Chapter 289: Burning with Rage

"Master, Third Elder!" Xu Chen greeted them with a bow, his eyes brimming with hot tears.

"Chen'er, Mei Er, and Zhao Er, this is the fourth, Yang'er..."

The two elders were filled with astonishment as they recited the names of the four, but before they could finish, their gazes simultaneously fell upon Eldest Senior Brother Qin Zhao, their faces revealing expressions of disbelief.

"Zhao'er, you... why is your aura so weak?" True Person Xuanhe's face trembled, and his speech was somewhat stuttering.

Qin Zhao was severely injured and, at the moment, could only stand firm by relying on the Spirit Qi carried by True Monarch Guilingzi. Thus, he could only carefully cup his hands and say, "Sect Leader, please forgive me. Because the Seventh Junior Sister and I were trapped in a desperate situation, we were forced to self-destruct our dantian. Now that our Dao foundations are ruined, I fear I will be unable to contribute to the sect in the future."

"You... sigh..." True Person Xuanhe sighed.

True Monarch Guilingzi, however, spoke up: "Having one's Dao foundation destroyed is not necessarily a dead end; this matter can be pondered and solved slowly!"

"Who is this Daoist Friend..." True Person Xuanhe and True Person Xuanfeng examined True Monarch Guilingzi together.

Although they could not discern the cultivation level of this tall, thin, and unfamiliar cultivator, his aura was unfathomably deep and obscure. Previously, the two had focused their main energy on the four disciples who had suddenly returned after being missing for several months or even years. At this moment, they suddenly realized that this old man was not an ordinary cultivator, but a peerless powerhouse.

Therefore, after a brief moment of daze, the two hurriedly bowed and saluted with faces full of shock: "Senior, please forgive us. May we ask which Immortal Sect you are a great cultivator from?"

True Monarch Guilingzi, however, earnestly returned the bow and said, "This poor Daoist is Guilingzi of Yuqing Hall. I have met the two Daoist Friends."

"Guilingzi?!" The two old Daoists were both stunned.

Xu Chen had no choice but to hurriedly give a brief introduction of True Monarch Guilingzi's identity. After hearing it, the two old Daoists were completely dumbfounded.

A senior great cultivator from Yuqing Hall who had gone missing seven hundred years ago, now a True Monarch of the Spirit Transformation realm.

This was exactly like listening to a mythological story.

One must know that they had only stepped onto the path of immortal cultivation for a little over a hundred years, and the Taiyuan Sect had only been established for three hundred years; they were not familiar with Yuqing Hall at all.

Even regarding the three great cultivators of Yuqing Hall, the two had only seen them twice in succession.

They had not expected that, out of the blue, an even stronger and more formidable True Monarch great cultivator would suddenly emerge.

If this news were to spread, it would be like a thunderbolt striking the ground, destined to shock Shenzhou.

"Master, Third Elder, we have all just returned. This is not a place for conversation; let us return to the mountain first. Besides, Eldest Senior Brother is seriously injured and needs treatment!"

Seeing that the two elders were completely stunned, Xu Chen had to offer a reminder, and he added a Divine Sense Transmission using his internal energy.

The two old Daoists' bodies shook almost simultaneously as they regained their senses. They hurriedly bowed and apologized to True Monarch Guilingzi repeatedly, then carefully led the group to a mountain peak not far away.

Atop the mountain, several Dao courtyards had been simply constructed with wood and stone, nestled among giant trees, ancient vines, and thorny flowers and plants; it looked very crude and casual.

There were not many disciples on the mountain, only a few dozen scattered about. Some were arriving by riding Magic Treasures, while others were looking on from afar from rooftops and open spaces.

People who could be greeted by the two Danyuan Realm elders of the sect must have a significant background.

The outer sect disciples did not dare to approach, but the inner sect disciples were all filled with excitement and agitation.

Just as Xu Chen and the others landed, Third Senior Brother Chen Ran, Fifth Senior Brother Cao Yang, Tenth Senior Sister Lin Yuyao, Twelfth Senior Brother Zhu Shengbai, and others arrived one after another.

When the group of senior brothers, sisters, and juniors met, it was naturally a scene of incomparable noise and excitement.

Xu Chen's return from the dead once again.

