughter of the owner of Thousand Sunshine Trading Company.

 

Marrying such a woman would allow anyone to bypass struggling for who knows how many hundreds of years. This was such a huge cookie falling from the sky that it was enough to make one feel dizzy.

 

Nevertheless, Wen Xuan managed to regain his composure. Actually just now, in comparison to his feelings of shock and

 

temptation, he actually felt more like this didn't seem real, like he was standing in clouds, floating away.

 

Wen Xuan took another look at Jian Yi.

 

The pale white color on Jian Yi's face has already receded. He was currently staring at Wen Xuan with a rather nervous and pitiful expression.

 

"Murong-xianzi." Wen Xuan replied: "I need to consider for a moment."

 

Murong Feng nodded: "I await your decision."

 

She waved her hand to the side. Someone came over to lead Wen Xuan away. They weren't leading him outward, but rather to another room inside the building.

 

Wen Xuan entered the room, asked the person who led the way to withdraw, then sat heavily down on a chair. He reached out to touch his forehead and found it covered in sweat. Although Murong Feng had no ill intentions towards him, the situation just now was really more exhausting than fighting a fierce battle.

 

Jian Yi followed him into the room and helped him close the door.

 

Wen Xuan poured a cup of tea for himself to drink and found that both of his hands were shaking. Can't be helped. The temptation was too strong. Really. The temptation was really too strong.

 

"Jian shidi." Wen Xuan asked: "What do you think?"

 

Jian Yi walked to his side and looked at him silently for a while: "Shixiong, do you plan to agree?"

 

"Of course I......" Wen Xuan wanted to answer but then halted. Lifting the cup of tea, he took a sip. Then he persisted on throwing the question back: "I want to know what you think."

 

Jian Yi grinded his teeth: "This matter might not be as good as it sounds."

 

"What do you mean?"

 

"That woman has plenty of enemies."

 

"She can protect me," Wen Xuan said.

 

Jian Yi was stunned. He abruptly raised his head and stared at Wen Xuan in surprise, examining him over and over.

 

"I also thought about this issue just now." Wen Xuan said: "She has plenty of enemies, but at the same time, she's still alive. This proves that she has the ability to fight off her enemies. And she clearly needs me, so she'll definitely protect me. In comparison to what I can obtain, this danger really isn't much."

 

It took Jian Yi a while to recover from his thoughts. This time, he was really panicking: "Shixiong, why would you say this? Don't tell me you really plan to agree?"

 

"It's not that." Wen Xuan shook his head: "I'm only weighing the pros and cons."

 

"Weighing the pros and cons......" Jian Yi repeated, grabbing the edge of the table with both hands. Because of nerves, he used such strength that his fingers turned white.

 

"You don't want me to marry her?" Wen Xuan looked at his reaction, taking another sip of tea: "Why? Isn't this beneficial to us?"

 

"This...... this matter is too strange." With great difficulty, Jian Yi found another excuse: "This might be a trap."

 

"You're suggesting that, a golden core cultivator with a strong family background and extraordinary status making a request to a mere foundation building cultivator like me to marry her, is actually a trap?" Wen Xuan furrowed his brows slightly: "Saying it like this does sound a little strange. The entire thing is actually full of oddities. Perhaps it really is a trap."

 

Jian Yi let out a breath of relief.

 

"Jian shidi." Wen Xuan lifted his head again: "You know more than me. Tell me, is that Murong-xiangzi really the type of person to set this kind of trap?"

 

Jian Yi opened his mouth, a definite 'yes' about to leave his mouth.

 

But in the end, he couldn't say this word out loud. Instead, he started grinding his teeth again.

 

Actually he knew, this wasn't any trap. Murong Feng has been in a certain kind of suffering all these years, searching for relief. Yet this thing that gave her relief in the original novel, she obtained

 

from Qin Shiyu's companion, Xue BingEr. Because of this circumstance, she ended up joining Qin Shiyu's harem. For Qin Shiyu to become all powerful later, his relationship to her was essential.

 

This woman gave Jian Yi a rather favorable impression in the original novel. It can be said that, of the numerous women in Qin Shiyu's harem, Murong Feng was the only one he felt pretty good towards. He even pitied Murong Feng in the past, feeling that Qin Shiyu wasn't good enough for her.

 

Jian Yi had extrapolated that in order to relieve Murong Feng from her suffering, Wen Xuan should also be able to do it as well. That's why he insisted Wen Xuan to come to Anfeng City around this time. He had hoped that Wen Xuan would be able to land this opportunity. However, he never imagined that when Murong Feng saw Wen Xuan, she would make that kind of decision.

 

Clearly in the original novel, Murong Feng and Xue Bing Er only became sisters.

 

Jian Yi took a deep breath.

 

He wanted Wen Xuan to be fine, wanted Wen Xuan to achieve success in his cultivation, wanted Wen Xuan to walk down a path completely different from the original text. Without a doubt, Murong Feng could become a huge assistance. This was a once in a blue moon opportunity. He didn't want to ruin it, but there's no way he'd want Wen Xuan to marry Murong Feng.

 

Struggling with this conflict, Jian Yi's entire face turned red in frustration.

 

After a long time, Jian Yi answered: "No... with my understanding of her, she should be a reliable woman."

 

"Is that right?" Wen Xuan placed the teacup on the table, making a clunking sound: "In other words, based on the benefits, there's no reason for me to decline."

 

Jian Yi didn't make a sound.

 

Seeing him like this, Wen Xuan suddenly felt a bit irritated.

 

Honestly! Just what reason did he want to hear out of Jian Yi's mouth?

 

Wen Xuan drained the last of his tea and stood up: "After considering for this long, it's about time for me to give her an answer."

 

"Shixiong!" Jian Yi hastily stopped him.

 

Wen Xuan halted his footstep and turned his head to look at Jian

 

Yi.

 

To Jian Yi, this was the most difficult decision he's made after he transmigrated. Jealousy and possessiveness grew and spread crazily in his heart. However, his desire for all to be well for Wen Xuan suppressed this kind of madness in the end.

 

"Shixiong," Jian Yi said: "Have you really thought this through?"

 

"En. I've made my decision." Wen Xuan nodded and then asked: "Do you think there's something wrong?'

 

Jian Yi hesitated for a long time, then shook his head: "No."

 

Wen Xuan instantly turned around and continued to walk towards Murong Feng's room, footsteps much faster than before.

 

For some inexplicable reason, Wen Xuan felt a bit angry.

 

44

Chapter 44

 

Wen Xuan walked nonstop back to the previous room. When he saw Murong Feng still sitting in that chair, the anger in his heart finally lessened slightly.

 

"Cultivator Wen." Murong Feng asked him: "Did you finish considering?"

 

"Yes. I've decided." Wen Xuan nodded his head: "Murong-xianzi, very sorry, but I can't accept your terms."

 

Murong Feng felt a bit surprised. As a golden core cultivator, everything that occured in this building was under her control. She heard very clearly the conversation that Wen Xuan and Jian Yi had. In that conversation, Wen Xuan seemed like he was going to agree. Yet in the end, he declined.

 

"Why?" Murong Feng asked him.

 

"If it was only based on pros and cons, then I really don't have any reason to decline. If you had requested something else, I probably would have agreed a long time ago." Wen Xuan answered: "But marriage shouldn't depend on benefits."

 

Murong Feng's eyes raised as she looked at Wen Xuan: "Then what should it be based on?"

 

Wen Xuan was momentarily at a loss for words, as if he never expected her to ask this so bluntly. It took Wen Xuan a while to answer: "Of course, it's about feelings."

 

"......you rejected me because of feelings?" Murong Feng said with a smile that's not quite a smile.

 

"I have no desire to marry you." Wen Xuan furrowed his brows: "And you have no desire to be married to me as well."

 

Murong Feng declined to comment. She only thought it was funny. She called Wen Xuan an old fashioned person just now. That really hit the mark.

 

"Could it be that you have someone you like?" Murong Feng asked him.

 

Wen Xuan was briefly stunned, not knowing how to answer.

 

Good thing Murong Fen didn't wait for his answer either. She only continued to say: "In many instances, marriage is only a collaboration of interests."

 

Wen Xun furrowed his brows, clearly not in agreement.

 

He asked: "Since it's a collaboration of interests......for xianzi to suggest such favorable conditions for me, I presume I also bring extreme benefits for you as well. But no matter how much I ponder, I can't understand, just what exactly can I give you?"

 

"A very important thing.” Murong Feng said.

 

Wen Xuan opened his mouth.

 

Not waiting for his follow up question, Murong Feng added four words: "Top quality water root."

 

These mere four words was enough to make Wen Xuan feel like he was struck by lightning. He became completely dumbfounded. When he recovered, he was somewhat jittery, voice involuntarily raising slightly: "What are you saying?"

 

"Looks like I guessed right." Murong Feng calmly looked at him: "You really do have a top quality water root."

 

Guessed? Wen Xuan swallowed a mouthful of air into his stomach, almost choking in shock. After a while, he finally returned from his thoughts, extremely gloomy-- Back then when he first met Jian Yi who exposed his top quality water root, the other also said he guessed it.

 

Yet Murong Feng's 'guess' was more of a hypothesis.

 

Very quickly, Murong Feng explained her thought process.

 

First of all, Murong Feng had an unusual body constitution. If any extremely pure water type object approached her, she could feel it. Back then when Wen Xuan was outside of the building, she

 

perceived Wen Xuan because of this. But at that time, there were plenty of people outside. Later, Murong Feng felt this extremely pure water type object moving away. When she lifted the window curtain, she saw only Wen Xuan and Jian Yi were leaving the scene. That's how she was able to discern that this object was on these two people.

 

Then through holding the two people's hands separately, she determined it was Wen Xuan.

 

"Originally I thought you were carrying some extremely pure water type spiritual weapon on you." Murong Feng said: "At first I planned to ask you to trade that item to me, however, I very quickly recognized you. Although this is our first meeting, I've investigated the Water Cloud Sect's Wen Xuan before."

 

Wen Xuan was surprised.

 

"One reason was because your reputation amongst your peers at that time was quite impressive.” Murong Feng explained in great details: "The second reason was because you seemed to be the first one to discover that ancient mausoleum in the mountains outside of Sanyuan Town."

 

Sanyuan Town? Wen Xuan blanked briefly and then realized that she was talking about that ancient mausoleum that Jian Yi brought him to. All of the sudden, he recalled many not so pleasant memories.

 

"How is that mausoleum currently?" He asked.

 

"Nothing really." Murong Feng said: "Still at a deadlock. A deadlock between the Four Inner Clans and Three Outer Clans.

 

These seven clans are all fighting over the objects in that cave. Who knows when they'll be able to open the last barrier.”

 

It's already been this long, yet they were still in a deadlock? Wen Xuan felt a bit surprised.

 

"No one wants to be the person who opens that barrier." Murong Feng explained: "After all, no one knows, once the door opens, what if they let out the thing inside, what kind of consequences would result."

 

The thing inside? There was really something inside it? So it really wasn't purely an ancient mausoleum? Wen Xuan felt ripples rise continuously in his heart. That was the place he found following Jian Yi's lead after all. Later, he informed the sect. Logically, it no longer had anything to do with him, but he couldn't help but follow its development with interest.

 

But this was rather offtopic. Murong Feng didn't continue to talk about it. Very quickly, she moved the conversation back to Wen Xuan: "That place can only be found by people with outstanding water roots. I investigated all of the people who discovered that place. Originally I had planned to examine everyone individually, but I never found the time. It was from that investigation that I discovered, Cultivator Wen, you...... shouldn't have such an outstanding magic tool on you."

 

This was really a very sad conclusion. Wen Xuan had no words. Spiritual items that had extremely pure attributes were the best of the best. No matter if it's extremely pure water type or extremely pure fire type or any others, the rarity of these items was no less than a top quality water root. With Wen Xuan's assets, he really couldn't afford any of that.

