Chapter 253: Zhuge Ruolan: Today's favor, to be repaid in the future

Hiss.

Inside the cave, Zhuge Ruolan felt something, and her pupils widened.

She suddenly stood up, walked out of the cave entrance, and gazed at the sky; there was nothing above, yet that energy fluctuation was unmistakable. She pondered briefly, lifted her right hand, and looked up again—now two figures appeared above.

The two silhouettes were approaching, rapidly enlarging, from initial tiny black dots gradually becoming human shapes. Zhuge Ruolan was shocked, preparing to leave the formation and flee far away, but it was too late—she could not escape.

That silhouette descended, and the formation before him was meaningless.

One person and one goat: the black goat descended slowly, their gazes fell upon her. Seeing the arrival, Zhuge Ruolan's fear eased slightly; she gulped, swallowed hard, and stared at the man before her.

Familiar man, familiar smile, familiar aura—utterly familiar.

Meeting again, her temporary abode was discovered; at this moment, Zhuge Ruolan felt her breathing quicken, even to the point of being unable to breathe.

You……

The mover was Chen Chuyang; then the deceased, could it not be?

Within heaven and earth, a trace of the Dao remained—the Dao of death, the aura of those from beyond; after they fall, it feeds back to heaven and earth, a unique aura distinct from that of this world's people.

When outsiders and their energy die, that energy will return to heaven and earth, thereby making up for the world's loss.

The rules and Dao of this world are already deficient; without external supplementation, they can never be fully restored.

As time passes and it fades away, eventually this small world will collapse and thus… completely disappear.

They all know this, yet they are powerless; they can only try to kill the outsiders. However, outsiders are not easy to kill—once action is taken, it involves too much, possibly inviting disaster upon oneself, and even more terrifying, the annihilation of one's sect.

"We meet again, Holy Maiden Zhuge Ruolan; our fates are entwined."

Chen Chuyang spoke slowly, entered the cave, and surveyed the surroundings.

The cave was simple, containing nothing but a temporary abode with a table, chairs, etc. A glance inside showed no one present; he sensed the connection to the Wild Dragon Snake Cave Heaven. This woman seemed not to have returned directly to the Yin Gui Sect, but chose to stay here—one must say, she has her own ideas.

She sensed that act of violence; Chen Chuyang was not worried she would reveal it—not just her, but many others felt it too. Chen Chuyang wanted them to feel it, otherwise how could he deter them, making them dare not act or approach Longshe Cheng?

This time, by acting, Chen Chuyang aimed to keep all forces away from the Longshe Cheng area; otherwise, he wouldn't mind clearing it out once.

He sat down, boiled water, and brewed tea.

Treating it as his own home, the black goat stayed at his side, scanning the surroundings; after confirming safety, it nodded and lay beside Chen Chuyang, its upright eyes fixed on Zhuge Ruolan—just as in the Wild Dragon Snake Cave Heaven, its gaze filled with a faint smile.

This woman, this Holy Maiden, has met him several times, yet Chen Chuyang has never chosen to kill him—likely because he saw something different about her.

This woman carries much karma and fate, very complex; moreover, in the unseen, she shares a special bond with Chen Chuyang.

Most importantly, this woman is sensible and aware of the times.

"This is the money I owe you."

Zhuge Ruolan produced the spirit stones noted on the IOU; without Chen Chuyang speaking, she voluntarily handed them over.

Chen Chuyang was pleased with her attitude; this woman could survive to today, certainly not a fool.

Quite tactful.

Also quite understanding… of forbearance.

"Your IOU."

The IOU was given to her; Zhuge Ruolan tore it up in person, and between them there is no longer any debt.

Zhuge Ruolan asked weakly, "Did you just kill a person from beyond?"

"Oh?"

Chen Chuyang never expected her to know as well, to be able to discern it—not simple.

"How did you know?"

This matter cannot be hidden; he openly admitted it.

Zhuge Ruolan's heart surged with waves; indeed so—this man is terrifying, having come down from Longshe Shan just to exterminate the outsiders.

Those from beyond, also called outsiders, all deserve to die.

Those people entering this world inherently have impure motives—either to slaughter, or to bring calamity upon this world.

This world's conflicts are also entirely caused by those outsiders.

The power struggles among factions, the battles of various sects, arise because of their thoughts.

They are helpless; they cannot win by force or strategy, so they must obey—those who disobey all die.

"It's simple: the death of an outsider differs from that of our world's people; their Dao resonance is very different."

Zhuge Ruolan explained the difference: mainly a change in Dao resonance; the Dao cultivated by outsiders is complete, and after their death, those resonances supplement this world.

A complete Dao resonance can let nearby people gain insight.

"Generally, when an outsider dies, it draws some people to come sense the Dao resonance, thereby achieving a breakthrough."

"The higher the cultivation, the greater the strength, the stronger the Dao resonance, the faster the breakthrough."

"This time, the person you killed had strength above the Fifth Heavy Mountain; after his death, the Dao resonance spread at least several kilometers."

"Those around should all feel it."

Zhuge Ruolan gave Chen Chuyang a deep look; these are common knowledge they all know, recorded by the sects.

Many sect members wish to hunt outsiders, but few succeed.

The strength of outsiders is great; each one that descends is not something they can defeat.

Without using some old monsters, perhaps…

Chen Chuyang, alone, again killed an outsider.

One must say, he is truly… formidable.

The background of that outsider, Zhuge Ruolan knows a bit; recently, only that one person descended, heading for the Wild Dragon Snake Cave Heaven, and she also knows that entity is seeking her.

Once he finds her, Zhuge Ruolan's fate will be grim.

"That person was coming for me; thank you for saving me again—I will remember this favor."

Zhuge Ruolan rose, bowed, and said: "You saved me twice; this kindness outweighs heaven—I will always remember it."

She is not that kind of ungrateful person.

She keeps this favor in her heart; when the future arrives, after she finishes what she ought to do, she will surely repay the kindness.

"Alright, if you want to repay the favor, just collect more spirit stones for me."

Chen Chuyang waved his hand; compared to verbal thanks, he prefers spirit stones.

Various spirit medicines and spirit medicine seeds are fine too; even some demonic beasts will do.

Even demonic beast corpses are no problem; he needs all kinds of cultivation techniques and strange things.

Cooperating with the research, then… enhancing his Pill Refining technique, as well as his research on cultivation and on the body.