Eldest Senior Brother's self-destruction of his dantian.

Especially the fourth, Chen Yang, who had been missing for eight years and was still alive, made the others feel as if they had seen a ghost.

Although the Taiyuan Sect was not populous, the bonds between the senior brothers, sisters, and juniors were deep.

Therefore, they embraced, feeling both joy and sorrow. However, hindered by the presence of a True Monarch who was like a True Immortal, after a brief exchange of greetings, under the arrangement of Sect Leader True Person Xuanhe, some sent Eldest Senior Brother Qin Zhao to rest, some prepared fruits and Spirit Tea to entertain True Monarch Guilingzi, and others went to arrange clothing and food.

Soon, the group of inner sect disciples dispersed, and in the blink of an eye, only Xu Chen and the other three remained.

"The sect has just moved here and we haven't had time to build it up. The conditions are crude, so I hope the Senior will not take offense!"

Sitting inside a simple hall on the mountain peak with the three characters "Taiyuan Sect" hanging on it, True Person Xuanhe's face flushed slightly as he bowed and apologized.

True Monarch Guilingzi looked around and waved his hand: "This poor Daoist was trapped in Minghuang for seven hundred years, living in stone caves; the conditions were even cruder than this. Now that I have been able to return to the Mortal World and smell such familiar scents, this poor Daoist is already very satisfied. I heard Daoist Friend Xu mention that Daoist Brother Xuanchen of the Taiyuan Sect is also a Spirit Transformation cultivator, but I wonder where he has gone now? Why is he not at the sect?"

Upon hearing this, the two old Daoists' expressions turned somber. True Person Xuanhe said: "Senior Brother was summoned by the Shenzhou Immortal Alliance to go to Langya Mountain to participate in the Immortal Alliance Assembly to exterminate Nether Beasts."

True Monarch Guilingzi heard this, stroked his beard, and nodded: "It should be so. Now that the Underworld Qi has leaked over such a wide range and there are so many Nether Beasts, the Shenzhou Immortal Alliance should indeed take action. Only by gathering the strength of many large Immortal Sects can there be a possibility of calming this."

Xu Chen looked at the emotions of his Master and the Third Elder and felt that something was not quite right, so he asked: "Master, is there some inside story or hidden secret to this assembly?"

True Person Xuanhe sighed and shook his head: "We do not know the inside story or hidden secrets, but the one who came to deliver the order was a True Monarch of the Spirit Transformation realm. His attitude was extremely arrogant. After exchanging a few words with Senior Brother, the atmosphere became discordant, and they started fighting. Senior Brother was no match and was injured. The person said that if Senior Brother did not go to participate in the assembly, he would have the Taiyuan Sect removed from the Immortal Sects, treat the entire sect as traitors to the Immortal Sects, and punish us by sending us to the place where Nether Beasts are most rampant."

"How unreasonable!"

As soon as Xu Chen heard this, his anger burned. He slapped his hand down, and the terrifying internal energy directly shattered the blue jade stone table in front of him into powder.

Ever since he fell into Minghuang, everything he had experienced could be called inconceivable; nothing was normal.

Not to mention that the children of the Wind Clan had the strength of the Kaiyuan Realm, those Nether Beasts were even more terrifying and abnormal one after another. Third-Tier Nether Beasts were already commonplace, and Xu Chen had seen many Fourth-Rank, Fifth-Level, and even Sixth-Tier ones. Additionally, there were super powerhouses like the Old Witch Lord and Tu Jiu who had awakened clan patterns and Divine Pattern Battle Techniques comparable to the True Spirit Realm and Shenling Realm.

Not to mention the existence of supreme beings like the Youtong Demon Monarch, Heitian Demon Monarch, and even the White Bone Demon Emperor, who had completely transcended the limits of his understanding of strength.

Precisely because he had seen so many powerhouses, the fact that a Yuan Ying-stage Spirit Transformation True Monarch had come to his door to slap his face gave him an urge to be furious.

The Taiyuan Sect was not what it used to be; with a Spirit Transformation great cultivator sitting in town, although he dared not say they could look down upon the Immortal Sects of Shenzhou, at least all large and small Immortal Sects should give them some face. He did not expect that True Monarch Xuanchen would be injured at his own doorstep and even threatened with the removal of his sect.