 

"And plus, I can feel you have a divine sword on you." Murong Feng continued to say: "Despite being injured, this sword's essence is that of a water type divine weapon. It's a little lower quality than the extremely pure water type object I require. These types of flying swords are all naturally arrogant and hard to tame. They very rarely listened to the instruction of low level cultivators, unless you had an extremely outstanding spiritual root which was compatible with it."

 

With these clues, she was pretty certain that the extremely pure water object that she felt on Wen Xuan wasn't anything that can be traded, but rather, it was Wen Xuan's top quality water root.

 

"Untradeable. Without the top quality water root, you'd die." Murong Feng summarized. "But as long as we become husband and wife, and stay together for the rest of our lives, we'll have the best of both worlds."

 

So this was her train of thought. Wen Xuan really didn't know what to say.

 

Alright. Adding this woman, the number of people who knew Wen Xuan was a top quality water root was now up to five.

 

At the moment, Murong Feng was looking very hopeful at him, as if still expecting he would change his mind: "I answered so much because I wanted to express my sincerity. Please believe me. This collaboration will only bring you benefits. I wouldn't screw you over."

 

Wen Xuan said firmly: "Apologies, Murong-xianzi, but I still can't agree."

 

"Why?" Murong said: "Feelings are basically illusory and abstract. Yet you want to give up this enormous benefit placed before you over something like that? If you had someone you liked, fine. But if you don't, I really can't understand the reason for your decision."

 

“Although illusory and abstract, feelings are not something to play around with." Wen Xuan said resolutely and without hesitation: "There's no one. It's my individual decision, not because of anyone else."

 

Really such a wooden mentality, so serious it was ridiculous. Murong Feng shook her head.

 

She looked at Wen Xuan again, the expression on her face changed. There was less of a high and mighty, well planned look, and much more bitterness and agony.

 

She stood up, walked forward two steps and then kneeled down in front of Wen Xuan.

 

Wen Xuan abruptly took a huge step back, extremely flabbergasted.

 

"Cultivator Wen,” Murong Feng knelt steadily, lowering her head to look at Wen Xuan's feet: "If this wasn't just for the sake of collaborative benefits, but rather, this is the biggest plea that a woman like me has ever made in my entire life, would you be willing to consider it?"

 

"Murong-xianzi, why do you have to be this way!" Wen Xuan felt somewhat panicked. He wanted to help her up, but didn't know where to put his hands.

 

"Do you want to know the reason?" Murong Feng raised her head, giving a bitter smile.

 

Not waiting for Wen Xuan to answer, she abruptly lifted her clothes, grabbed one of Wen Xuan's hands and pressed it on her lower abdomen.

 

It's inappropriate for men and women to touch! Wen Xuan practically died of shock.

 

But the next second, Wen Xuan felt something was not right.

 

Under his palm wasn't the feeling of smooth unblemished skin that should belong to this beautiful looking woman, but rather...... a bumpy surface covered by layers and layers of scarring, like the texture of skin that was burned terribly.

 

Wen Xuan looked at Murong Feng's face in shock.

 

Murong Feng maintained her bitter smile.

 

Gradually, Wen Xuan's hand started to tremble. He really never imagined, under those magnificent robes, this woman would be like this.

 

"It's already much better." Murong Feng said: "Before you came near this building, the flames had been burning inside me, burning very fiercely. My cultivation is unable to control this kind of fire so it can only do its best to mend my body. As it burns, I'm

 

mend. The result isn't very pretty so now it's like this. Good thing with you by my side, the fire quenched somewhat."

 

"You......" Wen Xuan's voice started to tremble as well: "have always......"

 

"15 years." Murong Feng said: "Since I was ambushed by enemies 15 years ago and was infected with an extremely pure fire type poison, I've been like this. Only an extremely pure water type object can save me.”

 

She let go of Wen Xuan's hand, but Wen Xuan still remained where he stood, not knowing what he should do in response.

 

"Cultivator Wen," Murong Feng bent down and kowtow'd on the floor: "Please save me."

 

Wen Xuan was at a loss, not knowing what to do.

 

He was unwilling to casually enter a marriage that didn't have any feelings involved. That's why even in front of such enormous enticements, he still wanted to decline. But facing this kind of circumstance, to ask him to do nothing as a woman continued to be tormented by this kind of nightmare, was also something he couldn't tolerate.

 

45

Chapter 45

 

After Murong Feng kowtowed, she didn't say anything else, just remained kneeling there.

 

"Murong-xianzi," Wen Xuan said with difficulty: "You can get up."

 

Murong Feng only lifted her head to look at him.

 

"This kind of thing......this kind of thing......" Wen Xuan clenched his teeth, forcing cold sweat to gather on his forehead: "Is there really no other option?"

 

Murong Rong sighed and finally slowly got up.

 

Actually, what's a mere kneel and a few kowtows in comparison to her life? Unfortunately, for someone like Wen Xuan, even if she did this kind of thing, he still wouldn't be willing. Since it's like that, kneeling forever and refusing to get up didn't count as good

 

faith, but rather a certain type of coercion. She didn't want to use such an underhanded thing.

 

Wen Xuan clearly let out a breath of relief. Murong Feng returned to her originally seated position and then said with a smile that's not quite a smile: "I could have never imagined, there'd be a day where I'd be avoided to this extent."

 

The sweat on Wen Xuan's forehead started dripping again. He didn't know what to say.

 

Good thing, those words were just meaningless teasing. Murong Feng continued to say: "If we have to talk about other options, naturally, that would be to find some other extremely pure water type object. But if such a thing were easy to find, why would I suffer for this long? It's been 15 years. Even with all of the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company's mass strength, I've only managed to coincidentally meet you today."

 

Wen Xuan asked: "In these 15 years, you didn't find any trails at

 

all?"

 

Murong Feng didn't answer. She slightly lifted a finger and lightly tapped the armrest by her side, looking hesitant.

 

"Murong-xianzi," Wen Xuan said: "If there's any trails, please let me know. I will definitely help you."

 

Murong Feng remained silent for a long time. Then she shook her head and sighed lightly: "Forget it."

 

Wen Xuan's manner was already very clear. He was a good person. He wanted to help Murong Feng, but he wasn't willing to

 

give up his marriage in exchange. A forcibly twisted melon was not sweet. Murong Feng naturally understood this logic.

 

"Cultivator Wen. I thank you for your kind intentions. But how much help can you lend to something that even the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company can't do?" She said.

 

"You should still try first before deciding." Wen Xuan replied resolutely.

 

"What if it's still no use after that?"

 

Wen Xuan's words petered off.

 

"Then you'd really be my last hope." Murong Feng looked at him: "If that time really comes, would you suddenly be willing to marry me or something?"

 

Not waiting for Wen Xuan's reply, Murong Feng touched the side of her chair and used a little spiritual energy. A jade slip appeared in her hand. Then, Murong Feng flicked her fingers and this jade slip floated in front of Wen Xuan: "All of the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company's efforts in the last 15 years are here. Cultivator Wen, how will you deal with it?"

 

Wen Xuan looked at the jade slip before him. This jade slip was like a hot potato.

 

At the moment, although Murong Feng was begging for his help, if he was stone hearted and declined resolutely, she really can't do anything about it. After all, this thing honestly has nothing to do with him. However, if he looked at this jade slip, he'd be

 

getting involved voluntarily. If he wanted to withdraw later, it wouldn't be that easy.

 

That's right, what if it's still no use after trying?

 

If that really happened, it'd be hard to say if he'd be forced into marriage or not. Nevertheless, even if he did his best to withdraw then, he wouldn't come out unscathed.

 

Not to mention, he's giving this woman hope again and again. What if it really reached a point where she had to beg for her life, how could he endure it?

 

Sometimes, failure was even more harmful than doing nothing at

 

all

 

Wen Xuan stood for a moment and thought about all this. Then, he waved his hand and accepted the jade slip into his sleeve.

 

"Murong-xianzi," He cupped his hands, saying firmly: "No matter what, we can't not try."

 

Saying this, he said his goodbyes, turned and left this room.

 

Murong Feng looked at his back view, leaned back on her chair and shook her head.

 

When Wen Xuan walked into the hallway, his body relaxed completely. He suddenly realized that his back was soaked by sweat, feeling slightly chilled. The conversation just now looked rather harmless, but he felt like he was being cooked over hot fire the entire time. Good thing after he made his decision, his heart felt much more at ease.

 

He was going to help Murong Feng find an extremely pure water type object and use his own method to save her.

 

As he thought this, he sent his divine sense into the jade slip, looking at the content as he walked.

 

Although the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company hasn't managed to find any extremely pure water items in the last 15 years with its massive strength, it must have found some trails. Sure enough, it was here, and quite a few too. This jade slip carefully recorded details about these trails as well the results from following these trails.

 

Some ended up being things other than the extremely pure water item that Murong Feng needed. Some were snatched up by people who arrived first. Some were determined to be fake in the end. Some couldn't be found no matter what. Some trails were in dangerous areas that couldn't be searched.

 

After failing for 15 years, most of the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company felt rather downhearted. The investigations later on naturally became more negligent.

 

Looking through this, Wen Xuan had a plan in mind. Sorting out a general sequence, he decided to first search from those trails that were placed aside. Nevertheless, even this one portion was a huge project. He still needed to figure out a more precise outline.

 

Wen Xuan suddenly had a thought: Jian Yi came from the other world and he could read the will of Heaven. Perhaps he knew something.

 

However, recalling Jian Yi's behavior from before, Wen Xuan felt a bit unhappy again.

 

Sighing, he looked up and just happened to reach the room they were settled in previously. Looking through the window, he could see Jian Yi was still inside. He was curled up in the corner, head lowered, face gloomy, mouth pressed into a thin line, clearly not looking pitiful at all.

 

Wen Xuan pushed the door open and entered. Jian Yi instantly noticed. His head leapt up like a spring as he 1 looked directly over.

 

"What?" Wen Xuan asked him: "So unhappy?"

 

Jian Yi pressed his lips together, then asked instead of answering: "Did you finish talking about..... the thing between you and that Murong-xianzi?"

 

"Pretty much." Wen Xuan picked up the teapot on the table and poured himself a cup of tea: "She really is a nice woman. These years have not been kind to her. I need to help her."

 

Hearing these words, Jian Yi looked like he was struck by lightning. Face turning green, then black, he swayed like he was about to fall over.

 

Wen Xuan really felt both angry and amused. Since Jian Yi was going to look like he suffered a huge blow now, then how come he was unwilling to speak honestly before when Wen Xuan was asking him for his opinion?

 

When this thought popped up, Wen Xuan immediately froze. He finally discovered that the reason why he was so dissatisfied with Jian Yi's behavior was because he wanted to hear Jian Yi speak honestly. Unfortunately, he really couldn't depend on Jian Yi currently for this.

 

"I didn't agree to her proposal." Wen Xuan couldn't help but take a sip of tea before saying: "I declined."

 

For a second, Jian Yi thought he heard wrong. He looked at Wen Xuan stunned for a moment before finally reacting. His eyes slowly brightened up again.

 

He was so happy he wanted to run in circles, however, he did his best to suppress his delight and excitement. Deliberately pretending to be unperturbed, he asked: "Really?"

 

"Really. Randomly gaining a wife, what a scary thought. I can't accept it." Wen Xuan took out that jade slip and placed it on the table. Then he briefly described the conversation he had with Murong Feng before: "Good thing I can still help her find some other extremely pure water type object. As long as we can successfully find one, then everyone would be satisfied."

 

Jian Yi was unable to contain his joy. Instantly he gathered 120% of his vigor and came to study the jade slip as well.

 

Wen Xuan gave him a sideways glance and said to himself, this shidi was really not good at hiding his emotions. At the moment, Jian Yi was so happy that his face also turned slightly red, like the tender color of an apple.

