Chapter 133: Public Outrage

The more powerful the territory of a Demon Beast, the higher the grade of the Heavenly Material and Earthly Treasure found within.

Although the two of them appeared to be in the Kaiyuan Realm and Zhenyuan Realm, their true combined strength could rival a powerhouse in the middle stage of the Danyuan Realm, so they were not particularly afraid of these second-tier and third-tier Demon Beasts.

Coupled with the aura of the third-tier Spirit Sparrow, few Demon Beasts along the way dared to provoke them, leaving them to scavenge for Spirit Medicine within their territories.

Thus, after more than half a day of searching, walking, and stopping, the two had only traveled three or four hundred miles, but they had found quite a lot of various miscellaneous Spirit Medicine, Spirit Grass, and Spirit Material.

Seeing the sunset about to fall behind the mountains again, if they traveled at full speed, they should have been able to reach Yuqing Hall by nightfall, but Xu Chen still felt unsatisfied, feeling he hadn't made enough of a fortune, and Lan You shared the same sentiment, so the two simply found a cave to stay in.

Of course, after settling down, the two did nothing else; they ate some roasted meat from a Demon Beast that the Spirit Sparrow had voluntarily brought to their door, and then spent the entire night refining Spirit Pills.

By the time dawn broke, both of them looked exhausted, pale, and haggard, as if they had been up all night doing something unspeakable.

The two looked at each other, both seemingly sporting dark circles under their eyes, and couldn't help but laugh.

However, the harvest from this night was quite good; they had successively refined three batches of Spirit Pills infused with the white Qi.

Although each batch was of a different variety, they all possessed the efficacy of strengthening the Soul and tempering the body.

Of course, for their current situation, the changes brought by the white Qi were already ineffective, but the medicinal efficacy of the Spirit Pills themselves seemed to have been greatly enhanced.

This made Lan You even more shocked.

Because she discovered that Xu Chen could infuse the mysterious white Qi into almost any Spirit Pill, and the medicinal efficacy of all the refined Spirit Pills themselves had a clear, qualitative improvement.

A first-grade Spirit Pill had almost the efficacy of a second-grade Spirit Pill.

Coupled with the white Qi's ability to transform ordinary cultivators.

If such Spirit Pills were to spread, it would likely cause a shock throughout the entire Immortal World, no less than the sensation caused when the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill first appeared.

Xu Chen rubbed his face, watching the Spirit Sparrow that had long been squatting outside the cave with its mouth wide open, making clucking sounds like a hen pecking for food, then raised his hand to toss a pill into its basket-sized mouth, and stepped onto the bird's back in one motion.

They were now only about five hundred miles away from Yuqing Hall, and Xu Chen felt he had played enough; he decided to get the Seven-Star Golden Toad as soon as possible, then return to the sect to report the mutation of the Soul Beasts on the road, so that the Taiyuan Sect could make preparations as early as possible.

A moment later, the Spirit Sparrow carried the two of them into the air, turning into a stream of light that pierced through clouds and mist, speeding westward along Taiyi Mountain.

Two hours later, the mountain ranges ahead began to undergo tremendous changes; steep and precipitous peaks rose abruptly to pierce the firmament, and a hundred miles away, one peak was the most towering and dangerous, standing alone and shooting straight into the sky, suspended amidst the rolling sea of clouds, with palaces and temples shining with spiritual light, appearing as brilliant as an immortal palace of jade.

This was Cuihua Peak, where the headquarters of the Great Song Immortal World's leader, Yuqing Hall, was located.

"Hee~~"

Returning to a familiar place, the Spirit Sparrow was exceptionally excited, letting out a long cry as it flew across the strange peaks and ridges, finally piercing through the clouds and mist to dive toward the waist of Cuihua Peak, soon landing in front of a magnificent palace shimmering with spiritual light.

At the same time, countless Divine Senses crisscrossed and arrived; after seeing the two people on the Spirit Sparrow's back, dozens of Escape Lights soon soared into the air from the palaces between Cuihua Peak and the adjacent peaks, turning into colorful streaks of light and rushing straight toward them.

"Senior Sister Lan!"

"Junior Sister!"

Young male and female cultivators with thick auras and graceful bearings arrived one after another, and a group of young cultivators also rushed out of the main hall, surrounding the two in the blink of an eye. Seeing Lan You, they were all excited and happy, but many people looked at Xu Chen, their faces showing various expressions of disdain and anger while being surprised.

"You are Xu Chen of the Taiyuan Sect?"

A young cultivator in white, about twenty years old, glared at Xu Chen and asked.

Xu Chen shook his Daoist robe and whisk, nodded calmly, and said: "Indeed, this poor Daoist is indeed Xu Chen of the Taiyuan Sect. May I ask how to address you, Daoist Friend?"

"Hmph!" The white-clad cultivator snorted coldly, his face full of anger as he stepped forward to block Xu Chen and said: "You killed my Senior Brother Liang Feng, yet you dare to come to Yuqing Hall!"

Lan You stepped forward to block in front of Xu Chen, her pretty face frosted as she scolded: "Junior Brother Lin, show some respect. Daoist Friend Xu was invited by the three Supreme Elders, and the death of Senior Brother Qin has long been concluded; it was not the work of Daoist Friend Xu. Move aside quickly, we are going to pay our respects to the Elders!"

The white-clad cultivator's face flushed instantly as he said: "Senior Sister, why are you speaking for the enemy? Senior Brother Qin was killed by the Taiyuan Sect, Xu Chen is the culprit, and Master was also injured by him and remains unconscious. If the three Supreme Elders hadn't refined a divine pill, he would likely be beyond saving. You, do not stop me! Today I must kill him to avenge Senior Brother!"