He truly could not swallow this bitter pill.

Looking at Xu Chen's angry expression and the shattered stone debris and dust all over the floor, the two old Daoists were both startled. True Person Xuanhe frowned and wanted to reprimand him, but then he sighed:

"Sigh, what is the use of your anger? Not to mention that we cannot afford to provoke the ten great Immortal Sects of Shenzhou, even some medium-sized Immortal Sects with Spirit Transformation True Monarchs are not ones we can provoke. Moreover, it is said that this time, all Immortal Sects in the entire Shenzhou territory that have great cultivators were summoned to participate in the assembly. How could our Taiyuan Sect resist the summons on our own?"

True Person Xuanfeng hesitated for a moment and said: "Actually, the reason Senior Brother fell out with the visitor has to do with you, Chen'er. Since you were able to return safely this time, perhaps Senior Brother will have fewer troubles in the future!"

Xu Chen was extremely surprised: "How does it have to do with me again?"

True Person Xuanhe smiled bitterly: "The one who came to deliver the order was True Monarch Guang Ningzi of the Luofu Mountain Xuanhua Sect. He bluntly demanded that Senior Brother hand over the pill formula for the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill. You also know that in the entire Taiyuan Sect, you are the only one who can refine this Spirit Pill; the recipe and the pill formula are only known to you. How could Senior Brother hand them over? Therefore, after a few words of disagreement, the other party used the excuse that Senior Brother was not cooperating in the extermination of Soul Beasts and was disregarding the overall situation of Shenzhou to attack and injure Senior Brother."

"Then what happened later?" Xu Chen asked hurriedly.

True Person Xuanhe sighed: "What else could happen? The other party is a True Monarch in the late stage of Spirit Transformation. In order not to implicate the sect, Senior Brother could only admit his mistake in the end, stating that the pill formula had been lost during this explosion at Black Wind Ridge and that no one in the sect could refine it anymore. If they didn't believe it, they could ask True Monarch Chixia of Yuqing Hall to testify. The other party might have been wary of Yuqing Hall and True Monarch Chixia, so they did not continue to force the issue. However, when they left, they took Yuzhu and Xuan'er away, saying that if we want the two of them back, we must hand over the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill formula!"

"What, they even captured the Second Senior Sister and the Thirteenth Senior Sister?"

Xu Chen exclaimed, then became furious. As he stood up, a terrifying aura erupted. Blue light sprayed out from around his body, flashing like a nebula with crackling sounds. His entire momentum was like a ferocious beast choosing someone to devour, and his eyes shot out murderous, fierce light.

This aura shook the entire Heming Mountain. The inner and outer sect disciples instantly felt as if their souls were being disordered by a terrifying aura, and one by one, they turned pale with fright.

Lu Yuan and the group of senior brothers, sisters, and juniors were gathering in a nearby Dao courtyard when they were suddenly suppressed by this aura, causing their Divine Senses to shatter and their internal energy to run wild. In terror, they all looked toward the direction of the main hall.

"Everyone, don't panic, this is Junior Martial Brother's aura!" Chen Yang had spent several months with Xu Chen and was still very familiar with this aura.

However, while he was explaining, he naturally also felt an inexplicable sense of trepidation.

Junior Martial Brother's realm seemed to be only at the True Essence Late Stage, but his cultivation and strength were far beyond that; he could not see through how strong Xu Chen really was at all, but in any case, he grew stronger as the situation demanded, seemingly without end. He seemed to struggle a bit when fighting a Third-Tier Demon Beast, but it was the same when fighting a Fourth-Rank one, and he could even hold his own for a few rounds against fifth or sixth-rank ones. He didn't know if he could win, but he knew Xu Chen would definitely be able to escape.

As for the Heavenly Tribulation that had just occurred not long ago, which was terrifying beyond measure, it was Xu Chen who had saved everyone single-handedly.

However, he had never seen Xu Chen get angry in his daily life.

All along, the impression Xu Chen gave him was very indifferent; even in the most dangerous and difficult situations, he had never lost his composure or even had an emotional breakdown.

But right now, this aura carried an irrepressible, monstrous rage, and his emotions seemed to be completely out of control.

(End of this chapter)