 

Randomly out of nowhere, Wen Xuan said to him: "Some things, actually I know already."

 

Jian Yi froze and then looked at him in confusion.

 

However, Wen Xuan already shifted his gaze, as if he didn't say anything at all.

 

Jian Yi opened his mouth and was just about to ask when someone suddenly knocked on the door. Opening the door to look, one of Murong Feng's maids was standing at the entrance. She greeted them politely: "Xianzi wanted me to bring you a message. She said if there's no important issues, she hopes Cultivator Wen can stay here as much as possible and not leave."

 

Wen Xuan recalled what Murong Feng said before. As long as he was here, she'd feel a little better. He understood what she meant and promptly agreed.

 

The maid gave thanks and left respectfully.

 

"Doesn't this mean you can't even go out?" Jian Yi frowned.

 

"I can't use spiritual energy these days anyways. Resting here is not a bad idea." Wen Xuan said: "It's not a big deal to me and you, but to her, it's her life. If I can help, then I'll do what I can."

 

"Alright. Then let's do as she says." Jian Yi said: "But I also want to stay here. Shixiong, if you have anything you need, I can run the errand for you."

 

"If you want to stay, then stay. It's not like this place won't have a room for you." Wen Xuan said, then suddenly remembered

 

something. He lifted his head and gave an ambiguous smile: "Speaking of which. I have an errand for you right now."

 

"What?"

 

"Where's the kid?"

 

Before they had brought that little ancestor to Anfeng City, but because they wanted to participate in the auction event, they thought carrying a child around was inconvenient. Therefore, they left the child in the inn. Originally, they had thought it'd only be a few hours so they spent some spiritual stones to have someone in the inn look after him, not a big problem. Yet this unexpected thing happened and they ended up staying here. Naturally, they needed to go pick the child up.

 

When Jian Yi returned to the inn, he immediately became infuriated.

 

Clearly they spent a handful of spiritual stones, but the person in the inn was completely unreliable. The child was currently tired and hungry. He even peed his pants. Who knows how long he's been crying.

 

Jian Yi hastily picked the child up. Rushing about all over, he exhausted himself terribly. Finally, he cleaned the child up nicely, and coaxed him to sleep. Then, Jian Yi rolled up his sleeves and went to get even with the person from the inn.

 

After such a commotion, when Jian Yi finally carried the child back to Murong Feng's building, it was already hours later. He was completely wiped out.

 

Wen Xuan quickly took the child into his arms. Jian Yi immediately fell into bed.

 

Good thing Wen Xuan was already very experienced in looking after this kid after all of these days. He had no problem tending to him alone. He even lacked Jian Yi's usual flustered desperate behavior.

 

Saw Jian Yi sleeping sweetly, he didn't want to disturb the other. Therefore, he carried the child out of the room.

 

Coincidentally, Wen Xuan just walked into the hallway when he saw Murong Feng coming down the stairway. He headed over to greet her.

 

Murong Feng felt her body much improved, so she came specifically to give thanks. Immediately, she saw Wen Xuan skillfully holding a child. The expression on her face stiffened at once.

 

"This child is?" She asked.

 

"Me and Jian shidi's." Wen Xuan answered extremely smoothly, not feeling like there was anything wrong at all.

 

46

Chapter 46

 

Hearing Wen Xuan speaking in such a natural manner, Murong remained silent where she stood for at least half an incense. When she finally recovered, the gaze she used to look at Wen Xuan already changed somewhat.

 

The first thing she thought about was that there's a certain spiritual fetus in the cultivation world that's formed from the combination of the cultivations between two people. It can allow them to break away from biological limitations of producing offspring. This was a legend in the cultivation world. In order to form a spiritual fetus, the two people must be in a deep relationship with high cultivations. Not to mention, there were plenty of other miscellaneous steps in between. Both cultivators would even lose a large portion of their cultivation as the price. There's practically no one who'd do this. Therefore, despite journeying in the cultivation world for many years, the legend about the spiritual fetus remained a legend in Murong Feng's eyes.

 

In other words, if this child was really a spiritual fetus, she would have to reevaluate her opinion on Wen Xuan and Jian Yi.

 

Thinking this, she focused her attention on examining this infant carefully. With this examination, she instantly noticed that something was off. The demonic energy on the infant's body, although extremely light, couldn't escape her eyes.

 

Matters relating to demons can be big trouble or trivial, but it can't be easily overlooked.

 

"Cultivator Wen.” Murong Feng put on a proper expression and said seriously: "The origin of this child seems quite fishy. Please don't tell lies."

 

Wen Xuan didn't particularly mind being exposed by her. He only smiled and said: "It's not really a lie. This child's parents are evil-doers who have died. However, the child is innocent. We couldn't bear to leave him alone without support so we brought him with us. To say that he's our child currently is not far from the truth."

 

So that's the case. So it's their adopted child. Murong Feng finally settled from her shock. Her expression alleviated slightly, but a knot still remained in her heart: "But this demonic energy......"

 

Wen Xuan shook his head: "His mother is at least a real live human." Since the conversation already reached this point, he could only explain the child's family history.

 

"A mix blood? Such a history is really quite troublesome.” After Murong Feng finished listening, her brows furrowed. She

 

pondered silently for a while, then started examining the child again.

 

In her mind, this child was just trouble. Originally, she wanted to persuade Wen Xuan to abandon him. But now that she was examining the child again, the child raised his chubby fist and waved it in front of her. His little face was so soft and tender that an area in her heart strangely softened.

 

For some unknown reason, she reached out and squeezed that little tiny fist.

 

The child wasn't even shy with strangers. His little hand opened and grabbed Murong Feng's hand, very soft.

 

"Ai." Murong Feng sighed: "Forget it...... Although this mixblood status is a bit troublesome, it's not completely hopeless."

 

"Are you serious?" This was unexpected good news. Wen Xuan's eyes instantly brightened.

 

"This child is still small. The demonic energy seemed to have been carried over from the mother's womb, very weak. As long as he has no more contact with demonic things in the future, and his meridians are cleansed daily by spiritual energy, within two years, even this little bit of demonic energy will dissipate. By that time, he'll be no different than a normal child." Murong Feng said: "But before that, you should still be a little careful. Don't let him be discovered. Those people obsessed with exterminating demons and eradicating evil definitely wouldn't talk this kind of reason with you."

 

This was the first time wen Xuan heard of such a thing. It was hard not to feel strange: "Demonic energy can be cleaned this easily?"

 

"The days of demons wrecking havoc have passed too long ago. Cultivator Wen probably has never encountered this kind of thing so it's not a surprise you don't know." Murong Feng smiled: "Actually, demons originally came from cultivators."

 

Wen Xuan really didn't know. So he was instantly stunned.

 

He quickly recalled Zhao Feiyu's demonic appearance and shape. So originally, it was a normal human? Wen Xuan couldn't help but feel a wave of aversion.

 

"Therefore, as long as the demonic energy is not much, recovery is possible." Murong Feng continued to say: "From this perspective, you can say, it's a good thing he's a mix blood between a human and a demon. If he was a mix blood between a human and a demonic beast, then it'd be completely hopeless."

 

"Thank you for the information." Wen Xuan nodded, feeling extremely thankful.

 

"It's nothing worth mentioning." Murong Feng said with a smile and got ready to take her hand back. However, the strength that the child used to hold her hand wasn't small. Babbling nonstop, the little face smiled like a blooming flower. After Murong Feng spent much effort rescuing her hand, the child grabbed her sleeve instead.

 

Wen Xuan hastily patted the child on the back of his chubby hand. After struggling for a while, he finally made this brat let go.

 

He gave Murong Feng an apologetic smile and then carried the child back inside his room.

 

However, Murong Feng remained where she stood, staring at her hand, dazing off without realizing.

 

In the following days, Murong Feng voluntarily took over the task of cleansing the child's demonic energy in order to allow Wen Xuan and Jian Yi to focus on their investigation. She's a golden core cultivator anyways. Doing this thing was much easier for her than for others. And plus, the child was willing to be close to her. At first, Wen Xuan worried for a few days. Later on, he pretty much left all of the child's usual activities, such as eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, and sleeping, to Murong Feng.

 

As for Jian Yi. After finally escaping from the little ancestor's torment, he was so happy he wanted to set off fireworks.

 

With this kind of working condition, the two people studied the clues on the jade slip even more vigorously. Wen Xuan recorded them all down, divided them into sections, made a list, and then pulled them out one by one to discuss with Jian Yi.

 

Jian Yi flipped through the list. Who knows what he saw, but it made his expression change subtly: "This......"

 

"What?" Wen Xuan hastily leaned over.

 

Jian Yi shook his head and quickly flipped the page: "Nothing. I probably made a mistake."

 

Unfortunately for him, Wen Xuan was extremely confident in Jian Yi's judgement nowadays. Even if he himself thought he made a mistake, Wen Xuan still took it very seriously. Immediately, he pulled the list out of Jian Yi's hand, flipped to the page just now and studied it earnestly.

 

What's listed on this page were locations where extremely pure water objects could be, but for whatever reasons, they couldn't be investigated fully. They were listed chronologically. The earliest locations were even too complicated for golden core cultivators. Wen Xuan didn't consider them at all and moved to the more recent locations. Because the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company exhausted themselves on this matter, what started appearing were some abandoned locations that even foundation building and yuan gathering cultivators could explore.

 

The main focus of Wen Xuan's investigations was naturally on this portion. Although he was still foundation building, from a certain perspective, he counted as half yuan gathering. Certain places he can still go.

 

Plus, there were many reasons why these locations were hard to explore. Some had strong demonic beasts. Some had terrible environments. Some were hidden behind hard puzzles. There were also places with a mixture of these issues.

 

As Wen Xuan read, his finger moved on the surface of the paper. In the end, it stopped at a certain place.

 

The section that his finger stopped on was a location that he marked before, meaning that when he was organizing everything, he thought this place was rather suspicious and required further investigations. However, there were also several similar marks all

 

over this list. If it weren't for Jian Yi's reaction from before, he definitely wouldn't have cared about this passage so specifically.

 

This was a small town bordering North Ning and West Ming. Since ancient times, West Ming has been the territory of demonic beasts. In areas like these, there's often demonic beasts that pass through the border. This place was no different. Several years ago, an extremely powerful water type demonic beast once barged in here, causing chaos all over and wreaking havoc, causing people to sink into a perilous situation. Luckily, there were two high level cultivators traveling through this area. They paid a huge price and finally managed to exterminate this demonic beast.

 

With the passage of time, the place that the demonic beast wreaked havoc on, now emitted waves of cold air for some unknown reason, turning the entire area within 500 meter radius into a freezer. Ice and snow covered the place without melting all year long.

 

Such a strange occurrence could be related to the remains of the demonic beast which was triggering the cold air. If this guess was correct, that demonic beast must be very extraordinary. Perhaps it was the extremely pure water type object that Murong Feng needed. However, this was only a guess. Under such unknown conditions, it didn't gain the attention of the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company.

 

There were some attempts to explore here before. In addition to the extremely ice cold weather conditions, the low level cultivators from the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company also encountered a maze array and felt strange disruptions in their

 

spiritual energy. After several attempts, it was concluded without doubt that this was a hazardous location.

 

Wen Xuan's finger tapped on the paper. He raised his head to ask: "Jian shidi, what do you think?"

 

Jian Yi's expression was very peculiar. He looked at Wen Xuan, hesitating for a long time. Then he sighed and said with extreme difficulty: "Shixiong, I can't say for sure. You should decide for yourself."

 

"I think we should at least give it a try, but......" Wen Xuan also hesitated, looking at this information repeatedly. He suddenly noticed something again. Instantly, his eyes lit up.: "Wait! Perhaps this place is......"

