Chapter 853

"Still, it's fortunate that you fellow are now one of ours."

"With you here, this trip really does put one's heart at ease........."

Jiang Beixuan's eyes flickered.

If one were to become an enemy of someone like Chen, that would certainly be an extremely thorny and headache-inducing matter.

But if he were to become one of our own, that would be a tremendous blessing!

Currently, his own strength had yet to recover, and to seize the many resources within the Pill Saint Secret Realm still carried some risk.

And Jiang Chen, who had grown strong enough to defeat cultivators of the ninth level of the Manifestation realm, was the greatest aid for this trip!

With that strength of his that swept aside his peers and was enough to vie with the older generation—

This trip was worry-free!

Meanwhile.

Elsewhere.

Jiang Chen, standing at the bow of the ship, did not notice the thoughts of the person behind him.

He silently gazed ahead, his eyes deep, as if piercing through the thick white clouds and seeing Jiang Yan's face.

Jiang Chen's right hand lifted slightly, his five fingers quietly clenching, and his gaze grew sharp.

"Brother Yan, I do not know exactly what has happened to you, to reduce you to such a state."

"If it were a natural disaster or accident, then so be it."

"But if it were a man-made calamity......"

"Hmph! No matter what, this brother of yours must vent some of your grievances for you!"

At this thought, a killing intent had already surfaced in the depths of Jiang Chen's eyes!

In his view, no matter what a clansman of his own had done, they could only be disciplined by Cangwu Mountain.

If outsiders wished to overstep and discipline them, or bully them—

He, Jiang Chen, would be the first to refuse!

Not long after.

The Moonlight Dynasty, the Spirit-Exhausting Mountain Range.

This place was rich in spiritual energy, teemed with fierce beasts, and was littered with corpses.

Not only did many mid- and low-tier fierce beasts live here,

even fierce beasts of the Moon Wheel, Sun Wheel, and even Manifestation, and Primordial Spirit realms made their home here!

The dangers of this place had buried countless cultivators over the long ages, making it a forbidden zone of life that made Moonlight cultivators turn pale at the mere mention!

Legend had it that countless ages ago, this place had been a battlefield where two armies clashed; because millions of cultivators had fallen and blood had flowed like rivers, soaking the soil, and through the changes of time, it had become what it was today.

Precisely because of the special environment, the heavenly materials and earthly treasures here far surpassed those of the outside world—one could say precious herbs grew in clusters!

Therefore, although this place was dangerous, it still attracted large numbers of cultivators to rush in one after another!

And at this moment, before a stone cave somewhere in the Spirit-Exhausting Mountain Range—

A burst of intense sounds of fighting, along with the roars of wild beasts, rang out.

Then silence returned once more.

A youth, his entire body stained with blood and his clothes tattered, lay on the ground gasping for breath.

The youth's face was deathly pale, showing exhaustion; he gazed at the sky in a daze.

Beside him lay the corpses of three fierce beasts that had already breathed their last.

These fierce beasts were covered all over in glossy black fur, like steel needles, exuding a chilling, soul-stealing gleam.

Their faces were hideous, and their mouths revealed dense rows of sharp fangs.

If cultivators from the outside were to see them, they would surely be greatly alarmed.

All because these fierce beasts were called "Liao"—the moment they were born, they possessed strength comparable to a Postnatal martial artist.

Growing to their juvenile stage, they could easily match the Innate realm, and even the Purple Mansion realm!

If they reached adulthood, they could even match the Star Wheel and Moon Wheel realms.

And these three Liao before them were the elite among their kind, exuding the terrifying aura of the Sun Wheel realm!

Three fierce beasts of the Sun Wheel rank had all perished here!

At this moment, the youth lying on the ground came back to his senses and struggled to his feet.

He first staggered over to the three fierce beasts, using tools to harvest their pelts and flesh and blood.

Then he turned and walked toward the stone cave not far away.

Going deeper gradually, he soon felt a chill.

Then, a pool of water came into view.

In the center of the pool was a massive rock, upon which grew a pale purple spiritual herb.

The youth gazed at the spiritual herb before him, his face involuntarily falling into dejection.

"Looks like the news was false again........"

Jiang Yan muttered.

He had previously, some time ago, gotten information about the Soul-Returning Grass from passing cultivators.

He hadn't expected that this time, too, was another wasted trip.

Again?

That's right—in these past few months, he had encountered false information a full seven times, and several brushes with life-and-death crises; one could say he had been through harrowing peril!

If not for the Eight-Treasure Centipede obtained from Zhou Yan, combined with the fortuitous encounters gained during this period, which had luckily brought his cultivation base to the first level of the Sun Wheel realm, he would long since have perished.

But even so, he could not avoid suffering grave injuries time and again.

There was even one occasion when, because of false information, he had run head-on into a ferocious beast of the ninth level of the Myriad Manifestation realm.

Had he not sensed that something was wrong and slipped away first,

how could he possibly still be alive, standing here?

Recalling the miserable experiences of these past few months, Jiang Yan's expression dimmed, and he could not help but shake his head.

Then, he slightly raised his head and looked once more at the pale purple spirit herb above the pool of water before him.

Though this item was of no low grade, a treasure in the eyes of countless cultivators,

for him, it was not so.

After all, the thing he had exhausted his energy and endured countless hardships to find had always been the Soul-Returning Grass.

Only by finding the Soul-Returning Grass could he refine the Supreme Clarity Elixir, and only then would there be hope of awakening his Master from slumber once more and helping him reshape a physical body.

Jiang Yan drew a deep breath, controlled what little primordial force he had left, transformed it into a great illusory hand, gathered the spirit herb above the pool, and stored it within the storage space that came with the Cangwu Token.

After finishing all this, he casually took out an elixir and popped it into his mouth.

As the elixir took effect, his complexion, originally pale as snow, began to turn rosy at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Right after, he swiftly walked out of the stone cave, preparing to head toward the next place where the Soul-Returning Grass might exist.

But the moment his feet had just left the ground and he had risen into the high air,

Jiang Yan's eyes flashed; he suddenly thought of something and could not help but stop his movement, hovering in midair.

"Counting the time, the final round of the Sword-Trial Grand Competition for clan-sister Zhiwei seems to be starting in just these few days, doesn't it?"

During this most recent period, this matter had already spread throughout the Cangwu Token, and registration channels had been opened.

However, in order to bring a surprise to this clan-sister,

the spectator list set by the Elder Council was temporarily classified, not yet announced.

"I wonder which clansmen will come to watch in the end......."

A look of intense anticipation appeared on Jiang Yan's face.

Having been away from home too long, boundless longing welled up in his heart.

Now that there was a chance to see his family members, he naturally would not miss it.

"I just don't know whether Brother Chen will also come along."

At this thought, Jiang Yan's exhausted eyes suddenly brightened considerably.

But very soon he shook his head and laughed at himself: "Given Brother Chen's temperament, he probably still puts cultivation first; where would he have the interest to waste time coming here to watch?"

In his view, his own clan-brother was simply just like the Clan Leader, my lord — a cultivation maniac.

Either he was cultivating, or he was on the way to cultivating.

He also constantly took "cultivating for the rise of the clan" as his motto, and strove because of it!