"That's right, Senior Sister Lan, do not worry about the faces of the great cultivators of the two sects; Yuqing Hall has never been humiliated like this before."

"Exactly, the Taiyuan Sect condones its disciples in committing crimes, killing our people from Yuqing Hall; how can we let him return alive!"

"Kill him!"

"Yes, kill him! This is not the Taiyuan Sect; let's see who can protect him today."

Dozens of cultivators were agitated, surrounding the two in a circle, their Divine Senses falling upon Xu Chen like a tide, seemingly wanting to see through him inside and out. Many of them released intense Divine Sense pressure, attempting to suppress Xu Chen on the spot.

However, these Soul Impacts were like child's play to Xu Chen; at present, unless it was a powerhouse of the Danyuan Realm, it would be impossible to shake his Soul.

"Everyone move aside! Today, let's see who dares to touch Daoist Friend Xu!"

Lan You was both angry and anxious, spreading her arms to shield Xu Chen behind her, her emotions extremely agitated.

This further enraged the large group of cultivators; many people had fire in their eyes and released their Flying Swords and Magic Treasures. Suddenly, five-colored spiritual light danced wildly in the air, rolling Yuan Qi vibrated and clashed back and forth, and sharp auras locked onto Xu Chen firmly, as if in a single thought, Xu Chen would be beaten into a sieve by a dozen Magic Treasures.

"Senior Sister Lan, you, why are you protecting him like this? Do you not want to avenge Senior Brother Qin?"

The white-clad cultivator who spoke first was filled with anger and resentment, and the look in his eyes toward Xu Chen held even more jealousy and murderous intent.

Lan You was a Personal Disciple of a Danyuan Realm Elder, with excellent aptitude, and had stepped into the Zhenyuan Realm at a young age; she was absolutely a leader among the younger generation of the Taiyuan Sect.

And just a few months ago, after Lan You returned from Black Wind Ridge, her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, and in just a few months, she had actually entered the middle stage of the Zhenyuan Realm.

This cultivation level was unmatched among her peers, even surpassing Core Disciples like Xu Wen, who was over a decade older and had been cultivated by the inner sect with great effort.

The three Supreme Elders had already announced to the outside world that Lan You had become the most important Core Disciple among the fourth generation of Yuqing Hall, and all cultivation resources, techniques, and Magic Treasures were to be tilted toward her, because Lan You's aptitude meant she would inevitably succeed in Spirit Transformation in the future.

This evaluation shocked almost the entire Yuqing Hall, and of course, it also brought unparalleled joy and excitement.

Never mind the cultivation; if one could win Lan You's heart and become a Daolu, wouldn't one's cultivation and status rise with the tide in the future?

The young cultivators who had come were all considered the best among the younger generation of Yuqing Hall; dozens of them were all between ten and twenty years old, and not a single one was over thirty. However, there wasn't one among them with a cultivation below the late stage of the Kaiyuan Realm, several were already in the Zhenyuan Realm, and the two with the highest cultivation were already in the middle stage of the Zhenyuan Realm, comparable in strength to Xu Wen.

Amidst the agitated shouting and cursing, seeing that some people wanted to take action, Lan You was both angry and anxious. The Sword Box on her back popped open with a 'clatter', and a Flying Sword radiating cold light soared into the air and hovered above her head, releasing rolling cold air to force back the surrounding aura, and then she said coldly, word by word:

"Lan You is acting under the order of the Sect Leader True Person to bring Daoist Friend Xu into the mountain. If you all press me like this, do not blame Lan You for being heartless and disregarding our fellow-disciple friendship."

The scene fell into an instant silence, and many people retreated nervously.

The white-clad cultivator who spoke first had a flushed face, but under Lan You's icy gaze and the terrifying pressure of the Flying Sword, he had to retreat slowly.

"Junior Sister Lan, Xu Chen killed our people from Yuqing Hall; what is the reason for you protecting him like this? Could it be that you have fallen for this guy?"

A thin young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six stepped out from the crowd, released a powerful aura to suppress Lan You's momentum, and then said sarcastically.

"Whoosh~"

The young cultivator's words were like a ladle of cold water poured into a boiling pot of oil; everyone felt as if they had been fried to a crisp, and many even felt as if their hearts had been stabbed with a knife, their bodies trembling and their teeth nearly shattering.

"Xu Chen, no matter who protects you today, you must die!"

A tall and handsome young cultivator raised his hand and pressed forward, and a Flying Sword whistled down, hacking toward Xu Chen.

"Zhao Jun, how dare you!" Lan You was furious. With a pull of her Divine Sense, her Flying Sword met the attack. She used all her strength in this strike, and a ball of spiritual light exploded in mid-air. The two Flying Swords collided, and one of them was sliced directly into two pieces, spinning away for dozens of zhang before falling onto the wide green jade floor with two clangs.

"Pfft~" The cultivator who had attacked turned pale, opened his mouth to spit out a mouthful of blood, and staggered backward, pointing at Lan You while trembling all over, unable to speak.

"Who else dares to attack!" Lan You did not even glance at the other party, her face as cold as frost and her voice like an ice blade as she looked around.

The scene instantly fell into an incomparable silence once again.

More people turned pale and retreated backward.

"Junior Sister Lan, who has provoked you to such anger!"

Just as everyone was hesitating, a voice suddenly thundered in everyone's ears, and then, as everyone's vision blurred, a young cultivator in his thirties wearing a black robe landed in the circle.

His hair was disheveled, and his appearance could not be called handsome, but there was an inherent air of disdain in his gaze, and a faint white light actually swirled within his eyes.

Xu Chen could not help but narrow his eyes slightly.

This person's cultivation had actually reached the perfection of the Zhenyuan Realm, with his Yuan Qi fully restrained, only one step away from Golden Core.

(End of this chapter)