 

He stared at the location that the demonic beast destroyed, calculated the time when the beast was eliminated, and compared the information slowly with what he remembered. Sure enough, it matched up. He couldn't help but laugh: "So it's like this. This place, this time. Isn't this the demonic beast that shifu and Daoist Master Ye killed? What a coincidence."

 

Discovering this truth, Wen Xuan was exceptionally happy: "Since it's this demonic beast, it must really be extremely powerful. I heard that shifu didn't even escape its claws back then. After suffering heavy frost injuries, he had to recuperate for a long time before recovering."

 

He put away the list, his hesitation swept away in an instant: "We definitely need to take a look at its remains. It's 99% likely to be what we need."

 

As he talked, he glanced at Jian Yi. He discovered that Jian Yi's expression was exceptionally grave and nervous.

 

He thought Jian Yi had some different opinions and patiently waited.

 

But Jian Yi only shook his head: "I only feel like this place is too dangerous. If we must go, we need to make proper preparations."

 

"Of course." Hearing that Jian Yi only had this concern, Wen Xuan nodded his head with a smile.

 

Then, he calculated with his fingers. A month has almost passed, it was only a few days away from the end of the after-affects of the secret technique. Since they decided on a target, Wen Xuan went to inform Murong Feng of their departure.

 

Murong Feng remained sitting in the room at the top of the building. The child was currently placed by her side, curled up inside soft blankets, sleeping extremely sweetly.

 

"If it was convenient for me to travel, I would definitely go together with you guys." Her words carried regret.

 

Wen Xuan heard, and remembered that her fire poison still required him to alleviate. For a second, he felt somewhat distressed: "Is there something I can do to help?"

 

"Actually yes." Murong Feng smiled, looking somewhat craftly: "I didn't really feel comfortable mentioning this myself, but since you offered, I'll say it bluntly."

 

"I'm all ears."

 

"Since we have to separate momentarily," Murong Feng said: "In order for my days to pass a bit more comfortably, I need you to leave something that's part of your body."

 

Hearing these words, Wen Xuan instantly felt cold sweats.

 

"Of course, it wouldn't be for free." Murong Feng crossed both hands in front of her: "You will be very satisfied with the compensation."

 

Wen Xuan wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead: "Wait...... before discussing the compensation, what do I have to leave first?"

 

Murong Feng smiled slightly, clearly looking like she was ready to haggle.

 

Leaving something that's part of his body, those words sounded rather terrifying. However, since the two had a rather harmonious relationship currently, fingers or internal organs and other related things that were too bloody were naturally not considered. If he could leave hair or fingernails or something, that would make things simple. Unfortunately, Murong Feng tried and found those ineffective. In the end, Wen Xuan cut open his wrist and left a small bowl of blood.

 

Pressing down on his wrist, Wen Xuan used magic to heal the injury. He looked at the bright red blood in that bowl with a bitter expression on his face the entire process.

 

Murong Feng used her spiritual energy and lifted the blood out of that bowl and into the air. Then with a flick of her fingers, the

 

blood began spinning and shrinking before their eyes. Mere minutes later, all of the water in the blood evaporated and it condensed into a red colored jade-like crystal, landing on the table.

 

"Success." Murong Feng was extremely happy: "Thank you for your generosity, Cultivator Wen."

 

Wen Xuan reluctantly smiled in response.

 

"What, do you think this trade wasn't worth it?" Murong Feng placed a storage pouch into his hands: "Wait until you see the compensation."

 

This woman shouldn't be a stingy person. This was probably Wen Xuan's only comfort.

 

But he wasn't in the mood to confirm exactly what compensation he received after selling his blood. Quickly saying his goodbyes to Murong Feng, he returned to his room with a gloomy face.

 

When he finally remembered this exchange and opened that storage pouch, it was already the night before departure.

 

When he looked, he was instantly shocked.

 

Wen Xuan couldn't stop himself from taking out everything inside the storage pouch and piling them on the table.

 

This wasn't the first time he saw these things. The last time he saw them was when he met Murong Feng for the first time.

 

Those 27 yuan gathering items!

 

All were present, not one missing. Murong Feng gave all of them to Wen Xuan as compensation. Because Murong Feng had asked him in detail about the items he needed, even the amount of each item was exact this time.

 

In other words, as long as his cultivation was ready, he can use the items before him and directly enter yuan gathering.

 

Receiving such a huge and unexpected gift before their departure, this was really a delight. Wen Xuan was so excited that his hands shook. This journey wasn't safe after all. If he could become yuan gathering at this time, the difference would be extreme.

 

Thinking this, Wen Xuan naturally had to seize the moment. Immediately, he closed his eyes and quickly entered a cultivation state. In this state, he needed to integrate everything he's learned so far and immerse himself within all of the cultivation in his body, in hopes of advancing.

 

47

Chapter 47

 

Wen Xuan has reached the boundaries of yuan gathering once before. Even if he fell back down later, this experience was still imprinted in his body and soul. As for the setback of his cultivation, when he fell into foundation building, he kept most of his cultivation. At this time, his cultivation was enough. It was the right moment to attempt advancing into yuan gathering again. Wen Xuan thought this wouldn't be too difficult.

 

However, things weren't actually as easy as Wen Xuan had thought.

 

He remained in his cultivation state for several hours. When he opened his eyes again, he was full of sweat, however, there was no change in his cultivation level.

 

Wen Xuan thought this was because his mental state wasn't calm enough. Therefore, he stood up, walked around for a while, then

 

burned some concentration incense. Adjusting his breathing, he entered the cultivation state again.

 

Nevertheless, he remained unsuccessful.

 

When he opened his eyes again, it was already in the middle of the night. Wen Xuan wiped his face clean and exhaled deeply. He lifted his head to look at the full moon outside the window.

 

He didn't know how to describe his frame of mind right now. If the issue was with his mental state, then his current state was definitely worse than before his first attempt.

 

But after careful examination, Wen Xuan found that this was not the case. Then what could it be? No matter how Wen Xuan pondered, he couldn't figure it out. In the cultivation process, this kind of obscure issue was the most difficult. Even hard work wasn't enough to find the answer.

 

When he first advanced from foundation building into yuan gathering, although he was stuck for 30 whole years, it was only because he didn't find the cultivation method he needed. After he obtained the cultivation method from the Sect Leader, he was well prepared and practically succeeded overnight. Compared to the smooth process back then, the trouble he was having right now seemed quite unreasonable.

 

Oh right. Cultivation method.

 

Wen Xuan suddenly realized, as if struck by a sudden inspiration.

 

The cultivation method that he had back then was given by the Sect Leader. It had many defects. Meanwhile, the cultivation

 

method he was using currently was given to him by his shifu, Chu Lian. The quality was just not the same. Since the cultivation method was different, using the previous experience to compare was rather pointless.

 

Nevertheless, his cultivation was currently ready, and the items were prepared. What exactly was he missing?

 

Wen Xuan took out the jade slip with his cultivation method and read it carefully, word by word, comparing it to his process just now. However, he didn't discover any errors. This cultivation method has the same origin as the one he practiced in qi refining after all, so it wasn't foreign to him.

 

Furrowing his brows, he calmed his thoughts again and tried one more time. This time, he placed his thoughts completely on the new cultivation method, carefully learning, carefully digesting the content, and carefully experiencing every little change of the spiritual energy in his body. Finally, he reached a result.

 

The only result he obtained was-- he was certain that he couldn't find any problems with his current preparation and process. Everything should have been perfect. Yet at the last juncture where he needed to merge with his spiritual energy, he couldn't. As if mysteriously, he was blocked by something.

 

Wen Xuan sighed.

 

Looks like what he needed was one word 'Enlightenment'.

 

Since youth, Wen Xuan has been praised for being exceptionally perceptive. Finally, it was his turn to fall short here as well.

 

'Enlightenment' can be considered the most mysterious and profound part of cultivation. It was also the hardest to circumvent. How many people become jammed on this one word. Where this word, generally speaking, indicated the single fortunate instance where the mind was clear and all thoughts were luminous.

 

It can't be found. One can only pray.

 

After stiving so hard only to obtain this kind of conclusion, it was hard for Wen Xuan not to feel somewhat depressed.

 

At this time, the sky was already bright. Jian Yi came over and saw him completely lacking in spirit, and had quite the scare. After hearing his explanation, Jian Yi couldn't help but laugh and say: "I really got to congratulate you, Shixiong."

 

Wen Xuan was stunned briefly. When he recovered, he also laughed.

 

That's right. Although he's been stopped here, looking at it from another perspective, there's only a single issue blocking him right now. When he first left the Water Cloud sect with Jian Yi, did he even expect the journey to go this smoothly?

 

"It's all thanks to Murong-xianzi's generosity." Wen Xuan said: "Since it's like this, we really have to complete this task well."

 

Mentioning proper business, Jian Yi also became serious.

 

"Hopefully we won't return empty handed this time." Wen Xuan tidied up the last of the things he was bringing and led Jian Yi outside.

 

When they walked outside, they discovered there was someone currently waiting for them at the door. After asking, they found out that this person was sent by Murong Feng.

 

This person's surname was Sun. He was one of the cultivators sent to explore by Thousand Sunshine Trading Company three years ago. Although Murong Feng couldn't travel with them, she still wasn't at ease, and sent this person over to guide the two.

 

This Cultivator Sun was yuan gathering three years ago. Currently, he was still yuan gathering. The two people's safety undoubtedly gained another safeguard.

 

Wen Xuan understood the reason internally and asked the maid beside him to pass along a word of thanks.

 

The two person journey abruptly changed into a three person journey. However, that Cultivator Sun didn't like interacting much with the two of them. He just walked with his head raised and looking forward the entire time. Because his cultivation was one level higher, this person viewed himself as above them. He emitted a 'you two are trash so just follow behind me quietly' kind of aura all over.

 

"Just look at him, thinking he's all great and everything." Jian Yi naturally disdained this type of person and couldn't help but grumble quietly.

 

Meanwhile, Wen Xuan didn't really care. He was only worried about whether or not Jian Yi and this person would start a dispute.

 

However, in the end, Jian Yi only grumbled a little. In reality, he didn't bother with that person at all and spent his time thinking about something else. He was also trying his hardest to hide his preoccupied state, but he really lacked that talent. Wen Xuan didn't even know what to say while watching him.

 

Like this, the three people traveled for about half a month and finally reached that mountain area that separated North Ning and West Ming. The little town that they were searching for that bordered the two continents was at the bottom of this mountain range.

 

Without getting close, they already saw the area of blue and white amongst this green mountain range. It was really a rather strange sight.

 

"Don't say I didn't warn you guys." That Cultivator Sun gave them a sideways glance: "This place isn't some place mere foundation building cultivators like you guys can barge in randomly. It's better to head back before it's too late. Don't die and not even know what killed you."

 

Wen Xuan and Jian Yi naturally didn't listen to him. In one ear and out the other, they walked directly past him.

 

Cultivator Sun was pissed, but he can only follow them.

 

This person still counted as a rather adequate guide. Not long after, he led them into that small town. The first thing that they saw were the scattered, little grass houses outside of the town. Several peasants were taking naps under the big tree outside of their houses. After they walked past these scattered little houses, the building before their eyes became numerous. There was even

 

a stone road constructed by the town's people. Some kids were currently playing by the streetside.

 

Wen Xuan couldn't help but feel surprised. He imagined how this town would look many times, but he never thought it'd be so peaceful. It didn't seem any different from other mortal residences. It didn't look like it was once destroyed by a demonic beast at all.

 

That's right. The demonic beast's destruction, when carefully calculated, was something that happened over 50 years ago.

 

The three people looked extremely noticeable in this kind of little town. The mortals laying under the tree for shade kept examining them frequently.

 

Very quickly, someone recognized that Cultivator Sun and explained to his companions: "Oh, it's that group of people again."

 

They didn't know that Cultivators had developed senses and started whispering and discussing amongst themselves, unaware that their words were heard clearly by the three people.

 

The middle aged person who recognized Cultivator Sun extended a finger and pointed to the snow white mountain range: "They came for that."

 

"So strange." Another person said: "That kind of place where even birds won't shit there, there's actually people who'd come seeking it specifically?"

 

"There's plenty of bizarre things outside. Who knows what they're for?" That middle aged man laughed: "It's not bad anyways. They're pretty generous."

 

Hearing this, Wen Xuan walked towards those people.

 

He greeted them courteously and said: "I have something to ask for you guys."

 

That middle aged man gave the others a few eye gestures, indicating 'see, what did I say, then said slowly: "If you want to ask about that mountain, I don't really know much. Ever since my youth, that mountain has been somewhat strange. No matter what, it snows all year round. That's why it looks the way it is right now. Even farm crops can't survive there. Very few people in town travel there." He answered very smoothly. Clearly this wasn't the first time he answered this question.

 

Done speaking, he then added: "Occasionally someone tries to approach there, but they can't even enter the mountain. That mountain and what's inside it......" He dragged his tone and made it sound rather mysterious: "isn't clean."

 

Saying this, he closed his mouth, revealing a faint enigmatic smile.

 

This was asking for a price. Wen Xuan understood internally.

 

But he didn't have a chance to pull out anything yet when Cultivator Sun walked over with an impatient face: "What clean and not clean. Speaking honestly, that place only has a female ghost."

 

"Female ghost?" Wen Xuan felt it was a bit strange.

 

"Don't know where she came from, but her cultivation isn't high. If it was a normal place, she'd only be able to scare away some mortals." Cultivator Sun said: "However, since she's here, it's a bit troublesome. That place isn't easy to travel through already. That female ghost knows illusion magic on top of it. Who knows where she'd lead us."

 

The middle aged man got interrupted and knew it was hard for him to fish up some money this time, so he indignantly walked off.

 

However, Wen Xuan very happily cupped his hands: "Cultivator Sun, this journey definitely can't be without you. Please continue to guide us."

 

Cultivator Sun only felt like he picked up a stone and dropped it on his own foot. His face instantly turned green. But since he was sent here by Murong Fen, he can't ignore her orders. After a moment, he cursed silently and walked down a small path to the east side of the little town.

 

Wen Xuan hastily followed him, not forgetting to turn around to call to Jian Yi.

 

"Since you guys want me to lead the way, then I'll lead the way for your guys." Cultivator Sun grumbled and complained ahead of them: "Even if I lead the way, with you two's skills, there's no way you'd be able to walk into that place anyways. By that time, you'd still have to return obediently anyways. Hmmph. Waste of energy."

 

Wen Xuan had a good temperament so he didn't argue with him. He only asked sincerely: "What do you mean by that?"

 

Cultivator Sun scoffed coldly: "You'll know when you get there."

 

This small road extended all the way to the portion of the mountain that was covered by ice and snow. Because people have not walked on it for many years, about midway, the little path started to become hard to discern.

 

The three people gathered their energy and followed this little path upwards. Moments later, the surrounding temperature decreased, making them feel the winter cold. They used their spiritual energy to surround themselves and block this cold air outside.

 

After a while later, the three people completely entered this completely frozen mountain range. The view was a field of white in all directions. Nothing living could be found. In the silence, they could only hear the sound of snow falling.

 

Wen Xuan puffed out a breath of cold air. The cold air here was extremely ferocious. Even with spiritual energy for protection, it still permeated into their bodies little by little, sinking into their bones, a rather uncomfortable feeling.

 

Cultivator Sun turned around and gave them a look. His expression carried a hint of smugness, as if he felt like they're about to decide to turn back.

 

Wen Xuan looked over with a smile and said to himself aren't you underestimating us too much?'. Although the cold air was bone-chilling, it wasn't enough to stop their travels.

 

"Do you guys think it'd be this simple?" That Cultivator Sun added.

 

Wen Xuan was surprised.

 

Cultivator Sun already turned to look ahead. His voice floated over with the wind and snow: "Three years ago, three yuan gathering cultivators along with five foundation building cultivators came here. In the end, we left empty handed without even being able to prove our exploration.. Do you think we were all useless?"

 

Wen Xuan fell silent.

 

With that kind of experience, no wonder this person would look at them with displeasure all this time. These words were said with anger and indignance. The people of the Thousand Sunshine Trading Company indeed can't be counted as useless. Wen Xuan and Jian Yi wanted to challenge something that these people couldn't do before. It really did seem like they were too arrogant of their own abilities.

 

But Wen Xuan couldn't give up just because of this. No matter how difficult the problem was, it's still worth trying first. What if they could find the way?

 

With this kind of mentality, Wen Xuan became vigilant and gathered 120% of his energy to deal with anything that could possibly happen.

 

However, nothing actually happened. Other than the bone-chilling cold air, there was nothing else. The female ghost of legends

 

didn't even show up. What's more strange was that the further they traveled, the bone-chilling cold air lessened.

 

"Shixiong." Jian Yi's voice came from behind, sounding a bit disjointed in the wind and snow.

 

Wen Xuan was currently puzzling away. When he heard this voice, he quickly turned around.

 

The snowflakes were huge and covered Jian Yi's figure so he looked somewhat fuzzy. When Jian Yi walked a bit closer, Wen Xuan could see his cheeks were slightly purple from the freezing cold. He was generally well, but his expression seemed conflicted, clearly still bothered by those heavy thoughts preoccupying him.

 

"Shixiong, actually......"

 

Finally planning to talk? Wen Xuan quickly gathered his attention.

 

"I don't know if I should tell you." Jian Yi grinded his teeth harshly: "Actually this place, this......"

 

He was just about to get to the point, but the words stopped as soon as they started. Just like he was suddenly grabbed by the throat by something. Jian Yi's face turned white. He tried to open his mouth again and again, but in the end, he wasn't able to say anything. Only his face turned paler.

 

After a moment, he lowered his head: "Sorry. Looks like I can't talk about this."

 

"You......" Wen Xuan didn't know if he should laugh or cry.

 

However, looking at Jian Yi's exceptionally sulky expression, Wen Xuan didn't feel like he should demand answers. Instead, he can only shake his head and continue to walk forward.

 

Just at this time, Cultivator Sun abruptly stopped walking ahead of them. He stood there, looking left and right. Then he turned back to look at the two with an odd expression.

 

This expression had a bit of the smugness before like he was confident these two people would turn back. But even more so, it had a sense of exasperation as well a certain kind of indignance.

 

Wen Xuan stepped forth: "What's the matter?"

 

Cultivator Sun pointed at a rock to the side. This rock was covered by ice and snow all year long so it has a shell of ice encasing it. On the ice shell, there was an X mark drawn by someone.

 

"I left this mark." He said.

 

Before the two people reacted, he added: "About a hour ago when we came up here."

 

Wen Xuan froze. His first response was 'that's impossible, because they've been walking completely straight this entire time. They weren't mortals so they wouldn't easily get their directions confused. There's no reason for them to see this rock again.

 

He stared at this strange view for a while, then abruptly turned around and looked behind him.

 

The view here was also unfamiliar, but when they came, they came from below the mountain. When looking at the same road from two different directions, even at the same location, it'd still look somewhat different. At this time, when he looked behind him and searched for what he saw an hour ago in his memories, after making careful comparisons, he couldn't help but discover-- what he saw behind him was the road that he came up from.

 

Wen Xuan felt cold sweats and goosebumps all over: "We're back."

 

"That's right." Cultivator Sun nodded, revealing that odd expression again: "We're back."

 

No reason in particular, but they were back.

 

So it's like this. Wen Xuan finally realized what was the hindrance that caused that group of people to return empty handed all those years ago. But he didn't have any ideas about how to get over this hindrance and could only take in a cold breath.

 

"What do you want to do?" Cultivator Sun asked: "Head back?"

 

"No. Let's try again." Wen Xuan bit his lips: "Perhaps it's just a coincidence, or maybe we really did take a wrong path."

 

Cultivator Sun shrugged: "Whatever."

 

No matter how many times they try, it'd be the same result anyways. He already tried plenty of times three years ago.

 

This time, Wen Xuan also left his mark on that rock. Then, the three people turned around and headed into the mountain again.

 

They were even more focused than before, afraid of even a slight bit of distraction.

 

Despite being extremely careful, an hour later, that rock appeared before their eyes again. The mark that Wen Xuan left remained there as well, side by side with the mark that Cultivator Sun left before.

 

"See." Cultivator Sun turned his head, tone full of exasperation.

 

Jian Yi, however, let out a breath of relief. Although it was regretful that they failed this task. However, in comparison, this result wasn't that bad. He lifted his head in the wind and snow and said while rubbing his face: "Shixiong, we should just head back."

 

No one replied.

 

Jian Yi froze and then looked around in all directions. The wind and snow was falling heavily. His vision was slightly blurry. Jian Yi looked earnestly for quite awhile but only saw Cultivator Sun who was frozen where he stood.

 

"Where's shixiong?"

 

48

Chapter 48

 

"Shixiong?" Jian Yi's voice already started shaking: "Shixiong, where are you?"

 

He yelled repeatedly several times, continuously. However, no one answered. There was only an echo in this spacious and empty wind and snow. Jian Yi practically went crazy from this echo. His voice gradually became hoarse before finally falling silent. Grinding his teeth viciously, he recklessly charged into the wind and snow.

 

However, that Cultivator Sun finally recovered and hastily stopped him: "Calm down! We can't be separated as well!"

 

"Get lost!" Jian Yi was only engrossed in cursing as he struggled desperately, eyes red. He looked at the hand grabbing his elbow, itching to just bite down. However, the other man was a yuan gathering cultivator for many years. At the moment, he was determined to stop Jian Yi, so Jian Yi couldn't break free in his panic at all.

 

At this moment, Cultivator Sun was also sweating profusely. Murong Feng sent him over. Her clear order was that Wen Xuan's safety must come before everything else. Yet now Wen Xuan just disappeared out of nowhere. If something happened, he definitely would have to face the consequences.

 

Back to the main issue, how did Wen Xuan suddenly disappear? This was completely unreasonable. Three years ago, he walked through this place with a group of people countless times and have never encountered anything like this.

 

"Maybe he only lagged behind." Cultivator Sun comforted, attempting to keep Jian Yi here.

 

These words practically made Jian Yi snort in disdain, clearly not believing it at all. If they were only separated for a short while, this could be a possibility. But he waited here for this long already, yet there's no signs of Wen Xuan at all. Nevertheless, at the very least, he was a lot calmer than before. His hysteria had dissipated mostly, only his eyes remained red around the edges: "I'm going to find him. I must find him."

 

"Don't panic. The snow was huge just now. Maybe he only accidentally got lost." Cultivator Sun said: "You head down the mountain first. I'll go search for him."

 

Saying this kind of completely useless comfort repeatedly was proof that Cultivator Sun was also panicking as well. When he thought about the punishment that he'll be receiving from Murong Feng, he only felt his vision turn dark. There was no way he could maintain his previous high and mighty attitude at the moment. Right now he only wanted to persuade Jian Yi to head

 

back. If something also happened to Jian Yi, he might as well end himself.

 

"He definitely didn't get lost." Jian Yi said: "Is it that female ghost?"

 

To be honest, if it were really that female ghost, Jian Yi would feel much better. Although he wasn't 100% sure, he felt that the female ghost at least wouldn't harm Wen Xuan.

 

"That female ghost isn't this powerful." Cultivator Sun said instead: "Don't think about it anymore. Your cultivation doesn't even compare to your shixiong's. If something really happened to him, what can you do? It's best if you go back and let me do the searching."

 

As he said this, he dragged Jian Yi down the mountain.

 

However this time, taking advantage of Cultivator Sun's distraction, Jian Yi actually really did bite down on his hand.

 

Cultivator Sun was in such pain that his entire face turned green. Jian Yi broke free immediately and, like a wisp of smoke, ran into the wind and snow and disappeared without a trace. Cultivator Sun was terrified and hastily followed to chase him.

 

As Jian Yi ran, he pulled out his round jade tool.

 

He transmigrated into this world for this long already. This wasn't the first time he found himself in helpless situations. Nevertheless, this was the first time he detested himself for being so helpless. He couldn't tolerate any mishap with Wen Xuan. Wen Xuan was more important than his own life.

 

As he ran wildly in the wind and snow, he used all of his strength to search. Good thing, in this desperate moment, he was omnipotent, as long as he was willing to pay the price.

 

Mysteriously and inexplicably, the entire world was answering his question.

 

But these answers only made him feel stunned. He couldn't help but slow down to a stop. After a long time, he finally recovered and laughed at himself.

 

He raised his head and looked ahead. Then, he looked all around. Although that Cultivator Sun had followed him closely, he also got lost in the wind and snow. Right now, there was only Jian Yi here.

 

However, Jian Yi wasn't nervous at all and only followed the road, walking silently.

 

That Cultivator Sun, however, had already lost his head in panic, staggering along the road searching for the two of them. Nevertheless, he couldn't even find a strand of hair. He only wanted to bash his head against a wall. As he cried tearlessly, that piece of rock appeared before his eyes again. He abruptly saw someone leaning against the side of the rock.

 

It was Jian Yi.

 

Jian Yi had both hands placed on the ice cold ground, expression in agony, as he silently endured the price of peeking into the Will of the Heaven.

 

After a long while, he finally recovered. When he turned his head, he saw Cultivator Sun walking over and sighed: "Sure enough. No matter where we walk, we'll always end up here."

 

Because of his exceptionally calm response, for a second, Cultivator Sun thought he already found Wen Xuan. However, looking left and right, he only saw Jian Yi in the end.

 

"We can't find him." Jian Yi said: "The reason why we'd return here is because a certain power is continuously pushing us out. Right now, we can't contend against this power. And the reason why shixiong didn't return here is because... only he can enter."

 

Speaking to this point, Jian Yi recalled his lack of control before and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

 

He should have remembered. What kind of place was this? This place belonged to Wen Xuan. Over here, the person with the least worry was Wen Xuan.

 

Meanwhile, at this moment, Wen Xuan has already walked quickly through the wind and snow by himself for a long time. He realized early on that he lost touch with the other two people and also attempted to find his way back. However, he was unsuccessful. In the end, he could only continue onward himself.

 

Then he discovered, this time was not the same as last time. He didn't feel the cold air gradually lessen. He didn't unwittingly head backwards midway. The cold air in the wind and snow has been gradually growing in strength. This time he was really advancing deeper into the mountain.

 

Wen Xuan didn't know if he should be happy or worried by this development. He didn't know how he managed to separate from the other two, but the success he was experiencing right now didn't seem normal. He became 120% more vigilant.

 

As he walked further and further, the originally insignificant cold air finally became strong enough that even he couldn't withstand it. He even activated his flying sword and let it fly around him continuously in order to decrease the cold air slightly.

 

However the strength of this cold air seemed limitless. After a while, even the divine sword made a groan, as if in extreme agony.

 

Wen Xuan rubbed his pretty much numbed arms, and endured with clenched teeth. His progress, however, became slower and slower. Every step caused him an enormous amount of strength.

 

Maybe it's time to head back. Finally, these words unconsciously started appearing inside his heart.

 

But if he returned at this time, perhaps he'd once again encounter the issue before where no matter where he walked, he'd end up walking back. He didn't know if he could obtain this opportunity again. That's right. This was a one time opportunity. He must take advantage of it. However, while it was an opportunity, it was also a test.

 

Thinking this, Wen Xuan clenched his jaw and took another step forward.

 

However, after taking this step, the cold air that seeped into his body seemed to have reached a breaking point. It actually started

 

to gather into a cold stream internally. In an instant, it flowed through all of his limbs and bones, so cold that even his heart was freezing.

 

Under this kind of circumstance, normally it wasn't far from death.

 

Yet Wen Xuan still remained stubborn, refusing to give up. However, his head was so cold he couldn't control himself. He was already seeing his life flash before his eyes and the regrets for things that he hasn't accomplished yet. It should be known that just this morning, he was still feeling happy about being one step away from yuan gathering.

 

Yuan gathering...... yuan gathering!

 

As if a beam of light illuminated into his head, Wen Xuan abruptly remembered the cultivation method he was currently studying, recalling the section about how to break through to yuan gathering, recalling the feel of spiritual energy traveling through his body. In that moment, he pretty much subconsciously controlled the spiritual energy in his body and let it circulate to that schematic, just like how he attempted previously.

 

This kind of feeling was that single fortunate instant he needed. This kind of state was called 'enlightenment.'

 

It's almost as if his spiritual energy was attempting to circulate in a yuan gathering state. At the same time, the cold stream within his body was also pulled along and followed the spiritual energy's path. Slowly, the spiritual energy in Wen Xuan's body encased the cold stream and began to dissolve it.

 

In the moment between life and death, Wen Xuan was saved. So this danger could be resolved in this kind of fashion. What a hard to imagine thing.

 

Wen Xuan just let out a breath of relief when he encountered an unexpected shock. A thread of spiritual energy was buried in that cold stream. As the cold stream dissolved, he discovered that this spiritual energy didn't belong to himself. Instead, it was mixed in the outside cold air.

 

What made Wen Xuan's scalp turn numb was the fact that he was extremely familiar with this thread of spiritual energy. It belonged to his shifu, Chu Lian.

 

For a second, a great deal of questions rose like waves in his heart. But in the next second, these questions quieted one by one.

 

I see. Wen Xuan sighed quietly. So it's like this. The person that blocked everyone from coming here was none other than Chu Lian. Perhaps he did it so that other people couldn't find the demonic beast's remains. Or maybe it's for some other reason. In any case, Chu Lian was already Nascent Soul 50 years ago. If he wanted to do this kind of thing, it'd be an easy task for him.

 

Discovering the method to dissolve the cold stream in his body, Wen Xuan moved much faster than before. After exploring deeper, he discovered that something didn't seem right.

 

Perhaps it's because he was getting close to the center, the flow of cold air in the surroundings became much more apparent. There were traces of it in the air as if they were spiritual energy. With this trajectory, Wen Xuan can somewhat see the original

 

cause of this phenomenon. It should be a magic array. However, Chu Lian shouldn't have been able to create such a delicate and complicated magic array.

 

Meanwhile, as that cold stream dissolved further, Wen Xuan discovered another spiritual energy that was hidden even deeper within. This belonged to someone different than Chu Lian. A person that felt much warmer than Chu Lian.

 

Wen Xuan can roughly guess that person's name, Ye ShengGe.

 

Looks like Ye ShengGe set up everything while Chu Lian helped insert spiritual energy into it.

 

At this time, the cold stream was completely dissolved by Wen Xuan. As long as he continued advancing, he might be able to find the source of this array. And perhaps his target, the remains of the demonic beast, was right there at the center as well.

 

Then he experienced an enlightenment.

 

The paths that the cold stream flowed through deeply affected his mental state and seemed to completely complement the cultivation method he's been studying. He studied these paths in an intoxicated trance and noticed that they reflected what he has learned before. In an instant, he learned quite a bit. Even that hard to describe blockage he felt before, which prevented him from becoming yuan gathering, seemed to have been trampled thoroughly by him somewhere along the way without even realizing.

 

The array that Ye Sheng Ge placed down. Why would it be so similar to the cultivation method he had learned?

 

Inexplicably, Wen Xuan seemed to have realized something.

 

49

Chapter 49

 

Wen Xuan held back the impulse to enter yuan gathering instantly and continued to walk forward.

 

After traveling some unknown amount of time, the devastating cold wind in the surrounding abruptly quieted as if he stepped through a barrier. Outside of this barrier, huge snow was still falling continuously. Yet inside the barrier, it was so quiet that not even the slightest wind could be found.

 

Wen Xuan examined the scenery inside the barrier. At the edge of the barrier, there was still white snow. Then, the ice and snow gradually melted, revealing blackish-brown earth as well as the lines that were carved into it.

 

These lines were carved by a sword, smooth and powerful. It extended in all directions. Interweaving together, it covered the whole area and formulated into a magic array. Wen Xuan wasn't too knowledgeable about magic arrays so he couldn't comprehend

 

the details. Nevertheless, the complexity and intricacies within was enough to make him exclaim in awe.

 

Sure enough, this kind of magic array wasn't something that Chu Lian could construct. It was definitely more of Ye ShengGe's style.

 

In many aspects, that Daoist Master Ye, who had unfortunately fallen before Wen Xuan could remember anything, was an absolute, bonafide genius.

 

Immediately afterwards, Wen Xuan saw a cave appear before his eyes. The array tightly surrounded the entrance of this cave. Many lines even extended into the cave itself, making this cave the center of everything.

 

Wen Xuan stood cautiously outside of the cave for a moment. Making sure that there was no living creature inside the cave, he carefully walked in.

 

As soon as he stepped in, he discovered that although there was no wind inside the cave, it was exceptionally cold, as if all of the cold air from the ice mountain were gathered in here. No. Wen Xuan very quickly realized. It's not 'as if.' It was the truth.

 

The lines of the magic array circulated inside the cave, absorbing the cold air in the cave into the array. All of the cold air on the mountain actually came from this place.

 

Wen Xuan unconsciously increased his pace and walked deeper into the cavern.

 

The lines of the array gradually merged before his eyes, circling the ground in the deepest area of the cave. Something unknown

 

was buried in the ground. As soon as he got close, Wen Xuan felt the cold air besieging his face, so cold it felt like it could freeze his soul.

 

What's surprising was that to the side of this area, there was a stone table placed there. On top of it had some scattered pieces of paper. There was also a stone stool to the side.

 

When Wen Xuan walked towards this stone table, he immediately saw the words curved on the surface. This writing style was somewhat familiar. Thinking carefully, Wen Xuan recognized that it came from the jade slip that contained the writing of his current cultivation method. That writing style was exactly the same as the ones on the table.

 

It was written clearly on this table how, after Ye ShengGe and Chu Lian executed this heavenly demonic beast, they discovered it left behind something they couldn't deal with. Therefore, they could only seal it here. Then Ye ShengGe constructed a magic array here. One was to decrease the danger of this thing. TWO was to prevent people from accidentally entering this place. After these words, Ye ShengGe specifically instructed, if anyone were to accidentally enter this place, please leave quickly. This thing was extremely powerful. If anyone touched it, even if they didn't die, they'd be gravely injured.

 

Reading all of this, Wen Xuan then looked at the paper scattered on the table.

 

Although cultivators used jade slip to record messages, they occasionally used paper and brush as well. In comparison, jade slips were used to record messages that were meant to be saved

 

for a long time. Whereas things written on paper and books were more temporary, for example, like drafts and sketches.

 

What was left on this table before Wen Xuan's eyes was, coincidentally, a draft.

 

Wen Xuan only gave it a glance when he received an extreme shock.

 

This was the draft of a cultivation method. And this cultivation method was exactly the one that Wen Xuan was studying. According to what he gathered prior, Wen Xuan had already guessed that this cultivation method was connected closely with Ye ShengGe. Now he had even more proof that it was written into the jade slip by Ye ShengGe. However, Wen Xuan never imagined that this cultivation method was actually created by Ye Sheng Ge.

 

Back then, Ye Sheng Ge was only Nascent Soul. Yet he actually had the skills to create a cultivation method that advanced all the way to Nascent Soul?

 

Not to mention, it was a cultivation method that even top quality water roots can use. Although Ye Sheng Ge had an outstanding water root, it wasn't a top quality water root. So what made him want to create this cultivation method?

 

Wen Xuan couldn't figure it out at all and can only look at the draft all over again in amazement.

 

When he looked at it again, he finally realized it wasn't only Ye Sheng Ge's hard work. Although Ye ShengGe created the draft, the draft itself was extremely rough, with mistakes all over. There was a huge disparity between this draft and the completed work

 

in Wen Xuan's jade slip. Only the basic idea was here. Ye Sheng Ge naturally discovered these issues as well. In one of the papers, he wrote that once the sealing array was finished, he planned to return to ask his shifu.

 

Ye ShengGe came from The Little Valley. In the cultivation world, The Little Valley has always been a mysterious place. Ye ShengGe's shifu was an even bigger enigma in this mystery. Currently, no one knew his name.

 

Understanding the origin of his cultivation method, Wen Xuan tidied up these drafts and placed them back where he found them.

 

Then... The most shocking moment was about to occur.

 

Wen Xuan turned his gaze onto the area that was encircled by the magic array and slowly walked over there. When he finally stepped into this area, he couldn't help but feel a wave of excitement that took him a while to calm. The remains of that heavenly demonic beast were buried right below him. Whether or not this was the extremely pure water object that Murong Feng needed, whether or not the effort of this journey was worth it, the answer was imminent.

 

However, according to what Ye Sheng Ge said, this thing was extremely dangerous. Wen Xuan unconsciously hesitated slightly.

 

Was he really going to dig out something that was buried with all that effort? What if after he dug it out, he couldn't control it? It wasn't a big deal if he got injured, but what if the cold air escaped and injured the mortals at the bottom of the mountain.

 

Not to mention, he didn't know where Jian Yi was right now. If he was still in the mountain, he could also be injured by this thing.

 

Despite having all these concerns, Wen Xuan still didn't give up in the end. This was because he felt confident in his heart. The method that he discovered before to dissolve the cold air remained extremely useful at the center of this phenomenon. No matter how ferocious the cold air that permeated his body was, as long as he circulated his spiritual energy using that method, he was able to dissolve the cold air.

 

When he entered this cave, he also discovered that as the cold air increased in strength here, after he dissolved it, he was able to absorb a certain kind of strength from it. This dissolving method can be used to energize his own body.

 

Wen Xuan remained where he stood, silent for a moment. Then he abruptly mobilized all of the spiritual energy in his body and increased the circulation speed internally. Originally, the cold air in the cave spontaneously seeped into his body. After he activated his spiritual energy, it was all drawn into his body forcefully. This cold stream was very formidable. After it was rolled up by Wen Xuan's spiritual energy, it was like the river entering the ocean. Within moments, it completely dissolved, making Wen Xuan feel much warmer.

 

Wen Xuan didn't know why this was happening. He could only guess boldly that this was related to his cultivation method. Perhaps after Ye Sheng Ge returned to The Little Valley and consulted his shifu, he found the method to control that thing.

 

However, this wasn't a completely surefire thought. Should he still give it a try?

 

Moments later, Wen Xuan smiled and asked himself: If he didn't try, was he going to return just like this? Finally arriving here after all that trouble, he knew it was impossible for him to return just like this. His conflict at the moment was him overthinking.

 

Thinking this through, Wen Xuan took in a deep breath and finally used magic to dig open the ground before him.

 

This wasn't an easy task. The ground has been frozen for 50 years. It was a lot more resilient than he imagined. Grinding his teeth, Wen Xuan increased the strength of his magic and directed his spiritual energy into the ground little by little. This entire process was maintained for about an hour. Sweat slowly poured from Wen Xuan's forehead.

 

Finally, he felt the thing in the ground.

 

The thing felt like a solid crystal formed from the cold air. Yet, when Wen Xuan's spiritual energy touched it, it also felt like it received an enormous shock. Countless waves of cold air began exploding outward, coiling around Wen Xuan's spiritual energy and traveling upwards.

 

Before Wen Xuan could respond, that frozen ground, which couldn't stand the attack of these cold air currents, split into pieces with a loud rumble.

 

The thing suddenly appeared before Wen Xuan's eyes.

 

It was...... a horn?

 

That's right. It was a horn, A sparkling translucent beast horn that looked almost like it was carved out of century old ice. The moment when it was unveiled, an enormous wave of cold air rushed out of this heavenly demon beast's horn and attacked Wen Xuan forcefully. Immediately clenching his jaw, Wen Xuan circulated his spiritual energy frantically and wrapped it around this cold air tightly, dissolving it with all of his might.

 

The violent wave of cold air dissolved into a violent wave of energy. Then it was guided by Wen Xuan into his own spiritual energy, which then went on to dissolve even more cold air.

 

Moments later, not only was Wen Xuan not hurt by the cold air, he even felt a bit unable to handle all the energy he absorbed. He desperately transformed this energy into his own spiritual energy, but very quickly it exceeded his limit, like a person who was overstuffing himself with food.

 

Yet he couldn't stop at a time like this. If he stopped, this cold air would spread outside. He didn't know what would result from that.

 

But if he kept going, sooner or latter, he would explode from all the excess energy.

 

In this current situation, there was only one path for survival.

 

Wen Xuan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and firmly took that step.

 

Yuan gathering.

 

His spiritual energy was already circulating in the pattern of the yuan gathering stage anyways. Now that he had made his decision, his spiritual energy promptly intertwined together and rushed towards that threshold. No one has ever gathered so much spiritual energy before entering the yuan gathering stage. And no one has ever conducted such a long warm up duration before entering the yuan gathering stage. Even that unknown obstruction that was blocking the way had already disappeared when Wen Xuan reached enlightenment a while ago.

 

His spiritual energy was like the water of a river pouring out of a broken dam, crashing into each other, converging together to become even stronger.

 

This was a very bizarre situation. Wen Xuan looked at his own body, like looking at numerous intercrossing river channels. Very quickly, the spiritual rivers were no longer satisfied with the already enlarged pathways and started to batter into other obstructed areas, attempting to expand their territories.

 

At this time, Wen Xuan finally realized what a huge difference there was between the cultivation method he learned before and the one he has right now.

 

appear Tere,

 

When he entered yuan gathering last time, Wen Xuan broke through 12 new channels with all of his strength, and felt it was pretty good. But at this moment, in such a short period of time, he already broke through 20 new channels and his spiritual energy was still surging in his body. Under this powerful spiritual flood, nothing can obstruct it.

 

That was, until this spiritual energy crashed into that place.

 

That was also a place inside Wen Xuan's body, but it wasn't like a regular blocked channel. The spiritual energy crashed into it, like crashing into a block of slippery ice. It was instantly redirected, unable to exert force onto the obstruction at all.

 

Wen Xuan never knew he had such a place like this in his body. If he wasn't entering yuan gathering right now, it'd be impossible for him to discover this place. He didn't even manage to find this place last time.

 

Wen Xuan became interested and shifted his focus over there, watching to see just what kind of obstruction this was. At this moment, his spiritual energy was still full of strength. He couldn't be stopped here. He needed to break through everything.

 

When he saw this place, however, Wen Xuan was stunned.

 

It really was a block of ice. The area that this piece of ice covered was bigger than what he imagined, as if it were sealing something inside.

 

Wen Xuan controlled his spiritual energy and ordered it to twist into a drill shape before sending it to hit the surface of the ice.

 

This was very effective. A hole was instantly smashed into the surface of the ice. Wen Xuan followed up quickly and formulated a second spiritual drill. If he hit the same spot one more time, maybe it can completely destroy this ice block.

 

However, before the second attack landed, a person's figure suddenly appeared, blocking in front of the ice.

 

Wen Xuan was astonished. The spiritual energy he gathered instantly dispersed.

 

What kind of situation was this? Why was there someone else in his body?

 

Wen Xuan cleared his eyes to look again. Actually that figure wasn't a person, but rather, it's a divine memory that someone had buried inside his body.

 

But that still didn't answer the question. Why would there be the divine memory of someone else in his body?

 

With cold sweat gathering on his forehead, Wen Xuan looked at this divine memory carefully.

 

This was a very young and virtuous looking cultivator. He was currently smiling lightly at Wen Xuan. The corners of his mouth hooked upward slightly. This smile was extremely gentle and soft. Clearly this was a person he's never seen before, along with a faint smile that he never seen before either. Yet for some unknown reason, Wen Xuan felt it was somewhat familiar.

 

In his daze, Wen Xuan recalled one thing.

 

When he first obtained the jade slip with his current cultivation method and probed it with his divine sense, he read some words that were left to him by his shifu, Chu Lian.

 

"If you continue down this path, one day you will discover that someone left a certain something in your body."

 

"That's for your protection and affects you enormously. Don't be in a hurry to pry it open."

 

50

Chapter 50

 

Remembering these words, Wen Xuan felt sweat dripping all over. At that time, he couldn't comprehend what those words meant. Seeing the scene in front of him now, he naturally felt, without a doubt, that those words were indicating to this place. In a flash, Wen Xuan actually felt like he didn't know what to do.

 

Chu Lian very rarely used that kind of tone to tell him things. Since Chu Lian said something like that, it must be a matter of life and death.

 

Wen Xuan stared at the little hole that he created on the ice just now and felt utterly regretful, terrified that this ice block was really broken by him.

 

Luckly, a moment later, the hole began to fix itself slowly. At the same time, the figure of that young man also faded slightly. It was an almost indiscernible amount, but it expressed that this

 

divine memory was currently consuming its energy in order to protect this place.

 

Wen Xuan let out a breath of relief and quickly commanded the surging spiritual energy to by-pass this area and attack other places. As for this block of ice, he felt like it was best to not touch it temporarily.

 

Before he left, Wen Xuan turned to look one more time. The figure of that young man remained floating there, watching him with a smile.

 

It was a rather incorporeal smile, but strangely, it made him feel at ease.

 

In the end, Wen Xuan's entire body was engulfed by his bountiful spiritual energy, breaking open a total of 48 channels, several times more than the previous experience. This was still only the first step of the yuan gathering stage. Very quickly, Wen Xuan's consciousness pulled away from viewing his body and traveled to an indescribable void.

 

This was a space for 'Dao.'

 

Only during a breakthrough can cultivators borrow the strength of their gathering spiritual energy to connect with the heaven and earth and touch 'Dao.' In that instance, many confusing concepts inside the heart all became clear. Their divine understanding would reach an unprecedented level. Only through this process can cultivators gain a deeper understanding of themselves and properly take a step forward in advancement.

 

The last time wen Xuan entered yuan gathering, what he was missing was this step. Therefore, when Wen Xuan destroyed his cultivation and fell back into foundation building, he actually only counted as half yuan gathering. Even if his cultivation and strength can be considered yuan gathering, his mental state remained in foundation building.

 

Now this hole has finally been filled.

 

Wen Xuan opened his eyes in the void and saw the hazy lights hovering around his body. As his thoughts moved, these floating lights moved about. This was the reflection of his internal Dao.

 

What kind of image did you want to form with these floating lights? What kind of Daoist path will you walk on after today?

 

Wen Xuan took his time to ask himself, and then took his time to consider the answer. As the answer gradually became clear, the excess hazy lights dissipated. The rest of the scattered lights slowly converged into three distinct points. Wen Xuan extended his hand and touched them, his heart filled with an uncontrollable delight.

 

Destroying and then reconstructing. Breaking through to yuan gathering a second time, he finally received magic skills that belonged solely to himself. A total of three different skills. This was an illustrious amount for fellow cultivators, just like back then when he broke through from qi refining into foundation building.

 

After a road full of frustration and dashed hopes, he finally obtained the truth strength that a yuan gathering cultivator should have.

 

With a clear sound, the spiritual energy surrounding Wen Xuan gathered and separated, rolling into waves of energy and making Wen Xuan's sleeves flap. Wen Xuan opened his eyes with a smile and then looked at the meridians on his body again.

 

The cold air was already swept clean. After 50 years, unprecedentedly, the ice and snow began melting here. The heavenly demonic beast's horn still emitted waves of coldness in his hand. However, with the circulation of Wen Xuan's cultivation, that coldness was absorbed into his body in an endless stream, unable to escape from the center of his palm.

 

Task completed, Wen Xuan's face unconsciously beamed with delight. He only needed to take this item back now.

 

Thinking this, Wen Xuan looked towards the cave exit. What he saw, however, made him shiver all over.

 

Somewhere along the way, a person appeared at the cave exit. A woman.

 

Why would this kind of place have a woman? This question just flashed across Wen Xuan's head when that woman started floating into the cave.

 

That's right. Floating.

 

Wen Xuan reflexively took a step back. He remembered. This was probably that female ghost of legends. He finally encountered her.

 

Although this female ghost's cultivation wasn't high, supposedly, Wen Xuan still increased his vigilance.

 

The female ghost held her head high so it was possible to see the appearance she had before she died. This was a delicate and pretty woman. But that delicate face was currently deathly pale, making her look more horrifying. With this deathly pale face, she stared unblinkingly at Wen Xuan.

 

Actually, she's been staring long before Wen Xuan noticed her, for some unknown period of time.

 

"Umm...Miss?" Wen Xuan felt his scalp turn numb from being stared like so and couldn't help but ask: "Why do you remain here?"

 

Although he knew the other shouldn't be able to injure him, this was the first time he encountered such a situation. Wen Xuan couldn't help but feel a bit scared. Ghosts were extremely rare after all. Unless they had an extremely huge regret or injustice, they normally wouldn't remain in the world.

 

The female ghost didn't answer and continued to stare directly at him unblinkingly.

 

Wen Xuan planned to continue attempting to communicate when that female ghost suddenly roused.

 

She opened her mouth and let out a loud howl. It was impossible to hear clearly what she said. This howl didn't even finish when she abruptly charged at Wen Xuan.

 

Wen Xuan instantly took a huge step back.

 

That female ghost charged frontally at him, but abruptly stopped a foot away from him, as if she crashed into a wall.

 

That was Wen Xuan's spiritual energy protecting him.

 

As a righteous cultivator from a mystical Sect, Wen Xuan's spiritual energy can naturally detain this kind of underworld ghost. Wen Xuan saw threads of greenish black smoke rising out of the female ghost's body. Her face also revealed a pained expression, clearly indicating that she received quite an injury.

 

"Miss." Wen Xuan's expression fell: "What do you want to do?"

 

The female ghost turned a deaf ear. She didn't even care about the pain caused by his spiritual energy. Mouth wide open and wailing loudly, she scratched nonstop at the barrier created by Wen Xuan's spiritual energy with her hands, desperately wanting to move a little closer.

 

"It's useless." Wen Xuan told her: "Your cultivation is too low. There's no way you can break through my spiritual energy."

 

It was unknown if this female ghost understood what he said. She abruptly took a step back.

 

Wen Xuan unconsciously let out a breath of relief.

 

However, he didn't even finish that action when the female ghost suddenly charged over again and slammed into the barrier again. This was equivalent to attempting suicide. She let out a huge wail.

 

Wen Xuan couldn't watch with a cold eye any longer. For some unknown reason, seeing this scene made his heart tighten.

 

"Miss, why so stubborn?" His voice carried an almost imperceptible tremble: "What regret do you have? Tell me, maybe I can help you. Don't come closer anymore. Why must you make this kind of useless effort?"

 

But the female ghost didn't know how to give up at all and continued to slam into this unbreakable barrier without rest. The dark energy on her body continued to be damaged, letting out sizzling sounds as if she was being burned. In face of this kind of agony, she only cried and wailed, not even stopping for a moment.

 

Wen Xuan's scalp felt numb. Just what was she trying to do? Absorb his yang energy? Would ghosts harm themself to this extent in order to absorb yang energy? Wen Xuan didn't understand ghosts so he didn't know the answer.

 

He wanted to hear more clearly what was the sound coming out of the other's mouth. But no matter how he tried to distinguish it, it was all some unrecognizable syllables. Yet this sound wasn't completely indistinguishable. It sounded like something a certain type of people would let out......

 

Wen Xuan's expression changed slightly. He asked with uncertainty: "Were you...... mute when you were alive?"

 

The female ghost made two noises, still completely indiscernible, but extremely similar to a mute. Because of the countless suicidal battering, her form has faded away a lot from before, as if a

 

flame in the wind, capable of being blown away any second. Meanwhile on her face, two rows of tears finally dropped.

 

Seeing these tears, for some reason, Wen Xuan felt like his heart was hit by a heavy hammer, extremely painful.

 

Watching this female ghost moving back slightly, and come charging over again, Wen Xuan did something that he couldn't even explain why.

 

He withdrew all of the spiritual energy protecting him, completely, leaving nothing behind.

 

When the female ghost came charging over, still crying and wailing, she directly landed on top of him.

 

The instance he made contact with the yin energy, Wen Xuan still felt a bit dazed. He thought that he really had gone insane. Even if he was yuan gathering, to allow a ghost to tackle him without any protection... if the other had any ill intentions, she can really make him suffer the consequences. It's even possible for him to die completely, and have his soul scattered.

 

However, nothing happened.

 

Wen Xuan felt a tear landing on his shoulder, cold.

 

After that, the yin energy that enveloped him, as well as that drop of tear on his shoulder, felt like they evaporated or something, and abruptly disappeared without a trace.

 

Wen Xuan searched around dumbfounded but couldn't find that female ghost anywhere. He practically thought that the entire scene just now was just his imagination.

 

But what happened just now couldn't have been his imagination.

 

Of course, the female ghost could have left or hidden herself. However, if that's the case, then what was the meaning behind the female ghost's stubbornness before?

 

Wen Xuan couldn't figure it out at all. He can only shake his head and momentarily throw this matter to the back of his head. Placing that heavenly demonic beast's horn in his sleeve, he exited the cave and headed down the mountain path.

 

The journey down the mountain went much more smoothly. Because the heavenly demonic beast's horn was no longer in its original spot, the magic array was destroyed. The cold air in the mountain pretty much completely dissipated, only leaving behind the coldness from the ice and snow. Using only 1/5th of the time to head down, Wen Xuan saw the stone that was marked previously.

 

What made him surprised was that next to the stone stood two figures.

 

Since the three people separated, at least a day and night has passed. Nevertheless, Jian Yi noticed immediately when Wen Xuan appeared. His entire person instantly charged over and jumped into Wen Xuan's arms.

 

Wen Xuan caught him firmly and rubbed his hair: "How come you didn't head down the mountain and wait there?"

 

Jian Yi didn't say anything, only buried his head into Wen Xuan's shoulder. Because he was blown by the cold wind for too long, his cheeks were completely reddened. Both of his hands were also purple.

 

"Cultivator Wen, you're finally out." That Cultivator Sun also came over to greet him: "I tried to persuade Cultivator Jian to head down the mountain but he wasn't willing no matter what."

 

If Jian Yi wasn't so determined to remain here, this person definitely wouldn't have waited until now.

 

When he got a little closer, he finally perceived Wen Xuan's yuan gathering presence and froze. After a while, he cupped his hands, expression changing subtly. With a hint of rejoice and a hint of envy, he said: "Congratulations on advancing to yuan gathering, Cultivator Wen."

 

Wen Xuan nodded his head with a smile. He originally wanted to return the courtesy, but Jian Yi was still leaning on him, refusing to let go.

 

Wen Xuan sighed but didn't push him away. Instead, he found those hands that had turned purple in the cold and covered them with his palms: "Sorry. I made you worry."

 

"I didn't worry that much." Jian Yi finally was willing to make a noise. His voice was just extremely quiet: "I knew nothing would happen to you. It was just a long wait."

 

Wen Xuan smiled and then went to cover Jian Yi's face with his hands: "Right. Sorry, I let you wait for too long."

 

To the side, the completely ignored Cultivator Sun couldn't help but cough and interrupt their dog blinding actions. He asked: "Cultivator Wen, what's the situation with this mountain currently? The wind and snow seemed to have weakened quite a bit. Is..."

 

Talking business, Wen Xuan and Jian Yi finally separated.

 

Wen Xuan finally said with a smile: "Fortunately I was able to complete the mission."

 

"What?" Cultivator Sun was first stunned. Very quickly he recovered and was instantly delighted: "Are you for real?"

 

Wen Xuan pulled out the heavenly beast's horn from inside his sleeve and displayed it in front of his eyes.

 

Excited, Cultivator Sun went to touch it with his hand. In the end, he was almost injured by the cold air. This cold air was currently confined in Wen Xuan's palm. However if touched, it's still extremely damaging.

 

"I used a cultivation technique...... " Wen Xuan planned to briefly explain how to control this heavenly demonic beast's horn, but the method involved his cultivation method, so he really didn't know how to say it clearly.

 

Good thing this Cultivator Sun didn't care and shook his head, saying: "Since it's like that, you just hold onto it, Cultivator Wen. When we see xianzi, please hand it to her yourself."

 

Wen Xuan naturally nodded his head in agreement.

 

As the three people chatted, they continued to walk down the mountain.

 

Wen Xuan briefly explained everything that happened in the mountain. This Cultivator Sun was now extremely friendly towards Wen Xuan, his flattering attitude was very on point. Hearing that the array was placed by Ye Sheng Ge, his face was full of lament. Then hearing the matter with the female ghost, he was also full of wonder and pondered seriously on it with Wen Xuan.

 

Jian Yi stuck to Wen Xuan's side, exceptionally quiet. For the first time, he didn't interrupt at all.

 

"What kind of situation would cause a ghost to disappear?" Cultivator Sun suddenly said: "Did she obtain enlightenment?"

 

Wen Xuan stepped on a pile of snow at this time. Hearing those words, he almost fell in.

 

"Just a random guess." Cultivator Sun laughed dryly.

 

Wen Xuan couldn't help but think down this path. The more he thought about it, the more he felt sweat gather on his forehead.

 

That's right. Ghosts remained in the land of the living often because they had unfulfilled desires and their obsession was too deep. As long as their obsession was fulfilled, the ghost would naturally vanish. But if that's the case, Wen Xuan recalled the scene just now and felt goosebumps all over. That female ghost's desire shouldn't be wanting to jump him, right?

 

No. it wasn't just jumping at him.

 

At that last moment, the female ghost embraced him in her arms.

 

Wen Xuan felt his limbs turn cold.

 

"That female ghost," he pretended to ask carelessly: "How long has she been here?"

 

Cultivator Sun shook his head: "I don't know the exact time. However, the people in the town said that ever since that mountain became a snow mountain, she's been there. Probably around 50 years or so."

 

Wen Xuan took in a deep breath, the cold feeling spreading from his limbs to his chest.

 

He didn't know exactly how old he was and he also didn't know when was his birthday. He only knew that when he was picked up by Chu Lian and brought back to Water Cloud Sect, coincidentally, it was around 50 years ago.

 

"Oh right." Cultivator Sun said: "Before when you were stuck in the mountain, I was afraid something bad had happened. So I sent a letter to xianzi. She was very concerned and said in the return letter that she has pushed off other businesses and will be rushing over in the next few days. I have to let her know that she doesn't need to come anymore."

 

"Murong-xianzi is coming here?" Wen Xuan asked.

 

"That's what she said, but since you're safe and sound. It's better to have her wait for our return."

 

"No," Wen Xuan said: "If she can come, that would be better."

 

Cultivator Sun froze, not expecting him to say that.

 

"I want to wait for her here." Wen Xuan silently squeezed his fist in his sleeve: "I want to remain in this town for a few more days...... there's something I need to inquire about."